NOT 23

A note fell from between the deflated balloon scraps. The staff member quickly picked up the note and unfolded it.

“Congratulations. We’ll give you a room upgrade coupon.”

I could guess what kind of setup this was.

Cha Jeong-won seemed to have figured it all out at once too.

“So the sweet room win wasn’t just random.”

“Wasn’t just random?”

Wondering if he might reveal something I didn’t know, I looked up at Cha Jeong-won seriously. Haon also knew Cha Jeong-won’s story, but didn’t know the fate entangled with it, so it was natural to want to know.

The longer Cha Jeong-won kept his mouth shut, the drier Haon’s lips became. Moreover, the employee who had been pretending not to listen out of discretion also seemed subtly curious.

“Promotion.”

“Ah, so you mean…….”

“It’s for attracting customers. The sweet room I got was more like a fluke than luck.”

At Cha Jeong-won’s reaction, which seemed to say ‘that figures,’ Haon twitched his lips.

Well, in that case, there was nothing more to say.

Haon smacked his lips and changed the subject.

“That thing over there…… Doesn’t it look like popping the gourd left by the swallow?”

Watching the folded note inside the balloon pop out the moment it burst, that image came to mind. Like in old tales where splitting open a gourd would make treasures pour out and goblins jump forth, it felt like the prize we’d receive based on today’s fortune would burst out all at once.

“Senior, should we try that?”

“Not interested.”

Cha Jeong-won didn’t even glance at those balloons. He seemed ready to just leave.

“It says first prize is a dinner voucher.”

“So?”

He retorted as if asking what that had to do with anything, leaving Haon at a loss for words. Then, suddenly, he found himself reconsidering this person named Cha Jeong-won.

Unlike ordinary people who hope for luck, he was accustomed to misfortune. He probably never even considered the possibility of winning such an event.

“It’s just for fun.”

“It’s not fun.”

At Cha Jeong-won’s indifferent answer, Haon just shrugged his shoulders.

It’s disheartening to say it’s not fun before we’ve even started.

Yet, his eyes remained fixed on the box.

He knew most would be duds. From the start, even ordinary people rarely win these things. You hope for a small chance, and if it works out, great; if not, that’s just how it is.

“Senior. Let’s just try it once.”

Haon lightly tugged on his sleeve.

“I want to eat a lollipop. Even if it’s a dud, they give candy, right?”

Cha Jeong-won finally shifted his gaze. He looked down at the lollipops once, then looked back at Haon.

“Spending ten thousand won to eat one piece of candy seems more like a loss to me.”

“If you buy it expensively, it tastes better, you know.”

As Haon kept pushing, Cha Jeong-won turned his head as if to say ‘do as you please.’

Haon urged the silently standing Cha Jeong-won with a smiling face.

“You have to pay.”

Cha Jeong-won looked at him with eyes that seemed to say he didn’t understand, but Haon spoke as if he had a valid reason.

“I bought the tteokbokki.”

So this one’s on you, Senior.

First, he drags along someone who had no interest, and now he tells him to pay. It was truly a brazen attitude.

Cha Jeong-won took out his wallet without any fuss. It seemed he thought just giving in and ending it would be much easier.

The staff member took the cash-filled bill, looked at it, and smiled brightly.

“Thank you. I’ll give you five darts. The customer will throw them, right?”

The customer, of course, meant Cha Jeong-won. But the person in question was pulling his hands back.

“What are you doing? You paid, so you should throw.”

“You’re the one who wants to do it.”

At Cha Jeong-won’s answer, Haon acted as if he was genuinely surprised.

“Then if I ask you to buy me something, you’ll just buy everything for me? Are we that close? We did talk about getting along while eating tteokbokki earlier, but it wasn’t to the point of taking care of each other like that…….”

At Haon’s fuss, Cha Jeong-won let out a short breath like a sigh and extended his hand.

“Give them to me quickly.”

The staff member handed over the darts as if waiting for this moment. Five darts with red and blue feathers were neatly gathered in his hand. They were light and smooth, as if ready to fly anywhere in an instant.

“You can aim at any balloon. Each time one pops, there’s a note inside. I’ll check the ranking for you with that.”

The balloons attached to the board swayed slightly.

Someone’s luck was tied to those round balloons.

Haon raised both fists to cheer for Cha Jeong-won, then suddenly had a thought and pointed at his wrist.

“The bandage is off.”

When was it that we went to the emergency room? As he was counting the days, Cha Jeong-won demonstratively rotated his wrist.

Seeing that, Haon felt belated concern. This guy hated having the bandage wrapped from the start; what if he took it off himself?

“The doctor removed it, so don’t dig into it.”

Aha! Well, in that case…….

“Senior, fighting!”

Haon raised his thumb.

Cha Jeong-won picked up the first dart.

Then he took a short breath in and out, like a sigh. And lightly threw the dart.

The dart cut through the air and pierced a balloon perfectly. As the balloon burst, thin scraps scattered to the floor.

The staff member quickly approached and picked up the folded paper from inside the burst balloon.

“Hmm, this is…….”

After a brief pause, he read it immediately.

“It’s a dud. I’ll give you candy.”

A lollipop was placed in Haon’s hand. The wrapper color was pretty, but it was still disheartening to get a dud from the very first try.

“Ah, the start is just a warm-up.”

Haon spoke cheerfully to boost Cha Jeong-won’s spirits.

“Something will come out next time. I have a feeling.”

“Don’t talk about feelings.”

Cha Jeong-won retorted in a dry voice.

Meanwhile, his gaze lingered briefly on Haon’s fingertips fiddling with the wrapper, then fell away.

He had only thrown one, but Cha Jeong-won’s expression didn’t change at all.

Soon after, he gripped the second dart.

This time too, his posture was precise. There wasn’t a single bit of unnecessary tension in his shoulders, arms, or wrists.

With the same trajectory, the same speed, the dart cut through the air and flew.

Again, there was a pop sound. As the balloon burst, colorful scraps scattered downward, and from inside, a note fell with a thud.

“This time…….”

The staff member unfolded the paper, then gave an awkward smile. He slightly bowed his head as if embarrassed, then read the result written on the note in a clear voice.

“Here’s some candy.”

Another piece of candy landed on Haon’s palm.

“Senior, aren’t you hitting them too well?”

Haon said in a bright tone, deliberately joking. Each time a balloon burst, he thought the feel of the throw was incredibly satisfying, but the actual winning luck seemed pitiful.

“That’s how it usually is.”

Cha Jeong-won’s answer was short and plain. No, not just plain—it was curt.

“What do you mean ‘usually’?”

When Haon casually asked, Cha Jeong-won replied without batting an eye.

“If I’m throwing, only duds will come out. Don’t expect anything.”

Those words strangely stabbed deep inside his chest. They were so calm that he couldn’t tell if it was a real joke or not.

If it was a joke, it was a bit excessive; if it was serious, it was a lonely statement.

“Well then……. We can just eat them by color.”

Haon replied nonchalantly. Cha Jeong-won looked at Haon like that, then picked up the third dart.

This time, Haon leaned toward Cha Jeong-won. He was a bit closer. Within the same space, at a distance where breaths felt more distinct.

“Just pop the balloon this time too.”

He tried to lift the mood by forcibly talking about fortune, but the response was, as expected, no different.

“Pick the flavor you want to eat.”

And the dart was thrown without a moment’s hesitation.

The flying trajectory was just as straight as before, and the balloon burst cleanly with the same sound.

As the scraps scattered, the staff member reflexively bent down. He found and picked up the paper from among the burst balloon pieces.

“Hmm…….”

This time, the staff member hesitated a bit longer. That seemed to already give the answer.

“What flavor candy should I give you?”

Third dud.

It was the expected answer, but it was also a moment when anticipation dwindled. As Cha Jeong-won remained still, Haon felt even more regretful and forced himself to speak.

“Senior, you know these things usually don’t come out easily, right? Unless you’re someone incredibly unlucky, they don’t come out. Why would lotteries exist in the world? And the probability of getting struck by lightning is less than the probability of winning the lottery…….”

“You talk too much.”

It was a calm reply. His face truly showed no concern.

‘Wow……. He’s truly a man of resignation.’

What could he do to chase away his misfortune, even for a moment?

Just as Haon was muttering to himself.

The moment Cha Jeong-won gripped the fourth dart, Haon’s body leaned forward slightly after bumping into someone passing by.

An apology was heard, but Haon had no time to respond. He flailed to avoid falling.

“Whoa!”

Then, reflexively, he grabbed the arm right beside him. Needless to say whose arm it was.

It was Cha Jeong-won’s arm.

His muscles twitched momentarily. As Haon regained his balance, the distance between them suddenly became much closer.