"Stop right there, you thief!"
Shouted by a man running after a kid in bare feet and shabby-looking clothes with mold and holes designed on them.
The kid looked so weary and thin like a twig while tightly holding the bag of bread with his arms, making sure that he would not leave anything behind.
He just continued to run and run, trying to get further away from the man, who was about to explode in anger.
*THUD!*
But when he was about to gaze back at him, a loud crashing sound could be heard when his butt fell flat onto the floor as soon as he bumped into a tall, masculine-looking man wearing a plain-looking, luxuriously colored black polo with scars all over his body covering his visible skin.
The kid immediately feels an immense terror that he cannot even try to get his ass up onto the floor, which makes the man catch up on him, swiftly grabbing his hair, which makes him groan from unbearable pain as if his hair were being separated from his head.
"You piece of shit!"
"Kid like you should be given a proper lesson!"
The man continued to kick the kid despite knowing that Lee Hyun was standing in front of them, watching all the scenes in front of him, along with the countless people who were murmuring and taking videos with their phones without really having the intention to help the kid who was squirming on the floor, crawling like a worm.
Upon watching the scene on the street, Lee Hyun notices the gaze of the kid wishing for help, but instead of taking pity, he walks past them and picks up the bread on the side of the road that fell all over the ground.
"How much is this?"
He asked while slapping the baguette in the air.
The man did not answer, but based on his terrified expression, he was not expecting to be facing a mafia right in front of him, which made him feel nervous that he could not even speak right and properly.
'T-that's….'
"I hate repeating my words."
He jolted out of fright, seeing how serious Lee Hyun was; he did not even blink for a moment while talking to the man, whose body was almost the size of him.
"Ah…"
The man did not answer, but the both of them were so surprised that they could not even breathe out of fear, Lee Hyun then rummaged in his pocket and got his wallet before he threw plenty of cash at him.
"That should be enough."
Seeing tons of cash fall to the ground, the man did not think twice and picked them up one by one, letting go of his grip on the kid just to pick up the cash that had flown into the air.
"You."
Hearing it the boy was startled.
"Follow me."
Lee Hyun insisted that it made the kid follow cautiously from behind.
When they arrived inside the luxurious-looking building with majestic murals designed on the walls and ceilings, the place was completely consumed by silence; no one was in there but only the workers of the restaurant.
There was a lot of vacant space inside, and in the center, the dining table was filled with mouthwatering dishes of different foods.
He could even notice their cautious gaze as if they were already judging the kid from a distance with their eyes.
"Won't you sit?"
His attention immediately went to Lee Hyun, who was sitting in the center of the table.
Their eyes widen when the kid sits on the floor, which makes Lee Hyun frown.
"Ha!"
He sighed.
"You can sit on the chair."
"Ah-Yes, sir!"
The kid gangling sits towards the chair, and seeing up close the food in front of his eyes makes his mouth water.
"Ca-can I eat this?"
He asked while his eyes were fixed on the dishes in front of him.
When Lee Hyun notices how much he ordered, he realizes that it is too much for a kid like him to handle.
"Only finish the things that you can; you can leave the rest."
He replied while watching the kid shove everything in his mouth.
As the kid enjoys his feast, Lee Hyun just watches how he eats like a beast.
When Lee Hyun spoke all of a sudden, it left the kid frozen in his seat.
"After this, I will send you to the facility I know; you can be taken care of there-
*CLANG!*
Without even finishing his words, a clinking sound of the fallen utensil broke the silence inside the place, and the kid's face turned so pale that even the workers inside were left surprised.
"Please, don't leave me there!"
His eyes began to water.
"C-can't you just take me with you?!"
He begged, which made the workers of the restaurant shake their heads while doing every task they were assigned.
"Haist…"
It made Lee Hyun let out a deep breath for the second time before he replied.
"Do you even know who I am?"
He asked intentionally, without fearing the kid.
"You're a mafia."
He replied cautiously while wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Yeah, that's right, and people like me do bad things."
He took the glass of wine to the waiter beside him and continued to speak.
"Do you know when I say bad things?"
He tightly held the glass of wine with just one hand and shattered it into pieces, making the black leather gloves on his hands soaked.
"I kill."
The kid remained silent for a while while tightly gripping the hem of his clothes.
"That's… I can do everything! Please don't throw me away!"
He continued to beg.
'Who's throwing who? '
He thought before he spoke.
"Then you leave me no choice."
Lee Hyun smiles as they both stare into each other's eyes.
"What's your name?"
Lee Hyun asked.
"I don't have one."
The kid replied while being completely mesmerized by his charcoal-colored eyes that it looked pretty like a galaxy, even though it was completely covered by darkness, just like a dark sky covered with plenty of stars from above.
"Akil."
"Y-Yes?!"
The kid stuttered; he did not know what was happening, but after being called by the name that was given by Lee Hyun, he could not stop his eyes from shedding tears.
What can he do? It was the first time he had someone call him by his name, and Lee Hyun was the only person who had shown kindness despite being called the Grim Reaper by the people.
Years passed, and Akil had grown into a fine-looking man under the care of Lee Hyun.
Even though Lee Hyun acted cold and strict, Akil stayed loyal to him, showing that he was willing to sacrifice even his life for Lee Hyun, who was being surrounded by the fire inside the shabby-looking building where bottles of alcohol, confetti, and rotten furniture were slowly being devoured.
'Hot! It's hot!'
Lee Hyun shouted inside of his mind while the fire was melting his flesh like a candle as if he were being torn apart, when a sudden strange feeling covered him up instead, feeling a warm embrace that he had never felt before, as if he were being embrace by someone.
"Hyung!"
"Hang in there! "
Without even thinking twice, Akil had come towards Lee Hyun, despite knowing that neither one of them would survive in the fiery heat of the fire.
"I'll save you, Hyung.."
He mumbled while looking at the open door in front of them.
Present time.....
*Sniff!*
"H-hyung…"
Akil was there, kneeling on the ground, while the whole area was being surrounded by the fire.
He was there, mumbling the same word from his mouth while covering both of his ears, trembling like a drenched cat.
"Akil…"
Khalid had called, and as soon as he looked up, Akil immediately saw the person he was eager to see the most: Lee Hyun.
Even though his face was blurred and his height seemed to be that of a child, what Akil saw was the man who had treated him like his own brother, the only family he had.
"No, don't go over here, Hyung!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs, and without any notice, Akil's power burst out of nowhere.
The fire had gone wild like a breathing dragon, and fearing that it would kill Khalid left Akil in utter shock, but instead of dying or having his flesh melt in the fire, Khalid's body seemed to have absorbed Akil's fire, causing his body to grow tall with his silvery long ash hair swaying in the wind, covering his body when his clothes had torn apart.
"I don't know how you pleaded with God, but you did a good job enduring all the pain, Akil."
Khalid's words made Akil burst into tears even more before he lost consciousness in his arms.
"H-hyung…."
He mumbled from his mouth as they left the scene where Khalid's companion was all left in shock when they saw how Khalid's body had returned to its normal size.