Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3.1

Madame Jang closed the door and came inside, leaving the dark street behind her. She approached the man carefully as he sniffled and looked around the shop.

The man scrutinized every corner with a suspicious look on his face and carefully looked at the woman standing right in front of him. He tilted his head and scratched his sideburns with his index finger.

The man was extraordinarily tall. Even though Madame Jang wasn’t short, she didn’t reach his shoulders. It seemed like his head might touch the ceiling with only a little movement.

“Did you see?”

The man jerked his chin, urging the woman for an answer. His tone was light, and nothing had happened yet, but the air felt menacing. It was just his presence alone.

Could a person suffocate another with their sheer presence? Hongju suddenly realized that it was possible.

At the same time, she noticed that she had been staring at him, lost in thought. She quickly averted her eyes before the man noticed.

“Gisong? No…?”

Madame Jang, who had looked dejected, regained her composure and answered Eunsan. Though she was faking it, she tried to maintain calmness and averted his gaze.

She returned to the table where Hongju was sitting and began clearing the dishes. She could feel the man’s eyes on her back, making her speak faster than usual.

“He wouldn’t be here at this hour. He’s probably sleeping.”

“…Really?”

Hmm. The man snorted deeply and perched on a nearby table. Hongju now found his silence burdensome. The atmosphere, already tense from his arrival, had become unbearably heavy.

But then, a string of vulgar words broke the growing tension.

“Ha, da.mn… I swear I saw that bastard run this way. Sh!thead.”

“…What’s wrong? What happened this time?”

“The as.shole didn’t pay the money he owed me and was off playing poker with it. So I wanted to have a little chat.”

“So he missed the payment again? Eunsan, you must have gotten in trouble with your boss.”

Madame Jang clicked her tongue sympathetically, pretending not to know. The man lit a cigarette and took several deep drags before finally getting off the table.

“I got the money.”

“But you said he ran?”

“As soon as I found out that bastard was trying to run, I went to his boss’s house, had dinner, and lounged on the sofa watching TV until he covered it for him.”

The man slowly walked around the shop, which had about five or six sofas lined up. Unlike the area where Hongju was sitting, the right side had partitioned tables. He leisurely inspected each one.

Madame Jang stood silently. As he checked the second table, he asked abruptly, despite having a cigarette in his mouth.

“Do you want this kid to get pregnant?”

For the first time, he pointed his chin towards Hongju. Despite his arrogant attitude, Hongju didn’t feel angry but instead felt her mouth go dry.

She looked at Madame Jang, feeling the tension creeping up her neck. As the man moved further into the shop, she could sense Madame Jang’s wariness.

Madame Jang went to the kitchen, collecting plates. As she passed by Hongju, she defended her just like she had for Gisong earlier.

“What kind of kid would be in a tiny backwater bar like this? No, she’s here to work in our kitchen from now on.

“The kitchen? Where’s Bohee?”

“She went to Seoul.”

“Seoul.”

Hmm. He exhaled deeply but didn’t ask further.

Instead of asking, he suddenly directed his attention to Hongju. She felt herself being helplessly drawn into the odd silence he had created.

“That’s a shame.”

He grinned and said,

“It’s hard to swallow this horse’s d!ck if you’re not experienced, right?”

He made a crude gesture towards his lower body.

Hongju was so shocked by his obscene behavior that she couldn’t move, as if struck by lightning. She felt like she had been harassed, but he turned away too quickly for her that she didn’t even have time to process what he said. Did he say… what?

Proving he was abnormal, the man flicked his still-lit cigarette butt onto the floor. Then he wandered into the kitchen, humming and meddling with the utensils.

“Expand the menu, noona. Gisong Hyung, that bastard kept cu.ssing me out for making him run errands for snacks.”

Gisong had disappeared into the narrow space between the counter and the kitchen. Eunsan obviously knew about it, too. Madame Jang, whose legs felt numb, abandoned the dishes and pushed the laughing Eunsan on his back.

“Agh, get going now so we can get ready for business. I’ll call if Gisong shows up.”

Eunsan was obediently chased out, with Madame Jang slapping his back. He kept his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders as he cried out in exaggerated pain.

Madame Jang, who had finally pushed him out into the hallway, slapped him across the chest.

But just as he seemed to be leaving quietly, Eunsan stomped his foot on the floor. The loud noise made the two women jump and look at him in surprise. He then casually perched himself on the armrest of the sofa.

The sofa where Hongju was sitting.

Eunsan stared at Hongju with pursed lips and then, without warning, snatched her cap off her head.

“Who wears a hat to work?”

The menacing man partially lifted the cap, revealing Hongju’s face that had been hidden under its brim.