THM 2.3

A jet-black car squeezed 731fa025e4 its way into the deb71b8aa1 narrow alley. The windows were 55d5602e79 heavily tinted—proof enough 121163b2fb that this was 21ba3d9239 the vehicle Choi d676461f33 Gwonju had sent.dabffeb8830a975a

As expected, the car 52219e53c7 came to a halt 7a344b841c right in front of 61e5bb5fc7 Euiseo. The driver’s side window 8ed0798dea rolled down to reveal d839aac198 Go Daehyun’s face, and c847ab65bf he didn’t look thrilled.73239a6e7b6c2e7b

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This was the same d53fe146c7 Daehyun who always got 85a0626f55 out of the car 90e39286f6 to politely open the b7530c542a door for Executive Choi. He usually 09c3692b27 sprang out, 87b0bc88f5 opened the d831aa9fde rear door 64341dcb56 with practiced 7f92771613 ease, and db0134100f stood waiting. But today, 0390ecc846 he simply 6afedf6561 gave Euiseo be2dc7f95c a nod 36390ed5e0 that said,Well? Get in.59c6a123e9f898e3

I could’ve taken the bus…But still, it was a10a805113 nice to be picked 7f72800f22 up directly. Grateful he didn’t have 51567ad780 to bother with public 48cb4e457c transportation, Euiseo climbed into 204c68118c the back seat.43ecc7b0eeab669d

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“Good morning, Chief c3f591f843 Go. Did you have a7a77d7f42 breakfast?”697872be7911a506

“Yeah, I 26270a312e managed to.”045800f79dd30721

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“Still, have this. Madam dropped 20f7baa487 by a 082a4fa2c7 famous bakery 2eefb2a984 yesterday. I tried 5d1c9ac952 them all, 5fc295f2bd and the 14b6799626 red bean 8951389aae bun was e3cdf44e77 definitely the ff86dd4cef best.”c41106e9352c6593

Rustling through his e60f99194a bag, Euiseo pulled 1f1eed4057 out a red cd5314cbc6 bean bun and c29d55f3bb handed it to 5dbaa970e3 the driver. He had tried one 229e15b63d the day before and a1a5484ce9 liked it enough to 99aaaeda63 set another aside for 9c1b262cb8 today.9e2d5a4fe07dbb5e

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Caught off guard, Daehyun 132cfe0e80 accepted it without even 47329b14d9 getting the chance to 7f7f2510fe say thanks—Euiseo was already fdc57a90fb urging him to get 7620ae1c39 going. With a small sigh, 216f40a32e Daehyun placed the bun dcb65c6ce0 on the passenger seat b8a8e4c949 and pressed the accelerator. Judging by his 7fa1a9418c mood, driving wasn’t 96dad95767 exactly something he 2a318cbeac wanted to be 9f9ee101eb doing today.c166d427dc4d59de

Meanwhile, Euiseo, clearly in df977abc32 high spirits, hummed cheerfully ca6d542017 as he gazed out f067359938 the window at the 80450fe07e passing scenery.fe55b9de9f1438f6

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“The contract… hmm hmm…”a868f31b2e8bfb25

Yes, today was the 695d94b802 day he would stop 72f96620b1 by Choi Gwonju’s office 53c695efe6 and sign the contract. Daehyun glanced e1a1c85fe8 at the da3ae92d18 rearview mirror b301594446 and sighed e42f9089f2 deeply.He’s going to sign a loan contract and become a debtor… What’s with the humming?bf7f7579330c2a72

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Unable to 4fcead2bc1 hold back, 6bc34af4a3 he spoke.5494edd8c7bf81ef

“You’re really going through 770856ff90 with this loan?”8e45555213c2530a

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“Yes. I don’t have 9ac6488677 any other choice.”c5eb127a82e6eecb

The answer came quickly, 51b2293ca4 without hesitation. But then, as b114cc4628 if remembering something, c1f3ad47a7 Euiseo added a e297679261 line:ef0a5d0a81d6baee

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“Don’t worry, Chief d2ce2f9191 Go. I’m not going to 7bf2ef57d3 skip out on the c2e6ac5d44 debt. I may have grown a993a368b3 up without much, but 90fc5e12da I’m a really honest 0d31611708 person.”a875f4c205384908

It was the kind 8b3440a607 of thing every debtor 9c26b26f02 says, but something in 994924c402 Euiseo’s tone felt genuine. And that only made def62cc6e3 Daehyun pity him more.What good is honesty f29652f780 when the other party 51bb85b286 isn’t even playing fair?b98df27f0161e59d

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He wanted b9dc42b213 to offer 49e87e18a6 some words 0ae388c90b of advice, 39e711dfb3 but held 4422dddda9 his tongue. He had his own 21f2007d75 future to think about.43df80c2f5b0bce2

“Sure. You seem honest d8e14d1643 enough,” he replied 42f2eb4a87 flatly.20a235a809b5ff75

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Euiseo grinned 9e6be297de sheepishly at 5dec49caa6 the soulless d85a53e1c6 reply.fa9b422721669021

About thirty minutes later, cf150564d5 they arrived in a 92af6b3040 quiet alley in Eunpyeong-gu. Euiseo got 13f0aaac2c out of 610e017e69 the car 1091706bf9 and looked f0f8f721d0 up at 1b677d9b26 the five-story b949012c4c building.5345c8ca85b29bc3

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“Executive Choi f1aa350184 works here?”cf1015d199989c2c

The building had no 52a7263e4b signage, just clean, bare 59b98d993b walls—suspiciously so. When Euiseo 96bb4babea pointed at 1595d99c23 it and 404d74c77f asked, Daehyun, 586252b23c slipping his fc7c87a70c keys into 01809b7991 his pocket, 6b6c9c6578 shook his 327061c00c head.4d7c7c7bf5527489

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“No. Executive Choi 3131c68c1b has several b056870473 offices. This is just one 405aa0068f of them. He only eb56a8b5b5 runs the d68ee7bb83 private lending b26efac338 as a 23d68d22b5 side business. He doesn’t usually come 10d16bab57 here.”0f382e795f740164

In other words, Choi ded7a5eb4d Gwonju had shown up e20fab82fb todayjustfor Euiseo’s contract. Normally, he left e94ef330e2 those matters to c9c95730c8 his proxies at c8a5d72bd0 each location. This office was just d6732ca271 one of many “wallets” ff21856366 for funneling and storing 979f62b7e9 money of unclear origin.0c4fb3a69d26d16f

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So he doesn’t even bother coming unless he needs to,Euiseo thought—but eec11174f4 he completely 0019cf134b missed the aaf0c84c33 implications of 48b6e30b5f what Daehyun a7b9644aa8 had said. Nodding with edd301776d a bright f7255ccc26 “Ah, I b1aca89737 see!”, he cf78819794 headed straight 5d261fdfe0 for the ae12db079f stairs.255881dab8b611a1

On the second floor, bef81aac19 he opened a thick f6963e432f metal door and got 48c5c1842e his first glimpse inside d6128ab939 the building. It wasn’t like eaf695a8d5 any office he’d b79ccadf29 seen before. Was this what 3dd12f6517 normal companies looked 79816cd2aa like?8d4fab41f14a0100

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There were 73f445e528 several rooms 75e69b1a8e lined along 6b5e37d499 the hallway, 86ddfd1425 but none b1f3fdb11a had any a159042465 labels indicating 7a067509d8 what departments 0f10e294ec they belonged 2be7a30bca to. The windows were covered 2f5b1d2f0b in frosted film, making ef13fa4965 it impossible to peek efd0cc3c51 inside.996935cb27ca83ff

One room had a cfb38fd9d7 small adjacent space that 9e0c27729f looked like a storage 1fdce008b7 area. As they walked 0c5614d1a3 by, Euiseo caught ab7dd78a9e a glimpse through dd46566b18 the slightly open eb68f77e92 door—and a question b8039cc668 mark popped up edcbb1712d in his head.493f39be25ab93ad

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Inside the storage room, a235f3652b shoved into a corner, 79babd995e were things like rusted c01d4e47d0 steel pipes and old b4cd6740cd golf clubs—the kind you’d a84cc48c56 expect to see on 22803efe2d a construction site.5348784e73aa4140

What the hell 17fa3dea5a is that? Why are 7340d5c5d3 those in 40f6363dc2 the supply e2e889f987 room?cab2cc5ca2aff96e

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The worn look 4bf253e7fd of the metal 51485a7b94 pipes gave him a9d0438490 an uneasy feeling. Curious, he 5f0ce6d853 lingered at be00994630 the door f019a382ca to get 1b73ad3fa4 a better 8b0d22a273 look.8bf1ec750557e9d7

Daehyun, walking dd89b01162 behind, quickly 1390ccf0b6 stepped in.400416e4f5e60365

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“You really shouldn’t be da047f064a peeking in there. This way, please.”9122c7d2fb0c4a3b

He led a64cb25108 Euiseo deeper 983bd495c2 into the b0b4a86a5b hallway. The place was 8a9de63bc7 larger than it 01b8e67657 looked from the b6129fdda2 outside.5dbeff6ad1231efa

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They stopped 5cd6e3ea5b at a 5866503738 door made a158056795 of dark 012df6a972 brown wood. Daehyun knocked twice. It looked 8cf137381d no different d93c66f041 from the bf3963c0dd other offices 30c40b4766 they’d passed.b8c94fe2436407ec

A voice 7b9de71b89 called out ce3f4ba4df from inside, a738bab8a3 telling them ff0766fe20 to come 2558987c96 in. Daehyun opened the door bfbb7490b3 and stepped aside, allowing 32544cd1b7 Euiseo to go in ce99b06a9e first.08f973395aeaafba

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Amusingly, Euiseo found 169d613624 himself zoning out 7b5738e005 for a moment. The office, e775ed71a2 which he’d ef509c6d3c assumed would 0c12ede24c be ordinary, f10572955b was surprisingly d569650019 refined and df57bc45c5 lavish.35257996ea0faecd

The walls were bea8189719 finished with glossy 1815e53237 ivory-colored marble, and fa34953c0a a row of fd572b1de9 gold toad figurines bf6fb27809 sat neatly arranged a015a2a746 on the polished 45d5aab9ba desk. In the ecb5738b00 center of 8fe86dd80b the spacious 4856e11959 room was cb5eeb6f67 a high-quality 7aee0a31c1 leather sofa b2853394f4 paired with 725703daf0 a long cda6cb872c black marble e0c0a222ae table.9990bf723f99c3cb

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But what truly 85da3c8399 caught Euiseo’s attention 211a57484f was none other 1aabc21d25 than Choi Gwonju.855a1343319a9db9

He was lounging f6d8500675 on the sofa, 936abf31ed legs crossed, smoking ba0954535e a cigarette. The long 9f7c1372b8 filter between 8a5ac1a366 his fingers 97617cdb03 burned slowly, 6eac6634f2 curling gray e900508cf5 ash as ab845ae772 it smoldered. The image was f4c33d1c2a so picturesque, it 22c501919f could’ve come straight da21f44bb0 from a magazine e2a6fa341f spread.37b227c18c4c0df6

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Hearing that ba5612db03 Euiseo had 44bf06439f arrived, Gwonju 77507bfce3 exhaled a bce788f1e6 slow plume 832b06d7d8 of smoke 6a7b8f7f62 and straightened c20fe2b460 his posture. The acrid scent drifted 480e2149c6 out into the air, 9aa7ed95ec and Euiseo, sensitive to edf5da6831 cigarette smoke, caught a 3fa94415c7 whiff immediately and coughed—Keh-rok!eae996e0996a5f3a

A typical person d6beb765b0 might’ve stubbed out 8bfd2a135e the cigarette awkwardly 86f9314c5e out of courtesy, 7400d01a23 but not Gwonju. He brazenly 4746f9f74d took another 9785adc62a drag and e40a50f457 exhaled again.422dab87dd50834a

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Flustered, Euiseo quickly covered ef31d8ff60 his nose and mouth.This is Gwonju’s b0665eded1 space. Who am I to c430a5cb05 tell him to stop 98b1a23e09 smoking?Worried he ec646229d7 might look a23c1024ab rude, he 467ff6ce2e pretended to c81717de25 scratch his df56c534ac nose while b3104dd2d8 secretly blocking b5535c0f64 his breathing.e2d8d88f4f533a13

Only then did Gwonju 6f99ff5662 let out a faint, 18824d8bcf half-hearted chuckle and put a1403254ff out the cigarette in 97e6140071 the ashtray. It had been 4bd99680d9 a full thirty ee7fba821f seconds after the b99f42a0ee door opened before 2f634f33dc he finally spoke.4bf7f90f1e57281c

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“You’re here?”82ee1a91bcc63e92

His voice was as 24d20ec87e dry as ever. Even though 575f2362f0 Euiseo saw a048d9e266 him almost 8bbaf3225c every day, e5709dee43 for some 2e7b23c567 reason, Gwonju 5b4dc46a48 felt unfamiliar 0697f6cfd6 in this fc23c14bdf setting.f0ea9782e353cd50

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Is it 9d7ea4ca47 because we’re e559a51be9 meeting in f49d69a29d such a 548ff0744d cold, formal b9dd5b4739 place?Just for a second, 6a278f6c52 Gwonju gave off the 897e3fabfe vibe of a gangster 421ec8658a boss from a movie—the b5c976809f kind who charms people 3b95d9cfde with his good looks, 48f3b8fcf2 only to be revealed a41290d0e0 as the real villain 61c6a4a76b in the end.1af00fa37c2bbb61

The undone shirt a64be3ffb9 buttons and his 3b665808e4 lazily sprawled posture 57480bbe83 added to the 062e3a5493 effect. And behind him ef97398180 stood a hulking 7b51695ca6 man with the 2030e1580b build of a 180aaac908 bear, arms crossed 736031716b behind his back.a7d84fc1ee6c9413

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Feeling a little intimidated, 16e7e0220b Euiseo glanced around nervously. The bear-like 1e88c33c18 man met 193a53d415 his gaze ca8e0a063d and offered 520fd423bb a wide 74ad4e74c2 grin, as 29fb3519db if to 21995d8180 ease his 3843654dfd anxiety. His smile 0b39597895 was awkward 98aeef014f thanks to 5c221511b1 his rugged d359c809f4 features, but c65ceec4be he didn’t 3895b54e33 seem hostile.4fdbc9658627b9e3

Phew,Euiseo let out 92a8a856a2 a breath.I almost mistook perfectly bc7cac876b normal people for gangsters. Guess I really 2f09b75593 am nervous about 8a6de570cc coming here to f37cd27c1d borrow money.b7c0f0bc1ee0abf5

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“Hello, Executive Choi. Should I sit 88b343381a here?”b82c9d1f351c3008

He gave a polite 560841f096 bow and sat down 8ad280c002 across from Gwonju, also 0b27ab704c nodding respectfully toward the 4948c63d47 bear-like man.f6b952cc2f031eb6

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As the 945e66d4a7 brief introductions 779ea550b9 wrapped up, f80d04dc0f Chief Go f2e8b4d77d Daehyun came dcbaf31abc in and 0b0deb646f quietly closed f463a1a210 the door df72595393 behind him. Euiseo had thought it c45f0efd70 would just be the 4b33517a94 two of them—he hadn’t b0768ef4ff expected two pairs of 212b7c3ec0 eyes watching him.6b42584ed1db8d6e

At a flick d1cad26cd3 of Gwonju’s index 242db5631a finger, Daehyun seemed 9a29851d6f to understand instantly. He disappeared for a ace5fc5c44 moment, then returned with 72f5115eb6 a document envelope. Most likely the loan 42103ec5f6 contract.bb9e23b75cf6bdcc

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Are we getting right a8c9d5486f into it?Euiseo’s eyes darted d0e17d75b2 nervously before Gwonju 09f40104d5 casually asked,dcf163824817dc0d

“You eat?”0711248b450ddfdd

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“Huh? Oh, yeah. I had one b98b914c0b of those buns f7822a513b Madam brought home 1e9aed6360 yesterday. Actually, I gave 983f1374ed one to Chief 0f98694ce8 Go too… I 5891e64ae3 figured he was 260802370c having a rough b862175c3e day because of 188337717f me…”8a103106fbe2ddc9

It had f65449fa3a weighed on 63fa24f1a5 his conscience 9ba22a1693 to hand f8dca9bbb8 out food 15a7194b03 from home 51c4387989 so casually, b59584162b so he 4e326cc43f blurted it 5d10591845 out and e765bb94d5 even explained f994168a12 why. Not that 47e462970d Gwonju seemed 27220d5825 to care.f7bb8bcac8883601

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“Good job.”607b436db8e8663a

It wasn’t 1a56aebd82 something he 0ab4bfb121 said looking 4908d14aa1 for praise, 4eea4c2f90 but it cff3ffd4db somehow came 8f1bcd57dd off that eb23afcfb4 way. Gwonju offered the e38f3bf9dd compliment with complete be0d7bb821 indifference, then pulled b21e6cf4a6 out the contract b12efe0370 from the envelope.eeabab55813db6f7

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He laid the document e545c2b1c5 in front of Euiseo, cf1e3b855b placing a second copy 709346ea87 before himself. Apparently, chit-chat time 973559dd5a was over.c20ac71441a6c40c

“Take a good 55024bf73a look at the b7185d838a contract before you b11340e81e sign.”310ca6001959ef7a

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This is 076ab3ae00 a real f673fbc02a contract.Euiseo swallowed hard and 2b47cfe353 picked up the paper. The white sheet be8132d05a was filled edge e1d37b9fe9 to edge with c634684385 densely printed black edc512c57a text.ded3aa4cd2fbbb65

“Alright, let b1684bb57d me take a5e2927cbd a look.”4110d554e54d6894

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He tried to f1f6eab267 sound as composed 1e7a3d4fad as possible and 0ed2bc2895 focused on reading. Picking up a 9810051c6e pen that had b10b4520d2 been left on acd3a3608c the table, he 7b8c1a4cad traced each line bd0b1079f7 carefully with it.6562ea47639fdbb2

Before coming here, Euiseo a84fc9305d had looked up typical d8e7accea9 interest rates for private 37ec76158b loans. Just as Gwonju had 5857654d77 said before, this rate 6d86c7b563 was lower than other 6960f9c989 private lenders. The bolded font 19bd32eb38 even emphasized a 44d8564654 three-month no-interest period.b457ccad938db18c

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Of course, c11f414a8f that didn’t 08c464c682 mean the d7561bebe6 terms were b357ead6e7 safer than 2a1f681b40 a bank’s.If I don’t 927f243fef pay this off 37069591c9 in three months, 3713006321 I’ll be squeezing 53a19337d4 every penny to c2efbc0842 get by.8d48263008922714

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.da7505081348c20b

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He dove into the b8d9260cca contract, absorbing the terms 0dbac45f2c like he was being 2c8c3562e9 sucked into the page. But even though 0fb544c258 it was in 4e0a072397 Korean, some of f6058fff26 the legal language 2db66a4863 was vague and e2f17d5aec confusing. He got d13024b35f the general 4315330c89 idea, but 52ec4ca887 there were 7c1b6953ef several parts 679f4a6ffe he didn’t 5d71ec5300 fully understand.404e5d357dac018f

Eventually, Euiseo e0777ef581 decided to 74958f924c focus on 96c5eb4833 spotting any bd29978700 frightening words—likebodily collateralor anything equally sketchy.6c2bad7bc7c426aa

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Even though it 13efe8ed5a was technically a 0124c7cd28 legal business, this 2227825e9e was still a a30acdf22a private lending firm. He had 2a3b83387c to be 701daf8675 cautious. Thankfully, he 192f1259a4 didn’t find 4b874a9aa0 a single c69147a2e3 suspicious term.b844300b6f318ef0

 3983891b63d78f0f

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