Chapter 30: The before (1)


    The long rain had finallye to a halt. I tidied up my things and packed tomorrow''s ingredients, before finally hopping inside my bathroom to take the second cold shower I''ve had this day.


    "Hng--," I winced a bit as the pricking cold water touched my tired body and sent shivers all over me, "I should save up to install a water heater. Ah, but will the bill rise? Should I just endure this...?"


    After I finished showering, I changed into a ttering white dress and tied my hair in a neat half-updo. To finish the look, I applied a coral tint on my lips.


    ''Knock knock.''


    The sound alerted me, and I quickly grabbed my pastel yellow purse and rushed to the door to open it.


    "Yo! Ready for tonight?" Thedy in front of me smirked happily. She wore a dress shirt and a fancy-looking coat that matches her knee-length skirt,plete with a pair of ck heels.


    "Hmm, no. Come inside, I need to fix your outfit, Daeun." I smiled back at her and grabbed her hand, leading her inside the truck.


    "Oh, what''s wrong with my outfit?" She asked as she took off her heels and sat on my bed, since there was practically no other decent sitting space in my small truck.


    Instead of answering, I picked up one of her heels and opened my drawer to grab a ck marker.


    "See here, your heels need some revamping." I showed her a spot on the side of her heels that was peeled off.


    "Good eyes. Perhaps it''s time to buy a new pair? I know a ce where we can get fake fancy heels for cheap." She said as she fixed her wavy hair.


    "No need. We can still roll with this," I replied while scribbling on the peeled spot, trying to blend the colors as naturally as possible while covering up the patch, "there, all done!"


    Daeun smiled and took out her sunsses, "let''s go."


    --------


    We took a bus to a faraway district, where there were quite a lot of bars and restaurants bustling with customers. The instant we hopped off of the bus, we immediately part ways without saying anything to each other.


    I wandered around for a few minutes, looking for a nice spot to make money.


    "Around here should be good..." I stopped in front of a small bar. The bar was not very bright and shiny as the other bars with neon signs and blinking lights, and the people who were gathered there were not exactly... Happy-looking.


    A young man who was wearing full-on branded clothing was smoking alone in front of the bar. His hair was gelled neatly and he was tapping his right foot on the ground repeatedly as if he was impatient about something.


    His face was a little flushed, but his movements indicated that he wasn''t very drunk yet. He puffed a cloud of smoke and let out a deep sigh.


    Perfect.


    I quickly hid behind a tree not too far from there and took out my blusher. After applying a considerable amount across my cheeks, I took a deep breath, before suddenly saying, "ahh... How could he do this to me, that damn yboy!"


    I started to walk wonkily as if I might fall with the slightest push, and exaggerated my voice so that man would hear me.


    "Even though you said you were going to marry me... Stupid yboy!" I sob loudly as I walked, pretending to be a drunk, dramaticdy.


    The young man stared at me the whole time, and his gaze slowly shifted from a shocked one to a scheming one.


    He walked closer towards me with an annoying smirk on his face. That was when I decided to trip myself and fall.


    "Oops, careful there, noona." He awkwardly caught me mid-falling as if he was an innocent young man who knew nothing, but his grin was still stered on his face.


    "Ah... Thank you..." I staggered a bit and sniffled.


    "Are you okay, noona? You don''t look too good..." He said while he pretended to be concerned. If I didn''t see his grin earlier, I might''ve really believed that he was genuine.


    "I''m okay... I just--I don''t know what I''m doing anymore..." I sniffled and blinked a few times while looking down until tears started to roll down my cheeks.


    "Calm down, noona. It''s okay. You can tell me what happened." He assured me while he circled his other arm sneakily around my exposed shoulder.


    "How... How could he do this to me?" I sobbed loudly and wiped my tears with my wrists, "how could my boyfriend of three years marry another woman?"


    "I see... That must''ve been hard for you, noona..." He said with a frown on his face while he tried to lean closer. I stepped back to gain more distance from him.


    "Even though I''ve been nning to give him this ring on our fourth anniversary today..." I took out a small red box from my purse and opened it, revealing a beautiful, shiny diamond ring. A fake one.


    "Don''t worry about him, noona. You''re a beautifuldy, I''m sure a lot of men would love to have you." He smiled with his disgusting eyes. ''Have'' me? Did he think women are some kind of property for men?


    "I-- urk!" I covered my mouth with my hand as I gagged.


    "Noona? Are you alright?" He asked me while patting my back to calm my gagging.


    "I--I need to go to the toilet, can you please hold on to this for a while? I--urk! I''ll be right back!" I pushed the ring box into his hands and scrambled into the bar.


    "Sorry, can I please borrow your bathroom?" I asked the waiter in front of the door.


    --------


    The young man was confused, but epted the ring nheless. He examined the ring and whistled.


    "Whew... I thought today was a shitty day after what that bitch did to me. Not to mention that pushy bastard... Even though I said I will pay his money back soon. Tch." He cursed and kicked a nearby stone in frustration.


    "But to think that I''d meet a crazy drunk beauty here," he smirked looking at the ring, "I think I''vended a rich one this time. I wonder if she''ll be okay with a motel? Ah, no need to worry, she''s dead drunk anyway."


    ''ck ck.''


    The sound of heels tapping the ground filled the air softly.


    "Excuse me, young man." A talldy dressed in a dress shirt and a coat approached the man.


    "Ah, yes?" The man looked up.


    "That ring in your hand, could it be the Marjorie 4-carat from 1925?" Thedy lifted up her sunsses and gave the young man an alluring smile.


    "Umm, what do you mean?" He said nervously.


    "Oh, so sorry if I surprised you. You see, I work as a jewelry appraiser in Seoul for an Americanpany," she chuckled and handed him a business card, "and that ring in your hand might be something I''m looking for. Would you let me take a closer look at it?"


    The man looked at the business card for a bit before saying, "sure, but just a look, okay? You can''t touch it. It''s not mine."


    "Of course. Thank you very much." She smiled and took out a pair of gloves and a magnifying ss. She started to inspect the ring closely, examining it from every angle.


    "My mistake. It seems that I was wrong. It isn''t Marjorie 4-carat from 1925, but instead a Holmese 4-carat from 1967." She sighed.


    The man still had this confused look on his face.


    "It''s still very valuable, though. Right now it''s probably worth around $90.000 in US dors. Do you n on selling it, by any chance?" The woman continued to talk.


    "N-ny thousand!?" The young man eximed loudly while his mouth was gaping open.


    "Yes. But it could be higher or lower, depending on lots of things." She said while putting her hand on her chin.


    "Th-this thing... Is worth that much..." The man''s hands trembled and his gaze was fixed on the ring.


    "If you don''t have a client yet, do you want to sell it to me? I can only offer you $80.000, though. You do understand that I have to make some profit, too, don''t you?" She smiled sweetly at him.


    The man looked back and forth between the ring and the woman, before he gulped and said, "u-um... Could youe back in 10 minutes? I''ll sell it to you, but I have to do something first..."


    "Sure. I''ll go grab a drink in that restaurant over there while I wait." She pointed at a fancy restaurant across the street.


    Once the woman had left, the manunched his fists in the air and jumped around excitedly, "yoooo! Today might actually be my best day!"


    "God, you must''ve sent me this money because you feel sorry for me, right? Hah! Finally! I''ve suffered long enough! Now that bastard can''t look down on me once I get this money... Oops, gotta be careful not to drop this precious thing..." His smirk got wider and wider.


    The people around him started to notice his weird behavior and he got a few odd nces.


    "Tsk. If only it isn''t so crowded here, I can probably just escape... No no, I will be caught before the transaction ispleted. I need to be smart about this..." He walked in a circle for a while, thinking about his next move.


    "It''s a shame. I was nning on bringing that beautifuldy home, but it seems that I will have to take $80.000 home instead," heughed wickedly, "it''ll be easy. I''ve always been popr with women. Now, how should I approach this, hm?"