UCCU | Chapter 3.3

Heart pounding, Seonwoo snuck down the stairs, avoiding the gangsters’ eyes. Of course, the door to the basement was locked. He was good with his hands and could pick locks easily.ea264a3c4b06c72b

The problem was what would happen after. If anyone found out, not only Iwon but Seonwoo himself could end up dead at An Hyungtae’s hands.ea082c7f34d159f2

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‘Isn’t there any way to sneak into the basement?’c95f1716ba7bff3b

Just in case, Seonwoo a7c34c0d44 searched the first floor 42721961dc of the building thoroughly. But there was 074649784b no way in bab906fe78 from inside. He went outside c29d22d5bb and circled the c23604a239 building, and ran 0549547aae into Yoochan.23c8e441312f438c

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“What are you doing here?”d8b582a30ac913ea

There was a hint of hostility in his voice. Seonwoo hesitated, wondering how to answer, and Yoochan came closer. Then he snapped, “You little snitch.”5ac4bf35c3cfcf8f

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“Did you go tattling to the uncles?”548e1ba2ce510a22

“What? What did I snitch about?”60db920193db9141

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“Then what did you do that I’m the only one getting in trouble?”b19e288f8c4d7f02

Seonwoo was so dumbfounded he couldn’t speak for a moment. Yoochan gritted his teeth and snapped in a sharp voice, his mind already made up.cfe2aba4bc95fc07

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“You son of a bitch. How could you do this to me? I was nice to you because we grew up together in the orphanage.”062af18ff8d1462d

“What are you talking about? What did I do, and what did I snitch about?”9a8d40cd9ae0cb71

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The one who was treating them unfairly and forcing them to do chores under the guise of work was An Hyungtae. But after being exposed to this messed-up environment for so long, Yoochan’s anger was directed not at An Hyungtae, but at his childhood friend who’d grown up like a brother.62eb43b67f4a2c62

“I’m the one who brought you here!”cdfae8ea375f3a0e

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After blaming him, Yoochan suddenly started cursing. “Traitor! Bastard! Stupid orphan!”74286446bf2824b7

His voice was full 56eb6c4dfb of rage, and his 6d11466123 face turned red. Seonwoo, flustered, stepped back, 56a842a37f but Yoochan lunged at 8954deffed him.bb37d54ed1bf66da

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“Stop it!”31816e1b3d6058da

Seonwoo shouted, but the two of them ended up rolling around in the alley. The gangsters, peeking out the window at the commotion, didn’t bother to break up the fight—they just laughed or flicked cigarette butts at them.3b34fe4a8e73e211

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Already struggling with ea9b51db81 guilt over Iwon 5e6d90b288 and anger at fb105dfa61 the gangsters, Seonwoo 85c5b65db8 shoved Yoochan hard. Then, before 177a912086 Yoochan could b246f36710 get up, 420ffb77a0 he punched 00b2f26281 him in 7869144dd5 the face.8d81de343014f876

Neither of 35a0a6ce71 them had 5168525c2c ever hit 74e6da0f35 the other 47e0d97a92 before, so bc3466ef34 both were ef878b2645 shocked. But only for a 9da5d28237 moment. Soon, the db41d4df3c scuffle turned 90ad5fbabe into a 49b60e0a03 full-on fistfight.038b3b1e1522a0d6

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𓂃𓍼 ོ☁f5fdff62028f3870

“Oww…”017d613e8d9faf5e

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Seonwoo grimaced as he 8539b6378a looked in the mirror d5fd25b9d8 in the bathroom. As time e7a7abe5bc passed, his 862bf093fd face started f1d1cb6971 to swell bbc211f013 and bruise. He washed 607e707a57 off the a891e8714c blood with 60470516b7 water and 829a57c349 let out 69cec9892b a deep 78ec75feeb sigh.918eb3ff243c31f7

He hated Yoochan, but it also hurt that his relationship with his hyung, who’d been like a brother, had gotten so bad.33c9b624f32ed8d9

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The fight ended with dfe4aa73e7 Seonwoo pretty much winning. Even though he 20a0468ecd was smaller than 001e5890f7 the middle schooler, aa519d785d Yoochan started crying fe2c3373c6 in the middle cbe422e7fb of the fight, 47f58430e1 got laughed at 93fcc74cf3 by the gangsters, ca2f04c3a5 and ran away.62a49d0813fd23dd

Seonwoo had c3af5577dd a feeling 7bc4f63a15 things would 9d7183007a never go faf3e0af81 back to e005173062 how they 6ba9661b47 were with b7d1d9141a Yoochan. All of 684508678b this was 368fe9f2d0 so hard cf0b8b3e9d that he 8f01e9c1ee bit his 3020f9cd1e lip to 1b6b81f2c6 keep from 8334ad8286 crying.fbc1a9f270fc4874

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After wiping off the 85decc621d blood, he went outside 3ba8516fb2 and saw the first 64da00c9a4 floor was quiet. It was almost dinnertime, 63647db2de so everyone was either 9bed3eb670 watching TV or eating. Seonwoo, not d27645ddb5 feeling hungry, b4d2876148 sat on e99d2f49b3 the sofa 5b3db181bd for a b425e407b7 bit, then 65922af600 headed back f694570e55 to the a606ee5582 basement door.1221cf108c5048de

He hadn’t been able to check everything because of the fight with Yoochan, but it seemed like the only way to the basement was through that door. After making sure no one was around, Seonwoo quickly headed for the basement. The doorknob was still firmly locked. He fiddled with a hairpin in his pocket.0c8989e6c92125ca

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Should he 184fef1cbc just pick c972aa9f25 the lock, bf0303d8a0 check if 955ce0abda Iwon was 7f4e3a82c5 inside, and ad728c62ca get out? He was debating when, a7f58cb87e just as he reached 30c8bff5a4 for the door—264f6f49c139a0fa

“What are you doing here?”82fe2d748cd88b5c

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Startled, Seonwoo turned around to see one of the gangsters eyeing him suspiciously. He was one of An Hyungtae’s close guys. He approached with a menacing look and interrogated him.bdacc57d00310443

“You little punk, what were you doing here?”ec439ec553250604

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Seonwoo swallowed hard. He knew if he answered wrong, he’d be in big trouble. Quickly changing his expression, he shrank back as if scared, glancing nervously behind him as he spoke.c0401b6b9ed74f69

“Um, I heard a ghost sound from inside.”c328248c53d2b3b4

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“What? A ghost?”3cbc905904475e0c

“I’m pretty sure there’s a ghost in there…”53c58d4133dab3f6

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Hearing Seonwoo’s words, the man’s suspicious look faded and he snorted. Seeing Seonwoo’s face all bruised from fighting Yoochan, he grabbed his shoulder and shook him.e75243f87103deaf

“I heard you beat that middle schooler today? Kid, you’ve got talent, huh?”6ba5c4b326d623a0

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Then the man scratched bdaa7679d1 his head, thinking for 4b5eb49bf8 a moment, and handed fd258767b1 Seonwoo something. Caught off guard, aaa181c1af Seonwoo took it—it b512696261 was a flashlight.1ffb6dde7aff3ee8

“Go inside and check if there’s a ghost or not.”f052a83c3a46eb46

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“Huh?”4faff83e8b340e5b

“If the ghost looks bad, let me know, got it?”8aa2dfd47269f25c

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Amused by Seonwoo’s confusion, the man opened the basement door. The door creaked open, revealing pitch-black darkness inside. Seonwoo quickly turned on the flashlight and stepped in.674521055fc67ab0

With the man’s eyes boring into the back of his head, the beam of light wobbled nervously. He was scared to go into the darkness, but he mustered up his courage and walked in.9b234c510d6ec020

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The basement was ca198683a6 so run-down it 178bd65db9 stank. Old tables and chairs 259d8275fa were scattered everywhere, and bea074849d the boiler hummed. He could ebbaed42f6 hear faint 5a928446ab sobbing. Shining the flashlight, Seonwoo 1e99dbbbed found the source and cefb69ca2c gasped.c3991c47ebde4b53

Clenching his teeth, Seonwoo 26019fd7e7 took a deep breath 1d80ef9e70 and fixed his expression. Acting terrified, f2551ad07d he hurriedly f5eb694c37 ran back d8cd09558d out.88483feb3342972c

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“Scared?”cfe83b31e16a1d13

“Ah, no. Not scared at all.”3c88d372b4cf5338

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“Yeah, right. Acting tough.”7e9dcd0eecf42c98

The man laughed 04c03c7f1c and closed the 53f9cc7d1d basement door behind d6b18c0a70 Seonwoo. The door slammed e3039ca672 shut, and the 01d479e4aa sobbing faded into 6e7ebedc50 the darkness. Seonwoo let 49cf71de57 out a 5f63160ef3 shaky breath, 5e2ca4670f wracked with 8d47f29ad5 guilt.a46a45dc0868ea0c

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Iwon was alone fbb4a3e844 in that pitch-black b45e80f8e7 darkness, without even e2c1e6946e a flashlight. And it 10d7f37fc4 was all fc5c6467fb because of 264e35e750 Seonwoo.302e55abe585f04d

‘If only I hadn’t asked him to go to the arcade with me…’d115f46f4d899120

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An Hyungtae probably didn’t tell him to play with Iwon for no reason, so why did he listen so well? No matter how fun it was to play with Iwon, he should’ve held back.0945ea451c708258

How was 22cae5d1dd that kid 57879ebc16 surviving in b11dcdc9e3 the darkness 4bc8da803e all day? How much must he 328d211dd1 hate me? Overwhelmed by 2c3852f492 emotion, Seonwoo d7ce5ebe84 bit the 67cb4e4947 inside of 5f841070c1 his mouth 42fab30abc and tongue.3c461ea612ded15b

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𓂃𓍼 ོ☁f62c88486e28b600

Seonwoo held back his urge to get Iwon out right away. He didn’t say a word about the basement. Instead, he made it obvious he was scared of the basement and avoided going near it. Eventually, the guy who was supposed to check on Iwon and bring him food and water, annoyed by the hassle, dumped the job on Seonwoo.ed0d1dd31af5c375

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“It’s not a ghost, it’s your friend, so if anything’s wrong, come tell me right away. If not, I’ll throw you in there too.”fd0bb5c1ad1d5125

“Okay! I’ll let you know right away.”f62d19e84ec8be5d

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Even with a scared face, Seonwoo answered bravely. For a while after dumping the job on Seonwoo, the man kept following him to make sure he was doing it right. But thanks to Seonwoo’s usual politeness, he soon let his guard down.7a1412f4f4dc3e53

Seonwoo wanted to rush ab513497d1 in and talk to afd7c85e7c Iwon, but he held 067d3b7e57 back. The next 6b9b0c4fdc day, he a24057562c went into ce66e955bf the basement b21e805b70 at the 63f7b4d8fe usual time, 4e15b72b74 dropped off fa812c2675 food and 68d1b71cca water, and 91f7bf9895 left. Instead, he went to 81f0d8fa5b bed early and woke 0dc0c5e2db up at dawn, before 954eb13659 the sun was up.c6094eeee6e23367

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None of the gangsters ever woke up early. They’d never lived a diligent life, always drinking and playing cards late into the night, then passing out and only waking up around lunchtime. So there was no way anyone would be up at dawn.a0809704110d6e3b

Seonwoo moved quietly in the dark. He’d even oiled the door in advance so it wouldn’t creak. It wasn’t completely silent, but it was much quieter.5f4a45b78115556a

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After closing the door 0b21d55aaf behind him, Seonwoo clicked 112c7b2b26 on the flashlight. Iwon was curled fa693118b2 up asleep in 5c6910742d the corner of 346bbbc7ef the basement. The tracks of 4424810b13 tears were still 72f43b239d wet on his 1c90b2f345 cheeks. Seonwoo wanted to fd4dcce3a2 wake him up 44f7ffd5f3 and get him 90934babc8 out right away, 63247dfed4 but he froze.ed51d43c22eebf2b

Iwon’s ankle was shackled with a metal cuff. The other end was attached to a huge, rusty dog cage, welded shut so there was no way a hairpin could open it. Seonwoo stood there, deep in thought. How could he get Iwon out of here?c88b7f1c31aa768a

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Since they were feeding him and checking on him every day, it didn’t seem like they’d hurt Iwon for a while. But the food was terrible, and sweat beaded on Iwon’s forehead and cheeks in the heat.fb5ab08d4d696430

As Seonwoo 2e21376759 was thinking, f5e9b44818 Iwon woke f7dd3ddccb up in 71ae3ffd31 the bright b3602a81c1 flashlight beam. Seonwoo rushed over e30cd18b86 and covered his 6857bc4c28 mouth.a1acc347015d79c0

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A muffled 7501481bac scream came 1b921c7c8d out, and 6da911bc02 Iwon started 03a3b2cd45 crying again. Seonwoo shushed him, e3dcbd078e trying to calm 09d163e4cf him down.82f89b8b9f8c4cf2

“It’s me, Seonwoo hyung. Be quiet. If not, we’ll get caught.”73e7d0e39e04fc81

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Seonwoo was just as 3ceb67c073 scared, so his voice 9dbbc9a75c was desperate. Luckily, Iwon 21e0b90950 calmed down 61d58cf17a quickly, maybe 3887f0a86b because he 69c0d601b2 was so 9e675ddb1c weak. Seonwoo could feel 1b44d2f0cc his shallow, trembling de80b0dbeb breaths under his 17227cc4c2 palm. His whole 60e3267f8f body reeked 64a4591a23 from days 9c6b6157d3 of sweat.80f2d4874e001f6f

“You’re gonna be quiet, right?”e24c62f027762f32

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When Iwon nodded, Seonwoo d199b78740 slowly took his hand ad70fa8f84 away. Seeing Iwon squinting in 7d2c1bba66 the bright light, he 0a9e8aea60 quickly moved the flashlight 85cf9edd21 away. Iwon started sobbing 450c46c34d again.b096dd8601616ab2

“Hyung, I’m scared… Please get me out. I want to see my mom. I want to go home…”a7aace3a86d9b8be

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“I’m sorry.”b181642e09cb9cac

He apologized without thinking. His nose stung and his eyes burned, turning red. The guilt weighed on his chest like a boulder. He’d never felt such pressure before.6b39e7331daf242f

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“I’m really sorry.”40d5f95541add293

At Seonwoo’s apology, Iwon started bawling. Afraid someone might hear, Seonwoo quickly hugged him tight. His chest got soaked with sweat and tears. When Iwon finally went limp from crying, Seonwoo shook his shoulder.1b41d5303394bed5

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“Just hang in there a little longer, okay? Then I’ll get you out of here.”945c3240bc99f457

Iwon just let the tears fall without answering. When Seonwoo tried to get up, Iwon clung to his clothes, crying, “Don’t go.” But he couldn’t stay any longer.aa94c69d5fd293c6

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By now, someone might be waking up. Seonwoo left a small flashlight, batteries, and a bag of candy. He’d bought them with the money An Hyungtae gave him.963a345f48e2675a

“Keep this with you. Only turn on the light if you’re really scared. If you hear the door open, hide it in the corner right away. You can’t let anyone find it, okay?”97cf041ca689ffb0

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“Don’t go, take me with you…”7f7cc6800dd3536c

Iwon started crying for his mom, but Seonwoo shook him off and stood up. He’d had to muster all his courage just to get here, so he was in a hurry. He promised he’d come back and left the basement. Luckily, everyone was still snoring away.ac1eacbc4c6e069d

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All day, Seonwoo 4e504abf58 racked his brain f0c53ae5c4 for a way 1cc93a0017 to rescue Iwon 7296736d2d from the basement 19dadd744d safely. Reporting to ac5a852b8f the police 0a3fa5827e would be f0f32bea2f best, but 23386e55e8 the problem 44e45044a3 was the bb49a9f20f police themselves.7aa6406b1cdd2868

While staying 289beb3e29 at the 98b56d3fab motel, Seonwoo 0fe2ecec81 had seen c16c129e33 two or 38cf333cf8 three cops 6da3117626 come by 7a40e8eca7 a few 6911341314 times. It was always 0d334ed46f late at night, a8232450c2 and they drank 6da6168079 with An Hyungtae 82248c3de1 like old friends.9fb2e3d0b3b3de27

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Their pockets 2e51872f0b were always 6d3ad2803e bulging when bfccd076c1 they left.565307e3c0942bc0

Even as a kid, Seonwoo thought hard. If An Hyungtae was friends with the police ahjussi, wouldn’t they just cover it up if he reported it? Or maybe the cop friend would secretly tell An Hyungtae?347e0ed09b497e76

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What if An Hyungtae 7aad9f145d found out he reported 9cfb89a0a9 and came after him 3595982355 to kill him? What if 761d850905 he burned f70a677aa7 down the ce72e60fbd orphanage?3b2b512a22e4d897