In the morning, Jang Sejun’s house was noisy, because it’s the day they move to their new home. Yaba packed up in the room. As soon as he woke up, it was a morning like taking antidepressants, giving up on a feeling of floating, and having a messy, dazed head. It felt as if the rotten residue had escaped after crying all night long. His exhausted body seemed to have melted his bones. The cuts and burn marks were the same. Memories related to the traces came to mind one by one.
Actions that attempted to burn and kill insects that reside on the body, to draw them out through blood, or to starve them. He was afraid that another truth would be revealed, but he had already become accustomed to Cha Yiseok’s antidepressant, so it was impossible to stop the drug. Instead, he decided not to look in the mirror. Will there ever come a day when he could face his own face? What reward will he give after enduring this hardship? Was the phone call with him real last night… ?
The eunuch singers packed their modest luggage and left the room. Cocaine from another room came in. There was a cold atmosphere between them and Cocaine. He approached Morphine and handed him a box. Morphine asked sullenly:
“Wh- what? Are you bragging that you got it from a customer now?”
“When I went on a business trip yesterday, a customer gave it to me. I think it will suit you well…”
Morphine looked inside the box and opened his mouth.
“Hey, is this a Cartier necklace?! Are you really giving me this? Cartier?!”
Cocaine smiled brightly.
“You have white skin and a long neck, so you look good in any design. Come on, try it. I want to see if it fits well.”
“W- what are you up to suddenly? Giving everything you received from the customer… ?”
“I was sorry before. At that time, I was too afraid to protect you.”
“No what…”
Morphine looked awkwardly at Cocaine with his submissive attitude, but tried on the necklace. Cocaine also gave Heroin and Meth watches and wallets. All of them were unbranded luxury goods. He didn’t even leave out Hashish. Cocaine’s body wrapped around Hashish’s arm.
“Can you give it to me next time?”
“I will definitely remember it.”
Hashish blushed. The forearm, wrapped in the bare skin of Cocaine, showed a tense look. It was a gift as good as a luxurious good. Yaba’s eyes met with Cocaine. He gave himself a flawless smile. It makes him want to rip his lips apart with a razor.
“Yaba, I have something prepared for you. I’ll show you later in the new dormitory.”
Yaba raised his lips and answered.
“I look forward to it.”
Cocaine was so lively that he wondered if he had even faltered, and he didn’t even talk about last night’s incident. Yaba snorted. Only himself knew that it was a thoroughly calculated action. The eunuchs packed their things and said goodbye to their temporary shelter. The eunuchs who had criticised Cocaine, when they came to this house, became believers again when they left this house. But there is one fact that not everyone notices. Cocaine didn’t become a god again, but that he finally learned how to live as a human.
The new dormitory has the same structure and the same character, so the only difference is that they have been moved downstairs. The eunuch singers and thugs carried the luggage and arranged the furniture. Jang Sejun brought a grotesque bonsai as a moving gift. Jang Sejun did not come close except for occasionally glancing at Yaba. They didn’t have much luggage, so they just finished moving in the morning.
Yaba’s room was large, with a bathroom. He, Morphine and Meth were in the same room, and Hashish and Heroin were in the same room. Although Morphine was noisy, it’s a good combination because of the awkward Meth. Cocaine said he would use the smallest room alone because he was in bad condition. Except for Hashish, everyone had no complaints. Yaba tore off the plastic of the bed and lay down on it. The thugs handed out burner phones in the morning. He put Cha Yiseok’s number in the very first list.
Suddenly, the water purifier on the other side of the room caught his eye. It looked the same as the one they had used before, so he had a gut feeling that this was a special gift from Cocaine. The top of his head heated up. Cocaine, who was mopping in the living room, stopped. He narrowed his eyes slightly and seemed to ask.
I chose the same one you used before, do you like it?
Yaba got up from the bed and kicked the water purifier. The water purifier lid fell off and water poured out. He looked straight at Cocaine and said.
“Don’t you know that I don’t drink purified water? Just know that a gift that ignores the other person’s taste is a nuisance.”
“…”
“What are you looking at stupidly instead of cleaning?”
His crumpled expression relaxed a little. Yaba went into the bathroom and threw off his clothes. He practised vocalisation along with the sound of water. The voices in the bathroom sound like hallucinations. It was strange. The poison might be a delusion, and he was not afraid as much as he thought, even though he could see the unseen truth. Perhaps the antidepressant that Cha Yiseok gave was a potion that will keep him from falling apart even if he came face-to-face with the truth. Suddenly, the hand washing the body slowed down. But was what happened a little while ago real?
When he got out of the shower, Morphine and Meth were going somewhere.
“Shit! So annoying, on the day we move. There aren’t just one or two recordings, what a waste of time would it be to convert them?”
His ears perked up. Yaba grabbed Morphine’s back.
“What are you talking about?”
“Hyung-nim told us to convert the recordings in Paradiso. You know that. The freaking things in the perverted bastards’ room. There are so many perverted bastards that they’re short on hands so we need to go and help.”
His heart was pounding. If it was the recorded scenes, Cha Yiseok would be in it. Giha called it life insurance. A weapon that could drive Cha Yiseok out if revealed to the world. Even if otherwise, it would be disadvantageous for Cha Myunghwan to become healthy, but if Giha turns around and reveals it… Sweat dripped down his palms.
“I will go too.”
“What’s up with you, lunatic? You lost all your fortune and became a different person~~? But did you practise vocalisation earlier? If you do vocalisations like that, your voice will be ruined, you lunatic! By the way, the tone seems slightly different?”
Morphine clung without him asking twice. He shrugged off the annoying thing. He took the lead without even drying his hair. It was the first time he’d been here since Paradiso was attacked. He recalled the former appearance of the building, which had undergone refurbishment. When he went to the secret room next to the waiting room, there were CCTV monitors embedded in the wall. The thug instructed.
“Everything that’s been recorded in the meantime, we’re going to format it and convert it to DVD, so do it properly!”
“Yeess~.”
Morphine answered dryly and fiddled with his hand. Paradiso’s CCTV is economically recorded because it has a sensor that detects only when there is a person’s movement. Half a day has passed since they copied and converted each theme room. When they finished they had hundreds of DVDs. The thug checked a few times and erased the original. They moved all the boxes to the corporal punishment warehouse near the dorm and locked the locks. Yaba glanced at the warehouse door with anxious eyes and went back to his dorm.
While he was singing at Cha Myunghwan’s home, he couldn’t concentrate as he thought of the DVD. Cha Myunghwan’s scolding also fell on deaf ears.
***
Giha gave instructions to the workers and toured the repair work site. Elevator repairman tested to see if it worked. The pillar frame was rebuilt and the collapsed wall took on its former shape. A subordinate ran, bowed his waist at a right angle, and held out a briefcase.
“A little while ago, a person who called himself Executive Director Cha’s secretary gave it to me.”
Giha rubbed the cigarette and put it out. The moment he opened the envelope and checked the contents, his face hardened as if struck by lightning. He glanced at it a few times in disbelief. Imsoo asked.
“Why?”
He didn’t expect it to be delivered so quickly and in this way.
“It’s a stake in Taeryung Group.”
Imsoo looked at the documents with surprised eyes. Giha picked up his phone, unable to take his eyes off the document. After a while the beeping went off, the voice of Director Cha was heard.
— Do you like it?
His pronunciation was twisted as though he was drunk on alcohol or drugs. Loud laughter and chatter came over the receiver. It wasn’t something you would hear at this time. Giha raised his eyebrows and said.
“I didn’t expect you to hand it over this quickly.”
― You’ve worked hard to lick my boots, so this is a gift…
“I heard that Cha Myunghwan’s condition has improved because of Cocaine.”
― Don’t worry, it’s between Cocaine and me. Now, we mutually agreed to do appreciation singing for the rest of the time.
“This is news to me.”
Healing and singing for appreciation are distinctly different in their effects. It’s no different than deceiving Cha Myunghwan again, only the form has changed, but holding the ankle of Director Cha again…
“I want to make one thing clear. If you’re trying to make another deal with this stake…”
Laughter came over the phone.
― You should just eat what is thrown at you, why do you have so many thoughts? The gift contract, the title change application, all the procedures have been completed on my side…
— What are you doing? It’s getting heated, come quickly~
— Wait, wait, get your hands off me.
Director Cha seemed to appease the woman who had intervened. Pathetic bastard. Giha frowned.
— Where were we? Ah, seal. The seal doesn’t matter. I have also added Kang Giha’s name to the shareholder list, so a portion of my stake belongs to you, and I don’t lie about the documents.
The seal of the Executive Director Cha had already been stamped, and the documents were clean. It didn’t feel real because it was so out of place that it didn’t feel real. As expected, the interest he had shown to Yaba in the past was nothing more than a matter of interest. It was quite a bit longer than expected.
At a time like this, handing over the stake also meant that he would close his mouth and clean up everything at the same time. Giha thought if he persisted, he would leak the recording and trample that arrogant face, but he couldn’t believe he was giving up the stake like this. The amount of money, enough for a third generation chaebol to play and eat, has become his own.
He choked the overwhelming feeling into his throat. Now all that remains is to meet the ghost-like owner and take over the store. The long—awaited dream was near, but there was no way of knowing why he wasn’t happy to receive the stake. When the woman next to the Director pressed something, he murmured with a jumbled pronunciation.
― Oh, I have dinner with my friends tonight and I need some spice to heat up the atmosphere. Send me Cocaine and some singers.
“I’m sorry, but it’s difficult because the kids moved today…”
— Don’t say no. Then I will be really disappointed.
Executive Director Cha sighed and whined.
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