‘The first thing you need to know about this neighborhood is that we rule it. No offense, but it’s true. It has been this way for decades. We know everyone and everyone knows us. We help where we are needed, and we chase unwanted people away. We don’t need assistance from outside, because they don’t understand us and the way we solve problems. We are the ones who know what’s going on and we know best.’

Seunghyun spread his arms. ‘You are all very welcome here. But we want to know if we can count on you.’

His onlookers, a small group of Korean boys, were obviously gripped by his explanation, and he liked to think it also had something to do with his mere presence. The Choi family’s eldest son was a well-known title, not just in this part of town, but in the entire metropolitan sphere; and he enjoyed having it as long as he could ignore the responsibilities that would come with it later.

‘You will be accepted as part of our family, once I believe you to be trustworthy. It’s nothing personal. We’ve had trouble before and I would like very much to avoid that in the future.’

One of the new guys raised his hand. Seunghyun smirked at that. He looked like a schoolboy.
‘How long will it take? I know you will observe us and make us do small jobs, but for how long? A week? Two months?’
Seunghyun played with his scarf for a short while, never stopping looking at the new guy.
‘How soon would you like to be one of us?’
‘Right now.’
Seunghyun chuckled. ‘I believe everyone would like that. Is there any specific reason why you are in a hurry?’
The boy shook his head. ‘But I have nowhere else.’
The guys standing around him seemed to agree with that. They nodded and started to whisper amongst themselves.

‘Hey!’ Seunghyun raised his voice. ‘I’ll answer his question. You have to realize that it’s impossible to do our work if you are not firmly grounded in this neighborhood and this organization. You’ll have to talk to people. Get to know the important ones. And we have no way of knowing whether you can do that right now. You’ll have to find out for yourselves.’
He could read their disappointment from their faces, but there was no other way. His father’s rules.

‘I’ll take your information and give you your first jobs. There’s always something to be done around here, and in return you’ll get a place to stay and an entire town of friends. You can come back here next Friday morning, same place.’
He looked each of them in the eye and smiled with confidence. ‘I can tell you are all eager to begin here. That’s good. I look forward to our future collaborations.’
The boys all gave a small bow and gave Seunghyun their contact information, that he stored in his phone’s ‘candidates’ list. He sent them off and they bowed again. Seunghyun watched them leave the small conference room, looked at his now longer list of contact data and smiled to himself while wiping some dust off his expensive white sneakers.

His family’s dining room was just next to his mother’s office. It was luxuriously decorated, but still managed to never be gaudy or flashy. Dark earthly colours made the rooms look extremely stylish, and every time Seunghyun walked inside he felt comfortable and safe, as if the large house embraced him and made him sleep in peace. People walked in and out of their little syndicate, but it would always be his private home.
He waited patiently before the open door of his mother’s office, flipping his phone around in his hands. It was studded with fake diamonds, but he was thinking of changing it soon because he had grown tired of the skull design. After two guys in suits had exited the room and had given him a bow, he walked in.

‘Seunghyun,’ his mother said, taking off her glasses and ignoring the files on her desk for a moment. She smiled and Seung-hyun realized, as he did every time, how beautiful she still was, despite her age.
‘Hi mom.’
‘How did it go, then?’
Seunghyun showed her the new contacts and she wrote them down in a file folder she had in on a bookshelf. The file contained all the members the syndicate had ever had, starting with old sheets of paper in quite formal Korean from when his great grandfather had established the organization.
‘The Jung’s boy,’ she muttered while going over Seunghyun’s successes. ‘I expected him to apply sooner or later.’
Seunghyun inspected his fingernails. ‘He looks alright. But I never had much faith in his abilities.’
‘Well, it’s your job to improve his specific abilities, so you’ll have full control. Do you have anything in mind for this group yet?’
‘I’m thinking the regular process,’ Seunghyun shrugged. ‘Hard labor at the grocery store and all that. They don’t really need anything else, I hope. Maybe some of them are smart enough for a better spot.’
‘Oh, now that you’re here, Seunghyun,’ his mother said, ‘your dad asked me to send you to his rooms.’
‘What does he want?’
‘I believe he wants to discuss giving you more responsibility.’
‘Again?’
‘Yes, since you haven’t responded to him the first time.’ She looked at him with a serious expression. ‘You’d better listen to your father, Seunghyun.’
‘What do you think, mom?’ he asked. ‘You do more work and know more people than him. Sometimes I feel he’s hardly involved in anything at all.’
‘I think your father is right.’
Seunghyun sighed and looked at the old ink painting hanging above the bookshelves.
‘You know I sometimes disagree with him, but you are almost twenty-one. Your dad was eighteen when he took over. I’d feel the same way as you, probably. But it really is for the best.’ She smiled at him kindly. ‘You’re doing such a good job. You are capable of so much more. Before I knew it you were already so grown up. So I’m sure you can do whatever your father asks of you.’
Seunghyun made a face.
‘Just go over there, Seunghyun. We’re having beef for dinner.’

At first he hesitated, thinking he could simply turn around and spend another hour on the streets with the other boys before dinner. But he knocked on his father’s door and opened it after a silence.

‘Seunghyun,’ his father said, sitting in his comfortable chair, putting a Korean newspaper away.
‘Father,’ said Seunghyun.
‘You probably know what I’m going to say.’
‘Probably.’
‘But I’ll say it again. Seunghyun, you are my eldest son. And you are twenty. It is time.’
As Seunghyun didn’t respond, his father stood up and took a step in his direction. ‘I was thinking of holding the ceremony this September. And in order to do that, you’ll need to read and memorize the codes, rules and everything. I hope you’ll be able to begin working on it soon.’
‘I’m sorry. I don’t have time. I’m training the new recruits.’
‘I know. But we can arrange assistants. When I was your age I was doing both at the same time. With a bit of hard work, you can do the same.’
‘Well, I don’t know how many times I have said this, but I am not you.’
His father took another step towards him and raised his voice so slightly it was hardly noticeable, but Seunghyun knew his father and cringed a little at hearing it. He knew what it meant.
‘It’s as if you don’t want to put effort into it. Not in this, and not in anything. The only thing you seem interested in is that chain around your neck and that nonsense on your feet. My eyes hurt looking at you. I’d be happy if you’d get your mind off of trivialities, Seunghyun.’
‘I’m modern. They say you’re old fashioned,’ Seunghyun snapped back. ‘They don’t listen to you on the streets. They listen to me. And maybe that’s because you never show your face out there.’
His father simply walked to his desk and handed Seunghyun the book that contained the code. ‘I have already arranged the ceremony. The 21st of September, Seunghyun.’ He gave the book a pat. ‘Time is running out. Now get out.’

He had trouble with dinner that night. He was feeling so frustrated about everything he just wanted to retreat to his rooms, and he was unable to enjoy the good food. He found himself sitting with a bowl of rice in his hand without moving, and shook his head. His mother noticed, but conversation at the table was pleasant and everyone else was distracted by it.
‘Thank you for dinner,’ he mumbled before he had finished his kimchi and walked out of the room. His friends were eating in another room with his brother Dae-hyun, and as soon as he joined them they took his mind off everything he had been worrying about. His brother showed off his brand new necklace and Seunghyun laughed out loud. His brother and the other boys were really just like him.
‘How much was that?’ he asked over the noise of the others.
‘Second hand store,’ Dae-hyun yelled from across the room. ‘Three dollars.’
‘Hey, Seunghyun, do you like this scarf? I don’t need it anymore,’ one of his brother’s friends asked and threw him a red scarf. Seunghyun did in fact like it and spent the rest of his evening in good company, sipping cheongju and completely forgetting about everything else.

He returned to his rooms after twelve. He locked his door, and as he passed his mirror, he got distracted by something, even though he didn’t quite know what exactly, and crouched down in front of it. His window was half open, and the night air was cool. He wasn’t feeling very tired, and a strange sense of unexplained expectation came over him. He had felt the same way before, but mostly when he was younger, about 14, and he had believed he would become a famous dancer one day. He looked into his own eyes, and continued staring at them, not having a single thought. The wind made his curtains move quietly, and the sounds of cars and buses were faintly audible. But Seunghyun didn’t notice anything of it. Taking in the slightly nostalgic feeling, he blinked and breathed slowly, realizing it had been too long since he had last had some time for himself. He got up after a while, and had no idea how much time has passed. He threw his clothes on a chair, and fell asleep the moment his head hit his pillow. He couldn’t remember his dreams the next morning, but he was absolutely certain they had been fantastic.