Scent of Ignorance 33

"You should live a long life."

Those were the words left by a gangster who appeared before a fourteen-year-old boy who had just lost his parents.

Whether it was a blessing or a curse, that single phrase seeped deep into Yieum's lungs like the smoke trailing from the man's outstretched cigarette.

Cheon Chaehyeok — his stepfather's creditor.

He had been lingering in front of Yieum, demanding repayment of some debt Yieum didn't even fully understand, and yet, in the end, he steps forward and says he'll become Yieum's temporary guardian.

It was a kindness with intentions that couldn't be read.

Yieum was uneasy, and yet he found himself helplessly drawn to the warmth of an adult — the first he had ever truly encountered in his life.

What had begun as nothing more than an unfamiliar sense of relief slowly grew into something he couldn't even put a name to.

"You're still young, so it might be hard to tell the difference."

And yet, in front of him — Yieum had been crushed for no other reason than being young.