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Someone dropped a piece of bread on the ground, and a skinny hand quickly snatched it. The hungry boy hurried away as fast as he could, worried the men at the table were going to try to stop him. They didn’t seem to have even noticed; and if they did, they’d clearly decided to ignore it. It was a relief.
“Jungkook-ah?”
The boy looked up when he heard his name. It was Jimin. He looked as cold, dirty and hungry. Winter was definitely on its way. It would be good to find a job before the snow came. They could buy some old shoes and some warmer clothes that weren’t illfitting, broken and smelly..
And they could buy food and wouldn’t need to go hungry anymore. It was a wonderful thought, but at the time impossible.
Jungkook knew he should share his piece of bread with his Hyung, but it was so small. No bigger than his palm. It wasn’t right, but Jungkook was just too hungry, so he did the selfish thing and quickly hid the bread in his trouser pocket. He was hoping Jimin hadn’t noticed.
Jimin didn’t seem to, because he wasn’t asking to see what he’d found at the outdoor food market on the big square, right next to Busan Train Station.
There were people selling food from stalls or from wagons; hot meals, bread, boiled eggs, raw root vegetables and so on. It was affordable for those who were lucky enough to have a job but too poor to afford a home where they could cook their own meals. Electricity was both expensive and difficult to come by; and it was probably not going to be easier as long as the wars were ongoing.
It had been eight years now, and too many people around this cold world had died in shootings and bombings that should never had needed to happen. People were asking themselves who really were the unlucky ones; those who died or those who survived?
Jungkook had only been seven when the war broke out; and it had already been tough enough way before that. Inflation, instability, and violence; but nothing had been so lawless and cold as this new world. People cried on the streets, people died on the streets, but it wasn’t by weapons or bombs anymore, no one even had time to fear any of that when illnesses and starvation were such big threats.
“I found somewhere we can sleep tonight”, Jimin said as he came up to Jungkook. Some older guys had kicked them out from their last place, and it had been unwise to try to fight them. They’d been wearing military uniforms and boots. It didn’t mean anything; many people were, even though they weren’t on duty, but they looked much stronger. Neither of them would have a chance to win against them. Those heavy boots could kick hard.
“Where?” Jungkook murmured, feeling too weak to really care. It wouldn’t be the first time they slept on the street, and most probably not the last time.
“Come on.” Jimin showed him; it wasn’t too far from the food market and the train Station.
There were many cars around, but most of them, if not all of them, were abandoned. People who didn’t sleep in the abandoned buildings, slept in these cars. What was safer was difficult to say…
Many buildings had been destroyed after the bomb rain that had occurred almost six years ago. The military had prevented people from walking into many of the buildings that could fall apart at any moment by putting yellow tape over the doors and windows. It hadn’t stopped some people from still taking the risk and go inside.
Probably seventy percent of the buildings were abandoned. So many people had either died or fled which had left Busan almost ghost-like.
Those who decided to stay kept close to the train station, and the most crowded place was the big food market. People felt safe there. The trains would come once a week to hand out food and supplies to the military and to the few businesses that had survived. Those businesses would then resell the food for shameless prices. The same for the many farmers who were travelling to Busan to sell their vegetables and fruits. They even sold moldy food for a quarter of the price for those who were really desperate and had been lucky to find a coin or two.
The military was the law, and they helped people with jobs, but they couldn’t help everybody. There were just too many still.
Two teenage boys who were so skinny it looked like the wind could break them apart weren’t the kind of workers the military were interested in.
“Do you know how to use a computer?” one soldier once had asked a, at that time, fifteen-year-old Jimin. Unfortunately, the little knowledge Jimin had about computers hadn’t impressed anybody.
The two boys were forced to keep looking for food on the street instead. Stealing could result in a harsh beating, and they couldn’t afford that. If they ended up too wounded, they may not be able to go look for food the following day.
“Here!” Jimin said as he stopped in front of an abandoned business. The windows and the door were blocked by wooden planks; it was unusual. The sign above said; ‘Kwak’s Real Estate’.
“Are we going to sleep here?” Jungkook asked confused.
“Yes”, Jimin confirmed and then went up to the door and moved two of the wooden planks. They crawled through it with ease.
It led into a big room without anything but three desks, a lot of papers and a calendar which had a picture of autumn leaves. It said ‘November 2006’ under the picture. That was almost six years ago. It was amazing how no one had tried to get in here sooner, but on the other hand, everyone could tell this was a place without food or anything anyone would be interested in. It wasn’t a fabric or craft store, not a clothing store or a hardware store; not even a pet shop. Those had since long been looted and destroyed.
The stores and restaurants that weren’t abandoned, the military had full control over, and if anyone dared to steal from them, they would quickly come to regret it.
That didn’t mean some people still tried, the very desperate ones.
“Jungkook-ah, come, come”, Jimin said and took him to another room. Very empty, except for a kitchen sink. The water didn’t work. “Isn’t it neat? We won’t need to freeze, and we definitely won’t need to worry about anyone bothering us.”
Jungkook nodded. It was definitely better than the last place, although, they’d lost their blankets, floor matrasses and stuffed animals. Those things had been soft and had made sleeping a bit more comfortable. This place didn’t seem to have anything of that.
“But it has something much better”, Jimin said when Jungkook pointed it out.
“What?” Jungkook asked and sat down. He was tired; and he was feeling lightheaded and dizzy. He just wanted to find a lonely corner where he could eat his piece of bread in peace.
“Jungkook-ah?” Jimin seemed worried. “How are you?”
“Cold”, Jungkook murmured.
“I know, but you will really like this”, Jimin promised and took his hand. “Please… we can rest later…”
It felt like it was always later, and never now. The energy wasn’t there, but still, Jungkook forced himself up on his naked feet again.
He followed his Hyung to a door.
“Ssh”, Jimin whispered before opening it. In there, Jungkook couldn’t only hear, but see a rat rushing by.
Meat!
Jungkook’s mouth instantly started watering as his heart began beating harder. He couldn’t even remember when he ate meat last time. This just seemed too good to be true.
It wasn’t only one rat either. “I’ve already caught two”, Jimin said with a smirk as he went deeper into what appeared to be a walk-in closet. On one of the shelves, he grabbed an old potato-sack, and in there were two very fat and very dead rats.
Jungkook was so filled of euphoria, it felt like he could spread his arms and fly any second now. Tears began to sting in his eyes.
“Aww, Jungkookie, don’t cry”, Jimin said and stroked his back.
Jungkook rubbed his eyes. “I know”, he murmured with a thick voice, but still a tear fell.
Jimin opened his arms and pulled his dongsaeng into a hug. “It’s okay”, he said, still holding the sack with the dead rats. “You’ll be okay.”
Jungkook kept rubbing his eyes but nodded as Jimin let go of him. “Let’s find a place where we can cook these”, he said.
Jungkook nodded again, more eager this time. His body was shaking both of extreme hunger and excitement.
Finding fire wasn’t an easy task though. They didn’t want to grill their rats in front of everybody. There was a too high-risk people would try to steal what was theirs. Those who were stronger would succeed, and right now, there were many who were stronger.
Neither Jungkook nor Jimin had had a proper meal for ages. There weren’t any strong muscles in their scrawny bodies.
They looked just like most kids on the streets; skinny and lost. Most of them looked the same; their eyes had lost all life, and their skin was too dirty, and their hair was too brittle and lusterless.
The world didn’t care, because the world couldn’t afford to care. The crisis was everywhere, and the people on the top didn’t seem to mind it, or they would’ve stopped the war immediately.
Jimin and Jungkook hadn’t seen any fights or any attacks since that bomb rain almost six years ago. Their city had suffered enough.
“I’ll go find fire, Hyung”, Jungkook said.
He had completely forgotten about his bread in his trouser pocket when he hurried through one filthy street after another. He was soon back at the food market next to Busan train station.
There were many people with fire there, cooking meals and keeping them hot to sell.
“Please, may…”
“Scram, boy”, a gruffy man snarled. He was grilling some bark bread over an open fire, which he was selling – a slice for 500 won. That was almost as much as some people earned in a day.
Two women in their thirties handed him some cash for one slice each. They were nicer dressed than many, and were clearly working for the military. It only made sense. They’d also bought some hot soup at another stall, and were wishing each other a nice meal.
A little girl in rags quickly ran up to the women’s feet when one of them dropped a piece of napkin. The child who didn’t even reach their elbow had probably hoped it had been food.
The two young women ignored her, and so did Jungkook who yet again turned to the gruffy man. There was so much fire here.
“Please, I just want to borrow so… ah!” Jungkook cried out in pain when the man slapped him to the dusty ground.
“I don’t have time for brats coming and stealing my bread!” he was angry, and he looked scary. He was a big man, and although he clearly wasn’t wealthy, he had enough not to go hungry. “Get lost before I beat you to death!”
Jungkook quickly got up on his feet and hurried into the crowds; as far away as possible. His cheek was throbbing, but he couldn’t get discouraged; the rat meat was waiting to be cooked and eaten.
He tried another stall; a woman with a baby on her back. She was boiling noodle soup.
“Please…”
“I don’t have anything”, she interrupted him and waved her hand dismissively, as to tell him to leave.
Two little boys, not older than perhaps five or six years old dared to come closer too, probably hoping Jungkook would be able to beg for some left over food they could get their hands on.
The woman rolled her eyes; in the eyes of these sellers, the hungry street children were like vermin.
Jungkook had to change approach. “Fire”, he said instead, to make it clear, he wasn’t interested in her food.
“Go make your own fire!” she snapped a bit too loudly, because her baby on her back woke up and began crying. At least she had a soft heart for that one.
Jungkook decided to back away and try another stall. No one wanted to help him though; they were too used to older kids trying to steal from them.
His confidence was affected badly, but he knew he couldn’t give up. He was way too hungry for that.
A hard wind caused some chairs to fall to the ground. There were quite some people gathering around the tables, eating and chatting. Another little girl managed to find some noodles that someone had left behind. She must be the luckiest; it didn’t happen often. Few people could afford to leave food behind.
The little girl quickly ran off to a safer spot before any other kid could come and try to steal it from her. In this world, it was either eat or be eaten, even for the little toddlers whose parents had left to find work elsewhere or in the worst-case scenario; died of starvation.
Jungkook went up to an old lady who was selling root vegetables. She didn’t have any fire, but maybe she knew where to get some.
“Please, fire”, he said as quickly as he could so she wouldn’t misunderstand. To his relief, she actually gave him a soft smile. Her eyes were filled of sadness.
She was probably in her sixties, if not seventies even.
“I’ve seen you try at other places to get fire”, she said, so very sympathetic. Jungkook didn’t recognize it.
“Yes, please, if you know where I could get it”, he literally begged her, even with his boney hands.
“Of course, sweetie”, she said. “I won’t come with you, because I can’t leave my vegetables, but if you go to Daeyeong Street, not very far from here, you’ll find a store that are repairing wagons and such… tell them Lee Soonbok sent you and is asking for fire.”
Jungkook immediately bowed deep in gratitude. “Thank you so much, thank you.”
The old woman smiled again. “Hurry up now, before it gets dark”, she said and Jungkook did just that. He couldn’t run, his body didn’t have the energy for that, but he hurried as fast as he could.
He wasn’t too sure where this store was, but it wasn’t too difficult to find. Just a few streets down the road, there was a sign with an arrow, pointing to the left. ‘We repair everything between heaven and earth’ it said. Jungkook let out a sigh in relief.
Only a minute later, he was at the door. It was open.
There were not only wagons here that needed to be repaired, but tables, bikes and many other things too.
A bell rang when the door closed behind Jungkook. It broke the silence for a second.
It didn’t take more than another second before a man arrived from another room. He wasn’t as old as the old lady, but not very young either. His smile fell and he looked skeptical when he saw Jungkook.
“What do you want, boy?” he asked a bit suspicious.
“Um… I…”, Jungkook began, feeling a bit awkward. It was years since he’d entered a store. Dirty street children weren’t usually very welcomed. “… Lee Soonbok told me to ask for fire in this store…” his heart was beating hard; he hoped the old lady hadn’t been mistaken.
The man looked a bit surprised but then he smiled. “Well, sure”, he said. “You need wood too?”
“I don’t have any money”, Jungkook murmured nervously.
“If Lee Soonbok needs it, then it’s free of charge”, he said. They were clearly close friends.
Jungkook immediately took advantage of that and nodded. “Yeah, wood… a-and if you have a tin bucket or something where we could reserve the fire…”
“Sure!” the man seemed to just be happy to help, and got to work. He was soon back with everything Jungkook needed. A tin bucket, wood and a little box of matches.
Jungkook’s dark doe eyes were huge, because he had a hard time believing that anyone would be this stupid as to leave all of this to a stranger. Imagine how much he could get by selling all of this!
Just the tin bucket could get them enough money for a week worth of yams and onion soup. Jungkook’s stomach began rumbling at the thought.
“Thank you, sir”, he said and bowed before quickly leaving the store. He didn’t want to stick around and give the man any chance to change his mind.
Jungkook put the box of matches in his trouser pockets; that was when he got reminded of the piece of bread. It didn’t fill him with happiness anymore though, but with shame. He’d hidden it from his Hyung; his best friend; his only friend while Jimin had caught rats for the both of them.
He didn’t deserve the bread.
It was with tired feet he began walking back to his new home.
A young man in military uniform but without any boots were leaning against a car. He looked too thin and too pale. Jungkook carefully went closer to see if he was dead; if so, he hoped the man had anything in his pockets.
He poked at the man’s cheek, but the man didn’t react.
Even more carefully, Jungkook put his hand in the man’s pockets, but they were unfortunately all empty.
Soon someone would come and steal his clothes, if the military didn’t find him first. Jungkook wasn’t going to be the one to steal them though; he continued walking instead, and was soon back with Jimin.
“Oh wow, that’s amazing!” Jimin said. “Let’s start.”
And so they did.
It was soon dark, but the fire helped them see enough in this empty room. The wind could be heard howling outside, but it couldn’t reach them. In here, next to the fire, they were warm and cozy.
They might find some blankets or perhaps even pillows to bring to their new home tomorrow.
“We could also try to make traps to catch more rats”, Jimin suggested. Jungkook liked that idea, but he didn’t show much enthusiasm. It wasn’t too odd, and Jimin probably just assumed it was because of the lack of food. It wasn’t though.
Jungkook was thinking about the bread in his pocket while he watched the fire. The rats were skinned and rinsed and were now getting grilled. They had to be careful so they didn’t burn. It had been difficult to get everything prepared with just sticks, stones and their bare hands, but they’d made it eventually.
Their stomachs were rumbling loudly.
“Last time we had meat, do you remember?” Jimin asked. “They were those fishbones… they were so good…! I keep going to that exact spot, but I guess we were lucky… but not as lucky as today.” He was in a great mood.
Jungkook didn’t answer, but he did remember. Someone from the food market had thrown them away because there were next to no meat on them anymore. They had been a bit oily, which had only made them taste even better.
He let out a deep sigh; it had been Jimin who’d found them and shared them with him.
The guilt was only growing, and he knew he couldn’t stay selfish anymore.
“Here”, he said and reached out the piece of bread, he was now offering to his Hyung.
Jimin smiled as he took it. “Did you find it now when you were out?”
“No”, he murmured. “Earlier.”
“That’s great”, Jimin said. “It’s not much, but it will be great with the meat…”
Jungkook nodded, not smiling.
“Here”, Jimin gave it back to him.
“What?”
“Finders keepers”, he said but Jungkook shook his head. He didn’t at all want it; not anymore.
“I want you to have it, Hyung”, he murmured.
“You’re giving it to me?”
Jungkook nodded. “Mm.”
“We can share”, Jimin offered but Jungkook quickly shook his head again. He noticed how confused his Hyung was.
“It’s like you said, it’s not much”, Jungkook said. “Like two bites tops.” And that being generous. “Please, Hyung, take it.”
“Thank you”, Jimin said and wrapped his arms around his dongaeng.
Jungkook dared to smile this time, and soon they were both hugging each other.
The meat was also soon ready to be consumed. It smelled wonderful.
“I almost can’t believe this is for real”, Jungkook said as he picked one of the sticks, which was holding the meat sturdy. It was very hot though.
“Be careful”, Jimin said and blew on it for Jungkook. “Try now”, he said when he thought it may be enough.
Jungkook ate as carefully as he could, which wasn’t easy because he was so awfully hungry. His urges wanted him to just swallow it whole. It was the best thing he’d eaten in years.
Jimin seemed to enjoy his just as much, and soon their dinner came to an end. Their tiny stomachs were full, and they were very satisfied, but also very exhausted.
They laid down together on the floor, next to the fire, and just snuggled like they always did. The closeness made them feel safe and calm. They’d both lost everything and now all they had was each other.
“Do you think there are a lot of rats in this building, Hyung?”
“Yeah, more than a lot”, Jimin assured.
Jungkook liked that thought. “Imagine if there had been a pig hiding in here too.”
Jimin chuckled and hugged his dongsaeng tighter. “We would be the richest kids in Busan.”
Jungkook liked that thought even more. “We would never go hungry again… and maybe we could move into a real house? With real beds and even electricity.”
“I think we would need more than just one pig to be able to afford all of that”, Jimin pointed out to Jungkook’s disappointed. He didn’t want to hear any realistic answers right now. He wanted to dream big! Jimin seemed to notice because he quickly continued by saying: “But maybe the pig leads us to a big paradise of pigs.”
Jungkook smiled, grateful for what his Hyung was doing.
“And then we could have a big kitchen with a lot of food”, Jimin kept talking, more and more, about all the food in the world.
“Even bibimbap?”
“Especially bibimbap”, Jimin confirmed.
“And kimchi?”
“All the kimchi you can eat”, Jimin said.
Jungkook licked the corners of his mouth. He loved to imagine it all; it was so beautiful. Food was the best thing in the whole wide world, and basically the only thing he had on his mind; from morning to night; even in his sleep.
Jimin was the same; it didn’t go many minutes at a time before food was yet again on his mind. Starving bodies only wanted one thing.
Jungkook yawned big and nuzzled his Hyung's neck. “Tired”, he murmured.
“Try to sleep some, okay?” Jimin whispered as he stroked his hair; it was getting very late.
“You too”, Jungkook whispered back, and it didn’t take long before they both fell asleep…