Payback Book 1.

Chapter 2,

That's the right way. I still had debts and had to work like an ox, as I'd promised the president, to earn money to pay them off. So I started working seriously for the first time, delivering newspapers in the early morning, followed by packing goods at the factory from morning till evening. As soon as night fell, I'd put on a funny costume and stand handing out flyers on the entertainment district street. I worked like that, sleeping only a little over three hours a day and eating only two meals. After that, my mother lived for another three months. The fact that she lived for three months, after the doctors had said she would only last a few weeks, was probably because she missed her children until her last moments and tried to live a little longer so that I wouldn't be alone.

 

The day I used the deposit money to pay the final instalment on my mother's medical bills, I was truly broke. But I still went out, handing out flyers on the street in the entertainment district as usual. I wore a mascot mask that I could barely breathe in, one summer night, handing out flyers for a newly opened karaoke bar to passersby. Even though I just scattered my mother's ashes in the river, getting any rest is impossible for me.

 

Something in my head has been motionless since I started working three months ago, and I don't know if it's made me feel even more lethargic. Three months of expensive medical bills were all for my mother's survival, weren't they? But now that she's gone, why don't I feel any sadness? However, the question that drifted through my mind was quickly overwhelmed by exhaustion. I needed to go back to the warehouse I rented to sleep for a couple of hours before heading out to deliver newspapers early in the morning. But after finishing work at two in the morning, my body, which should have been resting, wouldn't move. 

 

Dressed in my mascot costume, I sat lost in thought at the end of an alley in the entertainment district, and then I noticed something strange before hearing an argument from somewhere. This happened so often that it had become normal in this neighbourhood; it's rare to find a normal voice other than a drunkard's. Even so, it didn't attract my attention until someone's words made me move.

 

"Heaven will punish you!"

 

As the hoarse voice faded, the sounds of a brawl erupted, followed by thuds, crashes, and clanging as objects hit people and bottles shattered in rapid succession. I was very familiar with these sounds. Turning the corner, I saw four men brutally beating another man.

Even though the man was on the defensive, the situation was surprisingly evenly matched. The reason I think someone who's being ganged up on isn't necessarily a strong fighter is that they're outnumbered, because those guys are just in their twenties, some kind of hooligan from next door who just went to a nightclub and are acting tough. 

 

If it were me, I could easily handle those kids by myself, but what surprised me was that the man was fighting with only one arm, the other in a cast. Even so, he calmly faced four men with a poker face. I don't know the full story, but it seemed like the man in the case ultimately won. If it hadn't piqued my interest, I wouldn't have paid any attention. Thinking that, I intended to turn and walk away, but then I saw one of the thugs pull something out. 

 

It was a short knife I recognised. Seeing a man gripping the kind of knife I used to use, my feet moved involuntarily. I only regained my senses after I had already swung my hand out.

 

"Agh!"

 

The thugs screamed as I twisted their arms, causing their knives to fall. Presumably, their arms were broken in an instant, bringing the fight to a halt before all eyes turned to me. My eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.

 

"Who are you?"

 

One of the thugs asked in a shocked tone. I glanced at him before swinging my fist. It slammed into the face of the person who was still screaming on the opposite side.

 

Crash...

The other guy fell to the ground with a loud thud. The other three thugs quickly ran off. He went to find his friend first, then glared at me intensely.

 

"Damn it, are you one of them?"

 

I shook my head without even looking at the person who was being targeted, but that thug… He jumped up and down, his face showing disbelief.

 

"Those cowards! Attacking from behind! What a wimp..."

 

So, are you really that brave to fight four against one?

 

The pathetic thugs yelled before hoisting their fallen friend onto their backs and speeding away. Even four against one, they lost. If I were in their shoes, it would have been the end of it. I watched them run off before turning around, wanting to get some rest. Just as I was about to take a step, the remaining ones stopped me.

 

"Hey, rabbit!"

 

A rabbit? I turned to look, puzzled, and then realised I was still in my mascot costume. That's why those thugs looked so surprised when they saw me, I thought, remembering them running away before I heard a weary voice speak.

 

"How are you going to take responsibility?"

 

He held a cigarette in his mouth, seemingly out of nowhere, and added with a weary look in his eyes.

 

"You've made all the people I was planning to have fun with run away. I'm asking you, Mr Karaoke Chihwaja," he read the name of the karaoke bar printed on the mascot's suit in a flat tone. If anyone else had said that, people would have burst out laughing, but the coldness in his voice was piercing, creating a tense atmosphere. So I turned to look him directly in the face.

 

"So what are we going to do?"

 

"Now you have to make me have fun instead."

 

How old is he? He looks like he's in his late twenties, but those eyes make it hard to guess his age. When I worked at the lending company, I saw the same kind of gaze from the older presidents in the industry, the kind of shrewd, unwavering look that never wavers at anything. So, even though his tone sounded relaxed, you had to be wary. Even though I'm ruthless, my work has made me realise there are people even more ruthless in this world, and it's best not to associate with those with eyes like theirs. 

 

I lowered my gaze to the other person's cast. He's about the same height as the person I once rushed to defend. If we had met a year ago, I might have rashly lunged at him with deadly force. No, now he can only use one arm, so it should be a more even fight. Fighting isn't difficult because it's the only skill my body is familiar with, but today I don't want to. If I have to fight when I'm feeling so frustrated like today, it'll only make me feel more uncomfortable. Seeing that I didn't retaliate, he probably assumed I didn't want to fight. So he tossed the cigarette he'd just smoked onto the ground and grinned.

 

"If you don't like it, I guess I'll have to force you to have fun with it," I said, watching him step closer, blurting out something I didn't even understand myself.

 

"Can you sleep with a man?"

 

He paused for a moment, then, understanding the meaning, smiled, his eyes showing for the first time, and his languid voice reached my ears.

 

"If I were the one doing it..."

 

I took off only my lower garments and straddled the man, keeping the mascot head on the whole time. Although the big, lollipop-like head looked comical, the man in the cast, Nor, found it funny. I couldn't laugh because it was the first time in my life I was the one on the receiving end, and when I tried to force myself down, I tore that area, and my legs were shaking. So the man told me to "take it slow," as if he was giving me genuine advice. It was a very bizarre sexual encounter. 

 

After taking off my clothes, he immediately penetrated me without any foreplay. There was only pain and blood. My penis wasn't even erect, so I just hoped it would end quickly. Even so, I didn't stop the man who was thrusting his hips up and down from below. I don't know why his penis was hard, but to prevent me from escaping, he used his uninjured hand to hold my waist and thrust into me, I who was in so much pain I couldn't move, with brutal and merciless force for a long time, without caring whether I was bleeding or not. The pain and exhaustion made my consciousness drift away in confusion almost the entire time.

 

Just as the man ejaculated inside me for the last time, I suddenly realised something. I'd been so busy breathing heavily that I hadn't noticed I was crying. I only realised my face was covered in tears and snot when he exhaled his hot breath under my head. I placed my hands on the man's stomach, which had stopped moving to support his upper body, and continued to cry like that for a long time.

 

Perhaps I craved warmth, but I, deserving of heavenly punishment, couldn't fully receive it. If I had paid the price with the pain of twenty minutes of sex, that would have been one thing. Maybe that's why I cried. I continued to cling to that man's body and sob, then, when I looked up, I met his emotionless gaze.

 

"If you're done crying, take off the mascot head."

 

It was as if some power was in the casual command. I could have just taken it off like that, but I still managed to move my hips and get up from him. The feeling of the deeply embedded core suddenly being withdrawn was quite clear, and the cloudy white fluid the other person had released flowed out.

 

I put my pants back on without paying any attention to them. When the other person saw me about to leave in that state, they stood up and gave me a cryptic look.

 

"Hey, Rabbit, if you want people to like you, be a little more obedient," I heard the slow, deliberate threat as I walked towards him, then asked him directly. The person sitting was looking up at me.

 

"Does this world have a concept of divine punishment?"

 

"do not have"

 

I nodded slowly in response to the immediate reply.

 

"Yes, there is no heavenly punishment."

 

The truth is, whether or not someone deserves divine punishment, they continue to live comfortably while committing wicked deeds. Yes, I wasn't punished; I just received the consequences of my actions. Divine punishment might be a lavish excuse for me. I'm simply trying to shift the blame for my sins to a non-existent heaven. I don't need to blame anyone or anything for my misfortune. Just then, a weary voice spoke up.

 

"But there's the law of karma. That's why the world is so interesting."

 

A small dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth as he smiled. I felt the image was both cute and contradictory, especially after I extended my hand.

 

"gulp!"

The man clutched his casted arm, took a deep breath, and hunched over. Judging from the swollen and bruised half-covered hand outside the cast, he looked like he'd been injured recently. Twisting his hand like that would probably make the cast take even longer. 

 

Although I felt guilty for not having more time to play with him, I picked up the mascot costume from the ground, draped it over my arm, and pulled out 20,000 won—my earnings from wearing the rabbit mascot costume and handing out flyers—before tossing it in front of him and adding...

"Compensation for playing together."

 

Sleeping with a man I bought for 20,000 won had consequences I didn't expect. I remember having a hard time for almost a week. And because of the blood, I didn't know if it stained my bunny costume that day, or if it was gangster blood, I got fired the very next day and never had to wear the bunny costume again.

 

I found a part-time night shift job at a road construction site instead. Then my days became incredibly hectic as I worked like crazy to earn money. Just getting through each day was a struggle. Looking back, it was probably the longest time I've ever gritted my teeth and persevered to get something done in my life.

 

Then four and a half years passed like that. The total debt was 353,277,360 won. I paid it all back in my twenty-fifth year, and the principal was less than 20 million won. When I took the last payment to the chairman, he smirked and complimented me, saying that with someone like me, making a living in this profession was easy, though he added a sarcastic remark.

 

"If you need money, come again."

 

I was about to leave without answering, but he called out to me as if he had just remembered something.

 

"Oh, did you borrow money from anywhere else besides me?"

 

"No."

 

"Really? Hmm, it seems like someone's been looking for you lately. The recruitment agency I recommended when you first started paying off your debt has also contacted you. Did something happen to you while you were working there?"

 

It's been five years since I first started paying off my debt. What kind of job did I have back then? Was it a risky one? The job I got through a recommendation from the chairman was wearing a mascot costume and handing out flyers.

 

"do not have"

 

When he answered curtly, he tilted his head and made a 'hmm' sound.

 

"I thought you were in such a hurry to make money that you'd gotten into trouble, so I told you."

 

"I'm leaving now, pretending I don't know you."

 

He stared at me intently, as if expecting thanks. I was finished with my business, so I abruptly turned to leave before he called out to me again in a strangely serious tone.

 

"Hey, don't you want to come work for me again?"

 

"No, thank you."

 

"...You really have changed."

 

After that, I heard the question, "Have you had a change of heart?" But I walked away because I didn't have time to pay attention. Time is of the essence when delivering packages, and the sheer volume to be delivered today is more than I could handle, even if I rushed out right now. It's like... I've been incredibly lucky all day. 

 

I don't know if it's because I've finally paid off all my debts. Still, I was able to finish my work faster than usual because there were an unusually large number of packages to receive at once, which shortened the time. There weren't any places where I had to carry heavy packages up to the third floor. So I really felt lucky. However, it seems my luck is about to end, because shortly after finishing work and getting into my car, I received a call from my boss.

 

"Hey, there's been an accident on side xx. Traffic's completely gridlocked. Go help out in that direction. Hurry up!”

 

My boss hung up the phone amidst a cacophony of voices, as if he were coming down to work himself. If it's the XX side... isn't it in the heart of a densely populated office area? They're quite tight on time there because they have to deliver goods before the office closes for quitting time. It's already 5:30. I turned the steering wheel, thinking to myself, "Even if you replaced the pickup truck with a flying aeroplane, it still wouldn't be fast enough.”

 

The final destination, arriving drenched in sweat, was a towering skyscraper in a prime location within a neighbourhood known for its expensive real estate. A particular company seemed to monopolise the building, with only a sign at the very top. The attendant at our broken-down car told us to drive slowly, as people remained there until evening, and he seemed right.

 

It was past 7 PM, but a large crowd was still gathered in front of the building. Many people were entering and leaving, and many packages were being delivered. What were they all doing here? What puzzled me was the group of middle and high school girls standing in front of the building. I transferred the packages from the pickup truck to the handcart and pressed the doorbell at the building entrance. The security guard, seeing me from inside the closed glass door, immediately opened the front gate. Then the group of girls standing outside craned their necks to look inside.

 

Screams and shrieks, as if seeing someone inside, continued among the crowd. A female student, but neither the security guard nor the people walking around the spacious lobby paid her any attention, as if it were a common sight. After pushing the shopping cart and receiving a pass from the security guard, she realised this was a company. 

 

"Do the parents of those children know that their kids are doing this just to see their faces?"

 

"I want to see my favourite celebrity at least once."

 

I overheard someone murmuring as I glanced at the floor plan on the back wall, and the first thing I saw was the company name.

DREAM ENTERTAINMENT

 

The words of Myungshin, his former lover, resurfaced in his memory.

 

He always said it was the number one entertainment company he wanted to get into. Ah...is that so? That company is this one, huh? When I recalled certain past events from the company name, I couldn't help but chuckle. Thinking back, I was betrayed by an ex-lover once, but I've forgotten all about it lately. 

 

I slowly pushed my shopping cart into the elevator, watching the numbers change slowly. The two women who got in with me were so flustered they couldn't stop talking until I reached my floor.

 

"Phew, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Apparently, Director Yoon is the one who discovered our department's mistake. I heard he called everyone in after lunch, and everyone's going to be in chaos. Just hearing about it makes me feel like I'm going to have indigestion."

 

"How did he know that?"

 

"I don't know, but you know, right, that when Director Yoon smiles, it makes people send shivers down everyone's spines."

 

"Of course I know. When Director Yoon appeared at the company two months ago, everyone misunderstood because of that smile. There were probably a couple of people who got fired because they mistook him for being polite and gentle, so they acted casually. This time, it looks like everyone's going to get fired again."

 

The woman hunched her shoulders, as if she were genuinely frightened.

 

"I thought they'd be lenient since he's still young and worked at an overseas branch before transferring, but it turns out he's a reincarnated executioner from the Joseon era..."

 

As the "ding" sound rang out and I reached my floor, I could finally hear their voices fading. I just needed to deliver this package quickly, so I hurried through the open elevator doors. Because I was wearing a hat, I couldn't see the person who walked past me into the elevator, but I had to turn around because of his voice. It was a voice that, even after five years, still sounded familiar.

 

"Hey, hurry up! Why are you so slow, like a snail? Damn it! I don't know!"

 

"Oh no, I'm going to be late for filming!"