Chapter 1.4

Lee Kihyun’s voice was heard, asking the man what he meant by that, but no answer was heard afterwards. I checked them as they approached the exit of the VIP room. I fiddled the cards that had been stacked up neatly. There were many chips on the table.

I had a hunch that the man did a fold (=die) because of something I didn’t know.

Why did he lose money on purpose? Was he afraid that he’ll be pointed out by the casino? No, that wasn’t it. That man who had already received enough attention for the big deficit he caused 15 days ago. And what does it even mean ‘This kind is only for looking at’? No one is more difficult than a player whose play can’t be predicted.

“Mr. Hawon.”

The pit manager in charge of the Koreans approached me as he called my name. Unless there was an accident, there was no need for him to appear, so that caused some gloominess. I was sure he had checked the whole game in the monitor room, was there a problem? He looked down at my chips and made a ‘o’ with his mouth.

“Mr. Hawon, you don’t have more VIP reservations for today, right?” He said, whispering in my ear.

“No. “

“Then, please, deal with President Yoo’s wife for a little bit.”

Today must have been one day with little work. President Yoo’s wife was a woman who was more interested in chatting than playing games. The woman made reservations on the same day, not even a day before, and. if it didn’t go her way, she would often resort to threats.

“Is she coming right now?”

“She’s already at the door.”

“…I’ll do it.”

He pressed an earphone in my ear and announced the completion of the “All Set” table. After that, he tapped the table and put his thumb up. At the same time as he gave me the ‘good luck’ gesture, Yoon’s wife, who made a great impression, came in.

“I’m the dealer of the winning table, Joo Hawon.”

I greeted her with the same words I always used, changing my face as I was exhausted. She answered me happily, saying it’s been a long time. In my mind, I was just hoping that man didn’t reserve my table ever again.

***

“Excuse me… Can I talk to you for a second?”

I couldn’t help but be surprised by what a woman there said while I was taking off my bowtie. The hesitant dealer looked up at me with her dead eyes.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

When I saw her standing in the same line of lockers as mine, I wondered why she had spoken to me, but I thought that she must be one of the Hidden Takers. I took off my dress shirt and threw it in the laundry bin and put on a loose short-sleeved T-shirt.

“What is it?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about it here. Could you spare me an hour?”

“What do you want, though?”

“I heard you worked at a casino for a long time, so I wanted to ask you something…”

I was unfamiliar with the woman’s pretty face. She could be a new employee during the holidays.

Although there were only about 15 days of vacation, in the meantime, people changed quite often and there were accidents that could be like an earthquake to the casino. It was almost impossible for a player’s provocation to work once or twice a year at a casino operated on accurate probability calculation.

“Can’t you tell me?”

The clingy way of speaking made it difficult for me to refuse. I checked the time on my cell phone and, as I saw that I had about an hour free, I asked her.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then, let’s have dinner together.”

“Thank you. “

For the security of the dealers’ information, men and women had separate dressing rooms, but most men used to change their clothes in front of their locker.

Naturally, they only did it when there weren’t any female employees around. It was troublesome, but I changed my pants in the dressing room and came out. Holding a bag, she was already ready to go out.

“What do you want to eat, Mr. Hawon? What do you like?”

“… French fries?”

I spit out that as I couldn’t think of any other food.

“How about French fries with beer?”

“I think I only have around half an hour of free time. Is that okay?”

“That’s enough.”

“Alright.”

If we were near the resort, we could end up meeting casino guests, so we had to leave the downtown area. I walked out of a more crowded shopping center than in the morning, leaving a certain distance between us. It took about 20 minutes to get out of the resort completely, and I didn’t get to see if the opera performance team had stopped. The entrance to the resort, with its golden lights, was filled with taxis. I raised my head to look around one of the best luxury resorts in Macau. It was kind of a habit of realizing the reality. The place was so big that it made the people look tiny instead of big.

“It looks pretty on the surface.”

She said with a bitter smile as she waited for our taxi. There was a casino sign on the other side of the building, with a palm tree waving.

『A dream comes true in CASINO』

The place where your dreams come true… thinking about it, I sat in the front seat and the woman in the back seat of the taxi.

The resort was suffering losses in all auxiliary facilities such as accommodation and swimming pools, but casinos were booming enough to cover the deficit. Profits could be roughly guessed as the resort casino had hired 80,000 more workers. Gambling was the driving force behind this small island’s operation, and more than half of Macau’s GDP was produced in casinos.

If the money laundering in the West was in Las Vegas, in the East was in Macau, where your dream comes true. As she said, it looked plausible on the outside. The city, which didn’t seem to have night life but was colorful, felt like an illusion to those like me, who didn’t have a dream.

Going downtown, to Senado Square, the number of tourists decreased and the number of locals increased. Looking around in the taxi, heading to the old town alley, the woman seemed nervous.

“It’s a regular restaurant. Don’t worry.”

I reassured her, as she was unfamiliar with her surroundings. Security in Macau wasn’t a concern for travelers alone, but there were always dangerous neighborhoods in any country. Like the multi-unit villa I live in.

“Mr. Hawon must have lived in Macau for a long time.”

“I suppose. We can get off here.”

I got out of the taxi and headed for a nearby store.

Located between narrow alleys, there was a well-known restaurant for french fries and pizza, ‘French man’.

She seemed relieved only then because there were several people on the terrace that seemed to be tourists. I settled down on a narrow terrace table and ordered french fries. Green bottled Macau beers were placed one by one in front of each other.

“So, what did you want?”

I still have 25 minutes. I glanced down at my watch.

As she was thinking about what to say, she smiled with dimples in her cheeks.

“Do you happen to know my name?”

“No. “

“I’m Joohee. Kang Joohee.”

“I see, Ms. Juhee.”

The bag she put on her lap caught my eyes. In fact, it was the same bag she had when she was waiting for me in the locker room, and it made me uncomfortable.

“I… want to say… I’ve just started to be a Hidden Taker.”

I nodded as I drank some soda.

“You know, I also have a debt, so… I was thinking about getting some advice from you as we’re on the same boat.”

The basket of french fries arrived. I liked it, but it had been a long time since I ate it. When I chewed the hot fries in my mouth, it spread like melting in my mouth, unlike the crispy outside. There were oil stains all over the basket, and the table was sticky, maybe because of moisture. Kang Joohee didn’t touch anything but the chair she was sitting on.

“I don’t know if I can give you any advice.”

“I heard you’re popular with VIP guests. You’re kind, you’re never embarrassed, and you’re good with bad jokes. Actually, I have a guest who had wanted to meet me separately since the day I started.”

It wasn’t a story out of the ordinary.

“It’s a customer so I can’t really refuse, but it hurts my pride to accept it.”

“I think it’s up to you to decide.”

It may have sounded cold, but that’s the reality.

“I’m just curious about how Mr. Hawon deals with that.”

“It depends on the customer.” I mumbled while glancing at Kang Joohee’s bag.

“What?”

“Sometimes I accept, and sometimes I don’t.”

“I don’t… want to sell my body.”

“How much did they offer?”

Kang Joohee opened her eyes wide as she heard my straightforward words.

“Eh, how much?”

“The money for having sex with you.”

“I’m not sure…”

“Then ask for the amount of debt you have.”

“…”

She opened her mouth as if she was speechless.

“Then why hasn’t Mr. Hawon done that? Is the amount of your debt that much?”

Working as a Hidden Taker meant that you had debts or weaknesses, so her question was natural.

“Ms. Joohee.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you realize I’d be offended if you asked me that?”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

The hands in the bag were neatly gathered. She seemed to have belatedly noticed that she had asked me a rude question. What does she want to find out from me, anyway?

“Ms. Joohee, I’m sorry, but can you show me your ID?”

“ID?”

Her small and pretty face showed how puzzled she was.

“You said you were a Hidden Taker.”

“That’s right.”

“Show me the identification that proves that.”

Judging from her reaction, she was already disqualified as a hidden taker. I could hear the sound of the brain rolling up from her small head, and the way she moved her mouth was awkward. I put down the beer that I didn’t drink even half and put the money on the table. She got up in a hurry to catch me. I took a step back from the table and started talking.

“What a pretty bag you have there.”

Kang Joohee’s bag was the same one that President Yoo’s wife brought, and it was a product so expensive that dealers would not dare to bring with them. I didn’t know if she understood me, but she tried to let me stay as before. I took a quick step and took a shortcut in the middle of an alley that led to different ways. I turned around several times to see if anyone followed me. A street lamp in the dim alley wasn’t properly installed and there was no human shadow reflected.

I took out my cell phone after a long time away from the restaurant ‘French man’. It had been a waste to leave those french fries, but it wasn’t the time to think about that. I called the pit manager.

[Eh? Mr. Hawon? What happened?]

I heard an unexpected voice.

“Is there any V-dealer named Kang Joohee?”

[Kang Joohee?]

“She said she came in about fifteen days ago.”

[What are you talking about? There aren’t any new Korean V-dealers.]

“You need to be more thorough with the security of the locker room.”

I heard how he asked me, Mr. Hawon?, but I hung up first. As soon as I was done, I found a man in the alley waiting for me while smoking. I thought I was late, so I saw the time, but the man arrived earlier than expected. Cigarette butts were piled up at his foot. He must have been there for a long time because I had a lot of errands to do today.

“You came back early.”

He took out a document envelope from a side bag. A small post-it on the envelope showed me the destination.

“Can I go and get the money?”

“No, today’s payment is in advance. Here.”

He crammed two 50,000 won bills into my pocket.

Judging from the size and weight of the hard to grab object, it seemed to be a type of bullet. It means it wasn’t that dangerous if the errand cost was 100,000 won.

“Aren’t you really going to run errands in Hong Kong? The pay is higher there, so think about it.”

“I don’t want to get on a boat.”

“Haha, what reason is that? So when are you going to pay off that debt?”

“Do you think I can pay it all?”

At that moment, I couldn’t hide my smile. I rubbed my mouth with the palm of my hand, thinking not to do this. He frowned and rattled with his Zippo lighter. Seeing that he didn’t leave right away, I thought he had someone to meet after me. I no longer hesitated and waved my hand while holding the document.

“I’m going first.”

I checked the post-it’s address and came up with an alley to use in my head. The man raised his voice after spitting out the cigarette smoke in his mouth.

“Joo Hawon! There won’t be any errands for a while. Keep that in mind!”

The crackdown would begin soon. Since he kept a close relationship with the police, as he knew the crackdown would intensify, he was threatened and would disappear. If the VIP guests on the list don’t make a reservation, the dealer will be free… Will I have to work part-time for a while at Tangbang’s store? More than that, who was that woman? The soles of my shoes were sticky because of the water in the alley. The screeching sound irritated me and stopped walking for a while. I swept through my neck with my hands, swept away the light sweat, and looked back at the side of my eye.

A rattle was heard, it was a stray cat who was carefully moving its feet away from the water. I raised my head closely to see if it felt my gaze. I giggled at the cat’s sharp pupil that seemed to ask, what are you looking at?

There have been several people who approached dealers to extract information from casinos. There was no way a mere dealer knew the secrets of the casino. Nevertheless, the mention of Hidden Takers meant that Kang Joohee looked into it quite closely. She had an expensive bag, didn’t touch any of the cheap food or beer, and her vague gaze showed her dullness.

The mere dreamy energy was enough to deceive a man. Suddenly, the soprano’s voice came to mind. Joonhee’s Violetta1.

There was no need to overthink it. Not only did she not say anything important, but I had already spoken to the casino, so if there was a problem, it was entirely the casino’s responsibility.

***

When I returned home, I could see Jahan sitting at the crooked table. His lips were sulky and his hands were interlocked under his thighs. The bulging lips sent out a disgruntled tone.

“Why are you so late?”

“I finished work late.”

Perhaps he brought leftovers from Tangbang’s restaurant, and the disposable cup contained mapo tofu and soggy chow mein.

“Why haven’t you eaten yet?”

“I waited so we could eat together.”

Jahan, as he rose from the chair, pushed me to the sink. It was a sign to wash my hands quickly and sit down. I washed my hands with the kitchen detergent and sat face to face with him. Jaha moved the mapo tofu and chow mein to a bowl he had taken and handed me over long wooden chopsticks. I reluctantly grabbed the chopsticks and put the cold chow mein in my mouth.

“How is it?”

Even though I hadn’t swallowed it yet, Jahan asked with his eyes shining.

“It tastes like a ditch.”

“What?”

Jahan asked as he bit his lower lip until the color faded.

“I’m kidding. Did you make this?”

“Yes, I think I’ll be assisting the kitchen soon. Isn’t it good? It is, right?”

“It’s delicious.”

I patted Jahan’s head. During the meal, Jahan looked at my face and became restless. I’m sure he couldn’t stand hunger, so I let him eat and handed him my share. After I mixed rice with the mapo tofu, Jahan looked perfectly satisfied.

After cleaning the table, I sat down and listened to stories about his daily routine, and my eyelids gradually got heavier. The days I wore lenses, fatigue used to accumulate twice as much as usual.

“I need to clean myself up.”

“Why? I still have things to say.”

“Save them for tomorrow.”

I just cut it short and advised him not to cross the veranda.

Even the mirror was half-sized in the bathroom, which was full with only one person. I picked up the shower head hanging from the sink and showered with only cold water. Perhaps because my body was tired, it didn’t wake me up. I wanted to lie down on the bed quickly, so I came out without drying myself properly.

“You’ve got a text!”

Jahan pointed to my cell phone as if he had been waiting. I checked my cell phone as I shook my head. It was a message from Betu.

[Day time~night time. A casino reservation]

When I saw that the reservation for the second and third parts of tomorrow was completed, I felt relieved and anxious.

“What’s wrong? Is it serious?”

“It’s nothing. What time do you get to work tomorrow?”

“By eleven.”

“Wake me up when you go to work.”

“Are you going to sleep like a dead person again today? I’m bored when I wake up at dawn.”

“Count to a thousand and wake me up if you still can’t sleep.”

“But you won’t wake up!”

I left while quibbling over and headed to bed. I threw a towel at my feet and laid on the bed with wet hair. I had to sleep for ten hours from now because I had to be at the casino from 3 p.m. tomorrow to 6 a.m. the next day.

“Hawon, are you tired?”

Jahan went to the bed.

“Today, yeah.”

“Then, I’ll leave.”

I waved to Jahan, as I saw the long face he had.

“Come here.”

I moved to the wall and set up a place for Jahan to lie down. If I looked at Jahan, I would have to keep the rhythm to the conversation for a while, so I looked back at the wall. Crouching like a child, Jahan hugged me from behind.

“Sing me a song.”

“Which one?”

I asked even though I knew what Jahan wanted.

“Why do you pretend not to know?”

I felt sad for no reason.

“If I do it, you’ll sleep right away, right?”

“I promise.”

Jahan groped for my pinky and didn’t let it go. Looking at the faded wallpaper, I sang quietly. Jahan’s mother said it was a song that he often sang when he was young. It was a lullaby that my father sang to me over and over again as a kid who couldn’t fall asleep.

When I sang ‘island baby’2, Jahan buried his face deeply on my back. Somehow, my back felt damp.

“I want to go back to Korea. I miss my mom, too.”

Jahan scribbled on my back. I pressed my cheek on the pillow pretending not to know. If I became weak even for a moment, this city would eat me alive and would get rid of Jahan as well. It was enough for Jahan to be the only one who cried.

“How was your day?”

Fidgeting, Jahan mumbled on my back.

“Won’t you keep your promise? Just answer that. I’ll go to bed.”

I answered with a deep sigh. “It was a shitty day, tomorrow will be fucked.”

Jahan giggled.

***

Last night, I heard that a rich Chinese man, who was very well-known, lost $350,000. At the same time, he laughed loudly, saying that today wasn’t his lucky day. Of course, it must be the casino management team that laughed the most.

It was said that bonuses would be handed out to dealers soon, but of course, the Hidden Takers were excluded. That’s what we have to go through as we’re temporary workers.

The customer who booked the second part was the president of a small and medium-sized enterprise who came on a business trip every three months. He was the head of a boiler company that made profits of more than $50 million every year in only exports, even if it was a SME. He was also one of the few good VIPs who knew how to enjoy themselves moderately, and he gave a generous tip to the dealer at the table when he was in a good mood. The president played a few blackjack and five baccarat editions and he left, so I was free until the third party came in.

I finished my dinner with a meal provided by the casino and poured eye drops into my eyes. I heard that the third customer exchanged chips worth about $20 million as of yesterday. I’ve never heard of their name, so it might be a new big player. It wasn’t until 11 p.m. that the radio announced that the reservation for my table had arrived. When I gave the heads up as everything was ready, the door of the VIP room opened, and a woman guided by a server walked inside, making their way through the thick cigarette smoke.

With her white skin and hazy eyes, that was the woman who almost had dinner with me last night. Kang Joohee lifted her head slightly to the server who pulled out the chair and sat at my table. She asked me with her eyes wide open as she made a formal greeting.

“Come on, Mr. Hawon, aren’t you surprised?”

“I was plenty surprised.”

I smiled and swept the table with my fingertips. It was one of the typical behaviors that were used to check that there weren’t any wireless equipment.

“Wow, maybe it’s because you’re a dealer, but your poker face is amazing.”

“Thank you.”

“Pardon me for what I did yesterday.”

“It was nothing.”

I was wondering why she lied and why she pretended to be a hidden taker, but now Kang Joohee was a VIP guest. I kept all the questions to myself.

“Which game would you like to play?”

“Uhm~ Let’s go with a simple blackjack.”

Smiling, she put her bag on the chair next to her. Why was someone as rich as her, who even exchanged $20 million, came to me for advice, lying to be a hidden taker?

Just because it was silent didn’t mean that question would disappear.

“Let me tell you about the casino blackjack rules.”

“I know them already.”

“It’s a rule, so I’m forced to tell you.”

Before a dealer started the game, it was a very common rule to explain about the game rules. Seeing that she didn’t know that, I was sure the woman wasn’t a frequent casino guest.

“When the game starts, the dealer and the player will receive two cards. The dealer will open one card and, the player, two. The player can hit or stay to sum up a total of 21. If the sum of the dealer’s cards is less than 16, the dealer is required to receive an additional card. If the sum of the player’s cards is closer to 21 than the dealer, the player wins, and if the sum is more than 21, the player loses with a bust.”

Blackjack was the easiest game to select an A card as a favorable number with 1 or 11 points, K Q J, English cards, 10 points, and the points of the rest of the cards were the same as their number.

For example, if a player’s card was [◆8, ♠K], a total of 18 points would be scored. The dealer showed only one of the two cards, and the player must reveal both cards. When a player received a card and shouted a hit, they received more cards, and when they shouted a stay, the dealer wouldn’t hand out more cards.

“Blackjack’s bet is done before the game. Player, please place your bet.”

She threw a black chip with a cute voice, “Eight!”. After checking the bet, I quickly made fun of the familiar cards and handed her and me two cards each. I opened all of them except the first one in front of me.

Kang Joohee’s cards were [♥3, ♣10], and my open card was [♥Q]. The hidden card was [♠9]

She had to get the cards 7 or 8 if she wanted to beat me. I glanced down and checked the back of the cards to be revealed.

It was [◆9].

“Hit”

With 13 far from 21, hit was a natural choice for her. I turned the card I handed out to her over.

“With a total of 22 for the player, it’s a bust and the dealer’s victory.”

“Whoo, what a shame.”

She sighed with regret as she lost the first round. She clenched and stretched her hand over and over again. I was convinced that she was an amateur based on her actions. The reason why her hands were numb was that she had no experience in gambling.

“I’ll keep going.”

“Yes, yes~.”

This time, Kang Joohee’s cards were 13 as she got [♣8, ♣5], and the sum of my cards resulted in 19.

“Hit!”

The card that was given and then turned over was [♥7], now she had a total of 20.

“Of course it’s a stay. Stay.”

If I didn’t get a 21, she would win. I turned over my upside down card with a smile.

“The player wins.”

“Wow, this is actually really fun.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun.”

Of course it didn’t take long for her smile to end.

***

Twenty-three losses out of thirty games.

That was Kang Joohee’s blackjack record. Tired of losing chips, she even twisted her body. Kang Joohee raised a hand and announced the suspension of the game for a while and called someone. I shuffled the cards calmly in the meantime.

“When are you coming? Yeah, yeah, got it.”

She hung up earlier than I thought.

“We’ll stop here.”

“Were you expecting someone else to join?”

“Yes, he’s already at the front door.”

Her eyes turned to the entrance of VIP on their own. Just in time, the door opened and a tall man walked in. The man was wearing a thin dark gray knitwear, not a suit. Wearing a loafer, he looked more comfortable than yesterday, perhaps because he came out of his hotel room.

The approaching man sat next to Kang Joohee and asked gently.

“How much did you win?”

His tone wasn’t much different from yesterday when he said those vulgar things to me.

“I’m sorry. I’ve lost a lot.”

“Good job.”

Kang Joohee’s face brightened because her lover didn’t seem to care how much she lost.

“Mr. Kwon Taeha, the name of the person who made the reservation was different, so I couldn’t confirm your presence.”

“It’s fine.”

Kwon Taeha bowed casually, grabbing the woman’s remaining chips to him.

“Would you like to continue with two players?”

“No, I’ve got to leave now.”

She grabbed her bag and wore the shoes she had taken off because her feet hurt. Will I end up playing the game with that guy? The good news is that I still had a good night’s sleep. It was a relief that Jahan didn’t wake me up at dawn.

“Mr. Taeha, I’m going first. Good job, Mr. Hawon.”

“Thanks for your work.”

I bent over to the woman who was leaving quickly as if she had something else to do., and I turned to Kwon Taeha. He was looking at my eyes. The uneasiness I felt was creeping up.

When I was playing with Kang Joohee, I wasn’t as nervous as I was feeling now. I clenched my fist, what the woman had been doing was spreading to me this time. That man seemed to catch me off guard at any time. From the moment Kwon Taeha appeared, the lens settled in my pupils began to become uncomfortable.

“Are you two lovers?”

I asked, looking at her back completely out of the room. I pretended to rub my eyes because of the cigarette smoke and pulled out the lens naturally. When Kwon Taeha glanced back at me, I put the len that was on my finger into my pocket.

“Do you think so?”

“Yes. You’re a great match.”

Looking back at me, Kwon Taeha smiled.

“She’s a call girl, though?”