Fun and Games

Red

The next morning Sang-Woo wakes up to Opal getting dressed. He looks over to the clock and notices it's almost nine am, "why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm sorry, I've gotta meet some clients at my apartment at ten and I completely forgot until they texted me," Opal tucks some of her hair behind her ears before putting on her boots.

"Clients?"

"Clients is a bad word. Some friends who pay me to do their hair," she looks back to Sang-Woo over her shoulder. "I know it's an odd way to make money, but I get 40,000 won per head of hair and that's not including if I style it or cut it."

"I didn't know you had a cosmetology license."

"Uh, that's because I don't." Opal walks over to the side table and grabs her phone, "I'm sorry, but I've gotta go... uh, stop by, I guess, if you want," she leans over the bed and gives him a quick kiss before she runs out of the apartment, leaving Sang-Woo tired and a bit confused.

He looks over to the side of the bed where she had been sleeping and notices that she had plugged his phone in, either during the night or when she grabbed her phone off the night stand. Since he is awake he figures he should get up and around for the day, he wants to go to Ssangmun-dong to check on his mother, he can't speak to her but he can still make sure she is doing okay. It's best for everyone that she still thinks he's in the United States. As he watches her open her shop for the day someone called out to him, "Sang-Woo," he turns to see Gi-Hun, "what are you doing here?" Sang-Woo sighs and looks back to his mother's shop. The two men find a place to get some coffee and smoke a few cigarettes. Sang-Woo explaining to Gi-Hun that he is being sued over all of his debts. "Is it because of your debt, is that why wouldn't go see your mom?"

"Shhh..."

"Hey, come on, your still Ssangmun-dong's own pride and joy. You're still the genius who got accepted to SNU Business School. So don't worry. You'll make money again. Go tell your mom all about it and make a fresh start."

Sang-Woo scoffs, "just make... six billion won?"

"Six billion? I thought it was six hundred million won."

"They don't know everything there is."

"And all those stocks that guy said that you lost, you did that for real?"

"It wasn't just stocks. It was futures too."

"Excuse me? You bet on your future? What kind of bet was it that you used that much money? Did you get a girlfriend?"

"Doesn't mean that future. But yes, I'm seeing someone and I'd like to stay out of jail so I continue seeing her."

"Is it that girl from the games, 238?"

Sang-Woo sighs, "just forget it."

"Hey, file for personal bankruptcy then. Whatever they call it. I heard you won't have to pay your debts off if you do that."

"I used my own mother's house as financial collateral. And her shop. I put it all on the line."

Gi-Hun sighs before his phone rings and he answers it, "who is this? Yeah, this is he. What? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm on my way." Gi-Hun hangs up his phone, "I, uh, I have to go, my mom is in the hospital." Gi-Hun takes off down the street moving as fast as his legs will carry him.

With nothing else to do with his day Sang-Woo heads to Opal's apartment and knocks on the door. "Come in!" She shouts, and to his surprised the door is unlocked. As he walks in he notices a few women sitting in the living room with foil in their hair and another woman with curlers. Opal is rinsing a woman's hair out in the sink when Sang-Woo sees her. She is smiling and talking to her client and she looks like she's actually happy. He moves to wonder why she doesn't get a job doing something like this, but it probably costs a small fortune to get the licenses she'd need to work in a salon. Opal then looks up to Sang-Woo and smiles, "hey." She finishes rinsing the woman's hair and she sits up as Opal wraps a towel around her head. "If you wanna go sit over there and I'll get you dried in just a second."