Three Eight-Chapter 41

"Hey, Hongju. What were you doing yesterday?"

The house had become loud and chaotic again as customers came and went. Now and then, when they crossed paths in the hallway, the gangster would ask about what happened at dawn.

"What would I be doing."

Hongju answered curtly and kept walking, but the thug stuck to him like a shadow. Had he come to his place last night? Had he heard something by the window? He’d moaned so much during the act his throat had gone raw. If anyone in the building had been home at the time, they could’ve easily heard everything.

To avoid looking flustered, Hongju looked around for no reason.

"That so? Really?"

"Yeah."

He didn’t look convinced, but it was something Hongju could insist on. It wasn’t like he had to tell anyone he’d sold his body to pay back money.

Guppping passed by in front of the two of them with a customer. He was laughing, showing his teeth for once.

"Why’s Guppping so hyped today? Did he haul in some cash or what..."

Once again, Hongju shook his head like he didn’t know, but he did. He knew the interest he paid by selling his body had gone straight into Guppping’s pocket. The amount had been big enough to make it understandable why Guppping was grinning like that. If it hadn’t been debt but his own money—if he’d gotten that much in hand—would he have smiled like that too?

"......"

It was so far from reality that Hongju couldn’t even finish the thought.

It wasn’t until near midnight that Doksu showed up. Chief Yang, who had been glaring at the clock for a while, raised his voice with fury.

"You little shit, do you even know what time it is?"

"What? Guppping said I could come late."

Right on cue, Guppping came out of the room. Spotting Chief Yang yelling, he hurried over. And of course, he took Doksu’s side.

"Hey, hey, don’t ride the kid. He’s got a big job coming up, let him rest. Huh? If you don’t wanna screw up like that last time, not being able to pull off a bluff properly, you gotta be well rested."

He brought up Chief Yang’s blunder—failing to strip Mu-gyeong and instead increasing the debt—all over again. Chief Yang ground his teeth and moved his lips. His gold tooth flashed viciously.

"Shit, that again? Ha."

"What. It’s not like I made it up. We set up a game to fleece some unlucky bastard, and you go and send out a fucking gwangttaeng. Makes me think you were in on it with him."

"......"

The two of them occasionally argued about that day. Most of the time it ended with Chief Yang falling silent, unable to come up with a retort. This time was no different.

"Doksu. Go grab yourself a nice hot coffee. Bring some back for us too. Everyone, give your orders to Doksu."

"Ooh, we paying cash?"

"Of course, bro’s wallet is fat now, real fat."

Guppping slapped his pants pocket and threw a glance at Hongju.

"Should’ve put that one up for sale a long time ago."

Only Hongju could fully understand the mocking tone. His palms were sweating for no reason, and he had to rub them on his thighs a few times. Doksu tilted his head but then lost interest, pulling out his phone. He looked like he was jotting down orders in his notes app.

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"I’m not having anything."

Hongju shook his head at Doksu, who had come to stand in front of him. Guppping interjected in a sneering voice.

"He probably drank plenty of other stuff last night, no need for more."

Cackling, Guppping patted Hongju’s shoulder and went back inside. Hongju could feel the curious stares flooding toward him and stood up.

"I’ll go take a quick look around."

Avoiding the attention, he walked off and slipped into the room at the end of the hallway.

"......"

Looking down at the chair Mu-gyeong usually sat in, Hongju quietly walked over to the window. When he pushed against the temporary window, it creaked open with resistance. The parking spot where Mu-gyeong always left his car was still empty. Looked like he wasn’t coming today.

Hongju occasionally glanced at the stairs. If someone wanted to borrow from the safe, he guided them to the right room. He ran errands for beer and coffee, checking the stairwell between tasks. Sometimes, he used the excuse of checking for snow to look out the window again.

In the end, Mu-gyeong didn’t show up even after the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) sun came up. And Hongju thought maybe that was for the best.

***

Suddenly there was talk of a crackdown, and the house shut down for two days. During that time, Hongju made sure to take all the prescribed medicine. He applied ointment often and even went alone to the pharmacy. Clumsily passing time like that, five days went by. Which meant it had been more than five days since Mu-gyeong stopped showing up.

'You haven’t checked Gweoleum-dong?'

'Ah, like I’ve got time for that.'

'All you do is play games...'

Guppping gave Chief Yang a look of disapproval and took out his phone. The two started to bicker again, but Hongju had no interest in their squabble. He just hoped the sparks wouldn’t land on him.

'Why won’t he answer his phone? Tsk.'

Guppping clicked his tongue and dialed again. Hongju didn’t bother to ask what was going on, but Doksu showed interest.

'Guppping, what’s wrong?'

'Ah, just...'

Guppping looked like he’d almost answered without thinking, then glanced at Hongju and caught himself. He fumbled through the rest of his reply.

'Some guys I know aren’t picking up.'

The house had been in Gweoleum-dong for a long time, so it wasn’t strange for Guppping to have people he was friendly with. But no one would normally call so persistently and go searching for their whereabouts. Hongju just fiddled with the gauze taped to his palm.

"......"

Maybe it was the medicine. The wounds were healing noticeably fast. Even cuts that used to split open and bleed with a light touch were closing, and the bruises had begun to fade. More than anything, he hadn’t had to do many collections lately, and fists had stopped flying his way.

'Then Doksu, you go.'

'Hey! Why’re you sending Doksu? He needs to make a good impression when Manager Park comes later!'

Caught in the middle, Doksu gave Hongju a sheepish shrug as their eyes met. Hongju didn’t react and just went back to touching the gauze.

'Hong...'

Doksu leaned into his left ear and murmured something long. There was no way Hongju could hear it. Not with all the noise, especially with the two of them raising their voices nearby.

'What... did you say?'

Hongju turned his head to the left. Wasn’t he about to get caught for not being able to hear in that ear? Hiding his panic, he just stared silently at the corner of the desk.

'I said, I think you’ve been taking your meds properly these days.'

His gaze shifted to Doksu’s lips.

'Ah, yeah.'

He nodded and sat upright again. Just then, Chief Yang slammed his hand on the desk and stood up.

'Ha, fuck.'

He’d been dragging it out for a while. Only once Guppping started yelling and turning red did he finally get moving. On his way past, he shot Doksu a sharp glare.

'What did I even do?'

Doksu mumbled in disbelief, but there was nothing to say. There was no real standard or reason for Chief Yang’s hatred. Before Doksu arrived, it had all been aimed squarely at Hongju.

Even after Chief Yang left the house, Guppping didn’t stop cursing. Said the old man was lazy and useless with dulled instincts. Doksu let out an awkward laugh and played along, and Hongju just listened in silence.

'Isn’t the guy Guppping’s looking for someone Chief Yang doesn’t like?'

'That one’s ex-gang. A gangster trying to find other gangsters... Anyway. He’s too old to even pull his own weight anymore.'

Guppping awkwardly shifted the subject mid-sentence, clearly conscious of Hongju’s presence.

"......"

It finally clicked for Hongju. The people Guppping had been desperately trying to locate were the Gweoleum-dong thugs. The ones who were probably meant to rough up Mu-gyeong. They were the types who used to loiter around street stalls and shops, bullying without a cause. What could they be doing that they were unreachable now?

Pretending he wasn’t interested in the conversation, Hongju dusted off his padded jacket, keeping his hands busy.

'Whose piece-of-junk car is that parked out front?'

His hand stopped mid-air. That low, husky voice—so familiar by now—had sliced right into the noise. All of his dulled nerves suddenly zeroed in.

'Belong to a customer?'

As Mu-gyeong appeared at the top of the stairs, the dingy room lit up like someone had flipped a switch. Hongju, without thinking, looked up at the ceiling light. The warm, clear glow sank deep into his pupils. It was strange. That voice had come from his left side—just like Doksu’s whisper earlier—but this time he’d heard it so clearly.

'The blue car? That one’s Guppping’s.'

'Ah, that’s Gu Madam’s taste? Looks like something you couldn’t pay me to drive.'

Blinking, Hongju shifted his gaze to Mu-gyeong, now standing close. Even with the afterimage of that bright light still lingering in his vision, Mu-gyeong’s outline was surprisingly clear.

'Once construction’s done, get yourself a new ride.'

'Hey, that thing’s more valuable than it looks, you know.'

'Yeah right. Bet it’s loud as hell with that muffler slapped on, waking up the whole neighborhood.'

Mu-gyeong never held back. His tone and words were always blunt and sharp. The target was almost always Guppping. It was still striking to see—Guppping had been around the house for fifteen years, and yet he kept getting put in his place like this. Maybe it was because Hongju had grown up watching people beg Guppping—clinging to his legs, pleading for money or an extension.

"Hmph."

Guppping’s throat cleared loudly, and the skin around his neck turned visibly red. Maybe Mu-gyeong had hit a sore spot.

Hongju watched from the sidelines as Guppping got thoroughly trampled.

'Hey, Gu Madam.'

Snap—Mu-gyeong flicked his fingers, making a sharp sound. Everyone turned toward his gloved hand.

'Gu Madam, come with me.'

With a cocky flick of his fingertip, he gestured. He knew Guppping was much older, but he never held back.

Guppping hesitated, clearly annoyed, then reluctantly started walking. Mu-gyeong strode ahead of him. As he turned, for just a moment, it felt like their eyes met—but it was so brief that Hongju wasn’t sure.

As the two disappeared down the hall toward the back room, Mu-gyeong’s steps suddenly came to a halt at the threshold.

'Hey.'

He was looking directly at Hongju. The distance between them was wide, but Mu-gyeong’s black eyes seemed to pull him in instantly.

'Water.'

He mimed holding a cup in midair. Hongju gave a small nod and stood up.