Underpainting

“I’ve always been watching you, Mister.” Dawon, a captive boy, stalks the gangster who lives next door. A cripple with no education, he spends his days drawing. A withered, shabby beta. His life is insignificant, but Dawon alone knows the man’s secret: that people are taken into that house and never come out. ‘I’m sure of it. People are being killed in that house.’ While his guardian uncles are away, Dawon approaches the man. Dawon’s long-held desire is singular: revenge. “The reason I came here today is to ask you a favor. I want to kill someone.” At the audacious request, the man scans Dawon with sharp, wolf-like eyes. As Dawon’s gaze wavers, the man’s lips curl upward in a strange satisfaction. “Kid. Who do you want to kill?”