Chapter 5.1

Chapter 5.1

Despite the sudden nasal sound, Eunsan didn’t panic and asked back.

“Money? What money?”

She deliberately used informal language, hoping he’d correct her, but he didn’t even notice. So, her plan to call out his rudeness by saying, “Weren’t you the one who spoke informally first?” fell apart.

Eunsan, who was fiddling with a tissue absentmindedly, raised an eyebrow. He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Hongju.

Facing Hongju’s indifferent expression left Eunsan momentarily speechless.

Just then, Gisong, sprawled on the floor, seemed to come to his senses. Blood from his fallen face was pooling on the floor. Hongju could only flinch, but Eunsan didn’t even glance in that direction.

Hongju, finally tearing her gaze away from Gisong, trembled slightly. She managed to stammer out, despite her nervousness.

“The skirt… you dirtied it.”

“Skirt? What skirt?”

“This one… You stepped on it, and now it’s ruined.”

Eunsan, leaning his elbows on the table and gazing at Hongju, finally lowered his eyes. He noticed the various stains on the part Hongju was fidgeting with.

“Oh, I see,” Eunsan sighed, bending down to inspect Hongju’s skirt closely. He reached out and roughly touched the fabric, then commented indifferently.

“You’re a total mess. Fine, I get it. how much?”

As Eunsan stood up and took his wallet from his back pocket, Hongju was surprised. She had expected him to refuse or ignore her, not to comply.

Hongju’s heart pounded as it was her first time asking a thug for money. Despite the smooth progress, her anxiety increased, causing her hands to shake. But Eunsan had no way of knowing that.

Hongju wiped her damp cheeks and gathered herself, avoiding direct eye contact. Her voice trembled.

“…100,000 won.”

Eunsan, who had been taking out bills, suddenly closed his wallet. Though he had already picked out a few 50,000 won notes, he chuckled as if incredulous.

He placed his wallet on the table and instead fished out a watch from his pocket, putting it on his wrist.

“Hey, Nabi.”

“…”

“Want to know why that guy always gets beaten up? It’s because lying is a habit for him.”

“… I included compensation for the mental distress.”

“What compensation? MeNtAl dIsTrESs? Forget it. I’ll just buy you a new skirt or whatever. Let’s go.”

Eunsan checked his watch and grabbed Hongju’s wrist, calling for Madame Jang. Before she could respond, he shouted that he’d be taking Hongju for a moment. He stuffed his wallet back into his rear pocket and urged her.

“Get up. Don’t make me say it twice.”

Suddenly, Hongju envied his confident, laid-back voice full of youthful energy. But she didn’t have time for such sentiments as Eunsan tugged her arm. She snapped back to reality as if she’d been hit with cold water.

The mountain path she had seen on the way here loomed in her mind. If she were buried in such a secluded place, she might not be found for months or even years. No matter how much she wanted to live in hiding, she didn’t mean underground.

Hongju twisted her captured wrist.

“No… I have to learn.”

“Learn after we come back.”

“I don’t want to. Just… forget it. I won’t take it. I’ll let it go.”

Hongju, rubbing the mark on her wrist, looked a bit pale. Eunsan, exhaling sharply, looked down at her from above.

After a long silence, he suddenly unbuckled his belt. He unzipped his pants, the sound of clanking metal filling the room.

It was a savage sound that shouldn’t be heard here. Hongju stopped gesturing in anger. Eunsan finally made eye contact with Hongju, unzipped his pants all the way, and pulled off the front of his shirt.

“We just met, and I forgot to give you a note.”

While Hongju looked on in disbelief, Eunsan tucked his wrinkled shirt neatly into his pants and then zipped them back up. He buckled his belt tightly and dusted off his pants.

“One.”

He didn’t stop with just one word. Eunsan shoved the table aside with one hand to create space, then leaned back against it.

He silently stroked his chin for a while, staring intently at Hongju. Then he spoke again, his voice colder than ever.

“One. I hate people climbing over me. Two. I really fu.cking hate repeating myself. Three. Well… I’ll tell you after we have se.x.”

With a grunt, Eunsan straightened up and extended his hand.

“Let’s go. We need to get this done quickly so you can work hard, right?”

At that moment, as if in response, Park Gisong let out a strange groan and twitched.

Seeing his rough hand still covered in blood, Hongju couldn’t muster the courage to retort as she had before. She couldn’t bring herself to say no and just leave. Even though he was spewing nonsense about se.x, she could only swallow her humiliation.

Eunsan shook his hand, signaling for her to take it. Just as Hongju hesitated, his phone rang in his pocket. Eunsan checked the caller ID and answered immediately.