TE Ch 16

It wasn’t just Hongju who read between the lines. Koo Bbing, who had paused, turned his body towards Doksa and sat down, as if ignoring him.

“The guy you brought, I’ve never seen his face before. Have you seen him before?”

“No. That’s why I told you to stay still. Why didn’t you just fold then?”

“If you had knocked him out before that, I would have cleaned him out! It’s because you were being so slow!”

“Well, then you should have done it yourself. What am I supposed to do if you don’t stick to the plan we agreed on?”

The two blamed each other and kept bickering. Mookyeong’s hand, which had been wrapped around Hongju’s shoulder, slowly fell away. He dusted off the armrest of the old sofa and sat down lightly. Then, this time, he wrapped his arm around the huffing Koo Bbing’s shoulder.

“How can someone who’s going to do great things make such a fuss over a measly 2,000?”

“Because it’s unfair, it’s unfair. The Ace-Nine was supposed to come to me. But it was three points, three points! Those guys had four points. It’s obvious they used marked cards!”

“Even monkeys fall from trees, you know? Sometimes the cards just don’t go your way.”

Mookyeong lightly patted Koo Bbing’s shoulder. It was as if he were trying to comfort him.

Hongju was still standing by the door, quietly watching the scene. Whether it was Mookyeong or Doksa, they might be in a position to defy or talk back, but he wasn’t. It was better to keep his mouth shut.

“Aish, damn it. What the.”

But Hongju’s efforts were in vain. Manager Yang, who had just entered, bumped into Hongju. Normally, he might have snapped at Manager Yang to watch where he was going, but this time he kept his mouth shut. It wouldn’t have helped him avoid getting chewed out anyway.

“What did you do instead of stopping Koo Bbing? You were there when he took out the money, weren’t you?”

“He doesn’t listen even if I try to stop him.”

He had brought in a new card sharp and had also acquired a deep pocket named Mookyeong. Lately, Koo Bbing had been joining the games too often. He wasn’t the type to listen to reason, and it was a relief if Hongju didn’t get yelled at for interfering.

“Then what were you doing sitting at the desk? It’s going to get out that this is a crooked gambling den because of you! Are you going to take responsibility if we lose customers?”

Manager Yang’s eyes flashed as he scolded him. Hongju habitually avoided his gaze and closed his ears. Nonsense followed by unspeakable curses poured out. Still, maybe it was because Mookyeong was here today, but it seemed like he wouldn’t hit him.

“What, why are you picking on an employee over such a small amount of money lost?”

Manager Yang’s mouth, which had been spitting out curses, snapped shut. The heated man slowly turned his gaze. Seeing Mookyeong smiling, he stiffened his expression. It was clear that Manager Yang’s pride was hurt by the implication that he was making a fuss over ‘a small amount of money.’

“Boss Mookyeong. I know the gambling house employees best. I have to chew them out like this for them to do their jobs properly. I feed them, give them a place to sleep, and even pay them a salary. He should have been able to stop him with some common sense–.”

“Hey, that’s not right.”

Mookyeong cut off Manager Yang’s words without hesitation. Then he wrapped his arm tightly around Koo Bbing’s shoulder and laughed.

“You should cut off the fingers that can’t stop playing cards.”

A sudden silence fell. Koo Bbing’s eyelids twitched slightly. Hongju’s gaze turned to Koo Bbing’s hand. The hand clenched into a fist on his thigh, trembling. The severed pinky finger was raised, unable to bend.

“Oh, wait. It’s already cut off, but he’s still playing? Is that why it’s so hard to quit gambling?”

Mookyeong let out a low laugh. He was the only one laughing in the room. Hongju, Manager Yang, the thug, and even Doksa, who had just arrived, glanced at Koo Bbing. Koo Bbing couldn’t hide his trembling lips.

“So why is Madam Koo, who’s not even a card sharp, getting involved when he shouldn’t be?”

“…..”

“Are you going to play even after the new gambling house opens? How embarrassing.”

“…Haha.”

Koo Bbing forced out an awkward laugh with a stiff face. If Hongju had said that, he would have been beaten to within an inch of his life. Hongju suddenly realized Mookyeong’s position within the gambling house.

Then, Mookyeong leaned down and whispered in Koo Bbing’s ear.

“Where do I even begin to teach you? It’s going to be a long road ahead.”

It was supposed to be a whisper, but it was loud enough for Hongju, who was hard of hearing in one ear, to hear. Koo Bbing’s face turned cold. Even the forced smile he had been making completely disappeared.

“Do you have a license?”

Mookyeong suddenly straightened up and asked Hongju. He was momentarily flustered by the sudden question but quickly answered.

“No.”

“Then get a designated driver. I had a bit to drink during the day.”

“Just a moment.”

Hongju sometimes called a designated driver for Koo Bbing, so he should have the number saved. He took out his cell phone from his pocket and was looking for the number when Mookyeong pointed outside with his finger.

“Make the call outside.”

“…Yes.”

“What did Manager Yang do without teaching the employees these basic things? It’s tiring for me to have to explain everything one by one.”

Manager Yang ground his teeth. Hongju went outside to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. He could hear him say, “Nine Hotel,” behind his back. He pressed the call button a few steps away from the room, in the corner.

Not long after, the designated driver arrived, and Mookyeong waved his hand and left the gambling house. Even after he left, the icy atmosphere didn’t easily thaw.

“That little bastard, the way he talks is so fucking rude, seriously.”

“Koo Bbing. Are you just going to leave him be? Just borrow money from Madam Won, give him the investment money, and clean this all up.”

“It’s easy for you to say, damn it. Do you know how much of a loan shark Madam Won is with her interest rates? Ah, fuck. It’s always the ones with money that are the problem.”

Koo Bbing clutched his head and kept muttering curses. Doksa and Manager Yang were talking about something with serious expressions. After clutching his head for a while, Koo Bbing suddenly looked up. He ruffled his disheveled hair, his eyes flashing towards Hongju, and wagged his tongue.

“Hey. I’m not kidding, you should give Boss Mookyeong a go. Huh? I think he was interested last time I saw.”

“…Are you crazy?”

Hongju frowned in disgust. Did he think everyone was as sex-crazed as he was? Koo Bbing kept insisting on the ridiculous idea.

“He’s hitting on you because he has an ulterior motive, you know? Huh? Just reel him in and have a go. It’s not like your hole is going to wear out, damn it.”

Reading Koo Bbing’s moving lips, Hongju let out a dry laugh.

“…..”

Maybe it would have been better to be suspected. He was getting more and more annoyed at the nonsense being directed at him. When he just stood there without answering, Koo Bbing stomped his feet. At the loud noise, everyone’s attention finally turned to him.

“Damn it, do something! Go out and earn some money! Should I just sell you to a bar, huh?”

Unable to contain his anger, Koo Bbing roughly swept the things on the table. The ashtray rolling on the floor stopped when it hit Hongju’s sneaker.

“Doksa’s out there playing every game he can. What are you doing just sitting there? Don’t you want to pay off your debt?!”

He pointed his finger at Hongju and yelled. There were so many people here, so why was he the only one being reprimanded? It was a familiar occurrence, but it didn’t make it any less unpleasant.

“Go sell your organs in the Philippines. Like your old man! Huh? Make an effort, make an effort!”

Hongju’s gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, slowly rose. It wasn’t the first time he hadn’t been able to understand him, but this time, he really had to doubt his ears.

“…What did you say?”

The huffing Koo Bbing got up from his seat. He put his hands on his waist and took a deep breath, turning his back to Hongju.

“’Sell your organs’?”

Hongju’s face hardened, and Manager Yang, who had been silent, chimed in.

“Your old man begged to pay it off by selling his organs. Huh? Don’t you get it?”

“Yeah, damn it. We can’t even sell this one to a bar!”

His shouting was so loud that it was deafening. Hongju still stared at Koo Bbing with a suspicious look. He couldn’t help but become sensitive whenever the topic of his father came up.

“What are you staring at? Huh!”

Koo Bbing raised his hand high in the air, threatening him. Hongju didn’t even blink. Just hearing the word ‘father’ made the various emotions buried deep in his heart run wild.

Today, it was closer to anger. The person who dragged him into this mess. According to Koo Bbing, there were records of him going to the Philippines, but he didn’t know if he was alive or dead. If he had paid it back then, the debt wouldn’t have gotten this big. Why did he run away? He wanted to yell at him to pay back the remaining money, but even after 15 years, he still hadn’t shown up.

He must have been chewing on it a lot, because blood was flowing from his split lip. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, but his mouth already tasted coppery.

“Sell it. Sell my organs or sell myself in the Philippines. I’ll just bite my tongue and die. I’d like that. I wouldn’t have to pay off the debt.”

“D-Die? Who said you could? You have to pay your dues before you die! You little shit, let’s see if you still talk like that after getting beaten up.”

Then, merciless violence poured down. Even Manager Yang, who usually would have stopped it, joined in. Hongju, who had fallen to the floor, clenched his teeth and endured the pain. Doksa, startled, tried to stop them, but the thug quietly pressed down on his shoulder and made him sit back down.

“…..”

The thug knew, too. Even though they were beating him with the intent to kill, these people couldn’t actually kill him. Because if Koo Hongju died, there would be no one to pay off the remaining 1.4 billion.

Hongju sat at the desk with a swollen face throughout the dawn. If Boss Mookyeong had stayed at the gambling house a little longer, would he have avoided this? It was pathetic to have expectations after being helped only a few times.

As he was staring at the desk and blinking, Koo Bbing let out a small exclamation as if he had remembered something.

“Right.”

Clap! He clapped his hands together to get their attention. Doksa, who had been sitting on the stairs playing a game on his phone, also looked over.

“Doksa, come here.”

“Why?”

“Ah, hurry up.”

He got up from his seat. His eyes were still glued to his phone screen, as if the game wasn’t over yet.

“I was thinking, even though we’re working together, we’re not really a team, are we?”

“Who… Boss Mookyeong and us?”

“Yeah. Let’s put him in the game.”

“What? Boss Mookyeong?”

Doksa finally took his eyes off his phone, his eyes wide in surprise.

“Yeah, you punk. He says he’s a young master with nothing but money. Let’s gobble up that money.”

Hongju clutched his swollen cheek. Even after beating him like this, was he still not satisfied? Koo Bbing, with his huge guts, began to plan how to strip Mookyeong bare.