Quiet Rebellion
Ray Jun walked down the hallway with red carpet laid out. The thick carpet absorbed all the sounds of his footsteps, leaving the surroundings utterly quiet.
He stopped in front of a hotel room and knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
After a moment, the door opened and a woman with straight black hair hanging down appeared.
“Come in.”
Ray Jun followed her into the room. From the full-length glass window positioned on one side of the spacious room, red sunset light poured in, filling the entire room.
The woman sat in a chair by the window overlooking Hong Kong’s downtown at a glance and said.
“It must have been annoying to come all the way here. You have to work tomorrow too.”
“Can’t help it, Macau is too small so I never know who I might run into.”
Hong Kong wasn’t exactly spacious either, but still, meeting in a hotel room would relatively reduce the risk of their conversation leaking out. Even if someone witnessed him going in and out of the hotel, he could just brush it off by saying he was on a date.
“Look at the sunset. Doesn’t it look like the whole city is burning? I love this moment.”
“Emperor Nero’s taste. Or the Little Prince?”
As he answered while leaning back on the sofa, the woman turned her head toward Ray Jun.
“This kind of scene gives me inspiration.”
“I’m sure it does.”
Ray Jun smirked. Sua, the only daughter of a real estate tycoon, was a painter who received high praise more from her parents’ influence than her actual painting skills. Since she herself was more fond of the title ‘artist’ than passionate about creating work, her pride probably wouldn’t be hurt.
“Ray, you look good. Seems like you definitely had results?”
“Yeah. A pawn I thought was ordinary advanced just as I wanted and captured a rook. If things go well, that pawn might even threaten the king.”
It seemed Xie Wei had dutifully passed along the information he’d leaked to the Baeksa Faction. The Baeksa Faction, which had been persuading the junket broker until then, promised to help with his relocation to Singapore, and that bait worked perfectly. In the end, the broker handed over his customer list to the Baeksa Faction.
“Last time you said you needed to get that list into your hands. That’s also why you asked me to help you get into the party.”
“The moment the persuasion failed, it was over anyway. Besides, the Baeksa Faction is stirring things up well instead of me.”
“Baeksa Faction?”
“Haven’t heard of them? Well, they’re not people you need to know. They were parasites living off Sovereign, but lately they’ve been making contact with VIPs on the list one after another. Originally they just sold information or did some blackmail, but their greed must have grown because now they’re even eyeing the money laundering business. They’re boasting loudly that they can launder money more safely than Sovereign.”
“Oh my…… Would VIPs really abandon Sovereign and entrust their money to those lowly gangsters?”
“Who knows. It’s not my concern either. What’s important is that everyone’s holding Sovereign accountable. How did the list get leaked, who was responsible for security, and so on.”
Sua’s eyes sparkled as if hearing entertaining gossip.
“I understand there’s been quite a commotion, but can this incident really shake the board of directors that much?”
“Mm, the internal atmosphere is quite serious right now. You know, Sovereign’s internal board of directors was a mess from the beginning. If this list leaks to the media, it’ll really become difficult to handle, so everyone probably can’t sleep at night.”
In this situation, even the COO would find it hard to avoid responsibility. Ray Jun planned to either pressure him a bit more by taking advantage of the COO’s weakened position, or expose his corruption.
“Wow…… You dump all the dirty work on others, and your hands remain clean as ever?”
At words that could be either sarcasm or praise, Ray Jun raised both hands to show them.
“It’s better to outsource troublesome work. When they’re fighting well on their own instead of me, why would I interfere?”
“So. Is this what you wanted?”
“Roughly.”
It had turned out quite different from his initial plan. How many things go according to plan anyway, but this time there was an unusual variable.
Xie Wei.
If dealing with Sovereign Casino was a game, he was like a glitch that suddenly popped up among NPCs moving according to a set script.
He was an unexpected variable, but there were many ways to exploit him. If done well, he might be able to use Xie Wei to set up an even more interesting board.
Ray Jun’s lips curved up as he pictured Xie Wei, who would be working at the counter with an expressionless face right about now.
“By the way Sua, are Koreans originally conservative?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“I think I heard that somewhere.”
“I wonder? I only lived in Korea for 5 years, so I’m not sure. But neither I nor other Koreans around me are particularly conservative. But why do you ask?”
“There’s a guy I’ve been meeting lately who seems to be Korean, and he’s excessively conservative.”
Xie Wei, who hardly let him get close even after sleeping together once. Ray Jun understood that much. Xie Wei was a thorough heterosexual who had never even considered the possibility that he might be gay. The very act of having relations with a man must have felt almost like heaven and earth turning upside down for Xie Wei.
Still, he thought Xie Wei was slowly opening up after going through various incidents, but lately he’d been acting awkward again.
“That Korean must have a particularly conservative personality. But you’re dating in the middle of all this? Are you serious?”
Sua asked with wide eyes. Was it really that surprising? Ray Jun found Sua’s reaction more unexpected.
“It’s not dating. Just meeting.”
“Same difference!”
“Who knew I’d meet such an interesting guy in a place like this? Everything he does is so cute I can’t help but mess with him.”
“Wow…… If you’re interested, how beautiful must she be?”
Sua’s eyes sparkled as if watching an exciting romance show. She looked much more lively than when she was talking about ‘inspiration’ while looking at the sunset earlier.
“Mm, would it explain it to say his frowning face is as pretty as his smiling face?”
“What’s that? Is she Xi Shi?”
“Not such a delicate image though.”
Ray Jun unconsciously smiled as he recalled Xie Wei’s sturdy physique. At his reaction, Sua was impressed.
“You must have really fallen for her. Does that woman know who you are?”
“Of course not. And it’s not a woman, it’s a man.”
“A man? ……Ah, could it be!”
*Clap*, Sua clapped her hands and pointed at Ray Jun, exclaiming.
“The man you suddenly ran out and took during the party last time! Right?”
“You’re perceptive about these things.”
“I thought so. I felt something was off from that point. So the culprit who made you stand me up is that man.”
“You had fun on your own anyway.”
Though she wasn’t the type to be that upset about it, Sua pretended to be angry and crossed her arms. A mischievous playfulness crossed her face.
“Don’t you have a photo? Let me see his face.”
“I don’t.”
“Then at least describe what he looks like.”
“What would you do knowing?”
“Are you keeping it secret because he’s your lover?”
“I told you he’s not my lover.”
These past few days he hasn’t even let him touch him with a finger, so how could this be a lover relationship? Ray Jun showed his displeasure, but Sua didn’t care.
“Whether he’s a lover or a sex partner, if Ray you’re messing with him, he must be an incredible beauty, right? Introduce me next time. Let’s call it even for standing me up at the party.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Why? You said he’s not your lover anyway, right? Your one and only friend wants to see a handsome person and get some inspiration, and you can’t even help with that?”
“Did you call me all the way to Hong Kong to say this?”
“No, to look at my sketches.”
As if already tired of needling Ray Jun, Sua shrugged and turned her gaze away. She turned on the tablet PC placed next to her chair and tossed it to Ray Jun.
He caught the tablet PC flying in a parabolic arc. Looking at the screen, dozens of images were arranged like tiles. It was a collection of references.
“I’m planning the main work for my next exhibition. I was originally going to go with a painting, but as I worked on it, the form kept being drawn three-dimensionally. So I’m thinking of trying something new and making a sculpture. What do you think?”
“The sketch.”
“Swipe to the side.”
Ray Jun swiped the screen. Then a large sphere made of black lines appeared. What would originally have been a perfect circle was formed with cracks here and there.
Through the cracked gaps, a figure colored in gold was stretching out their arms to the fullest. It looked as if they were moaning while trapped in the sphere, or conversely, struggling to get out.
“Not bad.”
“Don’t look at it so half-heartedly and give me proper feedback. You have a pretty good eye for art, Ray.”
“What’s the theme?”
“Possibility within cracks. No matter how perfect a structure appears, it has cracks somewhere. But without those cracks, you couldn’t discover the possibilities hidden inside. Cracks are what make the structure even more perfect…… Something like that.”
“The idea is interesting. Not too obscure either.”
Ray Jun continued while zooming in on the figure’s face.
“But there’s no yearning for it to be called ‘possibility.'”
“Yearning?”
“Yeah. Possibility is attractive in itself, but it’s just a possibility, literally. To emphasize the power of possibility, there must be yearning. The yearning to become something, to have something. That’s how possibility becomes a goal, becomes drama, becomes reality.”
Ray Jun tapped the figure in the sketch with his fingertip. As if someone came to mind, the corners of his mouth curved into an arc without him realizing it.
“But this figure’s expression is only hazy. Of course, it might be what you intended, but to my eyes I don’t see yearning or the will to escape. It just feels like they’re there because they have to be there.”
“……That’s sharp? Actually, I thought of a plausible composition first, then attached meaning to it afterward.”
Sua confessed without reservation. Ray Jun nodded.
“The work process doesn’t matter. In the end, what the public sees is the finished work.”
“Hmm…… Alright. I’m glad I showed you after all.”
Yearning…… Sua muttered again. Ray Jun stood up from the sofa and approached her, returning the tablet PC.
“I’m leaving first.”
