Youngjae was relieved on his new bed. It creaked with every turn, but he was fine putting up with it. Using his arms as his pillow, the male examined the ceiling. Despite it being an old building, there was not a single trace of spiderweb. Typically Youngjae would use times like this to plan out his next move or figure things out. Instead, his mind trailed off into just moments before.

“You talk quite a bit about your dad, is he the owner of this place?”

“You mean my father?”

“Sure, your father,”

“He’s...he’s no longer here with us. I run this place now,”

Youngjae heaved a sigh. No wonder she owns the place, she’s a tough woman. Then his eyes and mouth gaped in realization. “I never got her name,” he said aloud to himself, “oh well,”

“It’s Shinhye,”

Youngjae shot up from the bed when he saw a familiar boy leaning against the door with his arms crossed, “You?!”

The rude visitor who never bothered to knock was the boy from before, “I should be more shock.” He said in a monotone, “When my sister said we got a new occupant, I never imagine it to be you.” The laddie then ripped away from the wooden object and walked over to the bed nearest to the door. He plopped down on the bed with a grunt as he spread his hands over the sheets.

“She’s your sister?”

The younger delayed to answer as he scanned the room with his brown orbs, finally, he hummed, “That’s right,”

Youngjae smirked, “Does she know you cause troubles out there?” without sparing him a moment to answer, Youngjae added, “I bet she doesn’t. Judging from her personality, if she did, you’ll be booted or disowned.” Deep down Youngjae was entertained by their relationship. Who would have guessed someone like Shinhye, who spoke so well and high had a troublemaker for a brother?

But the younger flashed Youngjae a dangerous look, “Once you’ve been around long enough you’ll know. Those thugs are hard to please. Even my sister finds it difficult negotiating with those goons,”

This time Youngjae was all ears, “They give your sister problem?”

The other scoffed, “Nonfinite is like cancer to us Koreans. If you’re not strong enough, you won’t be able to win against them,”

Typical trash, Youngjae could hear Daehyun say.

“When you challenged them I thought you were a fool. But after seeing how you’ve won, I knew you were in trouble,”

Youngjae cocked his head to the side, “In trouble? Although I won?”

With a nod, the laddie explained, “If they see you as a threat, it’s always one or the other. They recruit you or they break you over the course of time,”

Recruitment didn’t sound bad. After all, running with the bad guys may bring him closer to home—not that his team was bad men, though Yongguk could be excluded, “Do they come here often?” He had to ask. Their meeting earlier left an interesting impact.

Youngjae could tell the boy was hesitant but still, he answered, “They collect protection money at the beginning and ending of every month,”

It seemed too bizarre for the older to actually believe it. If the bad guys were in charge of protecting, then who was doing the harm? In cases like these, Youngjae wished he had paid closer attention in History class before dropping out. “The beginning and ending of every month huh,” Youngjae repeat before adding, “do they protect you guys from another gang?”

The youth scoffed, “At this pace, we prefer the torment and humiliation from those Chinese and Japanese,”

So this was an ethnic ordeal.

Youngjae watched as the latter tightened his hands into two hard balls. For a moment, Youngjae saw himself in the nameless. When he was sixteen, Youngjae thought of all sort of ways to get back at those who bullied him. Nothing but rage drove him during his puberty years.

“Young master Jangjun,” this time someone else spoke, “dinner is served,”

The younger, Jangjun, reserved himself as he glanced over to Youngjae, “Come, I’m sure you’ll like to meet the others,”

Not really, Youngjae replied but stood up regardless. As Jangjun left the room with heavy stomps, Youngjae stopped at the door. He scoffed a little to himself. Today was an odd day. Standing in front of him was now a man who looked identical to Himchan. For someone as energized as Youngjae, couldn’t find the energy in him to become shocked. So briefly he shook his head as he placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Let me guess you’re Him—”

“Himcha,” just as he guessed, the first part of their names are similar, “I am the head butler here. I sincerely apologize we couldn’t meet earlier. I had to step outside to take care of some business. Lady