MIM 21

“These fvcking bastards!”

Shin-woo cursed as soon as he opened his eyes. Anger surged through him as pain flooded in the moment he regained consciousness. His head throbbed and his neck, engraved with a barcode, burned. Shocking people with tasers and tattooing them without permission? And then asking to work together? It had been a while since he’d felt this angry.

How should he get back at these bastards? As Shin-woo jumped out of bed, his mind was filled with malice. He planned to smash everything he could get his hands on, steal expensive items, and trample their prized possessions. As he gritted his teeth and surveyed his surroundings, his eyes fell on a money bag. Whether it was deliberately placed by his bedside to soothe his anger or not, a huge money bag lay wide open.

On the verge of exploding with rage, Shin-woo first plunged his head into the money bag. He inhaled the scent of money deep into his lungs, then slowly exhaled to cool down. After doing this until his head felt dizzy, he felt somewhat better. He sat down properly and started counting the money.

“…Hmm?”

His anger gradually subsided as he counted the money. The bag contained bundles of large denomination bills, clearly a substantial amount even at a glance. After confirming it was well over 100 million won, Shin-woo stopped counting and picked up the bag. For a single tattoo, this wasn’t a bad deal.

Shin-woo quickly surveyed the shabby room, spat on the floor, and slung his jacket over his shoulder. It was obvious that people from Mangwol District who had been captured like him had stayed here before. Rich bastards putting their employees in a place like this. He smashed a chair and took one of its legs before heading out the door.

He expected to be under surveillance, but there was no one in front of the door. Shin-woo held his breath and surveyed his surroundings for a while.

Although the room was old and in poor condition, it had a certain traditional structure. Judging by the wide garden visible through the windows in the corridor, it appeared to be located next to the Ma mansion. Shin-woo pricked up his ears, wondering if he could find other people from Mangwol District. The next room was empty, and since the doors locked from the outside, he could easily peek inside.

The state of the empty room was dreadful. Shin-woo nervously closed the door after briefly scanning the wallpaper stained with mold and blood. Had they kept people locked up here? He couldn’t help but laugh at Ma Jin-seong’s confidence in not even posting a single guard. With this much money, they thought people would be tempted even after such treatment. The arrogant attitude of not even trying to stop people from leaving after doing such things irritated him. Shin-woo gnashed his teeth, remembering Ma Jin-seong sitting cross-legged and smoking.

“Shin-woo, where are you?”

Shin-woo, who had been striding confidently down the corridor, stopped abruptly. He was prepared to strike anyone who rushed at him with the chair leg, but he hadn’t expected to hear his name called. For a moment, his heart skipped a beat. Was it because he had never had a name for half his life? He had inadvertently responded to the name Ma Jin-seong had given him as if bestowing charity.

Regardless of how annoying it was, he was curious about who was calling his name. It wasn’t Ma Jin-seong. The much younger voice carried no trace of malice.

Shin-woo held his breath and quietly approached the stairs, peering down at the floor below where the voice had come from. A white-haired man was sitting near the stairs, engrossed in something. He seemed too young to have such a large man’s voice. Shin-woo narrowed his eyes and observed the things scattered around the man.

Toy blocks. The man was playing with blocks.

“Shin-woo!”

The man called out once more, loudly. An adult man’s body, but with a child’s voice at the top of his lungs.

The dissonance sent a chill down his spine, and for a moment, his grip loosened. The chair leg he had dropped clattered down the stairs. The man playing with blocks snapped his head up to look at the top of the stairs. As soon as Shin-woo met those clear green eyes, he remembered who he was.

It was Ma Jae-seung, the young master of the Ma family who had walked into Mangwol District of his own accord.

Only then did Shin-woo properly see the flowing silver hair. The child had grown unrecognizably in just two years, hardly believable as the little boy from back then. He was only ten years old then, so he should be just twelve now, but his shoulders were as broad as Shin-woo’s, who was considered very tall for a sixteen-year-old.

It was a bizarre sight. Jae-seung had the skeleton of an adult, but his voice still hadn’t shed its childish tone, and the shirt he wore was so small that his back muscles were visible through it. His hunched posture seemed to be due to the ridiculously small shirt. The colorful blocks scattered around him added to the sense of incongruity.

What had happened in those two years? As Shin-woo blinked in bewilderment, Jae-seung smiled, lifting the corner of his mouth.

“You’re awake?”

“……”

“I heard you agreed to do my father’s errands. Why? Have you already spent the 500 million won?”

Each question was difficult to answer. Ma Jae-seung, looking just like his father, seemed cheerful despite knowing that Shin-woo had kidnapped him, showing no signs of fear. The only slight difference was that the boy was still not completely adept at hiding his emotions.

The kid was annoyed. Very much so.

Shin-woo’s mind raced. Jae-seung might be big, but he probably lacked skills, so if they fought properly, Shin-woo could knock him out. Should he kidnap him again? Dealing with Ma Jin-seong for ransom would be dangerous, so maybe he could just sell photos or information to the media for money. Jae-seung had never been seen outside the mansion, so there was rarity value. If it became known that the twelve-year-old Jae-seung had grown up in the blink of an eye, various media outlets would compete to buy his photos.

This is all karma for those who let a kidnapper back into their home. Shin-woo slowly went down the stairs, watching the situation, with the intention of committing a repeat offense. Jae-seung stared at Shin-woo without paying any attention to the block in his hand.

He remained seated quietly until Shin-woo approached. Jae-seung spoke just as Shin-woo stepped on the last stair.

“You’re not my father’s man, you’re a reward given to me.”

Meeting those eyes filled with determination vividly recalled their first encounter. Though he had thought no trace of the boy from two years ago remained, he was wrong. That purely arrogant attitude, the resentful expression, and those beautifully sparkling eyes despite it all – these remained unchanged to a surprising degree.

“Don’t you not understand the meaning of the word ‘reward’? Seems like you just picked it up somewhere and are using it as you please.”

Shin-woo couldn’t help but speak to Jae-seung. Although he needed to escape as soon as possible, the boy was too intriguing to just pass by. Jae-seung raised his thick eyebrows at Shin-woo’s words and chuckled.

“Are you stupid? Rewards are given when you’re in pain. People who endure suffering always get rewards.”

As soon as the conversation started, Ma Jae-seung showed his true colors. He wasn’t lying about his age or experiencing miraculous growth – he was just a child with an adult’s body. Stubbornly insisting on his own way and imitating adults’ speech was the extent of it.

The red skin peeking out from above his shirt collar caught Shin-woo’s eye. It looked like severe atopy or maybe a burn. The large hands fiddling with the blocks were red with stretch marks. The skin that had been fine two years ago was now a mess.

People who endure suffering. That one phrase stuck in his mind.

Was Ma Jae-seung being abused? Trapped in this mansion without communicating with anyone?

“Didn’t I tell you not to play here? Why are you sniffing around the doghouse?”

The sudden appearance of a man broke the gaze they had been holding for a while. Judging by his well-dressed appearance and attitude towards Jae-seung, the man seemed to be Jae-seung’s older brother. Shin-woo didn’t know the complex family tree of the Ma family exactly, but he had heard there was a child from a previous marriage.

“It’s my choice.”

When his older brother appeared, Jae-seung finally showed an expression fitting his age. He pouted his lips and turned his back on his brother. Though it seemed like dislike, there was a subtle hint of attention-seeking in his broad back.

However, the brother didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of indulging Jae-seung. He strode over and roughly grabbed the back of Jae-seung’s neck.

“I knew it. Is it because of your lowly origins? Why do you keep stealing my clothes and making a fuss? It’s disgusting.”

“No! It’s mine!”

As Jae-seung struggled and twisted his body, his older brother, unable to match his strength, stumbled back. The shirt that had found the wrong owner lost a button with that single movement. The strength of the twelve-year-old boy was beyond imagination.

“You monster…”

The older brother voiced aloud the thought Shin-woo had only been thinking. These brothers clearly didn’t get along. As Shin-woo watched from the sidelines, the older brother, unable to contain his anger, stomped on Jae-seung’s blocks, destroying them.

“Do you think Father will accept you if you wear my clothes and imitate me?”

“You’re a fake!” The brother’s venomous scream echoed against the ceiling. As if time had stopped, Jae-seung’s hunched back remained motionless for a while. Then, with hands mottled with stretch marks, he pushed away his brother’s foot and began picking up the blocks. The glossy shoes mercilessly trampled the little block figures, no bigger than a pinky finger.

Shin-woo, who had been watching blankly, clenched his fists. His insides were boiling. It seemed that the heat he had been feeling had now spread to his toes.