TE Ch 08
by NullHongju came dbc3b123cc out of 6238148a60 the restroom 828b122525 after spending a36c21a343 a long 010dc9a97f time calming 58f4563a17 himself down. Choi Gun was 6687f36e28 sitting at the 28381c9a9e desk. Neither Koo Bbing 20dcfb0e0c nor Manager Yang a55fa7db71 were in sight.b1a5ef3dc81253fd
“Koo Bbing bought this.”ac02abab58bdfb5b
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
Choi Gun offered him a coffee in a takeout cup. Hongju didn’t even glance at the paper cup and walked past the desk.5bbb34295c718a5c
“I don’t drink. I’m going to step out for a bit.”0b87988c0a4f696b
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Sure, go ahead.”d54bfec769f64d88
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.bbe95a9ca338ad74
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
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.a9c20aa7d90bd498
“Thank you. Have a great day!”ccfe4236aa00814a
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
Hongju emptied the 7de9d010d9 water bottle like f98937c6b0 a man desperate 30543eb475 for a drink. As he 88c822ee52 gulped down f562444e27 the cold 0b05ca2487 water, his fb9f69cb0f throat and 6161de215f mouth felt 44ebe00181 numb. He drank b3dbe10c45 until he f0e9408933 felt a 645024e319 chill in 719a661cc6 his solar 78ad8285d8 plexus and 55c503ff8a then wiped 813b3509d6 his wet 39a4ceed54 lips. His lips and the 282cf341e0 back of his hand 408251fa62 were as cold as 63ba79d1dd ice. His breath 1c6e9f0024 no longer b742fa8fef carried a a1df1cea3f foul smell.376e6191d442efca
It was 933fb2677d late at e331938e8d night. As usual, 07d3663cc0 the gambling fda5676ff6 house was 656bc78d61 very crowded. Even Choi c76168ee92 Gun and ae403ac852 the thug 6a18629203 came out b8fb277cb5 to keep 7ed6cdae62 an eye 342e968948 on things. Hongju busily served, cleared 6e716f87cd tables, and did his 063d0ce0b1 part. Even in the midst 006d411150 of all this, Koo 64dcadb3d5 Bbing, instead of helping, 9cd5be6507 sat at the desk 76e0e38fb2 with his legs up, 366ee23c47 playing on his phone.Beep boop. He seemed 3d2139e1a4 to be 8a37cee44c playing a 81d31d3154 game, as d561821b1e sound effects ac26cf93a8 kept playing. After doing that for 1440208198 a while, he started 277bd0ef6b talking on the phone c5c75d302f loudly.a25ebd20e974909f
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“I saw him before; he wasn’t bad. He won’t be going soon, right? Ah, he hasn’t arrived yet?”b999064e4728d8e2
Hongju held 6b48331933 his frozen 590529d62a hands in b17abeaf18 front of b21ee819e7 the heater 5580fbafd5 to warm 4e859e8171 them up. He felt 6b0b503776 a tingling 6a45f2093e sensation, like 77b83832d2 electricity, starting 317197488f from his 47d0be85bb fingertips.22286d53624836d7
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“Okay. I’ll be there soon.”1fbc1fa16b12e1da
Koo Bbing 5db0484f6c put his df272b85e3 legs down e2673c9ab9 from the cfdf5820c0 desk and 9d154cec47 took out 5ab02a7463 a wad df27edc435 of cash 1e0403a0de from the 249d31cae2 drawer. Then he 0cdf2e78e2 took out d822bea7b1 a shopping b355c19654 bag lying a38c5f693e on the 1aa8fb419a floor and c4d2fef7eb neatly stacked e28ce4be9c the money bdf7a1d3b9 inside.2a18ec97c9247e84
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Hey. Tell Manager Yang I took a thousand, okay?”83d4821960fc7972
“…Where are you going?”8b3c27a7f36657fc
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
When Hongju asked, Koo Bbing looked around. After confirming that no one was there, he whispered, “Curious? Then how about another round?”7ddd350e658765f3
He grabbed ea3b6f53ec his crotch c3dd31a699 and shook 1c34e0192e it up 935abc5af6 and down. At that vulgar 901f8891c4 and crude gesture, 8291fd4c7f Hongju finally cursed.5e7151f0dd5a6dc4
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“Crazy bastard.”389223a3ea9a3298
“Haha. I’m going to Gwangpal’s gambling house, you punk. I’ll bring back a lot of money, okay?”210a72312b76b300
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
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.eedc8978d1718b2c
“I’m going to the restroom. Can you watch my spot?”d41ee1f3b46a44e4
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Where did Koo Bbing go?”e997ba599c04c338
“To Gwangpal’s gambling house.”f80ae340ac42607f
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“Okay. Go ahead.”5290ca3c1942da6b
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.b5cc5decb2d3ac6b
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
Hongju entered the restroom 5c7944ee83 and checked several times dd4f2a24df to make sure the 668428a590 door was locked. Then he took e27a511b9f out the cell 723360a766 phone hidden in a6510db5e7 his chest pocket. The time 15b318f6b4 it took dbb3b44326 for the 7237ff0133 power to ceee07d3fa turn on 1dda38ab93 felt incredibly b449b62efd long. Even during 74551cc48a that time, 30931239ad he kept 55ddb9e9ec his ear 7788513438 to the 3655bd6618 door, checking 0fdd4a5749 for any e909671a91 sounds. There was only one b2b053e803 number in the call 7230978dfc list. Hongju sent a text c0d252bcb5 message to that number.7a2314586cf481ba
[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.cf218c4f2ab6abaa
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.3a7b3732531cb70f
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Eight hundred.”48ededd6a74c5cb7
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.0f850dc6aa254cdd
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“Yes. I’ll go.”e86408aaf915ee3e
“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.”aaffdd41d94ef88a
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“I can only get it if he gives it.”2e84534ae5c67938
“Damn it, you never back down, do you?”9636eb1f09f9189b
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
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.d0a5249ed06a695c
“I’m going.”a63181af8ad39e82
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
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.00319747d35fbe15
“Where are you going?”fe8632ead6c7b9c3
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“…Hello.”867e6b648adf49ec
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.1d63dec49fe6e56d
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“I asked where you’re going.”cfd92508fc10ba5f
“Debt collection.”a82110a8b6ce5edb
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Hmm.”5d8b86c3d05f8a43
He puffed c2118f7f69 out his d0df342cb3 chest and b022309664 took a 05d79dd24e deep drag 7bd7fba252 of the 53a1a52706 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.85272c51d760ac3e
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Get in.”77d802813360c42e
“It’s close; I can go by myself.”93bb7bae64251d5a
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
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.ca724bebbe8873af
“Get in. We have things to talk about, don’t we?”2d2390727e370b76
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
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.342e6d6dca0ddd28
“Shall we talk here? I don’t mind.”bb110f36aafcc0f2
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“…I’ll get in.”423b60e83b0b23ee
Hongju opened the passenger 0d8afcded9 door. As he had 31cabc5d03 done last time, c8956341e6 he stomped his f0077079d6 feet on the e53b3ae246 ground to shake 4c4d9590b5 off the snow. When he 48342ae60c fastened his 2bff0fceef seatbelt, Mookyeong d510835688 asked for 1f3b5075d6 the address.69aed8435069a17a
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“Type in Gwol-eum Hospital. It’s right behind it.”0b40fdb366f50362
It was less than a 5-minute drive. Mookyeong’s car started moving slowly, and he immediately got to the point.0c6e72280348b98e
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Does he go on away games often?”92a486e6bfc26e34
“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.”ce6891d078efb7fd
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“Then what does he get out of it?”ead65bbccea22c61
“He gets a percentage of the pot.”50453782c8c89f1d
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
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.7fe818a1d5be0899
“And he hasn’t gone anywhere since then?”89709a7cc3211bc3
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“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.”8e3a8be35396934f
“Really?”c9d6020ee44a64f6
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
The fingers b395a90304 in the 7d95e729a3 leather gloves effc4c8a61 tapped on e62c3c3d7b the steering fdd533a44d wheel. It was a9fee724a3 a casual b62c8b11a0 tone, so 4ef123f4c0 the conversation 972f84e772 ended quickly. When the car 9256f068b0 stopped at a 42fd05b49f traffic light, he 7ac66bc7e8 turned his head a65ff9b741 towards Hongju.02a3d360e4bda4d4
“What do you get out of collecting debts?”b13c6e2e7c9e4f4e
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Me? About 5 percent.”6dae250b37987cba
“The math doesn’t add up. The hospital bills would be more.”099c05f7cb9d85a5
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
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.49c17b3c672d1ab2
“I don’t go to the hospital. It heals on its own.”2f0bbde4975fadb2
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“Is there even time for it to heal?”8f9a5988949ec9ae
“…It will heal someday.”d4da889e0e90c293
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
Or become completely useless 9f0d132bc1 like his left ear. Hongju swallowed his e198cc3999 words and looked a8455959be out the window. He saw ordinary e88092c116 people making phone acf20fb696 calls, walking around 3fa961f9a1 with coffee, and fc2331f4a3 sitting at bus 7039d5c867 stops. Could he 9dfbd4ab04 live like 74941757cb that someday? He knew ea45e069eb that having 2c1cdd3de2 hope in b70dc0dd46 a gambling fe57fdd680 den was 1d42e0cb36 for suckers. But hope remained faintly, 7147c7f7ec like a dying ember.b642ac2a449da3df
“Over there.”d2e1480fc5b5940c
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
When he pointed to 90b9314e5a the hospital, Mookyeong slowed 3884162d7c down a bit. The car entered 5d9e914658 a narrow alley cdea296e82 instead of stopping 5c4a02461f in front of e8fd082923 the hospital.7c46fba9bbeb9833
“You can just drop me off here.”6b009e234d015dec
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
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.d7a9d3b90a5366fe
“…How did you know it was here?”3f8a55d472fdb293
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“You said earlier it was a detached house behind the hospital. Am I wrong?”4fd8d7d359b903a8
Did he say it c03b22a793 was a detached house? Hongju stared at Mookyeong 191562a2a7 with a guarded look. He turned c884051afc off the a2298de02f engine and e20b077f35 unbuckled his f208809d04 seatbelt. Then he 0f9bf884d2 crossed his 6968034410 arms and 18781dbce4 tilted his b57b84cdbd head slightly, 4668299b57 looking at 8318a98af5 Hongju.a45911709a1031a7
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Go on. The air in the gambling house is too stuffy, so this is good.”d20041003c92d43f
“…..”6bbe61499525e627
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“What are you doing? Go do your job.”62012ce4582e2a03
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.d46f3942098c1f5c
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
Ding-dong. Ding-dong. After the 812355b0ed doorbell had 124d926662 been rung bd27a36656 more than 2c1992b531 twenty times, 7dfb3d7405 the sound a5af2d41a0 of the 0f42d4461b front door b82c5fad68 bursting open e5c93a883a was heard. A rough voice, 0bc42abb01 laced with curses, 72bd3b1738 could be heard a640b03762 along with heavy 8f64362b38 footsteps. Hongju took a step 095a3edc2f back, waiting for the ed912913b4 gate to open.5e2368bdb4367b16
“What fucking bastard is it?”89a515e48d20fc1e
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
The gate opened roughly. The man, dressed 3c1567bc8f in a short-sleeved 81a5f25bd4 shirt, was huffing 293893e1d9 and puffing, his 08d66bc1f8 face red with 507984877c anger. When he 94eaa7ebf8 saw Hongju 2e0a055902 standing there 7099f9cb95 blankly, sparks 606b3cba6b flew in c28399d744 his eyes.c4196165dcde2465