Chapter Two: Nam-gyu

I’m at the subway station sitting on one of the benches. I take a drag of my cigarette. I just finished work. I work as a club promoter at the Club Pentagon. I basically market and promote nightclubs or events and shit. It's fine I guess. There are better things I could be doing but this job is all I really know. I take another puff of my cigarette, and push my hair behind my ears.

“Hello sir.” I look up to see a man in a suit. He has a suitcase in his right hand. Is he a businessman?

“What is it? I don't want whatever you're trying to give me. I don't w-”

“Would you like to play a game?” He smiles slightly. A game? Who does he think I am? A kid?

“What are you talking about, a game? What kind of a game is it?” He sets his briefcase next to me on the bench and opens it up. Inside are red and blue ddakji cards and next to those are stacks of cash. And I mean A LOT of cash. Probably enough to pay half of the debt. He takes out the ddakji and stands in front of me.

“Do you want to play some ddakji?” Curious, I slowly nod. “There are some rules. If you lose, you have to give me 100,000₩, or you could pay with your body. Each slap removes 100,000₩ from how much you owe me.” He walks over to his briefcase and pulls out a stack of cash.

“If you win, you get 100,000₩. Understand?” I nod again. He places the blue ddakji on the floor. Then he aggressively throws his ddakji down on top of the blue one and flips it. He then picks up the blue one and hands it to me.

“Your turn.” I take it from him and look at the red ddakji on the floor. I think for a second, and raise my arm. With all my strength I threw my ddakji down on top of the red one. The red one does not move. I curse under my breath. Then the man slapped me across the cheek .

“OW! shit, that hurts man! Do you have to slap that hard?” He doesn’t answer. I’m starting to realize that he only speaks when he gets good and ready.

“Would you like to play another round?” I’m about to say no, but I look at the stacks of cash in his briefcase. I really need that money.

“Yeah, I’ll play again.” We ended up playing 23 rounds. I won a total of three times. I can no longer feel the side of my face. My cheek is bruised and beaten. I am starting to see stars. After the last round, I sat down on the bench. The man hands me the third stack of cash sitting down next to me.

“Do you like playing games like this?” I look at him in confusion. I just been slapped 20 times, on the SAME cheek may I add, and he’s asking me if I enjoy playing games like this? I don't even answer him. He doesn't stop smiling, which is starting to creep me out.

“Do you need money?” I look at him and I slowly nod. He responds to my nod with a nod, handing me a rectangular business card with shapes on the front, and stands up and walks away. Well that was weird. I stare at my stack of cash. This isn't even a quarter of what I need to pay off my debt. Oh shit. I missed the bus. I stand up and start to walk home, putting the card in my pocket.

. . .

I stand at my doorway, card in one hand, phone in the other. What the hell is this? Am I supposed to call this number? Or is it just another scam that is gonna put me in even more debt than I'm already in? Oh, did I mention that MG coin is the reason I’m stuck in this shit? That fucking MG Coin. I swear to god if I ever see him, I'll strangle him to death. That's why you can't trust anybody. Because then you get into shit like this that you won't be able to get out of.

I continue to stare at the card. Then something in my gut tells me to call that number. I slowly dial the number into my phone. It rings for a little too long before picking up.

“Hello?” nothing. “I got this card and it had this number on it.” Nothing. I start to get angry. “LOOK. If you're just here to scam me th-” A guy suddenly speaks. He tells me a random address. He says to be there at exactly 8:00 pm. Yeah right. Like I'm gonna just do what this random guy says.

. . .

I'm standing at the curb at this random location. The location that the guy told me to go to. I’ve been standing here for over an hour. What the fuck am I even doing here? I swear this is a scam. I probably look ridiculous right now. I push my hair behind my ear.

I’m about to leave. I knew this was a scam. I turn to go back home until I hear something coming down the street. A white van stops in front of me. The front window rolls down and a guy wearing a pick suit and a black mask appears.

“Please get inside.” I hesitate and stare at the pink guy before sliding the van door open. There are multiple people in there, and they all seem to be… asleep? The guy right next to me has purple hair and piercings in his ears. He looks familiar. Something starts to fill up in the car. A pink gas. My eyelids start to feel heavy, and my body starts to rest. Next thing I know, everything goes black.