Kiseop knocked on the door of his supervisor. He goes in at the permission of his supervisor. The supervisor was looking out of his window when Kiseop entered. He greeted Kiseop in delight. “Ah! Lee Kiseop. Just the man I was looking for.”

“What do you need me for, Sir? You never meet with someone of my rank. You only meet with the ones that are directly below you,” questioned Kiseop.

“Well, it’s best that I deliver this task to you personally. If you want something important done properly, best to do it yourself. Isn’t that right, Kiseop?” said the supervisor.

“I guess so, sir,” replied Kiseop, uncertain about what he was referring to.

The supervisor walked to the side of his office and patted on a big square wooden box. “This is for you.”

“For me?” Kiseop walked towards the box and noticed that there were a bunch of stickers on it. “A parcel, Sir?” asked Kiseop.

“This parcel contains your task for who knows how long,” explained the supervisor. “Open it.”

Unsure of what was inside the box, Kiseop opened the box slowly and was shocked when he saw a young boy curled up inside. The boy was wearing a long sleeved baggy shirt and knee long pants. There was nothing else inside but the hay that the boy was sleeping on. He points to the boy in shock and was unable to say anything. The supervisor laughed at Kiseop’s reaction to the situation. “What’s up with that face? It’s just a boy.”

“It’s exactly because of the boy that I’m shocked right now. What is he doing in there?” blurted Kiseop.

“Anyways, straight to business.” The supervisor passed Kisoep a file. “You are given the task to take care of this boy. He’s an important asset to the agency so take care of him well. Don’t worry about the extra expenses that you have to cover. They are all covered by the agency. Bring the boy to your doctor in your office tomorrow. Everything will be taken for there.”

“Hold on a second, Sir. You mean I have to babysit this boy?” said Kiseop in disbelief.

“If you want to put it that way, then yes. But don’t worry. He won’t be a hassle. You will be receiving your missions as usual but you have to bring the boy along. And again, don’t worry. He won’t be on the way of your mission. Consider him as another tool in your missions. He’ll prove to be quite useful, I assure you.” The supervisor took a syringe that was on the table and walked back to the box. “Let’s wake him up, shall we?” He jabbed the syringe into the boy’s neck.

Immediately, the boy’s eyes shot open and he tried to stand up but he stumbled a bit. He grabbed the sides of the box for support. At the sight of this, the supervisor slapped him hard. So hard that the box toppled over along with him. Kiseop was shocked by his supervisor’s action. The supervisor approached the boy on the floor and started kicking him. As he was kicking, he shouted “How dare you look weak in front of me? You were thought never to look weak in front of anyone. Not even in the slightest bit.” Kiseop, on the other hand, just stood in his place, frozen and shock at his supervisor’s cruelty.

When he was done, he turned to Kiseop and said, “You can take him now. When you’re unhappy about his behavior or even just in the bad mood, you can beat him around a bit or whatever you want to do to discipline him. He won’t fight back and he won’t die.”

“Oh, okay,” was all Kiseop could get out of his mouth. The boy stood up before Kiseop could help him. “Well, let’s go,” said Kiseop to the boy. With that, they left the office and to the parking lot.

When the boy went to the back door of the car, Kiseop said, “You can seat in the front seat.” The boy obediently followed Kiseop’s instructions and sat at the front row.

The drive from the office to Kiseop’s apartment was silent. The boy did not say a word and he did not even move. Kiseop thought about what his supervisor has said about the boy. Maybe he won’t be such a hassle after all.