TE Ch 17

Koo Bbing seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Mookyeong was watching him. If the atmosphere shifted even slightly, he would notice in an instant. Hongju spoke up urgently.

“What if we get caught? What if he says he’s going to withdraw his investment like last time? Won’t things get out of hand?”

“He may have invested in a gambling house, but he’s a greenhorn who doesn’t know the first thing about gambling. He’s probably only played a few rounds of cards at most. He probably wouldn’t even notice if we cheated right in front of him.”

Hongju bit his lip, the blood already congealed, but said nothing. Instead, Doksa tilted his head and added, “I’ve never seen that boss show any interest in the games.”

“If you create the right atmosphere, anyone will play.”

Koo Bbing even called Manager Yang to get things moving. Manager Yang, who had been displeased with Mookyeong because of the earlier incident, welcomed the idea as not bad.

They began to plan in earnest. From the perspective of the card sharps, Mookyeong was just a fat target waiting to be fleeced. Hongju had to become a part of that, whether he liked it or not.

“…..”

He should probably tell Mookyeong about this. He had agreed to keep a close eye on any suspicious activity. Still, it was a relief that they weren’t talking about burying him somewhere. Before he could finish his thought, Koo Bbing roughly pulled Hongju’s hair. The pain of his scalp being torn was nothing compared to the pain he felt in his twisted neck. A faint groan escaped Hongju’s lips. Koo Bbing whispered in his ear.

“If you breathe a word of this to Boss Mookyeong, I’ll really fuck you up. I’ll lock you in a room and make you my sex slave. Got it?”

Even as he nodded slightly, his neck ached. Koo Bbing let go of his hair as if throwing it away and got up. He grabbed a can of beer from the small refrigerator and gulped it down.

“Ah, fuck. That little shit has been getting on my nerves. Let’s just seduce him and strip him bare.”

Koo Bbing wiped his wet lips, a nasty smile on his face.

“…..”

Hongju had planned to buy some water, but it seemed impossible in this state. He remembered the convenience store clerk who always looked up at him with frightened eyes whenever he went in with his bruised and battered appearance. Hongju swallowed his dry breath, enduring the thirst that had been plaguing him all day.

 

***

 

The very next day, the plan with Mookyeong as the main target began. The process of setting up a scam to fleece someone usually took anywhere from a day or two to several months. Since they already knew about Boss Mookyeong’s financial situation and his relationships, the planning didn’t take long.

“We used to have games in that room, too. Let’s set up the table before he comes.”

“We just need three people who can roughly play. That guy doesn’t know anyone’s face in this neighborhood, so it doesn’t matter who it is.”

They would set up a card game with two people disguised as suckers. Seotda would be easier to approach than Hwatu, at least.

Manager Yang and Doksa would play as the sharps in that game. If Doksa had to leave in the middle, they would ask Mookyeong to sit in, just to sell the gwang. They would let him sell the gwang a couple of times, and then one of the suckers would pretend to be losing badly. They would create a situation where he would feel compelled to join the game.

If he joined the game with the money Doksa left behind, they would let Mookyeong win a few times. When he showed interest, they would raise the stakes and let him win big. That would be the seed money for Mookyeong to get fully involved in the game. The planted suckers would leave the game around that time, and Doksa would return with a new sucker. The new game that started that way would continue with Seotda.

“Just sweep the pot with a June pair. The signal is when Manager Yang shuffles the cards and asks if the June holder has a lighter. It’s better if Doksa gets the cards. Okay?”

Mookyeong would lose all his money there. They would push him into a situation where it would be difficult to walk away, forcing him to either borrow money or open his wallet, making it impossible for him to escape the game. It was a ridiculous plan, but it was the most common and the most effective.

“Ah, only those who’ve held a ding know.”

Perhaps because he didn’t like that Doksa, not himself, was playing the important role, Manager Yang clicked his tongue. Hongju just listened to their conversation, calculating silently.

“This, this touch. It’s important to create the right atmosphere to get them hooked, you know? I’ll call the people who will play, so you guys lay the groundwork. Especially you, Hongju, keep your mouth shut.”

“…I said I got it.”

“I mean what I said, so get it through your thick skull. Got it?”

He remembered the disgusting words. Hongju rubbed the inside of his cheek, which had barely healed, and looked towards Doksa. As if it were natural, their eyes met.

“Tomorrow. Keep your wits about you.”

“…..”

He had been getting that look from him since yesterday. Did Koo Bbing tell him to keep an eye on him? Doksa was watching him intently. He usually just stopped by the dorm to get some sleep, but yesterday he had stayed until right before he fell asleep. Because of his watchful eyes, it was difficult to even take out his phone secretly. As a result, he still hadn’t been able to tell Mookyeong about this.

“Hey, don’t scare Hongju too much. You’ll make him nervous.”

Doksa smiled, his eyes still fixed on him. But Hongju couldn’t smile back.

“…..”

For some reason, Mookyeong was nowhere to be seen today. He should have been here by now… He felt anxious knowing that they were going to set up the game starting tomorrow. The gambling house employees went over the plan a few more times and then returned to their respective positions.

Taking advantage of the disarray, Hongju quietly headed for the restroom. But the locked doorknob was stiff, as if someone was inside. He changed direction and headed for the room with the safe. Originally, he would get yelled at if he went in this room alone or locked the door. But now he needed a place to be alone. He glanced at the locked doorknob and took out his phone from his padding.

“Ah, why now of all times.”

The phone turned off just a few seconds after he turned it on. It seemed that the battery had drained even though he had kept it off the whole time he was at the gambling house. He just needed enough battery to send one text message. How could he charge it?

He couldn’t use his regular phone to send the text. It was under Manager Yang’s name, so he could check the history at any time. He remembered seeing portable chargers being sold at the convenience store. Should he buy one of those? Hongju counted the remaining money in his pocket and chewed on his split lip. Just then.

“Hongju. Are you in there?”

Along with a knock, he heard Doksa’s voice. Hongju stared at the door, his expression tense.

“Hongju?”

If he stayed in there any longer, he might arouse suspicion, so he quickly opened the door. Doksa smiled as he faced a nervous Hongju.

“Where’s the nearest convenience store around here?”

“…Go out and turn right. There’s one at the intersection.”

He was going to just give him the directions and walk past him. But he couldn’t because Doksa subtly changed direction and stuck to his side.

“Can’t you go with me? I’m bad with directions.”

“It’s easy to find. Just go straight.”

“Come on, I’ll buy you something refreshing. You haven’t had a sip of water all day.”

“…..”

Hongju looked up at Doksa, quite surprised. No one had noticed so quickly that he rarely put anything in his mouth at the gambling house. Even Choi Gun or the thug would scold him for spending money at the convenience store, and Koo Bbing and Manager Yang didn’t particularly care.

“I want to buy you some medicine, too.”

It wasn’t a particularly malicious smile, but Hongju still couldn’t rest easy. This might also be something Koo Bbing had ordered him to do as part of his surveillance.

“Come on. Okay?”

“I have to watch my spot.”

“That hyung said he’d watch it for you.”

One of the employees Boss Mookyeong had sent was sitting at the desk.

“…..”

“You’ll go with me, right?”

Doksa forcefully put his arm around Hongju’s shoulders, pulling him along. His arm felt uncomfortable, and even though he tried to shake it off, Doksa kept wrapping it around him again good-naturedly. Hongju, who had been about to push his hand away again, changed his mind. He might as well stick together and wait for a moment when his guard was even slightly down. It would be even better if he had a chance to buy a portable charger. Hongju quietly changed direction.

“Just this once. You have to go alone next time.”

“Got it.”

From the beginning, he had felt that Doksa had a very sociable personality. He was curious about many things and had a lot of unnecessary interest.

“But is it okay to ask this? Do they hit you often? Since when? I noticed no one was stopping them…”

“Everyone lives like this in the gambling house.”

“Ah.”

The violence had started the day his father left him as collateral. They said that if he cried too loudly, bad cards would stick to him, so they locked him in a small storage room that was barely a pyeong in size. Then, when he lost money, Koo Bbing would come and beat him as if to vent his anger. Young Hongju obeyed and endured, believing that he had to endure to see his father. It was around that time that he started begging with bruises and scabs.

“Were you a card sharp too, Hongju? Is that why you’re working here to pay off your debt?”

“No. I just fill in when they need an extra person, I don’t know how to play well. The debt is…”

It didn’t even take 10 minutes to get to the big intersection. It seemed that his pace was faster today because there was no ice on the road. Hongju stopped in front of the crosswalk.

“It’s my father’s gambling debt.”

At that, Doksa quietly nodded and closed his mouth. The atmosphere became strange. But this uncomfortable silence was rather welcome.

“I was forced to set foot in this because of my hyung. I thought this kind of thing was really lame.”

Doksa chuckled and kicked the ground. Did his brother get into gambling and lose money? There were many cases where people started playing cards to get revenge or to find a family member who was addicted to gambling, so he assumed it was one of those.

“But why do you keep doing it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know either.”

Just then, the traffic light changed. The two crossed the crosswalk side by side. With the convenience store in front of him, Doksa briefly changed his direction.

“Wait a minute.”

Then he started running to a 24-hour pharmacy a little further away. He didn’t need medicine or anything. Watching Doksa’s receding figure, Hongju quickly turned around. Now was his chance. Just as he was about to kick off the ground, a car stopped in front of a streetlight and honked its horn. It was a sound that instantly grabbed Hongju’s attention.

“You’re not doing what you’re supposed to and you’re wandering around again.”

Halfway down the passenger window, he could see the face Hongju had been waiting for.