Swallow Hunting Chapter 22

“What’s that?”

“An owner I know said he had so left over and gave it to . Set the table. Let’s eat together.”

I took a look at the bag—it was golden-brown fried chicken. Sleeping a bit must’ve kicked my appetite back on. Haejun jumped up too fast and went “urk,” grabbing his lower back. The aftereffects from dawn were still hanging on.

“What’s wrong?”

“Got up too fast.”

“Be careful. You’ll throw your back out like that.”

Feels like it’s already out. Trying not to make it obvious, Haejun set the table and sat down. Yohan ca back after washing his hands and opened the chicken box. The drumsticks went to Haejun, the breast at to Yohan. One of the reasons our friendship’s lasted this long is probably because our tastes line up.

I held the drumstick in both hands and tore into it, and my face started prickling. Yohan was chewing his chicken breast and staring straight at .

“What.”

“Nothing, just—you’ve got that face of soone who got his ass wrecked.”

I’ve heard Yohan’s no-brakes mouth thousands of tis, so I shouldn’t have been surprised, but this one hit hard. A piece of chicken going down my throat took a wrong turn and slamd into my windpipe. Badly choking, Haejun coughed and gagged.

“What kind of crazy shit are you saying.”

This ghostly bastard. With instincts like a fortune-teller laying out a mat in Myeongdong and raking in cash from foreigners.

“Is it true.”

“No.”

“Don’t bullshit .”

Yohan’s eyes narrowed. Even if I confessed the truth, he probably wouldn’t make a big deal out of it, but what happened with Lee Kangjoo—I decided to keep that secret for now. I didn’t have the guts to say it yet.

“Aren’t you going to work?”

“Day off today.”

“Lucky bastard. Want to cover for instead? I’m not feeling great today.”

“Figures, since your ass got wrecked—”

“Ah, fuck, no it didn’t!”

I snapped, but Yohan just curled one corner of his mouth and snickered, like he already knew everything.

Pretending to be pissed, I slamd the chicken down and stood up. When Yohan asked if I wasn’t going to eat anymore, I yelled “I’m not!” like so stormy teenager and went into the bathroom. After washing my face, I ca back out.

“Seriously, Cha Haejun, learn to control that temper.”

“Stop fucking with , you psycho.”

“Go already. If you’re late, that owner’s gonna lose his shit. I’ll leave the chicken—co back and eat it if you get hungry.”

Yohan crawled under the blanket, probably to sleep. Feeling bad for snapping at him, Haejun quietly cleared the table and got dressed. Still, after resting a bit, my body felt better than it had in the morning.

* * *

Right from the start, luck was on my side. I got picked by the first custor of the day.

I went into the room, laying on the charm and pouring drinks with enthusiasm. I drank carefully, though. My body wasn’t back to normal yet, so I had to pace myself. I used the old trick of secretly dumping alcohol into the ice bucket and pretending I was nicely buzzed.

I skipped the second round. Things were heating up with one custor, but my lower back was throbbing—I couldn’t possibly spend the night with anyone. Worrying about erectile dysfunction was the least of it; I didn’t have a single drop of sen left in my balls. It was just one night with Lee Kangjoo, but in that one night it felt like he’d wrung out every last bit I’d built up over my entire life. I’d need a good month of rest before the pouch between my legs started functioning properly again.

That’s how I got through the next few days. There were tis when I couldn’t do second rounds and my wallet dried up, but this week my money luck was insane. Custors were in great moods, tipping generously, saying I sang well, that I was cute. A loan shark even showed up and kicked my shin while making a scene, but when I handed over what I’d earned, he left with nothing but a stream of curses. Sa old days, more or less.

“Hyung, have you been taking care of your body lately?”

I was sprawled on the waiting room sofa playing a phone ga when soone suddenly spoke to . A smooth face and a greasy smile. An ace. Of course, I’d forgotten his na.

“No.”

“You’re glowing. Your skin’s better, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’ve got that dewy look. Custors talk about you. Saying you’ve gotten prettier lately.”

“I was always pretty.”

I answered casually, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from lifting. Instead of a mirror, I checked my face with my phone’s front cara.

Maybe because I’d flushed out every last drop of old sen like peeling off built-up gri, my skin was smooth like a peeled egg, my eyes bright and clear. I’d lost a bit of weight, too, so my jawline and the back of my neck stood out more.

Is that why I’ve been getting picked so easily?

......Then why hasn’t Lee Kangjoo contacted .

He cos to mind sotis. Actually, often. If he paid that much, it ant the night we spent together had to have satisfied him, but there wasn’t a single text. Dead or alive, nothing. We weren’t exactly at the stage where we’d keep in touch before sothing happened, but it still bothered .

Is he short on money, or is there sothing else in the way.

I must’ve been sitting there slack-jawed, because the ace suddenly shoved a finger right into my open mouth. I spat, going “ptui, ptui,” like a bug had flown in, and he burst out laughing.

“Oh, right. The boss said to stop by the office when you co out of your room.”

“What? When?”

“A while ago. Before you went into your room.”

“Why the hell are you telling now!”

I shouted like thunder and bolted out of the waiting room. I’d ditched without a word to et Lee Kangjoo before, dodged second rounds—there were way too many things weighing on my conscience, and my heart started pounding. I’d already committed sins, and now I was late to a summons. Violence was a given.

I cleared my throat in front of the boss’s office and knocked. As soon as I announced myself as Hajin, permission ca right away. When I opened the door and went in, the boss had his shoe up on the desk. Like so /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ free money had fallen into his lap, his face was slack with a greasy smile.

“Cha Haejun.”

The boss, who usually barked out insults, spoke in a soft, almost affectionate tone. Goosebumps prickled up my arms and the back of my neck. Pressing down the hairs standing on end with my palm, I smiled servilely.

“I heard you were looking for . But what’s this about......?”

“In this line of work, there isn’t a single bastard you can trust.”

“Pardon?”

“What kind of sucker did you latch onto?”

“A sucker? What sucker would I latch onto. Boss, you’re funny.”

I waved my hands quickly. After getting burned badly trying to reel soone in before, I’d been careful about putting effort into anyone.

“If you keep bullshitting like that, one day you’re gonna get your tongue cut out, asshole. Don’t play dumb! Your sucker ca today and paid off your Mic King loan in full.”

“......What?”

“Who do you think you’re fooling. Did you open your ass? Sold yourself to so rich chairman?”

“No—what? Boss, who the hell.......”

“Baekseong......? Baeksong......? Sothing like that. Did you take out another private loan?”

The boss glared at as he asked. Haejun shook his head so hard his neatly styled hair fell apart. Just hearing the words “private loan” made sick. Maybe because I was screaming no with my whole body, the boss didn’t press further.

“They say you’ll be a ghost here even when you die—what a load of shit. Here. Take it.”

He was ruthless enough to snap the ankles of debtors who ran without paying, but when it ca to money matters, being thorough and clean was the boss’s greatest strength.

He pulled out a copy of a receipt and handed it to . It was the contract I’d signed with a thumbprint when I first begged him for money after joining the bar. Attached at the bottom was the receipt stating the debt had been fully repaid.

I pinched my cheek, wondering if I was dreaming. The skin stretched painfully. It was real. Still unable to believe it, I kept looking back and forth between the paper in my hand and the boss’s face.

“Is this for real?”

I still had an enormous amount of debt on my back beyond this, but even shedding one made my heart feel lighter. My eyes welled up. The boss clicked his tongue. Seeing a grown man cry was the ugliest thing in the world to him, but sothing about Cha Haejun’s teary look tugged at the heart.

“They said he was so kind of CEO.”

At the offhand comnt, Haejun, who’d been staring blankly at the receipt, snapped his head up.

“So what are you gonna do now. Keep working here, if you want. Oh. Rent’s going up thirty percent. I’ve been charging you less so you could pay off your debt.”

“No, boss, that’s not right!”

“What do you an it’s not, you little shit. If you don’t like it, get out.”

In this city where money drains away just from breathing, it was hard to find a place in similar condition for that kind of rent. On top of that, there was no deposit. There’d been no need to bind with one anyway, since I was already chained by a Mic King loan.

But that was over now. A thirty percent hike—are you kidding . Haejun clung to the boss’s arm, begging desperately.

“Can’t you cut so slack? Like, just ten percent.”

“Thirty.”

“Boss......!”

“Thirty!”

No matter what tricks I used that usually worked on custors, the boss didn’t budge. Annoyed by a grown man clinging to him, he told to fuck off and flicked my forehead so hard it felt like my skull was about to split in two.