IRLPLBIO Chapter 43 Part 2

Jae-gu braced himself, making a resolution that Kwang-cheol would definitely not be happy about if he knew. Then, maintaining his posture with his shoulders straightened, he took out his mobile phone and called Shin Ju-hee.

“Oh, Madam Shin! It’s Jae-gu. Yes, yes, it’s been a while, how have you been? Is business going well? Haha, yes, congratulations. But Madam Shin, I’m looking for someone. I think you’d be able to find them. No, it’s not daily loans, but they would have borrowed money from a loan shark operation. Yes, more precisely, I want you to entrust their debt collection to me.”

Words unusual for a high school student mixed with an unordinary tone. Fearing that a weak-hearted patient or guardian might overhear the call and be startled, Jae-gu bounded down the emergency stairs instead of taking the elevator.

As he exited the main entrance of the hospital, his call with Shin Ju-hee ended. Less than 10 minutes later, ‘that person’s’ location arrived on Jae-gu’s mobile phone.

Roofs topped with slate clung tightly together on the steep hillside. As he climbed the narrow, dark alley, so constricting it took his breath away, Jeong Seung-dae had to stop and catch his breath, clutching his knees, several times.

“I’m really… going to escape, this cursed shantytown…”

He kept walking uphill, panting. His house was almost at the very end, so he felt like he was hiking every day. The only saving grace was that the loan sharks hadn’t chased him this far yet.

By the time his ragged breaths turned into rough, wheezing gasps, he finally arrived in front of his house. Jeong Seung-dae, who had been catching his breath for a while, noticed a person standing in the corner of the dark alley, devoid of streetlights.

“……!”

Jeong Seung-dae immediately tensed up. Having been harassed by loan sharks for so long, his body would prepare to run away the moment he saw a dark human shadow.

Before he could turn and run, the crouching figure moved first.

“Hey, Leo Jeong.”

“…Yes? Wh-who is that?”

“You, I mean you.”

With a grunt, the other person stood up. Their face emerged from the darkness as they thumped their thighs, apparently to relieve pins and needles.

Jeong Seung-dae’s eyes scrutinized the person. It was a young face, too youthful to be a loan shark or a gangster. Although his eyes were quite fierce, a kid glaring wasn’t scary. Moreover, the moment he realized what he thought was a black suit was actually a school uniform, his tension immediately dissipated.

“You punk. Stop talking nonsense and just go home.”

Jeong Seung-dae waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away an annoyance, and stood before the rusty iron gate. The half-peeled painted gate was so old and stiff that it felt tightly locked even when it wasn’t.

Jeong Seung-dae had just lifted his foot to kick the creaking gate, after shaking it a few times.

“You’re Jeong Seung-dae, aren’t you? The one who borrowed private loans to pretend to be an exchange student ‘Orange-jok’ and pick up girls, then blew it all away.”

Thump.

Jeong Seung-dae’s misaimed foot struck the lower part of the iron gate. Without time to check his throbbing ankle, Jeong Seung-dae spun around and quickly took a defensive stance.

“You, what are you? Who sent you? I told them I’d pay back the money!”

“When was the ‘Orange-jok’ ever a thing? Geez, you came with a scheme that would only work ten years ago, how could you not go broke?”

“…What? Who is it, who sent you?”

“Tsk, tsk, your speech is too informal.”

Even though a high school student was pointing out an adult man’s informal speech, it didn’t feel strange. Regardless of age, a hierarchy based on intimidation was instantly formed.

Jeong Seung-dae didn’t immediately realize he was completely suppressed by the other person, but only understood the situation when he saw his body flinch in response to Jae-gu’s ‘tsk’ sound.