It's a Fucking Gold

'But how?!' His eyes widened in disbelief, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His breaths grew ragged.

Just as he thought he had shaken off one problem, a bigger one loomed ahead.

"Hurry up, catch him!" A shout snapped him out of his thoughts.

As he tried to run away, another voice reverberated through the air.

"There! Those are his minions—catch them too!"

'Minions?' Kai glanced back to see what was happening.

His gaze followed the direction of the crowd's attention, and he sighed in relief.

'Oh, so it's you, Jim,' he smirked as some men apprehended Jim and his accomplices, who got caught red-handed, pickpocketing people.

"These brats stole my pouch too!" an elderly man exclaimed whom Kai just pocketed, drawing a dagger from his satchel. "I'll cut off their sinful limbs!"

'Is this old man really going to do it?' Kai shuddered; his mind screamed at the thought of what might happen to them.

'Well, I don't care—they deserve it. Crap! What am I doing standing here? I gotta leave before they catch me too,' he thought and slipped out of the main hall.

He strolled through the alley leading to the market square.

'That old guy isn't actually going to cut off their limbs, right?' Kai shook his head in frustration. 'Wait, why am I empathizing with them? They deserve it.'

'But I'm the one who stole the pouch. What if they'd caught me instead?' A chill ran down his spine at the mere thought of what might have happened.

He quickly dismissed the thought, 'Why am I even thinking about that?'

After walking for a few minutes, he reached the bakery.

Kai went inside and exchanged two coins for two slices of bread.

Stepping out, he jogged toward his home.

On his way, he noticed people murmuring about the announcement, but he paid no attention. It didn't concern him.

Upon reaching his shack, he slipped inside.

Lira was still sitting there, her head buried in her knees. She glanced at him briefly, raising her head as he entered.

"There you go," Kai said, handing her a slice of bread.

Without saying a word, she grabbed it and began munching as he sat down beside her.

As they both finished eating, Lira glanced sideways at Kai and opened her mouth hesitantly.

"D-Don't you have something better?" she stammered nervously, looking at him with an innocent expression.

"Eh?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.

"T-This," she said, picking up the blanket that she had wrapped around her.

"D-Do I really have to sleep on this? D-Don't you have anything else?" She was shivering as the cold air blew in through the tattered roof.

"Look, this is all I have right now," Kai replied cautiously, knowing he couldn't afford to offend her. "But I'll see if I can buy something with the money I have."

Lira nodded silently and stood up from her spot. She walked over to the blanket laid out on the floor, then lay down, pulling another one over herself and wrapping it tightly to gather what little warmth it could offer.

"G-Good night," Lira said, her body still trembling as the blanket's meager warmth wasn't enough to protect her frail body from the cold.

"Good night," Kai replied with a small smile. His eyes softened for a moment before returning to his usual tough-guy demeanor returned.

He leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes as he thought about the events of the day.

Sigh!

He exhaled heavily and drew out the pouches from his hidden tunic pocket. 

"Four pouches. Today wasn't a bad day after all, hehe!" he mused, a grin spreading across his face, looking at the pouches in front of him.

"Let's see what we've got here," he said, picking up a brown leather pouch and opening it.

He tipped it over, letting its contents spill onto the floor.

Clink! Clink!

Coins tumbled out of the pouch, their soft clinking sound making his lips curl into a smirk.

"One, two, three… sixteen coppers. Okay, not bad," he muttered. "Now, onto the next one."

Without any change in his expression, he picked up the second pouch, this one a deep red. He repeated the same process, tipping it over to count the contents.

 "One, two...huh? Just seven? You poor retard!" he cursed under his breath. "Who the hell keeps only seven coins with them?"

Irritated, he tossed the pouch aside and grabbed another one.

"One, two…" he began counting, then groaned. "Just five? What the hell?! That's even worse than the last one!"

He clenched his teeth in frustration, resisting the urge to shout as he remembered he wasn't alone.

"Am I robbing beggars now?" He slammed the pouch against the wall in frustration at having robbed mere beggars.

Putting his thoughts and frustration aside, he picked up the last one.

The last pouch was black and felt noticeably heavier than the others.

Gulp!

He swallowed hard, his excitement building as he prepared to open it.

"Please, at least be ten," he muttered, closing his eyes while letting the pouch's contents spill onto the floor, praying in his mind that there might be more than what the beggars had carried. 

Clink!

Coins tumbled out, their metallic clinking sound echoing in the room. Kai peeked with one eye, cautiously opening it to take a look.

"H-Holy shit!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet.

"G-G-Gold! It's real—it really is a fucking gold!" he stammered, his voice trembling with excitement. His earlier frustration and disappointment were immediately forgotten as his eyes sparkled with pure joy.

He bent down, his hands trembling, to pick up the coin. His fingers hesitated, almost afraid to touch it.

Finally, he grasped the coin and held it close, inspecting it carefully to confirm it wasn't a dream.

"Aww, I can't believe I get to touch it with my own hands," Kai said, cuddling the gold coin against his cheek.

"I swear I won't give you to anyone. I'll always keep you safe," he whispered, planting a kiss on the coin—once, twice, and then again—before stopping to admire it with a dreamy smile.

After a few seconds, he finally placed the coin into a nearby pouch and tucked it securely inside the secret pocket of his tunic.

"Now, let's count the rest of you," he said, turning his attention to the remaining coins.

"Umm, one, two, three…thirty." His eyes widened again in surprise.

"Thirty coppers! Aww man, I don't know who you are, but you're the best!"

His heart swelled for the unknown man as he silently gave him a thumbs-up in his mind for this generous gift.

"Now I've got one gold coin and fifty-eight coppers. I can live a luxurious life with that!"

Kai's eyes sparkled like crescents, and his lips curled into a mischievous smile, almost forming a 'w.'

"It's a good thing he got caught. Otherwise, who knows—he might've stolen it from me," Kai muttered, shaking his head as he recalled how many times Jim had snatched his hard-earned—or rather, stolen—money.

But now that Jim was out of the picture, Kai no longer had to worry about him.

He carefully divided the coins into different pouches and hid them around the corners of his shack for safekeeping.

Walking over to the table, he picked up a cloak and tore it in half. He tossed the hooded portion onto the table and took the remaining piece with him.

He spread the last blanket he had on the floor and sat down. He glanced at the sleeping Lira before lying down himself.

"I've got the money now…it's time for my revenge," he murmured, pulling the torn piece of cloak over himself.

Within seconds, he drifted into sleep, his lips still curled into a small smile, forming a 'w.'