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Kim Dokja is dirt poor.
That’s the whole reason for this anyway. He’s made a name for himself as Salvation, one of Seoul’s peskiest thieves. He’s slipped from the grasp of police and federal agents several times, even after tens of heists. Maybe he’s reaching the hundreds at this point. Kim Dokja wouldn’t be surprised.
They’ve even put a bounty on his head. Over two hundred million won. It’s more money than he was paid when he was still working as a goddamn contractor. It was frankly quite insulting.
His name’s on the news every other day, after he’d decided to work harder this year. A New Year’s resolution type thing. It was going well for him, but not everyone else in the country. Kim Dokja didn’t even bother turning on the television anymore. He couldn’t stand it. Hearing them say his name on every channel was quite tiring after the tenth time.
There was someone else who had a higher bounty than him, though. Ten times the bounty. The Supreme King, a veteran to terrorizing this country. While Kim Dokja had only stolen stuff in Seoul, the Supreme King had done it around the country, several times longer than he had. People had even speculated that he was some foreign agent sent in to sabotage South Korea.
He’d stolen jewelry, electronics, and even state secrets. They should’ve caught him, at this point, but Kim Dokja had firsthand experience with the incompetence of this country’s law force. After evading capture for this long, even after making several dumb mistakes, it was truly the police’s fault rather than his own.
Though, Kim Dokja was glad he hadn’t been caught. Nobody normal was willing to go to jail. But, he had to make a living somehow. He was running out of money.
It was dumb of him to give some money to the child outside of his apartment.
This child had sat there for the longest time. He wasn’t playing in the park with all the other kids, and no parent seemed to be in sight. He was so still he could’ve been mistaken for a statue. He stared down at something in his palm, resting on the bench.
Kim Dokja thought he was waiting for something. But, after coming back when the sun was about to set, he still noticed the child there.
“Hey, kid.” Kim Dokja said. “Where are your parents?”
The kid narrowed his eyes, looking at him. Did he really look that untrustworthy? Honestly, it was deserved. He was a thief, after all. But, the kid was giving him a glare, as if he were some kind of creep. A creepy ahjussi that talked to kids.
He just continued to look at him, not responding. If it weren’t for his chest moving slightly with his breaths, Kim Dokja would’ve assumed he’d frozen over. Ah. If this kid wasn’t going to trust him, it’d be best for him to call the police or something.
But, if the kid sat out here for the entire day, he surely had to be hungry, right? Kim Dokja wasn’t completely devoid of empathy. He had enough to buy a snack or something from the local convenience store, and it was pretty close by too.
“If you’re not going to talk, I’ll bring the police over, okay?” Kim Dokja sighed. “But, I’ll get you some food first. Do you want anything?”
“...”
He mumbled something under his breath. It faded into the wind, the glow of the sunset melting it.
“Huh?” Kim Dokja looked at him again. “Sorry?”
“I said dumplings.” The kid's brow was furrowed, his frown deepening.
“Okay, okay. I got it. I’ll be back then, okay?”
“...Okay.”
Kim Dokja nearly broke his legs running to the convenience store. By the time he was there, he was out of breath. More out of breath than when he’d been during his military service.
Going to the aisle with prepared meals, he quickly finds it. There—a pre-packaged lunchbox. It had kimchi, rice, some banchan, and a few dumplings. The serving size looked a bit small, though. Would this really be enough?
It was probably best to buy several, then. He picked up a few variants, all with different types of dumplings and banchan. If he didn’t like one, hopefully he’d like another.
He went to the self-checkout. He didn’t dare look at the subtotal as he swiped his card. It was best not to think about his finances right now. It was for the greater good.
Running back to the kid was worse than his initial jog. Carrying around five plastic containers, he felt like he was playing one of those shitty mobile games as he tried to balance them all. His balance had sometimes slipped, and he almost collided face first into the ground and the food containers. That wouldn’t have ended well.
Thankfully, he makes it to the kid in one piece. His breaths were unsteady as he walked towards the kid, still sitting on the bench. The sun had almost gone fully down, its last glimpses peeking over the horizon.
The kid looked back to him, making eye contact. Did he hear him? Kim Dokja sounded like he was dying. He should make it a habit of his to work out more. This was beyond shameful.
But the kid had no place to judge. He spent his precious money for food, just to feed this stranger. He should be grateful.
He walked up to the kid, now face-to-face. “I’m… hah… back.”
Catching his breaths still, he waited a moment. “Here… take the one on top. If you don’t like it, you can take some of the others. I bought a lot.”
The kid eyed the food, barely being able to contain his own excitement. His hands shook as they reached towards the food. He picked up a container and placed it into his lap.
“...Thank you, hyung.”
Huh. He didn’t look like an ahjussi after all? Kim Dokja felt something warm blossom in his chest. He knew it. He’d tell Han Sooyoung the next time he saw her.
“You’re welcome. Oh, sorry, give me a second.” He placed down the stack of containers onto the bench. He then scrambled within his pockets, looking for the damn utensils he’d taken from the grocery store.
Ah. There they were.
He pulled out five pairs of unopened disposable chopsticks. He ripped the paper to one on the end and handed the wooden chopsticks to the kid. “Here.”
“Thank you…” The kid’s eyes were glistening. Aw. There really was good in the world, after all.
He ate like he was starving, gulping down each and every single thing within the lunchbox. After finishing one, he hesitantly moved his hand near another, and then stopped.
“You can eat it. I bought this all for you.”
“Okay…” He looked at Kim Dokja, eyeing his face.
Was he looking for more encouragement? Kim Dokja opened up a container himself and stretched it to him. “Here.”
Taking it with both hands, he accepted it. His mouth opened a little before closing again. “...I don’t have any money.”
“Ah.” Kim Dokja sighed. Kids these days. “You don’t have to repay me.”
Who did this kid think he was? Kim Dokja was a thief, but he wasn’t evil. Asking a kid to repay him was like taking candy from a toddler. Even he wasn’t desperate enough to do that. And from what he had seen from this kid, it wasn’t likely that his parents cared much about his wellbeing.
He didn’t look convinced though. He continued to unnervingly stare at him.
“It’s free.” Kim Dokja didn’t know what else to say. He hadn’t dealt with kids before. “You really don’t have to repay me.”
After one last glance, the kid began to chow down again.
It continued on like this. He somehow managed to eat through all five containers of food. Perhaps staying out here for this long really had taken a toll on him.
The sun had fully set. It was frighteningly dark out. Kim Dokja hadn’t seen any sign of a guardian looking for him.
Had they really abandoned their kid here? In a public park of all places? It was truly scummy. Could parents really do that to their own children?
From the beatings that his father had given him, the bruises against his arms and face, he already knew. Parents could be their own children’s worst enemies.
The plastic containers had piled up right beside the boy. Kim Dokja picked them up and threw them into a nearby garbage bin. He still sat there on the bench, patiently waiting.
“I’ll bring you to the police station now, okay?” He looked down at him, those same eyes glancing into his own. His mouth wavered before opening.
“...Don’t.”
“Hm?”
“I don’t want to, hyung…” the boy petulantly murmured. “Can you take me with you, instead?” His pupils shook, the corners of his eyes wettening.
Ah.
Kim Dokja had never dealt with any situation like this before. He had lived alone for his entire life. His apartment was still a mess, too. But, bringing the child to the police station might be a worse fate for him. If his parents didn’t even care to pick him up, who knows what they’d do to him once they’d gotten him back.
“Please, hyung?”
Kim Dokja glanced down at him once more. On the bench, he had become almost fully still. His eyes were looking down into his own lap now, his hands bunched together.
“Okay. Follow me.”
And that was the story of how he adopted Lee Gilyoung. And how his savings ultimately ran out.
With a thirteen year old in his house, he didn’t want to be a bad role model. But there was no other way of earning money. That’s why he was back at it, stealing goods from places in Seoul once again.
There was no glamor in being a thief, really. He had only gone down this path because his contract had ended. If there were another path out, he would’ve taken it. But there wasn’t. That’s why he’s going on another heist.
Han Sooyoung had recommended he take this one a while ago. The local bank. He had looked at her as if she had finally gone insane. She was a little crazy to begin with, but this was a new level of crazy.
“If you want your idol to notice you, you should aim bigger.”
“What the hell are you talking about? And who exactly is this idol?”
“The Supreme King, obviously! Are you acting dense on purpose? Has your financial situation suddenly turned you into a complete idiot?”
Fuck. He should’ve gotten drunk before talking to her.
“Sooyoung, shut up.”
The bank it was. It wasn’t a good idea at all. He wasn’t like the Supreme King, someone who could endlessly avoid capture. He had only gone for safer options because of that, until now. Until a bastard urged him to rob this place.
He didn’t know what Han Sooyoung did, but all the security measures had been removed. He had encountered no resistance so far, making it to the safes without any issue.
The two sacks he carried weighed him down, but they weren’t the biggest issue here. The mask that he wore to these heists had always been stuffy, but now it’s more stuffy than usual. He finds himself sweating against the fabric of his suit, his clothes drenched.
He drops the sacks onto the ground and takes a deep breath through his mask. The lockpick kit in his pocket juts into him. He retrieves it and begins to work on the safes.
A click, one, two, three. The first safe opens without a hitch. Fat wads of cash are visible, several ₩50,000 bills stacked in a haphazard pile. Without blinking, he unzips one of the black duffel bags and shoves the cash inside.
Then, the next. It opens without resistance too. Some gold and more bills are there. He also shoves it into the bag.
The one good thing about this was the return he’d get. When robbing jewelry stores or electronics before, it’d been hard to sell the stolen goods. With him all over the news, the only chance he had were the deals that he had found with Han Sooyoung’s help. Even with her being such an annoying bastard, she was surprisingly efficient at her job.
He had gone through all the effort of having burner phones, too. Doing all of that had reduced his profits by a large margin. The smaller heists he’d done didn’t result in a crazy amount of revenue, either.
He didn’t have to go through the effort of having Han Sooyoung look for clients that’d buy his stolen goods with solid cash and gold. Still, he’d probably have to melt the gold down before he’d be able to sell it.
It doesn’t take him long to clear out a row of the safes, their doors all emptied. Though the security systems had all been disabled by Han Sooyoung, it wouldn’t do him any good to dawdle. The authorities likely knew of his presence inside and would be on his tail immediately. He’d clear the rest of the safes in this room and head out.
Just as he had that thought, a bang breaks him out of it.
Shit. Were the authorities here already? That’s no good. He couldn’t get caught now. Not with Lee Gilyoung staying at his shabby apartment.
Han Sooyoung and her damn ideas. He shouldn’t have listened to her. Goddamnit.
He turns his head. In full view, someone he didn’t expect to see is there, in the flesh. He blinks his eyes a little. Then again. Then a little more.
Was he seeing things? What the hell?
Standing in front of him is someone he’s only seen on national broadcasts. The Supreme King. He could recognize that face anywhere, even hidden under a mask.
To be fair, his face on television was always concealed too. But, who is he kidding? Everyone knew that under that mask was an exceptionally handsome man. You could see it in the jawline, in the sculpted body, in the hairstyle of the man. The way he carried himself throughout the recordings of his famous heists was proof enough. He was both a professional and a model. Somehow.
“You.”
“Me?” Kim Dokja points to himself. What did this guy want? No way he’s gonna take his spoils, right? His hard-earned cash and money. This guy…
“Who are you… no, why are you here?”
This fucking bastard. “I’m here for the same reason you are.”
“No. She said that this place would be safe. There wasn’t supposed to be any interference.”
This is a little insulting. Who is this she, and what did he have to do with any of that? He’s just here on Han Sooyoung’s orders. Or recommendation. What the hell is this guy talking about?
“If you’re just going to talk to yourself, I’ll see myself out. Goodbye, Supreme King.” He slings on both of the duffel bags and almost tumbles over. They’re heavier than he expected, even with the amount of cash and gold that he’d stolen..
“Wait.” He glares at him. “You’re not heading out.”
“Uh. Okay? Who are you to decide that?”
He pulls out a gun. “You’re not heading out,” he repeats.
He raises both of his hands, the duffel bags still staying firmly on his shoulder. His arms feel as though they’re about to snap clean off with the amount of weight they’re carrying.
Holy shit. If he isn’t getting caught today, it seems like he’ll die. And then Lee Gilyoung will be left alone in his apartment, for who knows how long. Shit.
How is he getting out of this situation? Even he doesn’t know. His smart brain, usually thinking up situations, has frozen up in the face of the Supreme King. What the fuck?
It’s not time for his fanboying at all, and yet… how could he not? He looks even better in person than on television. They hadn’t done him justice at all.
His body appears as though it’d been sculpted by a master artisan in ancient times. If he squints hard enough, Kim Dokja would probably be able to see each individual plane of muscle on his body.
Damn. He really should try to go to the gym to work out. But even if he did, he’d never look as good as the Supreme King.
Why didn’t he go into modelling instead? From what Kim Dokja could glean, this guy could become some sort of K-pop idol and earn much more money with much less risk. If he were in the Supreme King’s shoes, he wouldn’t have gone into a profession like this at all with a body blessed by gods.
That isn’t the train of thought he should be going on in a moment like this at all! The gun is still pointed in his direction and his arms are growing weaker by the moment. They’ve lowered a little, with the weight weakening them so much that he can’t afford to keep them as high as they were initially.
It hurts, damn it!
“Hey… I’ll give you some of the goods, okay? Let me go, will you?” Kim Dokja groans a little. His arms are about to give out.
“Drop it all. Now.” The Supreme King’s gaze has darkened over the span of three seconds. Kim Dokja has a very bad feeling, to say the least. A terrible feeling, if you will. A feeling as though he’s on the verge of death.
That likely isn’t too far from reality. Kim Dokja drops the duffel bags onto the floor. His shoulders cry in relief. He can’t do anything but comply. If he did, he’d get shot. Or maybe he’d be tied up and thrown in the back of a truck, for who knows what. Or the Supreme King might turn him in and claim the bounty on his head.
His arms are still raised fully above his own head in a sort of surrender. He tries stretching them a little to the left, but the Supreme King’s finger moves on the trigger. A little too much, for his liking.
“Don’t move. If you don’t want to die.”
“Okay, okay. Calm down.”
He advances forward, all while Kim Dokja is frozen still. There’s a part of him that calls out to him. That urges him to bolt out right now, right now, before he shoots you and chops you up and cooks you into a stew. But that choice would lead him to become stew faster than staying still and complying. For now.
He’s close enough that Kim Dokja can finally see the detail on his getup. He’s exceedingly buff. There’s no other way to describe it. A beauty that cannot be captured in mere words manufactured by humans, who have not seen the true scope of the universe. Something so enchanting he couldn’t take his eyes off, even while being threatened.
As he picks up the duffel bags, he finally puts the guns back into the holster. He doesn’t glance at Kim Dokja at all as he’s doing this. But shit. He’s just gonna take everything that he’s stolen?
What was a good distraction? Quick, quick! If he didn’t do something right now, the Supreme King would run off with all the valuables. In those bags, there was probably over a hundred million won inside. All his effort for a hundred million won, gone, stolen by a bastard who just swooped in at the end? He couldn’t let that happen. Even if he did admire this guy.
Kim Dokja pulls off his own mask in a spur of impulsivity. He moves two steps, reaching out and flicking his hand, pulling off the Supreme King’s mask too. He can’t spare a second to admire the beauty of his face before placing a big, fat smooch directly on his mouth.
The Supreme King sputters, the duffel bags on his shoulders dropping with a clang! against the ground. The gold in the bags likely dented from the impact, but there’s no time for that now. This guy tries to push him away as Kim Dokja deepens the kiss.
Did his breath stink or something? Kim Dokja had used up his precious kiss virginity for this, and he was acting like it was the worst thing to happen to him since he’d been born. Really? His standards must be through the roof.
But with looks like that, it’s expected. He could afford to be picky with such a perfect face.
No, this wasn’t the time to be admiring his looks! Has Kim Dokja himself gone insane? Han Sooyoung’s craziness must’ve spread to him. It’s probably the reason why he took this mission in the first place.
Kim Dokja swiftly takes the gun out of his holster attached to his waist and wields it as the Supreme King manages to push him off.
“You fucking–!”
“Back off now, if you don’t want to get hurt.”
He stands there for a moment, before backing away slightly from the bags. The steps are small. Too small for Kim Dokja’s liking.
“I told you to back off, didn’t I? You barely moved.”
Kim Dokja moves closer to the bags, though not within the reach of the guy. He’s not dumb enough to do that. He’d probably fall in one hit if the guy decided on hand-to-hand combat.
“You’re bluffing. You don’t know how to wield it.” He sounds awfully smug. Too smug. Does this guy think Kim Dokja is an idiot?
“You’re right. I don’t. But I can still shoot, you know? Now back off.”
His brow furrows even harder. His face contorts, his hands clenched. His mouth opens as words form, but he closes it before anything comes out.
Huh. Did he make him so mad that he forgot how to speak?
“Come on, I don’t see you moving. I don’t have to repeat myself, do I?
The man looks as though he’s about to growl. His jaw is clenched so tight that it’s a miracle he still has functioning teeth. Still, with his own arms raised, he backs up, just enough for Kim Dokja to reach the bags.
“Back up, more, more.”
“I’ve moved back. Already,” he hisses. His eyes hold a blazing fire in them, enough to burn the entirety of Korea to the ground. Holy shit.
He’s gotten himself into something that even being arrested wouldn’t fix.
“Not enough. Move back. Unless you want me to shoot?” Kim Dokja cocks his head. This guy was amazingly stubborn. If only he had been less of a bastard. But maybe being a bastard made him this stubborn.
He grumbles something that Kim Dokja can’t catch. Then he moves back a little more. If the Supreme King were to dash at him while he picked the bags up, he’d at least have five seconds at most now. In other words, it’s safe for him to grab his shit and go.
He hoists the duffel bags with his eyes still glued onto the Supreme King. He doesn’t move an inch while he’s picking them up. What a good boy. Kim Dokja almost wants to praise him. But it probably isn’t the best idea to anger him more.
“Hey, I’m leaving now, alright?” Kim Dokja gives him the brightest smile he can muster. It’s not fake, either. This might just be the best-worst day of his life. He had a chance to meet his idol, see his beautiful face, and rob a bank for the first time. There would likely never be an opportunity like this ever again in his lifetime. He has to cherish it, for what it is.
The Supreme King glares at him as if he didn’t say anything. If he’s gonna be like that, then fine. What is he even mad for? Kim Dokja had put in all the effort into lockpicking the safes anyway. This guy hadn’t done anything, and yet he thought he deserved all the spoils? That wasn’t happening in any universe.
Kim Dokja continues. “And I’m not some random, you know. It’s a little insulting that you don’t know who I am. It’s Salvation, alright?”
“Fuck,” he growls. “Leave. I’m not playing any of your foolish games.”
“I mean, you started it. You can’t blame me. Remember me, alright?”
“Fuck off.”
And fuck off he did. He didn’t want to stay here any longer. Not with a very angry terrorist in a bank that they had both decided to rob.
Honestly, was it a smart idea to give his moniker to someone he had angered to the point of bursting a vessel? No.
Was it a smart idea to give his moniker to a very handsome terrorist he had angered? Also no.
Was it a smart idea to give his moniker to a very handsome terrorist that he had smooched and that knew what his face looked like? A huge, resounding no.
But consequences would come later.
For now, he’d flame Han Sooyoung and treat Lee Gilyoung to some ice cream.