Episode 3

Among the crowd that was watching So-hee being dragged around the classroom by Kim Jungsik’s gang, Seo Jihoon was also there. The curiosity in his eyes, which overshadowed any sympathy, would probably never be forgotten.

“…Yes.”

“It must be really tough, but hang in there. I want to help you, but that’s all I can say.”

“No, it’s okay. You’ve even connected me with a tutoring job for Dayoung, and I’m always grateful to you. I’ll get going now. I have to rush to my next tutoring session.”

“Oh, sure. See you again. I’ll be in touch.”

So-hee ran out of Seo Jihoon’s house as if she were escaping. Every place he had touched and rubbed felt like it was crawling with insects.

Despite that, the fear of not getting paid for the tutoring made her pretend not to know Seo Jihoon’s true intentions, filling her with self-disgust.

Upon arriving home, So-hee headed straight to the bathroom. When she turned the loose doorknob, a cold air that had been trapped inside rushed out. The coldness inside and outside seemed to compete to see which could be colder.

Creak, creak.

Every time she turned the rusty faucet, it made a strange noise. So-hee stared blankly at her pale face reflected in the rippling water in the basin.

Gye Wonho. When would that man ever come? What if it was all a lie?

But for that to be the case, Kim Jungsik had been suspiciously quiet. So-hee knew better than anyone that he wasn’t the type to wait patiently until the repayment date.

The suddenly quiet rooftop room, with no one visiting since that man came, felt strange.

It really was true that the man bought my debt…

She still couldn’t believe that Kim Jungsik had cut ties with her. Only a few days ago, wasn’t Mr. Kim tormenting her with the money he lent?

On December 30th, the day before Gye Wonho came to visit, Kim Jungsik was waiting for So-hee outside the rooftop.

Hock, Thoo.

Mr. Kim spat a yellow phlegm on So-hee’s face as she returned from work.

“Where’s my money, you bitch.”

“The repayment date is next week.”

“We need to rest at the beginning of the year too. You shameless debtor bitch.”

“Ah!”

Kim Jungsik grabbed So-hee by the hair and dragged her around the rooftop. His subordinates, who had come along, laughed loudly. Her head, body, mind, pride, and dignity were all bruised and ground down.

It hurt. It hurt so much that she couldn’t even scream anymore.

“Damn it, interest payments are only until the end of this year. Starting next year, you have to repay the principal too.”
“I will pay it back. No matter what, I will pay it back…”

“Why go through all this trouble when you can sell your body like your mother did? That old hag can’t pay off the debt because she’s too old and worthless now, but at your age, you’re worth a lot. Or you could become my wife. You’ve got big tits and a pretty face, so I’ll give you a good price for your cunt.”

After Mr. Kim left that day, So-hee was bedridden for two whole days. She didn’t know if it was because she was injured or just faking it, but she couldn’t move at all.

She didn’t go to work, eat, or sleep. She lay in the freezing cold room, staring at the ceiling, stained with what she couldn’t tell if it was rainwater or rat urine.

What if I just died like this? She didn’t have the courage to hang herself like her father did, but maybe if she stayed like this, she would stop breathing on her own. Mr. Kim would find her corpse when he came to collect his debt. He wouldn’t bother with a funeral, so her body would just rot here.

She really wanted to die. She felt like she was already dying. If Gye Wonho hadn’t come the next day, she would have surely died.

Ironically, she lived because the man came, and she wanted to live. She realized she was actually afraid of death.

“Now… there’s no need to see Kim Jungsik anymore…”

So it’s okay. Gye Wonho bought my debt.

Emerging from her thoughts, So-hee poured the icy water over herself and scrubbed the places where Kim Jungsik and Seo Jihoon had touched and rubbed her.

Her pale skin turned red from the scrubbing, but she didn’t stop her self-destructive actions.

Her hand, which had been spreading soap lather over her chilled body, paused near a certain spot. Just below her lower abdomen, where her soft pubic hair began.

She could still vividly remember the sensation of the man pressing his phone corner against that spot. The low voice and the pleasant smell of him briefly passed through her memory.

What does he want from me? Mr. Kim must have told him that she could barely even pay the interest.

Maybe, yes, he too is no different from Kim Jungsik, and he only wants one thing from her.

Isn’t he the one who said he would sell her corpse to get money even after she died?

Thinking it was ridiculous to believe that everything was fine because Gye Wonho had bought her debt and freed her from Kim Jungsik, So-hee laughed self-deprecatingly.

With the electricity cut off, she couldn’t use a hair dryer, so she wrung her wet hair with a towel as best as she could. After soaking her hands in cold water for a long time, they were red and numb. So-hee stepped out onto the rooftop to hang the laundry she had washed by hand while taking a shower.

“…Oh.”

She saw a tall man leaning obliquely against the rooftop railing. He turned around, revealing broad shoulders and a large frame, dressed in a dark coat as black and deep as his hair.

His indifferent gaze met So-hee’s. Gray smoke drifted from his lips, which were holding a cigarette.

A moment of silent stillness passed.

Gye Wonho flicked the ash off his cigarette with his index finger and chuckled. His cheeks hollowed as he took another deep drag.

The man stubbed out his cigarette on the snow-covered railing and flicked the butt off the rooftop.

“You look even prettier in the light. Last week was too dark, and it was a bit annoying, right?”

So-hee stared at his symmetrical lips, swallowing her trembling breath as she set the laundry basket down next to the door. Her heart pounded loudly.

“You said you’d call before coming, so I was waiting for you.”

Why did she say that, of all things? Did it sound like she was blaming him? Fear crept in, and So-hee anxiously watched his reaction.

The man’s expression didn’t change. So-hee’s hesitant gaze returned to his lips. The distance made it hard to hear, so she had to read his lips.

“You were waiting because you wanted to see me, weren’t you?”

Gye Wonho said playfully, lifting the corner of his mouth with his thumb. His large, firm finger moved lazily from the center of his lips, which had been holding a cigarette filter, to the edge of his mouth, tracing a lazy path across his reddish skin.

“I was just wondering when you’d come…”

So-hee’s fingers, cold and stiff from the winter wind, slowly intertwined.

“I was joking, but you really wanted to see me, didn’t you?”

“…”

“But you adjusted well baby.”

Gye Wonho chuckled mischievously, pressing his thumb into the hollow of his cheek. So-hee, staring blankly at his leisurely movements, shivered slightly beneath her thin eyelids.

The man stretched out his long legs and walked over. The bitter scent of cigarette smoke, clinging to his coat, tickled her nose. The perfume smell that followed behind was intensely familiar. As he closed the distance, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Who are you meeting at this hour? A boyfriend?”

Gye Wonho raised his thick eyebrows and asked. So-hee guessed at the intention behind his question and swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth. Only then did she realize her hair was still damp.

“No…”

The word “boyfriend” felt strange on her lips, and So-hee hesitated, lowering her gaze. She noticed his high-quality leather shoes, which didn’t match the old, green-painted rooftop floor at all.

He’s tall and big, so his feet are big too.

She quickly cut off her subconscious thoughts and whispered almost inaudibly.

“…I don’t have anyone I’m dating.”

The large thumb that had been brushing the corner of his mouth now lifted So-hee’s chin. Their gazes locked, and her forced upward view filled with his face.

Deep shadows under his eyes, irises so dark they were almost black, a sharply high nose bridge between his eyebrows. His angular jawline and sharp facial contours extended to a long neck.

As her gaze fell on the prominent Adam’s apple nestled among the black tattoos encircling his strong neck, a shiver ran down her spine.

“No one? No guy with balls would leave someone like you alone.”

The thumb that had lifted her chin now pressed firmly against her lower lip. The firm fingertip dug into her plump lips, feeling hot as if it carried a spark.

“Ah…”

A small moan escaped through her slightly parted lips. The spot where he kept pressing hurt, and her cheek brushed by the cold wind stung.

A strange shiver ran through So-hee’s body, and she belatedly realized why the man had come to her house.

“I…”

She was about to say she would bring out the money, but her words trailed off. Gye Wonho, his head tilted, was quietly looking at the nape of her neck through the wet strands of her hair.

His blatant gaze stayed fixed on her white, slender neck and then slowly followed the droplets of water running down the thin line of her throat.

As So-hee lowered her head, following the man’s moving eyes, her spine chilled. Her white t-shirt, clinging to her skin, clearly showed her erect nipples and the pale areolas beneath.

Gye Wonho’s gaze stayed fixed on her unbra-ed, perky breasts as he rolled his tongue inside his mouth.

“You’re a baby, but your tits are so big.”

Tl/N: Gye Wonho calls Sohee “애기야” (aegiya), which directly translates to “baby” or “little one” in Korean. So if you see me jumping between these two words just ignore.