UCCU | Chapter 3.1

“Hey, Yoon Seonwoo.”

Yoon Seonwoo, who was crouched down braiding his little sister’s hair, looked up. After tying the last hairband and patting her on the shoulder, he ran over to Kim Yoochan, who had called him.

Ever since starting middle school, Yoochan had been trying to act more grown-up, putting on airs, and even now he deliberately lowered his voice when calling Seonwoo.

“What’s up?”

“Hyungtae hyung wants to see you now.”

“…Okay.”

Seonwoo answered gloomily, not really wanting to go. He put on his sneakers and followed Yoochan. After about twenty minutes of winding through narrow alleys, they arrived at an old motel. The men smoking in front of the door recognized them.

“You little punks, just getting here now?”

“Hello.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up, will you?”

Seonwoo bowed deeply in greeting, and one of the men patted his head with the hand holding his cigarette. Seonwoo had to force himself not to grimace as cigarette ash fell by his ear.

He really hated this place. He never should have gotten involved with this crowd in the first place, but it was all because of Yoochan.

About a year ago, Yoochan had lured him out, saying there was a place with delicious snacks. The orphanage never starved them, but for an elementary school kid, snacks were always in short supply.

Seonwoo had thought it was some church giving out snacks for missionary work. But Yoochan took him to a hangout for school bullies. It was just a small studio apartment where the bullies hung out.

Yoochan had been pretty close to Seonwoo at the orphanage, and he’d brought him along thinking he was sharing something good.

‘Hey, do you know how scary that hyung is? You gotta make connections at times like this. Otherwise, the other kids will look down on us. We don’t have parents, you know.’

Yoochan talked big, acting like an adult, all about “connections” with a bunch of middle and high school bullies. And the “snacks” were just a few bites of ramen and a handful of chips.

Yoochan and Seonwoo were just elementary schoolers there. The place reeked of smoke, and everyone from the youngest kids to the high schoolers had that delinquent vibe.

Seonwoo wanted to go back to the orphanage and play with his younger siblings, but he couldn’t just leave Yoochan there alone. He wished he could have cut ties after that, but he couldn’t.

Yoochan thought it was cool to bring a middle school bully to threaten classmates he didn’t like after school. The bullies enjoyed watching elementary kids cry and beg for forgiveness.

Since Seonwoo went to and from school with Yoochan, he had no choice but to get involved with them.

But it didn’t stop there. As Yoochan got older, he practically lived at the bullies’ hangout. After watching a gangster movie, he started idolizing real gangsters and eventually got the bullies to introduce him to actual gang members.

Every time they met, Seonwoo had to bow at a 90-degree angle, empty ashtrays, and put up with slaps and kicks. Still, Yoochan kept dragging Seonwoo along to the gangsters’ place, probably because he was scared to go alone.

Seonwoo hated the gangsters, but he played along, always looking for a chance to get out. The bullies were annoying, but the gangsters were genuinely scary.

They didn’t care if there were little kids around—they’d use violence at the drop of a hat. Seonwoo had even seen Yoochan get slapped for not understanding something.

Once, a couple of gangsters burst in with bloody knives, quickly hid them, and took showers, or suddenly smashed a colleague’s head with a hammer. After seeing that, even Yoochan seemed to realize he’d gotten in too deep, but it was already too late.

The gangsters started treating Yoochan and Seonwoo however they wanted. Since they had no family, there’d be no consequences. They were easy to boss around, so sometimes they’d just keep them there and not let them go back to the orphanage.

If they said they wanted to leave, the gangsters would threaten them with weapons, saying they’d kill them, then laugh at the terrified kids.

Even then, Yoochan didn’t snap out of it, so Seonwoo would cry under a musty blanket in a corner room. Sometimes the older girls hanging out there would comfort him with snacks.

To Seonwoo, they were like big sisters, but they weren’t adults either, and sometimes they’d all just cry together. Later, Seonwoo realized they were victims of abuse too.

Among the gangsters, An Hyungtae was the worst. He was basically the top dog—meticulous, ruthless, and no one dared mess with him. He’d be laughing one second, then swing a weapon without changing expression.

Unfortunately, he liked Seonwoo more than Yoochan. He’d joke about how Seonwoo was good-looking and polite, saying he’d give him a cool scar and make him his right-hand man when he grew up. It always gave Seonwoo chills because it sounded so real.

An Hyungtae kept Seonwoo and Yoochan locked up for over a week before letting them go. He threatened that if they went back to the orphanage and said they’d run away, he’d burn the place down in the middle of the night.

The orphanage already knew Yoochan hung out with bullies, so when they said they’d run away, the staff just sighed and sent them to counseling, not really pressing the issue.

After that, Seonwoo and Yoochan kept getting called out by An Hyungtae. They got hit, kicked, and made to run all sorts of errands almost every day. The only reward for running around sweating was sometimes getting a single 1,000-won bill.

𓂃𓍼 ོ☁

One day, An Hyungtae watched Yoochan and Seonwoo closely, then motioned for Seonwoo to come over. Seonwoo was wiping down a table dirty with sauce and cigarette ash after eating jjajangmyeon, and hurried over. If he was even a little late, he could get hit.

“What is it?”

“Turn around once.”

Seonwoo obediently turned in a circle, and An Hyungtae smiled in satisfaction. Then he took Seonwoo to a department store. He threw out Seonwoo’s grubby clothes and bought him new sneakers, tops, and pants, making him look like a neat little gentleman.

“Damn, you look good in those clothes. You’re a good-looking kid.”

“Thank you. I’ll wear them well.”

Seonwoo bowed deeply in thanks, but inside he was suspicious. An Hyungtae wouldn’t buy him clothes for no reason. No way he was planning to adopt him or something, right? The thought alone was horrifying.

Sure enough, An Hyungtae put Seonwoo in the car and drove somewhere. Seonwoo’s mind raced. Was he going to sell him off somewhere because he was good-looking? Should he jump out of the car and ask for help?

Luckily, An Hyungtae didn’t head anywhere shady. He stopped the car near a fancy apartment complex, straightened Seonwoo’s clothes, and said,

“Seonwoo, listen carefully to what I say.”

“Yes…”

Seonwoo blinked rapidly, not understanding what was going on. After checking him over, An Hyungtae pointed.

“If you go straight that way, there’s a playground. There’ll be a kid named Choi Iwon. From now on, whenever I drop you off here, you’re going to be his best friend. Got it?”

He showed Seonwoo a photo of a boy. Seonwoo hesitated, not really getting it, and An Hyungtae smacked him on the head. As Seonwoo staggered, he growled quietly,

“Damn, why are you so slow today? If you don’t do it right, I’ll beat you to death. You want to end up like Kim Joohwan?”

“No!”

Seonwoo answered quickly, holding back the pain. Kim Joohwan was a gangster the same age as An Hyungtae. They were always at odds, but one day, An Hyungtae killed him in cold blood.

He’d suddenly smashed Joohwan’s head with a chair during a meal. No one tried to stop him, so Joohwan was beaten until he foamed at the mouth and was dragged out, never to return. Knowing An Hyungtae could do the same to him, Seonwoo swallowed hard.

“Here, don’t cry. Have a lollipop.”

An Hyungtae unwrapped a lollipop and stuck it in Seonwoo’s mouth, putting another in his pocket, then pushed him forward. Seonwoo, holding a new backpack and shoe bag he’d never even taken to school, started walking.

Just as An Hyungtae said, there was a playground straight ahead. The playground Seonwoo knew had only a rusty bar, a slide, and a broken swing, but this one was different.

There was a big ship-shaped slide, shiny colorful swings, a seesaw, and rocking horses that dazzled Seonwoo’s eyes.

He hopped on a rocking horse and looked around. It was after school, so there were lots of kids playing. Seonwoo watched the parents helping with backpacks or watching their kids, then shook his head. If he didn’t find Choi Iwon, An Hyungtae would kill him.

Sucking on his lollipop, he soon spotted Choi Iwon—his cute, handsome face stood out even as a kid.

Choi Iwon was swinging alone, looking a bit sulky. In Seonwoo’s neighborhood, the swings were always the most popular, but here, the seat next to Iwon was empty, so Seonwoo quickly sat down beside him. Iwon glanced at Seonwoo.

The guardian in a neat gray suit looked wary as Seonwoo approached, but seeing he was just another well-dressed kid, she even smiled. Seonwoo started swinging and spoke to Iwon.

“Hi.”

“Hi… there.”

Realizing Seonwoo was older, Iwon bowed his head. Wondering how to get close, Seonwoo dug his foot in the sand. Like most kids, he started by asking the obvious question.

“How old are you?”

“Eight.”

“I’m eleven.”

Iwon nodded, not very interested. Then, out of nowhere, he started bragging about his brother.

“My hyung is twenty.”

“Wow. Twenty.”

To an elementary schooler, twenty was impressive, so Seonwoo was genuinely amazed, and Iwon looked a little proud. Seonwoo wondered what it would be like to have a twenty-year-old brother, feeling a bit jealous, and then introduced himself.

“I’m Yoon Seonwoo.”

“…Choi Iwon.”

Seonwoo took out the lollipop An Hyungtae had given him and fiddled with it.

“Want a lollipop?”

“Yeah!”

Sitting side by side on the swings, sucking on lollipops, they quickly bonded. Once Iwon realized Seonwoo wasn’t pushy, he asked to play in the sandbox together. Seonwoo was good at building sandcastles, since he’d spent so much time playing with construction sand at an abandoned building.

They played together until it was time for Iwon to go home. Walking back, Seonwoo realized he’d actually had fun.

But why did An Hyungtae want him to be friends with Iwon? Making friends wasn’t bad, but something felt off. When he got back to where the car had been, it was gone.

He had no choice but to squat and wait until sunset, when An Hyungtae finally returned. As soon as he got out of the car, he smacked Seonwoo on the head.

“You little punk, you got distracted playing and came late.”

He was the one who was late… Seonwoo almost cried from the unfairness, but held it in. He was hungry and just wanted to get back to the orphanage for dinner. As he tried to get in the car, An Hyungtae stopped him.

“Hey, you’re getting sand all over the car!”

After all that sand play, his pants, socks, and shoes were full of sand. An Hyungtae threw Seonwoo’s old clothes from the car. Embarrassed, Seonwoo quickly changed, looking around to make sure no one was watching.

He felt miserable. As they drove, An Hyungtae barked at him.

“So, did you get close to Choi Iwon?”

“Yeah. We played in the sand.”

“You sure it was really Choi Iwon?”

“He’s eight, and his hyung is twenty.”

“Yeah? Then I guess that’s the right kid.”