* * *

The children, no older than ten at most, couldn’t intimidate Woohee.

He simply stared blankly at them.

“Wow, amazing. He’s tough.”

“Yeah, looks like he won’t listen to us.”

“What do we do?”

The trio, nicknamed the “Dumb Trio,” grew flustered at Woohee’s lack of reaction.

They decided to target the easiest kid instead and swarmed Kang Dohee.

“Hey, Kang Dohee, you handle the newbie.”

Woohee turned to look at the boy they called “Kang the Thief.”

He recognized him as one of the minor villains who had bullied Na Taejoon in the novel.

Kang Dohee had been bright and loved by his father when he first came to the orphanage.

Now, he was a timid boy who remained silent and let others take his food.

Kang Dohee’s father, the leader of the Black Bear gang, had been forced to send him here after a coup threatened his life.

When Kang Dohee’s father dropped him off at the orphanage, he promised to come back for him after a hundred nights.

To keep track, Dohee marked an X on the calendar every day.

Even when the other children bullied him, he resisted, holding onto the hope of leaving this place when the time came.

But even after the hundred nights passed, his father never returned.

The children scoffed, saying they knew it would happen, claiming their father had said the same thing before abandoning them too.

They laughed at Dohee’s expense.

That was when he changed.

The once-strong Dohee stopped resisting the bullying altogether.

Crushed by the realization that his father had abandoned him and the despair of living in the orphanage indefinitely, he became incapable of fighting back.

The three largest boys in the orphanage punched and kicked him mercilessly.

The teachers turned a blind eye to the violence because those three acted as the orphanage’s enforcers.

One day, with his emaciated body—reduced to skin and bones from having his meals stolen—Dohee approached a new arrival.

“You have to obey those kids if you want to survive here. Your father abandoned you.”

“No, they didn’t. I’ll go back home.”

The newcomer, Woohee, clung to the belief that his father would come for him, much like Dohee once had.

This blind faith angered Dohee, making him feel both frustrated and foolish.

He struck Woohee on the head.

“Ow.”

“Your father will never come for you!”

After hitting him, Dohee broke into loud sobs.

Woohee rubbed the sore spot on his head and replied calmly, “My father will definitely come for me.”

Woohee’s conviction stemmed from the story he’d read in a book. He chose to believe it.

“If you’re waiting for your father too, don’t give up. They’re probably late because of some circumstances.”

“No! That’s not it! Your father abandoned you! You’re just an orphan now!”

Dohee raised his fist as if to strike Woohee again.

But Woohee didn’t flinch and stared back at him.

“Want to bet? If my father come for me, then you’ll wait here for yours too.”

“…Why would I make a bet like that with you?”

Woohee’s kindness would later be what helped Dohee reunite with his father.

But if Dohee had stubbornly refused and stormed out like in the stories, there’d have been no helping it.

Dohee slowly lowered his fist.

The trio of bullies who had been tormenting Dohee earlier came over, shoving him and asking what he thought he was doing.

He was jostled back and forth between them.

Although Woohee was the smallest child in the orphanage, he had the soul of a college student.

Unafraid, he stepped forward to confront the group bullying Dohee.

It was partly bravado, thinking, ‘What harm could elementary schoolers really do?’

“It’s wrong to gang up on one friend,” Woohee said.

“Ha! Look at this kid. He’s got a mouth on him, huh?”

“Let’s teach him a lesson.”

The three bullies turned their attention to Woohee and kicked him in the stomach.

Woohee curled up, clutching his belly, and rolled on the ground.

Coughing violently, he retched, red liquid spilling from his mouth.

It wasn’t blood, though—it was undigested tomato juice.

Panicked, the bullies backed away.

“Is he gonna be okay?”

“Quick, cover him with a blanket!”

Trying to hide their crime, they fetched a blanket to cover Woohee.

After the incident, Dohee thought Woohee had been hurt while trying to protect him.

From that point on, he became fiercely protective of Woohee, like a mother hen guarding her chick.

Despite his fear of the bullies, Dohee would go berserk if they so much as looked at Woohee, charging at them like a mad dog.

The orphanage meals were always meager, and stronger kids often took food from the weaker ones.

The trio soon learned not to touch Woohee’s food, but they still stole from Dohee, who never fought back.

Woohee began to feel indebted to Dohee, who seemed indifferent to his own suffering but so quick to defend him.

One day, after meals, Dohee collected both their trays to return them.

Woohee quickly ran to a teacher who doted on him.

“Teacher, teacher, Woohee wants some bread.”

Woohee knew his looks were his greatest weapon.

Tugging on the teacher’s sleeve, he gazed up at her with wide, pleading eyes.

Unable to resist his cuteness, the teacher suggested they go to the store together.

No child at the orphanage ever received such special treatment.

The other children grew resentful, muttering about how they wanted bread too while glaring at Woohee.

At the store, Woohee stood in front of the bread display, tilting his head and pouting.

“What’s wrong, Woohee? Don’t you see anything you like?”

“Woohee wants to share bread with friends, but the bread is so small.”

Picking up a cream bun, Woohee looked up at the teacher with hopeful eyes.

Despite her modest salary, the teacher felt an overwhelming urge to buy him the bread.

“Then we’ll get enough bread for all your friends.”

“Wow! Really? Teacher, Woohee loves you so much! You’re the nicest, kindest, most angelic teacher in the whole world!”

The teacher was smitten.

The store owner, overhearing the exchange, was touched by Woohee’s charm and generosity.

“Here, take this. You’re such a sweet child. Share it with your friends.”

The store owner, recognizing Woohee as an orphanage kid, added milk to the bag with enough for everyone.

Woohee beamed and bowed deeply.

“Thank you! I’ll share it with my friends and enjoy it.”

“What a polite and clever child.”

On the way back, Woohee carried the heavy bag himself, refusing the teacher’s offer to help.

Struggling under the weight, he returned to the orphanage, where the children’s eyes widened at the sight of the treats.

“Woohee brought bread and milk for everyone!”

“Wow, Woohee, thank you! And thank you, Teacher!”

“This is amazing!”

“Cream buns for me!”

“I want chocolate bread!”

The children swarmed the bag, excitedly picking out their shares.

The teacher, basking in their gratitude, decided she’d do this more often.

The hostility toward Woohee evaporated in an instant.

It had all gone according to plan.

If Woohee had only bought one bread to share with Dohee, the bullying might have continued.

Instead, he brought enough for everyone.

Even the bullies eventually joined in, not wanting to miss out.

Afterward, Woohee handed a cream bun and milk to Dohee, who looked at him with a strange expression.

“Dohee, you didn’t eat much earlier, right? Here, eat this.”

Kang Dohee’s heart raced upon learning that Yeo Woohee, who seemed like the weakest among them at the orphanage, had somehow taken control of the place.

Without resorting to violence or harsh words, everyone naturally gravitated toward the radiant charm of this boy.

To Kang Dohee, Yeo Woohee’s brilliance was almost blinding.

A selfish thought began to creep into his mind—he hoped Yeo Woohee’s father would never come to take him away so they could stay together.

Thus, Kang Dohee and Yeo Woohee became the closest of friends at the orphanage, even though other kids constantly flocked around Yeo Woohee, captivated by the boy who would often bring bread and milk for everyone.

* * *