Whether Jo did that or not, Doni was busy turning magazine pages, licking his fingers. When he came across a photo of a naked woman he liked, he would admire it for a long time. It was a day no different from usual."Leo's always busy."Eugene said, looking at Leo's empty desk. Leo's desk was usually empty. He would busily run around outside, and when he returned to the candy store, he would immediately lie down on the sofa to catch some sleep. It seemed like he was doing all the work by himself."Jews are naturally more diligent than necessary."Doni said in a casual voice. And turning the magazine, he added,"And that guy has big ambitions.""Ambitions?"When Eugene asked, Doni lifted his eyes from the magazine and glanced at the stairs leading to the basement."He plans to become the underboss when Valentine inherits the Luciano family."Underboss was the position directly below the boss, effectively leading the family."Does the underboss change when the boss changes?""All the ex
"Ten days from now, at the Long Island villa."Leo answered briefly."Are you taking Eugene too?"Doni asked, folding the magazine he had been holding in half."Of course.""Making an official debut at the council less than a month after entering this world. Isn't that a Cinderella story?"Doni clapped his hands, hitting his palm with the folded magazine.Eugene, who had been treated like the mafia world's Cinderella thanks to someone, pretended to make a mistake and yanked a handful of Valentine's hair hard with the towel. Valentine glanced back slightly and curled up the corner of his mouth. It was a reaction as if he had seen a cute antic.Valentine's eyes moved downward to Eugene's lips and narrowed slightly. Under his slightly lowered golden eyelashes, his blue eyes, immersed in a deep color, persistently traced Eugene's lips and nape. Somehow, Eugene's mouth went dry. Even though it was just a gaze, it felt as if Valentine's hands were wrapped around his neck. The memories of th
"Right. I understand. I'm just giving you a heads-up before making an official request to Luciano. Come visit my club sometime. I'll set you up with the hottest girls."After saying that, Don Cariello pulled the blonde woman he had pushed aside back to his side."Or what about this one? She's a new recruit with an artistic tongue."Despite having reason to feel offended, the blonde woman was smiling like a doll. She looked barely twenty years old. Even after hearing such lewd comments, she stood there smiling with dull eyes like an idiot. Seeing the woman and Don Cariello made Eugene's mouth feel dry."Well then, enjoy your meal."Don Cariello said heartily, ignoring Valentine's dismissal, and went to a table a little distance away."Can't take your eyes off her?"At Valentine's voice, Eugene tore his gaze away from the blonde woman with Don Cariello."She looks young."Eugene mumbled almost inaudibly and swallowed wine to rinse his dry mouth.He couldn't shake the thought that if the
"Don Cariello."Valentine called out. Though it wasn't particularly loud, Don Cariello's movements stopped immediately."Oh, Valentine. Am I disturbing your meal? I apologize."Don Cariello said with a broad smile. He seemed very pleased that Valentine had called out to him first."That guy, are you going to kill him or let him live?"Valentine asked, nodding toward the leather jacket."I can't let someone who touched the boss's property carelessly live."Don Cariello, who had been wiping his blood-covered hands with a napkin, glanced at the leather jacket lying on the floor and answered. Then he spat phlegm onto the body in the leather jacket.Valentine stood up from his seat. All eyes in the restaurant, including Eugene's, focused on Valentine. Valentine approached Don Cariello with the same face and gait as usual. And before Don Cariello could open his mouth to say anything, Valentine plunged the steak knife he was holding into the left eye of the man in the leather jacket.!!!!!!!
Long Island, New York.Just a 30-minute drive from Manhattan, but the scenery is completely different.Eugene had gone on vacation to the beaches of Long Island with his family when he was young. The memory was still vivid. The beautiful beach and playing in the sand, ice cream, and the beautiful white beach house they had rented for a few days. But Long Island, which he was revisiting after a very long time, was completely different from his memories. Or to be more precise, not all parts of Long Island were the same.After about 50 minutes of driving from Eugene's apartment, the car arrived at its destination.The elegant stone-pillared entrance to the mansion was large enough for two cars to pass through simultaneously. The car stopped at the entrance to go through a series of verification procedures before continuing. Then, in the distance, a palace-like building appeared. The car unhesitatingly passed between the spacious gardens and stopped after making a half-circle next to the
"I'm over 70 now. A sufficient age to retire. And Luciano needs a new atmosphere now. Young people these days can't stand the ways of old men like us."Mateo spoke quietly and pointed outside. A black luxury car that had passed through the entrance circled around the large circular fountain and parked. When a Luciano youth who had been waiting opened the rear door, a man got out. Men also emerged from the cars that had followed closely and parked in a row. They immediately lined up in an orderly fashion behind the man who had gotten out of the lead car. And they began walking toward the mansion in a group. It was an unusually orderly and angular movement that seemed more like an army than the mafia."...They are-"Eugene quietly muttered, looking at the middle-aged man walking at the head of the group."Belmonte is coming," Mateo's voice was different. Eugene briefly examined Mateo's expression and then cast his gaze outside."Belmonte..."As Eugene echoed, Mateo nodded."The boss, Gi
"Because of that, the previous Don Belmonte decided to give her shares in the hotel that was under construction. Don Colvino, who was also in the hotel business at the time, acknowledged his own responsibility and agreed with Belmonte's decision."Mateo paused briefly and looked alternately at the two bosses, Belmonte and Colvino. It was a gesture checking if they had any objections to what had been said so far. After confirming that the two bosses had no objections, Mateo continued."The reason Sofia Blanc received shares in the Paradise Hotel was because her activities as a singer were cut off due to the article about her being a 'mafia lover,' making it impossible for her to earn money. And at the time, both the previous Don Belmonte and Don Colvino were mentioned in the newspaper article."Mateo pulled out one piece of paper from the bundle of documents and showed it. The paper contained a newspaper article yellowed with age. Though not clearly visible, it seemed to be an article
"Goddammit," Don Cariello chewed on curses with an irritated face. But he didn't say anything more.After that, Gianni Chirico continued to mention the names of officials he was lobbying on behalf of New York's five major families and the annual bribes going to them. The figures mentioned by him were diverse and impressive. Judges, prosecutors, police, etc. Those who took bribes from the mafia were spread throughout the judicial system. And the amounts were enormous. New York's five major families were jointly bearing the huge cost of bribing collaborators within the judicial authorities. The astronomical figures that kept flowing out were staggering.When conclusions were reached on three issues, the council ended. For a meeting said to have been held after several years, it felt quick and simple. As the meeting ended, the executives of the five major families all rose from their seats. A luxurious party was prepared in the mansion's main hall.The Belmonte underboss, Tony Rico, cast
"I really wanted to throw them away, but I was worried it might cause problems!" Jerry explained, flustered. Valentine silently stared at Jerry while methodically crushing the flowers. Each time Valentine's foot pressed down on the flowers, Jerry looked as if he himself were being crushed."Throw them away," Valentine ordered after completely crushing all the flowers without missing a single one."Yes!" Jerry exclaimed, finally looking relieved as he crouched down and began sweeping up the crushed flowers."Here's the money," said the children who had gathered at the counter with their selected candies, placing coins on top. After Eugene checked the amount and nodded, each child firmly grasped their candy and ran out of the store.Ding-a-ling. As the bell rang and the children left the store, Valentine slowly walked toward Eugene. The pressure felt with each step he took was tremendous. Valentine grabbed Eugene's shoulder and guided him toward the back of the store.They stepped throu
Luca Datero also handed over the armful of flowers he was holding. Books and flower bouquets. These were the gifts Luca Datero had been bringing to the candy store for three days now. Books could just be piled in a corner, but flowers were troublesome to deal with. Yet he couldn't throw gifts from the boss of Confezzioni in the trash, so several large bouquets were lined up in the candy store window."I told you to call me Luca."Luca Datero said with a smile. Eugene made a perplexed expression."How about lunch?""I already ate."Eugene calmly lied. Luca Datero looked at the clock hanging on the store wall. It was just turning 12:00 noon. He clearly knew there was no way Eugene had already eaten, but Eugene maintained a composed gaze with an awkward smile. Luca Datero stared at Eugene's face for a moment, then shrugged."Well, can't be helped then. I'll see you again later."After Luca Datero left the store, Jerry, who had been watching from behind the counter, rushed over."Don't fa
Eugene murmured like a sigh, standing in that spot for a long while before turning away. The cool night breeze struck his cheek. It was as chilling as that day from his past.Eugene woke to Angel's meowing for food, rubbing his heavy eyes as he checked the clock. 7:54 AM. He had slept in later than usual. Angel, confirming that Eugene was awake, went to the food bowl and meowed vigorously. The sound made his heavy head feel like it was rattling. Eugene sighed deeply, got out of bed, and picked up the cat food.After satisfying Angel, he looked out the window to see a scene no different from any other day. It was completely different from the previous dawn filled with shouting, gunshots, and police sirens. Chinatown was generally bustling, but gunshots were uncommon. Thanks to that, he'd spent the night sleepless. As the talkative Italian apartment manager had told Eugene when catching him on his way home, it was likely a clash between Vietnamese and Chinese gangs that had been infiltr
Instead of responding to Derek's comment, Eugene changed the subject with a question."I'm so busy I could use twelve bodies. Look at me, I haven't been sleeping properly. See? I've lost some muscle."Derek said, tapping his forearm. Eugene smiled faintly.They briefly discussed their law school days. Derek was, both subjectively and objectively, a decent man, and an excellent drinking and conversation partner. Having cut off almost all contact with others since getting entangled with the mafia, Eugene genuinely appreciated this ordinary moment.After chatting for nearly an hour, the tense and awkward atmosphere between them had completely dissipated. They were having cheerful and friendly conversations like before their fallout. Eugene, who had been laughing during their pleasant exchange, soon fixed his gaze on his beer bottle, fidgeting with the glass. The smile on his face had disappeared as if washed away."So, what's the real reason you're here? I doubt you came alone to this ne
In the center of the greenhouse garden were iron tables and chairs. They looked as aged as the store's exterior but were similarly clean and well-maintained. Luca Datero gestured to a chair and sat down first.As the two took their seats, simple sandwiches, coffee, orange juice, and milk were set out.Eating sandwiches in the middle of a glass garden felt like being on a picnic. If the company had been different, it would have truly felt that way. But the problem was having a mafia boss seated across from him."This place has been operated by our family for a long time. It's not a big moneymaker, but it provides a steady income. All the families in New York order their flowers from here."The "families in New York" didn't seem to be limited to just the Confezzioni family. It probably referred to all five major New York mafia families."Even now it's fine, but business used to be extremely good. In the days when funerals were held almost every other day. Especially during the years whe
"How old are you?""Nineteen."Jerry answered flatly. Eugene raised his eyebrows with an ambiguous expression. At least to Eugene, that age was still practically a minor."Wow, I still feel like I'm dreaming. That Valentine himself would entrust me with such a mission—I'm a lucky guy. Valentine has been my idol for a long time."Jerry chattered with an excited voice. Then suddenly, looking at Eugene through the rearview mirror, he said,"Oh, you know Doni, right? I'm Doni's cousin."Big-mouth Doni's cousin. Eugene nodded slightly. He understood where the endless chatter coming from the moment he got in the car originated."I heard Valentine declared he would make you his consigliere? Becoming the driver for Mr. Biscetti is a truly great opportunity. While Valentine and cousin Doni are away, I'll protect you like an iron wall, so don't worry. If things get dangerous, I'll throw myself in front of bullets to shield you. Despite appearances, I'm very tough. See this?"Jerry pulled up his
Eugene finally couldn't bear it and spoke up. Valentine broke his silence then."I'm thinking.""What are you thinking about?""A moment ago, you seemed to be enjoying yourself immensely. If there had been no interruption, you looked ready to get entangled? I heard that Asians value chastity so much they don't even have sex before marriage and only sleep with one person their entire lives, but that seems to have been complete nonsense.""Isn't that a stereotype about Asians? And I'm American.""No, you're Italian.""I'm mixed. And I'm Italian-American."After a few exchanges of pointless words, silence descended. Valentine leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, quietly staring at Eugene. Somehow it felt like being interrogated. No, he was definitely being interrogated."How was yesterday?" Valentine suddenly asked."What do you mean?""You said it before. That you didn't enjoy kissing me at all. I'm asking how was it yesterday."Eugene wanted to say he didn't enjoy it. But rec
The women moving around inside the club were young but appeared to be over the age of majority. The young blonde woman who had previously accompanied Don Cariello was nowhere to be seen. If there had been women in the club who looked like minors, it would have been difficult to bear. It was truly a relief.Somewhat reassured, Eugene found himself discreetly looking around. Pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. A slender and sensual figure too. Eugene tended to feel more sexual attraction toward men than women, but he wasn't completely gay. And regardless of gender, beautiful blondes with blue eyes always drew Eugene's attention.Guided by a guard who appeared to be at least three or four times Eugene's size, they entered a large party room inside the strip club. The room was already perfectly set up. As they sat down, blonde beauties naturally slid in to sit beside them. A half-naked blonde stripper unhesitatingly linked arms with Eugene and pressed her body close to his. Eugene glan
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Eugene bit his lower lip and moved his hand behind him. His rear was tightly closed after a careful touch. The feeling that it was still open was, thankfully, just a feeling. Eugene gnawed on his bitten lip. Although he had confirmed it was definitely closed, the unfamiliar and strange sensation did not easily fade. It was a part of his body that had neither been seen nor touched by others since early childhood when he started controlling his bodily functions. Another person's finger had entered such a place. Shame, embarrassment. Along with other emotions difficult to name, they mercilessly pounded the back of his head.Eugene leaned against the wall with the hand he had used to check his rear, blinking his eyes, then placed his hand on his lower abdomen this time. A subtle ache remained gently deep inside his stomach. An intense and unfamiliar sensation he had never experienced before. It was definitely within the category of pleasure. He had heard