GC Ch 1

I had been harassed by loan sharks all my life, but this was my first time being stuffed into a car trunk. Maybe it was because the gambling house where I had been hiding out since my discharge from the military was located deep in the mountains, but the ride was unfathomably rough. Watching the tires bump along the uneven road made me feel like it was a reflection of my own life—ha, fuck my life. If I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn’t have been discharged; I should have committed armed desertion instead. Being locked up in prison was a million times better than being tormented by these bastards.

“Spit.”

Having been slapped across the face a few times, blood was leaking from the side of my pressed lip. Since my hands were tied behind my back, I couldn’t wipe it off, so I spat it directly onto the trunk floor. Suddenly, the car came to a halt, and even the engine cut off. After a moment, the sound of car doors opening and closing was followed by the faint sound of footsteps crunching on gravel. Soon, the trunk door began to open. Come to think of it, we had been driving for over an hour, so it was about time to stop.

Staring straight into the intense sunlight hit my eyes. The moment I scowled, I was grabbed by the collar and thrown out of the car.

“You lucky bastard—lucky you aren’t a corpse. The five million your mother borrowed has been completely settled, so keep that in mind.”

I thought I heard gravel earlier, and indeed, we were by a river. A long stream of water flowed to the left, and the area was entirely covered in a bed of gravel. The mid-May sun was so hot that the gravel touching my face was fully heated. But what was even more unpleasant than that was the amount of money that spewed from his mouth.

“How much did you say my mom borrowed?”

“Five million.”

“Five million? You loaded me up like luggage just to get that? I mean, fuck, are you seriously joking? I thought it was at least ten million.”

When I flopped around like a shrimp to force myself upright and blurted that out, Gang Mansik knocked my skull with a look of utter disbelief.

“This bastard still hasn’t fixed his dirty mouth. Hey kid, with a face like that, can’t you speak pretty? Compared to that mug of yours, your mouth is way too rough. Have you ever seen Jun Jihyun or Jeon Doyeon swearing? Huh?”

“If a dick-attached bastard is pretty, how pretty could he be to listen to what you say, hyung? Forget it, who paid off that money? It couldn’t be my dead dad, and even less so my mom or brother. Don’t tell me it was Aunt Jeongsuk?”

When I answered bluntly, Gang Mansik snickered and nodded his head. Grabbing and shaking the hair I had grown nicely over the three months since my military discharge, Gang Mansik said:

“Our Minjo, starting tomorrow, you’re dead meat. How are you gonna endure under that bitch Kim Jeongsuk?”

I knew it. In the past, Kim Jeongsuk had also paid off my mother’s debt on her behalf. But back then, it was a small amount—less than a million won—and it was only possible because I was dragged away right in front of her. Now that we were out of touch, how did she find out and pay the money instead? And without anything in return?

There was no way there was no price. When paying off that less-than-a-million-won amount, I had worked as an ashtray cleaner for a full three months at the gambling house and coffee shop run by Kim Jeongsuk. As if that weren’t enough, I even had to carry coffee on a tray and deliver it by bicycle, repeatedly suffering awful treatments. She was a person who exploited labor so relentlessly; where would that personality disappear to after just a few years? Back then, I was a minor, so it stopped at just that, but now that I was an adult, she would definitely demand a harsher price.

“Since Miss is coming soon, this hyung will be taking off. It’s not like we’re in a love triangle or anything, so it’s right for one guy to back out quickly. Hang in there, kid! After all the affection we’ve shared, she wouldn’t roll you in a pit of shit, would she?”

A pit of shit would be heaven, fuck. What kind of woman is she?

Gang Mansik, who roughly let go of the head he had been shaking, stopped on his way to the car and turned back to look at me.

“Ah right. I almost forgot to tell you.”

“What.”

“Suck my dick later. Today was the first time I realized your teeth were so straight.”

“Ah, just get lost.”

He had teased me like that several times. But he had never actually touched me. Gang Mansik only talked like that; he had zero interest in messing around with someone who had a dick.

Well, as Gang Mansik said, maybe I was just lucky. They were guys who would do anything to get their money back, yet I had managed to escape being victimized in that way every single time. Anyway, the reason my mouth turned into a filthy rag was all because of guys like Gang Mansik. I thought if I were dirty in at least one aspect, they wouldn’t entertain such thoughts. Of course, thanks to that, I also got beaten up a hell of a lot.

Less than five minutes after Gang Mansik left, Ms. Kim Jeongsuk appeared in a flashy attire. Having just come from meeting a man, her all-dressed-up look was disastrously terrible. Permed hair tied up, a miniskirt, black stockings, and even high heels. Her whole body was screaming, ‘I’m a madam.’

Holding a cigarette between her lips heavily coated in lipstick, Kim Jeongsuk puffed out smoke a couple of times, then abruptly grabbed my hair and shoved her face right in front of mine. Then, blowing her breath roughly into my nostrils, she spoke like this:

“Your mother, that bitch… I treated her like an older sister, and she ran off with my money, Minjo. What should we do about this?”

I didn’t know what kind of bullshit this was again. I should have just committed suicide back when I was holding a gun in my hands. I should have just kicked the bucket while I was still a soldier; why did I become a civilian again?

“I searched high and low, but that damned bitch won’t turn up. So Minjo, shouldn’t you pay off your aunt’s money?”

“…Getting tangled up in financial ties here and there makes things complicated, so you paid off the money for your own convenience, Aunt. I almost misunderstood.”

“Nonsense. It’s all out of my love for you. I’m the woman who changed your dirty diapers, so why wouldn’t I pay off a measly five million for you?”

Smirking as she spoke, Kim Jeongsuk pressed her red lips directly onto my forehead. Then she whispered:

“So, let’s take just one photo to send to your mother. It’s all for each other’s sake, so even if it’s sickening, endure it for a bit.”

“Pardon?”

Kim Jeongsuk made an incomprehensible remark, pulled away from me, and gestured to the guy she had brought along with her. What happened in the next instant brought a wave of nausea, as a nauseating stench of bloody reek covered my entire body.

“Ugh!”

What was poured over my body was pig’s blood. The pig’s blood trickling down from my head was terribly sticky, as if it had been boiled once. Tied up as I was, I pitched forward, gagging on the blood that rushed into my mouth and nose. That fucker—I thought it was strange that he was holding a bucket earlier. Since all I caught a glimpse of was a black bag, I didn’t dare guess it would be blood.

Meanwhile, a clicking sound rang out from somewhere. Barely opening my eyes to look ahead, Kim Jeongsuk was taking pictures of me with her cell phone.

“If you want to save your son’s life, bring the money quick, you bitch. If you spend even 1 won, I’ll literally tear his limbs apart.”

Muttering threats that I was long immune to and didn’t even find scary, Kim Jeongsuk sent the message and snapped her cell phone shut with a click. Stretching her bright red lips sideways, she smiled at the guy standing next to her.

“Doing at least this much should make her heart pound, shouldn’t it? Wow, it really looks like a murder scene.”

Then, blocking me as I crawled toward the river, she put on a serious face and said:

“Hey Woo Minjo. Starting today, you’re working under me again. If you run away, you know what happens, right? I’ll slice off your balls and dick and turn them into sashimi.”

…Due to those circumstances, I had already been working under Kim Jeongsuk for three weeks. Naturally, even after three weeks, there wasn’t a single call from my mom, who had run off with thirty million of Kim Jeongsuk’s money.

“Where did this bastard Minjo go again?! There’s a mountain of deliveries to make!”

“This bastard Minjo didn’t go anywhere; he’s right here.”

“Then why didn’t you answer right away! Ah, whatever, take Ms. Hyeon and hurry over to Jangheung Livestock. On your way back, drop by Gimun Construction.”

“Yeees.”

To put it simply, I was a hostage. Like it or not, I had to live entangled with Kim Jeongsuk until my mother brought the money and found me. Since she was the type of person who would literally slice off my balls and dick to eat as sashimi if I ran away, I became bound to the coffee shop, gambling house, and drinking establishment run by Kim Jeongsuk, working day and night without rest. In the midst of all that, the interest kept growing day by day.