Chapter Text
Joonghyuk needed to get out of there. There was so much the world had to offer, yet here he was, stuck in some dirty, rusting jail cell. He had a few friends “acquaintances” that he had told about his plan, trusting threatening them to not tell anyone else. They had told him to try it because, really, there isn’t a criminal punishment worse than the life sentence.
So, that’s how Joonghyuk got here, squished between four metal walls and crawling through the vents. He really hadn’t planned on taking this route since he had multiple options, but for some reason, “every single guard in the whole prison” decided to actually do their job at that moment.
Joonghyuk crawled through the vent until he reached the little opening it has to the outside, which he promptly busted open with a stolen screwdriver. Although he had successfully broken out, now he would have to actually get out of the vicinity of the prison. This would have been an easy task for someone as built as he was, but since this prison was filled with such dangerous criminals, it was placed in the middle of nowhere. There wasn’t a single form of life in his view. Luckily enough, he had woken up in the van to the prison, so he knew which direction to head.
As he walked, he constantly looked backwards for any sign of panic. Thank God his “acquaintances” kept things down pat. Joonghyuk continued walking through the barren wasteland surrounding the prison. After walking for about 70 minutes, Joonghyuk saw the sun in all its glory, beautifully rising in the sky. The man he is, he normally would have stopped to watch it, but he figured it wasn’t really the right time. After taking a mental image of the beautiful sight, Joonghyuk kept walking and hoped that at least one building would come in sight soon.
His wishes were not fulfilled; he had to walk for about three more hours before a single building came into view. His hopes were briefly raised, but they were quickly dashed as he realized it had been abandoned. He let out an exasperated sigh and kept walking. Mind you, he hadn’t slept for the past 19 hours and, walking under the blazing sun without food or water, he was beginning to get desperate. As the heat exhaustion, lack of sleep, and dehydration started to catch up to him, Joonghyuk kept slowing down and dragging his feet. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a raggedy apartment complex.
Bullseye. Joonghyuk gripped the screwdriver and the knife that he had found on his way, bolting towards the building. He broke the glass door at the front and made his way inside. He looked through all the peepholes so as to make sure no one heard him. Once he had confirmed that what he found was an empty apartment, he broke in. Joonghyuk didn’t want anything other than water and food, so that’s all he took. Although he still hadn’t slept, his refreshments gave him the strength he desperately needed to continue walking.
Joonghyuk had passed several other towns, but none were interesting and, in an attempt to further hide his identity, he wanted to go into the city.
When he reached the city, his priorities were straight. He wasted no time starting his search for the most run-down apartment complex to break into. It didn’t take nearly as long as he thought it would, to his eternal relief.
Joonghyuk decided to go for the apartment in the very back because it looked the most lifeless, so he assumed its tenant was old and ready to die. Although it didn’t even have a peephole, he frustratedly worked around it and broke in like a ghost. Once he was in, he was extremely disappointed. The entire apartment was barren and plain. Joonghyuk snuck his way to the kitchen, looking for some food. At that moment, a person walked out of the only bedroom.
“Um, excuse me?” the man asked tiredly. “Who are you?”