webnovel

Prologue:

As the sun started to sink into the horizon of the city, he walked into the livingroom to find his uncle's camera lying on the hazelwood coffee table that sat in front of the entertainment center. His hand wrapped around the handle and picked it up, its silver tint and the glare of the lens shining off against the kitchen light. 

"Hey, Suk! Suk!" He raised his voice to hear his uncle's reply coming from the balcony. He glanced out towards the open patio door to see his uncle's faint yet visible silhouette leaning against the dark railing, hunched over as he watched the graceful sunset. The sky was already a vast gradient of dark blue and black mixing into the lowering sun's red and orange. He watched from the living room as the sun hid behind the Hong Kong skyscrapers, his fingers rhythmically caressing the camera's indented screws and buttons, as if subconsciously learning the camera bit by bit as he prepared to continue his sentence. "Can I use your camera for a bit? I'm going out." His uncle turned around, a short cigarette in between his pointer and middle finger. "The sun's already set, y'know. Should've gone out earlier." The boy smiled at his uncle and looked down at the camera without even realizing it. "I wanted to take pictures of something else." His uncle stared at him with a blank look, then turned around towards the railing. "Sure. Just be back before dinner."

The boy turned towards the apartment door and gave one look back to his uncle before heading out. "Thanks Suk!", he gave a playful goodbye as he swiftly opened the door and closed it, partially-stumbling as he ran down the hallway towards the stairs to the roof.

Since he lived on the 32nd floor, it didn't take much time to make it up to the roof of his building. It definitely wasn't the tallest, but at the same time, it was taller than the shops that surrounded his apartment complex.

As he made his way up the last flight of stairs, his heart raced as he approached the dark-grey metal double-doors. He skipped the last few steps at the top and stumbled into the doors, bursting them open and rattling their small windows. He stood and stared at the dark sky as the sweat was washed from his face by a strong blast of wind that smelled slightly like his uncle's cigarette smoke. He was in bliss, as the heavy winds turned into a calming breeze, rushing through his smooth, black hair. 

He was lost in thought, thinking about the relaxing scenery at first, then wondering as to why he was up there. Just then, a feeling of urgency ran through his mind. He knew what he had to do. He sprinted around towards the open-rooftops and hopped from roof-over-roof, holding his camera as not to drop it as its handling strap slung over his neck and shoulder.

When he finally reached a building with the large red sign, he leaned over forward and gasped for air. He was thinking about how sore he was going to be the next day, when he heard a familiar song. It was the sweetest melody he's ever heard. As he looked up, his throat still dry and gasping for air, he heard it again. It was in front of him this time. "Jin? God, you took so long. I waited for an extra 5 minutes, you know."