Bluffing
“Xie Wei is your roommate, isn’t he? Why are you asking me for information about that bastard? You’d know better.”
“Don’t play dumb after coming all this way, Ju Sangho-ssi. Do you think I, who even knows your real name, wouldn’t know you’re on the same side as Xie Wei?”
“…What kind of information do you need?”
As if planning to hear the conditions first, Ju Xiang asked with a shit-eating expression. His sense of reality seemed somewhat better than Ma Zhuihui’s.
“Basic personal information. Name, origin, age… things like that.”
“What are you going to do with that shit?”
“That’s my business. Ah, and I’ll need to have Xie Wei for a while. The period will probably be about a month? You can lend him to me for a bit, right?”
After saying it, he didn’t like what he’d said. Ray Jun immediately corrected himself.
“No, I can’t say lend him. Xie Wei isn’t your property.”
“Do you even know how much money that bastard owes? With that much, fuck, it’s no different from us holding his leash!”
“Right, I don’t know how much it is, so organize that too and report it along with his personal information. And just because you don’t send him to me, can Xie Wei pay off all his debts in that time? When I’m willing to make a deal, shut up and send him quietly.”
Ray Jun, who no longer felt the need to be polite, withdrew his outwardly courteous tone. Seeming even more pissed off at that shameless tone, Ju Xiang glared at Ray Jun as if to kill him. Then all he asked was this.
“What are you? You’re not just a dealer. What the hell are you to suddenly pop out and pull this shit?”
“Does that matter? I’m someone who knows who you are.”
“…”
“You took a plane to enter Macau like everyone else, right? But if you get reported for illegal stay and identity fraud, it’ll be difficult to leave the way you entered. Wouldn’t it be too troublesome to try illegal departure?”
“You bastard…”
“Don’t worry. As long as I keep my mouth shut, nothing will happen. But for the time being, I’ll be keeping Xie Wei with me.”
Ju Xiang gritted his teeth. It sounded like he was running calculations in his head. Even so, there was only one decision he could make.
“This isn’t a problem I can decide on my own. Let’s talk again in 3 days.”
“One day. I can’t wait any longer than that.”
“…What exactly are you going to do after taking Xie Wei? You seem to have vain expectations, but that bastard knows nothing. No matter how much you shake him down, you won’t get anything useful.”
“I don’t care.”
“…You, don’t tell me…”
Ju Xiang looked Ray Jun over with extremely suspicious eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re into that?”
It wasn’t worth responding to. However, Ju Xiang judged Ray Jun’s silence as affirmation and burst into a sigh.
“Fuck, no wonder. I knew it would be like this—that bastard strangely attracts gay bastards.”
Ray Jun raised the corners of his mouth crookedly. Anyway, for the time being, no “gay bastards” would be swarming around Xie Wei.
“Decide by this time tomorrow. Ah, and don’t tell Xie Wei.”
“What.”
“Everything we just talked about. The moment you open your mouth, I don’t know who I’ll end up talking to about what.”
He didn’t like such obvious threats, but there was no choice when dealing with simple and barbaric bastards like Ju Xiang.
“It would be fun to watch whether you escape faster or Sovereign dispatches people to catch you faster. If you’re curious, Mr. Ju, try testing it.”
Ray Jun turned on his phone and thrust it out. The screen clearly showed the direct number to Sovereign’s crisis management team that only surveillance team managers knew.
Though it had the plausible name “crisis management team,” in reality it was a professional group that handled everything from contract killings to various heinous acts.
Ju Xiang’s face turned deathly pale, well aware of that notoriety. Although the Baeksa Faction was also a large organization, it was clear that dealing with the crisis management team backed by Sovereign’s capital wouldn’t be easy.
“Keep in mind that I know far more than you think.”
Ray Jun drove in the final wedge and turned around.
He crossed the parking lot where humid wind was blowing and got into a taxi he’d called in advance. Just before the taxi left the parking lot, he looked out the window. Ju Xiang was still standing there blankly. He must be terribly confused, but that wasn’t Ray Jun’s concern.
Ray Jun, as if losing interest, straightened his head and looked only forward.
* * *
When he first set foot in Sovereign Casino, Kang Siwon had felt nothing but bleakness about when he could fulfill the deadline promised to the Baeksa Faction and escape this place. But the day of escape finally came. Although he couldn’t fulfill the deadline to the end.
On today, his last day of work, Kang Siwon looked around the hall anew. The high limit zone was the same as always. It was quiet yet occasionally raucous commotion swirled, and people who couldn’t forget the pleasure of winning money continued to bet money. Even knowing that the probability of losing was much greater than the probability of winning.
Even though such a scene looked lively at a glance, Sovereign was currently in a state like a poked beehive. According to rumors, even regular employees were suffering from the aftermath of a power struggle that occurred at the temporary board meeting a while ago.
Kang Siwon, facing resignation, didn’t feel it personally, but anyway, excluding that incident, it seemed not much different from when he first joined. Sovereign would probably continue to have this atmosphere from now on.
Kang Siwon, who quickly lost interest in the hall, withdrew his gaze. He found himself wanting to capture the employee dormitory in his eyes one more time because he was sad to leave it, but the casino wasn’t like that. That was natural since this place had only memories of being fed up with swarming gamblers rather than good memories. But it was bitter that his next workplace would also ultimately be a place full of gamblers.
“Ha…”
He sighed naturally at the thought of working as a chip broker. Still, he tried to think positively. When he first entered Sovereign Casino, hadn’t he lacked confidence even in adapting to cage staff work? Nevertheless, seeing that he was promoted to the high limit zone, he would eventually get used to chip broker work too. Setting aside whether that would be a good thing.
‘If I can’t adapt, Ju Xiang will nag me…’
By the way, Ju Xiang had suddenly become strange over the past few days.
Of course, he was originally a strange person, but his temperament had become even more eccentric since submitting his resignation to Sovereign. He would suddenly sigh as if the ground was caving in, or stare at him with an expression of having so much to say but ultimately not say a single word.
It seemed like he was hiding something but never telling him, which was frustrating. That said, he wasn’t curious enough to interrogate him about it. If it was related to him, he would naturally find out, so he planned to watch the situation for now.
“Xie Wei, is today your last shift?”
Then, a colleague approached and asked. Kang Siwon put aside his thoughts and answered.
“Yes.”
“It’s a shame you’re quitting so early.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I heard it’s a health issue, so of course you should rest.”
“…Thank you for understanding.”
“You worked hard all this time. Since it’s your last day, go ahead and leave. I’ll handle the handover.”
Thank you. Kang Siwon bowed his head slightly.
Objectively, he probably wasn’t a good colleague. When people tried to talk to him, he only responded with short answers, and he wasn’t sociable outside of work. Still, he was inwardly grateful for colleagues who looked after him as people who worked together, even briefly. Looking back, it seemed the problem was just the place called a casino, while the people working here themselves were decent.
For example, Ray Jun.
“…”
Thinking of Ray Jun made him gloomy again. Even though he’d been preparing to part with him for the past two weeks, his heart didn’t seem fully settled yet. Far from being prepared to forget Ray Jun, he only thought about how he could meet him again, even years later. Kang Siwon shook his head vigorously to shake off that face that kept appearing in his mind and left the casino.
When he returned to the dormitory, an empty living room greeted Kang Siwon. However, it didn’t feel empty. It was because he knew from the work schedule that Ray Jun would return soon.
After taking a simple shower, he spread out his suitcase in the living room and packed. Since he hadn’t brought many things to Macau in the first place, it didn’t take long. As he stared blankly at the luggage that all fit in a small suitcase, the front door opened.
“…”
Ray Jun’s expression was subtle upon seeing Kang Siwon crouched in front of the suitcase. Instead of mischievously teasing as usual, he asked calmly.
“Were you preparing to move out of the dormitory?”
“…Yeah.”
“Lucky you, Xie Wei. Now you don’t have to go to work.”
“Mm, well…”
“I’ll be back after washing up.”
Ray Jun headed to the bathroom. Kang Siwon followed him with his eyes with a somewhat dazed feeling, then drooped his shoulders when the bathroom door closed with a thud.
What on earth had he been hoping for? Had he perhaps expected Ray Jun to hold him back, telling him not to go?
If so, it was a truly selfish heart. When all he’d done was pour out harsh words and push him away, claiming he needed to keep distance from him.
“…I need to get a grip.”
After muttering quietly, he stood the suitcase next to the entrance and went into the bedroom. Then he burrowed into the blankets.
