Pirate Chronicles

HE WHO CHEATS ALWAYS WINS! 2

I watched Kwon laugh heartily. I must admit that the sound of his laughter was quite contagious, I could feel a laugh wanting to escape from my lungs. But, I kept it in. I pursed my lips tighter  and looked away to contain myself or else, I knew my laughter would burst out.

"It's pathetic how you try to hold your emotions in, especially laughter," Kwon commented. "It's clearly very obvious that you wanted to laugh. The ends of your lips are twitching."

I looked back at him and he was clearly still not done being amused. "I'm not pathetic," I sassed. "I'm just not one to be affected by them… emotions I mean."

Kwon scoffed in disbelief, "Uh-huh," he uttered sarcastically.

My brows immediately met, "I beg your pardon…"

Kwon crossed his arms and raised his brows, "Please… Stop being so dramatic about things. Yes, yes… you're an assassin… I'm an assassin… Something dismal and dreary probably happened in our past that makes us who we are today.. yada.. yada… yada…" he said and I watched him in disbelief as he rolled his eyes.

I was about to talk back but he did not even give me a chance to speak. Instead, he pointed at my face.

"See? You're being defensive," he teased. "I am not trying to negate nor invalidate what happened to you in the past. I respect that… whatever THAT is. What I'm trying to say is, laugh if you feel like it. Cry if you want to. Damn, I'll even help you break some plates if you're angry, as long as you keep it secret from Teresa. You see, life is short. We might not live to see another day especially because of our lifestyle." 

Kwon stood up after saying that and was about to walk away but I stopped him. "Is that the reason you do not fight honestly? To live?" I asked.

Kwon looked at my direction, "And what if it is? Are you going to judge me?" he asked.

"No," I answered right away then looked down.

I heard him chuckle and sat back on the floor Indian style before me. "I assume something twisted happened to you, huh?"

I did not say anything. No one will know about my secrets nor my purpose in life.

Kwon sighed, "Believe it or not, you're not the only one. Take me for instance. Do you really want to know why I cheat? Why do I fight dishonestly?"

I looked up and faced him, "I do not wish to pry about your life. You do not have to tell me because I won't tell you mine."

I was hoping Kwon would be offended but he laughed at me instead, "Chill, woman. I'm not interested in your past either. I just like telling mine. You never know, it might inspire people." He stuck his tongue out after. "But really, passing on my story is my attempt to be a legend. So whether you like it or not you will listen to my story or else, I'll fail you from my initiation."

My brows met, "But I already passed…"

He smirked, "Uh-huh, but I can take it back."

"That's not fair," I complained.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Well I don't do fair, remember?"

I let out a loud sigh, "Fine I'll listen to your story." I was somewhat interested anyway. 

He beamed, "That's more like it!"

*****

The sound of his sister's incessant coughing bothered him too much. It was getting worse as the days passed by. Kwon looked at the boiling water with ginger in front of him. It's the only thing he could think of to at least alleviate her discomfort. He scooped the liquid and filled a wooden cup with it. Then, he walked in her direction and handed it to her.

"Drink up," he said. "I promise I'll get you some proper medicine soon, Chyna."

Chyna gave him a smile, "I'm alright big brother. This is just a passing cough. It will be gone soon."

Kwon smiled back at her and ruffled her hair, "Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?"

Chyna nodded with the same smile not leaving her face, "Do not worry about me. I can handle myself."

Kwon sighed, "Alright. I will be right back. If I'm lucky, I'll have your medicine by tomorrow."

He stopped by the door after hearing another bout of Chyna's terrible cough, he sighed and looked back. Kwon knew that his sister was hiding that fact that she was coughing blood. "I need to get her the medicine by tomorrow," he swore to himself and immediately walked out.

An acquaintance owed him some money. He could not help but agree because the man claimed that his children were starving. Besides, this man told him that he will pay him with interest. Kwon felt sorry for him and lent him his honest-earned money from plowing several acres of farmland. He sighed. He did not expect his sister to get sick after that. 

Kwon's feet headed in the direction of his acquaintance's house. The man drew a map for him and he followed it only to be dismayed by what he saw. It was a vacant lot! He had been hoodwinked! There were no starving children anywhere! He clenched his fist. His money was gone!

He didn't have any choice but to go back to the plantation owner and ask for another job. However, the rich man told him that he already hired someone to do it and that he did not have any job for him to do.

"I beg you, sire. Any job will do," Kwon pleaded.

Seeing his desperation, the rich man found an opportunity to exploit his advantage. Kwon saw him smirk. "The only thing I could do is to have you manage my pig pen. But, I do not have enough to pay you. I could only give you five coppers in all," he said.

Kwon's eyebrows met. That was way too cheap for the labor he was about to do. But, he did not have any choice but to agree. After the day was over, Kwon was tired and sore. He walked back home but stopped at the door after hearing Chyna's coughing again. He closed his eyes and turned around. He has to earn some more.

He wandered from place to place asking for a job here and there. But each time he finds something honest to do, these crooked rich employers would take advantage of his need and would pay him lower than the minimum wage. It was already midnight and the money he earned was not even enough to buy a small amount of medicine. He was feeling more and more hopeless until a group of men approached him.

"I see your hard work is not paying off," one of them told him.

He looked at the men and recognized them as the thugs who earn money through street fights and gambling. "No, thank you," Kwon replied and began to walk away.

"We can double and even triple your money. It looks like you're desperate. We're just here to help," the leader of the gang said.

Kwon stopped on his tracks and thought of his sister. He slowly turned around, "How much are we talking about?"

The leader of the gang grinned.