Mine,Even If You Run

Jae’s POV

I didn’t even imagine that when I came back from school, I would see my parents’ corpses. Even though this has shaken me, I still can’t be weak, ‘cause if I become weak now, who’s gonna take care of my brother Seon?

“brother… hic…” Seon was crying badly, standing in front of the casket of our parents.

This funeral was organized by the police, ‘cause we didn’t have money to do anything, nor any relatives who would help us. For us, in the whole world, we only had each other and no one else.

After the funeral, we came back home. And Seon was hungry. He can’t fall asleep hungry, that’s why I checked the whole kitchen. Only a few packets of ramen were there and one fist of rice.

I didn’t know how to cook, ‘cause Mom never let me step into the kitchen. She liked to cook, that’s why.

“brother , are you cooking something?” I snapped out of my thoughts after hearing that and noticed Seon there. His eyes were swollen from crying and were red too, just like his nose.

“I’ll make some ramen, is that okay with you?”

“Yeah.” He came inside to help me and grabbed the knife, but I couldn’t let him do anything.

“Seon, go and do your homework. I’ll do this.” Even though he was whining, still I didn’t listen to him and just sent him out. It took me an hour to make rice and ramen. I placed two bowls of ramen on the table and set the rice cooker.

“It looks delicious.” Seon served the food on the plate and started to eat. A smile appeared on my face seeing Seon enjoying the food.

But as I was about to start eating, I heard a bang on the door, which startled both me and Seon.

“Who would it be? It’s so late already.” Hearing Seon, I glanced at the time, and it was midnight now. My heart was beating like crazy, making my whole body tremble. I really didn’t want to open the door right now and just wanted to hide where I could no longer hear the banging.

But if I didn’t open the door soon, it was gonna create a problem, ‘cause that bang was loud enough to wake the landlord. Slowly, I stepped toward the door and opened it, and as I did, many men with knives and other weapons rushed into our house.

“W-Who are you all? And how can you break into someone’s house?” I asked while standing in front of Seon, ‘cause those men looked like goons and I didn’t want anything to happen to my brother.

“Hahahaha… Did you hear that? He’s asking why we’re here!

At first, I didn’t understand why they were laughing, until they threw a statement paper on my face. When I read those statements, the ground slipped under my feet, and I was unable to process it, ‘cause it was written in that statement that…

My parents had taken a debt of 100 million dollars, which, after all the interest, is now 200 million. And they had stated that if they died, their sons would pay the debt on their behalf.

I couldn’t believe my own parents did this to us. Like they really ended their own lives just to make us pay their debt.

I was so shocked after reading that, no words were coming out of my mouth. I just looked at them with an empty gaze. But it’s not like I had any right to deny it and say no, ‘cause my parents’ signatures were on the statement.

And I was scared. If I said anything now, they might kill me and Seon right here.

“Hey bitches, why did you go silent?” That goon’s voice echoed through our house.

“I’ll pay,” I said, ‘cause it’s not like there was another way. And when I told them that, they finally left, leaving me no choice but to regret that my parents died.

My hunger died even after they left. Only Seon ate. I just simply went back into my room to ease my mind, but then I saw the mock test results paper. I had gotten full marks, but it’s not necessary anymore.

****

“What are you saying? You want to drop out of school? But you’re about to graduate, Nam Jae. Just hang in there for a few more months,” my homeroom teacher said.

“No sir, forgive me, but I can’t study further.” No matter what he said, I still dropped out of school, ‘cause after learning about that debt, one thing was sure: one of us would have to work, so I would work and Seon would study.

After leaving school, I tried really hard to find work, but the thing was, I got scared whenever shop owners asked why I wanted to work.

It was my first time working. And when I finally found three part-time jobs, I was happy, ‘cause whatever I was earning was enough to feed us.

But then all of a sudden, those loan shark guys started showing up and snatching my money from me, saying they were taking it for the debt. That’s why I always kept a small amount of money in my other pocket so they wouldn’t find it. That way, me and Seon would have some mone

Days kept passing like this, and I didn’t even realize that a month had already gone by. But now it had become a habit for us. Seon knew those loan shark guys would end up coming after him, so he always stayed hidden in the corner of the house while studying.

And I worked the night shift at the 24/7 store. So I went home in the morning and took some rest before heading to another job.

But still, the store owner said my payment would be $1,000 for the month, ‘cause I was new and didn’t have experience. But once I gained some, he was eventually going to raise my pay.

It was still a lot for me, so I was happy to work there. Since no one had come inside, I was cleaning the floor when my mobile rang. When I answered, I saw it was Seon calling.

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