TIN 113

And so, I sat in dead silence while letting Lingling tend to my legs. I thought she would question me thoroughly about what had happened, but surprisingly, she focused all her attention on treatment without asking anything. Her face was devoid of makeup as she concentrated on the task, looking quite different from how I remembered her at Oceans.

However, the more quiet she became, the more uncomfortable I felt. Lingling’s silence was different from Theo’s because it came from consideration for me. While Theo didn’t ask because he wasn’t interested, Lingling was holding back despite her interest.

“This will leave a scar.”

Lingling muttered softly as she applied a bandage to my knee. I thought about brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen across her face but chose to clench my fist instead. Just then, as Lingling picked up the bandage, I took it from her hands.

“I’ll do this myself.”

“Let me see that.”

The bandage I took from Lingling was snatched away by Theo, who was suddenly standing beside us. He squatted in front of me, gently pushing Lingling aside. Then he started skillfully wrapping the bandage around my swollen right foot.

These bandages must be quite expensive. I should have suggested using torn old clothes instead. I suddenly felt regretful about the whole thing.

“I’ll pay you back for the medicine.”

“…”

At my words, Theo quietly looked up. His raised eyebrow seemed to express disbelief.

“Aren’t you making me out to be too much of a scumbag?”

I wondered what he meant by that, but he frowned with an aggrieved expression on his face. It was similar to how he reacted when Lingling had looked at him like he was shameless earlier.

“When you say that, it makes it seem like I’m stingy with medicine. I just told you I didn’t have time to treat you.”

That wasn’t how I meant it. He must have been secretly concerned.

“Earlier, I just…lost control for a moment.”

His quietly offered excuse didn’t even make me smile. Not because I didn’t believe him, but because this atmosphere was too uncomfortable. It would be better if he just acted on impulse and pushed me. It would be troublesome for me if Theo started feeling guilty.

“Done.”

Theo tied off the bandage and gently placed my right foot on the floor. I looked at him to say thank you, but our eyes met directly at close range. Theo, who had been staring at me intently, suddenly made a subtle expression.

“Wait, but you…”

Ah! I tried to turn my head away quickly, but Theo was faster. He thrust his face close and frowned deeply.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with them?”

Making matters worse, Lingling, who had moved aside, crawled back on her knees. She cupped my face in her hands and peered into my eyes just as Theo had done. At first, she looked unsure, but then her expression hardened with concern.

“…The color has faded?”

“I got a bit hurt.”

I pushed Lingling away as gently as possible and turned my head. At the same time, I felt puzzled. Even Theo, who had been face-to-face with me, only just noticed it, and that thug earlier hadn’t noticed it at all. So if it was such a subtle change that you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely, how had Joo Do-hwa spotted it immediately?

“Hurt? How did that happen?”

“Drug side effects.”

I thought this excuse, which had worked on Joo Do-hwa, would work on these two as well. After all, they both used not just cigarettes but even more dangerous drugs sometimes.

But as soon as he heard this, Theo asked in a sneering tone, “That pampered young master gave you drugs too?”

His tilted head couldn’t have looked more delinquent-like. The way he was squatting like a street punk made it even worse. Just as Lingling started showing signs of displeasure, a sneer escaped Theo’s lips.

“Those rich bastards and their tastes…”

It was the basic resistance shared by everyone living in this area. When you were living at rock bottom and saw those who have everything, you couldn’t help but think it was unfair. 

Naturally, their feelings toward such people weren’t positive.

“This is why rich kids are no good. They do whatever the fuck they want.”

“Who else did whatever they wanted?”

But Theo’s words didn’t seem to refer only to the current Joo Do-hwa. So when I asked, Theo casually delivered unexpected news.

“I mean Kei. He closed down his business.”

“…What?”

Both the name from his lips and the content were shocking. The words came out before I could even process whether I had understood correctly.

“He closed his business? Why?”

“That, I don’t know.”

Theo made no effort to hide his irritation, saying how could he know what goes on in rich people’s minds. As one of Kei’s clients, he didn’t seem too pleased with the current situation.

“He just said he was getting busy and closed shop.”

According to Theo, Kei wasn’t bothered even after a riot broke out. He returned all the deposited money to its owners and ignored any complaints raised during the process.

“Didn’t you hear about it when you went to get your money back?”

“No…I didn’t.”

“That’s surprising. If you’re curious, call and ask him. He likes you.”

Theo said it jokingly, but there was no way I could contact Kei. It wasn’t because I didn’t know his contact information—the eleven digits he gave me were still seared to my memory. I just thought I knew why Kei had to close his business.

‘Money deposited with Kei.’

‘I came to get it because I thought it might be troublesome for you to collect it.’

Joo Do-hwa.

A chill ran up and down my spine at those three syllables. I remembered the moment his sharp eyes stared at me as if seeing through everything.

‘The real action starts now.’

“…Ah.”

He said it was a joke. He had said even he wouldn’t mess with the Jaekyung Finance heir, that the cleanup would be troublesome.

“Is he alive?”

At my slow question, Theo froze. He stared at me with suddenly quiet eyes. Whatever he sensed in my question, his delayed response came out in a subdued tone.

“You know something.”

“…”

I couldn’t confirm that. Everything was just mere speculation, and maybe Kei had simply grown tired of playing with money and quit his hobby. As Theo said, there was no way to know what rich people were thinking.

‘I’m going to establish a financial route here.’

But people rarely destroy what they had carefully built up for no reason. At least the Kei I knew wasn’t that kind of person. After all the effort he put into establishing himself here, would he have any reason to abandon everything overnight?

So the cause of all this…

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

Theo looked blank at my sudden apology. Instead of explaining, I stood up abruptly.

“I should go now.”

“What? Hey, suddenly…”

A sharp pain shot through my leg as I thoughtlessly put weight on it. I stumbled but managed to regain my balance. I brushed aside Theo’s outstretched hand and didn’t even look at Lingling.

“Pretend you didn’t hear about me. I’ll handle what I asked for myself.”

I thought it would be better to use an unfamiliar broker—this wasn’t right. I had planned to pay Theo fairly as an information broker and cut ties, but I’d forgotten that things never go according to my wishes anyway.

“What are you talking about, Bada?”

Ignoring the confused Theo, I went to the room and swept the organized money back into the envelope. I couldn’t stay here anyway—I had planned to leave at dawn originally. No, more precisely, right after we were done. So I wasn’t sorry about losing a place to sleep, though I did feel blindsided by my own carelessness.

“…”

The longer the tail, the more likely it gets stepped on. Even if Theo would abandon me without hesitation when necessary, who knows how that would look to Joo Do-hwa. Especially now that I’d unexpectedly met Lingling too.

“Lingling.”

As soon as I came out to the living room, I handed Lingling the glass vial I’d brought. Lingling, who had been quietly observing the atmosphere, took the vial with a dubious expression on her face.

“What is this?”

“Fever reducers and cold medicine.”

“…”

Lingling’s eyes opened wide. She examined the contents of the vial in disbelief. I adjusted the worn envelope and nodded.

“The white ones are fever reducers, and the yellow ones are painkillers. Keep them separate and take them when needed.”

When Henry applied ointment, every time the doctor prescribed medicine, I had thought about it. Would Lingling like it if I brought these to her? Though I couldn’t bring the ointment, I thought I should at least give her the medicine whenever I saw her next.

“You can sell them if you don’t need them.”

I knew Lingling wouldn’t sell them even if I told her that. Even though these medicines would probably be taken by Oceans employees rather than Lingling herself, I thought she would find better use for them.

“And Theo.”

I called to him softly while rifling through the envelope. I took out a few bills, and a faint smile appeared on Theo’s face. Not from joy, but from disbelief.

“Thanks for the ointment and bandages. I’ll make good use of the clothes too.”

“…Hey.”

This bastard really…I could clearly see him thinking that, but Theo swallowed his curse. Even knowing that their looks weren’t exactly friendly, I hurriedly finished settling up and turned around.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”