My Bloody Valentine - 4

Chapter 4

Entering the waiting room was a woman who, despite not being tall, exuded an enormous presence. Her leisurely gaze settled on Han as she sauntered through the room. With a clicking sound of her heels, she approached.

“Did you sleep well?”

Han nervously blinked his large eyes several times, trying to formulate a response.

The woman pulled a chair and sat right in front of Han, her long, sharp red fingernails tapping on her polished index finger as if inviting a closer look. Han cautiously leaned in as the woman dipped her thumb in saliva and wiped away some dirt on Han’s cheek, asking, “What’s your name, darling?”

Fearing the sharp nails might poke his eyes, Han winced with one eye, making him seem even more innocent and vulnerable.

“…My name is Han.”

“Han? A foreign name?”

“Yes.”

“What a lovely name. How old are you?”

Before Han could finish his answer, a loud exclamation burst from behind the woman’s shoulder.

“What the f*ck? Twenty-eight? Did someone hit you in the face?”

The woman who had been close to Han’s face a moment ago leaped over the table and rushed over. She then snatched Han’s face from the other woman’s hand, squeezing and prodding it as if handling a slime toy.

Analyzing each feature on the small, dusty face with its scattered imperfections and a smooth complexion that hid pores, the woman asked, “What happened to your face?”

“N-nothing…”

“Look at your skin. What do you use for your base?”

“Just body lotion.”

“How far did you go with remodeling?”

“Excuse me? Remodeling…?”

“You didn’t touch your nose… Maybe fillers?”

Pressing on the sides of Han’s nose, the woman asked, “You didn’t…but still…is this a face that had nothing done?”

Pushing the woman’s head away with his palm, the woman who had been poking and prodding at Han’s face stumbled to the side with a thump. She grumbled for a moment toward Han before returning to her original spot.

“Let me see properly.”

With her thumb and index finger, the woman, named Jina, wiped the dust and grime off Han’s face with a tissue, examining as if checking for flaws in a newly purchased item. However, Han felt a lump in his chest, as if the action was akin to a mother licking his young, making her unexpectedly emotional.

Tears welled up in Han’s eyes, and he asked Jina, “Excuse me…where am I? Why am I here?”

“Well, you should know that. Should I know?”

“I was… I was kidnapped…I didn’t do anything wrong, but someone knocked me out and dragged me to some strange construction site-like place.”

“Is that so? You must have been very surprised.”

“Yes…yes, I was, but I feel like there’s a misunderstanding. I don’t have any debts or anything like that. I don’t even know any gangsters…”

As someone who understood his feelings emerged, his emotions swelled, and the tears flowed down. Jina wiped them away with her thumb and asked, “Dear, do you have a phone?”

“Yes. 010.”

“Then you can get a loan.”

“What…?”

“Let’s stop crying now, okay? We have to attend to customers, and you’re swelling your pretty eyes.”

Jina maintained a perfectly expressionless face. Han couldn’t find the affection he had been desperately seeking in Jina’s actions. Bewildered, Han’s teary eyes rolled around. Seeing him, Jina asked, “Have you been teased?”

Han, though absurdly naive for his age, understood the implication to some extent. He hung his head down in embarrassment.

“Then have you been f*cked?”

Not understanding this, his eyes widened, and he looked at Jina.

Jina lightly pulled one corner of her lips, smiled, and got up from her seat. She snapped her fingers and called Jae-gu, who was sitting at the card table.

“Jae-gu. Take this boy to the waiting room and try dressing him up with rentals. Let’s check the size.”

“Yes.”

“And you, stop coming to the women’s waiting room. If you’re going to do that, go f*ck a chili.”

Instead of responding to Jina, Jae-gu chuckled and led Han out of the waiting room.

As they stepped out of the room, Han found himself in another world. A spacious corridor was filled with uniformed waiters carrying silver trays, bustling around.

It was only after seeing people tipsily leaving with drinks that Han realized he was in a place he had never expected to visit in his life.

Contrary to his vague expectation of a cramped corridor with tightly spaced doors, this place was worlds apart. The opulent interior, almost to the extent that he wondered if it was a European nobleman’s mansion, fascinated Han.

The corridor seemed to extend endlessly, with no green exit signs in sight.

“Why are you looking around like that? Come over here.”

Jae-gu brought Han to another waiting room, which, while slightly smaller than the previous one, had similar facilities. It was currently 4 a.m., the prime time for Tanzen, and most of the girls were busy with clients, so the waiting room was deserted.

A man was sleeping on a long sofa, his face covered by clothes, and another man was standing in front of a corner mirror, looking at his phone with wireless earphones in his ears.

In one corner of the waiting room, there was a portable clothing rack with the latest season’s clothes, all bearing labels of various luxury brands, as these clothes were rented from a store and placed here for the convenience of the establishment.

“Hmm… I wonder if something will fit. How much do you weigh?”

“60 kilograms.”

“Gosh, I’m not even 60 kilograms. With that height and weight, you must be around 52 or 53 kilograms.”

In an instant, the lie was exposed, and his actual weight was revealed. Jae-gu, with a keen eye, scanned Han from head to toe and started picking out clothes that seemed to fit her.

“Now, try these on.”

Jae-gu handed him a silk shirt with a honeycomb-like print in white, red, and navy, paired with skinny-fit black jeans.

Having realized that there were no changing rooms or facilities here, Han discreetly went behind a clothing rack and changed his clothes.

“Done…!”

“Hmm…”

The shirt that had fit the previous guy properly now looked oversized on him, and the pants were ridiculously long. However, after folding them inwards, they didn’t look too out of place. Jae-gu clicked his tongue while looking at the baggy waist of the pants.

“These pants are too wide. These are originally skinny-fits. You must be quite skinny.”

He tightened the loose waist with a leather belt adorned with a logo-shaped buckle and wore a counterfeit watch he had on his wrist.

He removed the shabby Converse shoes and put on leather sneakers that had been left behind by the person who worked there before. They were oversized, but he tightened the straps securely, ensuring they wouldn’t come off when walking. Since he didn’t plan on running anyway, this was sufficient.

With his new clothes and freshly groomed hair, Han now looked presentable. Jae-gu couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Wow…”

In reality, Han had gone beyond just looking presentable. He had transformed from a drab figure reminiscent of a ghost in a run-down internet cafe in her hometown to something else entirely. It was as if he had become something precious, which was highly desirable in a place like this.

There were women here who went wild for guys who seemed elegant yet dangerously fragile and almost about to fly away with a gust of wind. They were of the nurturing kind, the type who typically gave generous tips and clients who were understanding.

One of Jae-gu’s eyebrows raised slightly and then returned to its original position. He was proud of his ability to read people quickly, a skill he considered to be one of his greatest assets. Money had a distinctive scent to him, and he could sense the direction it was flowing.

“So… what did you say your name was?”

“Han.”

“A foreign name? Cool. I’m No Jae-gu. Let’s get along.”

Jae-gu extended his hand, and Han shook it, assuming it was an apology for the earlier derogatory term.

“Later, when everything goes well because of me, don’t forget me, okay?”

“…?”

Without understanding what he meant, Han was led by Jae-gu into the corridor. Eager to show him to Jina, Jae-gu’s grip on Han’s hand tightened.

Jina, who had been counting money behind the counter, noticed them and got up from her seat. His sharp eyes scanned Han up and down, as if he were grading him.

“Well, what do you think? It’s not a joke, is it?”

“…”

Instead of replying, Jina smiled as if he found it quite amusing and said, “Jae-gu, a little while ago, Manager Wilhelmina went inside. Everyone is waiting in front of her, so why don’t you take Han with you? Let’s see how he does. Peridot.”

Having heard his name among the unfamiliar words, Han’s arms flapped in surprise.

“What? You’re putting me in there?”

“Hurry up, Hyung. We don’t have time.”

Without a chance to ask any questions, Han was pulled by the wrist by Jae-gu back into the corridor.

Passing by several doors, each one had a gemstone name engraved on it – Topaz, Opal, Amber, Aquamarine, Calcite, and at the end, a door with the name ‘Peridot’ written on it. In front of the door, tall men with glamorous outfits were standing, about a dozen of them. They all had tall frames and handsome faces, dressed in flashy attire, like actors or models on TV.

Seeing so many people who looked so dazzling all at once was an experience Han had never encountered in his entire life. His eyes spun around in disbelief.

Standing behind them, Jae-gu whispered to Han’s ear in a hushed tone, “I know it’s a bit cruel, but these guys can easily spend thousands in one night, so do well, Hyung.”

So much had happened in just a few hours, and there was too much to process. He felt like he was buffering, unable to comprehend the situation. His not-so-bright mind was struggling to grasp what was happening.

At that moment, a sharply dressed man appeared from behind in the corridor. He approached the line of people and, gently tapping on the door, Jina, the manager overseeing the employees from below, walked in.

“Excuse me.”

The door opened immediately, and the men who had lined up in an orderly manner began to enter one by one. At the back of the line, Jae-gu softly pushed Han forward.

He was absorbed into the unknown space, just like a human abducted by a spaceship, as the men marched into the room.