TE Ch 19

“…I told you, I didn’t do anything like that.”c7e9c1965be84b01

As Hongju moved his lips, the blood seeping from his cracked lip couldn’t mix with the ointment and soaked into the creases.3d859ab2a97176ec

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“Something to be proud of.”ee216f72c1122b39

Chuckling, he e5263aba05 finally let 4fe80ff5ac go of 19e96add6e Hongju. As his footsteps receded, 12961118be Hongju exhaled the breath 09853cc8aa he had been holding. His mouth tasted 5167fff812 bitter from the 9d240c1b9a ointment.1b74a0f5f228613d

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“Huh? He’s going in.”ab3530e6f4d06b0a

Doksa muttered under his breath. As if he had been watching from the window, Koo Bbing also came out of the room at the right moment. He smiled brightly at Mookyeong, as if he were a sucker who couldn’t even remember being ridiculed for his severed finger just a few days ago.a523e4eac8f3ee73

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“Boss Mookyeong, you’re here? But uh-oh. I thought you weren’t coming today either, so I set up a game over there.”cab079376d155e99

Mookyeong shrugged but didn’t stop walking. It meant he didn’t care. A spark flashed in Koo Bbing’s eyes at that moment. It was a signal that the game would start properly.98067016025d7e8d

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“She’s my ex, she’s just getting into cards… I’ll clean her out before dawn. Please bear with us for a bit. You don’t mind, do you?”9f180a8631864189

“It’s good if business is good.”42110f35d4479d80

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Koo Bbing wrapped his arm around Mookyeong’s waist as if escorting him, smiling like an idiot. He thought Koo Bbing was quite big, but next to Mookyeong, he looked insignificant.2cade1a89b196018

“There’s coffee here. Or, should I get Boss Mookyeong a beer?”444cff85fcb83464

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Before stepping over the 75f94923a9 threshold, Mookyeong paused for 862a7b93ee a moment. Then he looked at afa8239f33 Hongju, who was standing 3680951ce3 on the opposite side 97b1e9ebcd of the hallway. Hongju, who 7e41814b3b was wiping adeb02b06a his mouth 888d1f431e with a f23086b5a8 tissue, stopped 62f50a4784 moving as a7b8de7eec if his 5502671d44 gaze was 3f93ea4ea1 tied to b6473745f3 his.2206495b691cdfc5

“Expensive water.”276941a28758882c

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“E-Expensive water? Ah… Okay! Hongju, go buy some good bottled water here! Doksa, deal some cards for me instead.”dca7a49161c99fcd

“Yes.”1d814db3388f62ec

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The chair next to 20252c435c him scraped against the 00b7be834d ground. Doksa ran towards fc71cd6f02 the room at 30f56902fa the end of 50ba7d02de the hallway as 4ba913e57c if he had 8fb00216e6 been waiting. Hongju took out d4b30cf687 a ten-thousand-won bill 3ffaca9914 from the desk 2aeec5481d drawer. He asked a 62a1734567 passing employee to ae76a874c9 watch his spot 02990238f7 and then left b3e16f5d8a the gambling house.6c2f5a32f82bac8f

He shouldn’t take the cards. If Boss Mookyeong lost money and became broke, there would be no hope for him. He had given him a heads-up, so he wouldn’t take the cards. He seemed like a smart person, so he would have understood.e3e27a5634e937cf

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“He said he follows the smell of money.”7907a67a6fc7afef

It was b7e9debe09 comforting to 428b0c632d believe that. Hongju nodded and quickened 9dc097dfd9 his pace.Expensive water, expensive 2e7767deba water.He muttered ff257e3bd7 that to 07e71cfc24 himself.69bbd596a8fbbe4c

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“Please come back again.”02d26b0b17fd3c39

He wondered 627c387b21 what kind 81785d5177 of water 108f35de31 cost over 86724c551f a thousand 42e0f51300 won. Hongju put 5120fb568a the bottled 446d7a9ce2 water he caeec29e3f bought for 8260bb5525 Mookyeong in 444461b5ff his pocket. Then he 12d3324e14 took out ffc5b66863 his cell 1a78aca2b7 phone, which 55628f5658 had been be74d2041c turned off a9fc230506 due to b598236f04 a dead 3062482006 battery. Fortunately, he had seen f4d66e04ac a portable charger sold f361bfc0ae at the convenience store 7709d9f3eb on his way here 9db3fe443e and there. He hid it 21ef06be92 back in his dd78e244a7 inner pocket with 92e759a5f0 the portable charger e08ed44271 connected. He thought that 82b117faa9 it should be b279662a55 enough to turn e2b692315f on the phone 6d66650f9a while he was d3eee150ef on his way.094d7c33be33bcaf

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As Hongju was zipping 316d0ca313 up his jacket, he 0212359207 saw a hole in 18f2426be7 the front of his fb5bec90a2 padding. He rubbed 743ca0b6e7 the worn 5ee53f5685 area with ce17c55b72 his fingertips. On the first day caa97c7bed Mookyeong came to the 845240e044 gambling house, the place ccf52fc344 where he had burned a74592b599 it with cigarette ash 92541cb0be was now a complete 73e92c7467 hole.cd5cd5ffac1c6d31

“When I pay off my debt, I should… buy a new padding jacket.”9387e13631cb2432

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It was a 6508c303c6 humble wish for 93fbdb4bba the first thing 505a2856ec he wanted to b7c04d0464 do when he d7b995728d was free. How much 36395be659 would a 55de23eeed good padding de1f0b4a11 jacket cost? How much would he c249a1415c have to work and f14c649649 earn to buy a 0823166964 warm padding jacket that 106413e08c he could wear even 0507db5b48 in the middle of 63fea0f36d winter? He could roughly manage 838dfe4c2c in the summer, but 7b5f4b2e2e every day was a 0a9018397d struggle in the winter.2f4c1b61665ca6a4

Hongju roughly estimated 6b4c4fca10 the price and 52626d9154 opened his own 78bc8f0031 water bottle. It was 34846e2b23 the cheapest 6a1861e744 one. After drinking about cedf4c1cd8 half of the 51498c45b7 water, Hongju finished 0d7a6d7fa5 the rest as d963253836 he got closer e80b448bb7 to the gambling 5b75835892 house. He knew 5dfcb666eb that once f230703488 he went de567b6e54 inside, he 50c217459d would have 9d44026aca to endure 52c5699cd2 his thirst a6c53a1ebc for a 81aa1a0656 while.e7a8998b36f44a58

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After swallowing the last 0e230ef891 mouthful, Hongju returned to c7e983a48f the gambling house and d156bebb57 headed straight for the cdef85fea4 room at the end 7b2861cb65 of the hallway. He immediately 00876bc7ee looked for d33bc3b048 Mookyeong. Fortunately, he a85110a8ad was sitting 2ffcf57955 by the a5f13b85f6 window, smoking. His gaze was fixed fe0b9d47c6 on the window covered 05f813d604 with plastic.31a81b999b419b9d

“Here you go.”801126306ca06562

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He deliberately spoke up, but Mookyeong didn’t even look at him. Instead of answering, he just pointed to the windowsill with his chin. Hongju quietly placed the bottle there and looked around. They were all pretending to be focused on the game, but in fact, all their attention was on this room. They were probably waiting for the right moment to lure Mookyeong into the game.4e27c5575d213658

“…..”34367ed3a2abb769

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He couldn’t just stand there with everyone watching. Hongju wiped his damp hand on his padding and turned around. He wanted to warn him again. He wondered if it would be better to send a text message. As he was pondering, he glanced back. This time, he met Mookyeong’s gaze.110884cbb6ca4624

“It’s so suspicious. You’re not playing tricks now, are you?”740c937fcb55ca5a

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“Manager Yang, are you embarrassed that you got cleaned out by a newbie? Aigoo. I’ll give you a tip, noona.”095b21580e20a0a3

Hongju looked at 525b7abe07 the table where 33a72c16ce the loud conversation 1035283a05 was taking place d94a34b283 and shook his ce2e4c74c1 head discreetly. It meant that 1c70b6cf06 he should never 2744f7b993 join the game. But Mookyeong just ef1b8932c1 turned his gaze ffcc2ca9e6 back to the ad88d7bb3d window without any 50a3d75638 expression. As if they f232b3436a had never made 7d0bde8182 eye contact in 7e9b02b660 the first place.515106ef2d60c030

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Just as he 2db504871b was about to 2f93554b95 take a step, a60b481d37 sighing softly, Doksa 4bfe948b0a suddenly took out b5210b7b00 his cell phone.c92d8272c79cfd20

“Oh? I have an important call. I’m folding this round.”78637854c9647edb

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“What! No, it’s bad luck if someone leaves in the middle.”61d708a352eb2c77

“Sorry. It’s a really important call.”321b8a8103ef5235

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Despite the 00c3ed63c3 grumbling, Doksa 0e7be8f4ba put down e43b2c0d32 his cards. He quickly e6015c2c36 put his b913eb6639 phone to 928ea5eac0 his ear 952f4f382c and got 035866c7b7 up.5e3ac48ac7da3546

“Boss, how are you? Me? I’m always good.”0ae824afc0a79330

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Doksa shouldered Hongju, 5580a7ab3d who was standing 6b82bcb71a blankly near the 40fec68e20 entrance, and left 528fc24654 the room. His forcibly dragged c91330cece steps were heavy. When they d50dddf90f were a 5860b9ded2 little further bc70873e74 away from bbef56717c the end dde6f6f1d1 room, Doksa 357291c459 put his 375fa58388 phone back 5d5029614a in his 04fc5cf8c8 pocket.d960988204dca951

“It’s starting now.”684d936b606bf8a5

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The words spoken 8290b8f41e into his left 334d7f1f83 ear faintly drifted 2b8fbf0b3d into his right 4cd9fcc1aa ear.ad31c0fce0fd823a

“…..”99946cac08970c6d

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Now that Doksa had left his seat, they would need another person starting from the next round. Mookyeong was the only one not playing there, so he would be the first to be offered the seat. He usually wouldn’t be able to refuse the offer and would take the cards, but it was impossible to predict how Mookyeong would react. He wasn’t interested in gambling in the first place, and he wasn’t the type to readily agree to other people’s requests.03c8f35dba788ec4

Still, Hongju couldn’t help but feel anxious. He wanted to look back, but Doksa’s grip on his shoulder was too firm. He couldn’t hear anything from behind.fdfd90c5bf742752

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“Haa.”58eadfe96de5b7b0

Since no 7339fb2148 one was 2250ec1a2b giving him 5cf8c96466 an errand, 74c39ef1b4 he had d647f43c1a no excuse de1d82d725 to enter cb96fc53ab the room, 07d50a2548 so Hongju 9797997698 bit his ad63952a3e lip with f744a8a085 a nervous 386e616f86 look. He secretly a1c823b558 went into f0aff9dd7c the bathroom 34c4005fb3 and sent 9cbe460c2e a few 00a1e6c1b0 text messages.f487688b47243e7e

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[Don’t join the game.]

[Don’t take the cards.]

There was no reply. How much time 874e56d320 had passed? Hongju picked up a db56cac628 broom and pretended to 6228ef44a9 sweep the floor as 3f8391cf0d he headed towards the dc78ef4c0f room at the end 625037a5c3 of the hallway. Just as dcd0134134 he reached 1fb713bad3 the threshold, 93627ac5e1 Manager Yang 214670e61f suddenly popped 56c21625a3 out from 2d2068a28e inside. Startled, Hongju took a3a69fdede a step back.87bb38baf4195d1c

“What are you doing? Go get some new cards.”8ee12ace9ecc4d87

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“…Yes.”05247405401a41b8

He tried to f32a61ff2f look inside as eccd25ce49 he turned around, 892e623bdc but it was 593f96286f difficult because Manager 6200a4d91b Yang was standing 8438dd13b8 in the way. Hongju quickly put 6f16b35ef8 down the broom 98381e6e10 and grabbed some 29dcaebb6e new cards. This time, he had 0f0949155e an excuse, so he af5ba3557a entered the room without 00d47b690e hesitation.510d1da6c19ec3ac

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“…..”13c547d5f496b48c

As soon 35deaf83cd as he 045a43c288 saw the b09a0dd675 table, he 9628d765ed had to 1d3c76ebe1 squeeze his bbda2ae88f eyes shut. On one side of dc0c9b9b50 the table, piled high 1590cfff7e with banknotes, sat Mookyeong. He had 224f67a5f8 a handful 2c41c918e6 of cards, 2e3d27bfb4 and under 02a810e228 his hand dc2bbe0bf0 were also 2695a0b3a6 stacks of e3ff52f8ae bills. When did he start 63b3626d35 playing?2a64ef6a4e9f1cf3

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“What are you standing there like an idiot for? Bring it here!”c58477f4ef507713

It was b848405c26 an annoyed d37d1c1654 command. Only then did Hongju 032990e76c come to his senses 1fd0221846 and hand over the 76c916c288 unwrapped cards. He glanced be445d6fa9 at Mookyeong, cfcf75d52e but he 7f6921ba0a was just 1c7cea31f5 exhaling cigarette 867fd56d2e smoke.ddc3958c862e9265

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It’s the most common way for ordinary people to get addicted to gambling. Once someone starts winning a few times, suspicion turns into interest in an instant. They think they can win if they just play one more round, two more rounds. No, three rounds… With that kind of vain hope, people lose their entire fortunes. Even when their families are ruined, there are countless people who can’t quit. That’s why he told him not to even touch the cards.5b28c66e14258cd1

“…..”fcaccbd7af1c812e

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Hongju bit his lip, 558aa76a6b where the bleeding had d54c0b1d7f barely stopped, again. As he slowly 74efe592de moved away from d14ae55a71 the table, Mookyeong 422149b3af glanced at him.7a6f7f41bb2ccb34

“Really. Why are you so slow? Like a sucker.”1931723abc69c7a3

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The corner of da12993fe6 his mouth, holding c5886fe452 a cigarette, twitched 21bd2a52d1 upwards. Hongju sensed from 62c3a2bc53 that smile that 2415b66020 Mookyeong had deliberately 7e9f270215 joined the game, 7c78bb4b2d knowing that he 0c5b82b240 was being targeted.ead679d21e684861

“…..”438517ad8d1003e5

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Leaving the room, Hongju couldn’t sit still. What was he thinking, joining the game? Especially since Mookyeong had a lot of money, it was impossible to gauge how much he would be fleeced. He paced around the desk, staring at the room at the end of the hallway.f6edaef064da3de1

“What are you doing, being so restless?”d47fce61c60ab15f

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Koo Bbing 46e480bdcc and Doksa a0c32c0734 were coming 3fdc056ac0 up the ef9f3069c0 stairs side c383e5f6d5 by side. The two 3cb7684de6 immediately approached d527a5a793 Hongju.0310cb2333861740

“You, come with me.”2ff439d737da5f90

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“I have to watch my spot.”4a348b59712d8db0

“Here! Here! Watch my spot, huh?”3ac41d69de209eea

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Koo Bbing 14cd9ec239 called over cdb82909dc an employee cd25c79d55 and made 5e16e37a2f him sit 2ba276364b down. Then he took cc736ad496 out a can f19d81c391 of coffee from a6cd38c7e6 the small refrigerator aafa017764 and handed it 1df0fb39ae to Hongju. Then he 5fcc97d51a started to 4ec582fdbc pull Hongju 75be0dc8c7 along. He tried 8757bc9d20 to break f17cb716a2 free, but c63349cdfb the difference 66e973f017 in strength 9382eac2ec was significant. Doksa just stood 0ed4cf2337 by, watching.184be85d4d125da2

“Why are you doing this?”b13dbbc0e7d39a46

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“You’re going in the game.”a15cbe9782a66bae

“Me? You said you were going to bring someone.”7e985125cd7d5eea

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He had clearly said that he would bring someone to join the last round. Did he fail to find someone? Hongju stopped, startled. It wasn’t just any place, it was the table where Boss Mookyeong was. He couldn’t be in cahoots with them to fleece Mookyeong’s money. It would be like cutting the rope he was hanging on himself.a803c079cacc2d2a

“There’s no one. You do it.”c56a1fc5607c3ebe

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Koo Bbing dragged b3af65358c him along relentlessly. When Hongju protested 6c9aad767e loudly, he put 1dcbc2b8bb a finger to 37ab1a7f19 his lips or 4bce48b6f7 hit him on b9436f514e the head. As he did so, 73fa21c763 he explained the plan ea7613b81a to Hongju once again.21911e2e1b004ede

“When Manager Yang is looking for a lighter, raise the stakes. Got it?”f2a78b7dadd8c8c8

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“Why do I have to…”a5772a7e3f770d8e

Smack! The hand that slapped his cheek was fierce. Hongju’s head snapped to the side, and he panted. Then, Koo Bbing grabbed Hongju’s hair with his right hand, which was missing a pinky finger.d80cbd5ca2911a89

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“Why, you ask, fuck. Hey, you bastard. Don’t you want to pay off your debt? Do you want to live like this forever, get your guts ripped out, and die? Or should I have your father, who’s living in the Philippines, captured instead? Huh?”6f879da040d30d5b

His head was dizzy 86c1ddd507 and he heard a a4e177b531 fierce ringing in his be4248efaa ears from having his 420054c29e hair pulled. Hongju clenched his 8047080108 teeth, trying to 7539b26494 suppress his nausea.87070d2e33008935

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“…..”4373c1b36b028119

“We have to get rid of that bastard to reduce the number of mouths sharing the money we make from the gambling house. Then your debt will be paid off quickly too. Use your head. Huh?”d6f229badcdb0c27

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Most of what he said into his left ear was unintelligible. But by looking at Koo Bbing’s fiercely glaring eyes, he could guess what he wanted to say.19e0c980e899b342

No matter 6c2c73e289 how much 7b77dd26a7 he was d6bf12a66d favored by e07054f175 Boss Mookyeong, f0e64a77fc he would 8c49cef18f never be 8f0fe1ce86 able to 47358ff1ec escape this 821e6fc983 wretched gambling 53fe39b21b house.b134de4651b8db15

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