TE Ch 08

Hongju came out of 5e7916b5b7 the restroom after spending c69edef965 a long time calming 0ca5ea55ff himself down. Choi Gun abe1ac6cb9 was sitting 50e3f773dc at the cefdf69b9f desk. Neither Koo 83e4fc8e8e Bbing nor a5539ad546 Manager Yang 9bab8e8c2b were in 2f97856434 sight.87b774d37a217307

“Koo Bbing bought this.”fe1fc8f0ebde6039

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Choi Gun offered him a coffee in a takeout cup. Hongju didn’t even glance at the paper cup and walked past the desk.50528453dc75c886

“I don’t drink. I’m going to step out for a bit.”fee164956adf924e

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“Sure, go ahead.”d435cf207fdf484c

Choi Gun, who was looking at his phone, nodded. Hongju headed to a nearby convenience store out of habit. He wanted to drink some water. Seeing this, the thugs or Choi Gun would sometimes nag him. They’d ask why he was wasting money when there was plenty of water and drinks at the gambling house, especially when he had no money. But Hongju couldn’t drink even water comfortably at the gambling house. Especially not anything Koo Bbing gave him. He didn’t know what might be in it.d8d2648d27107998

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There used to be a card sharp who stayed at the gambling house, and he would readily accept and drink the coffee Koo Bbing offered him. After walking around with dazed eyes a few times, the man packed his bags from the staff dormitory and went somewhere else. He didn’t know where he went, but seeing as he was driven around in Koo Bbing’s car, he probably stayed with him. And not long after, the man disappeared. They said he ran away after losing a lot of money in a game. But Hongju didn’t believe it. He knew Koo Bbing too well, remembered the man’s glazed eyes, and couldn’t forget the coffee he drank. He’d rather die than be drugged and raped.ddcff53a1e6a49d0

“Thank you. Have a great day!”f7d1565ef854fdef

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Hongju emptied 6cf40d8a79 the water 042127ce3a bottle like bdda765f1e a man cab44c4df6 desperate for 3043a84f46 a drink. As he gulped 659fda751b down the cold 877e4b4e4e water, his throat 1116474447 and mouth felt ffaf58cdb9 numb. He drank 37824330ea until he 828435abe4 felt a a56e0c39e8 chill in 34d4eb1794 his solar 89347b4f4c plexus and f992ff26c2 then wiped 58fcc409a1 his wet c23dfdcea9 lips. His lips and the bb3eb4816f back of his hand 7b017e5099 were as cold as e39ee48aa5 ice. His breath 8cd2e90fe9 no longer d4215751ef carried a b5c1f3d378 foul smell.f92b6766958b1eb6

It was late at 568d5324d4 night. As usual, the gambling 3284dde655 house was very crowded. Even Choi 263fb1495d Gun and f8848231fa the thug 2aaa6c2bc2 came out 9b38377d55 to keep 94cbd0d8fb an eye 5df68a269d on things. Hongju busily served, cleared 88eb601027 tables, and did his b5fcfea073 part. Even in the 9e64040f64 midst of all a2ec15b63d this, Koo Bbing, 2478843b96 instead of helping, dbcc8f4d04 sat at the 864eff0549 desk with his d01781f132 legs up, playing cebeeac5a6 on his phone.Beep boop. He seemed e5379ac43d to be 8897f542ba playing a ebc39e7106 game, as e6e3a3658c sound effects e85d17e7e8 kept playing. After doing that for c6998895ea a while, he started ca9f4036e3 talking on the phone 5678e1f0eb loudly.0b189028d5a67a9e

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“I saw him before; he wasn’t bad. He won’t be going soon, right? Ah, he hasn’t arrived yet?”ad9aebe78a43b6de

Hongju held his 38f91a1e20 frozen hands in 623ec9f043 front of the 4ccae61715 heater to warm 52882a3e41 them up. He felt a e2902b6fb3 tingling sensation, like 745447a794 electricity, starting from 55f3e53196 his fingertips.8c92dcf4192bdca6

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“Okay. I’ll be there soon.”a8c4580f8d3f293c

Koo Bbing 0ef89d1235 put his d8ea51fe7c legs down d77b290742 from the dae9c0a4dc desk and a8fd1e4652 took out a861c1d4b8 a wad d9275afa0b of cash 9e4c68bbc4 from the c6204bf07a drawer. Then he took c78f769904 out a shopping 45b292ca80 bag lying on 4359093747 the floor and 82294ba27c neatly stacked the 6340e95ffb money inside.c23c6f7afbb1c322

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“Hey. Tell Manager Yang I took a thousand, okay?”54a2c6deaa03070b

“…Where are you going?”9376414c8b291ee6

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When Hongju asked, Koo Bbing looked around. After confirming that no one was there, he whispered, “Curious? Then how about another round?”c7f56c8308d87c1a

He grabbed his 054a5e8343 crotch and shook 4c8215f571 it up and a75643b96f down. At that 36c23f0c68 vulgar and 9ecac04f2f crude gesture, 1c634995da Hongju finally 63b940f3c9 cursed.f13f7e5e2430d728

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“Crazy bastard.”cedfc27a23633f5d

“Haha. I’m going to Gwangpal’s gambling house, you punk. I’ll bring back a lot of money, okay?”6647218c3c3461a9

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As he passed by, Koo Bbing squeezed Hongju’s ass hard. This wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, so Hongju simply frowned and swallowed his curses. Hongju, watching Koo Bbing’s back as he went down the stairs with the shopping bag, fell into deep thought. After much deliberation, he called out to the thug who had just come out of a room.97346377d496c162

“I’m going to the restroom. Can you watch my spot?”3242066d2cf8a222

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“Where did Koo Bbing go?”e0c0d5693ee0d3f6

“To Gwangpal’s gambling house.”b7b03171c79860c1

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“Okay. Go ahead.”b22b4ac0ab604276

The thug sat down on the empty chair. Koo Bbing had gone on an away game, and Manager Yang was dealing cards inside. Choi Gun was standing at the end of the hallway, and the thug was guarding his spot. Moreover, they wouldn’t invest money to install CCTV in a dilapidated inn building, and there were no eyes to watch him. Knowing this, his heart started to race.d0d4459ff31d3f5e

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Hongju entered f42039fe44 the restroom 7a2774c403 and checked 509d50df3f several times f82f5adf28 to make 5365262575 sure the 667552208d door was 151b4ce35b locked. Then he took 437f0ad8ea out the cell d8463f60e6 phone hidden in f41d0237c7 his chest pocket. The time it took 6e7b141f08 for the power to 730df59661 turn on felt incredibly 2e9d7aa58b long. Even during that time, e514f79918 he kept his ear b06c3c67c6 to the door, checking ae4d553ca3 for any sounds. There was fbcc95b57a only one 4406163896 number in e72d95db69 the call 120ed5cc51 list. Hongju sent b0f347d1c6 a text 1b47dde057 message to 70238e8254 that number.08011007404d8be3

[He went to a gambling house in Jeongeon-dong. It will take about 6 hours.]

He pressed the send button and turned off the power. No matter how he thought about it, dying under Boss Mookyeong might be better than rotting away in the gambling house. It wasn’t so much that he trusted someone he barely knew, but rather that he knew Koo Bbing, whom he had known for a long time, all too well.3bb8b3d8d5069ad9

From the next day on, Mookyeong didn’t come to the gambling house. Instead, he sent two young men to help with the work. He said they would be helpful because they had worked there before when the gambling house was being expanded. They weren’t quite card sharps, but they were good enough at Seotda, and they were well-built, so they could easily handle any fights that broke out. Koo Bbing and Manager Yang welcomed them. The games ran faster, and the service was quicker than when Hongju was working alone. After a few days of having some breathing room, Koo Bbing put Hongju back on debt collection.ad5e06ef57850c6f

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“Eight hundred.”ba8f3700fd694832

Hongju checked the name, number, and address written on the paper. He recognized the person immediately, as they were frequently late on their payments. This person didn’t work and only gambled, and he had a bad habit of hitting Hongju whenever he saw him. His wrist, which had been fractured by him before, seemed to ache again.692a81ccc724172f

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“Yes. I’ll go.”0513db07991e888a

“Yeah. I saw that bastard at Gwangpal’s gambling house last time. He was grinning, so it looked like he won some money. Make sure you get it.”d56fedd7deb1c3f7

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“I can only get it if he gives it.”3048d6cc9a4b79ae

“Damn it, you never back down, do you?”e85066099f13e361

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Hongju touched his lip, where the bleeding had finally stopped and a scab had formed. The wounds had healed a lot while he was serving at the gambling house. Usually, he wouldn’t have had time for them to heal like this. He felt a little sad thinking that he would get hurt again.a65af28f21c84327

“I’m going.”624c941184e9e808

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The man’s house wasn’t far, so he could get there in less than 15 minutes on foot. Hongju pulled the zipper of his padding jacket all the way up and went down the stairs. As he reached the entrance of the building, he smelled cigarette smoke mixed with a faint fragrance.ce1e844092995188

“Where are you going?”0578898a501eb58a

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“…Hello.”c56b47daeb767bb4

It was the first time he had seen him since he sent the text message about Koo Bbing going to Gwangpal’s gambling house. He still had his well-groomed hair slicked back and wore a coat that reached his calves. A white cigarette filter was tucked between the fingers of his gloved hand.ea0adb0d825bce12

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“I asked where you’re going.”fa3f04d181638c51

“Debt collection.”6e3dc2d3f3f28fa4

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“Hmm.”32b5882d72207928

He puffed out 24f7f54cf3 his chest and dd2dc2baca took a deep 381683ebc2 drag of the 96c9415523 cigarette.Whoo, a cloud of smoke obscured Hongju’s vision with a long exhale, but this time he didn’t cough. After blowing smoke in Hongju’s face a few more times, Mookyeong threw the cigarette on the ground. His clean shoe crushed the cigarette butt.e524e254ef04e1fa

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“Get in.”9f94d913e4b23820

“It’s close; I can go by myself.”df84f4819c72369c

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Despite Hongju’s words, Mookyeong didn’t back down. He abruptly opened the driver’s side door and tapped on the car a couple of times.67e0c28ea815b1af

“Get in. We have things to talk about, don’t we?”4c2d3befaeaeeddc

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He looked around without realizing it. There was no one on the first floor, and no one to hear this conversation. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but be cautious.4aa140b0af16f871

“Shall we talk here? I don’t mind.”150d790559f8614e

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“…I’ll get in.”1b797e3fecc73a32

Hongju opened 2ab3d69f49 the passenger ba1efa8d51 door. As he had 23c4d3d01b done last time, bc72c676cf he stomped his 7d9e28b849 feet on the 81111dbb0f ground to shake 92615dff54 off the snow. When he 7004a3abf1 fastened his 2d475e2ecd seatbelt, Mookyeong 855934acb1 asked for 7a4fd8db38 the address.ef1b79389808f2d3

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“Type in Gwol-eum Hospital. It’s right behind it.”aa4772cc66578c31

It was less than a 5-minute drive. Mookyeong’s car started moving slowly, and he immediately got to the point.5a99287045b4430f

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“Does he go on away games often?”044656478c77ed6f

“Sometimes. He used to just set up games, but these days work is slow. He acts as a shill in big games to lose money.”d852156ae1d78290

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“Then what does he get out of it?”10258816843b40e3

“He gets a percentage of the pot.”c90ad6ae7f93cac0

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Koo Bbing was solely driven by money. No matter how close he was to someone, if they became the target of a rigged game, he would use them without hesitation. He wasn’t skilled enough to tamper with the cards himself, but he was good at being a shill to prevent the target from leaving the game. And even though he had his pinky finger cut off because of that, he still hadn’t come to his senses.48610a55ed807cd2

“And he hasn’t gone anywhere since then?”d1f3c51a880bbd95

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“No. He really likes the people you… you sent. He keeps playing games with them, so I think he won’t be going anywhere for a while and will stay here.”1d47358bb60af9e0

“Really?”b86dbcc2f4f9ed29

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The fingers in 15c527bc28 the leather gloves 3bfd904152 tapped on the 4431266a97 steering wheel. It was a 7860d5e274 casual tone, so adb852acaf the conversation ended 32c74f635f quickly. When the car stopped 24d15c238e at a traffic light, 87e30fdb4b he turned his head d6108d29a8 towards Hongju.ad4f4bb0d564d90b

“What do you get out of collecting debts?”b475609ff0160a95

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“Me? About 5 percent.”66eab3d70d9ffc9d

“The math doesn’t add up. The hospital bills would be more.”13b3d2235b5267df

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He rarely went to the hospital. Unless he was bleeding profusely, losing consciousness, or had broken bones, he had to endure it. If he had gone to the hospital in time, he could have saved his completely damaged left ear. At first, it was just a little muffled, painful, and he had trouble hearing, but it wasn’t this bad. But Hongju had no choice. He had no money or freedom, so he had to keep collecting debts without rest. He felt Mookyeong’s gaze scanning his wounds. Hongju kept his gaze fixed straight ahead and spoke, his injured lips moving.380c500e0b9338a6

“I don’t go to the hospital. It heals on its own.”44d5c659dc5cfded

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“Is there even time for it to heal?”4c2db8237b72e5d2

“…It will heal someday.”0a34590117968476

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Or become completely useless 2582904185 like his left ear. Hongju swallowed his b857743dde words and looked 2a267f73ae out the window. He saw ordinary people e5fd5227ad making phone calls, walking 2083258bdb around with coffee, and 2da295a749 sitting at bus stops. Could he live like 8b68ca070b that someday? He knew that having 8b66a94818 hope in a gambling b128bb0aab den was for suckers. But hope remained 96791ba595 faintly, like a f47a5a35a1 dying ember.9de6003cad9e7b55

“Over there.”5e28cbae7763faef

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When he pointed 74e48d1d30 to the hospital, fb60efbd0d Mookyeong slowed down 91ca7b697f a bit. The car entered a 8862aaad21 narrow alley instead of ec71512c95 stopping in front of b093f1a25e the hospital.2b1e2d030484bac8

“You can just drop me off here.”424f8e0ac54b7eb9

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Why was he being so bothersome when he wasn’t even going to follow him to collect the debt? Hongju straightened up and quickly unbuckled his seatbelt. As they entered an alley, a large detached house came into view. As if he knew the destination, the car stopped in front of it.ab69b97cfa9204e8

“…How did you know it was here?”185f6d67eaaadf46

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“You said earlier it was a detached house behind the hospital. Am I wrong?”ca21d1ffa98c3a93

Did he say 80d826355a it was a 099edf03de detached house? Hongju stared at Mookyeong 365ab6c414 with a guarded look. He turned off the 2bf755b127 engine and unbuckled his a15d4db1c3 seatbelt. Then he crossed 3194f82c7d his arms and c4db5f6538 tilted his head e75b346943 slightly, looking at 1399d8b292 Hongju.4dcd0e455e187f45

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“Go on. The air in the gambling house is too stuffy, so this is good.”173d6d67dfaaba79

“…..”3c709732d7637eb0

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“What are you doing? Go do your job.”635e7c86cb6fd8a8

His eye, with only one eyelid, was slightly curved, but strangely, it didn’t look like he was smiling. Hongju couldn’t meet his cold gaze for long and got out of the car. He had been here a few times before, so his steps led him straight to the detached house. Since the man had quit his job to gamble, he would probably be sleeping or getting ready to move around this time.472f204254bfae80

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Ding-dong. Ding-dong. After the doorbell 7628b7a38e had been rung 9586716b54 more than twenty fbed40004d times, the sound 23bf38ef7a of the front f823923d69 door bursting open ac7e3e59d0 was heard. A rough voice, laced bd379c34b7 with curses, could be de5f91a6c9 heard along with heavy 7b2aba5cc8 footsteps. Hongju took a4df4e6b72 a step f621823254 back, waiting fd6467d9e4 for the dcfe5cfd9c gate to ca3e43c23d open.553d8ce90104c1d0

“What fucking bastard is it?”4169bfc4f53a0d27

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The gate opened roughly. The man, dressed in 02496dabde a short-sleeved shirt, was c49d765619 huffing and puffing, his 277b7efab4 face red with anger. When he ae8cd47d34 saw Hongju 9913ba4013 standing there 01d61dcf35 blankly, sparks cc95bc89bf flew in 62936d2039 his eyes.eeab9967d2ae535b