MIM 120 END

Shin-woo was immediately taken to the hospital but remained unconscious for days. The doctors said it was a miracle he was still breathing. Having lost too much blood and with broken ribs left untreated for too long, they said he would have died if help had been delayed by even a few minutes.

His failed mutation and drug-affected traits didn’t help matters either. Being neither omega nor beta made it unclear which treatment approach would be more effective. Recognizing the special circumstances, the hospital required Ma Jae-seung, as guardian, to sign consent forms before proceeding with multiple surgeries.

The consent forms detailed both the surgical procedures and Shin-woo’s abnormal traits, adding that the hospital couldn’t be held responsible if the surgery went wrong. Ma Jae-seung had to read and sign off on each possibility of things going wrong with Shin-woo.

The seasons changed while Shin-woo underwent several major surgeries.

Many people died, but surprisingly, Ma Jae-seung escaped charges. This was due to the extremely biased investigation by the Janggang police. With many high-ranking police officials and influential figures involved, there was a strong impression that higher-ups wanted to quietly bury the case. To prevent Ma Jin-seong’s research from becoming a topic of discussion, many of the actions Ma Jae-seung and Shin-woo had taken beyond self-defense were significantly downplayed.

The police, eager to wrap up the case, pinned everything on the deceased Joo-yeon. They fabricated evidence and twisted facts to make it appear she was the one who was killed by the hitmen she had hired. During this process, whether intentionally or by mistake, some evidence of Joo-yeon’s murder-for-hire was leaked to the media. The public was outraged, and sympathetic public opinion swelled.

Though there was chaos inside and out, Ma Jae-seung’s daily life flowed quietly. He stayed by Shin-woo’s hospital room, caring for him all day long. He slept at the hospital and ate at the cafeteria. He stayed there constantly except when returning home to shower.

“You’ll get sick this way. At least go get some fresh air.”

Butler Hwang finally forced Ma Jae-seung to leave the hospital. He tried to resist, asking what if Shin-woo woke up while he was gone, but it was futile in the end.

While walking around the hospital area looking at the bleak scenery, Ma Jae-seung suddenly wondered about where Shin-woo had grown up. Mangwol District. He had heard about it countless times but had never properly looked around. Maybe if he walked the paths Shin-woo had walked and took in the sights Shin-woo had seen, he could find the way for Shin-woo to return to him.

It was a foolish thought, but once it took hold, he couldn’t shake it. He impulsively turned around and strode toward the group of paparazzi following him.

“Jae-seung, over here!”

They grew more excited, taking photos as Ma Jae-seung approached. Some shouted for his attention, while others demanded specific expressions and poses. Scanning them with indifferent eyes, Ma Jae-seung grabbed the nearest one.

“Take me to Mangwol District. You’re going to follow me anyway, right?”

Ma Jae-seung headed to Mangwol District with his paparazzi entourage. Though they continued taking photos in the car, he was too distracted by the scenery outside to care. Looking through the car window at the path from the city’s largest hospital to Mangwol District felt strange. Past the tall, glamorous buildings and forests, abandoned buildings began appearing in his view. This was the entrance to Mangwol District.

The abandoned houses had open doors and no lights, with messy graffiti scrawled across their walls. The crumbling, tattered scenery looked not much different from the person who grew up here, which made him sad.

In the middle of this worn-down neighborhood, one new house stood out from the surroundings. The prominently standing house looked too familiar. As soon as he realized why, Ma Jae-seung urgently tapped the man’s shoulder.

“Stop here!”

Jumping out of the car, he ran frantically to the house he had just seen. Colorful walls. A wide yard and playground. A house that was like something from a fairy tale. Though built as a beautiful residence, upon arrival, he saw a large sign reading “Mangwol Shelter.” Children’s laughter occasionally leaked out from the house with no fence.

Ma Jae-seung tilted his head back to look up at the house before him. The block toy house he had given to Shin-woo when they were young had been recreated exactly, standing massive in the middle of Mangwol District.

“Hello.”

A woman who had been with the children approached Ma Jae-seung as he stood dazed, staring endlessly at the shelter. Ma Jae-seung barely tore his eyes away to look at her. Though he didn’t recognize her immediately due to her changed hair color, after looking carefully, it was a familiar face.

“I’m Yoon-mi. I used to sell ice cream in front of the school. Now I work here.”

“…”

“I know you don’t like me much, but I’m really worried. Is Shin-woo okay?”

At the question of whether he was okay, Ma Jae-seung’s mouth moved, but couldn’t properly answer. After waiting a long while for Ma Jae-seung who just blinked blankly, Yoon-mi carefully continued speaking.

“Shin-woo and I both grew up in Mangwol District. We weren’t even friends, barely acquaintances, but just…people from here, no matter where they go or what they do for a living, we silently support each other when we happen to meet. He bought ice cream from me often too.”

Since Ma Jae-seung’s situation had been in the news extensively, she seemed to already know the circumstances, and though usually not talkative, she was visibly making an effort. Ma Jae-seung forced his voice out of his dried throat.

“Here is…”

“It’s a shelter. A place where children with nowhere to go can stay. There are more abandoned children here than you can imagine.”

Before he could finish speaking, Yoon-mi answered perceptively. “Shelter.” Ma Jae-seung quietly mumbled while looking at the building.

“When was it built?”

“It was completed recently. The construction took quite a while due to complicated circumstances. Since this area is essentially lawless and ignored by the government, it wasn’t easy to build a welfare facility right in the middle of it. There was an anonymous donor…They not only spent a large sum of money but must have struggled quite a bit with all the legal issues that needed to be resolved.”

Yoon-mi, who was sharing information without being asked, seemed to already know the donor’s identity. Ma Jae-seung slowly nodded and firmly clenched his jaw. He had come here wondering how Shin-woo had lived, but he didn’t need to look around anymore to understand.

A house built by pouring in all the money Shin-woo had saved. There, children were laughing and playing together.

That night, a fire broke out at the Maseong mansion. Since the mansion was already empty, there were no casualties, and someone reported it in time, so the flames were extinguished before they could spread too far.

The painful memories, the mansion covered in blood, was completely consumed by the great fire, leaving nothing behind.

⚝⚝⚝

“Tastes bad.

The child looked down disapprovingly at the cold half-hotteok in his hand. It was the only edible thing he’d managed to find after digging through trash cans all day. The honey had completely hardened, and the dough was cold and chewy, making it difficult to swallow. While it was better than summer when food spoiled quickly, winter was equally challenging for finding food.

It was cold. The coat he’d barely managed to get by breaking into a clothing donation box was absurdly ineffective at keeping him warm. Looking down at his grimy T-shirt worn for too long, the child limped along. His ankle, which he’d sprained while running away last week, hadn’t healed yet.

With the cold hotteok in his increasingly numbing hands, the child finally reached a fork in the road. If he turned right, there was a basement where he stayed in a narrow alley corner. Though he desperately needed to go in and warm his hands and feet, the child hesitated there for a long while before finally walking in the opposite direction.

Walking straight until reaching the main road led to a bus stop. A place where countless children, including himself, had been abandoned. At this stop where buses hadn’t come for a long time, the child sat down and looked toward the entrance to Mangwol district.

“Shin-woo.”

How long had he been sitting there like that? He might have dozed off briefly. When he suddenly looked up, a boy was standing in front of him. A beautiful child with silver hair and green eyes.

“Ma Shin-woo.”

Ma Jae-seung called out to him and reached out his hand. Shin-woo stared blankly at the outstretched hand before carefully taking it.

Suddenly, a strong force pulled him. As his body jerked upright, a startled Shin-woo took a deep breath. The pressure that had been weighing on his chest lightened, giving him a floating sensation.

“Huk.”

With a short cry, Shin-woo opened his eyes. As his breathing cleared, his vision brightened dramatically. He could hear people moving busily and saw a pure white ceiling.

“Shin-woo!”

A voice called out right in front of him. Wet green flickered before his eyes. A boy covered in tears, no, twenty-year-old Ma Jae-seung, embraced him tightly. Shin-woo forced his eyelids up to take in as much of Ma Jae-seung as possible. As he breathed slowly, feeling the transmitted warmth, stability gradually returned.

In this tranquility, Shin-woo closed his eyes. Before they closed completely, his gaze lingered on their tightly clasped hands.