1 Prologue

Kim opened his eyes slowly. His body was spread out across the grass. He ached all over and his jaw didn't feel right. He tried to sit up but the pain kept him down.

"Damn..." He muttered through labored breaths.

His face was swollen and bruises were beginning to form over his entire body. A line of blood strolled down his right nostril while his left eye was bloodshot and nearly swollen shut. His shirt was torn in several places, exposing his skin to the grass. His pants were dirtied and trampled upon, many boot prints covering his legs and parts of his torso.

Breathing hurt. Not moving hurt. Existing hurt.

For as long as he could remember, this was his life. At least three times a week he would get beat up. And for what? He certainly didn't know why. All he wanted to do was drink alone, but something would always happen and he would eventually find himself here, bloodied and bruised.

Sighing and gritting his teeth, Kim forced himself up. The pain rendered him breathless, so once he was up, he took a few minutes to collect himself and regain his breath.

The pain that pulsated along his back made it impossible for him to stand straight. He held his right side.

'I think I might fractured ribs...'

He frowned, and that even hurt a bit. He wanted to cry, but he was a man, and men must be strong. He must be strong. He would only cry at home, when he was alone, or when he was with the woman he loved. Only then would he show vulnerability.

With a puff, he began to hobble his way back to his apartment.

'Why was I beaten up this time?' he pondered as he made his way down the street. He could understand if it had been a group of men who had discovered that he was sleeping with their wives, but since he hadn't done such a thing, he excluded that reasoning.

In fact, he excluded jealous ex boyfriend's because that would mean he had a girlfriend, and that just wasn't true. He was as single as they came. No girlfriend, no wife. Not even a lover. He was by no means an ugly guy, so it wasn't his looks that dissuaded women from going out with him. It was just that he wasn't handsome. He was an average male. An average, 25-year-old male.

With a painful shrug at the reminder that he was a single man, Kim limped home. And no matter how much he thought while he limped, he just could not fathom why he got beaten up this time.

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Sang Lee stood under the shade of a tree, lighting up a cigarette as he watched a battered and beaten man hobble away. A cruel smile slowly etched across his lips and onto his face, his eyes turning cold and malicious.

"That should teach you to not look at another man's property", he murmured before taking a puff from the cigarette then blowing it out.

He watched Kim until he turned down a side street and disappeared, then turned to his left. There stood a lovely young lady with black, silken hair that fell to her shoulder blades. She had smooth, milk-coloured skin that seemed to softly glow. Her hazel eyes were turned down, looking at the ground. Her cheek was a deep red, made extremely evident since it stood out against her pale skin. There was a cut on her lower lip that had begun to bleed, causing a small blood trail to trickle down her chin.

He raised a hand toward her face which caused her to flinch. Sang Lee tensed up, and a vein popped in his forehead, but he didn't react. Without a word, he wiped away the blood trail, leaving a smudge on her chin.

Though her reaction angered him, he wouldn't let it dictate his reaction.

Removing a napkin from his jacket pocket, Sang Lee cleaned his hand, then handed her the napkin and motioned for the woman to leave.

"I catch you doing that again, you won't just get a beating. Do I make myself understood?"

She nodded as she took the napkin and clutched it tightly, still looking at the ground.

He looked at her, a flash of anger running through his eyes.

"Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?" He reiterated each word slowly as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes.

"... Y-yes, sir. Yes, Sang Lee," she stammered.

Releasing her, he turned back to face the direction Kim had gone in.

Suddenly, a young man came running toward him, not showing any signs of slowing down. Sang Lee signaled for his guards to deal with him, but something in the back of his mind said it wouldn't be so easy.

The unknown man stopped about twenty feet from the trio of men, slightly panting.

"I saw what you did to that man earlier!" he exclaimed.

"Oh? And what about that? Are you here to get revenge for him?"

"Yes."

"... Who are you?"

The unknown man smiled.

"I'm glad you asked. Me? I'm the protagonist of this story!"

He rushed forward, his hands balled into fists, ready to take the three on.