He went to the supermarket and bought a pack of cigarettes, two bags of ramen, and a bottle of mineral water, which came out to exactly five thousand won.
There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky today, making the sunlight scorching hot.
With messy hair, a wrinkled tracksuit, and dragging his slippers as he walked, Oh Gap-su held a swaying black plastic bag in his hand.
He was the absolute picture of a jobless bum.
The people he crossed paths with hurriedly avoided him, and he felt like he could hear whispering behind his back.
Upon entering his house, Oh Gap-su put water on to boil ramen, but soon turned off the gas stove.
Crucially, he didn’t have any kimchi.
Instead, he lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
As the sun set and the sky grew dark, right around the time the cigarette pack he bought at the supermarket was almost empty, the door opened, and Jo Cheol-jung walked in carrying plastic bags in both hands.
“Goodness, Hyung-nim.
What’s with all this smoke?”
“…”
“I couldn’t prepare a meal for you because I had to leave early in the morning.
Please wait just a moment.
I’ll get it ready quickly.”
They ate the dinner that Jo Cheol-jung prepared while going back and forth between his own house and the kitchen.
There were no side dishes, and he had no appetite, but Oh Gap-su forced the water-soaked rice into his mouth to soothe his burning stomach.
Drinking some water, Oh Gap-su asked.
“What kind of work are you doing these days?”
“I’m going out to a construction site through an introduction from Mr.
Kim in the next building.”
Hanawon had looked into jobs for them before their discharge.
It was a pretty decent position, but when Oh Gap-su said he wouldn’t go, Jo Cheol-jung gave it up as well.
To think that the place he ultimately chose was a construction site.
Oh Gap-su asked.
“You still have some money left, right?”
“…”
“I need to take a trip to Jeongseon Casino.
You know my skills, don’t you?”
“I should have about 3 million won.
I’ll go withdraw it after I finish the dishes.”
Oh Gap-su left for Jeongseon with the 3 million won that Jo Cheol-jung brought him.
The next time Jo Cheol-jung saw him was two days later in a police station holding cell.
“Hyung-nim.”
“Oh, you’re here.
You came too, Hyung-nim.”
“This punk…”
Son Gil-seop, who had followed Jo Cheol-jung, wore a bitter expression.
He had received Jo Cheol-jung’s call around the time he was getting off work.
It was news that Oh Gap-su was being held at the Jeongseon Police Station.
As soon as he got off work, he picked up Jo Cheol-jung, who had come near his office, and rushed straight there.
On the way, he was able to hear about Oh Gap-su’s recent whereabouts.