Every day had always been a nightmare for Leo. He always got scolded if he didn’t obey Junkwang. Junkwang was very abusive. He didn’t hesitate to kick or beat him even if Leo just made a small mistake. Leo was hurt. He couldn’t sleep well. He always cried at night. He hated his life, and he hated N.

“why did he do that? Is he happy that I’m hurt like this?” said Leo weakly as he cried in his room.

But, then Junkwang entered his room without knocking the door. Leo was really shocked. He wiped his tears harshly as fast as he could. But, Junkwang already saw him.

“hey, little boy... Were you crying?” asked Junkwang, smirking at him.

Leo was afraid. He really wanted to get out of the room.

“you know that I won’t stay put if you cry, right?”

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. I just miss my brother.” Said Leo. He knew that it would be better for him to tell the truth.

“why would you miss him when he is the one who sold you to me?” asked Junkwang

Leo bowed his head.

Junkwang approached him and he grabbed his hair.

“arghh, it hurts. Please stop.” Said Leo

Junkwang stopped and then he kicked Leo in his chest.

“arghhh...” Leo fell down. His chest ached so bad. It looked like his rib was broken

Leo couldn’t move. He just stayed still in his place. It was really hard for him to even breath.

“never cry even if I’m not around, you understand? If you cry again, then you’ll get it again from me!”

Leo nodded. He held his chest. He groaned in pain. It was really hurt. He couldn’t take it anymore. He just wished that he would faint and die. But, his wish didn’t come true. He had to bear the pain all night long. That was what made him stop cry. Since that day, he never cried again. Never.

                                                                ----------------

It was the first day for N to go to school in Korea.  Anna dropped him off at the school.

“see you, N.”

“see you.” Said N

Thanks to Anna that N was able to speak normally like he used to. He had learned a bit about Korean language, like how to introduce himself. So, he was a bit confident.

“hello everyone. I’m Carson Maverick Leighten, but you can just call me N. I hope we can get along well.” Said N when he introduced himself in Korean.

Then, he sat in the front cause that was the only empty seat in the room. N didn’t like sitting in front, but he couldn’t refuse.

“hello.” Said N to his new seatmate

“oh hello.” Said his seatmate as he smiled. He looked so friendly.

“what’s your name?” asked N

“Wonshik. Kim Won Shik. Nice to meet you.” Said Wonshik

“nice to meet you too.” Said N

“hey, you the new student. You can chat after the class is over, okay?” said the teacher.

N and Ravi nodded in embarrassment. Though N didn’t understand what did the teacher said, he knew  that the teacher was scolding him. He just smiled shyly.

                                                                                                ----------

“oh my, the new student is so ugly.” Said one of N’s friends.

N didn’t know what they said. So, he just stayed still. He still didn’t know much about Korean.

“hey, watch your mouth.” Said Wonshik

“oh, Wonshikkie is defending him... What a couple of losers!” said his friend.

“N-ssi, let’s go.” Said Wonshik

Wonshik held N’s hand and he led him to the canteen.

“I’m not hungry.” Said  N

“I’m not asking you to eat.” Said Wonshik

“yes? I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“arghh.. it’s hard to speak to a foreigner.” Said Wonshik

“sorry?”

“no no no, never mind.” Said Wonshik

Wonshik then left him alone. He went back to the class, leaving N in confusion.

                                                                                     ----------

“how was your class?” asked Anna when she picked him up.

“horrible.”

“what? Why?”

“my friends ignore me, and I don’t know why.”

“it’s because you don’t know Korean.”

“uhmm... Can you teach me how to speak Korean?”

“sure. Why not? I’ve been thinking of hiring a Korean teacher for you” asked Anna

“really?”

“yup. I’ll tell her to come this afternoon then.”

“thank you.” Said N.

“you’re welcome.

           ------------

“homework... Homework.. And homework.. When would he stop giving me a bunch of homework?!” Leo grumbled when he did his homework.

“Korean is so hard.... Ughh.. I don’t understand.”

Boom! Crack!!

The sound of a gun was heard by Leo. He was shocked. He froze.

“who was it?” yelled Junkwang.

Leo ran out of the room to see what happened. He went to the living room, and Junkwang was standing there.

Then, Leo saw a bullet on the floor. The bullet must be ricocheted off a nearby wall. There was so much broken glass. It looked like the bullet went through the window.

“what is happening?” asked Leo

Junkwang looked at him.

“go back to your room! It’s dangerous! Go back now!” yelled Junkwang

Leo went to his room quickly. He chose to obey Junkwang’s order.

Then, Junkwang left. He went somewhere with his car, bringing a gun.

Leo’s heart pounded so fast. He was really taken aback by what was happening back there.

“does Junkwang have an enemy? Is it related to his work? Oh.. I don’t even know what his job is.” Said Leo.

Then, he decided not to think about it. He finished his homework.

                                                                                -----------

The bell rang. So, Leo pressed the password to open the door cause Leo’s Korean teacher came. Junkwang already told him the password several days ago.

Then, they went to Leo’s room to study.

“hey, Taekwoon. The window in the living room is broken. Why is that?” asked Leo’s Korean teacher.

“I don’t know.” Said Leo

“did someone fire a gun?”

“excuse me?”

“ah, someone must’ve had fired a gun.”

“what... what do you mean? How did you know?”

“it happens often.”

“pardon?” asked Leo

“forget it. You’ll get used to it eventually. Oh right, where is your homework? Have you finished it?”

“I have. Here.” Said Leo

                          ---------

At night, Leo sat in the living room. He waited Junkwang. He kept staring at the broken window. Then, he approached it and he started cleaning the broken glass. At that time, Junkwang came.

“hey, what are you doing?” asked Junkwang when he saw Leo

“I’m cleaning these.”

“what? No.. Don’t! Just leave it be. I will clean it. Go away. You may hurt your feet and hand.” Said Junkwang. He asked Leo to go.

“I’m okay. I’ll clean it.” Said Leo

“no, don’t! It’s dangerous. I bought the food. Just prepare the table for dinner. I will clean it.” Said Junkwang as he gave a plastic bag that contained food.

“uhmmm, okay.” Leo hesitated, but he agreed.

When Leo was preparing the table, Leo thought of something.

“why is he being so nice to me? Does he have a dissociative identity disorder?” thought Leo

Although Leo was still 8 years-old, he already knew about something like that. That was because he liked to read medical books. His taste was unusual indeed.

When Leo and Junkwang were having a dinner, Leo dared to ask Junkwang several questions.

“uhm.. May I know what is your job?” asked Leo

Junkwang stopped eating. He stayed silent for a moment.

 “you better not know.” Said Junkwang

Leo nodded in understanding.

“oh, right. I’m thinking of increasing the time for you to learn self-defenses. What do you think?”

“uh? Oh.. I’m.. I’m okay with that. But.. Why?” asked Leo

“you saw what happened back then, right? I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Said Junkwang

Leo was surprised.

“what? He didn’t want me to get hurt? But why does he always abuse me? He even kicked my chest yesterday” thought Leo. His chest was still hurt.

“I hope we can get along well, like the other family.” Said Junkwang.

Leo just bowed his head.

“Leo, will you be Jung Jun Kwang’s son, Jung Taekwoon? Are you willing to do that? I mean sincerely”

“uhm, yeah.”

“then you should call me ‘father’.”

“alright, I will.” Said Leo

“hahaha, that’s good.  This is worth cringing, but.. .hahaha.. Hmm.. By the way, tomorrow is your first day to go to school, right?”

“yes.”

“okay then. Never tell anyone that you are Leo. Tell your new friends that you are Jung Taek Woon, okay? No one can find out.”

“okay.”

Leo smiled. He decided to open up to Junkwang cause he didn’t have anyone but him.

                                                                            -----------

The next day....

When Anna picked N from school, she saw him surrounded by his friends. N was crying. So, Anna approached him quickly.

“hey, what happened?” asked Anna

Knowing that Anna was there, N’s friends went home. But Wonshik was there.

“what happened, N?” asked Anna to N.

N didn’t say a word. He kept crying.

“hey, what happened to him?” asked Anna to Wonshik in Korean

Then, Wonshik explained everything. So, N was bullied because he didn’t know Korean. Their friends also about his name.

“ahh I see. Okay then, let’s go. Let’s talk at home.” Said N

“thank you, boy. We’ll get going. You should go back home, too.” Said Anna to Wonshik

Wonshik nodded.

                                                                                --------

“don’t cry, N-ah. They bullied you just because you don’t know Korean. You did nothing wrong.” Said Anna at home

“they also teased my name.”

“uhmm, then how if I give you a Korean name?”

“Korean name? That sounds good.”

At that time, Gijeong came.

“oh honey, have you finished your work already?” asked Anna

“no, I just came to have a lunch here. Oh, wait, why is N crying?” asked Gijeong

“he got bullied by his friends. His friends teased his name.”

“oh, really?”

“yeah. So, I suggest him to use a Korean name.”

“oh, that’s a good idea. What do you think, N?”

“I agree. I want to change my name.”

“you don’t need to change your name. It’s your parent’s present after all. You can just introduce yourself with your Korean name.” Said Gijeong

“okay then.” Said N

“do you want me to give you the name?” asked Gijeong

“will you? That would be nice.” Said N

“uhmm.. How about Cha Hak Yeon?”

“Cha Hak Yeon? Uh,, isn’t it the name that we want to give to our child?” asked Anna

“yeah, but N is like our child, right?” asked Gijeong

“yup, you’re right. What do you think, N? Is Cha Hak Yeon okay?”

“yes, I like it.” Said N

“okay then. We’ll call you Hakyeon from now on. You should tell your friends as well.” Said Anna

“thank you.” N smiled brightly.

------------

“why didn’t you finish your homework, huh?” asked Leo’s Korean teacher

“I’m sorry. I went to school today. And in the afternoon I learnt a lot of self-defense. So, I didn’t have a time to finish it all. I’m really sorry.” Said Leo

“did your father ask you to learn self-defense?”

“yeah. He even increases the time and add another teacher.”

“hmmm.. That must be hard. But, it’s just the beginning. You’ll get something more later.”

“sorry?”

Leo was really confused.

‘Why does he always say strange things?’ thought Leo

“nothing.” Said the teacher

“uhm.. Mr. Kang, do you know what my father’s job is?”

“what? You didn’t know?”

“no, he never told me.”

“what? You sure? Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it. How could you not know about it? Are you sure you don’t know about it? Or are you just pretending not to know?”

‘He is always being so cold to me. But, why is he so talkative when talking about my father?’thought Leo

“no, I don’t know. Please tell me.” Said Leo

“uhmm... Actually...” The teacher paused for a moment.

“actually, he is one of the greatest mafia bosses. He owns a lot of places for gambling like betting shop and casino.”

“what?!”

Note: I'm sorry for this boring chapter. I have to explain things (such as their background) so that you know the story. I hope you won't get bored, haha. Thank you =D