PARANOID - kang saebyeok

003

*strong language included*
"said i wouldn't sniff it, took a whole line.,,

"Blue, if you don't mind, it's my mothers favourite colour.." i let out a small, sad chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck.
The suited up guy hands me the small folded square, with a pitiful smile on his face. I smiled back awkardly, stepping back and waiting for him to stand up. He pulled the red square out and stood up, rather tall, as if trying to show off. I scoffed a little, crossing my arms.

"You go first." He said, laying his red square on the ground and stepped back, almost mimicking my pose, just more posh if you will.
I put the envelope between my hands and took a deep breath, before throwing it to the floor, and...
Nothing. It didn't flip. I nervously played with the cheap silver ring on my finger, twisting it as i stepped back and to the side.
The man gave me a look of pride, rubbing his stupid red card in his hands. Mine still laid flat on the ground, looking sadder than ever and more alone than I've ever seen an object.
All of a sudden, a slap echoed through the hallways of the great big mall, and as i looked down, i saw that the blue folded side, was flipped over.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What the hell am i supposed to tell this guy?
The man held his hand out in front of me. My eyes stared for a little before he asked me what was wrong.

"Listen, I'm so sorry, i don't have the money right now and i shouldn't have agreed to this game and I-"

"How about you use your body to pay?" He cut me off again.

"I'm sorry?" I inquired, cocking my head to the side. A sudden burn was applied to my face and i turned to the guy, clutching my cheek with both hands.

"What the hell was that?!" I yelled, stomping up to him.

"I'll take a hundred won off per slap." He sung. My jaw dropped but what else could i do. I had no money, i was already in piles on piles of debt. So i agreed. I looked at the cards and picked mine up.

"One more round." I demanded.

-

A few more rounds went on and more and more slaps were earned. My face looked like the red sea at this point, but i had lost all feeling.
Finally, i held the blue card close to my face and whispered under my breath and throwing it down.
I shut my eyes and crossed my fingers, until i heard to slaps. One loud and one quiet. I opened my eyes, seeing the red card flipped over and i jumped up and down with joy.

"Thats what you get you little fucker!" I raised my hand to slap the mans face, but before i could, his hand gripped around my wrist.
"The money. Its yours." He handed it to me with a proud smile on his face. He handed me 100,000 won. More than i could ever ask for, or think i was ever going to get.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you!" I reached to him to pull him into a tight hug before going to run off, until an unusual force pulled on my arm. I turned back around, to see him looking down at me.

"You know, there are other games like this where you can make more. Come on. I know you need it." He intimidatingly said. I looked at him with a sour look on my face.

"What do you think i am? A prostitute?" I joked, nudging him with my elbow.

"Miss L/N Y/N, born (birthdate) 2002. Earlier, you were chased by loansharks for your 25million won debt." He reinforced. My eyes widened with terror.

"Who the hell are you." I retreated, trying to big him up. Yet he didn't respond and only pulled out a piece of brown card, with a circle, a triangle and a square, and on the back, a 6 digit number. I looked back up after taking the card, as he clipped his suitcase closed and walked away. I swallowed greatly, staring at the card and the number.
What the hell just happened?

I slipped the card into my pocket and walked to the bathrooms, just behind where we played the game, and did my business, obviously. As i was washing my hands, the thought of all the debt i needed to pay came into my head. I thought about it for more than a minute, and thats when i decided i should probably go. I finished drying my hands and walked back to our table in the corner of the library, where Saebyeok was looking at something other than her book. I quickly rushed over, pulling the card out of my pocket.
In sync with one another, we called each other's names and showed the same card.

"The guy came to you too?" I asked.

"The one in the grey suit? Yeah." She nodded, suggesting that we should go for our own benefit. I agreed and we both pulled out our phones. Sae dialling first. I then did the same, repeating the same things she did, of course except for my personal info.

"We're going to be rich!" I gasped, banging my fist on the table slightly.

-

I looked at my watch. 12:00am. Great, they should be here any minute.
I rocked back and forth on the heels of my feet before a bright white light shone in my face and the car pulled up next to me. The shaded window was pressed down and inside revealed a person in a red-ish pink suit and a black mask with a square mask.

"Miss L/N Y/N?" He asked, and i nodded. "Password?"

"Red light, green light." I said confidently, as the back van door opened. I stepped in to see other people, probably in the same position as me, asleep and sae-byeok in the back. I furrowed my eyebrows before sitting in the only free seat available. Sitting down quietly and observing the outside of my street. The van filled with a certain gas, and i started to feel dazed, soon slipping off into an awfully deep sleep.