But the Pres mentioned it to sangchul that He was trained Mookyul since he was 13 yo. My thought is the Pres pick him up at age 13, but Mookyul only join in the gang at age 17 so the 8 years he mentioned was the time he is been with the pres in the gang business. Many chapter stated that Mookyul have been with the pres since childhood. He doesn't wanna go to middle or high school but the Pres still think education was important so he hire a tutor for him.
Actually, his age said 24 but he was probably younger than that age. I believe they made a point that his age read as 24, not that his age was 24. His paperwork was fake. The president had it made up. I think he up-aged him to give him some credibility to his underlings.
I also read that he was around that age of 12-13 and he was barefoot in the street when the pres picked him up. I always thought it was right after he left the school, or orphanage idr what it was
Ah thanks for correcting that :)
I made an account just to talk about this “love triangle” between Ewon, Mookyul, and the president. Basically, I personally think there never was one. Let me explain, to the best of my abilities, from the beginning.
I. Ewon and Mookyul meet in elementary school.
II. Mookyul then later meets the president a couple of years later.
a.Mentioned in chapter 5 that Mookyul has been with the president for 8 years. He was 25 at the time (from his bio) which means he had to be 17 when he met the president. (I know in the manga it seems that Mookyul met the president right after leaving Ewon at the elementary school, but that doesn’t work chronologically speaking.)
III. Mookyul mentioned a lot of times that he never forgot about Ewon (basically his reason to continue living).
Ewon and Mookyul are kindred spirits and form an unimaginable bold which lasts until they’re older and meet again. Mookyul and Ewon are orphans (although Ewon’s parents are still alive, he was still abandoned). For those who’ve never experienced being in foster care or abandoned, it’s hard. Providing for yourself when you’re just a kid is extremely difficult. Now I’ve never experienced it myself, but from everything I’ve heard, it just brings tears to my eyes. Ewon and Mookyul must have suffered a lot: feeling like no one care’s about/loves them or ever will. Both probably lived in foster care and then Mookyul lived in the streets. They found someone who has suffered the same exact way they have. A connection was formed (even if Ewon lied about his parents because again that doesn’t change the fact that he is an orphan too). It’s shown in the main manga and the doujins, how important they are to each other; they basically can’t function without each other. They just have a really pure love for each other and this love is the reason Mookyul was able to continue living instead of giving up and probably dying on the streets.
Now the president is a tricky bastard. He is a gangster (because c’mon he is) and it’s logical and most likely canon that he would give severe punishment to anyone who’s ever wronged him, like someone trying to pickpocket him (Mookyul). It’s mentioned in this doujins that Mookyul tried to pickpocket him. Now what makes Mookyul so special that instead of getting a beating, he got invited into the family? Why the predatory gleam in his eyes after surviving on the streets of course and his looks helped too of course. (This is 17 years old Mookyul so while still illegal, it’s hell of a lot better for the president to be attracted to Mookyul at this age rather than him being 12 or something.) Basically Mookyul was hardened after going through everything which is what had the president taking him into the family and the heir. If it was just Mookyul’s looks then they probably would have just been lovers (one night-stand or however you want to take it). So the president probably saw the cruel eyes of this kid and thought he would make a wonderful heir because Mookyul and the president share the same look (considering they’re both cruel which we see a hint of from both).
The president along the way fell in love with Mookyul, probably ever since they met. I never got the sense that Mookyul loved the president as anything more than his benefactor and in a way father. Reread the manga and doujins because when it came up in the manga, it was difficult for Mookyul to separate from the president because the president had done so much for him. Nothing more such as loving him like he loves Ewon was ever mentioned. Mookyul feels like he owes the president a lot for changing his entire life style. So when they start having sex, Mookyul has no complaints because this man is attractive and helped him out a lot so what’s the big deal? It’s just giving back gratitude. This is what probably frustrates the president because he wants Mookyul to love him, actually love him instead of considering this as giving back gratitude. This brings forth the hate because the president realizes that Mookyul will never consider more of him than that. The president can’t have the one person who tempts him the most, not all the way anyways. This parallels the Frollo & Esmerelda storyline which you might want to check out to better understand the president’s and Mookyul’s relationship. Frollo loved Esmerelda but Esmerelda didn’t love him back; the president loves Mookyul but Mookyul doesn’t love the president (romantically).
We can see how different Mookyul really is when he’s actually in love: it’s adorable the way he sticks to Ewon to the point of it being goofy. He’s so jovial which isn’t what he’s like when he’s with the president. It’s all business with the president which is why Mookyul doesn’t feel like it’s a big deal for him to sleep with the president. Because he loves Ewon romantically, always has, never the president. It’s just sex with the president which he feels like he owes.
Also on the whole “Mookyul looks lovesick when the president pick up his calls” debacle just adds more to my theory of him being an orphan which means being lonely. Orphan literally means being abandoned so Mookyul has a lot of issues about this (he literally slept with the aid because he was lonely). So it wasn’t so much as being “lovesick” than feeling abandoned.
Basically those are my thoughts. Anyone’s free to disagree and discuss more. :)
EDIT: (Thanks for everyone replying to correct this.) I went back and read through again and Mookyul and the President did meet each other when Mookyul was 13 (12?). Mookyul said that he met the president a couple of months after he gave up on society in general (so after the Ewon incident) (this coming from the main manga). It doesn’t really change my thoughts though.
Mookyul was on the streets for a couple of months before he tried to pickpocket the President. Even a couple of months of being homeless changes people (which goes back to my thoughts on why the President took him in). Let me try to make this less creepy though: the President’s feelings for 13 years old Mookyul was that of a father which gradually changed as Mookyul grew older.