“Wait, hold up,” said Minseok, holding up one hand. “Hold up.”

He waited for his head to register all of what Jongdae had said. The latter man had said something about an Inheritance Ceremony and mafia families. He didn’t, no he couldn’t understand the situation at hand. He had come to return the ring, only to pass some kind of trial?

He ran his fingers through his hair, “Ok, nevermind. My brain still doesn’t comprehend this.”

Jongdae chuckled, “Don’t worry, I was like that when I first heard of this too. I’m guessing nobody in your family told you about this?”

Minseok’s mind instantly flashed towards his mother. Does she know about this, he wondered. He felt a pang of sadness hit him at the thought of his mother hiding something from him. Ever since his father’s disappearance, they never went a day without first telling each other of their adventures for the day. (Well, yesterday didn’t count since he fell asleep and she didn’t wake him up for dinner). It hurt him to think that his mother would lie to him.

Numbly, he shook his head. Jongdae flashed him a smile, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing new. Families are always trying to protect their children until they are old enough to handle the truth. It’s not like its exactly a good thing to be born into a family of mafioso.”

He was born into a family of mafioso. He was a son of mafiosos. Minseok couldn’t believe that his mother was part of a mafia family. He just couldn’t imagine her to kill and do illegal things. His mother had always taught him to be good, always scolding him when he did wrong.

“Anyways, congrats!” exclaimed Jongdae. He clapped his hands three times, the sound reaching to the far ends of the station. Everyone seized movement. Jongdae stripped out of his officer suit, wearing a hoodie underneath. Minseok was ashamed that he didn’t notice it before.

Everyone in the station also changed quickly into their normal clothes. Minseok’s jaw fell. “Wait, I thought you guys were policemen!”

Jongdae let out another laugh, (Minseok came to realize that he liked to laugh frequently), “Heavens no. I was in charge of seeing whether you passed trial 0 or not. This is all just a get-up. The real police station is just around the corner.”

Minseok tapped his chin, nodding. “I see. So does that mean that if I went to another police station, and by chance it was a get-up as well, I could meet other possible contestants?”

“Nope! We all have our own little people to look after at different times, different places,” Jongdae said. Minseok did not like being called little, but he let it slide. His curiosity needed to be satisfied first. “So it would be impossible for you to bump into someone. The reason is to have a fair competition.”

“What is this competition about anyways?” Minseok said finally, Jongdae just shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to answer that. But your mentor will, so you should hurry and find your mentor.”

Yaeji immediately came into mind, and Minseok sighed. So that’s what she meant by “Can I help you”, he thought.

“You’re doing awfully well though, Minseok! I half expected you to faint, reading your bio,” said Jongdae good-naturedly, clapping his back lightly. Minseok cocked his head,“What bio?”

Jongdae froze, before giving him a big smile,”Anyways, I need to go now. I hope you can make it! I’ll be rooting for you kid!”

…

He still didn’t know how to feel about all of this. However, he didn’t like his head being complicated, so he decided to just accept it. He placed his hand on his doorknob, slowly twisting it.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter