Arkangel || A Winter / Karina / WinRina Adventure

Love

Min and Well became close. All Well knew how to do was to love her and take care of her, and the little girl loved him back just as much. They each filled a gap that the other carried inside.

During the day, they did their rounds of checking dumpsters, washing up in water fountains, and checking vending machines for change. Well did the one thing that makes children happy: he listened to Min. Each day he would listen to Min talk about Pokemon for hours, a smile on his face, and a question always ready to ask her. Over the course of several months, the abandoned little girl, and the broken old man, came to love one another. He was the kind parent she'd never had, and she reminded him of something very painful from very long ago: the death of his young son, which had precipitated the downward spiral that ended with him homeless. But he found that by caring for Min, he'd been given another chance, and he would never lose her or allow her to be hurt.

Nonetheless, the two were very different. When they panhandled, Well was happy and outgoing, wishing everyone a good day even if they didn't pay attention. Min, meanwhile, always glared and had her hand in her pocket, holding on tightly to the bloodied pencil. No one was ever going to hurt Well. And no one would ever hurt her again.

Months passed. Gradually Min grew taller, and Well became more and more stooped. He had terrible arthritis, and often had difficulty walking for very long. Gradually, she began to take care of him more than he took care of her. But Well was still the only person she loved, and who had shown her love. Some days, Well stayed in the box, resting, and Min went out hunting around Seoul. She got in a few scrapes, but always handled herself coolly and was able to not only defend herself, but to make sure that the bad people knew to leave her and Well alone forever.

In the homeless community, there were some violent people, unfortunately. But one by one they started appearing with scars and permanent limps after attempting to bully Min. She was beginning to see that there were predators, and that there were prey, and that she was one of the former. She was one of Seoul's lions.

. . . . .

One day, about a year after she'd met Well, she was walking home with some food she'd scrounged. She turned the corner onto their street and saw a horde of police cars with flashing lights parked at the entrance to the alley.

She dropped the food and ran to check on Well. There were police everywhere, and as she tried to run to him, she was scooped up by a police officer. Min twisted in his grasp so she could see what was happening.

Their box had been flattened, and Well was handcuffed and pushed up against the wall. Min didn't know it, but the new mayor had declared a "war on crime" and decided that all the places where the homeless lived should be cleared out, and the occupants charged with any crime they could come up with.

"WELL!" Min screamed. "WELL, I'LL SAVE YOU!"

The old man looked at her as the police searched him and yelled back "No, little one! No! Protect yourself! Always remember that I love you! You are a gift and I love you!"

The police officer restraining her yelled to one of his colleagues "We've got a minor here, Chief. What should I do?"

"Take her to social services, like the others."

Then Min saw Well sag to the ground, and the officer kept trying to get him to stand up again, screaming at him over and over.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE! THAT'S MY DAD! DON'T TAKE MY DAD! PLEASE!" Min sobbed.

"Look kid, it's obvious he's not your dad, so shut up. He's a drug-dealing criminal, and he's going to get what he deserves. And so are you! Now what the hell's your name?"

She lashed out at the officer as hard and as viciously as she could, but he had her in a choke hold and his safety gear protected him from her attempts to hurt him. He just laughed, and dragged her toward a waiting van.

"I asked you a question. What's your name?"

She looked in the van and saw that it was full of other frightened young people.

"My name is Kim Min-jeong. I will kill all of you who are doing this. I will kill your families. I will kill your friends. I will kill everything in the world just because I can."

"This one's crazy," the officer laughed. Then he put cuffs on her, threw her face down into the van, and slammed the door.