The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 2. Son of a Bitch

When he was young, he believed the entire world was made of green.
People appeared in shades of green, the streets shimmered with fresh grass-tones, animals wore deep verdant hues, and even the sky bloomed in pale celadon. Everywhere he looked, lovely gradations of green rippled and danced.

The memory that stayed with him was a visit to the Zoo with his mother’s hand in his.
They didn’t walk from enclosure to enclosure; instead, they boarded a bus. The vehicle carrying passengers rumbled into an artificial wilderness—a safari. Through the windows hung paper sacks filled with raw meat.
His older brother sat by the window seat, while his mother’s lap was quickly claimed by his younger sister, who was two years old. As the middle child, he couldn’t sit with them, and he remembered feeling a little dejected about it.
The bus stopped.
A great beast lounging lazily on rock and plain slunk toward the vehicle the moment it came into view.
The verdant-tinted animals competed to devour the bait, their leaping forms reminding the boy of a whack-a-mole arcade game. He let out a small laugh.
Then it happened.
One.
Just one.
Perched on a boulder like a king, it alone reflected the bright sunlight with crystalline clarity.
The boy’s smile vanished. Because—
‘The color…?’
Unlike every other animal, this one showed no green.
Did it sense his gaze?
The beast’s eyes locked onto the boy with perfect precision.
Transfixed, he was suddenly seized by terror.
Instinct drove him to look away. His breath caught. His hands trembled, his whole body shook. His heart hammered against his ribs. Even as a fear too overwhelming for his young age consumed him, doubt bloomed in his mind.
Why had the green vanished from only that animal?
No. Maybe I saw it wrong.
The boy took a deep breath and peered out the window once more.
Crash!
The window shuddered violently.
It had been distant moments before, yet now it was pressed against the glass. It ignored the bait dangling outside, fastening itself to the window instead.
The beast’s jaws gaped wide, teeth bared, gnawing at the window again and again.
The boy could not make sense of what was unfolding so suddenly. He could only shrink further into himself.
I have to run.
Why isn’t the bus moving?
I’m scared, I want to get away.
Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom….
Just as a sob was about to break free, a warm hand gently covered his eyes, blocking out the world.
“You gave yourself quite a fright, didn’t you?”
A voice gentle and composed as a soft spring breeze.
Though it was only a few words, the boy felt a wave of comfort and relief wash over him. He nestled into the woman’s embrace without hesitation.
“That’s right, that’s right. You’re safe now. It’s all over… Oh, here we go.”
Pat, pat. Warm hands stroking his back. His breath, which had been trapped in his throat, finally loosened.
He lifted his head and looked up at her.
“Huh?”
The hand suddenly stilled. The woman, bringing her face close to his, studied him carefully from every angle before letting out a soft exclamation.
“My goodness… truly….”
When the boy tilted his head in confusion, the woman smiled.
“Your eyes are so beautiful.”
My eyes?
“Yes. Exquisite. Seven-Colored Rainbow Eyes.”
The boy gazed uncertainly, but the woman merely laughed quietly. Then she sighed, as if regretful.
“If only you were a bit older… Then again, perhaps it’s better not to know.”
Before long, the safari tour ended. Others began to rise, but the boy had no wish to leave. The woman too seemed reluctant, holding him close as if unwilling to let go.
The woman whispered near his ear.
“What’s your name?”
“S-Seol….”
“Seol? That’s a lovely name too.”
The boy, mumbling shyly and cheeks flushed, met her eyes.
“Listen, if by any chance you grow up and we happen to meet again someday… would you come to me?”
“To you?”
“Yes. And if you ever need help, I’ll make sure to look after you.”
The boy didn’t understand the context, but he nodded quietly in the woman’s arms.
He heard his mother and younger sister calling for him.
“A promise, then.”
Something soft touched his forehead, then vanished.
“We’ll meet again, young prince.”
Holding his mother’s hand as they left, the boy kept turning back to look.
The woman smiled brightly and waved—until the boy disappeared from sight.
Time passed, and the boy became a man. He’d grown so much that those special childhood memories had grown hazy.
As he aged and matured, he no longer feared the predators of his youth; instead, he focused his research on the phenomenon itself.
What exactly was this ability?
Why did he possess a gift no one else had?
He never uncovered its true nature, but he managed to define something about the green color and the phenomenon of its disappearance.
From the moment he began applying that understanding to his life, change began to stir.
And when the ability vanished one day without warning, his entire life came crashing down.

***

Seorak Land.
A casino in Sokcho City, Gangwon Province.
Whether he won or lost, he pressed buttons and flipped cards with mechanical precision, his face betraying neither joy nor sorrow.
…….
The young man stared down at the table with tense features. He glanced sideways once, but the dealer remained expressionless.
After staring at the table as though he could bore through it, the young man finally forced himself to speak.
“S—no. Double Down!”
The dealer, perhaps tired of the long hesitation, immediately reached for the cards.
His throat was parched. Sweat glistened on his jaw, and his back was drenched.
But the dealer’s hand flipped the card with indifference, unmoved by the young man’s anguish.
The young man clutched his head in his hands.
Hope and despair crossed paths once more.

“Did you win today, friend?”
“Oh, it’s you.”
A stocky man walking out from the entrance greeted him, and the bespectacled man who’d been outside trembling and smoking alone shook his head.
“Win? Hell no. I barely broke even. How about you?”
“Same here. Just breaking even. Not a good day for either of us.”
“I came out for a break. I’ve been playing at one table the whole time and my head’s killing me. Thought I’d get some fresh air.”
The man whined, and the other chuckled.
“Yeah, me too… huh?”
A sudden shout struck the ear of the man who’d been rifling through his pocket, and both men turned to see a young man gripping a cell phone. The other man’s eyes widened, and he tilted his head.
“I’ve seen that face before.”
“Who?”
“That guy on the phone. Do you know who he is?”
“Sure do. Seol, or something like that. Probably been coming here longer than you have. I first saw him three or four years ago.”
So the friend really was the old hand around here, the man thought in admiration, but now he looked at the young man with surprise.
“Three, three or four years? But he looks so young.”
“Yeah… he’s probably in his mid-twenties by now. He was famous once, that guy.”
The friend smacked his lips, and a flicker of regret crossed his face. The other man shrugged.
“Really? I’ve seen him a few times, but he didn’t seem that impressive.”
“Not now, sure. But for about a year, he played damn well. There was a time when people used to come specifically to watch him, to place bets on his games.”
“Huh, so he had some skill?”
“Not skill, exactly. I mean, he was a gambler—not in the sense of recklessness, but he had an almost supernatural instinct for knowing when to make a move. He stuck to his own rules, never overextended, always left with the same amount he’d planned to take. It felt like he came to play, not to feed an addiction. Anyway, something about him was strange.”
“So what happened to him?”
“Hell if I know. One day he started spouting nonsense about not being able to see something, or some other excuse….”
The friend sucked hard on his cigarette, shaking his head in disapproval. The young man still gripped his phone, speaking with desperate urgency. The other man snorted.
“Anyway, something’s off about him. The kid’s young, sweating like he’s working for money like a laborer.”
“As long as he can pay the entry fee, it doesn’t matter. And if we’re being honest, you’re young too, friend.”
“What? I passed fifty long ago.”
“Age doesn’t mean anything. A casino’s still just a gambling den. The moment you step through that door, there’s no order to who comes and goes.”
“That’s true enough.”
The two men, tired of the subject of youth, exchanged idle jokes and chuckled between themselves.

“Father! Just once, I’m begging you! One last time, that’s all!”
– Hang up. You lunatic!
“Father!”
The line went dead. Seol spat out a curse.
“God… I’m losing my mind, I really am.”
He’d blown through everything, right down to the capital.
All that remained in his pockets were three or four chips. The last few bills in his wallet were earmarked for cab fare. For a moment he toyed with the idea of spinning the slots once more, trying to claw back even a fraction of his losses. But if he burned through that too, he might end up walking home.
His eyes scrolled through his contact list again. The moment Yu Seon-hwa’s name appeared, he didn’t hesitate—he hit the call button. But given the hour, no matter how long he waited, the call wouldn’t go through.
He opened his banking app and checked his account, but it only confirmed what he already knew. He stared at the number with its minus sign and let out a long, heavy sigh.
“God, why won’t she pick up…”
After a spell of grumbling, he suddenly tilted his chin upward, gazing at the sky. The dawn sky was a deep, murky black.
Seol exhaled and threw his hand up.
“Taxi!”
“Where to?”
“Gangnam Station… no, wait. Nonhyeon Station!”
“Get in.”
Moments later, the taxi carrying the young man glided through the darkness like a knife through silk.

(To be continued)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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