Refining (13)
She had lived a blessed life.
Being born as a child of a Hansan employee in Stella City was an incredible stroke of luck.
There's no need to worry about getting shot while walking down the street. No need to worry about rent, and you can do whatever you want.
Generosity comes from a full barn. People who can survive without harming others can afford to treat others with kindness.
Without wariness, there's no reason to be rude to others. With plenty to spare, there's no reason to exploit others.
But such a happy and comfortable life sometimes feels like terrible boredom.
'It's rough...'
The students who attended the same school as her seemed too young and immature to the girl's pure eyes.
When she was scammed, she was bewildered and didn't know what to do, but things changed a bit after meeting Rick in person.
He was a rough and cool street boy. His body overflowed with rebelliousness, and his eyes were filled with determination.
She wondered why such a person was running scams, but as she listened to his words, she came to understand why.
It was a noble cause. Hearing that he had no choice but to do it for poor children made her heart feel like it was being torn apart.
Jung Yuni's eyes were sparkling with admiration.
"Hansan, my ass. You seduced a Hansan girl? Stop bullshitting and get out of the way."
Even now.
Those thugs looked dangerous. They were carrying ominous weapons and had burly builds.
But Rick didn't abandon her. With his arm slightly wrapped around her, he protected her with a face so handsome it made her dizzy.
'I knew it!'
He wasn't a bad person. Her father must have misjudged him.
Risking his life for a woman he just met. It was a romantic situation straight out of a romance novel.
"Stop the crap and hand her over? Can't you read the situation?"
The atmosphere turned hostile. Yuni unconsciously grabbed Rick's arm tightly.
It was hard to distinguish whether her heart was racing from excitement or just fear.
"Anyway, you weren't seriously planning to do anything with that girl, right? You were just going to seduce her and extort some money."
That couldn't be true. Rick had been almost excessively dismissive of her pure feelings.
"I don't do that kind of thing. Even if that were true, you guys wouldn't stop at just that, would you?"
"Fuck, when there's a money box rolling around, it's only natural to crack it open and take the money."
"You dirty kidnapper bastard."
"How are you any different? Fuck, is Brown Hood some kind of organization that legally earns money through manual labor? Huh?"
Inwardly, Yuni hoped that Rick would refute the thug's words. But he just gritted his teeth and let out a groan, unable to say anything.
"It's disgusting to watch. Criminals like you still drawing your own lines."
"At least we don't kill people just because we're in a bad mood like you bastards."
"Right, fuck. You'll kill people for that damn revolution or cause or whatever you talk about."
It was gang warfare that she had only seen in the news or on TV.
"So murder is not okay, but theft and fraud are fine? Is it okay to kill people for money? Looking at hypocrites like you makes me sick to death..."
"Still, no. I can't hand this girl over."
"Hey. I know someone who's an executive in Metal Crab. If you don't want to all die, it would be better to quietly back down."
At the thug's ultimatum, Rick's hand moved.
"W-what are you doing—"
"Run!"
Yuni was surprised by Rick's hand suddenly pulling her, but soon her feet were hopping along.
"Fuck, there really is something. Catch them! Let's have our chance at turning our lives around too!"
The thugs came after them. As Yuni ran with Rick, she couldn't help but feel that this moment was sweet.
It was something she had never experienced in her life. Being threatened, being saved, desperately running with the person you love—all of it.
***
The Hansan manager, who had just returned from the bathroom, encountered quite an unpleasant situation.
"Hey, Enzo. Are you proud of getting fired for being incompetent? Why are you going around telling everyone about it?"
Several Asian people were surrounding Enzo. One or two looked Korean, and there seemed to be Japanese or Chinese mixed in as well.
'Trash...'
Although he had tried to open his heart to these slum people somehow, it seemed that prejudice wouldn't disappear easily.
"Stop talking nonsense and come with us. We need to teach you a lesson. That's what you get for upsetting the higher-ups..."
The manager's expression soured.
He didn't have positive feelings toward Enzo. Even if he had come to understand some aspects of him, he was still a person from White Mountain Street.
The low and vulgar person he despised and hated.
But the one he was talking to now was Enzo. If they were all the same trash, the trash that at least bowed its head to him was slightly better.
"That's enough. What kind of trouble are you causing here?"
He stepped forward and stopped the thugs.
"Fuck, who's this old fart?"
"I didn't hear there would be someone like this. You, who are you? Are you confident?"
Disgusting vermin. They had no principles, and they knew better than anyone that their actions had no justification.
So instead of claiming their righteousness or pleading their innocence, they could only question whether the person intervening was stronger or weaker than themselves.
"We're the Macheonpa Faction, you know? I don't know who you are, but if you don't want to see something ugly, you'd better be on your way."
"What a world we live in. To think someone would proudly utter the name of a gang."
With a hollow laugh, the manager pulled out his employee ID.
"I'm a Hansan person. If you don't want to see something ugly, get lost."
"Ha, ha... Hansan? That's..."
The gang members froze and shut their mouths.
The collusion between the Macheonpa Faction and Hansan was an open secret.
There was no evidence. There were only rumors that weapons lost from Hansan flowed into the Macheonpa Faction, or that people from the Macheonpa Faction caused disturbances under the instructions of Hansan executives.
"Something seems a bit twisted..."
The Macheonpa Faction gang members were confused. But their leader didn't waver.
"Bullshit, why would a Hansan person come here directly?"
"Can't you see my employee ID?"
"I don't know whose ID you stole, but who do you think we're taking orders from to be doing this shit here?"
Now the manager couldn't help but be perplexed.
This wasn't a simple dispute. If the Macheonpa Faction was trying to attack Enzo under 'orders from above,' the person who gave that order would surely be a high-ranking Hansan executive.
Withdrawing would be the wise choice. The situation was too dangerous for him to intervene.
He had gotten involved with the wrong thing. Maybe it would be better to withdraw and run away.
If he inadvertently got caught up in Hansan's power struggle, the price to pay for failure would be too great.
But he didn't back down.
"Get lost."
"Hey, don't you understand? Even if you're really a Hansan employee, you shouldn't be here doing this right now."
"That's not my concern."
Even if it was an open secret, the connection between a conglomerate and a gang had to remain unofficial.
Even if he was now interfering with Hansan's operation, he wouldn't be directly reprimanded.
The situation might get strangely tangled, and he might face scrutiny from the upper echelons, but at most, they would find a pretext to delay his promotion or cut his salary.
"What's this? Are you having an affair with this guy? Disgusting."
"I filed a lawsuit against this gentleman's son. Unfortunately, I don't think I can sue you for defamation. Since you probably don't have citizenship."
The manager had no reason to protect Enzo. He just didn't like showing weakness here.
Whether it was the Macheonpa Faction or Enzo, they were all just disgusting White Mountain Street trash to him. He didn't want to bow his head.
"Then there's nothing more to say."
The leader of the Macheonpa Faction group pulled out a gun.
"If you were really a Hansan employee, you wouldn't come to a place like this alone, right?"
"I agree with that."
The manager nervously tapped the back of his hand. Light burst forth from the gloves he was wearing.
Mercenaries who had been waiting outside entered the cafe.
"W-what?"
"Of course, I wouldn't come out alone."
The manager didn't trust the slums. Bringing armed guards was only natural.
The gang members quietly shut their mouths. They were moving to bully a single, powerless office worker, not to fight a security company employed by a Hansan employee.
If they unnecessarily expanded the conflict, they would face criticism from their superiors. In the worst case, they might be discarded even if they completed their mission.
The Macheonpa Faction left, grumbling. Enzo and the manager sighed in relief.
"Thank you. Well..."
"Damn, all kinds of trash are clinging to you. This is why... appearing in the media only brings harm."
"I know. The number of people who clung to me demanding appearance fees as soon as they saw me on TV is more than I can count. But still, I didn't know about that..."
He had done something unnecessary. The manager turned his head and looked through the glass window at the restaurant where his daughter was.
"...Huh?"
There was no one there. Only disheveled chairs and broken dishes remained, testifying that something had happened.
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