Gambling Addict Baek Jin-yong (3)
"Um, customer? It's time to close the convenience store now."
The night had grown dark. Baek Jin-yong, who had been sitting on the chair outside the store, jerked his head up.
"Aaaargh!! No way!! Why! Why the hell not!!"
I let out a sigh as I eyed the pile of papers stacked next to him. He'd already bought two hundred sheets and scratched them all. He was so furious that he'd crumpled them up, leaving the heap uneven and lumpy. The scraps from scratching fluttered away in the occasional breeze.
"If it's not coming up, maybe just stop..."
"I definitely won five nyang of silver!"
"Yeah. And you used that to buy more, then lost it all again."
"How could this happen? How?!"
How the hell should I know? Bad luck, that's all.
Baek Jin-yong's face crumpled like he was about to cry as he grabbed my arm hard. I gave an awkward smile and pulled away.
"Come on, just ten more. Please, just ten. I know I can win this time!!"
Haa. How is this guy a Wudang Sect disciple? Wudang, where you endure endless temptations to pursue the Dao on the path to immortality—is that really what this is? More like No-Guard Sect or some knockoff faction. And that's why their uniforms look so similar? God, I hope so. Seeing my favorite Wudang like this felt like the world was crumbling.
"Customer, we're closed for the day. Come back tomorrow, and I'll sell you some then."
"Th-this can't be! What casino tells customers to leave?"
This isn't a casino, you idiot.
"No casino in the world does this!"
That's because it's not a casino, dumbass.
As I stood there awkwardly, Yoo Hwa-yeon finished cleaning and approached, tapping the table sharply with the scabbard of her sword. It was a clear threat. She winked at me as if to say don't worry, no fighting, then shot Baek Jin-yong a completely different glare.
"Hey, you Wudang nobody."
"My name isn't nobody, it's Baek—"
"Keep causing a scene here, and I might just report you straight to Wudang. Wanna spend days holding in your piss and shit, staring at a wall in training? Or rot in the punishment room, chewing on dry rice balls?"
Baek Jin-yong shrank back like a puppy that knew it was in trouble as Yoo Hwa-yeon growled.
"Haha... You're quite the foul-mouthed one."
"Want me to handle you rough? I don't care what a Wudang disciple does outside, but sticking your ass here in someone else's inn and making trouble? Get lost before I run to Wudang and snitch."
That must've scared him, because he nodded reluctantly and stood up.
"Fine! Fine! I'll go! Geez."
"Take care going home, customer!"
"I'll be back tomorrow for my money!"
Baek Jin-yong muttered to himself as he walked away, 'Ah, I was gonna wash my hands of this. Tsk. Fix this one thing, and then I'll quit for real.'
"Let's clean up too."
"Did I do good, boss?"
Yoo Hwa-yeon looked up at me, eyes sparkling. She looked just like a kid waiting for praise. She was short, seemed young, had that hypersensitive palate limiting what she could eat, and had even been disowned by her family. It was impossible not to feel a pang of pity. But I kept my face neutral—no greater insult than pitying someone with your expression.
"You did great."
I patted her head. She must've never experienced it before; her eyes went wide, cheeks flushing a bit. I brushed it off as no big deal.
The next day.
"Boss! A hundred sheets today! Gimme!"
I was dusting off the goods when a loud voice boomed. That punk really is a gambling addict. Showing up at the crack of dawn with that excited grin.
He grabbed the hundred sheets and headed to the table, rubbing his hands together like he was psyching himself up, then started scratching away furiously.
* Baek Jin-yong's heart was pounding like crazy right now.
Today's the day I hit the 100-gold-bar jackpot!
Yesterday had been a string of near-misses. He'd won five nyang of silver and blown it all on more tickets. Betting coins to win silver was huge profit, but he'd reinvested it all. For the 100-gold-bar prize.
Why'd that damn picture have one extra line? I thought they matched...
It wasn't first place, but tasting it just once made the addiction sink its hooks deeper.
Baek Jin-yong paused, staring at the ticket.
Senior brother!
Jin-yong-ah!
Baek Jin-yong!
His master's voice, fellow disciples, juniors—they echoed in his ears. It had been over a year since descending the mountain to wander the Central Plains. Unable to see them even if he wanted to, he'd cling to these memories sometimes.
If they saw me like this...
A Wudang disciple hooked on gambling. Even a stray dog would laugh. He knew it damn well. But he couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop. He needed the money.
Baek Jin-yong picked up the coin again and resumed scratching.
I'll win those 100 gold bars and return in glory.
For a gambler, his eyes burned with fierce determination.
"Phew. Finally, the first-place spot."
Jin-yong slowly brought the coin to it. Scratching the first-place image always made his heart race with tension. What if I win?
Gulp.
He swallowed and pressed down gently. First, one treasure chest image. Next to it...?
The last bit scraped away, revealing the picture.
"......?"
Baek Jin-yong blinked. They match? No. Wait, there's a line here. That makes it different... No, hold on. There's supposed to be a line? But there isn't?
"Wha-wha-what?"
No line. None!
"Wha-wha-whaaaa?!"
The bizarre yell made me and Hwa-yeon, who were working inside, rush out.
"What! What's wrong?"
"What's going on!"
Baek Jin-yong clamped his hand over his mouth and slowly showed us the ticket. I squinted at the revealed image.
"...Huh? You won?"
Hwa-yeon's jaw dropped.
"What?!"
Looking closer, they were identical. Two glowing treasure chest images next to "First Place!"
Winner. He won!! 100 gold bars!!
"Grrrrraaaaaah!!!"
Baek Jin-yong let out a monstrous roar.
"Yes!! I did it!! Life changed!! Kwahaha!!"
"Whoa, how the..."
"Boss! Swap this for 100 gold bars right now! Hurry!!"
"Y-yeah, got it. One sec."
I was so shocked I'd forgotten how to walk when—thud, thud—light, graceful footsteps approached.
"So here you were."
A refined, crisp voice. A woman in a form-fitting qipao that accentuated her curves. Stunning enough to be called a nation-toppling beauty, I thought. But her eyes dripped contempt, her displeasure blatant. Even though it wasn't aimed at me, just watching sent chills down my spine.
They say when a woman holds a grudge, frost falls even in the fifth month. This scene felt like that proverb come to life; I shuddered.
Baek Jin-yong trembled for a different reason.
"L-Lady Lu, why are you here yourself...?"
"To collect the money you ran off with."
"H-hey, ran off? I said I'd pay you back."
The woman called Lady Lu—Cheon Hyang, madam of Manokru—twirled the jade ring on her finger and paced the yard restlessly.
"There are three types of people I never trust. First, pretty boys. Second, gamblers. Third..."
She pointed at Baek Jin-yong.
"Debtors."
Whoa, that startled me. Debtor? I patted my chest guiltily, thinking of the store's massive debts.
"L-Lady Lu, hear me out. This one ticket's enough to clear your debt and more."
Baek Jin-yong sweated bullets at the martial artists behind her. Even as a first-generation Wudang disciple, he was still just a disciple. Their training ran deeper. He couldn't take four grown men alone.
"Paper?"
"Y-yeah. It's a first-place lottery ticket. Worth 100 gold bars soon. Right, boss?"
I nodded vigorously. Cheon Hyang bowed her head deeply.
"Kuh... Kuhuhu!"
A deflating sound, then—
"Puhahaha! Oh, this is hilarious."
She burst into roaring laughter. No one else laughed.
"What did I say earlier? Pretty boys—I don't trust 'em, right?"
She eyed me up and down.
"Pay my debt with one scrap of paper?"
"B-but Lady Lu! This is real—"
"Hey, you!"
"Yes!"
"Tie up Baek Jin-yong. No money? He'll pay with his body."
The four men moved in.
"N-no! Wait! It's really 100 gold bars... Boss! Say something! Come on!!"
Baek Jin-yong was trussed up tight and tied to the back of a horse with a long rope.
"H-help! I really have money! I do!!"
"Let's go."
Cheon Hyang left without once looking back, vanishing into the Ghost Soul Great Forest.
"Boss! Help me! Boss!!!"
With Baek Jin-yong's pitiful cries echoing, all that remained at my feet was the first-place lottery ticket.