TE Ch 07

Throughout the journey back to the gambling house, Hongju was conscious of the cell phone he had put in his pocket.

“You made good use of him, Madam Koo. He really did bring it back, didn’t he?”

“Right? He’s a bit stiff, but he’s good at enduring, I’ll give him that.”

Koo Bbing glanced at Hongju. He seemed to be checking to see if he had gotten beaten up again. However, Mookyeong’s words immediately diverted his attention.

“You must have been busy with no staff. How much should I pay?”

“Forget it! What’s with that between us?”

Madam Koo waved his hand dismissively. Hongju swallowed the sneer that threatened to surface. Between us. What a ridiculous thing to say.

“Two big ones? Is that how much you usually get when you go out?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess?”

His cracked lips twitched upwards, and his hollow eyes gleamed with a strange light. Mookyeong, perched on the edge of the desk, held up his index and middle fingers. Manager Yang and Koo Bbing’s eyes were drawn to his fingertips. Mookyeong folded his index finger.

“Deduct a thousand from the interest. The remaining thousand…”

Mookyeong trailed off, pointing his middle finger at Koo Bbing. The sound of Koo Bbing swallowing hard, wondering what he was expecting, was very loud. A hint of a smile seemed to flicker across Mookyeong’s face before disappearing. He opened his hand and wrapped his arm around Hongju’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

“Give it to him.”

“…To him?”

Koo Bbing’s dark face was filled with disappointment. Regardless, Mookyeong simply patted Hongju’s shoulder a couple of times.

“Does he have a debt with Madam Koo? He doesn’t look like just a regular employee.”

“…He does, doesn’t he?”

Koo Bbing awkwardly smiled and nodded. Even Hongju could see the forced smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

“If he does, deduct it from there. He’s the one who put in the effort.”

“…..”

“A man who’s going to do great things has to be flexible. That’s alright, isn’t it?”

Koo Bbing forced a stiff smile and glanced at Manager Yang. Manager Yang, with his one remaining eye, also glanced at Hongju and forced a smile.

“Why? You can’t?”

It was just three syllables, but it was more intimidating than any other words. Although he was smiling, his gaze, which had settled coldly, was directed at the two men sitting at the desk.

“…Of course, I can. I definitely can.”

His response was as unnatural as if he were acting. Mookyeong patted Hongju’s shoulder a couple of times. The heavy touch was clearly felt through the worn-out, deflated padding.

“He’s cheap; I should use him often.”

So, this was how he was going to help. Using his position to silence Koo Bbing and Manager Yang. Every time his heart raced, the feel of the cell phone hidden in his chest pocket was vivid.

Mookyeong didn’t stay at the gambling house for long. As soon as he left, Koo Bbing and Manager Yang started pestering him.

“Hey, where did you go? How much did you bring back to get a thousand deducted? You don’t even look like you got hit.”

It was extremely rare to collect a debt cleanly in one go. Most people would defiantly refuse, and then, seeing Hongju as an easy target, they would take out their frustration by beating him up. It was common for those who borrowed money to act shamelessly. Nevertheless, Hongju persistently went to them, demanding the money with outstretched hands. Whether it was their home, workplace, or another gambling den, he followed them regardless of the place or time. Exhausted from hitting him, they would give him some money and send him away. That was how he collected the money little by little. It was a crude method, but there was no more effective way. It was understandable that Koo Bbing, who knew Hongju’s style well, found it strange that he had no new injuries.

“I went to Dongchon. It was some building, but I didn’t see the name.”

“What did you get there? Cash? Documents?”

“…A pack of cigarettes.”

“Cigarettes?”

Koo Bbing’s voice was harsh. It was a stark contrast to how he had groveled when Mookyeong was present. Hongju nodded, recalling what Mookyeong had told him earlier.

“I think there was money inside. I don’t know how much.”

“If it was rolled with ten-thousand-won bills, that’s 200 million.”

Manager Yang stroked his chin and inhaled through his teeth. As expected, he was quicker than anyone when it came to calculating money. The two started talking amongst themselves based on Hongju’s words. But Hongju couldn’t focus on their conversation. He could only think about his debt, which had been reduced by ten million won. It was an amount that would take months of hard work to deduct, but it had been resolved with just one word from Mookyeong. If he really did as he was told, could his heavy debt of 1.4 billion really disappear… so quickly? Could he really escape before the new gambling house opened? For the first time since he started living in the gambling house, a feeling of hope blossomed within him.

“Oh, Manager Yang. Substitute! Come hold these cards for a bit!”

The man, looking like he urgently needed to use the restroom, came out clutching the front of his pants. Manager Yang quickly got up from his seat.

“The place to drain the water is over there.”

Koo Bbing pointed to the restroom, and the man brushed past him in a hurry.

“Why is there only a toilet base in the room? I almost pissed in the drain.”

“You could have.”

“Damn it, I can’t whip it out in front of a new madam, can I?”

The man unzipped his pants as he passed the desk. Disgusted by the sight, Hongju turned his head away, while Koo Bbing chuckled at the man’s retreating figure. Although it used to be an inn, the toilets and sinks in each room had long been removed. There was only one working restroom on the third floor, but it was mostly used by the staff. In a gambling den where everyone was trying to outsmart each other, leaving your seat for too long could leave you vulnerable to someone’s trickery. Most of the gamblers relieved themselves in the drains left in the restrooms attached to each room.

“I can’t whip it out in front of a new madam.”

Koo Bbing repeated the man’s words, as if savoring them. At the same time, he cast a sly glance at Hongju.

“Unless it’s in front of someone you’ve seen a few times.”

“…..”

“Is it not a few times for Hongju?”

It was a remark he didn’t even want to respond to. Hongju frowned and turned his head towards the restroom. Then, Koo Bbing wrapped his sticky hand around his shoulder. His pinky finger, missing a knuckle, was stiffly raised, unable to curl around his shoulder.

“When the customer leaves, shall we have a quick one?”

The tapping was disgusting. Hongju bit down hard on his swollen lip. Even though the act hadn’t even started, he already felt nauseous and his stomach was churning.

“Ah, shit, I almost came while shuffling the cards.”

The man zipped up his pants as he came out of the restroom. Then he smiled, wiping his lips with his fingertips. Koo Bbing chimed in.

“Now that you mention it, I feel like I’m about to come too.”

The cackling man gestured for him to hurry into the restroom. Then he took a step towards the room where he had been playing.

“…..”

Why did he come out so quickly? He should have stayed in there longer. He could have taken his time. Hongju found himself resenting the man he didn’t even know the name of, as Koo Bbing pushed him roughly on the shoulder.

“Hurry up and get up.”

“…You’re really disgusting, being so horny at your age, you know?”

“Shit, save that mouth for sucking dick.”

He practically dragged him by the scruff of his neck. As soon as they entered the narrow restroom, the door was locked. Koo Bbing hurriedly unfastened his pants. The shape of his engorged cock was visible through his underwear. Koo Bbing rubbed it and let out a groan. Hongju licked the inside of his torn mouth.

“You’re deducting from my debt, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Huu, you know, every time I see you looking at me like that, it turns me on. You have eyes like Mijin, it turns me on even more.”

Koo Bbing, taking out his erect penis, grabbed Hongju by the nape of his neck. He forced Hongju to sit in front of him and pulled his hair to make him look up.

“Open your mouth. Huu.”

“…..”

It was disgusting. The pungent smell that grazed his nostrils, the dark red flesh right in front his eyes, and Koo Bbing’s aroused breathing as he looked at him. But the most disgusting thing was probably the sight of himself, opening his torn lips to reduce his debt. He slightly took the head of the penis in his mouth and closed his eyes. When he tightened his lips, Koo Bbing groaned and started shaking his head back and forth. As long as he didn’t bite down with his teeth and just held the cock in his mouth, he could usually get him to cum once. Sometimes, licking the shaft or the head a few times would make it end faster. It was a method he had learned over the past year.

“Ha, hoo, uh.”

Just as he felt Koo Bbing’s grip on his hair tighten, Koo Bbing forcefully pulled Hongju’s head closer to his body.

“Ugh, eurgh.”

He felt the pain of his chapped lips tearing. Tears welled up as the hot flesh pressed against the inside of his already sore cheek. The tip of his nose felt scratchy. Koo Bbing, who had shoved his cock deep enough to crush his pubic hair, thrust his hips rapidly.

“You, hnngh, are you flirting with Boss Mookyeong? Damn it, huu. You’d suck his dick too, wouldn’t you?”

He kept retching from the glans poking his throat, but he managed to stop himself from biting down.

“Ahhh…”

After a few rapid thrusts into his throat, a slippery liquid spurted out from his cock. Only then did Hongju push Koo Bbing’s thigh away and turn his head. As he spat out the cock he had been holding, the cloudy liquid sprayed onto his lips and cheek. He didn’t even have time to wipe it off. Hongju crawled to the toilet on his knees and started retching.

“Ugh, eurgh.”

He emptied the semen and stomach acid that remained in his mouth. In the meantime, Koo Bbing tore off some toilet paper and wiped his cock.

“Damn it, there’s blood on it.”

The toilet paper he used to wipe his cock was a mixture of cloudy semen and blood from Hongju’s mouth. He kept making annoyed noises, saying it was gross. Hongju, after emptying the contents of his stomach, stood up unsteadily. He turned on the faucet and stood in front of the sink.

“I’ve been taking some ginseng lately. Does it taste different? Doesn’t my cock feel firmer?”

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

“Shit.”

Koo Bbing, stopping mid-zip, smacked the back of his head. Hongju lowered his head and regulated his breathing. His lips felt wet, but he didn’t know if it was from the semen or the blood. He would know if he looked in the mirror, but he didn’t have the strength to lift his head.

“Anyway, you can sell your ass to Boss Mookyeong, but don’t sell your mouth, okay? Huh? It’s a waste to share, really.”

“Huuu…”

He felt nauseous again. He took deep breaths, trying to calm his breathing. He thought of what Boss Mookyeong had said about helping him pay off his debt. Should he say he was done with this kind of thing? No. Not only could he not fully trust him, but if he suddenly refused, Koo Bbing would become suspicious. If Koo Bbing looked into it even a little, he might find out that he had made some kind of deal with Mookyeong. And then… it definitely wouldn’t end with just sucking his cock. Hongju shook his head, imagining himself becoming tattered and torn, covered in blood and semen.

“Ah, is the ass a waste too? I haven’t even been able to fuck it yet.”

The sound of him zipping up his pants was buried in his chuckles. Hongju’s hands, gripping the sink, trembled. He wanted to kill him. He just wanted to kill that bastard. He even thought about biting his tongue, debt be damned, but he suppressed the impulse. If he died, they would surely find his father and harm him. Besides, he had never succeeded before. As always, Koo Bbing would somehow revive him. He had to revive him so he could keep paying off his debt and… keep sucking his cock.

“Hey, I like the sucking, but, since I’ve known you since you were a snot-nosed kid, sticking it in, shooting, and shaking it is a bit… off-putting? You know what I mean?”

“S*cking and fucking. It’s all the same kind of trashy.”

“Shut up, you bastard. Always talking back. Save your mouth for sucking dick, you fuck.”

The hand that slapped the back of his head again was fierce. His neck felt stiff and his ears started ringing. Only after the silence, when he could only hear his own breathing, did Hongju finally speak.

“How much… are you going to deduct?”

“Hmm. A hundred? Same as last time.”

He had deducted a thousand earlier, but this time it was a hundred. He was disappointed that the amount felt small, but Hongju nodded without complaint. Then, as if he had finished his business, he left the restroom. Hongju, left alone, finally raised his head.

“…..”

His reflection in the mirror was quite a sight. Semen on his cheek and chin. Blood smeared on his lips. If he were being beaten up, at least he would be distracted by the pain. Doing this sober was more terrifying and painful than any violence. He couldn’t meet his own eyes in the mirror for long and dropped his gaze. Hongju turned on the faucet with trembling hands and rinsed his mouth. He repeatedly filled his mouth with water and spat it out until the blood in his mouth stopped. Only after wiping his wet lips until they were sore did he raise his head.

“Haaa.”

He was faced with his own haggard face, the traces of excitement completely erased. The restroom was filled with the sound of Hongju’s racing heart.

“I want to kill him.”

Only after seeing his own lips moving in the mirror did he realize that he had been saying “I want to kill him” over and over again.