*slap*
A strong slap sound from one of the luxurious houses
"Didn't I tell you not to steal!!! You're the mayor's son, you have to have manners!!!"
The man slaps his son hard and his screams fill the air
"When will you learn manners!!! When will you make me proud of you!!!"
"....."
The boy stands up to say something and looks down
"Near, when I talk to you, look!!!"
Near's eyes tremble and he can't raise his face
His father extends his hand behind him, ready to slap him again
"I told you to look into my eyes--"
Before he slaps him, someone stops him
"Sir, I don't think it's right to hit him to teach him not to steal"
The person says this while holding Near's father's hand
Near's father pulls his hand away from him
"So are you questioning the way I raised my son?"
The man bows and says
"I apologize if I said it wrong but I didn't mean to offend you sir if you don't believe me then I ask you to simply kill me"
"... Well what is your idea to make him stop the robbery Mr. Deputy Holl"
Holl is the deputy mayor and he got to this place through his own hard work
as he didn't sleep for 5 days straight for work
"Don't worry just leave the matter of disciplining him to me sir you are very busy don't forget your meeting with Roger"
A facial expression appears on Near's father's face as if he remembered something important
"Oh right you are right I have to go now do what you think is right Holl"
"Yes sir"
Near's father leaves and leaves Near in Holl's care
Holl and Near exchange glances
"Lex again?"
"...Yes.."
Holl sighs quietly
"I told you not to hang around with him"
"Y-Y-Yes"
Holl taps Near's forehead
"No excuses he's a bad boy don't ever play with him"
"y-yes"
Holl looks at Near calmly
"Uh-uh I'm going for a bike ride if you want I can take you with me"
Near lifts his head towards Hole and a smile spreads across his face
"Yahoooo"
Holl rides the bike with Near behind him
The breeze that touches his face feels amazing
Holl rides the bike while looking at Near
With a small smile Hole increases the speed
After a while Hole returns to the city with Near
"Hey Near"
Before Near can go Hole stops him and says with a smile
"Listen don't tell your father about this because I'm sure he'll kick me out"
"Hahaha of course uncle Hole"
Near turns around and is about to go but Hole stops him again
"Near also I want you to Promise me something please don't hang out with that girl okay??
".. Okay I promise you...."
Holl smiles brightly and pats Near's head
"Good that's what I wanted to hear"
"...."
Near just stays silent at this point
In one of the alleys there is a boy counting money
"Hey idiot do you think I'm an idiot!!"
The boy lifts a man by his shirt
"I-I'm sorry that's all I have Lex my mom is sick so I need this money"
"What's your mom sick? How sad poor Michael you must be suffering"
Lex lets Michael fall to the ground
"Y-Yes so could you allow me to postpone the payment today"
"I guess you need the money right?"
Michael is surprised by Lex's words
"-What do you mean?"
Lex smiles wickedly
"I mean you need money right? So think about it, what if I gave you a solution to get the money"
Michael's body shakes a little
"Yes exactly?"
Lex puts his hand on Michael's shoulder and says to him
"What do you see over there, that boy Near, the mayor's son, if you want you can kidnap him and demand a ransom from his father, he is a rich man"
Michael can't find a word to describe this and his body starts shaking
"Are you crazy??"
"Mmm it seems you don't love your mother after all, listen if you want me to stop taking money from you then kidnap Near"
"-But what do you gain from all this??"
Lex puts his hand on his chin for a second
"Nothing, it's just fun to see people fighting for survival, what do you think?"
Mike steps back a little until he sticks to the wall
"N-No way, you're still that crazy"
"Unfortunately, it seems that you don't want your mother to have a good life. I would feel sorry if anything happened to her, you know, bad, like getting killed or her food poisoned"
"-Why would anyone do that?"
"Hahaha I told you, just imagine, man, don't worry, nothing will happen to her as long as you do what I tell you"
Michael shudders from hearing Lex
"w-well, what should I do?"
In a moment of silence, Lex's smile splits the sky
"Okay, just listen, do what I tell you"
Near lies on his bed
Thinking, should he really not hang out with Lex again?
While thinking about this, his eyes get the better of him and he falls asleep
After that day, Near started avoiding Lex every time
One day, while he was leaving a store, Michael comes to him, panicked
"N-Near, I need you, please come!!!"
"What happened Michael what do you mean?"
Michael grabs Near's hand
"Please. My mom fell in that alley from exhaustion and illness I need you to help me carry her to the hospital please!!!"
"O-Okay I'll help you"
Near runs into the alley with good intentions to help Michael's mom
"Okay where is she?"
Near turns left and right looking for her
"I'm really sorry"
"What did I say--"
Michael hits Near on the back of his head
Near wakes up in a room a dark room
He tries to move his hand but it's tied to the handle of the chair he was sitting on
"What?"
"Ouch my head hurts what happened??"
From the darkness a shadow appears and Michael emerges
"M-Michael? What's going on here explain it"
Michael looks disorganized and nervous
"I-I just please stay calm"
"What? Did you kidnap me?"
Michael's tension increases
"N-No I just how do I explain it I-I'm just taking advantage"
"Huh Michael this is not funny let me go"
"N-No this is for my mom I'm really sorry"
Near gets worried
"Huh and what does my relationship with your mom have to do with you?"
"N-No I can't explain just stay calm and---"
The window shatters and someone comes in
Both Near and Michael panic
"Don't worry Near it's me"
What is it Holl? But how did he know?
Holl runs towards Michael and kicks him away
"Deputy Judge Holl? W-What are you doing here?"
Holl says nothing and goes to free Near
Michael grits his teeth
"Why, why, why is this happening? I just wanted to live with my mother."
Michael grabs an iron pole and runs towards Holl to hit him with it
But Holl reaches into his pocket and pulls out a gun?
He aims it at Michael's head and simply kills him?
Near has nothing to say
"....."
Near leaves in shock from what he saw
Seeing someone die in front of him was a strange new experience
Near wasn't interested in Michael being dead, he was thinking about the fact that Holl had simply killed him
When he arrives home in shock, he is surprised by Lex at his door
He runs and Lex hugs Near
"My friend, are you okay? I'm really sorry about what happened to you. I couldn't help you. I saw Michael being beaten, but I couldn't do anything except call Holl to solve this problem."
Lex's plan from the beginning was to make Near trust him again.
Near didn't care at all about what Lex was saying at that moment. His mind was only thinking that Holl might kill in cold blood.
After that, in the evening, when Near went to Holl's office,
"Excuse me, can I come in?"
"Yes, please."
Near sits on one of the chairs there.
"Well, as you can see, I want to ask you something. In your opinion, when do criminals deserve to die?"
Near waited for a convincing answer that would satisfy him.
"All criminals deserve to be killed."
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"What I mean is any criminal deserves to die, but I can't kill anyone unless they resist, in which case I have to kill them. Even if they think about escaping, their fate is death. Even if you, for example, went to prison and you planned to escape, your fate would be death. Unfortunately, I don't have the authority to put such a system in place."
Near can't find words to express anything.
"B-But."
"Look, Near, you're still young. If you were an adult like me, you'd understand."
Near leaves without saying anything and remains lying on his bed without sleeping.
This is a big burden for a 10-year-old boy.