HPK 16

Wooseung looked around and stood in front of the ATM with the shortest line. After about 5 minutes, it was his turn. He inserted his card and familiarly pressed the deposit button.

He had not gotten a single room yesterday, but he had a considerable amount of money on hand.

650,000 won. Wooseung deposited all of that money and then pressed the account transfer button. When he entered the account number he had long since memorized, a window popped up asking him to enter the amount to be sent. Wooseung pressed each number firmly.

[1,500,000 won]

For a moment, his finger hesitated at the number on the screen.

But he closed his eyes, opened them again, and pressed the confirm button. He should be used to it, but he just could not get used to it. Money that he only got to hold in his hand before having to let it go.

Even though he was diligently paying it back, he was barely managing to pay off the interest, let alone the principal. The interest rate, which easily surpassed the legal limit, was ridiculous from the start, but there was nothing he could do. He had been that desperate for money at the time.

[Job seekers, unemployed individuals, and housewives welcome]

The motive for lending money to those who had difficulty getting loans from legitimate institutions, and moreover, who did not have the ability to pay it back in the first place, was obvious.

Wooseung had recently seen the news that an illegal private financial criminal organization, which had been making illegal loans and charging high interest rates of over 5,000% per year, had been caught by the police. It did not feel like someone else’s story.

His dad, Heehoon, was a credit delinquent. He could not get a credit card, let alone a mobile phone. Everything was under Wooseung’s name. His credit score was falling day by day, and his job was what it was. It was an environment where things were unlikely to work out well from the start.

“…Ah.”

He had been lost in thought and was brought back to his senses by the receipt that was pushed out from the machine. The printed words ‘Balance 70,000 won’ particularly caught his eye. Is this what they call pouring water into a bottomless pit? Money that never ends, no matter how much you pay it back. Money that goes straight into someone else’s hands without ever being used.

The only consolation was that there were no utility bills to be paid immediately. Wooseung turned his feet toward the convenience store to buy a cup of ramen for lunch.

As he was heading home with a cup of ramen, he got a call. When he checked the name on the screen, he knew he should not, but… a sigh escaped first.

[Yejin]

He debated for about 5 seconds whether to answer or not, but in the end, he did.

“Yeah, Yejin-ah.”

—Oppa. What are you doing?

“Me? I just stepped out to buy some cup ramen.”

—You’re just having cup ramen for lunch?

“I don’t have much of an appetite.”

After a bit of conversation asking about each other’s well-being, Yejin got to the point.

—Oppa, I’m going on a membership trip. Send me some money.

Wooseung was reminded anew that it was already May. He had lost his sense of date a long time ago. He just took out his summer clothes when it got warmer and his winter clothes when it got colder. It was like that.

“How much?”

—The participation fee is 60,000 won, but I’ll need some spending money too, so, um…

After thinking for a moment, Yejin spoke in a light tone.

—Just send me whatever you can, oppa.

The ‘Balance 70,000 won’ he had just checked flashed in Wooseung’s mind.

“When do you need it by?”

—It’s due this Friday, so just send it before then.

“…Alright.”

Including spending money, he would have to send at least 100,000 won. Considering the prices these days, 100,000 won might not even be enough, but…

—It would be even better if you could send it as soon as possible.

At her casually added words, his chest ached as if it were tightly blocked. But Wooseung, as always, could only answer that he would.

‘When you think about it, it’s because of you that mom ended up like that!’

After hanging up the phone and staring at the dead black screen, he remembered the words Yejin had cried out once.

‘What’s that tone you’re using with your oppa!’

Sin is not born only from malice. Because he wanted to see his kind mother for a long time. Because his mother, who was suffering from his father’s affair, looked at ease for a little while. For such a trivial and insignificant reason, Wooseung had sinned. At the time, he thought that path was a shortcut, but it was a clumsy path made of foolish selfishness. No, it was a swamp where his feet sank deeper and deeper the more he walked.

Wooseung hurried his steps, clutching his phone in his hand. His right molar throbbed. The pain would reveal its presence whenever he was about to forget it, making things difficult for him. Jaemin had told him to go to the hospital before it was too late, but he himself knew better than anyone that he could not afford to.

For now… he had to check how much was in the box where he kept his emergency fund. Even though it was an emergency fund, it would be less than 100,000 won, but right now, he was grateful for even that much money.

“Hyung, you’re really pale.”

As they were standing in the hallway for the lineup, Hyojun suddenly spoke to him. His gaze was on the nape of his neck, visible above the knit sweater.

“Isn’t it usually a bit dark here from the sun?”

Wooseung unnecessarily covered the nape of his neck with his palm and leaned his back against the wall. “Why are you looking…” he said with a laugh, and Hyojun playfully peeked, pretending to look more.

“Oh, it’s the president.”

At that moment, he heard someone standing in front of him mutter to themselves. The entertainers’ gazes all turned to the left in unison.

Taejung, dressed in an anorak set and sneakers, was walking from a distance. Behind him, who was looking at his phone with his right hand stuck in his pants pocket, was Hoonyeong.

The once noisy hallway instantly fell silent. Taejung, perhaps puzzled by the sudden silence, raised his head. Their eyes met.

“…”

The corners of his mouth lifted crookedly. For some reason, he looked at Wooseung and smiled meaningfully. Wooseung pretended not to see the smile and lowered his head.

“He looks like such a gangster.”

As Taejung disappeared around the corner, someone said in a sneering tone. In the voice was an undisguisable mix of jealousy and disgust.

“One person is a president and another is, fucking hell, sigh…”

“I know, I’m so damn jealous.”

While the entertainers were whispering, the door opened and Kim Jeong-oh stuck his head out. “Come in,” he said, gesturing with his head toward the inside.

Hyojun, who had been placing his hand on Wooseung’s shoulder and giving him a massage, joked around, saying, “Choo-choo.” Wooseung quickly forgot about Taejung, whom he had just encountered, and played along with Hyojun’s joke. For some reason, he felt at ease when he was with Hyojun.

It had been like this for the most part since he came to the annex, but Wooseung once again was not chosen. Even at the main building, not many people had chosen Wooseung, except for the young female clients. Among the tall, well-built men, Wooseung was well aware that he was not very attractive.

The emergency fund he had checked in the morning was all of 60,000 won. On his way to work, Wooseung went to the bank and sent 130,000 won to Yejin. Even after sending a text saying he had deposited the money, there was no reply from Yejin.

As he was blankly staring at Chanil playing a game on the sofa, his phone vibrated. He thought it might be Yejin, but the name on the screen was his dad.

He looked around and stealthily got up from the sofa. Not that anyone would be interested in his phone call, but Wooseung deliberately went behind the hanger rack placed in the corner of the waiting room. Standing behind the rack, covered with clothes and luggage, the not-so-large Wooseung was completely hidden.

“Yeah, dad.”

—Oh, Wooseung-ah. Where are you.

“Me, at the study room…”

—Then I shouldn’t hold you for long. You gave Yejin the money, didn’t you?

“Ah, yeah.”

After a short silence, Heehoon continued.

—It must not have been a small amount… Did you get some money?

His grip on the phone tightened. The heat from the phone, its back already warm, warmed his palm.

“I just… had some money saved up for utility bills, so I gave her that. She said it was urgent, so what could I do.”

—Oh no…

Heehoon only let out a short groan and was silent for a while. Wooseung knew that it was his turn to break the silence at this moment. He could not not know. His conversations with his dad, Heehoon, were always like this.

“Should I… send you some?”

—That would be great. Grandma’s bedsores are getting really bad, and your mom too…

The words that followed did not properly register in his mind. Right now, Wooseung did not even have a single 10,000 won bill. It was a Monday, so there would not be many clients, and on top of that, he did not even know if he would be chosen. But…

“Is it okay if I send it tomorrow morning? I can’t send much. I don’t have much either.”

Heehoon said that would be fine, and after repeatedly telling him not to skip meals and to get a good night’s sleep, he finally hung up. Both the thanks for the money and the concern about skipping meals were Heehoon’s sincere feelings. Wooseung knew that well too. It was just that he was not well-off enough to not have to depend on the money his son sent him.

As he was blankly looking down at his hot phone, he heard the sound of the waiting room door opening. And then, a voice calling him, “Mr. Yoon Wooseung.”

“Yes?”

Wooseung quickly came out from behind the hanger rack. Hoonyeong, who was looking around the waiting room, found Wooseung. The entertainers’ gazes also turned to Wooseung in unison.

“Huh.”

“What, did he just say Mr. Yoon Wooseung?”

A few of them looked at each other and exchanged glances. Those who had been sprawled out on the sofa also shot up and looked this way. It was understandable, as Hoonyeong did not usually use honorifics with the entertainers.

Hoonyeong, without paying any mind to the now bustling waiting room, silently gestured with his head to go outside. Wooseung hesitantly approached the open door.

Hoonyeong waited for Wooseung to approach, and when he got close, he took the lead. As expected, they arrived in front of Room 7. Hoonyeong did not open the door for him, but only gestured with his eyes to go in.

Wooseung bowed his head and then grabbed the doorknob. But before turning it, he looked back at Hoonyeong and asked, “Do I need to knock?” Just in case.

“Do as you please.”

Hoonyeong replied indifferently and immediately turned away. He just noticed now that there was a tablet in his left hand. It seemed he had come out in the middle of working.

Knock knock, Wooseung knocked and waited. A moment later, a familiar voice from inside said, “Yeah, come in.”

When he cautiously opened the door and went inside, he saw Taejung. The next person he saw was…

“Ah…”

It was Hyungho, the protagonist of the stories he had been hearing from Chanil for the past few days until his ears were about to fall off. He, who was sitting in an upright posture on the sofa to the right, diagonal from Taejung, was likewise staring at Wooseung with a bewildered face.