MIM 20

The boy had no name. He had once been called Dojin and Juwon, but he chose not to be called anything. A child who had no one to consistently call him by his name didn’t need a name.

“Call me whatever you like, sir.”

Therefore, the boy’s answer to the question about his name was honestly and innocently given. There was nothing he could do even if the other person found it rude. A name that didn’t exist before wouldn’t be created just because someone with great power and wealth asked.

The boy calmly looked up at the man in front of him, Ma Jin-seong.

Ma Jin-seong slowly uncrossed his legs and raised the corners of his mouth. It was a mischievous expression, completely different from the gentlemanly image he had shown through the media. The boy looked directly into the eyes that were carefully scanning him. There was no sign of displeasure in his playful smile.

A long sofa and table, a bookshelf that filled an entire wall, and an antique-designed desk. Ma Jin-seong’s study was unreasonably spacious, as if it had been designed to deliberately waste space. In a city where land prices were exorbitantly high, this inefficient use of space seemed like a show of wealth.

What business could the chairman of a giant corporation have with someone like a street thug? He must have plenty of people to run errands for him, so the reason he came all the way to the Mangwol district to find someone couldn’t be purely innocent. For example, he might need someone whose birth was not registered and therefore had no official record, someone who could disappear one day without anyone looking for them.

There are truckloads of people from the Mangwol district who have disappeared after being summoned to the Ma family over the past few years.

Where have those people all evaporated to? It would be an overly optimistic guess to think they were alive somewhere. He was very curious about what they had experienced in Ma family, since there was a high probability that they were no longer of this world.

So he came. To see for himself what on earth is happening here. The boy did not shy away from the persistent gaze.

“Don’t stand uncomfortably, sit down. Have you eaten?”

Ma Jin-seong raised his handsome eyebrows and gestured toward the sofa across from him. His face, which dramatically changed expression with just a slight movement of his features, seemed more like that of an actor than a corporate chairman.

His eyes gave off a clean impression, and the striking blue of his irises was unusually harmonious. The line from his forehead to his nose was smooth, as if drawn. To those who didn’t know better, he had a flashy appearance that could easily deceive.

But the boy was not that naive. He sat down on the sofa Ma Jin-seong pointed to and lifted his chin.

“Please get to the point. I have somewhere to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“To eat.”

Ma Jin-seong laughed heartily at the boy’s provocation. His cheerful laughter was so bright that it made the boy feel awkward for wanting to see a displeased expression on his face. It was as if Ma Jin-seong was saying that someone like him could not disturb his mood; even his laughter carried an air of intimidation.

After laughing for a while, he nodded toward the bag on the table.

“I want to buy your time.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. The conversation won’t take long.”

It must be cash. The boy nodded but deliberately did not check inside the bag. Revealing greed in front of someone who tries to buy everything with money would only lead to being looked down upon.

Ma Jin-seong stared blankly at the boy’s cheek as he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. A strange tension filled the air as the end of the cigarette burned and smoke rose. The children of Mangwol District disappeared beyond Ma Jin-seong’s eyes.

“I have a job for you. The pay will be more than enough.”

Ma Jin-seong got to the point as he extinguished the cigarette he hadn’t smoked much in the ashtray. When he lifted his head from the crushed cigarette, his white teeth caught the boy’s eye. Ma Jin-seong was grinning as if he found something amusing.

“I like the people from your Mangwol District. The ones who survived there have a certain venom. Maybe it’s because they have no family, but they’re not tied down by petty emotions; how should I put it… they’re tenacious.”

Ma Jin-seong deliberately pronounced each word clearly, taking his time. It was a rhetoric used by skilled speakers to persuade their audience. Throughout his speech, Ma Jin-seong’s gaze remained fixed on the boy’s face without moving an inch.

“Among them, you are special.”

“What makes me special?”

“You kidnapped Jae-seung, didn’t you?”

The unexpected words shot through like an arrow. Instead of reacting hastily, the boy stiffened and carefully observed the situation. Ma Jin-seong appeared nonchalant, as if he were just exchanging pleasantries, but the atmosphere in the room grew heavier with each passing second.

It had been two years since that incident. He had touched the son of a massive capitalist and had received a considerable amount of money, so he had kept a low profile for a while after the incident. He had kept his ears open for rumors on the street, but he had never heard that the Ma Family was looking for the kidnapper of Ma Jae-seung. It seemed that it was more important for them that the young master’s runaway incident did not make it to the news than to pursue the kidnapper.

It was not the first time the Ma Family had taken someone from the Mangwol District, and he never expected that this topic would come up now. The boy quickly scanned his surroundings, ready for people to burst in or for guns to appear at any moment. Ma Jin-seong smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t call you here to talk about that. I actually admire the guts you had to come here on your own! I’m serious about offering you a job.”

“…”

“You’re quite famous in that area.”

The smile slowly faded from Ma Jin-seong’s lips. The wrinkles around his eyes, which are typical of persons who smile frequently, eventually disappeared revealing shadowy eyes. His sharply focused eyes shone cruelly.

“You just have to run some errands. I’ll let you know what the job is once you accept the offer. It will be less dangerous than what you’ve been doing to survive. Every job comes with a reward. I promise.”

“…”

“What do you think? Do you want to work under me?”

The boy stared blankly at Ma Jin-seong. He was a man like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or rather, a ghost in the guise of a wolf. The boy couldn’t even begin to guess why Ma Jin-seong would want to work with someone who had kidnapped his son.

All the people who had been called to the Ma Family and had gone missing must have died without exception. After meeting the chairman directly, he felt certain of it.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be going now.”

Ma Jin-seong was not surprised by the straightforward rejection. Rather, he seemed to have expected such a reaction, comfortably leaning back on the sofa and pulling out a new cigarette. The boy averted his gaze from him. Having reached a conclusion, there was no reason to linger.

“You’re taking a difficult path.”

A word mixed with laughter stopped the boy’s feet as he was about to leave the room. Just as he was about to turn back to ask what he meant, the door burst open, and men in suits rushed in. By the time he realized it, he was already surrounded. Ma Jin-seong watched the boy cornered in an instant while smoking.

“It would be easier if you believed you had a choice.”

Cigarette smoke rose beyond the shoulders of the men. Six men. Judging from their rigid postures, they were trained men who were on a different level from street thugs. As the boy assessed the situation and looked for an opening, Ma Jin-seong’s voice drew closer.

“It’s okay. I’m not trying to hurt you; I just want to mark my property. That way, it’ll be easier to find when it gets lost.”

Standing behind the men, Ma Jin-seong was about half a head taller than them. Therefore, his slanted eyes were clearly visible. He was smiling down at them all.

At Ma Jin-seong’s instruction, the man standing in front unbuttoned his shirt sleeves. He immediately prepared to fight back, but instead of swinging his fist, the man twisted his wrist and showed the inside.

The barcode engraved on his skin was large and clear.

“What kind of job are you offering… what a perverted bastard.”

As the boy muttered in disbelief, Ma Jin-seong burst into laughter. With the sound of his loud laughter as a signal, the men charged.

The boy lowered his stance and charged forward with all his might. He kicked the man who lost his balance and dashed out, grabbing the ashtray where Ma Jin-seong had crushed his cigarette.

When facing multiple opponents, the longer the fight drags on, the more disadvantageous it becomes, so it must be efficient. He needed to attack a vital point or take out at least one of them quickly. The boy aimed the ashtray at the forehead of the man rushing at him and threw it with all his strength. He could tell just from the sound that the man’s head had been crushed.

As he threw the object to attack, the men scattered in all directions, beginning to pressure the boy. Although the space was wide, it was not open enough to escape easily. The boy rolled up his pants and pulled out the pocket knife he had tucked into his socks.

A hit to the head would be fatal. He would take out the leader first with the most lethal blow. A snake without a head might wriggle, but it wouldn’t find its way. The boy skillfully turned the knife in his hand and turned his body toward Ma Jin-seong. For a brief moment, a look of surprise crossed Ma Jin-seong’s face, which had been overflowing with confidence.

“Shoot!”

One of them shouted. A gun? The boy quickly scanned the men, and when his gaze returned to Ma Jin-seong, it was already too late. The chairman, whom he thought would never get his hands dirty, was holding a gun.

“Shit….”

The boy muttered through clenched teeth. Guns are the most dangerous weapons because they are so damn expensive. When he was holding his breath, trying to avoid the bullets that could come flying at him at any moment, something else flew instead of the bullet. The moment a strong electric current passed through his body, his pocket knife fell to the floor. It was only after he fell that he saw the weapon that had attacked him. A stun gun. Three of them were holding it. They had no intention of having a gentlemanly conversation in the first place.

The men dragged the boy and threw him onto the sofa, pinning down his arms and legs one by one. In his blurred vision, a man covered in tattoos appeared. Because of the tattoos, he couldn’t immediately tell that he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

He was holding a large needle. He was going to carve a barcode. As soon as he realized it, the boy gathered all his remaining strength and resisted.

“You Bastard! Are you not going to let go?”

“Haha, this will be fun to train!”

As the tattoo artist examined the boy’s arm, Ma Jin-seong excitedly leaned in, trying to gauge where to engrave the barcode, his fingers delicately brushing over the boy’s skin. Ma Jin-seong’s hand stroking the hair was creepier than the hand holding the needle. Ma Jin-seong even whispered gently in the boy’s ear that it wouldn’t hurt.

“Not there… somewhere more visible.”

At Ma Jin-seong’s direction, the tattooist who had been feeling his wrist raised his head. Ma Jin-seong grabbed the boy’s hair and twisted his head forcibly. Then he dug his nails into the straight neck that was clearly visible.

“Here.”

The needle soon touched the spot where Ma Jin-seong pressed down. The boy gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. The hot wound just formed was being stained with ink. The barcode was being engraved.

“From today, your name is ‘Shin-woo.’”

Just before his consciousness faded, he heard his name called. Shin-woo lost consciousness just like that.