Sugar Rush

14

The house was shabby. It wasn't really too shabby. Just enough to make you feel bad about it. But it was all she had. To make sure that her child was well fed and well dressed. She was happy that at least they had a roof over their head. After being thrown out of the house by her own father, this was the best she could give to her baby. As the child started growing older, she started feeling bad for his upbringing. But the boy was always happy with his mother. Never cry for something, never demanded even to buy a toy. It was as if he knew what the condition of the house and his mother was. As he knew that they can't afford most of the things he saw in the market. He was happy with his mother.

But one day, his mother came running to him and smiled through her tears, "Son, let's play a game. Some of eomma's friends are coming to seek you. You know how to play hide and seek, right? So go hide somewhere where no one can find you. We have to win this game. If we win, we will get a huge award. So go and hide cleverly." He was only 12 years old then but he sensed the lie in his mother's voice. He didn't question anything. He just nodded and ran to hide.

After a while, some men came and started beating his mother up. He covered his mouth as he cried his eyes out. No, eomma said we have to win. I can't get out. He saw them beating his mother to an extent where he didn't even know if she was still breathing.

"Find the kid." One of them spoke.

After they had overturned the entire house, they couldn't find the kid. "We can't find him."

The man groaned, "Madame said she had a son." He huffed, "We'll come again and then kill both of them."

When the men were gone, the kid came out of the hiding and went to his mother, "Eomma. EOMMA!" He cried as his mother didn't answer. He left her there and ran to the nearest dispensary. He begged the doctor to go with him to see his mother, but the doctor didn't budge. He threatened to call the police if he didn't leave the clinic. The boy was angry. His eyes were red as if the veins in the eyes would pop out if he gave a little more pressure. He looked around and found a glass disinfectant bottle. Slowly, he took the bottle and hit it on the desk, breaking it. He showed the pointed parts to the doctor, "Come with me or I'll pierce this deep into your heart. Even you won't be able to operate on yourself."

He saw the doctor's expression change. The disgust and arrogance were changed into fear for his life. That day he realised one thing. No matter how old the human is, he would always fear death. Humans were scared of death. The doctor went to his house and treated his mother as well as he could. He was so scared that he didn't even take the fees and instead agreed to come every other day to check his mother. A year went by. Every month a pair of thugs would come to kill him and his mother, but no one returned from his house.

One day something changed. Instead of thugs, a man probably in his early 40s came to his house. He was wearing a three-piece suit. He walked fearlessly towards the boy who was covered in blood head to toe. He was sitting on a low chair clutching a knife tightly in his hand and a hungry glare in his eyes. A lady was attached to various pipes and machines behind him on a metal bed. There were two bodies lying in the foyer. The man stepped over the bodies and went to the boy, "What is your name?"

The boy looked up, "Why? Why should I tell you my name? If you are here to hurt me and my eomma, then you should take those two as an example and leave us alone."

"Where are the others?" The man asked without flinching. The boy was scared for the first time in the year. The man had no fear in his eyes despite the condition of the boy.

The boy decided to play along, "Buried them in the backyard."

The man hummed, "I can help you and your mother."

The boy's eyes turned red as he glared at the man sharply, "Just get out of the house before I slice your throat as well."

The man didn't budge, "I know you can do that after all, you are my son." The boy gasped and the knife in his hand fell on the ground. The man smiled and picked the knife up, "You don't have to believe me. I can get you a DNA report if you want one. I am your father and this woman is the lady I once loved. I had to marry another woman for my business. But I realised that I have made a mistake by ignoring you for too long. The person who is trying to kill you is my wife and the only person who can save you is me."

The boy gulped, "What do you want from us?"

The man smiled, "I want you."

"Huh?"

The man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and whipped the blood out of the boy's face, "I want you to come with me and train under me so that you can take care of the things after me. You see, the boy that my wife has birthed isn't the type to handle my business. And I would like to warn you, it is shady business. I am being selfish here because I don't want to see the business fall because someone as soft as him took over. So if you come with me, I will protect you and transfer your mother to a better, bigger hospital." he stood up and offered his hand to the boy. "So?"

The boy closed his eyes as if going through all the possible ways he had out of this. He finally opened his eyes and looked at the man, "Seokjin."

"What?"

"My name." The boy took the man's hand, "My name is Seokjin."