“Catch him!”
“Thief!”
Slum.
Slum.
The black water of the tunnel drainage rolled fiercely, bringing along with it a figure covered in dirt and mud.
The figure pressed their hands on the water, swimming wildly with an air of someone who had never learned to swim.
Obviously, the figure had never taken a swimming class all their life.
The splashing of water continued until his whole body landed on the black muddy ground.
He crawled forward, his body completely drenched with the drainage water.
“You filthy thing.
I’ll kill you!”
“You dare steal my meat roll?
I won’t spare you.”
“You thief.”
Noises came from the other end of the tunnel: curses and loud yells.
The figure crawled up, supporting himself on all four.
The filthy clothes clung tightly to their skin, outlining the body…
It was a young man.
Though his features were barely perceptible under the muddy stains, he didn’t seem to be that old.
His scrawny figure made him look no older than 16 or 17.
He looked toward the hole in the drainage where he could see a few pairs of eyes.
“What can you do to me?” The mockery in his tone couldn’t be more obvious.
His eyes stared defiantly at those pairs of eyes.
“If you dare, come out to catch me.” His taunt came out relentlessly…
like something he’d done a million times.
Those eyes turned fierce.
“Karl, I’ll kill you!”
The young man, Karl, laughed hard.
He raised his head and bared his teeth.
Still staring at those people, he flexed his hand, shaking away a bit of dirt before reaching into what seemed like a pocket in his filthy clothes.
He brought out a dark nylon bag.
Opening it, he pressed it to his nose.
His expression glowed with ecstasy.
His eyes softened, and he looked toward those people again.
“It’s so sweet.
I love it.”
“Damn you, Karl!” Someone snarled.
Karl grinned even harder.
He pushed the meat roll into his mouth, munched down on it, and slowly stood up.
His face crumbled with the movement.
Yet a smile remained on his face.
“Who’s starving tonight?” He winked.
“Not me!” He laughed loudly.
He really wished he could see more of their expression at that moment…
Karl shook his head.
It was a pity.
“Karl, don’t you dare come back to this place.
I’ll kill you whenever I see you!”
Karl sneered.
“Come over right now and do it.” He threw a middle finger at them and turned his back on the drainage tunnel.
Karl knew they wouldn’t follow him.
Despite living in the slum for so long, they still loved to act neat and proper.
“Hypocrites.” He clicked his tongue.
However, he also knew he could no longer return to the charity base.
He’d gone too far this time around.
The punishment might cost him his life.
Karl raised his hand to the back of his neck.
He hissed.
“As expected, there’s an injury.” He cursed under his breath.
“They really pack a punch.”
Then again, he was used to it.
Small and weak, he’d been bullied a lot while growing up in the slum charity base.
Yet, his mouth was sharper than most.
He would never back down unless he passed out from the beatings.
Karl lowered his eyes to his muddy clothes, which clung tightly to his torn skin.
Every step hurt.
He couldn’t stop smiling.
He finally got a bit of revenge on those bullies.
It was really a good feeling.
Karl thought back to how he had secretly gone to the locker room to steal the lunch of those bullies…
Not only did he not give them his own after a ruthless beating, but he also found theirs and ended up pushing everything down his belly.
“Genius.” He limped forward.
“I’m clearly a genius.”
Karl limped quickly.
It was his first time entering the drainage, and he had no idea where it had dropped him.
All around him were wastes.
The horrible smell was as thick as the smell from his clothes.
He couldn’t help but scrunch his nose for a while.
No building in sight; all he could see was waste, more waste, and forest.
It seemed he had found himself in a faraway place from the bustling corners of the slum.
Karl limped forward.
He had made a choice.
It was time to take action.
He hummed loudly, a hand pressed tightly against his belly as he excitedly hummed deeply into the walkable parts of the waste.
Hours later.
Karl stumbled forward.
He stared at the run-down buildings around him with glee.
“Finally, I’ve gotten out of that waste dump.” He couldn’t be happier.
After walking for so long, his legs were trembling really hard, and his body seemed slightly numb.
He rested on a wall and slowly slumped to the ground.
His smile widened.
“After a rest, I’ll find my way out of this slum.” He rubbed his fingers against the hard ground.
“The slum isn’t good enough for me.”
“I’m intelligent.
I can become an engineer and invent new things in the world.
I can become a scientist, leaving my traces in the journal of history.
I can become a doctor, rescuing those parents who find it hard to give birth.
This way…” He paused.
His lips tightened briefly.
“No child would ever grow up without their parents like Thin and Bat in the Charity base.”
Karl opened his eyes and clicked his tongue.
He was really too exhausted.
He couldn’t go any further.
He looked around him, realizing none of the houses were better than the other.
However, they were more than enough for him to pass the night.
Too lazy to walk further, Karl entered the house he was initially resting in.
He found a place close to the window, and after checking for snakes and rats, he lay down to rest.
The feeling of the harsh ground on his skin made him breathe in relief…
he could finally sleep for the night.
Karl hummed a song to lure himself to bed.
“Take this.
Take everything.
Eat as much as you like.”
“Really?” Karl blinked.
He grabbed the bread, pushing it into his mouth while he stared at the woman with stars in his eyes.
“Thank you.
Thank you so much.”
How could someone be so nice?
The woman smiled and rubbed his hair.
“Do you want a drink, too?”
Karl’s eyes lit up.
“A drink is fine.”
The woman nodded and stretched out her hand.
An orange juice suddenly appeared in her palm.
Karl’s eyes widened.
He stared eagerly at the woman as he waited for the drink to be handed over to him.
He swallowed hard.
“Take…”
Karl reached out.
The drink was so close, so chilled, so colored.
Oh, it must be really sweet…
cooling to the bones…
“Ah!
Ah!”
Karl’s brows creased.
He snapped out of his dream and sat up forcefully.
The force made him dizzy.
He wiped his mouth, realizing he’d been drooling.
His anger flared slightly.
“I didn’t even get to finish the bread.”
He looked around, eyes wavering as he searched for the direction the scream came from.
“Help!”
“Please, don’t.”
“A woman’s voice, huh?” Karl murmured.
He forced his heavy body up from the ground and slowly limped toward where the noise came from.
He could tell it was the next building.
The scream got louder the closer he got.
Karl’s fingers involuntarily trembled.
Standing outside the house, he peeked in.
Fortunately, the house was so broken that one could see the inside even while standing outside.
There, he saw them.
Two men and a young woman.
Karl’s eyes settled on the woman.
She was so young.
Probably 17 or 18.
She struggled and screamed as the men tore her clothes, ready to force themselves on her.
Karl’s fingers clenched.
The men were so big.
Karl knew he wasn’t their opponent.
But that girl…
“She could be my younger sister if I ever had one…”
Karl’s fingers tightened even further.
The girl’s clothes had been torn.
The men were ready to start their dirty acts…
“Screw it!” Karl cursed.
He bent forward and picked up a big stone.
He grabbed a relatively big stick with the other hand.
“Hey, suckers!”
The men stiffened.
Seeing that, Karl immediately targeted one of them and threw the stone at him.
The stone hit the man straight at the back of his head.
Karl smirked.
Years of training in the slum had taught him to be a good shooter.
He never missed.
Karl watched as the man fell backward, almost falling on the young woman.
The woman quickly scrambled away, hugging her clothes to her chest as she tried to crawl farther away from the bleeding man.
The second man glanced at everything with shock in his eyes.
Turning to look at the scrawny Karl, his eyes glinted with murder and anger.
“Rat, how dare you touch my friend?”
Karl didn’t reply.
Instead, he rushed at the man with the stick in his hand.
Lifting his hand, he poured his entire strength into his arms; the movement pulled on his torn skin, yet he held on.
He lowered his hand at the man, ready to take him down in one go.
However, Karl really overestimated his strength.
The moment the stick dropped, time seemed to stop for Karl.
The man grabbed the stick; a curse escaped his throat as he raised his leg and kicked Karl in the stomach.
Karl’s view tilted.
He groaned in pain.
He fell backward, pressing back the sour taste in his throat.
Gritting his teeth, he glared at the man who was slowly walking closer to him with the stick.
Karl calculated.
Yet, he knew he was helpless.
The man’s eyes were filled with disdain.
“Playing the hero, huh?”
“You should at least check your strength before trying.”
“Die!” He slammed the stick on Karl’s waist.
Karl crouched over.
His face turned white from pain.
He hit Karl repeatedly.
Low groans filled the room.
The low sobs of the lady kept ringing in Karl’s ears.
He was in pain.
His body roared in pain with each hit.
He tried hard to cover his head, but his hands seemed like they were already broken.
Karl bit tightly on his lower lip.
His mind didn’t stop working.
He knew the man wanted him dead…
His eyes darted around, searching for anything at all.
The man’s beating got slower.
Perhaps he was getting tired from the relentless beating.
Sensing the opportunity, Karl grabbed a handful of sand.
His fingers trembled; the pain coursed through his veins.
He knew…
something had gone wrong with him.
He slowly raised his head to the man.
Liquid rushed down his head, almost blurring his vision.
Still, he spat on the ground.
The deep red liquid hit the ground.
Karl smiled bitterly.
“You scum.” He whispered.
The man frowned.
“What did you say?”
Karl’s lips parted, obviously muttering something.
The man couldn’t hear what he said.
He bent slightly forward.
Karl, with a last burst of power, threw the sand at the man’s face.
Right then, the young woman slammed a stone on the man’s head from behind.
The man stiffened.
“You…” He fell back, tumbling on the ground.
The young woman rushed forward, grabbing Karl’s hand to support him.
“Little brother, are you okay?” She sobbed painfully.
Karl’s lips twitched.
He forced himself to look at the young woman.
“I’m 20.” He mumbled.
“I’m older than you are.” Blood leaked from his mouth.
The girl paused.
“Okay.
Big brother, are you okay?”
Karl shook his head.
“I’m not.” He knew he wasn’t.
“Leave.” More blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
The girl shook her head and cried.
“I won’t leave.
I won’t leave you here.” She tried to help Karl up.
“It was all my fault.
I should have helped.
I should have done something.”
Karl smiled.
Soft.
Sweet.
He shook his head.
‘No, it was me.’
‘It was because I was too weak.
‘
‘Neo and the rest bullied me for more than 18 years because I was weak.
I ran away because I was weak.
Now, it’s also because I’m weak-‘
Karl’s smiled.
Then…
He closed his eyes.
Perhaps being weak was his first sin.
‘I really wanted to be a doctor, though -‘
“Brother!!!”
The girl’s scream sounded in his ears as darkness slowly swallowed him.
Karl died with a smile on his face.
*********
“Please, don’t do this.”
“Young master, please don’t.”
Karl opened his eyes with a loud gasp.