🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 65
“Do you know why I called you here again today?”
Chang-su, slouched almost lying down in the main seat of the long lounge sofa, furrowed his brows deeply.
“He probably called us here just to vent his stress on us again. Ah—so annoying. How long is this going to go on?”
Hyun-bo muttered bitterly, his thumb moving rapidly across his phone screen.
“I’m even more annoyed than you. Hey, though… could it really be him?”
Chang-su took a serious gulp of his drink and spoke.
“Who? The one threatening to kill Jin-young?”
“Yeah. Honestly, who else would want to kill Jin-young besides him?”
“Why? You’re always saying you wish Jin-young would just die. Wait a minute… thinking about it that way, aren’t you the one threatening him?”
Hyun-bo looked at Chang-su with a sly grin.
“Are you crazy? If we go by that logic, you’re more suspicious, constantly dissing Jin-young on broadcast and spreading all sorts of dirty rumors.”
Chang-su stared at Hyun-bo intently.
“Hey! I just joke about rumors and gossip. You really hate Jin-young.”
“Do you like him? Watch your mouth. If Jin-young ever finds out you’ve been talking nonsense on internet broadcasts, he might really kill you.”
Pouring another drink into his empty glass, Chang-su straightened up.
“I only diss Jin-young on live streams, so it gets deleted after a day. There’s no way he’d see it. The world’s most noble person, after all,”
Hyun-bo said, lips twitching as he mocked.
“Hey, but isn’t Jin-young acting weird lately?”
Chang-su adjusted his posture.
“How so?”
“Well, honestly, these nasty comments and threats aren’t new. But this time, he seems especially sensitive.”
“Maybe it’s because those two people died. He’s their leader, after all. When someone dies, he’d naturally feel something, especially those trial witnesses.”
“No, there’s something else. Anyway, he’s acting strange.”
Chang-su fiddled with his empty glass and muttered under his breath:
“You’re stranger for drinking all the time, boss.”
Hyun-bo, still glued to his phone, teased:
“Drinking is part of my job. Everything’s for business.”
At just 25, Chang-su, the young owner of a fairly large Gangnam lounge, was known in this scene as a young, daring entrepreneur with a reckless business style.
“Oh, really? Well, then drink up, boss. I guess I better go make some money then.”
Hyun-bo, teasing Chang-su, suddenly turned on his live broadcast on his phone.
A BJ on a video site, Hyun-bo was known for his provocative content and outspoken style, constantly attracting both popularity and controversy.
“Alright, everyone, I’m here in the VIP room of RED, the hottest lounge in Gangnam. Deadly, right?”
He panned the camera around the room.
“Turn it off, you bastard! What are you doing?”
Chang-su covered his face and yelled.
“The guy hiding his face with his hand is the owner of this lounge. Not an actor—he’s my friend and the real boss. Come on, say hi to the camera.”
But Hyun-bo pushed the camera closer, snickering.
“Move it, idiot.”
Chang-su ducked under the sofa, throwing fruit appetizers, embarrassed.
“Don’t be so shy. Everyone, if you come here and mention my name, I’ll give you a free fruit platter. Come on, stand up and promote the place. Ha ha!”
Hyun-bo poked Chang-su’s back like a child, laughing hysterically.
At that moment, the lounge door opened, and Seung-han stumbled in like a zombie, half out of his mind.
“Oh—zombie entrance.”
The camera naturally shifted to Seung-han.
But he didn’t react, dropping his head onto the table.
“That guy’s also my friend. Always… his condition is…” Hyun-bo began whispering to the camera, then suddenly:
Someone grabbed Hyun-bo’s phone, turning off the camera, and threw it onto the sofa.
“Hey! The broadcast’s live! How can you turn it off?”
It was Jin-young.
“Sit down.”
Frowning, staring daggers at Hyun-bo, Jin-young walked toward the main seat where Chang-su sat. Chang-su reluctantly made room.
The four friends, bonded since high school, maintained their friendship despite differences in work, social status, and lifestyles.
Perhaps because of their loyalty, or some unspoken bond, a single word from Jin-young could always gather them at Chang-su’s hideout.
“Are you doing bathroom renovations at home lately?”
Jin-young took a small sip of his drink and immediately addressed Hyun-bo, who was still glued to his phone.
“How’d you know?”
Hyun-bo swallowed and looked up.
“You broadcast your whole life. I watch sometimes.”
Jin-young refilled his empty glass, giving Hyun-bo a strange look.
“You watch me? Oh—glory to have Jin-young watching my stream. Hey, why don’t you appear on my broadcast sometime?”
Hyun-bo, playful, glanced nervously at Chang-su, fearing Jin-young might have seen something he shouldn’t have.
Chang-su, anxious, kept licking his lips, waiting to see Jin-young’s reaction.
If Jin-young had seen that broadcast, he wouldn’t have let it slide.
“Are you crazy? I’m not going on some stupid broadcast.”
Jin-young said seriously, drinking his glass.
“Just kidding. Don’t be so serious. I don’t do dirty or cheap stuff anyway.”
Thankfully, Jin-young let it slide, and both Hyun-bo and Chang-su exhaled in relief.
“You just moved recently, right? That new apartment. Already leaking?”
Chang-su changed the topic, exhaling a deep puff of cigarette smoke.
“No. My place is fine. But someone moving in below said water is leaking from their ceiling.”
“You’re helping fix it too?”
“Yeah, since it might be our problem, they asked me to check.”
“Unusual for you. Normally, you’d cause a scene.”
Chang-su looked surprised.
“At first, I did think it was their fault and tried to be difficult. But they apologized and offered money, plus a brand-new ventilation fan. I just said, fine, do it.”
Hyun-bo grinned.
“Free stuff, huh.”
Jin-young frowned.
“The smell from the bathroom vent was annoying anyway. If they install a new fan, why refuse?”
“You’re strange—complaining about a good smell. Ha!”
Chang-su blew smoke toward Hyun-bo, laughing.
“Stop. I’m a non-smoker; my skin stays firm. Look at you—how are you 25? Your face is aging too fast.”
Hyun-bo kept typing and chattering.
“This attention-seeker talks too much. Look at me when talking, damn it. Don’t you know basic conversation?”
“Why look at someone like you? I’m posting sacred malicious comments here.”
His thumbs danced over the keyboard.
Watching Hyun-bo typing vicious comments, Jin-young felt a surge of anger, overlapping with the image of the actual threatener.
“Hey! That’s all just attention. You know how much passion this takes?”
“Shut up.”
Jin-young scoffed.
“You’re edgy today.”
Hyun-bo, finally looking up, glared at Jin-young.
“Attention-seeker.”
Jin-young scowled, drinking his glass.
“You got a problem with me today? Why keep picking fights? And if we’re talking about attention-seekers, aren’t you one too? Difference is you’re on TV; I’m on a phone screen. You fake-smile to get popularity—that’s attention-seeking.”
Hyun-bo frowned, retorting.
Thud.
“What? Did you just say that?”
Jin-young slammed his glass onto the table, eyes blazing.
“Jin-young, calm down. He’s just jealous. Let’s stop and drink. I got something new, want to try it?”
Chang-su, sensing Jin-young’s unusually sharp mood toward Hyun-bo, discreetly rang the table bell to call a waiter and cut the tension.
“Yes, boss?”
A young waiter entered moments later, bowing.
“Bring that new liquor. And…”
“First, let’s talk. Get out. Now.”
Jin-young cut Chang-su off, signaling the waiter to leave.
“Alright. Make sure no one enters until I call. Prepare the drinks and the guys.”
Chang-su, puffed up arrogantly, instructed the waiter.
“Yes, sir. Have a good time.”
The waiter bowed 90 degrees and left.
“Showing off. But has he been doing this again? I don’t think I’ve seen him sober recently.”
Jin-young glared at Seung-han, who stared blankly at the ceiling.
“Hey! Yoo Seung-han, wake up!”
Chang-su shook Seung-han roughly.
“Let go!”
Seung-han flung Chang-su’s hand off and, in anguish, poured the bottle on the table into his mouth.
“Hey! What are you doing? You’re really out of it today. What’s going on?”
Chang-su snatched the bottle, shocked.
“Ah, why does everyone tell me what to do? I’m suffering too…”
Seung-han slammed his head onto the table and collapsed.
“Yoo Seung-han! Wake up! What’s wrong with him? He’s worse than before.”
Chang-su slapped Seung-han’s cheek, staring at Jin-young in disbelief.
“Forget it. He’s no help. Let’s just talk among ourselves.”
Jin-young looked at Seung-han like he was a bug.
“But why did you call us here today?”
Chang-su poured drinks for Jin-young and Hyun-bo.
“You know I’m being threatened, right?”
Jin-young furrowed his brows.
“It’s pretty famous. A new kind of malicious comment. Writing on delusion forums, claiming later it was a lie—pure genius. How did someone think of that?”
Hyun-bo sipped his drink, laughing.
“You really want to die today?”
Jin-young clenched his fists, trembling.
“Stop it. So, what’s the matter? Did you catch the culprit?”
Chang-su tried to calm the excited Jin-young.
“Not yet. But I was questioned yesterday as a murder suspect.”
Jin-young set down his glass, looking seriously at them.
“No way!”
“Why?”
“Who? Who did he kill? Do we know him?”
Chang-su jumped up, sitting beside Jin-young.
“What nonsense! Who did he kill?”
Bang!
Jin-young slammed the table.
“Then why was I investigated if I didn’t kill anyone?”
“My footprints were at Kim Guk-sun’s crime scene.”
“What? I thought it wasn’t you. Why are your footprints there? And wasn’t that guy’s death a suicide?”
“If it were a suicide, would I have been questioned?”
Jin-young ruffled his hair in frustration.
“So someone really did it? Wearing your shoes?”
Chang-su’s face went pale.
“Yes. And those shoes aren’t common. What kind of bastard…?”
Jin-young slowly glared at the three in the room, gripping his glass like he could crush it.
“What’s with that look? You think it’s us?”
Hyun-bo flung his phone aside, exasperated.
“Hey. That’s not it. We have no reason to kill that guy.”
Chang-su nodded in agreement.
“Then who the hell did it?”
Jin-young lost his patience and hurled the glass toward the door.
Crash!
Shards flew everywhere.
The three fell silent, staring at the shattered glass, as if witnessing their friendship and trust break into pieces.
Then, breaking the silence, Hyun-bo, raising an eyebrow at Jin-young, spoke with thin lips:
“You’re not pretending to frame us like last time after killing him, are you?”
