Chapter 4 - Left Eye Scar

"N-no," Arthur barely managed to squeak out.

"When are you going to pay me my money?" the man asked.

Arthur shook – this was one of the things he regretted the most. He had borrowed money from this man for gambling, hoping that he would be able to pay him back, but that didn't happen. Instead, his bad luck ensured that he wouldn't be able to earn and instead lost all of the money.

"Your bold, confident claims, where did they all go?" the man asked with a smirk.

"Don't tell me... you can't return the money you've borrowed, Arthur?" the man said, his tone slightly amused.

"N-no, I can return the money I've borrowed. Please just... just give me some more time. It's a huge amount, that's why." Arthur said, stuttering as he had an expression of despair.

'Fuck, I shouldn't have borrowed any money from loansharks like him,' he thought, cursing his impulsiveness from two years ago when he borrowed money from him.

"What?" the man said, his voice slightly raised and cold. "I've already given you two whole years. Isn't that more than enough time? Besides, I'm quite kind to give you such a long time to repay the money; others won't be as kind as me, Arthur," he said, in a relaxed and cold tone that made Arthur shudder.

"I-I'll really repay this year, p-please, just one more year!!" Arthur said as he got on his knees while the man clad in a full black suit and a white hat looked down on him, his eyes cold as ice.

"Oh? If you're that confident in repaying me within a year, I shall give you one more year to repay me back the 100k that you borrowed with the interest, which is 225k RUB today... but since you insist on repaying me after a year, it will be 337,500₽," the man clad in a full black suit and a white hat said, his face expressionless as Arthur's expression turned into one of despair and disbelief.

"B-but how?? It was only 100k RUB that I borrowed; how can the interest go so sky-high?" Arthur said, disbelief clearly written all over his face.

"Huh?" the man said, his tone sharp, kind of aggressive and cold.

"Didn't I say that the interest is 50% and it's even clearly written on the contract that you signed?"

"W-what?" Arthur muttered, disbelief clearly written over his face as he regretted signing the contract without reading it. He thought it wouldn't be too much interest, but he was wrong and had misassumed.

"Are you... backing off from repaying now?" the man said, his tone sharp and authoritative, as he spoke in a cold tone.

"N-no, sir! I-I will pay," Arthur said, stuttering.

"You better! Oh, I remember that your wife is still young and beautiful, no?" the man said, licking his lips.

"I-I will pay, sir!! Please, p-please just not my family!" Arthur said, gritting his teeth as he uttered in a despairing tone.

"I won't do such things, you know, Arthur... but if you don't pay, then... I won't have any choice other than doing that, don't you agree?" the man said.

"Y-yes, I will really pay you back," Arthur said.

"Alright then, Arthur, I don't have too much time to spare on you, so better prepare the money," the man said, giving him a small smile before closing the window of his full black car and heading off.

'W-what do I do now? I don't have any way to pay him now.... Should I just kill myself?' he thought, his eyes turning lifeless for a second before life came back to him as he clenched his fist.

'I-I can't do that!! If I do that, then it will be my family's turn to suffer because of my actions. I will do whatever it takes to repay him back,' he thought, a small amount of humanity still within him.

Though that humanity disappears when he goes back home somehow as he torments his family to vent his anger.

###

[1 year later.]

[1985/1/1]

[Rocemel Garage.]

Rocemel Garage, the place well known for renting out their huge, spacious garage for businessmen who are looking to park their vehicles.

Inside the basement of Rocemel Garage, there could be seen a man wearing a full black suit and a white hat sitting on a comfy couch while two men stood side by side, holding iron bats in their hands.

Before them were three people: the Petrove family. The 25-year-old Arthur, the 24-year-old mother, Irina, and their 5-year-old son, Ivan Petrove, who was just 5 years old.

They could be seen standing before them, their heads down, and full of despair and depression, while Ivan had a calm expression somehow.

"So... you still didn't pay me back even though I gave you three whole years..." the man in the full black suit and white hat said, his half face looking down in an aesthetic way that covered his face, but one could see the impatience and cold tone in his voice.

"P-please... j-just four more months..." Arthur said, getting on his knees as he begged the man.

"I've already given you more than enough time... I didn't even use any threats or become aggressive since I thought you'd pay me back, but..."

"Since you were unable to pay me back even after three years, I'll have to let you know the consequences, no?" the man said as he snapped his fingers.

As soon as he snapped his fingers, the two men grabbed Ivan, whose expression changed to fear.

"W-what the hell are you doing! L-let me go!" Ivan said as he flailed his legs, kicking them both, but because he's so young and powerless, it didn't even tickle them.

"N-no, p-please, j-just not my son!!" Arthur said in a desperate tone as he extended his hand.

"No can do, Arthur! You're the one who forced me to do it! You can't blame me," the man said in a soft tone.

"M-my son!! L-let him go, you bastards!" Irina said, tears gathering in her eyes as she shouted.

But her pleas were unheard as they threw Ivan onto the hard, concrete ground, making him cry out in pain.

"Ahh!" Ivan shouted in pain as he landed on the hard, concrete floor.

"I-Ivan!!" Irina shouted, tears dripping from her eyes.

But after just being thrown onto the hard, concrete floor, the two men once again grabbed him and took him in front of the man wearing the black suit and white hat.

"So, you're Ivan, huh? Hahaha, don't resent me, kid! I'm just doing my business, and your father happened to be someone who took my money but didn't repay."

"So don't blame me, kid, blame your incompetent father who didn't repay what he borrowed," the man said as he took out a pocket knife.

As he unfolded the folding pocket knife, tears welled up in Ivan's eyes as he could predict that it was going to be used on him.

"N-no, please, just l-let my s-son go!!" As Irina was about to go herself to save her child, one man, likely the bodyguard of the man clad in the full black suit, came forward and hurriedly grabbed Irina.

"N-NO! N-NO PLEASE LET MY SON GOO!" she shouted with all her might, yet it was unheard.

As she tried to resist the man's grip, the man grappled her quite tightly by her hand.

"Y-you, let Irina go!" Arthur said aggressively as he tried to punch the bodyguard, but before he could even land a hit, the bodyguard kicked him in the temple really hard, making him land on the ground with a thud.

Meanwhile, the man clad in the full black suit brought his knife up to Ivan's left eye as he swung it down in a vertical line, making him grab his left eye and scream.

"AAHHHHHHHHHGGG!" he screamed, blood leaking out of the line that the knife made.

As the other bodyguard stopped grappling Ivan, he landed on the ground with a thud, still covering his eye with his hands while screaming.

"NOO, IVANNNNN!" Irina screamed, tears dripping from her eyes as she had a devastated look on her face.

"Ahhhhhh, mamma! I-it hurts, it hurts!!!" he screamed, blood dripping down to the floor.

"Now, I'll give you one more year to repay me the money you took. It's 340k RUB now," the man clad in the black suit said, signaling his bodyguards to stop grappling them as Irina ran up to Ivan and hugged him.

"But if you still fail to pay me... then I'll.... have you face some serious consequences that won't end with just your son's eye," the man said, flashing a smile on his face that looked like the smile of a devil.

"M-mommy's here now, Ivan!! L-lets go to the hospital now!!" she said as she carried Ivan while he still cried and covered his left eye.

Without waiting for Arthur, she just left to go to the hospital as soon as possible.