* * *
Regardless of Kang Siwon’s wishes, the personnel transfer was decided. In the end, Kang Siwon set foot in the High Limit Zone.
The atmosphere of the High Limit Zone was distinctly different. If Sovereign itself was a separate world isolated from reality, this place seemed like an even more secretly hidden realm of another dimension. Everything was affluent, discreet, lively yet tranquil.
There, Kang Siwon received brief training.
“You must always maintain a quiet atmosphere here. Flustered or insincere attitudes are forbidden. If warnings accumulate, you can face pay cuts or even contract termination in severe cases, so keep that in mind.”
“Yes, understood.”
“The chip exchange method is almost the same as the main floor, but there are parts that require more attention.”
The manager said while placing cash on the counter tray.
“When you receive cash from a customer, spread it out on the tray like this. There’s a camera up there, see?”
Following the manager’s gesture, he looked up and indeed, a gleaming lens was visible in the corner. Kang Siwon felt a chill run down his spine for no reason and lowered his head again.
“You need to spread the cash out well so it shows up clearly on camera, right? That way you can explain yourself if any misunderstandings arise.”
“Yes.”
“Same goes for when you hand over chips. You need to place them on the tray like this so the customer can confirm the quantity. And……”
The manager continued explaining. Most of it was related to chips. After all, chips were liquid assets in the casino, and cage staff were the workers managing those assets, so naturally there had to be many chip-related guidelines.
Looking down at the round, hard chips, Kang Siwon was briefly seized by a strange feeling.
Chips held value equal to cash inside the casino, but outside the casino they were merely chunks of plastic. Yet people still threw themselves in with bloodshot eyes to obtain just one more of those pieces.
“And there’s one more important thing. You must absolutely prevent customers from taking chips out. It’s prohibited in principle on the main floor too, but since those are small-denomination chips, we let one or two slide as souvenirs. But in the High Limit Zone, you know each chip is worth tens or hundreds of thousands, right?”
“Yes.”
“Losing one chip means tens or hundreds of thousands of patacas flying away. Plus, someone might steal chips to counterfeit or misuse them. But don’t feel too burdened. Our main job is currency exchange, and theft-related matters are handled by the security team. High-value chips have RFID tags embedded in them, so they can be tracked too.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Hmm…… Since it’s your first day, let’s leave it at that.”
Kang Siwon nodded deeply. The manager added while organizing the tray.
“Like I said, the work itself is almost exactly the same as the main floor, so you’ll get used to it soon. You can head in for today.”
“Yes, thank you.”
He felt completely drained even though he’d only listened to explanations. Since he desperately needed rest anyway, Kang Siwon bowed politely and left the High Limit Zone.
Just as he was about to head to the locker room, his phone vibrated briefly in his pocket. It was a message notification.
“……”
Instead of entering the locker room, Kang Siwon exited Sovereign Resort as he was.
Since he used the employee entrance, the surroundings were quiet. However, Kang Siwon didn’t let his guard down and thoroughly surveyed his surroundings. Only after confirming again that no one was around did he take out his phone.
When he entered the password into the security app, Manager Park’s message appeared.
[Manager Park] Report on individuals who exchanged 10,000-unit chips 100 times or more among next week’s exchanges
Somehow knowing he’d entered the High Limit Zone, the monetary unit included in the requested information had jumped significantly. Well, it wasn’t surprising since Ju Xiang would have immediately reported it as soon as his transfer was decided.
Kang Siwon sighed and closed the security app.
The mission itself wasn’t difficult. When he first entered Sovereign, he’d thought the Baeksa Faction would assign him operations like those in movies. For instance, planting hacking code in the internal server, or secretly installing CCTV or wiretaps.
But reality was completely different. The work Kang Siwon had been assigned until now was only information gathering like this. And even that information seemed useless at first glance. What benefit could there possibly be in identifying people who exchanged 10,000-unit chips more than 100 times?
Even while following orders, he felt uneasy and doubtful. He’d tried making his own guesses but still didn’t know. Kang Siwon ultimately shoved his phone into his pocket without finding an answer.
* * *
The first week of working in the High Limit Zone.
Though his department had changed, his job as cage staff hadn’t changed, so there was nothing difficult. Having adapted by now, Kang Siwon was serving customers at the exchange counter as usual.
“Exchange for me. Twenty-five 10,000s.”
“Yes. ID please.”
The man pulled out his ID from his wallet and handed it over. Zhang Weiren. After confirming the name, Kang Siwon returned the ID.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
In fact, there was no need to check the ID. He remembered this man because he’d come yesterday and the day before. He was an even more memorable customer because he only exchanged for 10,000-unit chips.
Zhang Weiren placed a stack of cash on the counter tray. After spreading and confirming the cash, Kang Siwon slid it under the counterfeit detection sensor.
“Confirmed. 250,000 patacas total, I’ll exchange it for 10,000-unit chips. Please confirm.”
He took out twenty-five 10,000 chips and neatly placed them on the tray. Zhang Weiren didn’t even count the chips and roughly gathered them into his bag. His indifferent hand movements were hard to believe for someone handling chips worth hundreds of thousands of patacas.
“Thank you for your patronage.”
Finishing the service, Kang Siwon briefly glanced at Zhang Weiren’s face before looking away. He was a man in his 60s with a bored expression. Except for wearing a brightly colored shirt, he didn’t have a particularly distinctive appearance either. His attention was only drawn because today there was an order to report ‘individuals who exchanged 10,000-unit chips 100 times or more.’
By the way, it’s a total of 250,000 patacas—wouldn’t it be more convenient to exchange for 25,000 chips or 100,000-unit chips?
Zhang Weiren’s current behavior was equivalent to going to buy a 50,000 won item while carrying fifty 1,000 won bills instead of one 50,000 won bill. Moreover, the High Limit Zone had relatively large betting units, so if it were him, he would have requested high-value chips from the start rather than tediously putting up multiple small chips.
Well, if it were him, he wouldn’t gamble in the first place. Kang Siwon dismissed his idle thoughts and greeted the next customer.
“Hello?”
A young man with a somehow sleazy impression greeted him. His face looked so young he briefly seemed like a high school student. But since presenting ID was mandatory to enter the casino, he was definitely an adult.
“Good day. How may I help you?”
“Will you grant everything I ask?”
“If you need assistance, I’ll do my best to support you.”
He gave off strong troublemaker vibes. The young man even ran his sticky gaze over Kang Siwon’s chest. Having read the letters on the silver name tag, he curled up one corner of his mouth.
“So it’s Xiao Wei.”
“……”
Xiao (小) was a term of endearment used only between close acquaintances. It wasn’t a form of address to be used by a first-time customer. It seemed he wasn’t just a simple troublemaker but a pervert.
Just how bizarre must one’s sexual preferences be to hit on an unremarkable man like him? Kang Siwon was more intrigued than disgusted.
“Exchange for me. 50,000 patacas.”
“What denomination would you like?”
“10,000s.”
The young man placed bills on the tray. After going through counterfeit verification, Kang Siwon took out 10,000-unit chips. But before he could even place the chips on the tray, the young man grabbed his hand.
The moment their skin touched, he frowned involuntarily. The young man grinned as if enjoying that reaction. He kneaded Kang Siwon’s hand while taking the chips.
“Xiao Wei.”
“……”
“I’m going to make a killing today…… If I win big, will you sleep with me?”
Kang Siwon’s expression hardened. No matter how much of a customer he was, this crossed the line. The colleagues at the adjacent counters also looked shocked.
“Such remarks are inappropriate.”
“Haha, it was just a joke. Geez.”
Packaging rudeness as a joke seemed to be the same in every country. Curses rose to his throat, but Kang Siwon forcibly held back.
“Wish me luck. If a handsome guy like Xiao Wei cheers for me, I feel like I’ll have good fortune.”
The young man who spouted bullshit to the very end left. Luck my ass—Kang Siwon sincerely prayed that he would lose all his chips and go completely broke.
