Chapter 53: Man, give it a rest

Chapter 53 - Man, give it a rest I don't know if Ki-hoon was simply that confident that he would get most of my smiles but he sure had a lot of confidence when he brought that bullshit up. I mean, why were they using my smiles to gamble now? Just thinking about how much I would make was nice, but I couldn't exactly keep count of how many times I smile a day and to who it belongs to, either. It's just too tedious. But if they were going to play that way, I didn't mind. As long as they don't plan to use this chance to get my ass, I was fine with it. Just fill my pocket till it burst, I don't care. Come to think of it, I don't have a bank account. "Where will you pay the money into?" I asked and they went silent, their eyes slithering away. Ah, look at them. They didn't think of that and they were already trying to make it a competition. "I'll have my secretary deal with that." Kihoon said. "You'll have an account in your name by tomorrow." It was nice and all but wasn't this too easy? I'd like to think I've made an impression that made it seem like I had no reason to run away and would never want to run away so they had no problem giving me money. And even if I did plan to run away, where would I run to? They had checked everything about me and were sure I had no one helping me in the outside world so my traces would be easily tracked. So, are they telling me that, 'Even if you use the money to escape, we won't mind because we can always get you back?' No, I don't think they're thinking that far. I don't think they would be this calm if they ever had a thought that I would run. Especially Ki-hoon. He's not such a simpleton that he would act oblivious if he knew I was planning to run from him. Me running from him might ruin him. Well, let's not worry about that too much. Since they're giving me money so willingly, I should just be grateful and take it. We had dinner and the other two masters joined us. I sat right next to Ki-hoon, so he was able to drop a mountain of side dishes into my bowl. But Min-Cheol was also sitting next to me so he did the same, causing Ki-hoon to to grit his teeth silently. Man, give it a rest. It's just food. I glanced at Jin-Yeok. He was eating rather gracefully and did not mind what those two were doing in front of him. At times like this, I realize he's a rather 'fateful' man. For now, he simply finds me amusing and that's why he's acting the way he is. In the real novel, he couldn't be bothered to interact with Jo-Pil besides spending the night with him and as soon as he was done, he was off. He never slept on the bed with Jo-Pil. That is, for the first part of the novel. Things started to change after his lover died in his hands and then when they all started trying to take Jo-Pil for themselves, they-- Okay, too much information. I licked the ice cream off my spoon and giggled. It was funny at that point, honestly. The guys who had handled Jopil however they liked were reduced to nothing when trying to win his affection. But as funny as it was, it was also quite sad to watch. "Do you want my ice cream?" Min-Cheol asked, seeing my empty bowl and I turned to him. He was smiling gullibly and for some reason, I reached my hand out to him and patted his head. He was surprised, at first, but then he sank into it, loving the feeling as I stroked his hair softly. I think the person I pitied more than anyone was Min-Cheol. Of course, some people pitied Ki-hoon more, and some pitied Jin-Yeok more, who had gone mad from the drugs of deceit he had been taking. I don't think there was anyone who pitied 'him' though. Unlike these three, that man seemed to have grown up the most comfortably and had nothing to ruin his chara-- ah, what am I thinking? I seemed to have already forgotten what happened to him when he was much too young. It was tragic but that shouldn't be a reason for him to inflict pain on others. Jeez, I'm thinking too much again, aren't I? "It's okay," I said and smiled at him. "You can finish your ice cream." "Wow, I'm so jealous." Jin-Yeok exclaimed and I turned to find him staring at me with those eyes. Could he not? He was very much passing on the wrong message and if his little girlfriend saw this, she would definitely misunderstand. "Should I offer you my ice cream as well?" Ki-hoon asked and I sighed. They were like children. I couldn't even get mad at them. "It's alright. You guys can finish your ice cream," I said to them. "Hyung, you said you needed to leave, right? Hurry up so you don't get late for what you need to do." He sulked as if I was chasing him away but it couldn't be helped. The sooner they left, the sooner I regained my peace of mind. "Min-Cheol, you need to leave as well, right?" I asked and Min-Cheol nodded. "Then hurry up, okay?" I turned to Jin-Yeok who was simply smiling and staring at me. Gosh, that facade sent shivers down my spine. Just what was this man thinking now? "You two, master. You must have someone or something waiting for you, right?" I asked and he paused for a moment. I almost slipped up when I mentioned 'someone' but it was a good thing I added 'something' to my statement to make it seem less suspicious. I couldn't have him knowing I was aware he had a lover. He'd start interrogating me, and trust me, a man like him, who was part of the Mafia, was never lenient with interrogations. "Haha, I guess you're right." He said and shifted his chair back, standing to his feet. "I'll leave first if that's okay with you. Good night, Jo-Pil." He said with a deep and serine tone, and I flinched. He needed to stop doing that. It was making me giddy.