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Geon-woo had only ever felt such fear twice in his life. The first was when he discovered his mother, trembling before his alcoholic and enraged father. The second was the sharp shrill of his mother's voice, the terror lodged in her throat when she informed him that a bunch of strange men had entered the cafe.
At just the age of twenty-five, nine years after his parents divorced and his abusive father was officially barred from their lives, Geon-woo had done everything to keep his mother afloat. His mother, who could not stand the mere sound nor sight of violence. Always feeling a burden to her son, who would sacrifice his life for her, could not bare the shroud of brutality.
So Geon-woo ran.
He ran with the nauseating panic that sieged his muscles, imploring them to pump faster when the distressed sound of his name richotte'd in his ears.
He ripped his mask from his face as rounded the corner. The café coming into view and horror paralysed his body. The windows were shattered, shards of crystal glass left jiggered holes that peered into the shop making room for the upturned furniture, broken dishware and revealing the plethora of armed men loitering within and around the block.
His heart dropped to his stomach when his shaken pupils landed on his mother, opposite him a man with pin straight posture and an aura of arrogance. But then he glanced behind them and to his absolute horror he made eye contact with the last person he ever thought he'd see.
Byun Nari.
Her nose was caked in blood, one eye slightly shut and two burly men gripping her arms as she tried to keep herself from sagging to the floor. But there was one emotion he didn't miss in her brown eyes. Pure and utter, relief.
It was as if a switch went off inside of him. There was a reason he was rookie champion and within seconds all the men outside were on the ground.
Nari watched in awe at how fluid he moved. The way his eyes narrowed, and he plunged himself into focus mode. He was unstoppable. When the last man dropped to the ground, groaning and clutching his face, Geon-woo rushed up the stairs and through the broken window to his mother. The man scampered back, surprise written across his face at the sight of the boy and Nari would've laughed in other situations.
