Three Eight Chapter 76

He sank into the drugs and closed his eyes. His dazed mind hovered at the vague boundary between dream and reality.

"Uugh, help , help , Guppping..."

A groan echoed. From around the corner, a young Hongju suddenly poked his head out. His black eyes were fixed on the ground. He was small and scruffy—looked like he had just started begging on the streets. The Hongju in the dream observed everything like a third party.

"I-I didn’t run, I’ll pay you back soon, kuhk. Ugh!"

Yang Siljang and a bulky man kicked him relentlessly. The man sprawled on the bloodstained floor looked to be in his late forties. The young Hongju watched the violent scene, trembling.

"How the fuck are we supposed to believe that? You paid for your daughter’s recital, bought your son a brand-new car, even booked your wife a flight for her 60th birthday trip. So why the fuck is your debt still sitting there, huh?"

"Listen to ! T-That was my wife’s—!"

The man clung to Guppping’s pant leg. But Guppping impatiently pulled his foot away and spat on the floor.

"Exactly. So go bring your wife’s money or whatever the fuck. Are you too dumb to understand words?"

"Just a little more ti..."

"Ti, my ass. Fuck, this rabbit got caught and still won’t shut up. Should we go collect from your wife instead? That’d be easier, huh?"

"N-No, don’t—!"

And then, the man’s head was stomped on. Hongju clamped both hands over his mouth, horrified. His sharp inhale echoed loudly.

"Huup."

Yang Siljang stopped punching and straightened up. The eye not covered by the eyepatch glead sharply as he scanned the area. Hongju had always been especially scared of Yang Siljang as a child. He used to have nightmares just imagining what lay behind that eyepatch.

"I hear a squeaky little noise sowhere?"

The gleaming eye turned toward the corner. When Yang Siljang t Hongju’s gaze, he grinned wide enough to show off all his gold teeth.

"Heu, mmph."

Paralyzed by fear, Hongju couldn’t move a muscle. His eyes t the bloodied man’s on the floor.

"......"

A vacant, unfocused stare. The man’s face looked just like his father’s.

"A rat running around at this hour?"

At so point, Guppping had approached. The stub of his shortened pinky finger touched Hongju’s cheek, and Hongju flinched violently in terror.

"Why are you crawling around instead of sleeping? You wanna go back out and collect more money now?"

"N-No. No, sir."

Each ti he shook his head desperately, fat tears fell. Guppping looked down at his finger where the tear had touched and clicked his tongue.

"Hongju. If you run away again, you’ll end up like that guy. You wanna end up like that?"

Hongju shook his head furiously. No. No. He mumbled through sobs, trembling with desperation. But Guppping didn’t look the least bit moved. He grabbed Hongju by the collar. With a rough yank, he dragged the small body around to face the direction of the collapsed debtor.

"Look. This is what happens when you run from your debts. And your old man? He borrowed money from and then dumped you on too."

"Hhup."

"You get how hard this is for , right? Huh?"

At last, Guppping brought up his father. Hongju burst into loud tears. In his eyes, the man on the floor had already rged with the image of his father.

"I don’t want you and your old man ending up like that. I love all my clients, after all."

A phlegmy chuckle followed.

"Y-Yes."

Hongju wiped his tears with tiny hands, sniffling. Guppping’s greedy eyes glead as he brought his lips close to Hongju’s ear.

"Then let’s work hard to pay it back, huh? You gotta get up early tomorrow and earn more money so the interest doesn’t pile up. Right? Or not?"

You just had to walk around with gum or candy and act pitiful. But instead, all he did was cry—how exhausting. Maybe if he scared him enough, the kid would behave for a while.

"R-Right."

"Tomorrow we hit up the karaoke joints and food stalls too, okay?"

The little head nodded up and down quickly.

"Y-Yes, okay..."

It worked well. Rain or snow, heat or cold, after that, Hongju went out every day. It was pocket change to Guppping, but over the years, even that added up to a decent sum.

If he didn’t bring in enough, he’d get beaten that day. Just like the debtor who was hit for not paying up. Even though he had never borrowed a di, little Hongju had to live in fear of violence, trembling every day. The next day, and the day after that, and again and again... until ten nights beca fifteen years.

"Uuh, ugh...!"

Hongju writhed in agony, rubbing the back of his head into the pillow. He wanted to wake up, but his entire body felt like it was pinned under stone. He couldn’t move a single finger.

"Gu Hongju."

The voice calling him didn’t contain a single curse or hint of irritation. It simply carried his na. Who was it? Who was calling him?

"Gu Hongju, try to stay with ."

It wasn’t soone from the House. Not his father either. Then who...? His floating, dazed mind suddenly grounded itself in reality.

"Ah."

With a sharp gasp, he jolted his eyes open. Sitting ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ up abruptly, he couldn’t breathe right, clawing at his throat in distress. His eyes were wet, and his eyelids flushed red—as if he’d been crying throughout the dream.

"Breathe properly."

A hand steadied him and gently patted his back. Only then did his breath finally co through. A rush of gasping air poured out.

"Haah, haah."

You’re supposed to forget dreams once you wake up. But in Hongju’s head, everything remained vivid. The glint of that gold tooth aid at him. The rough texture of those flaky, calloused hands. And the empty eyes that stared straight at him. He shuddered like he was convulsing and threw the blanket off. Imdiately, a firm grip caught his arm.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to find Guppping! That bastard—I have to...!"

His swollen throat couldn’t even form proper sound, but he scread with veins popping. A large hand seized his bandaged cheek.

Dark eyes t his.

"If you go in this state, you won’t be able to do anything."

The voice was soft, as if to soothe him. Hongju’s lips trembled, and wet, shuddering sobs spilled out. Fifteen years’ worth of rage and resentnt clung to him, forming a thick, black sob.

"Tell instead."

"Hhuuh, mmph."

"Gu Hongju."

The fingers gripping his cheek slowly brushed his earlobe. Strangely, the wild emotions started to settle under that warmth.

He exhaled in sync with the ticking of the clock on the wall. Then swallowed. Then again. His trembling tears finally crossed his cheeks and fell.

"What should I do with Gu Madam?"

He read the words on Mu-gyeong’s lips.

"I want him to die in pain, in agony. He should live way more miserably than I did before he dies."

"Keep going."

"That disgusting mutt in heat. I want him to never pull that sick shit again..."

Hongju couldn’t finish. A large hand ca up to cover his remaining ear.

The sounds of footsteps and honking outside the room faded away. All that remained were his ragged breaths and his sobs. As if he were the only one left in the world, Hongju cried freely without holding back.

After sobbing like a child for a long ti, he finally fell asleep again—only after taking more ds. Mu-gyeong quietly pulled up the blanket and wiped the damp corners of his eyes.

"What, already forgot I said I’d handle it?"

He’d clearly promised to follow Mu-gyeong’s lead. And now he was thrashing around, threatening to kill Guppping. Normally, that would’ve pissed him off. But Mu-gyeong couldn’t feel anger or irritation toward Gu Hongju anymore. Calmly, he picked up his phone to check it.

[He’s sleeping at the House.]

So the one who got beaten can’t sleep without jolting awake, while the bastard who did the beating is sprawled out comfy as can be. Mu-gyeong let out a cold chuckle. With a disgusted sneer, he typed a reply.

[Let’s raise their price and sell them off.]

The response ca back in seconds.

[What???]

Mu-gyeong flipped the phone over without replying.

"If it’s crooked, I’ll just fix it again."

Back then, he would've done anything to force people into his plans. He wouldn’t have clung to soone just because they brushed past him. But now, he couldn’t bring himself to force Gu Hongju or let him go.

He stared long and hard at Hongju, who still slept with a furrowed brow.

Maybe he didn’t want to stay in that unconscious world long. Even with the ds, Hongju never slept more than two hours. When he woke, he would cry and thrash in tornt, demanding to find Guppping.

Mu-gyeong took him ho without a sound. Discharge would be handled quietly. There was no way he’d send him back to that fucking House now. He’d just tell Guppping that Gu Hongju had run away. If he erased Hongju’s shadow altogether, they wouldn’t be able to co after him.

Fortunately, there were no major fractures. He was a bit sluggish but could still move fine. Mu-gyeong neither sent him back to the dorm nor left him alone at ho.

Instead, he sat him on the bed in the suite where they used to run gambling gas and kept a close, silent watch for two full days. Hongju had a record of running off before, and now he had a clear goal—to kill Guppping. No telling when he’d bolt again.

Though he trembled with rage the whole ti, Hongju gradually began to stabilize.

"People from the House will be here soon. Even if you hear their voices, don’t get riled up."

"...Can’t I be sowhere else? I’ll stay still. But if I hear Guppping’s voice... I don’t think I can control myself."

His dry fists trembled in tight little knots. Mu-gyeong turned his back, fastening his watch.

"You need to hear that bastard go down with your own ears."

As if hearing tinnitus again, Hongju clutched his ear and grimaced. Then parted his lips.

"Are you gonna switch the cards like when we caught Il-Sam-Gwang-Ttaeng? So Guppping loses?"

When we caught Il-Sam-Gwang-Ttaeng, huh. Mu-gyeong repeated it under his breath, trying to recall sothing he hadn’t thought much of before.

"When that idiot tried to hustle and got caught?"

Hongju nodded. Just a few gauze pads covered his face, but it still looked half-hidden. Mu-gyeong lightly lifted Hongju’s bony chin.

"I’m not a card sharp. I can’t pull that crap. You’ve been watching my hands—don’t you know that?"

Even as he answered, his eyes scanned Hongju’s face. The swelling had gone down a bit, but now the bruises were turning dark. The sight annoyed him so much his hand nearly clenched on its own. Mu-gyeong let go of the chin.

"Yeah, but... then how are you gonna screw him over? Yang Siljang’s been sharpening his ga since last ti. He won’t ss up the hands now."

"There’s always a way. You waited two days, so what’s with the sudden nerves?"

Not that he’d waited quietly. Mu-gyeong chuckled softly and checked his phone.

"It’s ti."

Ti to welco the House mbers.

"You didn’t forget, right?"

A cautious voice ca from behind. Mu-gyeong glanced over his shoulder. Hongju was clutching the sheets tightly, lips twitching.

"That Yang Siljang recruited so thugs. Even if they changed the room, the plan won’t change."

Didn’t he say he was done with this kind of shit? Still, even without a single cent in his pocket, Gu Hongju was the only one worrying about him.

That strange emotion made his breath catch for a mont. So he paused and gathered himself.