Ｓｔｒａｎｇｅｒ

Learning : 1.3

ⓒ Seonmyeong

Of course, 

the offer Lee Sugeol gave me wasn't normal. He said my face was in demand for women and men, so he asked me to go to the adult establishment. He said I don't need to sell my body and only serve food, but I wasn't that naïve to believe that.

I didn't want to do such a thing, and I couldn't. Humoring others was hard, and I didn't want to go downhill on my feet. Once I walked there, there was no way to get out. I heard it from some kids in the youth shelter. Girls often got that kind of temptation, and from what they heard, it was hard for them to get out once they fell into that temptation.

Instead, I told him I would bring in money. I had never stolen other people's money, and the attempt I ever did once ended in vain, but I exaggerated. Lee Sugeol didn't look like he believed me, but he told me to try while smirking. He also added I could stay here since he needed someone to take care of the kids. Until that moment, Lee Sugeol seemed like he knew I would obediently follow him.

After that, I began to steal money. Helping a man who was drunk and walked alone in the adult entertainment district—pretending to be his companion—I robbed his wallet. It wasn't that bad, and it became a justification for me to stay in the facility owned by Lee Sugeol. A justification for me to boast, even when Lee Sugeol called me out when the income lowered. However, that couldn't last long. It wasn't easy when I got caught by the operator who managed that area. Then I pickpocketed in the subway, but it was hard to get big money from that. It was bad to desire big money from pickpocketing. However, I didn't dare to do bad things more than that.And so I endured it for two years. I could endure it when fortunately Lee Sugeol was very busy on the day I barely could bring in money, but I couldn't anymore now. Just like Lee Sugeol said, I have to go to the adult establishment or leave this facility. If I had to choose between the two choices...

He said that unlike doing physical labor, I could touch a big sum by only doing part-time serving food in the establishment. If I endure it and smile a bit, he said a lot of money would easily enter my pocket. That must be why many people fall that way. I didn't properly graduate from junior high and had little knowledge, so there were not a lot of options for me to choose from.Money. Money. Money...... I'm sick of it. It sucked that I had to think over between these two choices.

"Hyung, what are you doing?"

I met the eyes staring intently at me. Looking at the innocent eyes and chubby cheeks, I got angry for no reason. I thought these kids were the same as me but turned out not. I was a bastard that couldn't stay in this illegal yet safe confinement.

Furthermore, I had a bad temper, so I couldn't make money by enduring all kinds of treatments. If I went to the establishment and stabbed someone's stomach, then what would happen with my life next?

What's more important was, if I made money that way, I wouldn't be able to escape from Lee Sugeol's hands. There was no way Lee Sugeol wouldn't take away the money I made. And that bastard mercilessly hit me. The first was hard. Bastards, who found the first easy, wouldn't get it hard for the next as well.

It might be an impulse, but as I made up my mind, I didn't want to be here for a moment. There was no baggage that I could bring from here. Clothes were something that I picked up anyway, so I could just leave like this.