usenovelgroup Chapter 8 The money was found.
Chapter 8 The money was found.
When Su Yu arrived at the convenience store, the owner, Mr. Park, was changing a light bulb. The old man was standing on a ladder, wobbling precariously, so Su Yu reached out to help him.
"You're late today," Boss Park said, looking down at him.
"It's not late. You're the one who arrived early."
Boss Park climbed down the ladder, clapped his hands, and looked Su Yu up and down. "Have you been going to the gym lately?"
"no."
"Then why are your shoulders so broad?"
Su Yu looked down at himself. His shoulders were indeed a little broader, but he hadn't measured them. "Maybe it's because I've been sleeping well."
"How many times have you used that 'slept well' excuse?" Boss Park rolled his eyes, picked up a case of bottled water, and walked towards the shelf. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
Su Yu didn't reply, but tied on her apron and started sorting the goods.
It was a little after 2 p.m., and the shop was empty. Su Yu was squatting on the floor arranging instant noodles when the doorbell rang.
"Welcome." He didn't look up.
The footsteps reached the cashier, paused, then moved to the oden area, where the pot lid made a popping sound. Su Yu stood up, still holding two packets of Shin Ramyun in her arms.
Shirley. No mask, long hair down, white T-shirt, jeans. Holding a paper cup with two skewers of fish cakes and one skewer of rice cake inside.
"Why aren't you wearing a hat today?" Su Yu put the noodles on the shelf.
"I washed it, but it's not dry," Shirley said vaguely, taking a bite of the fish cake. "What time did you go to bed last night?"
"12 o'clock."
"You're lying. You checked my message at 2 AM."
Su Yu was taken aback. He had indeed seen it, but hadn't replied. He had forgotten what she had sent.
"If they didn't reply, they must have gone to sleep."
"What's the difference between reading it and not replying, and replying?" Shirley leaned against the counter, finished her fish cake, wiped her mouth, and said, "You're so stubborn."
Su Yu didn't reply, but scanned the code to pay. Shirley paid, but didn't leave; she leaned against the counter and watched him.
The way you look at me today is different.
"What's different?"
"I can't quite put my finger on it." Shirley tilted her head. "It feels like you're looking at something else. Not at me, but at something on me."
Su Yu paused for a moment. He was indeed looking. The black threads on Shirley's body were still there, some had pierced in from the outside, some were broken off, and some were charred black. There was also one that stretched from her shoulder down to below her shoulder, its color dark red, as if it was about to break off.
"What are you looking at?" Shirley leaned closer.
Su Yu took half a step back. "It's nothing."
You're lying.
"I'm not lying."
Shirley stared at him for two seconds, then smiled. "Okay. I won't ask anymore." She turned and walked to the window, sat down, and took out her phone to start scrolling.
Su Yu stood behind the cashier, wiping the counter. His mind was filled with those black threads. He didn't know where they led, nor how to cut them for her. But he knew one thing—he needed money. Not just a few hundred or tens of millions, but hundreds of millions. With money, he could do many things.
After getting off work in the evening, Su Yu walked towards the semi-basement. When he reached the path by the Han River, he stopped, leaned on the railing, and lit a cigarette.
Boat lights swayed gently on the river, and the traffic on the opposite bridge resembled a luminous river. A breeze carried the fishy smell of water. He remembered the black lines on Shirley's body, the light on Yoon Shi-yoon's feet, and what Boss Park had said: "Some people carry misfortune with them."
He didn't know what he could do. But he knew he needed money first.
Su Yu stubbed out his cigarette and continued walking.
Back in the basement, he pushed open the door and saw water still dripping from the ceiling. Lying on the bed, staring at the yellowish water stain, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. It wasn't "how to make money," but "where is the money?"
He recalled seeing the black lines on Shirley's body during the day, and vaguely sensed that the ends of those lines were connected to something—not a person, but money. The thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't grasp it.
Su Yu wasn't in a good mood when she went to work the next day.
Boss Park noticed his distracted state. "You didn't sleep last night?"
"Going to sleep."
"Then where is your soul?"
Su Yu didn't reply, continuing to wipe the counter. He was thinking about the threads. Those black threads weren't just on Shirley. Most customers who came to the store had threads on them. Red, black, gray, some shiny, some dull. He used to just look at them without giving them much thought. But after that thought popped into his head yesterday, when he looked at the threads again, it felt different. He wasn't seeing "threads," he was seeing "something." Some of the black threads had cracks, and something was leaking out of those cracks. He didn't just see it; he sensed it.
Around 10 a.m., a middle-aged man in a suit came in. He bought bottled water, paid, and left. Su Yu stared at his back for a few seconds. There was a thick black line on the man's body, extending from his back and connecting in a certain direction. There was a crack in the black line, and what was leaking out of the crack, Su Yu couldn't say what it was, but it felt like "money".
This was the first time he had this feeling. It wasn't reasoning, it wasn't guessing, it was the thread that told him.
In the afternoon, Shirley came again. This time she didn't buy anything; she just leaned on the counter as soon as she entered.
"What's wrong with you?" Su Yu asked.
"I'm tired." She buried her face in her arms. "I'm coming back next week, and I'll be practicing until the early hours of the morning every day."
Su Yu looked at the black lines on her body. The dark red line seemed to have deepened a bit.
When are you coming back?
"Next Friday." Shirley looked up, dark circles under her eyes. "Are you coming?"
"What are you looking at?"
"M Countdown, a music show."
Su Yu thought for a moment. "Where?"
"Sangam Cave. CJ E&M Center."
"Far."
Shirley rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless."
Su Yu's lips twitched slightly. "I work at a convenience store, it takes two hours round trip. You want me to travel that far to watch you dance on stage?"
"It's not dancing. It's singing."
Is there a difference?
Shirley picked up a rag and threw it at him. Su Yu caught it.
"Your hand speed has really improved." Shirley was taken aback.
"You throw things away every day, and I catch them every day; it's no wonder things get hectic."
Shirley smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents. She stood up and picked up her bag. "I'm leaving. I have practice tonight."
"Um."
She walked to the door, glanced back at him, and said, "If you don't come to see me, I'll bring my mom's stir-fried rice cakes every day until you're stuffed."
The door closed. Su Yu stood behind the cashier, glancing down at the rag in his hand. He put the rag back and continued wiping the counter.
After finishing get off work at 8 PM, Su Yu didn't go straight back to the semi-basement. He went to Dongdaemun.
It wasn't a shopping trip; it was a destination—the direction the middle-aged man had drawn with dark lines during the day. He couldn't explain why he was going; his feet just led him there.
The road was long; after walking for about twenty minutes, he arrived at the foot of an office building. Su Yu looked up and saw a sign on the building—the name of an entertainment company. He hadn't heard of it. But he could see the black line extending from the building, connecting to the middle-aged man, and then to other places. The crack in the black line was there. What was leaking out of the crack seemed to be some kind of "opportunity."
Su Yu stood downstairs for ten minutes, then turned and left. He didn't know why he had come, but he knew that some things weren't things he actively sought out; the threads had brought him here.
Back in the semi-basement, Su Yu lay on the bed, her mind a jumble of thoughts.
He wanted to make money. Not the kind of money you earn working a regular job, but the kind where you make a large sum all at once. He knew he could see the thread, but he didn't know if he could make money from it. It wasn't money; it was stolen money, dirty money, something someone had hidden away. He saw the crack, and the money inside would leak out. He didn't steal it; the thread leaked out on its own.
Su Yu rolled over. He didn't know how to take the initiative, but he knew that if he kept watching and kept walking, he would eventually run into it.