Chapter Text
Chanhyuk wasn't one to ask for favors. He'd always believed money could solve everything. Just swiping a credit card or rubbing fifty-thousand-won bills in people's faces was enough; something Jiseon had always detested about her cousin.
She blamed her uncle. He'd spoiled him rotten since they were little. Because Chanhyuk lost his mother at a young age, his father tried to fill that void with money and gifts, which are now all the guy cares about. He was so young that he didn't even remember his mother.
Jiseon didn't see anything wrong with someone caring about money, but her cousin's irresponsibility seemed cosmic to her.
However, she couldn't deny that spending time with him was fun. Despite his quirks, he was a guy she never got bored with. That's why, when he invited her to a boxing match, she didn't hesitate to accept.
She knew about the sport. Her maternal cousin, Namjoon, is a professional boxer. She's watched him train since he was little. Jiseon's parents are sports agents. Her father, Ong Kitaek, represents Namjoon, the boxer, and Jung Hoseok, a tennis player. Her mother, Kim Nayoung, manages Kim Mingyu, a volleyball player, Park Jimin, a taekwondo champion, and Min Yoongi, a basketball player.
She's attended countless fights and has come to realize she prefers watching to participating. Not enough to follow in her parents' footsteps, though, she would like a position in the company.
That evening, there was a fight between Son Hyunwoo and Kang Dongho. The girl analyzed each boxer in her head. The former had had a very good season, but he'd never managed a knockout. On the other hand, Kang Dongho has three knockouts, albeit all in the previous season, and he has kept a low profile this season. Clearly, the potential of both fighters will be on full display during their match.
She finishes her outfit by putting on a turquoise cap with a white logo. She checks herself in the mirror: loose beige suit pants and a short blazer in the same color, a white t-shirt, and white sneakers with turquoise details.
As she goes downstairs, she finds Chanhyuk on a call. But as soon as he sees her, he ends it and gives her a nervous smile. Jiseon's first thought is that he probably just placed a bet, as usual.
"We'll be indoors. Are you really going to wear a cap?" he asks.
"It's part of the outfit, so yeah," Jiseon crosses her arms.
"Never mind, we should go," he says as he opens the front door, waiting for her to go out first.
They both get into Chanhyuk's car.
"So?" he begins once they're on their way to the match, "who's your favorite today?"
"No matter how much I think about it, I have no idea," Jiseon sighs. "I've admired Kang Dongho for a long time, but that doesn't mean I'm going to deny that Son Hyunwoo is on a really good run. Speaking of career, he doesn't have much of one, but Kang hasn't been making much of an impact lately."
"You'd better make up your mind, cousin," he laughs. "I always bet based on your prediction."
"Then I should stop telling you so you don't gamble with your daddy's money."
"Heol~, I don't see you complaining about that when you turn out to be right, and I win a lot," he comments with fake indignation.
Jiseon was almost always right about the winner. You could say about eighty percent of the time. And she feels good about it, because she likes being right. When she's wrong, she makes a whole list of what the boxer she was betting on did wrong during the fight.
She's always told herself that a career doesn't define a match, but that same match doesn't define an athlete's career. Someone might have been a world champion for three consecutive years and then have a bad match or a bad season, but that doesn't invalidate what came before or define their future in the industry.
"What I like is being right, not seeing you drown in money only to go and lose it on some other bet, Chan."
"Hey, it's fun, alright?"
"Even losing?" Jiseon asks.
Chanhyuk remains silent at the question.
Jiseon has seen how he reacts when he loses. When it was just a little money, he didn't care at all. But when it's significantly larger amounts, the first thing he does is call his father and make up some excuse. It didn't work because he eventually found out that his son wasn't spending the money on alcohol and parties, but on gambling. His father threatened to cut him off, but he didn't, so Chanhyuk hasn't stopped gambling either.
"Forget it, it's your turn to buy the beers today," the girl reminds him.
"About that... Can't you buy them again?"
"No! I bought them the last three times we went out, Chan. It's your turn."
"Please, Ji," the boy begs.
"You're always bragging about how much you have, but lately you've been depending on me," she crosses her arms. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there? You couldn't have fought with your father. You tend to spend even more in those situations."
"No, no, it's just that I don't have my card with me right now because it was cloned, and we ordered a new one. That's all, okay?" he says quickly.
"Okay, okay, I understand. These things happen," she sighs wearily.
On the way, Jiseon tells Chan about what's been happening with the athletes their parents represent. Of course, Chan isn't very interested. His interests don't extend much to sports other than boxing.
"Hey, you missed it" she remarks when she sees him drive right past exit three of the 'Olympic Park' subway station.
Seeing that he doesn't pay attention, she repeats it.
"Chan, you missed the entrance to the parking lot," she says firmly.
"I know," he says, trying to hide his nervousness. "I told you we were going to a match, but I didn't say it would be Son vs. Kang."
Touché.
"Right," she admits. "It's just that I wasn't aware of another match. And I was excited to see them. Now I'll just have to settle for what the critics say."
Chanhyuk didn't say anything else.
A change in the atmosphere was becoming noticeable. The guy's driving became clumsy, Jiseon could tell.
The further they drove, the more questions arose in the girl's mind. There wasn't an arena or dome nearby where these kinds of events usually took place. She searched for other matches online and didn't find any in the area. At this point, she didn't know what to expect.
The guy parked in front of what looked like an ordinary bar. Jiseon sighed with relief, realizing it was just a quick drink. In her mind, they would watch some international match on TV. But when she went inside, there were a few people and a distinct smell of sweat that she knew well, because that's how the ring usually smelled after a match.
"Two Hypnotics on the rocks," Chan tells the barista.
The man looks at them both. He's seen Chan before, but not the girl.
"And room 458," he adds.
After giving them their drinks, the barista nods for them to head toward the hallway to the side of the bar. Chanhyuk does as he's told, and Jiseon has no choice but to follow his cousin, even though she doesn't quite understand what's going on.
Room 458? Is it some kind of private room like the ones in restaurants?
It didn't seem like it, because when they opened the door, which appeared to be a service door, they found themselves facing a staircase. They both descended it until they reached an elevator that only had a button for going down. Jiseon still hadn't questioned Chan about the situation; sometimes she didn't know what to expect when she was with him, but she didn't have a good feeling.
Checking her phone, she realized the signal was weak.
Fuck, she thought.
There were two buttons inside the elevator: B1 and B2. Chan pressed the first one. The sound of footsteps and people talking filled the air, managing to calm Jiseon down a little.
The elevator doors opened, revealing a crowd of people, some shouting with excitement and others with anger and disappointment.
What Jiseon saw was a boxing ring right in the center of the room.
Underground boxing. That's what Chan had brought her to. He didn't just bet on legal fights, but on those that weren't.
Her gaze shifted to the two men fighting in the ring. One had scars across his torso and a rosebush with thorns tattooed on his back. He looked to be in his late twenties. The other was a younger guy, perhaps around her age. Black hair, a piercing in his left eyebrow, and a sleeve of tattoos covering his right arm. He landed a punch on his opponent's face. Blood spurted from his mouth, dripping onto the ring floor and eliciting cheers from the crowd.
"Come on, Ji," the boy said, taking her wrist to quicken their pace.
They headed to the back of the room, where they encountered two burly men wearing headsets.
"Ong Chanhyuk, they're waiting for me," he announced.
The men stepped aside to reveal a door through which the cousins entered. They went down one floor, B2, and then down again to a floor accessible only by stairs, B3.
Chan opens a door, revealing a sort of VIP lounge.
Still holding Jiseon, he approaches three men who are smoking. In front of them is a table with their alcoholic drinks. The man in the middle sees the boy and smiles at him.
"Well, Chanhyuk, you finally deign to show up," he croons. "I thought you'd forgotten about me, and that would be a problem."
"Today was my deadline, wasn't it, Bohyun?"
"Indeed, it was," one of the guys comments, checking his phone. "So you're Jiseon, right?" he says, seeing the girl.
"Uh-huh, and you?" she asks cautiously.
"I'm Bohyun, nice to meet you, sweetheart." He gets up from his seat and takes the girl's hand to kiss it. "These are Hoeun"
The guy on the left stands up.
"and Jinhee"
The guy on the right does the same.
"We're friends with Chan."
Chan pulls Jiseon's hand away from Bohyun's grasp.
"Hey, don't be like that, okay? She's a lady," the guy pleads.
"I even feel bad for her," Jinhee says, clutching his chest. "Imagine having a spendthrift cousin like you," he shakes his head, "what bad luck."
That's when Jiseon understood. This room, the deadline... Chanhyuk owes them money.
"Damn it, Chan, did you gamble again?" Jiseon asks, irritated.
"And a lot of money," Hoeun laughs.
"I see he didn't tell you anything," Bohyun says, running a hand through his hair. "Let me explain, dear. Chanhyuk has been coming here for a couple of months now, right? We met him not too long ago because he recently gained access to the VIP room due to the large sums of money he was winning. That is, until he started losing. And losing a lot."
Jiseon's gaze shifts to Chan, whose head is bowed and whose lips are pressed tightly together.
"It was one loss after another. He underestimated a kid who had just arrived from Busan and bet on his opponent, who was supposed to be his favorite. He didn't even last a round, so he lost so much money he couldn't even pay it back. And he ended up in debt to us."
"Liar! God, Chan, you're rolling in dough!" Jiseon accuses.
"If that were the case, he wouldn't be up to his neck in debt," Jinhee adds.
"My father confiscated all my money, Ji. I've maxed out my credit cards," he says with difficulty. "I was betting money I don't have, always promising I'd pay it back next time because I thought I'd win. But I didn't."
"How much do you owe?" Jiseon asks, dreading the answer.
"Three hundred fifty million won," Bohyun claps his hands. How humble, Chanyuk.
"But we reached an agreement, right?" Hoeun smiled.
"He looked so desperate that he came begging us for more time to pay. He knelt and cried, pleading for an extension. But we knew he still wouldn't get the money. If he couldn't get the half of it in months, how could he get it in a few days?" Bohyun stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
"He might not have had all the money, but he had something worth the same as his debt, or even more." Hoeun put his arm around Chanhyuk's shoulders. "And he brought it without fail before his time ran out."
Jiseon scanned Chan. He wasn't wearing rings, a wristwatch, a necklace, or bracelets. His outfit wasn't worth that much money either. Then she knew: She was the bet.
She couldn't hold back; she threw a punch straight at Chan's face. She was erratic. Angry. Disappointed.
"What the fuck, Chan!?" she roars. "I'm a human being, you son of a bitch!"
The other three boys watch the scene with glee.
"You gave me as payment? You dared to put a price on me, you idiot. Instead of asking for my help, which I would have given you like the fool I am, you decided to give me to three strangers whose intentions toward me you don't know."
Tears of rage stream down the girl's face.
Applause is heard in the room.
"Wow, I love girls with character," Bohyun whistles.
"I'm sorry, Ji," Chan cries.
"If you were sorry, you wouldn't have even mentioned it, Chanhyuk," the boy continues. "Guys, let's take care of the product, shall we?"
Jinhee and Hoeun approach Jiseon and grab her arms.
"Let go of me!" she demands.
"Haven't you ever seen movies? Asking to be released is pointless," Jinhee said, clicking his tongue.
"That settles your debt, Chanhyuk. Don't come back here if you don't want trouble," Bohyun spat. "Let's go, guys."
"No! I'll give you the damn money! Let me go!" the girl protested.
"No, no, the daughter of a sports agent is worth more than the amount you're offering," Hoeun said.
"This is kidnapping! When my parents find out, they'll turn all of Korea upside down until they find me, you hear me?"
"Ooh, how scary," Bohyun teased. "Shut up before you push my patience too far."
"Do something, Chan! Call someone!" Jiseon urged.
"There's no cell service down here," Jinhee reminded him mischievously.
"For fuck's sake, let me go!"
The men begin to drag her toward the door that serves as both entrance and exit to the room.
Before they can reach it, the door opens, revealing the boy who had been fighting in the ring a little while ago. He's wearing black shorts and an oversized black t-shirt. He has a white towel draped over his shoulder. His skin glistens with sweat. His hands are wrapped in bandages. He's just come out of the ring.
"Oh, Jungkook," Bohyun greets him. "Champ again, right?" he asks, seeing that he's come in alone. "My wallet thanks you."
The boy doesn't say anything, only frowns as he sees Hoeun and Jinhee grabbing the girl by the arms against her will. He recognizes Chanhyuk, since Chanhyuk himself confronted him about winning, even going so far as to accuse him of cheating by using steroids, just because he's the boy from Busan whom he underestimated and who made him lose a lot of money.
“Don’t pay any attention to that kid,” Bohyun pleads. “He was just paying us what he owed. I hope you can ignore all this.”
However clandestine the whole thing was, betting anything other than money or material goods like jewelry, cars, and the like was strictly prohibited. Using people as objects of gambling is completely forbidden.
“Help me, please,” the girl begs the young boxer. “I’m begging you.”
“Don’t listen to her, Jeon,” Hoeun says. “She’s that idiot’s cousin. She’ll pay what he couldn’t.”
“I heard everything,” the young man from Busan announces. “This isn’t a transaction authorized by Insung.”
“You say that as if he were an authority figure. Everything here is illegal, Jungkook,” Bohyun reminds him. “From the money you earn to the money we bet, okay? I care about Insung as much as I care about morality: not a damn.”
"Let her go, now," the boy demands, and Hoeun and Jinhee obey.
More than respect, they fear him. His strength is immeasurable. He hasn't lost a single time since arriving at the 458.
Jiseon hurries to stand beside Jungkook, ignoring his cousin.
"You have no right to interfere, Jeon. That girl is worth almost three hundred and fifty million won."
"I'll pay the money," Jungkook informs him. "But it's not what she's worth, it's what that idiot on the ground owes."
"Wow, for a second I thought you were buying her," Bohyun laughs. "That's a shame, I really like her." He shakes his head. "I don't want to accept, but I also don't want any trouble with you, Kook. I'm smarter than that." He raises his hands in defeat. "Okay, I accept, as long as Ong Chanhyuk is banned from the 458."
"I'll talk to Insung about it, I don't think there'll be a problem," Jungkook finishes.
"See you later, doll," Bohyun winks at Jiseon before leaving the room with his friends.
The room falls into complete silence.
It was only then that Jiseon realized the sharp pain in her wrist. The heat of the moment hadn't allowed her to think straight, and she'd ended up hurting herself after hitting Chan.
Jungkook noticed the redness on the girl's wrist. He removed one of his bandages and used it to apply pressure to the affected area.
"You'll have to go to the doctor for that. Get out of here, it's not safe."
The boy pulls out a device with a button. There's no sound, so Jiseon thinks it's something only the locals know about.
"I already notified the guards. They'll guide you to the exit." He took cash from his pocket and put it in the girl's hand. "Pay for a taxi and don't come back here." His gaze shifted from Jiseon to Chanhyuk. "You stay here. You'll have to see Insung."
Two men appeared at the door. They're different from the ones who let them through, but they're also wearing earpieces.
"This way, miss," one of them indicates.
Before leaving, Jiseon turns to look at Jungkook, who now has his back to her.
"Thank you," she says passively.
The black-haired guy just waves his hand in response.