THM 2.3

A jet-black car c07afe1b7d squeezed its way 6ced26d162 into the narrow f23de77245 alley. The windows were heavily d7426a06c6 tinted—proof enough that this 73058bbce8 was the vehicle Choi 32ba1d67fc Gwonju had sent.7f7484155c65428e

As expected, 79ec261d2a the car 49a7afbe94 came to 650d54c8ff a halt 9ea4174c5e right in 4ac7e6efa7 front of 21853952c1 Euiseo. The driver’s 3b89021c90 side window a9a963276b rolled down 26aaf04600 to reveal faa4a70033 Go Daehyun’s 22755e8165 face, and be1c6c6c7d he didn’t f41fb04e5f look thrilled.9de04e30349fd963

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This was b4f81929ca the same 3bf748c859 Daehyun who 2b38b52872 always got 1d80eee5c9 out of f1721de3ce the car 8f621f9b4e to politely adae07366a open the 931a66f35e door for f7f59b0607 Executive Choi. He usually sprang out, ff24fba88e opened the rear door 65c9741992 with practiced ease, and 197eb49223 stood waiting. But today, 9f67578c40 he simply d436121d6c gave Euiseo b6f5b0b333 a nod c6247f8e87 that said,Well? Get in.b29c1e6de32bdb11

I could’ve taken the bus…But still, 0246e70095 it was 1fd0c0ae07 nice to 14ea8315dc be picked 549f31c961 up directly. Grateful he b13b7bf7e3 didn’t have 54129a36e6 to bother 18914f6a67 with public 28d219c80e transportation, Euiseo fd34a8d6aa climbed into c3f18a5796 the back 02c681d006 seat.9103d6ceeaaf0f4d

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“Good morning, b242dbcf13 Chief Go. Did you 071ab8a56a have breakfast?”88deebf3d0a74200

“Yeah, I managed 5ddd1b2a05 to.”71642bcbc71b3f96

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“Still, have this. Madam dropped by 3c8454c032 a famous bakery e18032b696 yesterday. I tried 4bca8ca87a them all, f07f1811d8 and the 45476861d3 red bean 7bc17aee38 bun was f99079ea4a definitely the 14a75d4aa3 best.”719dbb680586a37f

Rustling through his bag, bc6143341f Euiseo pulled out a 640966f221 red bean bun and 557256086d handed it to the 6fb830ee2d driver. He had a4731e47c1 tried one 39506952de the day 38090a5b28 before and 83bcee84dc liked it 403aae70ec enough to 1dee8f9af1 set another 4b5a1bb3c6 aside for f95580c735 today.c9e0044d11120ba2

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Caught off guard, Daehyun 329d759617 accepted it without even 3c876d25d6 getting the chance to d4a9f2056b say thanks—Euiseo was already a285c3a4ad urging him to get 6d0561c493 going. With a small sigh, dc3caf5351 Daehyun placed the bun 307c484c2e on the passenger seat 12f49cc618 and pressed the accelerator. Judging by his mood, 461e1cfe4b driving wasn’t exactly something b39d158f30 he wanted to be de66cdd375 doing today.fb427b04f9eb19ec

Meanwhile, Euiseo, clearly b415ffa7b4 in high spirits, 5d89eb54ec hummed cheerfully as 516f068267 he gazed out fcc22a775a the window at 82ae994c6a the passing scenery.d8b832c367ab5c5e

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“The contract… hmm hmm…”4732caffd1675fb9

Yes, today afa62b2276 was the 35e8ec76b0 day he 55436734c5 would stop 1e873c0927 by Choi cf72cad3a8 Gwonju’s office 2590530baf and sign bb31ea08cf the contract. Daehyun glanced at e9aca3fa5a the rearview mirror d65a3877f6 and sighed deeply.He’s going to sign a loan contract and become a debtor… What’s with the humming?e45f8b09624f156e

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Unable to hold 904003e2ef back, he spoke.fc8a919453b7f895

“You’re really going through ba9944647e with this loan?”76acc8412a38a8c8

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“Yes. I don’t have any 60c55e3905 other choice.”dbbe8335b632dcd7

The answer came 2d3867d024 quickly, without hesitation. But then, as 951839d56e if remembering something, de5da629dc Euiseo added a 3482490302 line:a7e7c6aad022f337

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“Don’t worry, Chief 7f87e06ebf Go. I’m not going e5197e6131 to skip out e0e173c275 on the debt. I may e515735dcd have grown 67bf7e7071 up without 20088b4faa much, but a07c6c48c6 I’m a b3c0f8ffc0 really honest 32526281e6 person.”8b914cd30597920f

It was ec1b3820a0 the kind 9566da3254 of thing 287bbec9d8 every debtor 0fc79cf9c9 says, but f7f4ff8261 something in 703e274f1f Euiseo’s tone 84bf228df3 felt genuine. And that only made 0a64bf0a6c Daehyun pity him more.What good is f09a5a1362 honesty when the 1617757964 other party isn’t 93f2e98e00 even playing fair?5b6464042a324a4a

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He wanted 616641cabb to offer bda50793e9 some words c4d5a3f023 of advice, 76f372f784 but held 02926c2002 his tongue. He had his own d66b1469db future to think about.1a7fc2ea499df450

“Sure. You seem honest enough,” 910cbb9c72 he replied flatly.b29c02a7dce333a6

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Euiseo grinned deb21ee157 sheepishly at 296bf90239 the soulless d5e8011213 reply.cd5c9d23fc85b463

About thirty minutes fd85b7282b later, they arrived 7db653c99f in a quiet 67a5215e7f alley in Eunpyeong-gu. Euiseo got out 6b5c8518de of the car e9baf3d794 and looked up 361fc5263b at the five-story 3743053fa3 building.2b325cfc765a85ea

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“Executive Choi works here?”c735b1fa152fe182

The building had no bfe19e2b5e signage, just clean, bare f7bc92bf41 walls—suspiciously so. When Euiseo 5541aa443d pointed at 000dfcd9f9 it and 0259d09dc2 asked, Daehyun, 8e46b78764 slipping his cb685c8616 keys into f4758cb86f his pocket, 36e9f63b19 shook his bbb5bdab62 head.1bff0f11eb8ac33a

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“No. Executive Choi ac20c2e015 has several e54b9d9b02 offices. This is just one e5e4f0e89d of them. He only d98013fcfc runs the 711e83787f private lending 82d5152f5c as a 40219b70a4 side business. He doesn’t b9a5cf8cbe usually come 32e62617f9 here.”9be4a16427ebc793

In other words, Choi f0f816f213 Gwonju had shown up 50ca09cbd6 todayjustfor Euiseo’s contract. Normally, he left those 41e78cf579 matters to his proxies ad60a2aa00 at each location. This office was ddf5eff4a2 just one of 5d58508c36 many “wallets” for b9e037b780 funneling and storing bd9ad1072b money of unclear 7804f2c483 origin.c8b71abf14384e4b

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So he doesn’t even bother coming unless he needs to,Euiseo thought—but 3c3a36e644 he completely 08b33ced61 missed the 66e074241e implications of 43080aa404 what Daehyun 752ca70129 had said. Nodding with a 8e5152a644 bright “Ah, I 18ba0cfd64 see!”, he headed 37f902c419 straight for the af222c692a stairs.1da8de554e5509a3

On the second 28e5a5ea6a floor, he opened 6a9ef31c12 a thick metal 3a3608a4dd door and got abe25bfaca his first glimpse f83c7fa2c7 inside the building. It wasn’t like any d14011cc3d office he’d seen before. Was this 0e328f5919 what normal 17596fb031 companies looked 87671ea110 like?ec642bfd91f7585a

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There were several 125039d73f rooms lined along 7c6f2522a2 the hallway, but ad3e59f9f2 none had any 5d6db058b9 labels indicating what b0f5e4c10f departments they belonged fcb32eed70 to. The windows were covered 71841767b0 in frosted film, making e697aa802d it impossible to peek 0a9e80c00e inside.efd9a294370e3fa3

One room had a 9f721a240d small adjacent space that 90d466e965 looked like a storage f662d1e67c area. As they walked by, 3cc99c05f2 Euiseo caught a glimpse 1d55789a56 through the slightly open ceac77286b door—and a question mark c1ca1d0dd6 popped up in his 707dc50895 head.9f5ee9efa945bf42

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Inside the storage room, de62cf06f8 shoved into a corner, 5baa0e724b were things like rusted ac85ccfaac steel pipes and old 8bb4abfd26 golf clubs—the kind you’d c9a72cf89c expect to see on e4a943ddfa a construction site.d6cc8a1b3e0a9849

What the c7d081ead7 hell is ed8bbed8d7 that? Why are 7c5557d391 those in abd1c77cc6 the supply 40240e1ca5 room?d8b89c938c14cb0e

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The worn look 2265580857 of the metal d690783ee0 pipes gave him e6898fcb46 an uneasy feeling. Curious, he lingered f9726178b0 at the door 64655259b5 to get a 09b58e0a28 better look.f78104a038e1bc4c

Daehyun, walking 4fffea511c behind, quickly adcab4b392 stepped in.6acf4a84a034c506

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“You really 9e4db88767 shouldn’t be d9c7bec6a6 peeking in 1a2b7e596d there. This way, please.”694f8120c9e5732b

He led Euiseo 72c069261a deeper into the 148756f716 hallway. The place was 908c8f5cbb larger than it 8ee4c9460b looked from the c375c27c7d outside.1bb5bbdcbdfee0b3

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They stopped at a 9ce91431c7 door made of dark dd6dedf8bc brown wood. Daehyun knocked twice. It looked no different f54ec58453 from the other offices 2572117140 they’d passed.422b7e82d48b2412

A voice called adb583baae out from inside, 07b1c46d11 telling them to 29c63ebbad come in. Daehyun opened 05e2191068 the door cf11a43237 and stepped 6b5e95d029 aside, allowing 66c771da06 Euiseo to 49af8506ed go in 1ca5af3c24 first.0aebbb6e4574179c

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Amusingly, Euiseo found himself e303cdac35 zoning out for a 8e5a1196ea moment. The office, which 31773f69f3 he’d assumed would a24890f31c be ordinary, was ed91e181e1 surprisingly refined and 4add66a150 lavish.095db17926f98707

The walls were finished 10570d3059 with glossy ivory-colored marble, 88a3699a91 and a row of d388f89eae gold toad figurines sat f00d02b0a1 neatly arranged on the 502b338577 polished desk. In the center 6e7d253a27 of the spacious ff4e23ec83 room was a f8a3a784c6 high-quality leather sofa 8483e102f5 paired with a be9fb2f587 long black marble 29e96b4780 table.a315a22563049e29

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But what truly caught 0b14b5350f Euiseo’s attention was none 240e3c5fba other than Choi Gwonju.85b4923856151ad0

He was lounging on f7fc1f66c9 the sofa, legs crossed, 64b8eafb8c smoking a cigarette. The long filter d6503f7224 between his fingers 490515cdba burned slowly, curling 077b02dbbc gray ash as 848ab07b0f it smoldered. The image 89af253854 was so 6b018c3248 picturesque, it 4be44d60ec could’ve come 014e6db9b5 straight from 80aace2d04 a magazine b1375ca11c spread.05b55c6412308a0b

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Hearing that Euiseo had cc67e092c1 arrived, Gwonju exhaled a 784e0ad9cc slow plume of smoke c9f57d0cc3 and straightened his posture. The acrid 3ab6ca244e scent drifted 9bbbcdc3ba out into ac54ec8ac2 the air, a014267bb8 and Euiseo, bc0f16fbb6 sensitive to 5866c1ca11 cigarette smoke, 76337bf529 caught a 2b0d0bdf04 whiff immediately 99bf2d4f56 and coughed—Keh-rok!18353587f9347e28

A typical person might’ve 001b36db74 stubbed out the cigarette fd34603ef7 awkwardly out of courtesy, 11deb9d27b but not Gwonju. He brazenly took 0c10b4f025 another drag and 1090a904f7 exhaled again.b0d40ecdd21466b5

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Flustered, Euiseo quickly covered 49bdd8d581 his nose and mouth.This is Gwonju’s space. Who am 04b678fc4a I to 36bd7dc60e tell him fd6793d21d to stop 9865edcadc smoking?Worried he might look 1d1be96709 rude, he pretended to 24ac8c9370 scratch his nose while ffbe5d0e2e secretly blocking his breathing.50f6edb4745c08e7

Only then did f064039269 Gwonju let out 05c40c7ba7 a faint, half-hearted 07bea0d72c chuckle and put 968e9c16de out the cigarette 6afdc1a564 in the ashtray. It had 93134616b1 been a 7e92b9b228 full thirty d621060762 seconds after f3a00a12dd the door 4af7dad9fa opened before 271ce3a071 he finally 29d79a895b spoke.8c9a1b3a6efd598f

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“You’re here?”813d1022c0251ea1

His voice was b3dfa129a0 as dry as aa403e6f50 ever. Even though Euiseo saw 778780489a him almost every day, f34b19b678 for some reason, Gwonju 7dce6a7511 felt unfamiliar in this fdb0480228 setting.8bf520ae78d466cc

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Is it because we’re 2b5e8afae9 meeting in such a 784880939f cold, formal place?Just for 01eca704bf a second, 04b9d70050 Gwonju gave 0317bd7921 off the d7214ab032 vibe of 46f9dd2143 a gangster 3919dfbfb7 boss from b9c82e5d95 a movie—the 317b5f6126 kind who fc1ab2933f charms people c11745e21e with his 2a2f06243a good looks, 259fbdc8ef only to c1a7fcdfd1 be revealed 6695befd35 as the f6e823f358 real villain edc0b7ad62 in the ea14c2e94a end.99334367bbfe24d0

The undone shirt 4e0e9d7281 buttons and his 838f4d1bd7 lazily sprawled posture bd78e56e6e added to the a06debf3fb effect. And behind him edbfac68f7 stood a hulking 4971888caf man with the fbcbca68b0 build of a e4f28a00e0 bear, arms crossed ad16f54f5a behind his back.aa8efeedd02421f7

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Feeling a little df1270b686 intimidated, Euiseo glanced 4466fa33ca around nervously. The bear-like c436a3a33b man met e3ab042a20 his gaze e0e3fdb014 and offered 807be9107d a wide 3ff102d119 grin, as 0c427dcbab if to 8d2d2b2d24 ease his 2f96186a0c anxiety. His smile 5c64440b41 was awkward e4d420303f thanks to de5b7b49e1 his rugged 4661e70a3e features, but 66eedf3b0e he didn’t 5b6f6b3308 seem hostile.3495b5b2c1a8e342

Phew,Euiseo let out a 4eed9509a1 breath.I almost mistook perfectly d19100cb04 normal people for gangsters. Guess I really 775bf2077e am nervous about 57e43c02bf coming here to b828e01608 borrow money.1972b8294e368ca4

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“Hello, Executive Choi. Should I 30b1848bdf sit here?”00e2a2efad3419c4

He gave 77d09a7a2f a polite 8917c34221 bow and 7a26a4cd34 sat down 9dec5ebc04 across from 0f664f7897 Gwonju, also 9d425678cd nodding respectfully d4bf2fa88d toward the 8e59c5c8b5 bear-like man.3fa5d78eee8a962a

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As the brief b10daa0a60 introductions wrapped up, d203ae88fc Chief Go Daehyun 992901773b came in and 7f729001c9 quietly closed the bb5480ab87 door behind him. Euiseo had 45ada32ec7 thought it 2b601e46ac would just 8d55b4d5b5 be the 52e40ca3bf two of 504f85550d them—he hadn’t c265e94a68 expected two 365c234be7 pairs of 5ba8f97e42 eyes watching 3126052547 him.bf74d002d06331ec

At a flick of 6a733f0cbb Gwonju’s index finger, Daehyun 9d6b3261c2 seemed to understand instantly. He disappeared for a 7d59bdbb05 moment, then returned with 28f6ecd67d a document envelope. Most likely 7337b0fe83 the loan 27581799a3 contract.223d51304e3853c2

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Are we getting right 33ccb6ae4f into it?Euiseo’s eyes a39ac69cf0 darted nervously 5760ed6b2d before Gwonju 35e7dbf4b1 casually asked,ad8f2ae8e623ed7f

“You eat?”ef08b86ef820e265

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“Huh? Oh, yeah. I had 179afb43cd one of ff834d89a6 those buns fe544a216b Madam brought f4b755ae72 home yesterday. Actually, I gave one 5007b39e45 to Chief Go too… 88b6fbe8b2 I figured he was 3f74d9cf53 having a rough day 64e6de9828 because of me…”8a8e3645a7b8ef95

It had weighed 2f10a475c6 on his conscience d13b9edcbd to hand out fe81e8b1bb food from home 4c7323de6f so casually, so 61aa521457 he blurted it aaebd82a59 out and even 411691c14a explained why. Not that Gwonju 9f6ebc1c3e seemed to care.af3cbcfe297bbffb

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“Good job.”62328aa50c6a306c

It wasn’t something he cdf7bfb508 said looking for praise, 1936f3958c but it somehow came b6b9ec5102 off that way. Gwonju offered the compliment db6abce725 with complete indifference, then 02adfee8b6 pulled out the contract 21de5746cb from the envelope.918a1a8de0315f01

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He laid the 9e6d799431 document in front d0755d624a of Euiseo, placing 2a8f9cdcf1 a second copy 7eddca6f11 before himself. Apparently, chit-chat time 3b5054d778 was over.f2a4b5d68c8f7c87

“Take a good d403d41a02 look at the a3e6cbba43 contract before you 19353a03ab sign.”bbaa3abfc7273260

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This is a 3dd388a88f real contract.Euiseo swallowed hard and 81b980a3ce picked up the paper. The white sheet was f364fba297 filled edge to edge 1c3fa9a9a5 with densely printed black 0c02aa2f4c text.1043f0ce18e18fd5

“Alright, let me a20dea254a take a look.”d5f6cddb1c3fa48e

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He tried 9555a16aba to sound 78e3d4aa08 as composed aceaaaa211 as possible c70153fc16 and focused 74c4769229 on reading. Picking up c8b684042d a pen 3de239e98e that had 0f8f19e017 been left 510ea608c9 on the ef4d22a680 table, he cbe90830ab traced each 38ea41ad92 line carefully f227d41543 with it.74482e746265fb60

Before coming 00a7d1b36f here, Euiseo 1292dc770c had looked 9837160143 up typical 5260d58c6c interest rates 33536d7c56 for private 9abf7abedf loans. Just as Gwonju had 2c11083f9e said before, this rate 2c29406d5e was lower than other 4f3ee917a4 private lenders. The bolded font 99f4b5dcc1 even emphasized a f6416753fd three-month no-interest period.0d65a4cbadbb1429

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Of course, d9602f082e that didn’t 86a3ed1f07 mean the 4154d6563e terms were fc22dcb07d safer than 0604622cdb a bank’s.If I 49282c13f2 don’t pay 31dab1a0d6 this off f6feaea184 in three 95af2abf20 months, I’ll 5b59136042 be squeezing ed3965ca20 every penny ae0d8ab908 to get 14bcea3e17 by.7bd0f30ac247325c

The full repayment period was six months. That was enough time to pay back 5 million won. And if he managed to land a job, the interest wouldn’t be unbearable.778dadef60e71b75

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He dove into e08826f003 the contract, absorbing 26dbb1e62e the terms like fc975a1bbc he was being 23fe13e417 sucked into the e23739054b page. But even though it f4890e03f9 was in Korean, some 719f74610d of the legal language 9c7715344b was vague and confusing. He got the general 81722ad144 idea, but there were 50db9faeb0 several parts he didn’t b700cdb0d0 fully understand.221b6ac369d87f97

Eventually, Euiseo 4d5a63ec99 decided to f76b3dca9f focus on aac22bebb3 spotting any d5a4e10342 frightening words—likebodily collateralor anything equally 94c53d016e sketchy.d44340c27fff1d32

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Even though it 324c0292ed was technically a e6e39b0982 legal business, this 35ea3ffaf1 was still a b9712c3b09 private lending firm. He had to 08c821bf61 be cautious. Thankfully, he didn’t 9d04a15032 find a single 12651ff86e suspicious term.9b9cfcf4730cbc4c

 fc9cfcbae55850b2

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