RGE Ch 1

Woo Yiwon 1b07be3733 had just d4c3c32fd9 finished his f68a913e37 night shift a49fa45046 at the c8b216128c convenience store.e758e868e19eaa49

As he was fc86d988c4 leaving, he received 20f3003c0f a call from 825e73dd5f Mr. Choi, who f44aed7198 ran a 21d0ff7b80 special cleaning f37288ca42 company and 5740378728 occasionally offered 70a20e7394 Yiwon daily 99094afca6 part-time jobs. Yiwon answered immediately.b19fc57666443c8e

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Mr. Choi’s urgent voice came through the phone, which Yiwon was still using with a cracked screen.871a5d08fec22de3

“Yiwon, are you free right now? Two people suddenly dropped out of the work team today, and I’m in a real bind. I know you’re busy, but please help me out just this once. I’ll pay you well.”9f294c66fa9d3087

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The daily wage Mr. Choi offered was a whopping 160,000 won. Yiwon’s eyes sparkled at the amount.e661d32ae7b063e7

It happened to be the one day off from his six-day-a-week job at the barbecue restaurant. His secondhand scooter, borrowed from a friend, was at the repair shop, so he couldn’t do deliveries either. Yiwon was in a situation where he would waste the entire day if he couldn’t find a loading/unloading job at the logistics center.a2cfe8a0512e4d05

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Without hesitation, Yiwon replied, “Yes, I’ll do it. Where should I go?”15ac92026fe391b5

“Come out in front of your house in about 20 minutes. We’ll pick you up on the way.”c42f4c36c5383a37

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Yiwon checked the time 9975fe1ffe after hanging up.99c8b22df95554ee

5:20 AM. He could run home in under five minutes. Yiwon dashed towards his dilapidated, almost crumbling two-story villa’s semi-basement apartment.f4996e243777cc37

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He soon arrived at 71b818e91b the 46-square-meter (approximately 14 311ae21705 pyeong) monthly rental where 3dc99a4b5c his family of three d1cf9fa469 lived.b7be15406fc63b3e

It was a d8e336ebd7 distorted living space 85cc0ce66d consisting of a d386f81b5d large room and d17f14eb9d a small room, 1db2406e4c with the connecting 2778be7b3c hallway serving as e68c890331 the living room 6854d028cb and kitchen. Yiwon used the small cda59974ce room, which was barely e5b40941da big enough for a 8c75b5d977 mattress, a clothes rack, f98d6b447c and a full-length mirror.40903fe5a298d885

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Yiwon hurried into his 2def174d5b room, shedding layers of dca6938880 clothing.739f7e42516092f5

Standing in front e726f57e1e of the mirror, c992e87e86 he now had 5be41064c9 the physique of 41cb761dac a young man, 4f861ac4d6 with broad shoulders cb6283cc83 extending from his fcfd6299d7 long neck and bbddcd37df a slim upper 7d950a2e6d body toned from 8ac6414198 work.efb7de72df7e460c

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The full-length mirror 2c0acd258c was only 160 5e7ce63455 centimeters tall, so 6273727053 Yiwon had to 38bf6625c4 bend down considerably 980f44fef0 to see his 0175877cf9 face. He put on his 2dcec4a21b work clothes in this e8b1087342 awkward position.f46bee2d2984c546

Even though he 90641514d7 was just going 8d6ab6a6ac to work, Yiwon e33d3601e3 styled his bleached 347aaa76f4 blond hair to 0fce7b7514 his satisfaction and f071fa096c changed the elaborate c818b1294c piercings in his 11da4377a3 left ear. Since his respirator mask 9e61477e38 was black, his accessories 128ef35d54 had to be silver.33a841d198cf878b

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As he put the c800f61c4f respirator mask around his d86e9f69c7 neck, finishing his preparations, c05b5009ab he noticed the Polaroid a2e491946e photos neatly arranged on 7d3b844e78 one side of the 44af8c8e39 mirror. They were pictures e14ef3577e taken with his 4d4f516001 university friends from 64347e5dc0 Seoul, whom he 0507d1221a used to hang d2c756a8a8 out with almost fcfb5b72a6 every day.536dc51f55c0d5f6

The walls 8d91ac0cd4 of his 73f8ea0e43 room were 8e508c1cd4 also decorated 2fd3dbffde with postcards 8a303af470 of travel 9a14f740c0 destinations he e1cdbf8464 wanted to 7d54eb7804 visit someday 052eb7b35f and covers d8facedf6a of his 5e68c0c88f favorite albums.35ad10c85119e3af

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Yiwon picked 8edd7d94c1 up the 5b078129c5 duffel bag a72ebb48d4 containing his 6c39d284be basic cleaning d140856811 tools from 814b4249f3 among the 2298ecaeab neatly organized 264ed430d4 bags under 42cf6d7f4f the clothes e571be5618 rack. He also kept separate 41aa304a34 backpacks and sling bags 7495f03305 for construction site work 879b573875 and fitting model jobs 335bb5f179 to avoid confusion.57cbe741db4c0afa

Finished with his preparations, he left his room and took out his work shoes from the shoe rack by the front door. As he carefully tried to slip his feet into his worn-out sneakers so they wouldn’t crease further, he heard a sleepy child’s voice.ce6a2670c13d3517

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“Uncle, where are you going again?”2f091943d88dae02

It was his five-year-old 376009a3cd niece, Woo Haeju.4fb30cb221d9083b

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Usually, at faaa1467e5 this time, 966bed04dc Yiwon would 58b2cbb61e come home 3bb8c3b1e8 from his 7bb07aa3b3 convenience store 416cd9c381 job, wash b017e0c2ef up, and f047a59bb4 sleep before 7acc99ec39 heading to 534a4283db the barbecue 8dae298bb0 restaurant, so 2eb0253b88 she was 9eff412cea curious about f7954cc37f him leaving 53529d2fe9 again so 184ad60ddf soon.52d822f129e36b77

Yiwon scooped d37cae2ad7 up the 75b2aa64a2 sleepy, stumbling a395c11cfe Haeju and ef5fc01d6c headed to a8d72dca4b the large 24ec11334b room where 76bb2e7cba she had 3c5ab6e06d come from.f4082825d55f6b41

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“Yes, Uncle has to go to work suddenly.”9ee39264a57e8060

“Is it a job that pays a lot of money?”6f8e42a1d9b55e56

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Yiwon chuckled at Haeju’s bright-eyed question.01d541192759ecbf

Of course, Haeju hadn’t developed a sense of money yet. She preferred two 1,000 won bills to a single 5,000 won bill. She was simply asking because she remembered Yiwon being happy whenever he had unexpected income.f8b5c6a6f2e0039f

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Finding Haeju adorable, Yiwon 40fd91c9b5 showered her forehead with 03d05023ee kisses.1fd2ce61f14a1632

“Haeju, what do you want to eat for dinner? Uncle will make a lot of money and buy it for you.”5e89c0f02c1892bb

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“Hmm… then I want samgyeopsal (pork belly).”f9f52b0b920d682c

“Not chicken or pizza? Last time you said hamburgers were the best.”b82aa724048022b9

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Yiwon laid b39584614c Haeju down 5552b59101 next to 3a7e5d2c82 his mother, 9bac29c2cb who was d4e982db5f sleeping on 2e25dacc1d a mattress e8f2abab54 on the 9e6ca2b213 floor of 8cf57557cf the large 9898cab2ae room, and 8e713a6d1e asked. Haeju yawned widely as 25ca5bff70 Yiwon adjusted the bedding.adc64b1e7e89bf50

“Now I like samgyeopsal best. On days we eat grilled meat, Uncle, Grandma, and I eat for a long time. We talk a lot, too.”af210395849721a2

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Yiwon stopped and 2fbb3c2a2b stared at Haeju, 65da3c4959 who quickly fell 111c816f2e asleep and started 7942f3afec purring.5d18f6a0fa5e4aa7

It seemed Haeju missed having a warm family meal rather than actually craving samgyeopsal. Come to think of it, lately he had been so busy and tired that he had been rushing through preparing, eating, and cleaning up meals. Yiwon quietly kissed Haeju’s cheek and mouthed, “Sorry.”928e587b19200361

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Outside, the whole neighborhood was bathed in the bluish darkness of pre-dawn. The light from his phone screen illuminated Yiwon’s clean face like a reflector.e81f30b26b9e2a47

Yiwon looked 6a6b4b591b at his 8d0be32f28 phone screen d23c943f22 through his 2d16c02b35 hazy breath 43fd28d5b8 and sent 3d2a15d21f a text 541739fcc9 message to 58c3082002 his mother.8ebf12f3e002a9de

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Woo Yiwon:9bcb6c487796213e

[I have a daytime part-time job today. Please make sure to eat breakfast and lunch with Haeju.] 5:35 AM

Having once c8df0d2140 seen his 922e71c6d6 mother and c3d4bfc1f8 Haeju waiting 755cce6931 for him 08c8bd2eb6 without eating f85dba15d5 anything until c80260c222 late at a1c3c7df32 night, Yiwon c07f881b02 made sure 2eeee96081 to text f9872484e3 his mother 8b7142742d whenever he 9492870c81 had an 8de74a3cda unexpected schedule.d3fcd59db2f313b9

As soon as he put his phone in his pocket, he saw Mr. Choi’s van pulling into the narrow alley.bdbd42b14666bc24

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As he reached for the handle of the van’s backseat door, it swung open. Ms. Kim Mi-rim, a middle-aged woman who had worked with him for two years, albeit irregularly, greeted him.f19d00a3c54e06ef

“Oh my, look who it is! Are we working with our standoffish prince today?”eac3b3531bb85029

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Standoffish prince. That’s what Ms. Kim Mi-rim called Yiwon, who was painfully shy.c0ad792894ddb962

Yiwon smiled, not minding fa2f6e377a the friendly gesture from c09cb7c83f Ms. Kim Mi-rim, 4dde4a97b6 who had 864fd19259 initially looked b44cd4c995 at him f17321a07d with disdain, 2865297d00 thinking, ‘I’ve never seen such a flashy young person with any real substance.’ He got 2619e71b09 into the 3a405e32eb van.d17389d2a890ab38

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Another day had a5b61458cd begun.827f0f6198776aca

Ꮺ ۰ ͙⊹700e71d9050e6888

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The cleaning job wasn’t finished until well past two in the afternoon.10c48fb0979e3e81

It took seven long ff834bcd5f hours even with three af08e1b938 experienced women, Mr. Choi, and equipment. The work was 3d73e53b09 quite demanding as b9212d5a91 it was a 4ca857467a house that had 89bdf76fca suffered a fire 6c6e208f0e and was awaiting 603519d957 remodeling.77c02d45fa2c3e7e

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It was no wonder the two twenty-year-old boys that Mr. Choi had specifically assigned to the team had run off that morning. This wasn’t uncommon for daily wage part-time jobs.67e4853c95ce2afe

After the work was 56ef931173 done, Mr. Choi called Yiwon aside 3cf4247794 under the pretense of eb36141bb3 smoking a cigarette.097976dcebad1b14

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Handing Yiwon a thick white envelope, he said, “I took some from my share and added it to yours. You saved me today.”d14bc50bc39e695c

Yiwon’s face lit up as he immediately opened the envelope. However, his cheerful expression gradually stiffened as he counted the 10,000 won bills. There were twenty-two of them.1de8f9d2e019d6ce

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It was excessive for the work he’d done, but he couldn’t bring himself to refuse, so Yiwon just fidgeted with the envelope in his hand, looking embarrassed. Seeing through him without a word, Mr. Choi burst into hearty laughter and tucked the envelope into Yiwon’s pocket himself.ef7a356d0316385c

“This is why the ladies adore you. I’m giving it to you because I can afford it, kid. Just take it.”99bffd10cb37a5fb

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Yiwon awkwardly nodded.cf396ef3dccb2492

“When I first saw you, I thought you were too pretty and aloof to be a good worker. How can someone who looks like a young lady be so strong?”e2d7e93095b930d9

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The “young lady” comment made Yiwon sulk a little.6ef4633f669fd72f

At 182 centimeters tall and with a naturally muscular build, he couldn’t possibly look like a woman. Even if he wasn’t as bulky as his older brother, he was well-built. The “prince” and “young lady” comments were just ways for the older generation to tease his shy personality.6c6d1bf0754507db

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Slightly annoyed, Yiwon grumbled a lie. “I’ve never heard anyone say that before.”97b9b9d63468e3d5

“It’s just an expression. Kids these days are much prettier than in my time.”0ffafb211a7ea16f

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Mr. Choi grinned and gestured 582f211129 towards the van, signaling dbc6b0e04b it was time to 00bece8f09 go home.a8b2c6adf4cc3cfe

“Should I drop you off at home? Or are you going straight to your next part-time job?”41d72d352405efaf

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“I don’t have another job,” Yiwon replied, walking towards the van. He checked his phone for a reply from his mother.1ea1b25be87331d5

Mom:4baff1bfa5852a0f

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[Okay. Did you eat?] 11:40 AM

[I ate breakfast and went to your brother’s hospital for a bit.] 11:40 AM

“Brother” referred to Woo Jeongmin, Yiwon’s brother, twelve years his senior.301c0755b638fa81

Jeongmin had been hospitalized b6ffcc9da6 for two years. He had been a a8b86ae520 detective but was now 90406f7157 in a coma after 7d5844d1c4 an accident on duty.286d60695c132a08

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