NTH 11

“Huh? That doesn’t add up. You’re only thirty-one years old? I thought you were at least forty or something.”

Jeha nearly choked on the Americano he was drinking but managed to hold it back. He had never heard such a comment in his life.

“I didn’t realize I looked that old.”

As Jeha responded with some effort, Nana, who was scooping up mango from the parfait, replied with a casual expression.

“No, your face looks young. But don’t you have to study for, like, twenty years after becoming an adult to become a professor?”

“It doesn’t take that long.”

“Really? All the professors I’ve seen on TV are either misters or grandpas, so I assumed you were one of them. Plus, you’re way too good-looking to be a professor. I thought maybe you’d had plastic surgery or something.”

Plastic surgery, of all things. Jeha inwardly rolled his eyes.

“I haven’t had any surgery. These days, there are plenty of professors in their thirties.”

“That’s surprising. Thirty-one, huh. We’re not that far apart in age.”

“So you’re saying you knew I was older and still spoke informally to me?”

“I’ve been speaking informally from the start—switching to formal now would be weird. I’m not your student or anything. Anyway, you didn’t major in physical education, right?”

Given his dislike for people prying into his personal life, Jeha had never spoken to anyone about his time in the UK. He hesitated for a moment, his gaze settling on Nana’s pale hands.

For some reason, he felt an baseless impulse that it might be okay to tell this guy.

“Rowing.”

“Huh?”

“When I was in college in the UK, I was a representative rower for my college.”

“What’s rowing?”

“It’s a sport where you row a long, narrow boat with oars.”

“Oh, so that’s why your shoulders are so impressive.”

Jeha’s shoulder muscles were partly natural, but he didn’t bother correcting Nana’s assumption. Nana continued chattering.

“But, you know, some of Mr. Cheon’s underlings are huge, beefy guys too, but even after meeting them multiple times, they never recognize me. Is it because they’re just that dense? Or maybe it’s not about height or size after all?”

Nana’s assumption that Jeha’s ability to remember him was tied to height or build was flawed from the start, but what really grated on Jeha’s nerves was something else.

“You said Mr. Cheon?”

“Yeah.”

“What kind of company president is he?”

“President is a generous term—he’s really just a loan shark.”

“A loan shark?”

“Yeah. It’s a place called Angel Cash Loan, and the president’s name is Cheon Sagang. Their ad slogan is hilarious. ‘The angel of salvation for those in a pinch, Angel Cash Loan!’ Hah, angel my foot. That guy’s a devil who’d rip the gold teeth out of a corpse.”

Nana spilled everything without a hint of hesitation. It seemed that after revealing he had no family registry, his guard had dropped even further. Jeha silently repeated “Angel Cash Loan” and “Cheon Sagang” to himself a few times.

“Where did you first meet this president?”

“Maybe three months ago? I sneaked into the bathroom of a super fancy bar in Hannam-dong. I was planning to pickpocket some drunk guys while they were doing their business. I stole two things that night, and one of them belonged to Mr. Cheon.”

“And then you met him again somewhere, and he recognized you?”

Nana suddenly looked frightened. He glanced around quickly and whispered, “Is this place soundproof? There’s no one outside, right?”

Even if there were, they wouldn’t hear anything, but Jeha focused his senses, sharpening his hearing. The offices on either side were empty, and the only sound was the faint snoring of an elderly professor from a room far down the hall.

“No one outside can hear us, so talk freely.”

“I can’t help but think Mr. Cheon set a trap to catch me from the very start.”

“Why? What happened?”

Nana’s voice rose, as if still indignant at the memory.

“That night, I stole a wallet from some drunk bald guy in the bathroom, but it only had 150,000 won in cash. I risked my life sneaking into this exclusive VIP bar, and that’s all I got. Can you imagine how disappointed I was?”

“Yeah.”

“So I was hanging around, looking for another mark, when Mr. Cheon walked in. I told you, he’s as tall as you and just as bulky, right? But unlike you, he’s not exactly easy on the eyes. His eyes are slit-like, stretched out to the sides, giving him a pretty nasty vibe.”

Nana put his fingers on the corners of his eyes and pulled them outward dramatically. Jeha suppressed a chuckle and responded briefly to show he was listening.

“Go on.”

“I thought if a guy like that hit me even once, I’d be done for. So I hurried to the corner of the bathroom, pretending to look for a phone I didn’t even have. My presence is always faint, so I was sure he wouldn’t notice me.”

“Yeah.”

“But he stared at me for a long time. I hadn’t even stolen anything from him yet, but I was so freaked out. Then he turned away, unbuttoned his shirt cuff, slowly rolled up his sleeve, and guess what he did?”

“What?”

“He took off his watch. Even from a distance, you could tell it was some crazy expensive luxury brand, like the kind you’re wearing right now.”

It seemed Nana saw a lot of similarities between Jeha and Mr. Cheon. Jeha felt a strange urge to rip off his own watch and toss it aside.

“And then?”

“Mr. Cheon put the watch right on the bathroom sink, turned on the faucet, scrubbed his hands, and just walked out. I mean, what kind of jackpot is that? I bolted over, stuffed the watch in my pocket, and hightailed it out of there.”

“You didn’t think it might’ve been intentional?”

Having once set a trap for Nana himself for five straight days, Jeha’s voice carried a hint of unease. Nana’s eyes widened.

“Not at all. Why would he do that on purpose? He was drunk, so it made more sense that he forgot the watch after taking it off.”

“…Fair enough.”

“Anyway, I was thrilled and kept a low profile for over two weeks before taking it to some guys who deal in stolen goods.”

“Stolen goods?”

“Yeah. If you want to turn stolen stuff into cash, you have to sell it somewhere, but putting it on secondhand sites or meeting buyers directly can get you reported. So there are people who specialize in handling shady goods. They rip you off on the price, but since we’re all criminals, it’s a safe deal.”

“I see.”

“They usually smuggle the stuff to China or Southeast Asia to sell. International investigations don’t usually bother with simple thefts. So I took Mr. Cheon’s watch to them, but those guys grabbed me and dragged me to him.”

“Was Mr. Cheon behind it?”

“I’m not sure, but I think so. If I were just some random guy who impulsively stole the watch, I wouldn’t even know where to find those dealers, let alone go to them, right?”

“True.”

“I was caught, but I wasn’t that scared. With my knack, I figured I could slip away somehow. I’ve escaped tight spots like that plenty of times.”

“Yeah.”

“I was planning to blend into a crowd and disappear while we were moving from the car, but then the car pulled over on the side of the road, and someone yanked open the back door.”

“Mr. Cheon?”

“Yeah. He came to pick me up in person. The moment I saw those snake eyes, I got chills all over…”

Nana’s words made Jeha, who had been leaning back on the sofa listening casually, sit up straight.

“Wait, what did you say?”

“Huh? That he came to pick me up in person…”

“No, after that.”

“That seeing his snake eyes gave me chills?”

“Yeah. Snake eyes? What do you mean?”

“Aren’t there people with eyes like that in the UK? You know, small black pupils with a lot of white showing, like a snake’s eyes. What’s the fancy term for that?”

Jeha muttered, as if entranced, “Sanpaku…”

“Yeah, that’s it! Sanpaku! Mr. Cheon’s eyes are like that. Cold and creepy.”

Jeha tried to ignore the confusion swirling in his mind.

“So what happened next?”

“Well, the moment Mr. Cheon saw my face, he said, ‘You’re the guy who was hiding in the La Dolce Vita bathroom in Hannam-dong.’ I was floored. I’d never had anyone remember me that clearly in my entire life.”

“…”

“When I was a kid, the people who made me beg or the other kids I lived with would ask who I was every time they saw me. That place was crawling with orphans, and kids were always running away or new ones coming in, so I figured that was why. But by the time I met Mr. Cheon, I already knew my presence was invisible to most people, so I was even more shocked.”

“Yeah.”

“I was so stunned I couldn’t even respond, and he grabbed me by the back of my neck and dragged me up to the second floor. He took according to his office and told me to choose.”

“Choose what?”

“Whether I’d work under him and do as he says, or end up like the guy in the corner.”