“Welcome home.”

Joo Eun-ho halted his steps when Assistant Lee opened the apartment door and gestured for him to come in.

Home.

It was a word so foreign to him now that he didn’t know how to react. The last place he remembered as home before he was sent to prison was actually a hell in disguise. And he burned it to the ground, after he killed the two monsters inside.

He barely remembered what happened. His memory was vague, especially after countless fights in prison that rendered him injured many times and even caused brain damage to some degree. However, he knew what he was convicted of. Double first-degree murder. 

His crime was so heinous that the judge considered him dangerous enough to be tried as an adult when he was barely seventeen. Only after those lawyers came to work on reopening his case did Eun-ho read his conviction and the facts of his case.

He killed his parents brutally with a butcher’s knife that he purchased one week before the murder. Then he set their house on fire. That showed intent to commit the murder and efforts to conceal evidence. Thus, he was charged with premeditated murder. 

Fortunately, the police came before the fire could spread to the neighboring houses and take more lives. They lived in a densely populated slum where shabby old houses were connected to each other that could easily spread the fire.

Eun-ho was arrested and immediately brought to justice. Without proper legal counsel and no one on his side, it wasn’t hard to guess that he ended up serving life in prison with other hardened criminals, seemingly destined to spend the rest of his life forgotten and tossed aside.

When the Baeksong lawyers read the facts of his case and asked him questions about it, Eun-ho could only stay silent as his mind tried to process everything. 

So, he killed his own parents? It was hard to digest this fact. He only remembered he was killing very, very evil monsters who had put his life through hell.

Apparently, they had sold him into prostitution since he was fourteen. At least that was what he told the detectives who interrogated him after he was arrested. He must have been suffering so much that one day he just snapped and decided to free himself from his abusers by killing them.

The Baeksong lawyers used temporary insanity as the basis of their plea to reopen the case and the fact that Joo Eun-ho never received proper mental evaluation and legal counsel.

Listening to all those lawyers speaking about his life as he was sitting there felt surreal. It was as if he were not there, even though, physically, his body was with them. Slowly, their voices were fading more and more until, finally, they became a background noise.

So, he was sold into prostitution? When he was a mere child?

He now could understand why he had killed those two people. And he would kill them again if they were brought back to life. No human should call themselves a parent if they were so heartless as to hurt their child, especially in such a vile way.

Eun-ho didn’t want such parents. He would rather die in childbirth or never be born if he were to be given to the scums of the earth like them.

Oh well. There’s no point in thinking of the past. What’s important was that now he was standing in the doorway to a nice apartment on the 21st floor of a building in the center of Seoul. Assistant Lee just told him this was his new ‘home’.

The older man smiled and nudged Eun-ho to enter.

“I hope you like the design. It has one bedroom and everything you’d ever need to enjoy a comfortable life.” He opened his arms and welcomed Eun-ho inside. He now looked like a property agent showing off the unit to a potential tenant. “This sofa is so comfortable, perfect to wind down after a long day at work or study. The kitchen here is equipped with modern appliances. You can cook or prepare takeout to eat.”

Eun-ho was quiet. He threw his gaze around and secretly admired the wonderful living room, designed with a minimalist Scandinavian style, but the dark blue curtain and fluffy rug under the sofa gave off a comforting feeling, instead of cold, expressionless vibe. 

“Can you cook?” Assistant Lee asked.

Eun-ho shook his head. He never learned how to cook. In prison, he was taught several skills in order for him to work and make some money there. However, since he wasn’t considered to need skills for the outside world, they didn’t teach him such skills. He only ever did some work at the library and the prison laundry. And in the latest facility, he even did some bookkeeping work since he was good at math.

Assistant Lee frowned slightly, but not in a bad way. More like… he felt sympathy for the young man. He immediately understood the reason why Eun-ho didn’t know how to cook. 

He said reassuringly, “It’s okay. We will hire a housekeeper to cook and clean three times a week.”

Eun-ho furrowed his brows when he heard this. Even giving this apartment was already too much, and now they would even hire a housekeeper for him?

What’s going on? Was he actually an illegitimate son of a chaebol family who was recently discovered? Why on earth did the foundation go all out for him? Did his mother sleep with a rich dude 28 years ago and give birth to his bastard, and now that man, his biological father, found him? 

Was that the reason why his abusive father - that monster - hated him so much that he sold Joo Eun-ho as a prostitute when he was 14?

Damn! He’s been reading too many novels in the prison library.

“Why?” Eun-ho couldn’t help but ask.

“Huh?” Assistant Lee asked back. “Why what?”

“Why did the foundation do so much for me? Freeing me from prison must have cost a fortune, and now you’re also providing me with such a nice apartment? That’s suspicious. You even consider hiring a housekeeper for me?”

Assistant Lee sighed. He replied patiently, “I already told you that our foundation doesn’t like to work in halves. We want to provide you with a decent accommodation so you can focus on rebuilding your life. After this, you will have to get your high school diploma so you can get a decent work. Pay back our kindness by working to rebuild your life and become independent. That’s the only way.”

He pretended not to see Eun-ho’s displeasure and continued the tour. This time he was showing the bedroom. It was a medium-sized room with a double bed adorned with high-quality linens. There was a desk and chair beside the bed with some books stacked on it. A brand new phone was placed on the bed.

“This is the bedroom. You’ll get a comfortable rest here. We also provided you with a desk and chair to study. We want you to get your diploma.” He opened the cabinet on the side and showed a row of clothes. “Clothes and everything you need are available in the cabinet. Over there is a new phone to communicate with me. The bathroom is right next to this bedroom.”

The bathroom was the biggest one Eun-ho had ever seen. It was white and had a bathtub with a separate shower. He refrained from making any more comments because Assistant Lee would just repeat his predictable answer by saying that all these were provided by the foundation purely out of the kindness of their heart.

Bull shit!

Eun-ho didn’t believe that one bit. He suspected they wanted something from him, but it was not yet the time for him to know what was it that they were after. They might tell him sooner or later, or he would find a way to get that information from them somehow. 

“What do you think?” Assistant Lee looked at Eun-ho with eyes gleaming like a child hoping for praise after doing a good deed.

Eun-ho hummed his response. It seemed good enough for Assistant Lee, who smiled and patted the young man on the shoulder.

“Now, let’s go to the kitchen. I have something for ‘ya.”

Eun-ho followed Assistant Lee out of the bedroom. When they entered the kitchen area, Assistant Lee took out a bowl from the fridge and presented it to Eun-ho.

“Here is some tofu. Usually, former inmates consume tofu as a ritual to represent their turning over a new leaf. This is a tradition symbolizing a fresh start and a commitment to avoid repeating past mistakes, with the white tofu representing purity and innocence.”

Eun-ho looked at the tofu in the bowl and snickered. A commitment to avoid repeating past mistakes? He didn’t regret committing the crimes that landed him in prison. He would do it a thousand times more if needed.

“I don’t want it,” he said coldly. However, understanding the good intention behind the gesture, he added, “Thank you, though.”

Assistant Lee batted his eyes in surprise. He didn’t expect the cold refusal. It was just a simple tradition, and he went out of his way to procure the tofu upon Eun-ho’s release from prison. He was trying to think of the reason for the refusal, but couldn’t find any.

Finally, he smiled slightly and threw the tofu into the trash can. “It’s okay. Let’s just throw this away if you're not gonna eat it." He dusted his hands. "I will let you rest for now. I’ll call you once I reach home and give you more details. Your phone already has my number.”

Eun-ho nodded. He stood still in his place as he watched Assistant Lee grab his coat and head to the door. The older man turned around and waved at Eun-ho with a gentle smile before he closed the door behind him.

Eun-ho didn’t move for half an hour, lost in his thoughts.

“Welcome home.”

Assistant Lee’s voice rang in his mind.