In a dark street, in a filthy and impoverished neighborhood, where all sorts of filth and debauchery prevailed, the stench of decay permeating the air, the curse of all forms of squalor spread everywhere. At the end of the alley stood a small house consisting of a single room, furnished with a solitary bed, a dining table, and two chairs.
Eight-year-old Mazino was bound by numerous ropes, restrained to a chair, while a cloth was placed over his mouth to stifle his screams. Yes, he stood there, witnessing what was unfolding before his eyes.
"Cursed be Hannah, you're too beautiful... Damn, this is exquisite," a massive and obese man exclaimed as he violated Mazino's mother right in front of him. Yes, damned be weakness, all he could do was watch helplessly from the sidelines.
"Very well, I shall consider this the price of rent. It would be best if you disciplined this little whore. If he dares to attack me again, I shall kill him," another man arrived and released Mazino from his restraints. He looked at Mazino and his mother with a sad and pity-filled gaze. He was one of the guards of the fat man, the owner of the impoverished neighborhood, the one who owned all these dilapidated houses.
The problem was that this man, who helped Hannah escape from Korea when her own family abandoned her, brought her to America. Who would have expected that he would sell her off to become one of the prostitutes here? Hannah couldn't accept it, but what could she do? The despicable man threatened her by saying he would sell Mazino...
Did you think my mother was optimistic, talking about a beautiful and peaceful world? Hahaha, you know nothing, damn you. As always, I am weak, I can't even protect the one person who sacrificed everything for me, damn it.
"York, are you disappointed in your mother? Hahaha, sometimes, I am amazed at myself as well. I hate this world. Everyone is nothing but selfish animals. There is no goodness, no light. There is no meaning to any of this nonsense. Everyone just tries to gain some benefit from others, pretending to have emotions and all that repeated nonsense.
Do you now understand why I didn't send you to school? They would have made you a mere slave to society...
...
Do you want to become a slave???"
Hannah looked at her son, who hadn't shed a single tear. His eyes were filled with malevolence and hatred, harboring a great deal of resentment and animosity toward everyone. Yet, there was a glimmer of warmth when he looked at his mother.
York remained silent, not answering.
"I can put an end to all this pain... I can escape at any time... I can even kill myself... But you know why I haven't done that... It's because of you...
I don't even understand why I do all of this... All I know is that you are my son, the only person who made me smile in my entire life. That's why I decided to give you everything.
I abandoned the world, and the world abandoned us as well... It's the law of benefit. If there is no mutual benefit between you and someone else, your fates will completely separate... because it holds no meaning.
Benefit takes various forms: money, pleasure, love, hope, faith, protection...
Anything you can give or take from others is called benefit.
And that's why relationships are merely exchanges of benefit..."
However, our relationship is special. I cannot comprehend it..."
"Mother, why didn't you fight for what you wanted? You always force me not to intervene. I know everyone who has wronged you. I memorize their faces and names. I follow them after they're done with you and know where they live. I swear by my name that I will seek revenge someday..."
"I prefer that you give up on that idea. I don't want you to harm yourself as well. Isn't it enough that I hurt myself? Do you want to make our mother sad..."
Hannah approached with her frail body and took York into her arms...
But none of them shed a tear...
"Do you know something I haven't told you? You and I are completely different... Do you know that?"
"When I was little... I used to cry a lot. I cried over the smallest things. But you're the opposite. The opposite in a frightening way. You even scare your mother sometimes, you know..."
A look of confusion appeared in Mazino's eyes. He moved closer to his mother and tightened his grip on her as if denying what his mother said. But she continued, "I've never seen you cry real tears."
"What are you talking about, mother? I cried when I was born, didn't I?"
"Everything cries when it's born... Do you play tricks with your mother...
I know you're intelligent despite your young age. I'm talking about genuine tears that come from your heart..."
Hannah looked at her son with a strange gaze. This little boy had always been peculiar since childhood. He was exceptionally intelligent, so it seems that the harsh environment he lived in had a significant impact on him...
"Mother, why did you give me this name... I hate it..."
"Hahaha, you cursed little one, ungrateful...
Your mother chose the best name in the world for you...
Do you want to know the meaning of your name...?"
York has always felt a sense of strangeness regarding his name... He has truly been an enigma.