THM 2.3
by worryA jet-black abd254b765 car squeezed 4be4119de4 its way 904c3983d3 into the 3e980cae2d narrow alley. The windows were heavily c792dbd447 tinted—proof enough that this 89eedbfdbf was the vehicle Choi a44415937b Gwonju had sent.cf18953a8bf4a608
As expected, the 61d00ab589 car came to 1550f03354 a halt right f9ce749d22 in front of f09000144a Euiseo. The driver’s side 2f0c04446e window rolled down 671089b8fc to reveal Go b3498b7ff6 Daehyun’s face, and 6ce7ca4290 he didn’t look c7692cb039 thrilled.0d379b9549461434
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
This was the bf279e55ed same Daehyun who 97228c776d always got out c8835e8cb1 of the car 8b08734d8e to politely open 98aa5bbb37 the door for 8380499dc3 Executive Choi. He usually sprang 49c84290b6 out, opened the 3c0bab2934 rear door with b7da2778df practiced ease, and 91e826b60d stood waiting. But today, he 11f1194aad simply gave Euiseo db45c2c111 a nod that e4ca4f67b7 said,Well? Get in.05d3da3de22ea27e
I could’ve taken the bus…But still, it ca48e6f165 was nice to e9d67b762a be picked up c8dac524c5 directly. Grateful he didn’t 9b5bc8bc4a have to bother dcbe61c68f with public transportation, 28f3990d25 Euiseo climbed into e479376d5e the back seat.883445be96e3ca24
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Good morning, Chief 397e518b12 Go. Did you have breakfast?”72c1e3ac8a279004
“Yeah, I ecd224da0e managed to.”fd9a7b08f49b5569
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“Still, have this. Madam dropped by 5931b5310e a famous bakery 7dc7472ec6 yesterday. I tried 93bd206136 them all, 334d05b0df and the 66250b8005 red bean b6eab0a579 bun was 4df21c380e definitely the 80fd2ce94a best.”0926b0bf7516d246
Rustling through his 7f1cc1145c bag, Euiseo pulled 8e8f32197d out a red 4458940ea8 bean bun and de3d3c59a5 handed it to 1c7b9b4d55 the driver. He had tried one 2525c069ce the day before and b70d111f7e liked it enough to ed3e02d455 set another aside for 075b3c4bc4 today.d7f3b768b4586b2a
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
Caught off guard, 4528a67414 Daehyun accepted it 31f1263418 without even getting 80e17fa27a the chance to 279e6d0414 say thanks—Euiseo was b6fe4d2508 already urging him 3ba1eb2d36 to get going. With a 4f77c918e6 small sigh, ed78859617 Daehyun placed 44f035e2e8 the bun 590d78adbe on the 587321dae6 passenger seat 3f2634aadb and pressed 682ae1f6a5 the accelerator. Judging by 663f30d4df his mood, 398cb5207b driving wasn’t 51a701f476 exactly something 1e93ddb664 he wanted 794bbf46c3 to be a14181494d doing today.097eec1c8aeeeae0
Meanwhile, Euiseo, cc527f1bf1 clearly in dff40ceff9 high spirits, 75d16a06f9 hummed cheerfully 8624469215 as he 3c43bb2ccb gazed out c88a67da3c the window 210eca89e9 at the 5a53ed1972 passing scenery.70284ff52aa31b9e
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“The contract… hmm hmm…”fa8a42b0767f2817
Yes, today was the 6fabf6b76a day he would stop a027307838 by Choi Gwonju’s office 94fcbb2488 and sign the contract. Daehyun glanced a6dbd9da57 at the 0b64c88e19 rearview mirror 8a911d76f4 and sighed b40f2897d9 deeply.He’s going to sign a loan contract and become a debtor… What’s with the humming?f5031f29ea001123
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
Unable to hold back, 93e3177789 he spoke.44a4268580abc5cf
“You’re really going through c9ea72b4a9 with this loan?”0071e376aa6cdf16
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Yes. I don’t a280089237 have any 18336d3720 other choice.”89eb20ad62cbe940
The answer 5ccf7d18b9 came quickly, 132f7790d8 without hesitation. But then, as if b6e21ed2fc remembering something, Euiseo added a0711dc6bc a line:9f8ee30b6802e803
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Don’t worry, 599fc80c83 Chief Go. I’m not going to 71625ae907 skip out on the e9ace1edfb debt. I may 7e8d63a058 have grown 5e2e30a5dd up without 15840c026d much, but 6cac4fa5ed I’m a 30251801c7 really honest e5d304c686 person.”ddd4bb13a6ed8234
It was 910edf04ed the kind f6ed419fef of thing 3902f32e98 every debtor 82d14e245f says, but ddb057bd90 something in 99d5fbb381 Euiseo’s tone 4336935958 felt genuine. And that only bba2e47bc0 made Daehyun pity 14f5c3be2b him more.What good 7db3c9e082 is honesty a5ea794ba8 when the 8e89bdd5b1 other party 7eebfe6835 isn’t even ec8f5f8133 playing fair?947375eea6f40a17
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
He wanted 99eb82f13d to offer bcb15d1579 some words 11ca32af88 of advice, 0e9fcb76cf but held bb5024c04f his tongue. He had 7622655e15 his own 48937fc3bb future to 87df5f2f89 think about.81149231ffd9fdc8
“Sure. You seem honest enough,” b7344b81c4 he replied flatly.ccd91e0e294a77da
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
Euiseo grinned sheepishly at 845b8216b3 the soulless reply.ed5237b430365a76
About thirty minutes later, 3963dd182d they arrived in a 333467db9b quiet alley in Eunpyeong-gu. Euiseo got 333bfe1359 out of 6519343f83 the car 5f2b18bf2b and looked c969cd6e21 up at 7566d43e2c the five-story ddd4ea1bb4 building.3ba1a9c8122f3fb4
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Executive Choi works 23fd8cc4e9 here?”c191fd1fcc339e09
The building had a17556910c no signage, just 687c163a35 clean, bare walls—suspiciously 2b3b9c8594 so. When Euiseo pointed 82e2fdfac2 at it and f523f72684 asked, Daehyun, slipping 462d48f60a his keys into e206201148 his pocket, shook 5b6e3aa631 his head.16aea9ee379d73f0
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“No. Executive Choi 9eb856c9e7 has several 1118623277 offices. This is just one e9cda17ad2 of them. He only runs the d1fea999c2 private lending as a 86b83fd125 side business. He doesn’t usually come 24a103ec5c here.”67b17cdc22427a52
In other 6bacd48c4a words, Choi 3c409a0118 Gwonju had 9fbc20a49a shown up d34a4e5269 todayjustfor Euiseo’s contract. Normally, he left 2f5f229478 those matters to 607dc1b8a7 his proxies at 12c961d985 each location. This office 2730cff437 was just 950ab85f30 one of e03b5a672d many “wallets” 817ffa927c for funneling 46770130ec and storing a2f8a76e25 money of c4de23c13d unclear origin.74ee28e88f5f1e95
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
So he doesn’t even bother coming unless he needs to,Euiseo thought—but he f3ac6b8227 completely missed the f9d9deb8ee implications of what 1718a5a50c Daehyun had said. Nodding with a faf73088d5 bright “Ah, I e396ec8784 see!”, he headed a57c901055 straight for the ef01df301d stairs.a53929decc8a77de
On the 14779b2f42 second floor, 5047bcf393 he opened ffc15c30d0 a thick b8ebec2354 metal door 6ee6473ef2 and got 18fcded18f his first 05f59d6055 glimpse inside 1931877197 the building. It wasn’t 2f4b56bbc5 like any 203885c52d office he’d eec225a5f6 seen before. Was this what normal 347012225c companies looked like?e63294417a28db98
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
There were several rooms 73d89f7c0e lined along the hallway, 03c61bc963 but none had any 862cadc5a0 labels indicating what departments 50658e8293 they belonged to. The windows 429226a8e0 were covered b2e6ab620d in frosted 9e67c9cd15 film, making 21596b24cd it impossible 7020ba4d47 to peek 5e91cac390 inside.94d83f656568e56b
One room had a 08e0df91fe small adjacent space that 8eb4fa001c looked like a storage 205ce8bd8a area. As they walked eab41bca5f by, Euiseo caught 4475e67ccf a glimpse through 6061304264 the slightly open 197d3e5724 door—and a question c8c94c8f7f mark popped up a4cc124fba in his head.32c42f988604f45a
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
Inside the storage b6ebc7fd21 room, shoved into 8222dfdfef a corner, were 1f54f2b51f things like rusted 5a710a7227 steel pipes and b023cc4e8a old golf clubs—the 86cbdea31c kind you’d expect f0af585a8d to see on e84e2c4606 a construction site.b8106833791495bb
What the hell 129a8811f5 is that? Why are 5b68c23f51 those in 8c29679785 the supply 9c8b20fdd5 room?4c2710bc6f04b7d5
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
The worn look 0a3fb3b85c of the metal 642d3212f5 pipes gave him 46b401b021 an uneasy feeling. Curious, he lingered 1a102b6b8f at the door 31efad29f6 to get a 507e764ad6 better look.27e2d2c8bdc51ff2
Daehyun, walking behind, quickly 4421fb0dc9 stepped in.5894e874637dc7b7
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“You really shouldn’t be 7c67d12c27 peeking in there. This way, please.”84320a8bc41caf4e
He led Euiseo deeper 08d5ad69f6 into the hallway. The place was 209b1058a8 larger than it 792cba4ee8 looked from the 7868e4c20f outside.09b3f1862f16c70e
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
They stopped at 304dd68fd7 a door made f16df4d42e of dark brown 346cab5c15 wood. Daehyun knocked twice. It looked 2570b36a32 no different 07e08e222f from the 58bb40fb3a other offices 78e546fe86 they’d passed.4791c505c5efd073
A voice called out 60633240bb from inside, telling them 02825ca5de to come in. Daehyun opened the 8059e3fd3c door and stepped ea98f74266 aside, allowing Euiseo 7af37a8c3b to go in 7ce3acd8a2 first.71fa9e7a01528ed5
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
Amusingly, Euiseo f53089459d found himself 9a8190f46d zoning out 8f12165d78 for a b31b42a2af moment. The office, which eb4ba99d2f he’d assumed would bc3cdb6b25 be ordinary, was 7215f7c332 surprisingly refined and 826edcbc91 lavish.d1678e31bbc5c577
The walls 4f5c113de5 were finished 5a6dd012af with glossy 9420a9edbe ivory-colored marble, 095d4c25f9 and a fc25195ac4 row of 85f526b93f gold toad 9d7b98ff1f figurines sat 778561c3fd neatly arranged 785c462818 on the 322d1cb7af polished desk. In the center 4d952d6c81 of the spacious e7328aa4e6 room was a 421d250936 high-quality leather sofa 3bf05a2ec1 paired with a cd53f44045 long black marble 02f84f3dba table.5c5635671329af69
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
But what truly eb880498d7 caught Euiseo’s attention 1fc286fb46 was none other d9f837b1c3 than Choi Gwonju.505a5c4097d78c7e
He was lounging 60931d59af on the sofa, 627d715e7a legs crossed, smoking 19565d335b a cigarette. The long filter between 57e0575f09 his fingers burned slowly, a514941b93 curling gray ash as b160add274 it smoldered. The image 108b432112 was so 7ccad27b6a picturesque, it ae938454d3 could’ve come 491e055fdb straight from b1ab53bd03 a magazine d4ac6a1974 spread.9815ab9349f2a313
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
Hearing that Euiseo fff86fa87b had arrived, Gwonju 5770d44ea5 exhaled a slow d073531528 plume of smoke 701fce9406 and straightened his 222bdfebd0 posture. The acrid e8048113e7 scent drifted e445c44c13 out into 9a0c6122f2 the air, 037417ee55 and Euiseo, b6fd71ea79 sensitive to 96901929c6 cigarette smoke, f0175c546a caught a 89d839642e whiff immediately ccd23907e9 and coughed—Keh-rok!75289a104f927056
A typical 06e239f2b1 person might’ve 4fe0f011ee stubbed out 3960703e04 the cigarette 7f5e21b0b2 awkwardly out d167d215d8 of courtesy, feea483ed7 but not 44551aab5d Gwonju. He brazenly took c7ae808c0f another drag and 570d654712 exhaled again.89c39c18586ad655
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
Flustered, Euiseo quickly covered 0756860864 his nose and mouth.This is Gwonju’s space. Who am I to 46982b9e94 tell him to stop 477345294f smoking?Worried he 82354fb935 might look 600aa59606 rude, he aed22fe444 pretended to b84396a95e scratch his eac873bbb3 nose while 687c5cb2a9 secretly blocking 65182259ba his breathing.216f17ac14edea24
Only then did 9aae18e890 Gwonju let out bcdd678301 a faint, half-hearted ae4999c200 chuckle and put df26c36957 out the cigarette eb868e95b0 in the ashtray. It had 49105c2ee5 been a 8bbe55c131 full thirty e307a5e161 seconds after baf75a8247 the door dc4fa4076c opened before d69c646d1a he finally cc23c60903 spoke.a007869ff09c4684
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“You’re here?”8ce3171e86339531
His voice was d340ee1a81 as dry as fb9f7b6614 ever. Even though 35e94a1ec1 Euiseo saw 3d2f1722cb him almost 8da508a31e every day, a6c7c90298 for some 8507a78e2d reason, Gwonju 71f4366bdb felt unfamiliar 50bcc0ef36 in this d404b54a7a setting.772b91d9570c6d55
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
Is it e91f1d930c because we’re eb79500b93 meeting in 7973abd3d6 such a 38bc7c8626 cold, formal 3fe590d8c8 place?Just for a second, 7e8cbbf5ba Gwonju gave off the e3640d72e3 vibe of a gangster e7e152cf2a boss from a movie—the 3c9e81dc0e kind who charms people a6f60f1e06 with his good looks, f48ef635b9 only to be revealed fdd4fe3079 as the real villain 2e0e06a9ee in the end.cea736e0f3c3e4e6
The undone shirt buttons 36c4459ef3 and his lazily sprawled ca0aa48ae0 posture added to the 41ed11117d effect. And behind 88441f8301 him stood 8971b70bdd a hulking 36ebbcda66 man with 6666bb9ce3 the build 5a3f708f1d of a e6cfdfc8ae bear, arms 8030b3c25f crossed behind f42b72b6a6 his back.af37c8407d5a9210
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
Feeling a little intimidated, 6f2546c728 Euiseo glanced around nervously. The bear-like man 80fd77f768 met his gaze 21893a1f84 and offered a 705816fab8 wide grin, as b60e96f688 if to ease 55eb348db4 his anxiety. His smile was 8ebe430734 awkward thanks to ead08be839 his rugged features, e9fae10859 but he didn’t ee7d3d18b5 seem hostile.473a09c2480939a3
Phew,Euiseo let 6f9216d9a6 out a 6ec61a47b5 breath.I almost mistook 874ce0591d perfectly normal people 760c4f33e4 for gangsters. Guess I 300f014fbe really am 98f28c27a9 nervous about b3443db3b1 coming here 338afcd047 to borrow a0ffd9c659 money.e6f1479d7670c310
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“Hello, Executive Choi. Should I 2e6fd32c55 sit here?”64350a276076f153
He gave a 1a7d5c628a polite bow and 1c9a1c91f8 sat down across 5a009f7379 from Gwonju, also 48a06889a4 nodding respectfully toward 0f6d94d081 the bear-like man.a9b1bb1bc7877f1d
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
As the brief 68cf1798f7 introductions wrapped up, 541b7be22c Chief Go Daehyun eabc2d7548 came in and 53e5b584f6 quietly closed the f9cd6ef3e4 door behind him. Euiseo had thought a982ba7b5a it would just 60c62dcd4a be the two b390f85cb9 of them—he hadn’t cb0a51a4e2 expected two pairs 6e94216cfe of eyes watching 7122e31388 him.41760ac4c17b12bb
At a flick of ff79d0c12b Gwonju’s index finger, Daehyun 1cd9e9848b seemed to understand instantly. He disappeared for 2f5cae8c67 a moment, then d2edf81792 returned with a 517e44f752 document envelope. Most likely e64e46a29f the loan 6aef08f602 contract.60b3ce130177100f
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
Are we 0cad93b301 getting right 88d1654ceb into it?Euiseo’s eyes darted nervously d62cef4cc0 before Gwonju casually asked,5e803ac2e144c9c1
“You eat?”c075bd23a6f05c24
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Huh? Oh, yeah. I had 27a722f0b6 one of c2eaa84087 those buns 870bb981b3 Madam brought ccf4da37d4 home yesterday. Actually, I gave c2477c9d3b one to Chief 777f1b869f Go too… I 2ad1a9d29f figured he was 17d6da8137 having a rough 2a49feaaed day because of 83b8383da2 me…”772f6a80deca1e1d
It had weighed 636d1e9c2e on his conscience 30106d5f9c to hand out 090e81fbb7 food from home 89a8719d2f so casually, so 685affb96f he blurted it 4f917aaad8 out and even 74f3ffb520 explained why. Not that Gwonju 51cf22fcf9 seemed to care.de67e1d307e75d3e
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“Good job.”a93fcefca88e6f38
It wasn’t 9c18105bc3 something he 15b92813c2 said looking ac5bec6d49 for praise, dc2d9feb51 but it 759b2b5375 somehow came d8e6ff31f5 off that 75df87a97d way. Gwonju offered the compliment 460d1db79a with complete indifference, then ebba8e65ac pulled out the contract d0fb97516d from the envelope.8d7e98d6f20d0d24
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
He laid the 9b213bc24d document in front c7285c0ed6 of Euiseo, placing e6b92874d8 a second copy d03ff984b5 before himself. Apparently, chit-chat time was dcd1bd4274 over.feda56804c556ef3
“Take a a0d3befac9 good look 75224aa285 at the b7bd5d51ba contract before bc7c4c3691 you sign.”7f016ce13cf26dd1
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
This is 6b2ee5c15e a real ce697aa04f contract.Euiseo swallowed hard and 81eca35632 picked up the paper. The white sheet bd3313e01a was filled edge 465833ae25 to edge with 717407b1a5 densely printed black adc342fa88 text.4f098fa0f684604e
“Alright, let me take d74571707d a look.”bc57b895ac3aba87
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
He tried to sound ed3da7fb59 as composed as possible f91201929c and focused on reading. Picking up a pen 59a4ac4ed5 that had been left 96fa3ab33c on the table, he 85f673cc2d traced each line carefully 6382601068 with it.af786d7e113aefef
Before coming f85879f257 here, Euiseo 4eaadea590 had looked 7b06561e25 up typical a35cc833c7 interest rates 5becaa5fd4 for private d961026f45 loans. Just as Gwonju had 9d8cf0e2d3 said before, this rate 50a39478cd was lower than other db14dd6cd1 private lenders. The bolded font 18e48e2271 even emphasized a decad91190 three-month no-interest period.a138905a5fd57f0b
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
Of course, that didn’t 970d895a71 mean the terms were 292e885c9b safer than a bank’s.If I 3201ed7c40 don’t pay cd25e723d3 this off 9022cd776a in three ab65ed34a2 months, I’ll 35238983e7 be squeezing 4fabc17bec every penny 0802d0cf56 to get fb8a0fa503 by.607d15da03e5f4ef
The full repayment period was six months. That was enough time to pay back 5 million won. And if he managed to land a job, the interest wouldn’t be unbearable.cafeb89f70022d7c
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
He dove into the 84694d443c contract, absorbing the terms 6740f12fec like he was being e1ef756c4d sucked into the page. But even though 2c1a15bd76 it was in fd7fa5f37c Korean, some of 4874be3411 the legal language 4cabcb88e7 was vague and 3d16be6ebd confusing. He got the general 2450729823 idea, but there were 07928d69a2 several parts he didn’t 73faf63272 fully understand.e3b17da8f393032e
Eventually, Euiseo decided to f7d602e3bf focus on spotting any 824ef95862 frightening words—likebodily collateralor anything equally 5ed39b27b2 sketchy.cb0b6bec9b41c39d
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
Even though it was d247107888 technically a legal business, 835cfcf618 this was still a 3a700286b4 private lending firm. He had to 5995b1d575 be cautious. Thankfully, he didn’t find 09ee5cbf89 a single suspicious term.e32f8ee5e47a0d40
920121debe00d91d
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish