My Bloody Valentine - 53

A man was hiding behind a utility pole, peering into the convenience store.

The man, who had been wandering around the area all morning, peeking inside the convenience store, appeared again in the late afternoon. There was nothing suspicious about him.

“What’s going on… working the night shift…?”

The man checking the time on his phone had a stubby finger. It seemed like it had been recently cut, as the severed part was still fresh and red.

Around his wrist, there was a bracelet made of strands of yarn, woven one by one as part of his activities at the gambling addiction counseling center.

He was Choi Haejun, who had passed his debts onto Han and disappeared. After going a long way around, he had returned here.

In fact, Haejun’s first step into that dangerous world was triggered by a very small reason.

One of his high school classmates worked in the security team at the art museum he frequented. His friend always held his phone and watched overseas soccer games. This was because a Korean national team player, Jo Namhyun, was performing well in the English Premier League.

“Just for fun, I bet a little money on it.”

He told Haejun about the sports betting site ‘Freeto.’ It was the easiest type of legal gambling for ordinary people to get into.

Casinos or horse racing were too blatant and felt too much like ‘gambling,’ but sports betting was different. It felt more like entertainment than the thrill of gambling.

There were matches almost every day, and betting could be easily done on smartphones. It meant accessibility. Moreover, the winning rate was quite high. It was either winning, losing, or drawing, as it could only go one of three ways in a match.

People didn’t consider betting on sports games as gambling. But once you taste it, addiction starts. It’s a terrifying addiction that you can’t quit even if you die.

Haejun soon became addicted as well. It meant that he was gambling on sports at a serious level.

At the time, Haejun and his wife Hyunjoo had been worrying because they hadn’t been able to have a child for a year and a half. Hyunjoo, who had grown up lonely as an only child, desperately wanted to have a child.

Hyunjoo had managed to make a difficult reservation at the most famous obstetrician and gynecologist. However, on the day of their appointment, Haejun forgot about their promise while watching the game of the team he had bet on.

Realizing it late and rushing to the café where they had agreed to meet, two hours had already passed since the scheduled hospital appointment. There, Hyunjoo talked about divorce.

After the divorce, Haejun began to unravel like a loosened leash. He sold their newlywed home and put the money he got into private betting sites.

At first, he saw nearly double the profit. Thinking that his luck would continue, he put everything he had into it, but the operator of the betting site disappeared with the money. Since it was an illegal site, he couldn’t report it.

With the thought of recouping his losses, Haejun became obsessed and dashed towards the abyss. He was fired from the art museum where he worked, and he was kicked out of the boarding house where he lived because he couldn’t pay his rent.

Finally, after drinking heavily and wandering around his familiar neighborhood, he collapsed and was rescued by someone unexpected. It was a part-time worker at the convenience store where he used to go to buy lottery tickets.

Han’s kindness in readily accommodating a stranger in the cold winter shook Haejun for a moment. But he was already in a state of severe addiction.

Using Han’s name, who knew nothing about the world’s affairs, was as easy as breaking a child’s wrist.

Haejun ran away from Han’s house, reassuring himself that he would repay double later. On his way out, he also took Han’s painting. Haejun’s only talent was recognizing the value of paintings, and Han’s painting seemed valuable.

If he introduced it as a work by a new artist to a pawnshop, he could probably get tens of thousands of won. Haejun’s eyes were completely glazed over.

Haejun eventually found himself at a house operated by gangsters. And there, he lost a finger.

Looking down at his empty hand, while on his way to Seoul, he received news of his father’s passing. While paying his respects, his ex-wife Hyunjoo came to pay her respects as well. She had a new ring on her finger.

It was then, like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, that he suddenly came to his senses.

As soon as he returned from Seonsan, Haejun registered at a gambling addiction counseling center. He also found employment at a privately owned art museum, although small in scale, but with substantial holdings.

And he came here to find Han. He even bought back Han’s painting, which he had entrusted to the pawnshop with hard-earned money.

Though he had wandered around with the thought that if he cursed at him or hit him, he would deserve it, strangely, Han was nowhere to be seen as he loitered around the convenience store.

Eventually, Haejun cautiously entered the convenience store and asked the female part-timer wearing a green vest.

“Excuse me… Is there anyone working here named Han?”

“Han oppa? It’s been a long time since he quit.”

Surprised, with a bewildered expression, knowing that Han had wanted to work at this convenience store forever, Haejun asked back.

“He quit? Really?”

“He quit, right? He suddenly disappeared without notice. He hasn’t even contacted us.”

“Disappeared without notice? Han did?”

“Yes. But who are you looking for, calling for Han oppa…?”

Unable to give a proper answer, Haejun walked out of the convenience store.

He was a fragile person. Could something have happened to him?

Recalling Han’s last appearance in the hospital bed, Haejun hurriedly made his way to Han’s house. It was about a 15-minute walk from the convenience store.

Han never locked the door. He said there was nothing to steal, and he was waiting for someone. Even when he went out, he didn’t turn off the boiler, hoping that the kid wouldn’t be cold even if he came while he was out.

Haejun hesitated for a moment in front of the plaque with Han’s name. Let’s apologize first, on our knees if necessary. And let’s do our best to make amends for what I’ve done, he resolved, turning the doorknob.

“Huh…?”

However, Han’s house was empty. Dust, ashen gray, lay heavily on the furniture and mats, as if it had been abandoned for a long time. In addition, there were large footprints scattered all over, too large to be considered Han’s.

“What on earth…?”

Haejun first opened the closet. A few of Han’s clothes were still hanging there. Then where could he have gone? Maybe he’s still in the hospital.

Thinking it would be best to go and ask at the owner’s house first, as soon as he opened the door, he had to quickly wipe away his surprised heart.

Standing right in front of the open door was a woman. She seemed to have been about to knock, with her hand held awkwardly, as if she had just let it drop.

“Oh, surprised me.”

“….”

Although it was only 5 o’clock in the afternoon, the winter sky was already turning dark, dyed with the colors of sunset.

The woman standing there, ignoring the dim sky, wore a baseball cap and large sunglasses that covered her face completely.

“How did you come here?”

“Is this Han’s house… right?”

“Yes. That’s right, but who are you?”

A woman looking for Han. Who could she be?

Han was the type who needed time to get close to. Despite having his pretty face completely covered by bangs, which Haejun had taken to a neighborhood salon and had cut nicely, his lack of confidence remained unaltered.

When asked why he didn’t have a girlfriend, Han had replied that it was too pitiful to meet someone as feeble as herself. He felt like she would just be taken advantage of, like hiring a caregiver, and wanted to quietly live without causing harm to anyone.

There were also occasionally people asking Han for his phone number at the convenience store, but Han had always refused for that reason. But now that he wasn’t there, had he ever had a girlfriend?

But something was strange. There was a strange sense of familiarity from the woman’s face beneath the sunglasses.

Where had he seen her before? Haejun asked with a suspicious face.

“I’m a close friend of Hyun, but how are you related to Han?”

“…”

Instead of answering, the woman slowly raised her hand and took off her sunglasses. Haejun’s eyes widened as he saw the woman’s face revealed.

It was then that he remembered where he had seen the woman. Not only him, but any citizen of South Korea would recognize her face.

The woman standing before him was the actress Shin Soyoung.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Jihye! Wait a moment!”

“Yeah? What is it, unnie?”

Moon Jihye was one of the few female coworkers that Yujung got along with.

While they weren’t particularly close with other female coworkers, their principle was to help each other as much as possible. They believed that there was no need to fight fiercely and blush their faces while rolling on the ground together through life.

Once living in a basement dormitory, Moon Jihye had paid off all her debts and was now preparing for independence. She was planning to open a tarot cafe with her boyfriend, who worked as a host.

Seeing her busy with interior work, Yujung grabbed her and asked her to read her and Han’s tarot fortune. Jihye also agreed, unfolding her cards and sitting down.

First, Han spread his fingers into a fan shape over the cards. Then, he picked one card from the middle. After the past and present, it was time to see the future.

“This is the Judgment card.”

Jihye explained as she placed the card she had flipped over in front of me.

“Now, look at the card. What do you feel?”

“I have no idea…”

“It’s a picture of a person coming back to life from a coffin.”

Jihye continued to explain.

“It’s a card that leads from a gloomy situation to joy. Reuniting with separated family members, or reconciling with someone you fought with.”

“Is that good?”

“Yes, it is. Now, do you want to see anything else?”

“Um…”

As Han hesitated, Yujung intervened.

“Look at the love fortune, Han-a.”

“Love fortune? What do I need with that?”

“Even so. Jihye! Show him his love fortune.”

Poking Han’s side as if challenging him, Yujung insisted. Reluctantly nodding, Han followed Jihye’s instructions and once again chose a card.

“Wow, Pentacles. This is good too.”

“Is it?”

“It means your family is expanding. Love is completed through family. You have a connection where you could even get married to the person next to you. If you were already married, it means pregnancy luck is coming.”

While Han listened to the fortune, appearing disinterested, Yujung’s face next to him actually brightened.

“Now, it’s my turn.”

Next was Yujung’s turn. When asked what she was most curious about, Yujung asked only one thing.

“I don’t need everything. Love!”

“Okay. Think about someone you like, someone you’re meeting, or someone you want to meet, and pick one card.”

Yujung closed her eyes as if concentrating all her strength, and with her fingertips, she felt the texture of the cards, picking one card with difficulty.

In the card she drew, people were falling from under a tower with lightning striking and flames raging.

“Oh my, this is not good.”

Jihye’s reaction wasn’t very positive.

“Why? Why? What card is it?”

The ‘Tower’ card drawn by Yujung was one of the most unfortunate cards in tarot, along with ‘Death’. It was also considered one of the worst cards in love fortunes.

“It means experiencing a heartbreaking breakup.”

“…”

“It means experiencing an unwanted breakup due to a major event or accident.”

As Yujung listened to Jihye’s explanation, her expression gradually became gloomy.