TTS Vol 1 Ch 3.2

Coming out of the restroom, Taeri entered a small room tucked away in a corner of the gambling hall.

This space, though small and shabby, was the staff break room and it was equipped with the essentials. There was a TV, a fan for the summer, and a heated floor mat to keep them warm.

“You could’ve started eating without me.” 

As Taeri sat cross-legged in front of the foldable table filled with tteokbokki, fried food, and sundae, Yijoon handed her a pair of wooden chopsticks. 

Sundae is a type of Korean blood sausage.

“We really should try to cut down on waste. Should we get some proper tableware? I’ll take care of the washing.”

“I can bring some from home.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“As long as you promise to do the dishes, oppa.”

Taeri smiled broadly, popping a piece of rice cake coated in sauce into her mouth. Yijoon, patting her on the head, placed a piece of fried sweet potato into the paper cup she was using as a makeshift plate.

“Eat a lot, Taeri.”

“You too, oppa.”

Yijoon always looked after Taeri attentively. He consistently made sure she had meals, celebrated her birthdays, and would randomly surprise her with gifts and even flowers.

Whenever Taeri showed even a hint of discomfort at his kindness, he would always say, I always wished I had a younger sister like you. It was his constant refrain.

As Taeri dipped a piece of fried sweet potato into the tteokbokki sauce and popped it into her mouth, she choked, coughing suddenly. Yijoon immediately put down his chopsticks, filled a paper cup with water, and quickly handed it to her.

“You should’ve eaten slower, Taeri. I should’ve bought some cola.”

“It’s okay.”

As she patted her chest, trying to quell her cough, Taeri’s phone, which she always kept close, rang. She checked it, still coughing, while Yijoon focused on gently patting her back.

[Taeri, there’s a customer offering triple the usual rate. Can you take the call right now? The pick-up location is near the gambling hall, so you can get there quickly. I also checked the destination. It’s an affluent area, so it’s a safe neighborhood.]

The sender of the message was Kim Taepyeong, the owner of the small designated driver company Taeri worked part-time whenever she had free time.

Kim Taepyeong often said that Taeri reminded him of his son, who was in university. Perhaps because of that, he was particularly considerate of Taeri’s situation. He carefully screened her customers, discreetly rejecting customers who were completely drunk or seemed likely to cause trouble. He mostly assigned her female customers or those in safe, affluent neighborhoods.

Sometimes, Kim Taepyung’s thoughtful care felt like it was filling the void left by her father’s absence.

Triple the pay… That’s not bad. Actually, it was great. After all, it was rare to find customers willing to pay triple.

Taeri put the wooden chopstick in her mouth, making a small sucking noise as she drew it between her lips. The sweet taste of the tteokbokki sauce lingered at first, but soon gave way to the bitter tang of wood, leaving a slightly astringent feeling on her tongue.

Yijoon, watching Taeri with a puzzled expression as she stared at her phone, peered over her shoulder to read the message with her and chuckled.

“Don’t overthink it—just go, Taeri. I’ll keep it a secret from that b*stard boss.”

At Yijoon’s choice of words, “bastard boss,” Taeri put her phone down and shook her head as if she’d decided.

“What if you get in trouble later, oppa? It’s not like we don’t know that b*stard boss watches us constantly on the CCTV.” 

“That b*stard can’t check the CCTV today.”

“Why?”

“You didn’t know? That guy went to China. He won’t be back until next week.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So go ahead. Seriously, it’s fine. There aren’t many customers here anyway, and I can handle things by myself. Just be back before it gets crowded.”

Still seeing hesitation in Taeri, Yijoon nudged her towards the door. Taeri flashed a bright smile on her face, as if she hadn’t been hesitating at all, and stood up, phone in hand.

“Thanks, Oppa! I’ll be back soon! And thanks for the delicious tteokbokki! Next time, it’s my treat!”

“You’re going to trip! Look straight ahead and walk carefully! Drive safe!”

“Okay!”

Rushing out of the gambling hall, Taeri slipped her feet into her worn-out sneakers and called Kim Taepyeong.

―So, Taeri, what do you think?

“Boss! I’m on my way! I know where the restaurant is! I’ll be there in five minutes!”

―Alright, take your time. Don’t trip and fall again.”

“Thank you, Boss!”

―Thanks? What for? Do you think I set this up for free? I’ll be taking my commission, of course. I’m hanging up. Drive safely.

Before Taeri could respond, the call ended abruptly. Used to this, she didn’t mind, simply stuffing her phone back into her pocket and started running towards the pickup location. Her footsteps echoed loudly through the quiet alleyway.

The designated pick-up spot was an old restaurant, a traditional establishment, and most of the people shuffling in and out looked quite shabby.

Someone called for a designated driver from here, and offered triple the rate? 

A question mark practically popped up in Taeri’s mind like a flag.

She hadn’t noticed before, but now, having lived a bit, she saw the differences in people’s clothing and appearances from neighborhood to neighborhood. And the way people dressed and carried themselves varied by area, and people’s attitudes differed accordingly.

The deepening gap between the rich and the poor, and social polarization—it all felt like capitalism’s ugliest side.

Ring… ring… ring.

Standing in front of the restaurant, she called the unfamiliar number. The call went unanswered multiple times until, on the fourth try, a man with slurred words finally picked up.

―The owner of this phone is away for a moment… I’m answering in their place. Feel free to speak.

“You called for a designated driver? I’m in front of the restaurant right now.”

―Ah, the designated driver…

The rest of his words were drowned out by the noise in the background, so she couldn’t hear it well, but it sounded like he understood. Then, the call disconnected.

While waiting in front of the restaurant until her customer came out, Taeri exchanged messages with Yijoon, who reassured her that everything was fine at the gambling hall and that she shouldn’t worry and only come back once she was done. Feeling relieved, she put her phone back in her pocket.

Five minutes passed, and still, no one came out. Since this kind of thing happened often, Taeri patiently waited.

The smell of food wafting from the restaurant had been teasing her nose for a while, and suddenly, her stomach rumbled and her appetite kicked in.  It dawned on her that the few bites of tteokbokki she’d had earlier were her first meal of the day.

Ten minutes passed, and just as she had been standing there and was starting to salivate from the constant aroma, the door to the old restaurant creaked open.

Amidst the bustling noise, a group of exceptionally well-dressed white-collar workers spilled out onto the street, supporting a staggering woman while laughing loudly among themselves. In this run-down neighborhood, they looked as out of place as oil in water, completely incompatible as though they could never blend in.

Thanks to that, Taeri understood right away. Her customer was among them.

“Ah, this one here is really drunk tonight. Didn’t someone call for a designated driver?”

A middle-aged man, his face glistening with sweat, looked around, and Taeri, realizing that the woman he was supporting was her customer, quickly approached the group.

“You called for a designated driver?”

The group looked her up and down, their gazes blatantly assessing her. 

Young, female…

While there were no gender restrictions for the job, most designated drivers were male. Taeri, accustomed to their doubtful stares, offered a practiced smile.

“Don’t worry, sir. I’m a good driver.”

She flashed a bright, undeniably pretty smile, and the middle-aged man cleared his throat, glancing at the woman practically draped over him. She was also dressed in a suit, likely his subordinate. The woman seemed completely unconscious. The middle-aged man scratched his temple awkwardly, looking troubled, then turned to the men standing behind him as if using them as a shield.

“She seems completely out of it. Is it safe to send her alone? Or should I go with her?”

“It’s bound to raise suspicion if a married man is seen entering an unmarried woman’s home, sir.”

It was then that a voice spoke from outside the group.

A low, yet commanding voice that cut through the air. She knew someone with that kind of voice. His face flickered through her mind like a bolt of lightning.

Taeri’s head turned instinctively toward the voice.

Through the group, she saw a strikingly handsome man flick his cigarette butt to the side. Before her mind could fully process the man’s appearance, her lips murmured almost unconsciously, calling to him,

…Sir.

“The driver here is at the wrong address.”

The man, still manipulating the flow of the situation as he pleased, walked forward, cutting through the air with ease, and smirked as he stood in front of her.

“I’m the one who called for a designated driver.”

The moment I met Prosecutor Park Chigyeong again… it was an autumn day, after a storm had swept through my life, a time when I still hadn’t managed to reclaim the person I had once been.

Unlike me, who had weathered and worn from the struggle of daily life, he appeared in front of me with a brilliance that had only grown since then.