TE Ch 02

Choi Gun, who had finished off the remaining canned coffee, took the lead. Hongju and the thug followed behind him. The inside was already bustling. When they went up to the third floor, there was Manager Yang, with his legs propped up on an old metal desk. When he lifted the blindfold covering his eyes, his wrinkled eyelids were visible.

“Hey. Hongju, did you get beaten up a lot by the post office guy? I heard that guy used to box back in the day.”

Hongju frowned at the playful voice. The area around his swollen eye was still warm.

“I deposited the collected money.”

“Yeah, yeah, I saw. For the time being, serve in the gambling house.”

“What about Uncle?”

He already knew from Choi Gun, but he asked just to probe.

“That whore ran away. Didn’t you know? After getting a few tips, he was secretly messing around with the customers. You’ll have to replace him for the time being. Even though it’s a bit messed up, your face is the best among everyone here.”

It was nonsense. A whore, or whatever. Firing a perfectly fine person using such ridiculous excuses must be because they were stingy with labor costs or there was another reason. Anyway, he wasn’t close to Uncle in the first place, so he didn’t care much.

“What are you doing? Earn your keep! Move!”

The sound of clapping hands was very loud. The interior, devoid of any warmth, was very cold. Hongju sniffled and pulled the zipper of his padded jacket all the way up. Normally, he would have taken the names, workplaces, and home addresses of those who hadn’t paid off their loans and left right away. But today, it looked like he would have to stay inside and serve.

“Hongju. If there are customers smoking, tell them to put it out. Be very polite about it.”

“Why?”

“The wallpaper’s still in decent shape. I’m planning to use this as employee housing later.”

At the end of his words, Manager Yang’s phone rang loudly. He gestured to Hongju and answered the phone.

“Oh my, CEO. Why haven’t you come by lately?”

He saw it when they were moving the luggage, it was covered in dirt. What does he mean by decent? How much would it cost to replace the wallpaper? Hongju clicked his tongue and entered the hallway lined with rooms. He looked around, examining each room with the door removed and only the form remaining. Four or five people were gathered around tables, noisily playing cards. Perhaps because Manager Yang or Choi Gun had managed it well, there was no smell of cigarettes anywhere. Hongju’s steps faltered just before the last room. He couldn’t hear any sound, so it seemed like no one was inside.

“…..”

But just in case. Hongju peeked into the last room. A man was sitting alone in the room. The man, whose gaze met Hongju’s as he suddenly stuck his head in, had a very cold and fierce impression. However, unlike the other gamblers, his eyes were not cloudy or his cheeks sunken. He was wearing black leather gloves, and between them was a white filter.

“You can’t smoke.”

Hongju stepped over the threshold and entered. The man, who was sitting with his legs crossed, tapped his foot and took a deep drag from the filter. As he approached to stop him, the man exhaled a long stream of white smoke over Hongju’s face. Hongju coughed and waved his hand in front of his eyes. As the cigarette smoke subsided, a laughing voice suddenly interjected.

“Why?”

He tilted his head with the cigarette in his mouth and looked at him. A cold atmosphere emanated from his strong-featured face, and there was not a single scar to be seen. Unlike the temporary gambling house, he was dressed in a suit and coat. He seemed like someone who lived in a different world from him, who was covered in scars and wearing a worn-out padded jacket. Hongju might have been intimidated, but anyone who came and went here was just a worthless gambler. The expensive clothes and shoes, and the neatly arranged impression, would soon change like the gamblers in the other rooms. Hongju swept his dry gaze over the room that remained only in form.

“Because the smell will stick to the wallpaper.”

His neatly combed hair did not get disheveled even when he nodded.

“Ah, sorry?”

It was an apology without any sincerity. The man tapped the cigarette ash on the floor and looked around. Then, he stubbed out the half-reduced cigarette on Hongju’s padded jacket. Sizzle. The cheap padding sizzled and turned black. It happened before he could even avoid it. Hongju frowned and stepped back. He almost swore, but he bit his teeth hard and forced himself to hold it in. If he got into a fight with a customer, he would probably get beaten up.

“What are you doing?”

He held back the curse, but he couldn’t stop the loud voice. A hurried footstep was heard through the wide-open doorway.

“You told me to put it out. What am I supposed to do if there’s no ashtray.”

The man shrugged as if he was being wronged. Hongju annoyingly dusted off his blackened padded jacket.

“Boss Mookyeong!”

The one who came in shouting urgently was Koo Bbing. That’s the voice he makes when he’s trying to reel in a rich sucker. Hongju touched the front of his padded jacket with a hole in it and glanced at the man.

“Is this how they do service in this neighborhood? Even if you build up the gambling house, you’ll run it into the ground soon.”

The man’s foot tapped. Every time the tip of his shoe tapped near his shin, Hongju’s brow furrowed. Koo Bbing, who was watching the atmosphere, quickly pushed Hongju’s shoulder. His body, wearing the padded jacket, staggered greatly.

“He’s not the one who does this kind of work. You, go do your work!”

“Madam Koo Bbing. If there are too many things you tell customers not to do, you’ll go bankrupt soon. Alcohol, fights, cigarettes, drugs. Suckers will only spend money when there are no restrictions. Don’t you agree?”

He tapped the table with the edge of a Zippo lighter that looked expensive. Then, he lightly threw the lighter. Thud, the sliding Zippo lighter stopped precariously at the edge of the table.

“Y-You can smoke, sir. You can do whatever you want.”

Koo Bbing opened both palms and made a motion as if waving them. At that, the man let out a brief chuckle and slid his hand into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

“Ah, I told you I’m not the boss.”

“You’ll be taking a position soon, so what’s the harm in calling you that in advance? With a face that refined, you look the part.”

As expected, he was better at buttering people up than most seasoned players. But really, what kind of great person was that man that he’s groveling like that? Hongju cast a suspicious glance his way. Koo Bbing quickly sat down opposite the man and stomped his feet on the ground.

“You, go, quickly!”

It was like chasing away a beast. Hongju turned his head with an absurd expression. Then, he met the man’s sharp and cold eyes. When he met his black eyes, he felt a strange sense of pressure. The man took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth without breaking the entangled gaze. Then, he slightly raised his chin towards Hongju. It meant to light it.

“…..”

When Hongju stood still, the man slowly raised his lowered eyes. The moment he met his black eyes again. Hongju swallowed dryly without realizing it.

“Hey, Hongju. Bring a thug over here. Boss Mookyeong, when you take out the gambling house stuff, will the construction start right away?”

“Probably? But the building is so run-down that the construction estimate will probably be quite high. You should’ve invested some money in it earlier.”

Because Koo Bbing changed the subject, Hongju was completely left out of the conversation. Hongju, who tapped his padded jacket with black cigarette ash on it, turned around.

“Fuck.”

As he crossed the threshold, he muttered in a voice that was barely audible. Then, he glanced back and stared at the man again. Perhaps he was looking this way, their eyes met immediately. The man, who had a cigarette between his teeth, winked one eye.

“…..”

A wink? That gave him chills. Hongju frowned and left the room. He called a thug who was not far away. When he gestured for him to go into the room, the thug hurried inside. Choi Gun naturally came and stood in the place where the thug had left.

“What is that person?”

“Boss Mookyeong?”

Remembering that Koo Bbing had called him that, he nodded. Choi Gun glanced in that direction and lowered his voice. Every time his lips moved, the smell of stale cigarettes and coffee came out.

“This, this.”

Choi Gun made a circle by touching his thumb and index finger. Hongju tilted his head.

“That person is providing the money to build the new gambling house.”

“But Koo Bbing said he was going to empty his own safe and do it.”

He suddenly made a fuss about fixing up a perfectly fine gambling house. Just how grand of a structure is he planning to build that he’s even pulling in extra money?

“Do you believe that? Where would he even get that much money? I heard he’s going to build it like the gambling houses in Gangnam.”

“Why would he do that when he could go bankrupt? He should just sell the gambling house to the company that offered a lot of money last time and leave.”

It would be great if he could just quit gambling altogether. How great would it be if the debt and interest that fell on him disappeared. Hongju imagined the impossible.

“He’s looking far ahead. To secure a proper place and not lose customers. That person invested in some gambling house over there… somewhere, and did some consulting or something. He sold drugs along with gambling and built a few buildings. Since it looks nice, the crackdowns stopped completely. Koo Bbing was also hooked on that.”

“Ah, so…”

The neighborhood was buzzing about redevelopment and building a department store, and there had been several attempts to drive out the gambling house, which was considered a nuisance facility. However, Koo Bbing had firmly held his ground. It had been a long time since he had settled down, and it helped that he had close ties with gangsters and the police. It wasn’t difficult for Koo Bbing to drive out most of the enforcers.

Nevertheless, he was always looking for a way to secure his position. From some time ago, he had been making a fuss about setting up a plausible business. It was strange that he was spending money to the point of creating a temporary gambling house, but he didn’t know that he had such a grand dream. Even after rotting away in the gambling scene, he still had hope. Hongju muttered his true feelings without realizing it.

“He’s just a gambler, but his dreams are big.”

“Shh. Manager Yang is coming.”

Choi Gun, who cleared his throat and straightened his back, pretended to be on guard, looking around.

“Hey. What are you guys whispering about? Even though I only have one eye, I can see everything. Get your act together and work, okay?”

Manager Yang didn’t just let it slide; he had to add one more remark. Hongju flinched at the annoying touch on his shoulder as he walked by.

“Hey, Hongju! Bring the Absolut¹!”

A gruff voice called Hongju.

“He’s calling you. Go.”

Manager Yang, who glanced in the direction of the sound, lightly slapped Hongju’s butt. Hongju clicked his tongue in irritation, muttering curses as he made his way to the fridge. He took out vodka, ice, and glasses, which were too expensive and didn’t sell well at the gambling house. Then, he headed to the room where Koo Bbing and the man called Mookyeong were.

“Here, here, set it up quickly.”

There were several documents on the blue tablecloth. Koo Bbing quickly gathered the papers into an envelope and handed them to the thug standing behind him. Hongju placed the tray on the cleaned table and moved the vodka and glasses.

“Who is this guy?”

Mookyeong’s low voice was laced with laughter. Hongju slowly shifted his gaze. He was looking up and down at Hongju with his chin propped up.

“He goes around collecting money from those who don’t pay back their loans. He may look like that, but he’s tough, so the recovery rate is high.”

Mookyeong, with his eyes narrowed, looked up at Hongju. He slowly observed his bruised, swollen, and scarred face.

“It’s a waste to get beaten up with that face.”

Every time he spoke, the cigarette on his lips bobbed up and down.