Just imagine a noble, elegant and picturesque life in poverty that you might find nowhere else but in a soap opera. No matter how poor you are, it won’t discourage you from showing unconditional love for strangers and even a piece of bread is there to be shared with a warm smile.
If anyone claimed that such an illusion existed in reality, Lee Hyun would beat him to a pulp, and strike once more to finish him off.
Life was too cruel for the poor. The Labor Welfare Law revised by Parliament made all jobs unavailable to minors. Illegal though it was, Lee Hyun had worked in every kind of trade imaginable.
From the age of 14, he took to sewing stitches in a factory. The salary could only be called meager, but he was able to eat for free.
However, underground, with only 2 ventilation fans running, his health extremely deteriorated. Thanks to his damaged lungs, he gained heavy medical bills.
Then, it was a job at a gas station, and occasionally, he even went around pulling a handcart, collecting and selling recyclables.
But no matter how hard he had worked, the money left in his pocket was chump change.
As a minor, he was forced to get a job illegally. This fact was used by his employers to mercilessly work him to the bone.
He lived this life of exploitation until 20 years of age. Thanks to it, Lee Hyun knew very well the value of money. However, things would be different now. Finally an adult, and with it, came an ID card that would allow him to legally work.
Inserting the ID card into his wallet, Lee Hyun mumbled.
“I have to work until my body practically breaks down. I should be able to deal with 3 jobs a day.”
When he was a kid, his parents died, his family now consisted of only his grandma and sister.
“Alright. From now on, we’ll be rich.”
Lee Hyun pledged to do so, and returned home.
“Did you come just now?”
His grandma was lying down, snuggling in a blanket. After falling down the stairs a few days ago, she had gotten a dislocated hip, rendering her unable to go to work.
Although taking medicine, with the household struggling, she could not go to the hospital to receive proper treatment, and thus could only rest at home.
Not receiving treatment, every night, she could only groaned painfully.
Whenever Lee Hyun entered the house, he felt his chest suffocating. It was a lifeless home, with an aloof little sister and an old grandma. Even if he didn’t know it, it was probably why he disliked coming home, even more.
“Hye Yeon?”
“I have no idea. She went out and didn’t return. She might be hanging around with the bad crowd again, not sure.”
Lee Hye Yeon was his little sister. He had not seen her face very often recently.
“It’s going to be okay. What could happen?”
“You are her one and only brother. A brother should protect his little sister.”
“Yes.”
Lee Hyun smiled wryly and went to his room. Even if he was forced into physical labor or driving a taxi, he wanted to send his little sister to college.
For a while now, she had been drifting off the rails, but she was bright and intelligent unlike Lee Hyun. He believed that in college, she would meet a good husband and be able to live well. He also wanted to repay his old and ailing grandma, for all she sacrificed to raise Lee Hyun and Lee Hye Yeon.
“Right, look for work tomorrow. There will probably be an employment test as well…”
Muttering, Lee Hyun turned on the computer. The old computer buzzed to life. As soon as it connected to the internet, as routine, he accessed a game. That game was Continent of Magic. A classic game released 20 years ago. An online game that once created a frenzy of gamers in the Republic of Korea.
That game remained at the pinnacle, until just 3 years ago. Lee Hyun’s antiquated computer, assembled by combining parts from here and there, was not capable of handling most games. Nothing but Continent of Magic ran smoothly.