Jae’s POV

I thought his homework must be done, that’s why he was calling before going to sleep. But it was still too early to sleep, wasn’t it?

I answered the call. But what I heard from him made me drop the wiper from my hand. I ran out of the store without looking back and rushed home.

So many thoughts were racing through my mind, telling me every possible bad thing that could have happened.

And when I reached home, I saw Seon sitting on the roadside with our luggage. He was hugging his knees while leaning on the bags, shaking.

“Seon,” I called out. He looked up, still crying.

“Hyung, you’re finally here! What will we do now? The landlord threw us out of the house. He said we’ll have to live on the street.”

“He said those loan shark guys come to bother him every day,” Seon said, still hiccupping.

Why is this happening to us? When we already have so many problems, why does another one have to show up?

But I wiped Seon’s tears. Even though I wanted to cry too, I couldn’t, ‘cause that would break Seon. I had to stay strong like an adult.

“Seon, wait here. I’ll go and talk to the landlord.”

I went and knocked on the landlord’s door, hoping he would at least let us stay one night, and then we’d leave. But as soon as the door opened, a sharp, painful slap hit my cheek. In a second, I found myself facing sideways, holding my cheek, and with teary eyes I looked at the landlord. He was staring at me with disgust.

“Mister, please let us stay in our house just for tonight, ‘cause we don’t have anywhere else to go.”

I dropped to my knees and grabbed his feet, ready to beg him. No matter how many times I begged, he only looked at me with rage in his eyes, like he was seeing some kind of beggar.

This was beyond painful, but whatever I was feeling didn’t matter. What mattered was that we didn’t have a roof over our heads.

“Mister, please don’t do this to us. I’m ready to do anything if you let us stay there.” I was begging him

As I said that, his expression suddenly changed and he smirked. But that sent a shiver down my spine. He stretched his hand and touched my chin.

“If you’re really desperate to do anything, then suck my cock, I want to rub my cock on your small and soft lips” he said, moving his hand from my chin to my head. It was uncomfortable when he was patting my head like someone was Peircing needles in my head.

And my eyes widened when I heard him.

The way he was patting my head felt deeply wrong, like thousands of tiny needles were piercing my skin. My eyes widened in horror at his demand.

Every part of me screamed no. I absolutely did not want to perform an act like this for money. But outside, on this freezing night, my younger brother was sitting alone on the street. I could not, under any circumstances, allow him to sleep out there.

Against every instinct, I nodded my head.

I tried to glance back toward the street one last time, but just then, the landlord grabbed me, pulled me roughly inside the house, and slammed the door shut.

I was terrified; I had never experienced anything like this.

Still kneeling on the floor, I watched as the man unzipped his trousers and pulled out that disgusting thing. It was right there, directly in front of my face.

“Sir, I don’t think I will be able to do this. Can I clean your house instead?”

The moment I suggested that, he delivered a vicious kick directly into my stomach.

The force of the blow pushed me backward, sending me crashing onto the ground. As my back hit the floor, I saw him looming above me, immediately sitting down hard on my chest. Without wasting a single moment, he forced his penis into my mouth.

Tears streamed from my eyes, but he showed no sign of stopping.

A while later, I returned to Seon. He was still sitting on the roadside, patiently waiting for me.

“Brother, what did the landlord say?”

I immediately grabbed the luggage. “He said yes, we can stay, but only for one week. After that, we’ll have to find a new place.”

Yet, simply hearing that we wouldn’t be sleeping on the street made Seon happy. He quickly helped me bring the luggage back inside. I knew I would never tell him what I had done behind that locked door to secure us just one week under this roof.

Shortly after returning to the house, my phone rang. It was the store owner. He was furious that I had abandoned my shift and fired me on the spot, refusing to pay even a single penny for the two weeks I had already worked.

Now, I was jobless. I had no idea where to find another job, let alone one that paid enough to cover our debts. My mind went blank, paralyzed by the weight of our situation.

I retreated to the bathroom and stood under the spray of water, scrubbing every inch of skin the landlord had touched. The memory of his hands made my skin crawl with disgust.

I gargled repeatedly, trying to wash away the lingering taste of what he had forced me to swallow. After several minutes of desperate scrubbing and rinsing, I finally vomited. Only then did I feel a small, hollow sense of relief.

When I finally stepped out of the bathroom and lay down beside Seon, he immediately pulled me into a hug. He was clearly happy that I hadn’t gone back to work, relieved that he wouldn’t have to be alone for the rest of the night.

I knew how difficult it was for him to be left by himself in that house, but I felt a pang of guilt knowing I had no other choice. I would always have to go back to work, no matter the cost.

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Jae’s POV

The next morning, I woke to find the sun already high. It was the weekend, which meant a holiday for Seon, but in the restaurant business, weekends were the most grueling, crowded days of the week.

I set to work cooking breakfast. A month ago, I wouldn’t have known where to start in a kitchen, but I had taught myself out of necessity, for my own survival, and for my brother’s.

Once the meal was ready, I woke Seon and prepared to leave. I needed him to be alert, as he was the one who had to lock the door from the inside the moment I stepped out.

By the time I reached the restaurant, the morning rush was already in full swing. Just as I had anticipated, customers were pouring in.

I spent the morning on my feet as a waiter, and when that shift finally ended, I headed straight into the kitchen to begin washing a mountain of dishes.

While I was working, a customer approached me with a suggestion. He told me that if I was truly desperate for money, I should look into Club Hollow.

He described the roles there as being similar to waitstaff, but with significantly higher pay. He even offered to recommend me, suggesting I show up that very evening.

I don’t know much about the world outside my own struggle, but the name Dark City, the district where Club Hollow is located, rang a bell.

I remembered hearing rumors back in school that Dark City was a lawless place where illegal trades flourished. Some whispered that it was a hub for arms dealing, overseen by a mysterious and powerful figure.

I wondered if those stories were just urban legends. After all, if such a place truly existed, wouldn’t the police have raided it by now?

Regardless of the risks, the promise of better pay was too tempting to ignore. Since the man said he would be there to meet me, I decided to take the chance.

I told Seon not to wait up for me for dinner and caught the bus to Dark City. The moment I stepped off the bus, a heavy sense of unease settled over me; I felt as though eyes were tracking my every move, shadows following me through the dim streets.

After asking several locals for directions, most of whom looked at me with cold indifference, I finally found Club Hollow. However, my progress was halted immediately.

The guards stationed at the entrance were massive, looking more like statues of muscle than men, and they flatly refused to let me pass.

I stood there, helpless and unsure of what to do, when suddenly,

“Oh, you actually made it, Jae.”

I glanced beside me to find the same man who had eaten at the restaurant earlier that morning. He gave a sharp nod to the guards.

“He’s with me,” he said, ushering me inside.

Once we were through the doors, I realized he wasn’t just a regular; he was the manager of the club. It explained why he was so confident about hiring me.

I knew I shouldn’t be so quick to trust a stranger, but I told myself that working as a waiter here was a thousand times better than the alternative, the degrading price I’d had to pay to the landlord just for a roof over our heads.

The manager spoke to me gently, leading me to the staff room where he introduced me to the other workers. I changed into the waiter’s uniform and he handed me a heavy silver tray. On it sat a bottle of Balkan 176 vodka and a set of crystal glasses.

“Take this to VIP Room No. 22,” he instructed.

I nodded, steeling myself. This was the start of my new life. Room 22 was located on the second floor. I took the elevator up, the weight of the tray straining my arms.

When the doors opened, I stepped out into a hallway that smelled of expensive cologne and tobacco. I scanned the numbers and finally found the room at the far end of the corridor.

I knocked softly before attempting to enter. A few minutes passed before the door finally swung open. A man in a sharp suit stood there, his hair a striking shade of green. He narrowed his eyes, looking at me as if I were an intruder who had no business being there.

“What are you waiting for? Come in,” he snapped.

I flinched at his tone and hurried inside, but the sight that met me brought me to a dead halt.

Spread across the central table was an arsenal of weaponry, pistols, rifles, and long-range firearms I couldn’t even name.

Three bodyguards stood like stone statues behind the green-haired man. Swallowing my fear, I moved to the side table, set down the heavy tray, and began pouring the vodka into crystal glasses.

A man sat at the head of the room, draped in an imposing black trench coat over a dark shirt and trousers. His hands were covered in gloves, and his boots were polished to a mirror shine.

As I handed him a glass, I noticed a young boy sitting beside him, he looked no older than Seon. The man had his arm wrapped tightly around the boy’s shoulders.

On a separate sofa, another man was meticulously inspecting one of the firearms; I stepped forward and handed him a glass as well.

“Mr. Chan, I don’t think your KRISS Vector Gen II has the same stopping power as the units from the other dealers,” the man on the sofa remarked, his voice cold and analytical.

The air in the room felt thick with danger. Having completed my task, I bowed my head and quickly slipped out of the room.

The atmosphere was heavy enough to make it suffocating. And those guns… don’t tell me this club is involved in illegal things. Does the manager know about it? I wanted to ask him when I got back, but I didn’t dare, it was just my first day.

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Jae’s POV

I continued serving drinks and didn’t realize it was already 4 in the morning. But when I asked the manager to go home, he said,

“Your payment for today is $10k.”

My eyes widened at his words, $10k for one day, not a month?

“But the thing is, we don’t handle the money. All payments are given directly by our boss, Oh-Chan. You’ll have to go to VIP Room 22. That’s where he is right now.”

My body froze, ‘cause in that room, I saw those dangerous guns and that terrifying man who didn’t even move much but still sent chills down my spine.

“Can’t you take the payment from your boss and give it to me?” I pleaded.

“No, you’ll have to go and take your payment from him yourself.”

I didn’t really have a choice but to go back into that room. But when I was standing in front of VIP Room 22, I realized, I was getting afraid of nothing. There were just a few guns. It’s not like they were killing someone.

I knocked on the door and heard, “Come in.” So I opened the door and stepped inside. But the moment I did, I saw blood scattered on the ground, and the man who had been checking the guns earlier was dead on the sofa. He’d been shot in the head. My steps stumbled when I saw that.

The boy who had been beside that man was now lying on the ground, heavily injured, his whole face swollen.

And that man was still sitting there, unbothered, smoking.

I quickly stepped back and turned around to leave, but just then,

“Where do you think you’re going?” A cold voice reached my ear. My step froze. I didn’t want to turn around, still, I did. And my eyes met his.

It was like he was staring through my skin.

“Why are you here?” As he asked, the bodyguards started taking the man’s corpse away, and they dragged that boy out too. In just 10 minutes, I was alone in the room with him.

“ARE YOU DEAF? I asked you a question, didn’t I?”

I got startled by his sudden voice. My body started to tremble.

“The manager sent me here to take my payment,” I said in a low voice.

“It’s $10k, right?” I nodded slightly and looked down.

“I’ll give you not $10k but $30k, just let me fuck you.”

I quickly looked up. He was staring at me, licking his lips, and crushed his cigarette on the table. A weird feeling crept over me, like someone was telling me to fall off a cliff.

“Pardon?” I said, even though I knew what he was saying. Why is everyone in this world the same, only wanting to take advantage of me?

First it was the landlord. Now it’s my new boss. But $30k isn’t a small amount. If I really get that money, Seon and I could buy so many groceries… eat whatever we want.

“I’m waiting for your answer,” he said, looking impatient.

“Okay. But please pay me the amount you said.”

“Then strip, and come here.”

He directly asked me to strip. I’d never been in a relationship before, so it was really embarrassing for me. Still, for the money, I took off my clothes one by one.

I didn’t want to take off my underwear, but when he glared at me and told me to take that off too, I didn’t have a choice.

After taking it off, I hid my parts with both hands. He gestured with his index finger to come to him. I took a step toward him, and suddenly, he grabbed my hand and threw me on the sofa, on my stomach. I clenched the sofa tightly and closed my eyes.

Just then, I heard the sound of a zipper being undone.

I glanced back and saw he had unzipped his pants, taking out his cock, which was huge, very huge. I would tear in two parts if he put something like this in me.

“Wait, sir, I don’t think I will be able to do this,” I tried to stand up, but he grabbed the back of my neck and slammed my face on the sofa so that I wouldn’t resist.

“Don’t fucking ruin my mood and lift your ass,” his cold hand was clenching my neck, making me gasp for breath.

I was feeling suffocated just thinking about lying there and doing something that was so painful.

Suddenly, I felt something going in me that wasn’t right. I started to move like an animal trying to save itself from getting devoured by a predator. But no matter how much I struggled, his big hand gripped me even tighter, showing me I was helpless under him.

Our body sizes alone were enough to describe who was stronger. I didn’t have any strength to fight him, but with his strength, he could even kill me right now.

And just then, he thrust inside in one go. I jolted, and tears started to flow from my eyes.

“Aaaaargh~~”

The scream that came out of my mouth showed how much pain I was feeling. The fear of more pain rushed into me, and I didn’t want to do this anymore because the pain was unbearable.

But then I remembered the sight of my younger brother sitting on the street helplessly. Still, he didn’t take out his cock and started to move roughly, even though he heard me cry and scream in pain.

“Nooo… Aaaaahn~~… Please stop, please, it’s hurting… Please, I am begging you.”

“Yes, don’t stop. Continue to beg me. And you’re so tight, relax a little.”

“Aaaaargh~~~”

“Aaaahn~~~”

“Haaahn~~” I was crying in pain, but he was not showing any mercy. The way his cock was inserting into me with full force and then coming out, only to continue thrusting… I felt like I was tearing down there. What if I died here?

“Aaa~~”

I shouldn’t have agreed to his condition. The way that boy was injured, I should’ve warned myself not to fall for his trick.

But I couldn’t do anything other than endure this torture. Even though it hurt like hell, I wasn’t resisting now. Because I had to endure this pain for money. I pressed my face into the sofa, and tears continued to flow from my eyes.

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