Hazardous Concentration Chapter 10

Eunhoo let out a small cough in the musty air. The man who had been shuffling the playing cards with a sharp snap glanced at Eunhoo, then spoke with a cigarette hanging from his lips.

“Oh? You’re here?”

At that, the man next to him nudged him and said,

“‘Oh, you’re here’? What kind of way is that to talk to a customer?”

“Then what should I say?”

“Watch and learn, hyung-nim. Oh, welcome, valued customer!”

As the man leaped up from his seat and bowed his waist in an exaggerated gesture, boisterous laughter erupted from all around.

“My mistake. Oh, welcome, valued customer.”

“That’s it! Our precious customer.”

Hee hee hee.

“What are you doing? Now that you’re here, sit down and pour us some drinks. Who knows? Maybe we’ll knock some off this month’s interest.”

One of the men said, patting his own thigh. Eunhoo clenched his trembling hands tightly. If he got rattled here, everything would fall apart. He just wanted to finish his business and leave.

“…Here is this month’s payment.”

At that, the laughter that had been flowing from the men’s faces vanished instantly. Just from that change in expression, the atmosphere turned brutal in a heartbeat. Eunhoo barely managed to keep standing by putting strength into his shaky legs.

“Hey, did you hear that? So damn stiff—‘Here is this month’s payment’?”

The man who mocked him by strangely mimicking Eunhoo’s tone was the number two in this group. Ever since a long time ago, he would knit his brows in displeasure whenever he saw Eunhoo.

“Exactly. I mean, are we plague carriers? And that pissy look on your face.”

“My point exactly. We’ve been too nice to that thing, and this is where it gets us. We should pick a day and really work it over until it’s broken. Hyung-nim, why don’t you just send that bastard overseas?”

The moment he heard those words, Eunhoo felt a chill in his chest. The “overseas” they were talking about meant Southeast Asia. It was the source of HW Capital’s funds, and because their influence there was so strong, once you went in, you could never leave. Moreover, they were so adept at body disposal that you could search forever and never find a trace.

“Stop.”

At the heavy voice, the noise of the men giggling disappeared at once. A man of massive build sat on a single-person sofa in the innermost corner, his legs crossed. The other men were menacing, but this man had a scar on his face, making him even more terrifying.

He was the Department Head. Eunhoo looked at him with an even more nervous expression than before.

“Seriously, you guys, take it easy. Can’t you see our customer is scared? Any second now and he’s going to become one with the wall.”

The Department Head pointed at the wall behind Eunhoo. The wall, which must have originally been white, was splattered with grime and mysterious dark red stains.

The men burst into laughter again and began to chatter noisily.

“Hello, pretty one?”

“…Yes, hello.”

Eunhoo bowed his head once and muttered one small thing.

“…The interest.”

At the same time, he held out a paper envelope stamped with the bank’s logo. It was money he had just withdrawn. The man sitting closest snatched the envelope, counted it, and nodded.

“Give me the receipt.”

Even while trembling, Eunhoo said what he needed to. He had to receive a certificate stating he had paid the interest. He couldn’t trust them. They didn’t leave bank records; what if they just said, “We never received it,” and what could he do?

“Here, take it.”

Eunhoo bowed his head and took the receipt. He felt it every time this happened. I wish I could just transfer it. If that’s not possible, couldn’t I just go to the desk downstairs and pay it off? But the words wouldn’t come out.

After his father disappeared and he learned there was a loan shark debt, Eunhoo’s world went dark. Even if he didn’t know the details, he had heard enough about the terror of loan sharks.

So, for the first few months, he paid it without fail. But as one month, two months, and three months passed, paying the money became increasingly burdensome. Then, when his mother, who had a weak constitution, collapsed once more, the hospital bills were no small amount. He thought of the money he had to pay back, but no matter how much he scraped together, it wasn’t enough. From then on, one month, two months, the interest began to fall behind.

At first, they would call, state the warnings in a stiff voice, and hang up. Thinking it was no big deal because he wasn’t immediately dragged off and beaten, he didn’t deposit the money the next month, or the month after that. Then, on his way home late at night, Eunhoo was kidnapped again, dragged here, and slapped across the face several times.

The pain was one thing, but he was so scared he felt like he would die. As he trembled in terror, the collection Department Head squatted down in front of Eunhoo.

‘Are you scared?’

‘…’

Eunhoo hurriedly nodded. His lips were crusted with blood, and blue bruises were rising on his face.

‘Well then, with as much as you’re afraid, why did you do it?’

The sight of him staring with wide, glaring eyes couldn’t have been more menacing. Eunhoo was deathly pale, just shaking. Clasping his hands together, he rubbed them and begged, swearing over and over that he would never do it again.

‘That goes without saying,’

He said that, and as he scanned Eunhoo up and down, Eunhoo got goosebumps. Memories of almost being raped when he was first dragged here came back, and his body froze. What do I do? His mind, which had gone blank, was filled only with that thought. The Department Head grinned, revealing gold teeth.

‘Our pretty one, shall we see each other’s faces every month?’

When he asked what that meant, the Department Head said:

‘From now on, whenever you pay the interest, come visit in person.’

His vision went yellow. Come here in person? And every month at that?

The words “I don’t want to” surged to the tip of his tongue, but the Department Head looked at Eunhoo and said, “If you don’t like it, you can take another beating,” so he had no choice.

“I, I’ll be going now,”

“Pretty one.”

He was bowing his head and turning around, wanting to get out quickly, when the Department Head’s voice reached him. He wanted to pretend he didn’t hear it and keep walking, but he didn’t know what the man would do if things went sideways.

“…Yes.”

“Go safely. And pick up the phone when I call.”

“…”

Eunhoo bowed his head once more and fled the scene as if escaping.

After running out like that, the next place Eunhoo headed to was the hospital. Leaving the HW office, he missed his mother so desperately that he started off without a plan.

“Mom.”

His mother’s room was a multi-occupancy room with a total of 6 people admitted. In truth, though they called it a 6-person room, sometimes they would bring in beds at will and attach them, making it a 7 or 8-person room.

When Eunhoo arrived at the hospital, his mother was asleep.

“Hello.”

“You’re here?”

The caregiver acknowledged Eunhoo. Eunhoo bowed his head once again and whispered in a hushed tone.

“Did our mother eat?”

Knowing full well that she had no appetite lately and would barely eat, Eunhoo was even more worried. She must have had a few spoonfuls and stopped again.

However, the communal caregiver gave him a short reply, saying that she had. As per the hospital system, one communal caregiver was on duty every day to look after the patients, so he couldn’t expect much attentiveness. Thus, Eunhoo couldn’t say anything.

“…Please take good care of her.”

He could only convey a request.

“Yes, yes.”

When the caregiver excused herself to go to the bathroom, Eunhoo headed to his mother’s bedside. His mother’s face, sleeping with the head of the bed slightly raised, was visibly sickly. He was looking at her with a heavy heart when her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes.

“Mom?”

“…Eunhoo, is that you?”

He had tried to move carefully, but it seemed he couldn’t escape the ears of his mother, who had a sensitive sleep.

“You’re busy, why did you come? Cough. Cough.”

Seeing his mother smacking her lips as if thirsty, Eunhoo checked the amount of water remaining in the bottle and poured some for her.

There were many things a heart failure patient had to be careful about. Fluid intake was also very carefully monitored, and she shouldn’t exceed 2 liters a day.

“I’m not busy. And even if I went in now, it’s break time, so there’s no work to do anyway.”

“Is that so?”

His mother gave a faint smile. She looked so fragile that she might disappear at any moment, and Eunhoo’s heart sank. So, Eunhoo deliberately kept asking his mother about this and that.

His mother let out a sigh as if exhausted. Lately, it had been like that even more. She said she was tired no matter how much she slept. Feeling fatigued was also a symptom of heart failure, but Eunhoo worried if there might be another reason.