Chapter 31: The before (2)


    I peeked through one of the bar''s windows, watching the whole exchange took ce.


    "Good. Daeun has set up the bait. Now it''s time for me to act." I smiled and put on a little more blusher until I was convinced that my face looked a bit flushed.


    I stood up and messed with my hair so I looked a tad bit disheveled, and then crinkled my white dress. Once I was confident, I walked out of the door.


    "Cough! Ugh..." I stumbled out of the door while holding my stomach.


    "Ah, noona! You''re here!" The young man approached me with a huge grin. This dude really couldn''t hide his excitement, couldn''t he?


    "Yeah... Thank you for holding that thing for me..." I sighed deeply.


    "Noona, you were going to give this to your cheating ex, right? Where did you get this from?" He eagerly asked. His caring facade was long gone.


    "Huh? Yeah... But not anymore. It''s a ring that has been passed down in my family. But now I don''t even want to look at it anymore." I mustered up fake tears until they rolled down my rosy cheeks.


    "Don''t be so sad, after all, every ending is a new beginning, right?" He patted my shoulder assuringly.


    I sniffled back my tears, "I guess so... I still feel nauseous whenever I think about that man. Or is it just the alcohol?"


    "No, he''s not worth your time! Remember your worth, noona!" He cheered me on, "he''s the losing one. He lost someone amazing like you!"


    "He-he did?" I looked at him with teary eyes.


    "Yes! Believe me, noona. You''re a really, really beautiful youngdy. And you''ve got a loving heart, too." He smiled, or maybe grinned, at me. Gross.


    "You''re very kind to help a stranger like me," I smiled sweetly at him, "I guess you''re right. I''ll try to move on."


    "Great! Now, you know what would help you move on?" He asked me.


    "Um, if it''s finding a new one, I don''t think I can yet..." I looked down. Now, would he ask for the ring? Or would he genuinely help me and return the ring?


    "I know. It''s not exactly a great solution to look for a recement," he shook his head, "instead, you should get rid of everything that reminds you of him!"


    Ah. So he was greedy, after all.


    "Oh, I guess that could work!" I pped my hands together.


    "Yep. I''ve tried it, and it worked like a charm! Now, when you go home, you should throw away all of his stuff," he said, "and this one, too."


    He handed me the ring box.


    "You''re right... Every time I see this ring, I can only remember his face. I''ve been wanting to give him this ring for a year..." I frowned. Not because I was faking sadness, but because this man was pretty good in sweet-talking defenseless people.


    "Exactly. But, it would be a waste to just throw it away, right?" He smirked.


    Ah, shit. Here we go again.


    "How about this, I''ll buy this ring from you for 500.000 won. You can use the money to treat yourself or to fund your new hobby!" He said excitedly.


    "Ah, um... But, they''re passed down in my family." I hesitated for a bit.


    "No, no. You missed the point. By letting go of this, you would really be free! You can be whoever you want, and do whatever you want! Here, I''ll even give you an extra 250.000." He took out his wallet and pulled out a few 50.000 won bills.


    This dude walked around with so much cash money? Wasn''t he scared of getting robbed? Anyway, really smart of him to push his money on me so I wouldn''t refuse.


    "I see. Are you sure it''s okay? I mean, I don''t have the ring certificate on me..." I took the money that he offered me.


    "Yes, of course! Helping ady in need is my passion." He winked at me.


    Ew.


    "Thank you then. I appreciate it," I smiled, "now, I''ll go back to the bar where my friends are waiting. Thank you so much for taking care of me."


    "Alright, I also have to go somewhere~"


    We immediately part ways, and as soon as I was out of his line of sight, I rushed to the nearest bus stop, where a familiar face was waiting for me.


    "Chaerin! Hurry up, the bus is about to depart!" Daeun called out to me.


    "Okay!" I hopped on the bus alongside her as the door closed behind us. Right on time.


    "Phew. You got the money?" Daeun asked me as she took off her sunsses.


    "Sure do." I waved the paper bills in front of her, and put them on her hand.


    She counted it quickly and said, "750.000 won, huh. Today''s not bad."


    "Yeah, today''s victim was pretty easy. It''s bothforting and worrying." I sighed and sat down on one of the empty seats.


    "Don''t be sorry. We''re just trying to survive. And if he didn''t try to take advantage of a drunk woman and wasn''t greedy, he wouldn''t be conned anyway," she said with a straight face and sat down next to me after securing the money inside her purse, "I bet that fool is frantically looking for me now in that restaurant. Heh."


    "...Are we, though?" I stared out of the bus'' window. The nighttime in Korea had always been pretty, but distant.


    "You and I both know that doing honest work won''t cut it for us. I don''t need to remind you why, do I?" She leaned back into her seat and took off her coat.


    "You''re right. I don''t have the right to feel sorry, too, since I willingly did it." I let out a deep sigh and leaned back into my seat, too.


    Even though I know her words were true, I couldn''t help but feel the weight get heavier inside my chest. I''ve always brushed my guilty conscience aside using the excuse of ''they''re bad people anyway.'' While in truth, I''m just another one of those ''bad people''.


    "Anyway, here''s your cut for today." She handed me two 50.000 won bills.


    "Only 100.000 won?" I asked.


    "Don''t forget who brought you here. We have a lot of things to take care of." She casually said.


    "...Thanks." I dropped the topic and put the money inside my purse.


    "Anyway, I''m going to hop off at the next stop. You''ll be fine going home alone, right? You''re my most reliable underling, after all~" She patted my head while smiling.


    "Daeun, are you sure you''re going to the casino again?" I frowned at her.


    "Of course. We finished early today. Maybe it''s my lucky day~" She hummed, "if I win big tonight, I''ll treat you to a nice meal, okay?" She blew a kiss towards me.


    "You need to control your gambling addiction, Daeun... You could''ve saved your money for necessities." I said.


    "I''m a grown woman. I can take care of my finances." She took out herpact powder and her lipstick, and began fixing her make-up.


    ''Screeech!''


    The bus came to a halt, and a soft ''pssh'' signaled the arrival of the bus as the doors were opened.


    "See ya! Wish me luck, Chaerin! Oh, and be sure to turn on your phone in case I need an emergency lift!" She quickly ran outside happily without sparing me a nce.


    I sighed for maybe the hundredth time today. No way I was going to pick her up in the middle of the night. Not especially when I only had around 3 hours left to sleep. As she said before, she was a grown woman, so she should be responsible for her own actions.


    I leaned my head on the bus'' window and let myself get lost in the beauty of the night scenery outside.


    --------


    As soon as I''ve arrived at my truck house, I carefully took off my dress, heels, and purse and store them neatly in my closet to use again soon. It would be a waste toundry them after only using it once, I need to save money.


    I put the money I earned earlier into my savings box inside my tampon drawer. No robber would ever rummage through a pile of tampon boxes.


    As I changed into my pajamas, I peeked at my phone to make sure the rm was set for tomorrow.


    "Hmm..." I stared at my phone for a while.


    "Well... She''s a grown woman, but a grown woman needs help sometimes, right?" I unmuted my phone and charged it near my bed, so I could hear it if it rings, just in case. Yep, just in case.


    I tucked myself into my thin nket and hugged myself tighter to get a bit more warmth.


    "Well, if she loses today, maybe she would finally ept my offer to take her to therapy for her gambling addiction... If she could be free from her addiction, maybe I''d get a bit more share..." I muttered as my consciousness started to drift away.


    --------


    [Hello, my child.]


    A smooth,forting voice tickled my ears. Was I dreaming?


    [Heed my call, for I govern over thend you were born in.]


    ...So today''s dream featured a snobbish king. Unique.


    I opened my eyes, and to my surprise, I was in apletely white room. No furniture, no colors, just white.


    In front of me stood a fair-skinned man with long, flowy white hair that touched the ground. He was wearing a white robe that covered everything from his head to his toes, and a white fox mask that covered his entire face.


    "Um... Am I maybe not creative enough to generate normal-looking people in my dream? Did I just spawn an unfinished 3D model or something? Sorry!" I apologized to the creature in front of me.


    [Do humans usually talk like this?] The man in front of me said as he brought his hand to his chin.


    "I don''t know, you tell me." I shrugged him off. What a weird dream I was having today.


    [I wouldn''t know because I''m not a human.]