“I say you show her.”

Jiwon sat at the edge of the ring with Junhoe right by his side, their sights stuck on the paycheck in Jiwon’s hands. They still couldn’t believe the number of zeroes before their very eyes. Victory was a lot sweeter than they originally thought.

Jiwon turned and looked at Junhoe questionably, not quite understanding what his words meant.

“Do something big.” The boy continued with a wide grin.

Something big?

“Jiwon.”

Mr. Kim broke the two from their planning. 

“Yes, sir.”

“Today, we’re going to work on your stamina – run the neighborhood.”

***

I stared up at the home – well, it didn’t resemble one. The small house was broken down, in need of serious maintenance. And as broken as it appears, it said a lot about the individual living inside it. 

Walking up the cracked stone steps, I appeared before the front door. 

Breathing in, I gave the barrier a couple of knocks and waited for any indication to show he was home. As I was about to give up, the door creaked open – 

“Who is it?”

“It’s Seon.”

Without worry, the door opens up completely to show the older man. His hair anything but neat – a sign he had just woken up.

But his drowsy eyes were no more and in its place, a look of surprise. “Seon?”

“Hey, dad.”

“…It’s been so long – “

My eyes dropped to the ground. “I didn’t come here to catch up. I came here because I wanted to know if you knew anything of Mirage.” Last night, maybe it was because of the alcohol but Aunt Dara revealed everything, lots of things I didn’t know she was aware of.

Lifting my eyes, he stared back in confusion.

“Mirage?”

“Yeah, that place you used to gamble at – “

“The place that boy used to fight in?” He questioned back. “Are you still bothering yourself with him?”

I looked at him, dumbfounded by his tone. “This man, Jangseop, is he still running the place?” I ignored his question and asked my own.

“How do you know Jangseop?”

“Would you just give me what I came here for?” I retorted, taking a sterner approach.

Silence rings out before he began again. “The place doesn’t exist anymore – at least not around here. There was something about it getting out of hand and people were starting to talk.”

Did Mr. Kim have a hand in that?

“…Nothing else? What is Jangseop planning?”

“I’m not involved with him.”

“You’ve been tied to him the moment you stepped foot into that place.” 

“Seon – “

At this rate, I wouldn’t find out whether Jangseop plans to do anything towards Jiwon.

“If there’s nothing else you can tell me, I’m leaving.” Turning away, I rushed down the steps and while ignoring his calls for me. After getting past the untamed bushes and meeting the sidewalk, my shoulder bumped harshly against someone else’s. “I’m so sorry.”

Looking up, I found Jiwon standing before me. His heavy pants filled in the silence as he pulled the earbuds out of his ears.

What kind of weird coincidence is this.

“Seon, what are you doing here?” He asked, taking a break from what seemed like his jog. He looked around the area as if to find the reason himself.

“I – “ I stuttered for an answer. “I was visiting someone.”

He nodded his head and thankfully, didn’t dig deeper. “Where are you going now?”

“To the flower shop.”

I didn’t expect much from Jiwon’s curiosity but stuffing his earphones into the pocket of his sweatshirt, he motioned me to follow after him. “I’ll walk you there – not many buses run this direction.”

It didn’t sound like a good