* * *
“You’re here?”
When he returned to the dormitory, Ray Jun was there as expected. However, it was different from what Kang Siwon had imagined. He thought he’d be reading a book or working on his laptop as usual, but he was drinking wine alone.
“Come sit down. You should have a drink.”
Ray Jun urged him with an eye-smile. Now that he looked, another glass was set on the dining table.
“I’m good.”
“Don’t be like that, come sit down, Xie Wei. You have to drink on a day like today.”
It seemed Ray Jun was slightly drunk. Perhaps because his mood was tipsy, he was spilling smiles generously. Kang Siwon looked at him with displeasure—as disheveled as the wafting wine aroma.
“What kind of day is today?”
“The day I got promoted.”
“What?”
“I got promoted. From now on, I’ll work in the high limit zone.”
“You’ll work in the high-stakes betting zone? Weren’t you in the same cohort as me?”
“That’s right.”
“But you’re already getting promoted?”
“Yeah.”
Ray Jun replied while pouring wine into Kang Siwon’s glass.
“Because Sovereign is meritocratic.”
“That’s amazing.”
He couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed. At Sovereign Casino, which was leading the industry, being assigned to the high-stakes betting zone in less than half a year since joining was impossible without that level of skill. Separate from his dislike of gambling, it was a tremendous achievement.
“My salary will go up too. Cool, right?”
“That…… I’m jealous.”
At the honest reply, Ray Jun burst into laughter. But really, for Kang Siwon who had 3 billion in debt, let alone savings, it was naturally enviable. Dealers had high salaries to begin with, but if one worked in the high-stakes betting zone, it would be quite substantial.
“But how long are you planning to stand there? Hurry and sit down. I set the table because I wanted to eat together.”
As he said, cheese, crackers, bacon and such were placed on the dining table. For something prepared in the dormitory, the atmosphere was quite decent. However, Kang Siwon flatly refused.
“Thanks, but I’m good. I don’t drink.”
“Alcohol allergy?”
“Not that.”
“Is even one glass difficult?”
“Yeah.”
“What about just eating snacks and setting the mood?”
“Yeah.”
“Could it be that you don’t want to drink with me?”
If it had been another colleague who asked this question, Kang Siwon would have immediately replied ‘Yeah.’ But the person was Ray Jun. Ray Jun, who was actively helping him practice Chinese.
Human relationships were fundamentally ‘give and take.’ Just as he received help from him, he should give back accordingly.
However, Kang Siwon found drinking gatherings uncomfortable. No, he just hated alcohol itself. This wasn’t something worth seeking Ray Jun’s understanding about one by one.
“Aah, I’m such an unfortunate guy. I finally got promoted but don’t have a single friend to drink with. Haah…… Where did my life go wrong? A successful life but with no one by my side. How lonely……”
Ray Jun lamented while conspicuously sipping wine. His melancholic gaze and the angle of his fingers holding the glass were like the protagonist of a tragedy film. In the end, Kang Siwon plopped down in the seat across from Ray Jun.
“Fine. I’ll eat, I’ll eat. But I won’t drink the wine.”
“Okay. Let’s just toast.”
Ray Jun smiled brightly as if he’d never made a lonely expression. Kang Siwon just swallowed a sigh and picked up his glass.
“Cheers.”
“Cheers!”
Clink, the glasses collided. Unlike Ray Jun who gulped down the wine as is, Kang Siwon put down his glass. Instead, he ate crackers topped with cheese.
“The cheese is delicious.”
“Right? The wine is good too.”
“Chambolle-Musigny…… Yeah. It’s good wine.”
He glanced at the wine label and muttered. At this, Ray Jun tilted his head slightly and asked.
“You said you don’t drink, but you know it well. Are you interested in wine?”
“No.”
“Then?”
He pointed at the wine label with his eyes as he asked. Kang Siwon smirked and replied.
“How could I not know Chambolle-Musigny?”
It was even a representative work of Comte Georges de Vogüé. It was also a wine that was popular with customers when Kang Siwon worked at a hotel restaurant.
“You know that but won’t drink it? Even though you don’t have an alcohol allergy?”
“Don’t force alcohol on me.”
“Sorry. I’m just curious. You’re a gourmet, aren’t you—you said commercial coin broth doesn’t suit your taste so you even boil chicken bones yourself. Every gourmet I know is inevitably also a wine lover.”
“I just……”
Was boiling chicken stock in the dormitory kitchen too much after all? Regretting the past a little, Kang Siwon gazed at the wine with complicated eyes.
The dark red liquid in the glass was tempting. In truth, even Kang Siwon knew that taste. When he had just turned twenty, he actively enjoyed alcohol including wine. Because, as Ray Jun said, every gourmet was inevitably also a wine lover.
However, the day he learned that addiction was also hereditary, Kang Siwon quit drinking. It wasn’t that he deliberately abstained from alcohol—the very thought of wanting to put alcohol to his lips simply vanished completely. Because he must also have the genes of his father who was easily addicted to both gambling and alcohol. He couldn’t become such a pathetic addict.
“I’m not in the mood to drink.”
Since he didn’t want to explain all those circumstances in detail, Kang Siwon glossed over it.
“Did something happen at the cage room?”
“Yeah. When we were closing, the chip inventory didn’t match.”
“Oh my, the cage staff must have had a hard time. So? Did it get resolved well?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Siwon briefly explained how he had caught the error. As he talked, it somehow felt like he was praising himself, which was a bit embarrassing.
“That’s amazing, Xie Wei. Setting aside remembering the customer, how did you even remember the time?”
“Because I wanted to get off work quickly, I looked at the clock every 5 minutes.”
Ray Jun burst into laughter. He seemed to think it was a joke, but it was utterly sincere. Kang Siwon seriously elaborated.
“It’s true. From the moment I went to work, I wanted to get off work.”
“Haha, I know. Until the moment you left the dormitory, your face said you were dying to not go to work.”
“Well……”
It wasn’t just because Ray Jun was a perceptive dealer—anyone would have read Kang Siwon’s expression. Because the face he encountered in the mirror every morning was also miserable. But just managing his expression outside all day was draining enough; he didn’t have the energy to do so in the dormitory too. Fortunately, Ray Jun seemed to think he was just tired from work.
“Then how did you become the cage team’s ace?”
“Ace? Who?”
“Other people were saying so. Didn’t you know? They say you’re totally like an AI. Your calculations are accurate and you don’t make small mistakes. So everyone hopes to overlap shifts with you?”
He really didn’t know. Kang Siwon felt embarrassed but also secretly proud. He had been inwardly worried that he might ruin the atmosphere by being unsociable, so it was fortunate that wasn’t the case.
“Xie Wei, aren’t you going to get promoted soon too?”
“No way. Forget promotion, I just wish they’d let me leave work early.”
“Cheers to Xie Wei’s quick departure from work.”
Ray Jun raised his glass high. Kang Siwon clinked his glass against it. Clink, a clear sound like a hand bell rang out.
* * *
“Xie Wei, congratulations. You’re going to get promoted soon.”
“……Pardon?”
Not many days after Ray Jun’s promotion, Kang Siwon was also summoned by the manager. These were the words that fell upon Kang Siwon, who had tensed up in advance wondering what it was about this time.
“One of the high-stakes betting zone cage staff suddenly quit. We need replacement personnel right away, and I recommended you.”
“Me?”
The words ‘Why would you do such a thing’ surged up to his throat. The manager, who had no way of knowing such inner thoughts, smiled broadly until their plump cheeks bulged even more and said.
“It’s a rare opportunity. Do well, Xie Wei.”
“Thank you for seeing me favorably. However, I think I’m still lacking to work in the high-stakes betting zone.”
Kang Siwon really didn’t want to take on greater risks than now. If he went to a prime location like the high-stakes betting zone, it was obvious that the Baeksa Faction would demand more important information as if they’d been waiting for it. In other words, it meant his safety would become more dangerous. Because such places inevitably had tight security.
Moreover, setting aside the Baeksa Faction problem, he wasn’t a competent person worthy of promotion in the first place. To send someone like him to the high-stakes betting zone—that great Sovereign Casino clearly had no eye for people.
“Xie Wei, your problem is being too modest. A meticulous and mistake-free staff member like you is rare even among those in their second or third year. Someone like you could adapt to the high-stakes betting zone quickly. I guarantee it.”
“……Thank you.”
Guilt was added to his bewilderment. Somehow his stomach felt like it was twisting. Kang Siwon repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hands.
“The announcement will go out within this week, and training will start right away from next week. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes.”
“Then I look forward to it.”
The manager patted Kang Siwon’s shoulder and leisurely left. Left alone, Kang Siwon finally contorted his face.
He just wanted to work in a position befitting a new staff member, but looking at the atmosphere, it seemed things had already gone wrong. He had no choice but to go up to the high-stakes betting zone.
What kind of damn troublesome things would be waiting there? Kang Siwon didn’t even want to imagine it.
