Swallow Hunting - Chapter 3.2
After washing up, he sent Yohan a text saying he would borrow some clothes, then opened the wardrobe. Their height and build were similar, so they had shared clothes before. Having at least a shred of conscience, he avoided the new ones and picked out something suitably old. Thankfully, with a head small enough to look delicate and long limbs like a model’s, anything he wore looked decent on him. After roughly styling his thick hair with some wax, he slapped his cheeks twice with both hands.
“Even if the sky collapses, there’s still a hole to crawl out of!”
He recited his personal motto as if brainwashing his reflection in the mirror. It did feel like that damn sky collapsed far too often, but having taken a day off at least reduced thoughts as bleak as being buried alive.
Using the allowance Yohan had given him, he took the subway to the shop. Winter was already approaching, and dusk fell early. He slipped into a darkened alley and entered through the back door of the shop. Since it was still before opening, the chairs were left flipped upside down on the tables, and the lighting was dim. He crossed the familiar space at a brisk pace and arrived at the waiting room.
“Hyung, you’re here.”
“The rumor spread fast. They’re saying you couldn’t get it up when you were screwing that noona.”
“I also heard she got mad and kicked you in the balls.”
They were diligent, all right. A few of them were already there, deep in gossip. They were the swallows belonging to this shop. The type that sought stability, unlike the grasshoppers who hopped from field to field, they had settled down here. That was the excuse, anyway. In truth, like Hae-jun, they were stuck because of debt.
“Couldn’t get it up? Where did you hear such insane bullshit? If my dick didn’t work, do you think I’d be here today?”
Hae-jun puffed out his shoulders and put on a show of bravado. The truth that his balls had shriveled after meeting gangsters was something he could never admit, even if his mouth were torn apart.
“By the way, the boss was looking for you. He said you weren’t picking up your phone.”
“What? I didn’t get any calls.”
He hurriedly pulled out his phone. At the same time, Hae-jun’s face filled with dismay. Of all times, it was set to silent with no vibration. The number was the same as before, so among the flood of nagging texts and spam, there were ten missed calls. The most recent message was pure profanity.
“Fuck.”
This was no time to dawdle. Like a duck with its tail on fire, Hae-jun rushed out of the waiting room and headed for the boss’s office. He stopped in front of the door to steady his breathing, straightened his clothes and hair, then knocked twice.
“Boss, it’s Hajin.”
It was the alias he had taken when he first started this work. When he tried to use his real name, he got cursed at for being an idiot who used his legal name in this line of work, so he had gone to a fortune teller to get one. The shaman who named him said that only with this name would his fate finally bloom.
He had paid a full hundred thousand won in offering money, but it seemed like a complete waste. If he were destined to bloom, he would not have gotten tangled up with a gangster client in the first place.
“Come in.”
At the sound of a heavy voice, he squeezed his sticky hands together and opened the door. He then hunched his shoulders and went inside with a servile smile.
The boss was seated at his desk, thick fingers rolling the mouse wheel with a gritty sound. The luxury glasses perched on his plain face were oddly out of place.
Now, he looked like the kind of guy you might feel friendly toward, wondering if a wild boar was his cousin. But once upon a time, the boss had been handsome enough to rank among the best in this business. Since most people did not believe it, he always carried a photo from his glory days in his wallet.
They said he had made a decent name for himself as a host and used the money he earned back then to open this shop. Greedy for money, he also dabbled in private lending. Calling it a side business sounded nice, but judging by what he actually did, loan sharking was his main job.
They say the years show on a person’s face as they age. Whatever he had been like in his youth, now that he was middle-aged, the boss looked exactly as he was. He was quick with his fists and never hesitated to do things like crippling people. Feeling as though his own ankle might be severed at any moment, Hae-jun bent low in submission.
“My phone was broken, so I didn’t realize you’d called. I’m sorry, Boss.”
The boss stared at Hae-jun with bulging eyes. Just that fierce gaze was enough to crush his spirit. Should he kneel? Hae-jun was seriously considering it.
“You little bastard.”
Kneel. He relaxed his legs. Just as his knees bent halfway.
“You pretty little bastard.”
The boss suddenly jumped up and approached Hae-jun. He hooked a thick, fleshy arm around Hae-jun’s neck, tucked him under his armpit, and thoroughly ruffled his hair into a mess.
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