“I never planned to work at Sovereign for long anyway. You know that. I hate casinos. Why would I keep doing work that doesn’t suit me?”
“It seemed to suit you pretty well though.”
“……No, the whole time I was working, all I could think about was quitting. So what about you, Ray? Are you planning to work at Sovereign for the rest of your life or something?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to work at Sovereign for the rest of my life.”
“Really?”
It was unexpected. Of course, it was true that Ray Jun was a born dealer, but even so, because of his free-spirited nature, he didn’t seem like the type to work at one place for long.
“Well, anyway, it’s hard to keep living as roommates. The fact that we’ll part ways is a given no matter when it happens—it’s just happening a little earlier than planned.”
“Can’t we not part ways? Even if we’re not roommates, we can keep seeing each other.”
Ray Jun grumbled like a whining child. From earlier, his every word had been speaking for what was in Kang Siwon’s heart.
Only now, having reached this point, did he realize it, but Kang Siwon didn’t want to part ways with Ray Jun either. Since he was already doing crazy things anyway, the impulse surged in him to confess everything and ask for help.
The reason he couldn’t do that wasn’t just because a thread of rationality remained. If Ray Jun were to push him away in disgust, that would truly be unbearable.
He had no idea when this willful and brazen roommate’s existence had grown so large within him. Even now he was struggling because of it, and if their relationship deepened further from here, it would be unmanageable. Thinking coldly about it, apart from the Baeksa Faction’s orders, it was time to gradually distance himself from Ray Jun.
That’s why Kang Siwon deliberately responded with a curt attitude.
“That would be difficult. We’re not in any kind of special relationship.”
“……Really?”
Ray Jun, who seemed disappointed, soon spoke in a teasing tone.
“That’s too bad. I feel like I won’t be able to eat anything but Xie Wei’s cooking now. What kind of person gets me used to their cooking and then just leaves? What am I supposed to eat?”
“Is that seriously what you’re worried about right now?”
No matter how coldly he’d acted first, his attitude was absurd. However, Ray Jun shamelessly shot back.
“Of course I’m worried. I’m going to starve from now on.”
“Ha, really……”
“You can’t do that, Xie Wei. A starving beast is dangerous because you never know what it might do.”
“Go to the staff cafeteria. Get delivery. Just don’t go around starving without me.”
Ray Jun was probably saying this out of his own sense of regret, but secretly, Kang Siwon was worried. Because he knew Ray Jun had a personality that was careless about meals. Without Kang Siwon looking after him, there were times when he’d skip meals.
Ray Jun murmured while stroking the nape of Kang Siwon’s neck.
“Yeah. I’ll manage to find food somehow.”
Finally, his mind was at ease. If this was a farewell where they wished for each other’s well-being, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. Kang Siwon thought this as he felt Ray Jun’s weight with his whole body.
* * *
Standing in front of the exchange counter, the casino’s landscape came into view at a glance.
At each table, players clutched their cards tightly. On the surface they smiled pretending to be relaxed, but their eyes were sharp.
Kang Siwon found the customers who willingly chose addiction pathetic and pitiful. The saying “you shouldn’t even touch gambling in the first place” wasn’t there for nothing. Once you fall in, you can never get out.
He himself had briefly tasted that sensation, and he knew all too clearly what the end was like for a human being ruined by gambling, which made him all the more vigilant.
Of course, if the customers knew what he was thinking, they’d be offended, asking who he dared to think of as foolish. A bitter smile formed on Kang Siwon’s lips.
At that moment, a woman wearing a black t-shirt and jeans approached the counter.
The woman had a plain appearance that matched her outfit. She was probably in her mid-to-late thirties. Even her bored expression was a face commonly seen in casinos.
Nevertheless, the moment their eyes met, a tingling intuition settled on the nape of his neck.
This person was the chip broker the Baeksa Faction had mentioned.
“Chip re-exchange.”
The woman held out chips and her ID at the same time. Her hand movements were skilled, as if she’d frequently exchanged chips at casinos.
Just counting with his eyes, there were fifteen 10,000-unit chips. After checking her ID too, Kang Siwon’s guess became certain. She was Tian Feifei.
“……”
Kang Siwon placed the chips on the scanner with slow hands.
Beep—the monitor displayed the unique code, face value, and even the owner’s name.
Ma Zhuihui.
It was the name of the Sovereign executive he’d heard about from Manager Park yesterday. Judging by the name, it seemed they were even different genders from Tian Feifei, yet she was boldly going through with it. She must be acting so brazenly because she believed the staff would accept even a stone if she handed it to them.
Kang Siwon glared at the name on the monitor. Just as Ju Xiang had said, re-exchanging the chips itself wasn’t difficult for him as a cage staff member. If he just pressed the approval button here, the chips would be converted to cash, and it would be recorded in the system as processed. The executive would take care of deleting any information that violated regulations. It would all be over with just one click.
However, he had an ominous feeling that starting with this “one time,” he’d be caught by the Baeksa Faction’s grip all the way through. Rather than a premonition, it was more like a predetermined future. Becoming deeply involved in criminal activity was no different from carving a weakness into his own body.
“Ahem.”
When Kang Siwon delayed, Tian Feifei cleared her throat. It was a prod to hurry up and process it. Even so, his hand wouldn’t move and he hesitated, when someone strode up to the counter.
It was Ray Jun.
“Xiaoshu sunbae!”
“Oh, Ray Jun. What brings you here?”
At first he thought Ray Jun was coming to him, but he wasn’t. Ray Jun didn’t even glance at Kang Siwon and approached a senior working at the next counter to strike up a conversation.
“I heard you got indigestion after eating lunch at the staff cafeteria yesterday. Are you feeling better?”
“Oh my, how did you know?”
“I heard from Meihua. She said you suffered so much your face turned pale. I have some pills that are good for indigestion—should I give you some?”
“Really? That would be so appreciated.”
“Here you go. By the way, is the cage team busy today? On our side……”
After that, meaningless small talk continued. Kang Siwon’s attention was drawn there and he couldn’t focus on work at all. He didn’t want to show Ray Jun the moment he participated in a crime, and he didn’t want to do this kind of thing in the first place. Kang Siwon just glared at the chip information displayed on the monitor with wide eyes.
“Excuse me. Are you not going to re-exchange this?”
Unable to wait any longer, Tian Feifei raised her voice. Only then did Ray Jun and the senior stop their conversation.
“What’s wrong, Xie Wei?”
Ray Jun naturally approached his side as if he were a cage staff member. Strictly speaking, it was a violation of regulations, but perhaps thanks to Ray Jun’s usually easygoing personality, no one made an issue of it. Soon the senior also approached Kang Siwon’s side and scanned the monitor.
Being an experienced cage staff member, she understood the situation just by looking at the owner’s name displayed on the screen. She asked Tian Feifei in a kind but firm voice.
“Ma’am, did you request a re-exchange?”
“……No. I’ll come back next time.”
A look of dismay flashed across Tian Feifei’s face. She hastily gathered up the chips and ID she’d placed on the counter and left.
The senior turned to look at Kang Siwon and asked.
“Were you hesitating because it was a problematic re-exchange request?”
“……Yes.”
“Hmm, proxy exchange? I don’t know the circumstances, but we have to follow the rules. Actually, working here, all sorts of things happen, but……”
She trailed off. Perhaps she belatedly realized this wasn’t something to carelessly say to a junior she wasn’t close with who’d been working for less than a year. As she returned to her counter, she added,
“Finish processing the rejection.”
“Understood.”
His insides were unsettled. Since he’d failed to carry out even this easy mission, he’d get properly chewed out by Ju Xiang. But on the other hand, he also felt relieved.
Whatever it was, it was already over, so there was no use regretting something he couldn’t reverse. Kang Siwon silently finished up the record.
Even during this, Ray Jun didn’t leave his side. The guy was already tall as a telephone pole, and having him standing right next to him was quite burdensome.
“……Aren’t you going to work?”
Ray Jun looked Kang Siwon over with an indecipherable gaze. Whether it was because of the lenses, those black eyes gleamed like glass.
He hadn’t thought much of it before, but after learning that Ray Jun wore lenses, whenever Ray Jun had black eyes, it felt stifling somehow. It felt like dealing with someone hiding something. Perhaps it felt even more that way because Ray Jun’s expression had sunk coolly.
“Actually, I came because your behavior seemed strange.”
“……”
“It looks like it’s been resolved well, so it’s fine now.”
Ray Jun, who’d whispered softly enough for only Kang Siwon to hear, turned around. Following that retreating back with his eyes until the end, Kang Siwon lightly clenched his fist.
Had he noticed something?
Well, it would be stranger if he hadn’t in this situation. He was troubled that he’d both failed the mission and seemed to have been caught acting suspiciously, but if it was Ray Jun, he would think he was being blackmailed by Ju Xiang. So he probably didn’t need to worry too much.
