✨ The Devil's Darling ✨

2

A week later,

Tae limped back to the hotel. He worked silently, carrying plates, filling glasses, bowing his head to customers who barely noticed his existence.

That night, as he carried a bottle of water to a table in the corner, his eyes fell on a man unlike any he had ever seen.

The air around him was heavy—dangerous.
Men in black suits sat beside him, but he was different.
He didn’t laugh, didn’t move much.
He just sat, smoking slowly, his gaze sharp enough to cut glass.

The hotel owner whispered nervously to a waiter, “That’s Han Joon-seok… the mafia leader. Careful. One wrong move, and we’re dead.”

Tae’s heart thudded. He had heard that name whispered in the slums—the man the police feared, the man who ruled with blood.

When Tae placed the water before him, the mafia boss looked up. His sharp eyes locked on the boy’s pale face, the bruises on his arms, the fire hidden behind his silence.

“What’s your name, kid?” he asked, voice calm but heavy.

“T-Taehyung,” the boy whispered.

The man smirked, leaning back.
“You’re wasted here. Washing plates like a servant. You’ve got eyes that don’t bend. You want to work for me?”

Tae froze. His hands trembled. “…Will you give me money?”

The mafia boss chuckled darkly, flicking ash from his cigarette. “Money, food, clothes. More than you’ve ever seen.”

Tae’s lips quivered. He thought of his mother’s coughing, her frail hands holding his bruised face. Slowly, he nodded. “Okay.”

The men around the boss laughed, impressed at the boy’s courage.
“Look at this kid,” one of them said. “He doesn’t even blink.”