Ren looked at the boy in front of him, then gently took the small hand and guided him to sit on an empty wooden barrel lying in the corner of the narrow alley. The air was filled with dampness and a thin layer of dust, but the boy seemed indifferent. His eyes still carried tension and guilt.
"Listen, kid," Ren began in a calm but firm tone, "no matter the reason, stealing is still not the right thing to do. Even if your intention is to help someone else."
The boy bit his lip, then looked down in silence. "... But my brother really needed that bread," he mumbled, barely audible.
Ren stared at the boy's thin frame, noting how the oversized shirt hung loosely on his shoulders, revealing sharp shoulder blades. At that moment, his stomach let out a quiet growl—proof he hadn't eaten in a while either.
"If you ask me…" Ren leaned in and spoke more gently, "the person who needs a piece of bread the most right now… is you."
The boy clenched his fists. "You don't know anything…"
