Chapter Text
There was no way an apartment complex was this hard to find.
The afternoon sun was beating down hot and heavy on your head, the rising temperatures undoubtedly made worse with a lack of breeze.
You peek to the left and then to the right. Yeongdeungpo was a huge concrete jungle, occasionally graced with a shoddy, run-down shack that constituted as a small business, no wonder there was no breeze!
The map clutched in your hand was growing increasingly more wrinkled with each block you travelled.
You groan and palm at your face. "Shouldn't this be easy? The whole district is essentially a grid!"
With furrowed brows, you take in your environment again. The stores that lined the streets were all unfamiliar and the faces inside even moreso. What would a normal, logical person do? Walk right up, bold and brave, and ask for directions?
As you ponder this, a girl about your age exits a store a few feet ahead of you, her friends trailing behind her. You watch, entranced as their chrome-colored nails flip long hair over shoulders, lips smacking with gloss and gum as they chat excitedly about last night's celebrity performance.
You almost stop them for directions, but the words get stuck in your throat as they pass you and they're gone before you know it.
Annoyed with your own jumpiness, you pinch your nose bridge and sigh.
Really!? Why was asking for a bit of help so hard?
The only people left on the block are sour looking businessmen on their lunchbreaks, sweating in their iron-pressed suits.
You're beginning to regret not accepting the moving men's offer to drive you to your apartment, especially since you accidentally packed your phone away. Still, there was no way you could've left without saying goodbye to your family.
As much as you loved them, that cramped little apartment just wasn't big enough for everyone. With some of the cash you had saved up from work this past summer and grandma's "secret stash" (her words, not yours!) you were able to land a pretty lucky deal—a rental right by your high school!
According to the landlord, the last tenant had some issues with the neighbors and had to be evicted after damaging some fixtures, but hey, that meant it was even cheaper to rent! Sucks to be him, but great to be you!
Or, uh, it was great... Until you got lost.
Yeongdeungpo wasn't really a place you usually liked exploring. You weren't much of a curious type and preferred to keep more to yourself so typically, you'd just take the bus directly to school and back. Although you didn't keep up with rumors, it wasn't a secret that some of the shadiest people and most violent throwdowns happened in this district.
You were lucky to have never been caught in the crossfire, but a friend of yours had more than enough stories for the both of you.
"It was in the park, and dude, he had orange hair! I swear, it looked so fuckin' loony! And then he just flying-jump kicked that other tall kid right in the face, like POW! Isn't that just so insane?!"
Uh, yeah. Real insane, and real scary. That wasn't the type of gossip you wanted to be involved in.
Speaking of which, the sun was already starting to set. Bad news.
Anxiously, you look around for anyone who could help. Your eyes land on a balding man in khakis and a white polo shirt munching on a convenience-store sandwich.
Errr... Maybe someone more your age?
You skim the street and your eye catches on a group of teenagers loitering outside a chicken shop, joking amongst themselves.
Well, better them than some weird old guy, right?
You take a deep breath and roll your shoulders a few times, running through a pep talk in your head before approaching them.
You reach out and tap one of them on the shoulder.
"Hah, right? That's what I said too—huh?" He turns around, looking displeased that someone interrupted his story. When his eyes land on you, the scowl is quickly replaced by a lopsided smile "Oh! Hey there cutie, what can I do for ya?"
You stutter and feel yourself growing red at his comment but manage to push the words out regardless. "Oh, hey! I just moved and I was wondering if you could show me how to get to my house? I'm new here so everything is still hard to navigate." You shove the map into his chest and he gives a small "oof," hands clasping over it.
You take a step back and press your lips into a tense smile, which the other two boys regard with weird stares and a whisper.
What? You were just trying to be nice!
One of the boys in the back leans forward and examines the map, face screwing up.
"Oh? This is right beside that prick Jared's high school. I can mark the path you need to—"
"—Hey hey hey! Woah! Slow down there." The boy holding the map open closes it suddenly, shooting the two boys behind him a look. "Cutie didn't ask us for directions, she asked us to show her how to get there. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"
As he stares you down, the other two exchange looks and smirk. As if that wasn't weird enough, you really weren't liking the way he was calling you pet names and decided maybe this was a bad idea.
"Alright guys, listen. I appreciate the offer, but this is getting weird. I can just get directions somewhere else, if I could just get my map back..."
You reach for the map and he pulls it over his head.
"Aw, what are you in such a rush for? We didn't mean to make you scared, we just usually don't have such pretty girls approach us like this! Let's celebrate a bit."
A lump grows in your throat and you furrow your brows, trying for the map again. This time, he folds it up and puts it in his pocket, clicking his tongue at you.
"You wanted us to bring you home right? Come have a meal with us first! We promise we'll bring you home afterwards."
Your shoulders drop and you frown. You really needed that map back, otherwise you might end up sleeping on a park bench tonight. ...Well, if it was just a quick meal you guess it'd be okay. If anything, you could also ask the restaurant staff for directions too.
"Fine. But you have to tell me how to get to my house after."
The three boys look at each other and snicker, one of them waving their hands in the air dismissively. "Yeah, for sure! We just don't want a pretty lady like you to go hungry."
You open your mouth to tell them to stop calling you that, but a hand latching onto your wrist roughly stops you. "We have just the place for occasions like this," Another says, pushing you along by the shoulders, "They opened about a month ago."
"Dude, I can walk myself." You hiss. You try brushing off his grasp but they ignore you, chattering amongst each other again as you're dragged behind them.
Ugh. Yeongdeungpoo really was the district of shady shitheads.