Refining (11)
Rick's daily life was shattered.
Unlike the other Brown Hood brothers, Rick couldn't participate in the operation. And after that operation, all his other colleagues disappeared.
He had a duty to take care of the families left behind. But with no manpower or weapons, he couldn't do anything.
Money was scarce. Although it couldn't be called the right thing to do, all he could do was commit fraud.
But he got caught. When an employee of Hansan became a victim, the police moved as fast as the wind.
Rick's arrest took priority over the countless murderers flooding White Mountain Street. Despite having prepared ways to avoid detection, Rick couldn't escape from police who were genuinely determined.
If it weren't for the kid in front of him now, he would have been locked up in detention, not sitting in a restaurant.
Silence fell. Rick carefully ate the pasta in front of him.
It tasted fresh and expensive but wasn't filling. He preferred something greasier.
He couldn't complain. No matter how circular Rick's moral triangle might be, he couldn't complain about food bought by a victim of his fraud.
"You know..."
When the girl opened her mouth, Rick reflexively bowed his head.
He was well aware of his situation. This wasn't the time to assert his pride but to apologize.
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"I thought so! Just call me comfortably."
But this girl's gaze was definitely not one looking at a criminal.
Rick knew well how men in suits and their families looked at "lower people" like him.
They don't see poor people like Rick as fellow humans. The typical attitude was to despise and condemn them, like this woman's father.
Actually, that man couldn't be called the worst. It was Rick who had done wrong first, and although the man got angry, he didn't resort to violence.
Perhaps Hansan had the capability to select people with decent personalities among those in suits. Or maybe he restrained himself because they were in front of the police station.
"You know... Rick, what were you going to do with that money if you got it?"
Still, the woman's father acted within reason. What this girl was showing him was even stranger.
"I just needed money for something."
"Why? It's not for a girlfriend, is it?"
"There are kids... younger than you. I was going to at least buy them food."
"Really?"
The girl reacted exaggeratedly. Although Rick wasn't particularly perceptive, the emotion this woman was showing was undoubtedly goodwill.
"That's so cool... Is it like family? Did you have to resort to such things to protect your organization's younger siblings?"
Rick frowned.
He had no intention of making excuses that his actions were justified. Whatever circumstances he had, he was just a trashy criminal who deserved appropriate treatment.
But that didn't mean he wanted to deceive her with words like "I needed money to meet a prostitute" or "I wanted to get high but didn't have money for the drug dealer." He didn't want to earn her contempt.
"...Even without that, I've done plenty of things the cops would hate."
It's burdensome. He couldn't bear the girl's gaze that saw him as the protagonist of a tragedy.
"Well, when you live a rough life, sometimes these things are unavoidable."
She's a well-raised girl. Her age is probably that of a middle school student at most.
"What rough life? By the way, did you get permission from your father to come here?"
Rick realized he had spoken nonsense.
The businessmen of the Central District were full of a chosen people mentality. They regarded slums like White Mountain Street as hell.
He might be monitoring her from somewhere nearby even now. Unless he was a fool, he wouldn't have let her go out alone—
"No? I snuck out and took a taxi here."
Rick felt a chill down his spine. This girl was a bomb.
Taxis directly managed by corporations were extremely expensive but proportionally safe.
Conversely, this meant that privately operated taxis not directly managed by corporations were dangerous. Very dangerous.
Women getting kidnapped while riding taxis happened as easily as eating meals. Gangs sometimes gathered such women for human trafficking or forced them into prostitution.
"...You came alone to White Mountain Street by taxi?"
If she had been kidnapped or gone missing, he would have been blamed for all of it.
"That's... right?"
"Your father will be worried. Go back as soon as possible."
"That's mean! I came out with such difficulty..."
The girl pouted. Rick gave a hollow laugh.
She was a child who ate good food, applied expensive cosmetics, and lived in a place far from smog or stress.
She's pretty. The gap felt desperately distant.
In front of him was a woman he couldn't even imagine existing, as he hung out daily with criminals and harmed people without a second thought.
What kind of life would one have to live, how much money would one need, and how much love would one have to receive to create such a being?
He didn't even feel jealousy. They lived in different worlds.
"Enough. I'm done eating. I'll go out first and wait. I'll catch a taxi for you when you're finished eating."
Taking a taxi from the Central District to White Mountain Street might not have been such a dangerous thing.
For taxis to be able to travel into the Central District, identity verification was required. At least it could filter out those who had committed crimes at least once.
But White Mountain Street was different. If a rich-looking and fragile girl like her waved her hand to catch a taxi here, all sorts of criminals would rush over like dogs wagging their tails.
"If... if that's the case... I might not agree to settle!"
She didn't know what she was saying. She didn't know how enormous the meaning of those words was to Rick and his family.
If she had refused to settle because she couldn't tolerate his crime, he would have had to accept it. It wasn't her business what happened to Rick and his family.
But the girl was just using the word "settlement" as bait to keep Rick with her.
Rick's steps stopped.
Rationally thinking about him and his family, he should accommodate whatever the girl did.
It's not a bad thing. Just a naive kid showing goodwill without knowing what kind of person Rick was.
It would be right to go along with it. Surely she wouldn't try to extort settlement money from a boyfriend.
If he just kept boundaries while getting along with her and received small gifts that he could resell, he could earn a significant amount of money.
He doesn't need to try anything. Just not paying the settlement money and returning the money would be enough.
Rick had the responsibility to protect the orphans left behind by those damned Brown Hood people. His father had also been fired from his job.
He just needed to close his eyes for a moment. Whatever the kid thought of him, he just needed to act accordingly.
That's all. That would suffice.
"...Ha."
Rick realized that he was just as crazy as she was.
That girl is the daughter of a businessman. She's like a walking wallet from whom he could commit fraud and empty her pockets without feeling any guilt.
If those people above don't consider Rick as human, Rick had vowed to think the same way.
But Rick couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't bear her having illusions and misunderstandings about him.
He couldn't bear that to this girl; he appeared not as "Rick" but as "some cool and sentimental protagonist from a slum in a movie."
He wanted her to live a happy life in the comfortable and cozy Central District, rather than having vain expectations and hopes for this trashy place.
"Damn it."
Rick could freshly recall the fact that he was a minor. He was just having strange thoughts without plans or consideration.
He was in no position to blame the girl. In the end, he was the same kind of fool.
"Do as you wish. Settlement or whatever... I'm sorry for committing fraud. Really."
As Rick headed toward the exit, the girl urgently grabbed him.
Her triumphant expression had disappeared somewhere, and her eyes were full of urgency.
"No! Joking! It was a joke! I was just really curious!"
He shouldn't get more entangled. With that thought, Rick forcibly hastened his steps.
"Are you messing with me?"
But upon opening the door, Rick couldn't help but stiffen. Armed thugs came into his view.
There were guys who had smelled money. On White Mountain Street, there are no CCTV cameras and no police to rush over right when an incident occurs.
Since this girl's father was a Hansan employee, the police might move relatively quickly, but the thugs in front of him would be faster than the police.
"A high-ranking person. Don't touch her."
"Hansan side. The daughter."
Sweat ran down Rick's forehead. He prayed that those guys would be scared and run away.
He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if the daughter of a Hansan employee got involved in a crime.
"She looks like she has a lot of money in her wallet. And she's quite cute too."
"You crazy bastard."
Rick had to make a decision.
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