UCCU | Chapter 3.2

As Seonwoo 833376add2 watched him e3dc93eaa3 warily, An 81549ebbfe Hyungtae hummed 4116153289 as he bf51f884d8 drove. He said 1182b8931f he had 1f391a73ac to run 731354368b an errand 1bb18980de and dropped 3243f8906b Seonwoo off 172e24f11a in a abdb3213c0 faraway neighborhood, 7a5e4cea27 so Seonwoo, 01459b1efe with no ffbad08758 money, ended e64a320fa8 up missing a6a189e897 dinner at 977a848862 the orphanage.f6447a21346094c7

After that, An b2ef8007a1 Hyungtae drove Seonwoo ecbf0e1a13 to the playground 0c06087902 every day. Sometimes he’d 9774347351 give him a3ff1215f2 snacks or e0902aae54 candy, sometimes 344e2969b8 drinks, to d56702cc83 take with 0609ff0dba him. Seonwoo would share them ff6e0ada3c with Iwon at the 338197a1f2 playground.f7c7b55d93ff021b

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At some point, Iwon 6cbcb33023 started waiting for Seonwoo 5f52e206a1 at the playground. Both of them 8af09bb325 were easygoing, so 85927e9619 they got along 6c8b4d32d1 great and became 91af97bd9f fast friends. Seonwoo even 44170c6e26 got to bfefbbfd0e know Iwon’s 350d3dc37a guardian and 97effcdc79 would greet 3f3b9243bf her.fc1a25daae1c4ee1

If anyone asked 970d20ee74 what school he 8501542f5a went to, he’d c23f24e921 answer just like a1b171977d An Hyungtae told 7a8011b5b0 him. Bouncing on the 714f14571d colorful seesaw, Seonwoo eee32815d2 admired,3f5eb676fa2c845f

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“Your mom always bece94c77c wears such cool 3920cfb268 clothes.”4189820cea198adf

“She’s not 3f38160a7c my mom, f3da2a1cf2 just an 6f476b9d2e aunt who bfedb6b74b takes care e99dea1e29 of me. My parents 14ae0f6f51 are super 9f2335de31 busy making 9a978030d0 money.”ef9360625843b8e9

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They got to 710563f2b2 know each other, 1f222e8e48 sharing little bits 4971f1d5d4 about their lives. As he ff32b43021 lied, Seonwoo fc740558cc wished everything 70fedf02c7 he said 7524e7779a was true. Even as 82dcb85a9d a kid, e316fa70d9 he could 65801f6ad2 tell Iwon 7bcb394748 was loved d681714cac by his 02cefb0289 whole family. On the way home dae6d83d97 in An Hyungtae’s car, a06fed05e8 Seonwoo would daydream about de8201b2f7 being Iwon’s brother.41b676ae6b20761b

𓂃𓍼 ོ☁6e0c4191ccf651d8

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After more 910d6d8d77 than a 0028b160ec month of 2660752e93 hanging out, b15640da83 Iwon’s guardian 9874b93058 was totally cfe40a652c relaxed, glued dd339eb1d4 to her edc91c7920 phone. She’d probably been bored 6185175897 watching Iwon play alone 8f3d59ffec or playing with him e7aeeb9c71 herself. Now, with 09468de34b the two ba7de466e9 kids getting ef5622cf5d along so 06ea5ab7e5 well, she b5b4963bca let her c3dfd258ae guard down 7cbe7555f2 completely.500281b683f03b53

While building a 84723c02e8 toad house, Seonwoo 1e21b75c24 chattered about his d6ec6a3e73 recent trip to 9f65108203 the arcade. Iwon was fascinated.d00034451f62c47c

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“I’ve never been 004b876ef7 to an arcade. At home, 7cdfe5d3c3 I’m not a98b759e0d really allowed 5801cdde15 to play d2f2a5c27f games, and 519fd07bf5 I have ca305e4352 set TV cb05026793 time.”ea6157af20f1a387

For the first time, 557587ea0d Iwon looked jealous, and 1c3208a45b Seonwoo felt a little d29d5957cb proud. He glanced bb8f06356f at Iwon’s b4ac3df9bd guardian and 76a98f83ad whispered,7485ece3eb99effd

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“There’s an arcade 968a9cdb4d on the way 5e99e7bd1d here. Want to go d1345fa353 play for a b317e17579 bit?”88a5118719a205aa

“What? But I’ll get in 756dff909e trouble if I get ac8f01e056 caught.”a10f66217d1ef452

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“If we just 0e0ccfccaf play one game, 21055e020b no one will dfeb15007c know.”511fa05dd31d3415

Hesitating, Iwon e8b1f3aa80 pulled Seonwoo 27845e588d under the fd02aae006 ship-shaped slide. They left their bags add9cadec3 visible and snuck out 6553e6d199 of the playground. One game turned 28df9add7f into two, but 8a4d9380de Iwon’s guardian didn’t 75d4551fc7 notice a thing. Sharing a secret a6d7cbeb5e made them even c111341bcc closer.5191b438fc8cf4eb

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On the 333c01d07a way home, 76ec381ef6 An Hyungtae 6c0326c1be asked what a59e6aa3eb they’d done, 65407811c3 and Seonwoo 62e4989d25 answered obediently. When he said 6203c9d43d they’d gone to 85827db3dd the arcade, An 546d4ff348 Hyungtae’s eyes sparkled, e057d3d059 but Seonwoo, fiddling 1e87028773 with the little 3a8852c6db dinosaur keychain Iwon db3dc5f36b had won for 58fe0956a0 him, didn’t notice.906367483700c9f0

“Really? The guardian a406f9eb49 didn’t go 3f744cb78f with you?”00305515952ed0fd

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“We snuck out…”718cd49ca8a6859b

He answered awkwardly, but 557f4d3db8 instead of scolding him, ac67055ece An Hyungtae said, “Good 71a9680f00 job.” Why was sneaking e8fb694209 to the arcade a 72b98add6c good thing? Seonwoo didn’t get a64d7b52bc it, but he 44c395c82b put the keychain 700de5c836 in his pocket, 5b708d0bc8 feeling uneasy.66b8d8f7e39c516e

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A few 839c00d7bd days later, 2858131529 An Hyungtae e94f7f46da gave Seonwoo 3575d5667b pocket money 15cb654eb2 instead of 6f29177eaa snacks. He’d gotten pocket money c095ddd495 from him before, so 0eb27a8a6e Seonwoo bowed and accepted 2931de638f it. An Hyungtae patted his def991fe4c head like a nice e8f151b15a adult.4795bea87da3d115

“Go to the arcade, cfcc40b10f buy some snacks, play e667c3c3ee some games.”e659afe4c894aad9

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“Yes, thank you!”c742dc8bb4b835e6

Excited to play 1e5acedc1d with Iwon, Seonwoo 527750be9a ran to the 82d63c2fb1 playground. When he arrived, out 1782619e2f of breath, Iwon jumped 70973b2305 up from digging in 49757768c2 the sand. Seonwoo greeted 2e7007b63b him and ca3c34a800 bowed to 271e211687 the guardian.bc37e57b9e7ef31f

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“Hello.”452f1915d95bdbff

“Seonwoo, you’re always so 0d1a9881a3 polite.”4cab40308f40deda

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Iwon’s guardian 8d74d0f367 smiled, happy f60bf01206 to see 3d4950cf2c him. She focused ff84c8822b on her debddd971f phone as dce50855ff the boys 9dcaf7fa1c played on ae3d3f4c0b the swings 4569c0e803 and crawled ccfb157949 under the 90e13845ca ship-shaped slide. After a f9cfa309d6 few texts, 6063480058 she started 2595de7b56 a call, ec3c3f98c0 and Seonwoo fb6b958960 whispered to 3a02d96150 Iwon,2d49d6307a95b5d5

“I got pocket money. Let’s get cup dbb738b63b tteokbokki and go b08f6ee629 to the arcade.”39c67ae75e8492af

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“Okay!”ecc27f3e4e2da150

They left e151ad1e27 their bags 595e494b3e and shoe 774503b8ee bags where 3585badafb the guardian 1b9efbc4f0 could see aab1bab677 them and 9924316d48 ran off. They bought fish 3a7c7e9e88 cakes, then cup 79e8f4a0e3 tteokbokki, and headed aaeaf10f60 to the arcade. With plenty of fce911e33c money, they played 0a343694ff every game they 6463d916d5 wanted. With the leftover a98be0da5d change, they tried 66fa8306c5 the claw machine, 8f947abcb6 then left the b2b57cee1b arcade.26f139b02f23c50a

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“Isn’t it fc401b22a6 too late 5acdac3bd9 to be 5a5ad45ebd playing?”431aec989de0311e

“It’s fine. I’ll just tell my f5f35857c7 aunt we went to 884ff3527b the bathroom together… Next c5c9fa8379 time, let’s play ‘Return e583c013ca of King Leo.’”f190d4f67b05d9b0

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“Yeah! That was 0aabe7ccb8 the most a0e59ca674 fun.”4c00f99157f0560c

They were chatting ec4ad56466 as they headed 0b20892dd6 back to the 0d054261d0 playground when a 535a2882ff dark van pulled cb6d1b8795 up beside them. Without thinking, 6042d215be they kept a02d1b4143 walking, but e5bf51533a familiar faces 1523d07bde jumped out 48a51d15b8 of the c29af9d7fe van. It was An Hyungtae’s a37a30cd6f gangsters.3d679a149cd59da7

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They covered the 5d611a35d4 kids’ mouths so ab4c3e8d04 they couldn’t scream cd3d5918a8 and threw them 63d0324631 into the van. The door slammed shut, 6838dc3b26 and the van sped 2a4b7e5ec3 off. Seonwoo was so shocked db82e3d718 he couldn’t do anything, a4b9718aa5 just watched as one 17042a2ce1 of the gangsters tied 01e72f6646 up Iwon’s wrists and 0df44c99e7 ankles with rope.f21086d70b0792e7

“Hey, loosen 359e71a80e up on 701319506b his mouth. The kid’s gonna c3c890235a suffocate.”6667a95d69ecbdd9

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“Oh, right.”a41c1d9d4eabdd6c

Iwon’s mouth was gagged 334fb46111 with cloth, but Seonwoo 00b2e932e7 was left free. An Hyungtae 1fa17bef14 laughed and f52c73a497 roughly ruffled 302f5b15d4 Seonwoo’s hair.6d55863b5aa68f4b

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“Good job, Seonwoo. I was wondering 306360a119 how to snatch 9d0a1a91cd that brat.”732e2eef7b399ee7

“I, I…”755c289bd01123d6

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Seonwoo stammered, unable to 4961735eef believe what was happening, 9676fce731 staring at Iwon. Iwon already 27b5129866 had a 905bd9f26b scratch on 36f197eeb0 his pretty 5af72e94e0 face. His eyes, brimming with f4e0145dea tears, glared at Seonwoo 9ca06ad36c with betrayal.375f89bd188cfe13

“Here, I’m in a 9a5f323ac3 good mood! Pocket money. Go play at the 06ca2ae3a3 arcade with your friend 14faebdd0f all day, eat some 67e9a995c2 jjajangmyeon, okay?”fee56caa236906c6

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An Hyungtae pulled out 4ae2056094 some bills and shoved 7d55cc3b72 them into Seonwoo’s hand. It was the first a06ad57902 time he’d ever held ef22df5bdf a 10,000-won bill. His sweaty hand took dccfb8398b it reflexively, and An 04cb891552 Hyungtae cursed at him 4a50632492 for being rude.923ea65fb500b6a5

Seonwoo realized there fc06575d66 was nothing he 4de6b364b7 could do, and 9852c45945 if he didn’t 48f7c84963 thank him for 2c588284a4 the money, he’d 57c9f275d0 get beaten to e48f3c00b8 a pulp.abe36a4ee5d63c40

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“Th-thank you for cd846a9121 the pocket money…”859fe64ec8da9cd3

While Iwon 3b031f7783 sobbed into b9d4649abc his gag, d210822bea Seonwoo bowed 0993846f8b his head 470248e1a0 to An f88df8b008 Hyungtae, eyes ad74e7e7f3 squeezed shut. The guilt was e22931ef02 suffocating.b5ccc5271d48057f

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𓂃𓍼 ོ☁dddef309a5a3167c

“Hey, what’s up with you these days?”7679cff616bb292a

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Yoochan nudged Seonwoo, who 17dae8617c was squatting on the 7a12b11130 ground, with his foot f18568b78d and asked. Lately, Seonwoo 0c94d58cce had been abacd7d19c talking way 6bbfa694b0 less and d04b13bee3 his face 9cc41843e6 looked gloomy, 5ca69b98b1 so it 043fdbaa97 seemed like 22aafa5570 Yoochan was cdd2031fda worried.3726fb1580fd1bda

With a sigh, d0011698f1 Seonwoo got up 4cb85b051c and kicked aside aefb7b142d a crushed can. The can rolled 502616695c noisily down the 6908fc50c7 alley.6fde49ce8d87f407

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“It’s nothing.”2915f3ca4a550bf7

“If it’s nothing, then why are you like this?”01854d57f03c6e7d

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Recently, Seonwoo had started to resent Yoochan more and more for dragging him into a place like this, so he just held back his heavy breathing, afraid he might say something harsh. Yoochan, meeting Seonwoo’s glare, blushed and quickly turned away.d040de7ffe2d9fbe

In Seonwoo’s head, he kept replaying the day a few days ago when Iwon was kidnapped by An Hyungtae. And Iwon, who had looked at him with those resentful eyes. Seonwoo knew all too well what a scumbag An Hyungtae was, so his face darkened with worry and anxiety.3da090fde315727f

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If it weren’t for him, Iwon would probably be at home right now, hanging out with his parents, his hyung, and his noonas.964adea9085c402a

Because of him… Iwon was basically kidnapped because of him. Sniffling, Seonwoo banged his head against the wall once, then dusted himself off and stood up. He nudged the sulking Yoochan.4fe0f2b68e3cdbf4

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“Let’s go. If we’re late, we’ll just get beat up for nothing.”361b802294c1ced5

“Yeah…”68754d4544a25697

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Yoochan didn’t look any better. Lately, he’d been constantly compared to Seonwoo, who had suddenly become all polite and quick on the uptake.3b3a663e339ce887

He kept getting smacked 32faf80ec3 or kicked for being 2c523a7307 a middle schooler who c4138c7ee6 was worse than an dd695f67c7 elementary kid. As this kept happening, 97ef06d736 Yoochan started to hate e2ee330277 Seonwoo more than the a752ec3b52 gangsters.37d11802ae31ae38

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Seonwoo pretended not to notice. Since Yoochan dragged him in, he figured Yoochan should take responsibility for this too, grumbling to himself inside. His mind was a mess because of Iwon. He’d been tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep.e241a961395a3fae

The gangsters’ hideout was, as always, filled with a haze of cigarette smoke. Ever since kidnapping Iwon, An Hyungtae had been grinning like he’d won the lottery. As soon as he spotted Seonwoo and Yoochan, he called out loudly.97dc27af79f04843

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“Oh, Seonwoo, you’re here? Come over here for a sec.”891dab40a74de01d

Even at his young age, Seonwoo instinctively knew not to show a bad attitude in front of An Hyungtae. So he ran over with a big smile, and An Hyungtae smacked him hard on the back, saying, “You little punk.”7d397897bdf7c00c

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“So, did you eat something good?”da5a72193afc0626

“I had tteokbokki with my friends. Thank you.”5a09abe744d04d50

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When he answered in a clear voice, An Hyungtae scolded him, “Tteokbokki? Of all things, tteokbokki?” But he still puffed out smoke, looking pleased. As Seonwoo ran errands and eavesdropped, he realized not as many people knew about Iwon’s kidnapping as he thought.939c6c487ab46a14

Why was that?8d8d70e8c34b53fa

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Seonwoo tried to figure it out, but as a kid with little experience or knowledge, he couldn’t guess that this was a contract kidnapping to crush a rival business, and that An Hyungtae had only told his closest people so he could keep all the ransom for himself.a9d9fa602dd54d48

Like a prey animal, 856b5fc7c7 all he could do 45a1e43413 was keep his ears 0e57e1103c perked and listen carefully 1d26a5ed49 to every conversation.69af027d2fced8a0

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“Ahjussi will order something tasty, so eat up.”5d6828015c6bc547

“Thank you!”ec35e2312aa55237

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“Yeah, you gotta eat well and grow up strong. Aren’t you our little gangster?”992e9479af2d14a5

Seonwoo bowed c2a0cdc300 his head b33f8d324c as if 34fce5ac90 grateful for 78b7f276f3 the praise, 4c20c0deee but quietly 3ef9a993a7 clenched his 485fece7b8 fist.da929c5b9ea65061

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‘Little gangster? No way, I’m never becoming something like that.’d8b3571220dc90c8

Unlike Yoochan, who admired gangsters and thought An Hyungtae’s words were like the law, Seonwoo’s disgust for the gangsters only grew day by day. To him, everyone here was human trash.1b4359272b2faccb

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He didn’t even care about Yoochan anymore—he just wanted to get out of here, no matter what happened to him. But for now, his fear of An Hyungtae and worry for Iwon weighed down his heart.77431ce622164c00

Soon, the food An 07aa95a2b7 Hyungtae ordered arrived, and f31eb5d05c Seonwoo quickly set the 15835fcb0b table and unwrapped everything. He felt 0e79e3ef7a bad seeing 5cd508b6e0 Yoochan staring 21d1cb11da hungrily, but 57383f3fbe there was 38e2e8cef9 nothing he 19236fd2b0 could do.6087b9e825de7b4f

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An Hyungtae hated it when people did things he didn’t ask for, and inviting Yoochan to eat together would definitely count as that.48a019f0fdb98e22

Seonwoo perked up his ears, hoping to catch any info about Iwon from An Hyungtae’s words. He had thought about going to the police, but there were things that made him hesitate. At the very least, he wanted to find out where Iwon was being held.c560b34c711d4f8b

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Unfortunately, An Hyungtae 7eba5c0162 never mentioned Iwon. After eating his ff255ee073 fill, he just 89d257d448 called over the ef966b58b9 nervous Yoochan and 430cc0c615 made him eat b3af7cb99c the leftovers. Yoochan, looking 81898dd1db humiliated, kept 3df1025968 his head 0b3d6f03c7 down and e2d46a4de3 scarfed down a6abedcbef the scraps.41c1e83b84c73ee4

Seonwoo acted even c18c637bfb more polite than cc984c77f5 usual, volunteering for 511d42adab errands for the 990bd780c5 gangsters. It was so he 430dcf9436 could walk around the c738f0d858 hideout without raising suspicion.f26fba3fc4a4b95d

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The place they used as a hideout was a pretty big motel, so there were lots of places to check out. In every room, gangsters were sprawled out reading comics or playing cards. Disappointed, Seonwoo sat on the stairs and sighed. That’s when a man called out to him.409d708c5bf6a3b4

“Hey, go up to the roof and bring in the laundry.”fb7ab4d4dffcf226

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“Okay!”a1b94ddce156f67d

Seonwoo answered cheerfully and 20fc923bed ran up to the f2213ed1a5 roof, sweating buckets under 39a9c24c15 the blazing sun as 4feabd7175 he gathered the laundry. Suddenly, he 45e549203c heard a acf9266411 faint sobbing ec4fa33382 sound from f31b8a64b7 somewhere. At first, he thought 8a52c72922 it was a ghost d0a8e43083 and got scared, but 6e034be57d then he changed his d3f1ca37f2 mind.989e9eb6e2bfa1f4

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‘Wait, isn’t that Iwon crying?’db6ab6be9b8ccd57

Swallowing hard, Seonwoo put ea94f36b13 the laundry down and 39279d4c9c looked around. He checked 6a7e676dbf if there 145080f4a2 was an 2728fe2088 illegal rooftop 1f8437370f room, but 84617f6ec6 it was 06734b58f8 just a 07bb8e5e4b storage room.2a3ea2f16cc03854

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Then he cc14e09e2a realized the 0cc8c6fa87 sobbing was 6754e8f959 coming from da20a5e050 inside a e5809f0967 drainpipe connected ccaaea1152 to the 0cf984d2c7 roof. Seonwoo quickly finished gathering 47c44b688a the laundry and looked 530cc479a9 for where the pipe cf4156d7b9 led.c114ca24be283e9a

‘The basement!’a543f4bef9154b30

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