Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Unwanted Company
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Kanghyeok, who was about to go inside, stopped and looked at them.
*'What are these bastards doing here?'*
*Click.*
As if disappointed that he hadn't opened the door this time either, the lock engaged weakly.
*Thump! Thump!*
With exaggerated strides, as if they had made some great resolution, the boys approached. Kanghyeok took his hand completely off the door and watched them.
*'Why?'*
He had thrown the kid who stole his laptop over the railing.
Could this be revenge for that?
But for that, their eyes lacked any killing intent.
Kanghyeok confirmed their hands were empty and narrowed his eyes. He couldn't fathom why these kids were doing this.
"I have something to say."
His voice trembled slightly.
Kanghyeok exhaled through his slightly parted lips, his gaze posing the question.
"What."
"Did you, Chino, really wipe out Johannes's gang?"
After a moment of silence, Kanghyeok answered with a nod.
He had thought a lot in that brief moment.
*Were these kids members of Johannes's gang too? If so, were they here for revenge? Or were the remnants of the gang hiding around the corner of the hallway?*
Kanghyeok had answered while checking their pockets for pistols. The kid on crutches flinched, and the other one, who had a strangely innocent air about him, had his eyes sparkle.
"Really? Is it true? Did you really wipe them all out, Chino?"
Kanghyeok replied, his eyes on the empty corner of the hallway.
"If you have nothing else to say, get lost."
"N-no! I do. I do."
The boy waved his hands dismissively and closed the distance even more. Then, he nudged the one on crutches.
The boy on crutches squeezed his eyes shut and twisted his lips as he opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry."
His voice was barely a whisper.
And it was an unexpected thing to say.
As Kanghyeok stared at him blankly, the boy continued in an even quieter voice.
"I'm sorry for stealing the laptop."
"Chino! I brought him here."
Whether something had happened between the two, or because he had confirmed directly from Kanghyeok that he was the rumored Asian, the look in the eyes of the boy on crutches was unimaginable from the person he was before.
Just looking at his eyes now, he looked like a schoolyard tough guy who'd just gotten his ass handed to him.
Meaning his eyes were still fierce, but his spirit was completely broken.
"I've thought about it a lot. I'm sorry."
The boy bowed his head, pressing his palms together as if he were some kind of monk.
He must have thought this was the proper way to apologize to an Asian.
Kanghyeok, dumbfounded, stared at him before letting out a dry laugh and asking.
"What did you think about?"
As if this was a first for him, the boy's eyes trembled nervously. He silently mouthed a curse, then swallowed his pride and forced himself to speak.
"We're almost adults."
"So?"
"I thought becoming gangsters was our only choice. All the older guys we knew growing up joined gangs."
*This was the only way of life they knew.*
That was the gist of it, but ignorance isn't always an excuse.
Kanghyeok unconsciously touched his forehead, and the guilty one flinched.
"S-sorry."
Kanghyeok dropped his hand from his forehead and gave him a cold look.
"I don't need your apology. I have no intention of accepting it."
Knowing that an apology from someone who's been beaten lacks sincerity, Kanghyeok's words made the boy on crutches' face harden.
"Did you just come here to apologize?"
It was the other boy who spoke up in the awkward silence.
"No."
Stepping in front of his trembling friend, he spoke with extreme caution.
"Teach us how to fight."
*What are these kids thinking?*
*First an apology, and now they're here to ask for a favor?*
*But... how to fight?*
His eyes and voice were too tense and desperate for it to be a joke. Kanghyeok looked down at him, his expression gradually twisting.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah!"
The urge to slap the boy who had answered so readily flashed through his mind.
They probably weren't naively asking how to fight with their fists. Given the neighborhood, they were likely asking how to fight with a gun. These kids had come to ask him to teach them how to kill people.
*Dammit, how to kill people!*
Even in a place like this, those words shouldn't come from the mouth of someone not yet an adult.
Even Kanghyeok had never killed anyone when he was a minor.
Of course, during his school days, he had fought in brawls, against guys with knives, and against those who came at him with steel pipes or bricks.
But he had only killed someone after he became an adult.
The sensation of killing someone is not something kids should experience.
A cooling corpse lies before you, blood staining your face and hands.
The strangely hot air and an unfamiliar smell assault your nostrils, bringing on dizziness and nausea all at once.
The word 'horrible' doesn't even begin to describe it.
No matter the reason—a mission, self-defense, securing a hostage—killing is killing, and no amount of excuses can ever change that fact.
Of course, as with everything in the world, you become numb to it with repetition.
From then on, something else becomes a pain in the ass.
When you're falling asleep, walking down the street, or even when a random minor you don't even know strikes up a conversation, you become wary, wondering if someone is coming for revenge.
You have to live like that for the rest of your life.
*Your entire life!*
"Hah!"
The naive look in the boys' eyes made him feel suffocated, and a sigh escaped him.
"Get lost. And don't you ever say something like that again."
As Kanghyeok reached for the door again, the boy quickly squeezed his body between the door and Kanghyeok.
"W-wait! It's not like it'll cost you anything to teach us."
"If you leave now, I'll consider this a prank or a joke."
Whether the boy wasn't smart enough to understand the warning or had some other reason, he blocked Kanghyeok's path more firmly and raised his voice.
"It's not a joke!"
Kanghyeok grabbed the boy's ear, twisted it, and pushed him aside.
"Aaaargh!"
It wasn't a gentle or playful pinch.
"Let go, let go! This is too much!"
He had pinched with enough force that the other boy, acting the part of a friend, tried to stop him.
One would think this would teach him to watch his mouth in the future, but the boy, despite tears streaming down his face, clung to Kanghyeok's wrist.
"It's not a joke! I'm not kidding! I'm doing this because I don't want to die! I'll do anything you say. If you tell me to die, I'll even pretend to. I'll really do anything, so please!"
"What?"
Wondering if there was some story behind this, Kanghyeok let go.
Rubbing his bright red ear, the boy whimpered.
"I want to protect myself. I want to live without having to walk on eggshells around the gangs."
Kanghyeok looked at the two boys.
The one on crutches had his head down, but he was anxiously chewing his lip. The other one looked straight at Kanghyeok, his desperation plain to see.
*I want to protect myself.*
There are guys in Korea who say the same thing.
Because they hate being looked down on by others.
Because they hate being ostracized.
Or they'd say they wanted to protect themselves. They probably said it with desperation too.
But this kid's words carried a different weight.
Here, if you're weak, you get preyed on.
Even if you're strong, if you don't show it, hyena-like bastards will come sniffing around.
Just as Kanghyeok had for the past year.
Even Kanghyeok, who had the skills to take down anyone who picked a fight with him in an instant, felt his stomach churn. How would it be for those who were truly powerless?
Beginning to understand the kid's feelings, Kanghyeok's face hardened as he fumbled for the cigarettes in his pocket. The kid continued in a tearful voice.
"You know how it is, Chino. When you grow up here, you either become a gangster or a drunk. I don't want to end up like that."
Kanghyeok stared into the boy's eyes for a long time.
The eyes are a louder organ than the mouth, so looking at them like this...
"Dammit."
*He's completely serious.*
He didn't see a desire to learn how to shoot a gun and kill people, only the pure desire to keep himself safe.
Surprised that a kid like this existed in a neighborhood like this, Kanghyeok moved toward the railing and put a cigarette in his mouth.
*Click! Fwoosh!*
The boy watched Kanghyeok smoke without blinking. His politely clasped hands seemed to be tightly gripping the emotion of desperation.
After a period of time that felt unusually long, Kanghyeok stubbed out his cigarette on the railing and spoke.
"Whether you, whose names I don't even know, live or die is none of my business."
"Ch-Chino..."
Kanghyeok looked at him coldly and continued.
"And I don't want to get involved with gangs anymore."
Let's say he taught this kid how to shoot.
What if the kid shot at a gang member to protect himself?
Who would deal with the aftermath?
That's what it means to lend someone a hand.
It's not something you do without serious resolve.
"If you want to protect yourself, move."
The boy's shoulders slumped limply.
"Let's go."
The boy on crutches pulled at the other's shoulder. But the boy couldn't bring himself to leave, as if he still had lingering hope.
"I said, let's go."
"..."
"I told you this would happen."
The boy on crutches shot Kanghyeok a resentful look. As Kanghyeok turned his gaze toward the door, the other boy reluctantly started to walk away.
It was right after that.
"We have nowhere to go."
As Kanghyeok's gaze shifted to the boy's back, who was muttering like a pouting child.
"And my name is Yohan."
As if hurt by the comment about not knowing their names, the more naive-looking boy revealed his.
"This isn't the end. I'll keep pestering you until you grant my request."
And with that, the boys disappeared down the stairs.
*Tsk!*
Kanghyeok clicked his tongue and looked away from the stairs.
*'Why did you have to tell me your name.'*
He'd gone a whole year without knowing it.
It would have been much better to remain ignorant of their names, just as he had until now.
Kanghyeok took a deep breath through his nose and shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.
*Beep! Click.*
As the door opened, a new annoyance greeted Kanghyeok.
"You're late."
A chair placed in the middle of the room.
And sitting in it was a Black man in a suit.
The familiar face looked up from his wristwatch with yellowed eyes and spoke.
"William?"
Kanghyeok uttered the name like a groan, his face hardening.
He hadn't expected the company's HR manager to be waiting for him inside his home.