By Zephyria 
Kim Seung was in his second year of having his feet in Sakdal. Before that, he lived on the outskirts of Taeul District.
An ordinary job, an ordinary rental house. In other words, it meant a shabby and bland life.
While he was getting older day by day, checking in three shifts whether the cutlery factory’s machine was malfunctioning. One day, he followed a colleague and tasted the streets of entertainment as if it were fate.
On his first visit, the slot he spun with a 5 Deal bet hit a minor jackpot. 788 Deal. His eyes went wide when he saw the small change turn into a large sum.
From then on, he took the train to Sakdal after work. He stayed up all night playing games, took a nap at a nearby lodging facility, and then went to work.
In slots, roulette, big wheels, poker, and all sorts of games, he lost a little and won a little. He spent 50 Deal and won 60 Deal, spent 30 Deal and lost 50 Deal.
When all the money he had won at first disappeared, the dealer offered him a special zone. It was a game zone where the basic betting amount was high, but once you hit it, you could easily win over 1,000 Deal.
On the evening he crossed the guide rope, Kim Seung spent 300 Deal and earned over 500 Deal.
After that, he spent a similar amount of money and suffered a loss, but he poured in as much again to recover the principal.
The more he bet, the more he earned. It was enough to win back the money he lost. With that thought, he even used up his few vacation days to devote himself to the game, but at some point, he came to his senses and realized that over 5,000 Deal had disappeared in an instant.
From then on, he became anxious. It was a huge sum that exceeded his salary for three months. Even if he saved all his living expenses and rent, it was impossible to save more than 400 Deal a month, so it would take at least a year to get that much money again.
‘That’s it!’
Then he finally won a big game. 2,800 Deal came into his possession. Dopamine rushed in and hope filled his heart.
It was something that would end if he saved steadily for the next six months to make up for the loss. But he used that money as seed money to bet on a bigger game.
Win, lose, win, lose.
Only two months after he started gambling, Kim Seung was 12,000 Deal in debt and was fired from his job for negligence.
He couldn’t pay the rent and lost his address in Taeul District. Only after sitting down in a motel in Sakdal did he belatedly realize that the mundane daily life he had thought was actually a comfortable life.
The life that followed was similar to the lower-class life in Sakdal. He was paid low wages and overworked, then immediately ran to the arcade.
Since he was trying to win a lot of money with a small amount, he only chose high-risk items to play with, and he gradually began to get involved in dangerous work if he was paid.
It was around that time that he was offered a ‘sweet gig’ by the middle manager of the street where he was staying. A simple task of going to a place and leaving or collecting items.
Although he didn’t live in a formal residential area, he had no criminal record, so he was a free pass anywhere. Even though it was a simple task, the money he received was more than before, so he had more time to play games.
The middle manager gave him more and more work, and Kim Seung’s debt was reduced to 8,000 Deal.
Then today, he was instructed to damage posters or eye-catching signs in a remote alley in Jaegang District.
“Damn it… why is it so gloomy?”
The location Kim Seung went to at dawn. There was a pub advertisement with a smiling wolf drawn on a neat concrete wall.
It’s quite a bizarre advertisement. As he hurriedly scraped it off and tried to turn around, something glimmered faintly behind the torn paper.
Curious, he approached and looked… a gemstone. It was definitely a gemstone embedded in the wall. Kim Seung widened his eyes and quickly looked around.
Why is something so precious here? Was the instruction I received to bring the gemstone?
No. It wasn’t. His boss just told him to damage a conspicuous sign. To leave such a precious item and only care about a stupid poster.
After a moment of contemplation, he slowly guessed the situation. This instruction was unusually vague.
Perhaps the middle manager, or someone hiding behind him, was only guessing that there was something on the poster, and most likely didn’t know that there was a gemstone.
As soon as he realized that fact, his eyes, which had been widened with embarrassment, were immediately stained with greed. If he sold the gemstone, he could hole up in the arcade for at least five days and aim for a lot of money.
‘Looking at the size, it’s a high-quality item.’
His heart pounded at the prospect of a windfall. He took out a folding knife from his pocket and inserted it into the concrete wall where the gemstone was embedded.
Pop. The jewel popped out lightly and fell into his hand. Just as Kim Seung clenched it tightly and tried to turn around.
“Hmm. You shouldn’t take that.”
A pleasant voice called out to him from behind. Startled, he turned around and saw a black-haired man leaning against the wall.
He didn’t know how long he had been there, but he was shining his red eyes in the shadows without a single sign of life.
The man slowly stood up. The eye level he faced rose sharply in an instant.
“I didn’t tell you to bring that, Cheong.”
A sweet voice that wrapped around his ears. A handsome face that drew attention even in the dimness.
His flawless skin was almost inhuman. He had the appearance of someone who had been raised preciously from birth.
Considering that, the clothes he was wearing were very ordinary, but even if he wore rags, his origin was obvious.
What should I do? Kim Seung’s head turned creakily. A huge debt with constant dunning notices. A location without surveillance cameras as he had been told in advance.
The existence of the gemstone that no one knew about, and a young master who didn’t seem to have ever been in a scuffle.
“Damn it, aren’t you going to get lost? I’ll just kill you.”
The money right now was more urgent than any possible future punishment. He made a fierce expression, waving the blade threateningly.
However, even as he approached with the weapon, the man didn’t move. The tip of the knife caught on the man’s clothes and left a long scratch.
“Jin Mu-hae bought me this.”
The man was talking nonsense. Should I really stab him?
I think this guy saw me taking the gemstone… By the time Kim Seung’s thoughts reached that point.
Crack.
A strange sound and a burning pain in his elbow. He tried to scream, but his mouth was completely blocked by something.
In his swaying vision, the man let go of Kim Seung’s arm with a troubled expression.
Thump. Thud. His arm, with the white bone exposed, fell to the floor soaked in blood.
“……!”
“Ah. I couldn’t control my strength.”
Pain he had never experienced before pierced his brain. The sight in front of him was shocking in itself.
But not even a scream, not even a breath, passed through the man’s hand that blocked his nose and mouth.
Moreover, what was worse than that pain was the fear that felt like his heart was being torn out.
His head burned white as if he was facing an incomprehensible being, and he couldn’t even feel his legs standing on the ground.
“Hmm. It shouldn’t get noisy.”
The man muttered, drooping his eyebrows. His red eyes scanned Kim Seung piece by piece as if he was estimating something.
“I guess it’ll be okay if I don’t leave any meat behind?”
After uttering strange words, the man licked his lips.
Then, thud.
The pain stopped. The sounds of cracking, crunching, and splashing remained like an engraving in Kim Seung’s slowly fading hearing.
“Why aren’t you asking for food for once?”
“I ate cereal.”
“You’re not talking about meat either.”
“……Meat, do you want to eat it?”
Joo-oh answered in an awkward tone and turned his head.
It was obvious without looking. He went out somewhere from dawn and came back after buying a lot of food.
Jin Mu-hae clicked his tongue briefly and picked up a basket of clothes. He had been putting off cleaning for a while, so the house was a mess, so he was going to do the laundry first.
“Give me your clothes.”
“Clothes?”
“The ones you wore this morning. Why aren’t you giving me your clothes after you showered?”
But Joo-oh avoided his gaze again. The whites of his eyes were increased, and it was clear that he had a guilty expression.
“I don’t have any clothes.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Unless you ate them like meat, why are the clothes that were fine gone?”
“…….”
For once, he didn’t talk back, and now he was looking at the ceiling.
Whether he wasn’t talking or couldn’t talk. Mu-hae eventually frowned and turned around.
This was obvious without looking. He must have been walking around carelessly in the dark and tore them somewhere.
The thought of him sneaking out to throw away his clothes at dawn was absurd, and honestly, he couldn’t help but laugh.
He eats so much rice and constantly puts snacks in his mouth, but what else is he lacking that he goes out to enjoy a miracle morning meal?
He doesn’t drool as much as before, but his food intake doesn’t decrease.
“……Hey.”
Mu-hae, who was about to casually pass it over as usual, stopped walking.
Something was wrong. It was one thing that the clothes he wore out were gone, but even the underwear wasn’t on top of the clothes that Mu-hae had thrown down after washing yesterday.
Sleeves or pant legs could get caught on protruding nails and get damaged, but… was there any reason for the underwear inside to get damaged?
“What did you do when you came in?”
Joo-oh’s lips trembled at the low voice. Mu-hae’s eyes became fierce at that sight.
Come to think of it, where did that guy buy food and come back from at a time when it wasn’t even dawn yet?
Was there even a restaurant open? And even the clothes are gone.
“It’s nothing.”
“So what is that nothing?”
“I want to eat meat. Huh?”
“You. Come here.”
When he flicked his finger, Joo-oh, who was trying to avoid his eyes, looked like he was about to cry.
He approached Mu-hae hesitantly like a criminal. Jin Mu-hae suddenly grabbed his clothes and lifted them up.
There wasn’t a single mole, scratch, or scrape on his smooth, dry, white belly.
“Why…….”
Even if he pulled on the neckline and looked at his collarbone, there was no trace of anyone touching him. Of course, he didn’t think anything would have happened in the morning, but the scene that flashed through his head wasn’t very good.
‘Oh dear. He’s getting touched?’
Joo-oh especially liked to be petted. No matter who it was, if they gently tickled him and rubbed his cheeks, his face would light up.
It was already suspicious that he was going out every day, talking about taking a walk. And he kept getting candy from somewhere.
Jaegang District was relatively safe, so he didn’t say anything even if he went out without a hat. But considering this guy’s condition, did some strange guys get attached to him?
But what can he ask about this? Did someone touch you? Did they pet you?
“Who took your clothes?”
“They didn’t take them. I threw them away.”
“Why did you throw away something that was fine?”
“I just threw them away. Jin Mu-hae will buy them for me again…….”
In the meantime, Joo-oh seemed to think he was being scolded for losing the clothes he had bought for him. His trembling eyes were full of anxiety.
Damn it. Mu-hae’s Adam’s apple trembled at the uncomfortable feeling. The heat rose to his head and then cooled down.
It seems that the ‘that kind of’ socialization education that he had been putting off all along… he really needs to start it now.
“You…… Haa.”
The words were about to come out, but they got stuck in his throat. Jin Mu-hae quietly bit his molars.