SIN | CHOI MUJIN/JUNG TAEJU

4 SINS

❝IT WAS A SIN TO PRETEND THE VICTIM WAS AT FAULT, SO CHOI MUJIN TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF TO BE THE EXECUTIONER OF THOSE WHO WRONGED AERA❞

When Mujin first took seventeen year old Aera under his wing, the relationship between the two of them was purely platonic. He had decided that the least he could do before taking her away from all she'd ever known was to let her finish her last year of high school. He was sure that a girl her age would've wanted to spend her senior year of high school with friends before they parted ways in the future. Thus, after summer break, Aera exited her new bedroom and climbed down the stairs to attend her first day of her senior year at her high school, only to be stopped by Mujin's critical gaze.

"What are you wearing?" Mujin was not pleased with her school attire as he scanned her up and down. Aera had grown out of her high school uniform and it had turned scruffy from years of use, but her late father had never cared enough to replace her uniform. The sneakers she paired with her uniform were also in tattered conditions.

Because Aera was embarrassed about her shabby appearance, she didn't dare to meet his critical gaze.

"Park Nam-girl, that bastard." Mujin spit out. "With the amount of money he stole from Dongcheon, he didn't even bother to buy his daughter a new uniform or new sneakers."

"Taeju." Mujin spoke and at once, the handsome young man had entered the room. "Before Aera's goes to class, make sure to purchase her a new uniform along with a new pair of sneakers."

"Understood sir." Taeju fought to keep a smile from appearing on his face. "Aera, please head towards the lobby and wait for me inside the car. I'll be there shortly."

Aera nodded before following his instructions and finding her way inside the black car parked outside of the property. Once Aera was out of their sight, Taeju spoke up again.

"Buying her a school uniform?" Taeju teased his leader. "Are you sure you're not going to ask her to call you appa, next?"

"Shut up." Mujin crossed his arms and glared at his subordinate. "Go do what you're told."

"Okay, appa..." Taeju's laughter was cut short as Mujin pulled out his shotgun and aimed it at his subordinate.

"You have three seconds to leave." Mujin's fingers found their way to the trigger. "One..."

"Okay, okay! Sorry, old man! I'll get going!" Taeju coughed and made his way towards the lobby where Aera waited.

As Taeju drove Aera to school and purchased her new sneakers and a new school uniform, Aera couldn't help but wonder why Mujin had ordered him to buy her them. After all, Mujin wasn't her family and he wasn't obligated to perform the duties of a father, so why had he requested his subordinate to buy them for her? As they neared the school gates, Aera concluded that he was just a very strange man and pushed the matter aside. Aera wasn't particularly excited when they arrived at their destination due to the fact that her high school life was marked by bullies who mocked her for living in poverty, but also for being a gangster's daughter.

"Wow! You're wearing new clothes today!" During homeroom, Kim Heejin sat on her desk and laughed condescendingly. Heejin was known for two things: having a filthy rich CEO as a father and for being a notorious bully. "I heard you were driven to school today. I know for a fact that you could never afford a personal driver considering your poor circumstances with your gangster father and all... So what did you have to do to ride in luxury?"