The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 43

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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 43. Spilled Water (2)

The young man drifted aimlessly through the street.
It wasn’t so much that he had no other choice—it was that he hesitated. Hesitation gripped him like chains around his ankles.
After wandering the alley back and forth for some time, his footsteps slowed, tentative as a man treading on thin ice.
He stood rooted to the spot, gazing through the glass window of the Tea Shop.
His eyes traced a path between tables and chairs, crossing the counter to settle on the woman steeping tea.
Yu Seon-hwa.
Truly, she was beautiful.
Her eyes were pristine and unwavering, bright with quiet passion. Her hands moved with such care as she poured the tea, delicate and refined. When she smiled, something soft and gentle bloomed across her face….
Was he about to confess? The man who’d received his coffee hesitated, extending his mobile phone. Yu Seon-hwa’s eyes widened, and she gently shook her head—only enough that the carefully arranged strands of her hair brushed faintly against her neck.
Yet the man pressed the phone forward stubbornly until the woman bowed respectfully at the waist. Then he finally withdrew his hand, regret written across his face. Even as visible discomfort crossed her features, Yu Seon-hwa never lost her gracious smile.
A bell chimed as the man pushed open the door and stepped outside.
There was something oddly familiar in the way his retreating figure grew smaller and smaller.
Seol Ji-hu took a breath and reached for the door handle—but his hand stiffened.
It seemed as though just one step would close the distance between them.
Yet the space that yawned before him felt impossibly vast, squeezing his wrist like a vice.
……
Only when he finally lowered his hand and pressed it against his chest could he feel it at all.
Thump-thump.
The sound of his own heartbeat.
His fear.

The tables that had been crowded with customers just after lunch began to thin out as the clock edged past four in the afternoon.
When the man who had occupied one table finally left, the woman tidying chairs drifted back toward the counter and murmured aloud.
“Body: six points.”
The woman wiping down the shelves let out a laugh.
“Huh. Face: three points.”
“Clothes: five points.”
The woman stacking vibration bells spoke up as if she’d been waiting for her turn, clicking her tongue disapprovingly.
“Total score: fourteen points. Unfortunately, you fail!”
“What are you girls doing?”
When Yu Seon-hwa looked up from the POS terminal, the woman threw her arms wide in triumph—then clamped her mouth shut at the sight of her. Giggles erupted from all three.
Yu Seon-hwa shook her head slowly.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Come on, you’re being coy. You like it really.”
“Like it? Hardly. It’s more of a nuisance. Just like what happened earlier, when he was so persistent—”
“Well, that’s because you’re such an iron wall, manager. Anyway, this is already the second one today, right?”
“Last week we had exactly ten… if we keep this up, we might set a new record this week.”
Watching the three of them chatter excitedly, Yu Seon-hwa heaved a quiet sigh.
The truth was, her refined and delicate features were such that men often approached her even while she was working, eager to express their interest.
And yes, her beauty mattered—but what man could fail to notice her calm voice and her graceful, unhurried manner?
In any case, as these days wore on, the three part-time workers she labored alongside had begun to keep score.
One was in charge of physique, one of face, one of fashion. Every time, they held their own review session, each awarding points out of a possible thirty.
When Yu Seon-hwa tried to stop them, they actually insisted with strange logic that any potential boyfriend of their admired manager had to score at least twenty-four points.
As an aside, out of more than a hundred men they’d evaluated so far, the highest score anyone had received was twenty-five points. For something meant to be mere idle amusement, the three judges’ standards were decidedly stringent.
In any case, Yu Seon-hwa desperately wished this rating game would disappear. No matter how careful she was, if a customer ever overheard them, there could be real trouble.
“Oh! Number three batter is about to step up to the plate?”
“Where? Where?”
“Outside. Look over there. That guy’s been hanging around like that for an hour.”
“You’re right. Should we see what he scores?”
Even when she told them not to, they never listened.
They quickly huddled together, whispering conspiratorially. Watching the three of them, Yu Seon-hwa decided to tune them out. The owner sometimes called them the “hopeless trio,” and there were occasions when she understood why.
One woman, eyeing the man outside with rather arrogant scrutiny, blinked. “Whoa?”
Tall and broad-shouldered, with sturdy forearms. Lean and athletic rather than bulky, with a physique that matched exactly what she preferred. Her mouth fell open slightly.
“Wow, his butt and thighs are incredible. Body: ten points!”
Then she turned to the woman thoughtfully caressing her own chin. This one had never given a perfect score, nor had she ever even awarded nine points once—her evaluation criteria were notoriously strict. One could see why she was the face specialist.
“…Not bad. Face: eight points.”
“You little schemer. I should’ve known.”
“Known what?”
“You’re into that polished, refined type?”
“What? That’s the kind of style that actually looks masculine.”
She nodded approvingly, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.
“If he keeps it up, we might have a new high scorer. What about the outfit—how many points?”
“…Ten points… no, wait. Nine. The shoes are throwing it off.”
“Oh? And since when did you become the expert?”
“That top alone probably costs tens of thousands won.”
The woman, who’d been groaning a moment before, tilted her head in confusion.
“Hold on. Didn’t you say you hate luxury brands?”
“Luxury’s all about how you wear it. There’s a difference between throwing on expensive stuff to show off and carefully putting together an outfit like that.”
“I… I guess? I wouldn’t know.”
“That outfit either came from a professional stylist or someone who actually understands fashion. It looks understated on the surface, but I can tell—it’s absolutely flawless.”
It was praise bordering on adulation.
“Let’s see. Ten, eight, nine, so…”
“Twenty-seven points! A new record!”
Clapping her hands, the woman spun around. She watched Yu Seon-hwa, who was tidying up with the air of someone too busy to listen to their chatter, and began making a fuss.
“Boss! Boss lady! Twenty-seven points! Finally, a man’s shown up who can dethrone you!”
“…You girls.”
Yu Seon-hwa’s voice had dropped to a cold register. There were limits to ignoring and tolerating this. She decided firmly that today was the day she’d teach them better.
“I told you to stop. If you keep doing this, don’t you realize how upset it makes that person…?”
Her words trailed off oddly. The moment she glanced outside, Yu Seon-hwa went rigid.
How could she not? The man who was supposed to topple her record—the very man who’d already conquered it once—stood there in view.
“…I… just give me a second. I’m going out.”
Removing her hat, Yu Seon-hwa grabbed her handbag and hurried out from behind the counter.

A bell chimed.
Until that moment, Seol Ji-hu had been lingering uncertainly, but he froze.
Yu Seon-hwa emerged in her uniform.
When he met her cold, piercing gaze, his fingers felt like ice.
“…So now you’re finding me at work.”
“Seon-hwa.”
“Come with me. I don’t want a scene here.”
Without waiting for a response, Yu Seon-hwa walked into a dim alley. He hurried after her.
Moments later, she stopped abruptly and spun around. Seol Ji-hu instinctively halted as well.
“……”
She stared at him for a long moment in silence.
Seol Ji-hu lowered his head like a man condemned. For some reason, looking at her was unbearable.
Between them lay only seven or eight paces, yet he felt an unspoken pressure forbidding him to close the distance.
It was Yu Seon-hwa who spoke first.
“Here. Take these.”
As Seol Ji-hu received the card and mobile phone, his expression went blank.
“Th-thanks. I forgot, so…”
“Forgot? You engineered it. You wanted an excuse. That’s why you suddenly remembered to call the police.”
“No, I really did—”
“Enough. What do you want?”
Her voice cut through the air, cold as a blade.
“You left the two million won behind that day.”
“…Yes.”
“Did you get greedy? Change your mind? Want it back?”
“No, that’s not it—”
“Fine. I’ll give it to you. Here.”
Yu Seon-hwa pulled out two million won from her handbag and thrust it toward him. It was clear she’d prepared for this moment, knowing he would come looking for it someday.
“Take it and go. I need to get back to work.”
The venom in her voice seeped into his bones, twisting his insides.
“And don’t come back with this nonsense ever again.”
This was the same gentle, kind girlfriend from before.
“This is the last time I’m looking the other way. From now on, these cheap tricks won’t work on me.”
Now, her contempt had curdled into something far worse—resentment.
‘Get a grip. Get a grip….’
His lips trembled in silence for a long moment before he finally found his voice.
“I’m sorry for coming while you’re working.”
“?”
“There’s something I really needed to say… and I felt like if I didn’t do it today, I might never get the chance… so, I….”
Seol Ji-hu bit down on his words. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t right at all. Even he could hear how scattered his thoughts had become. There was so much he wanted to say, but his mind had turned to chaos.
Slowly.
Take it slowly.
Today was the last chance.
Unlike with his family, this conversation with Yu Seon-hwa would be the end of it.
With that resolve fixed firmly in his heart, Seol Ji-hu found something like composure.
“I know you’re busy, but could we talk for just a moment? Ten minutes, five, or even three—whatever you can spare.”
“…….”
After a brief silence, Yu Seon-hwa withdrew the hand holding the two million won. He lifted his eyes in faint hope, but her expression remained cold.
“Talk?”
“Yes….”
“Listen, how many times do I have to tell you? If you really want to talk, go file for a permanent entry ban from the casino first. Then I’ll consider it.”
“I did. I already did.”
Seol Ji-hu spoke quickly. Yu Seon-hwa raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“I filed for a permanent entry ban this morning. I’m coming from the casino right now.”
“…I see.”
She exhaled a long breath, tilting her head back to gaze at the sky.
Closing her eyes, clicking her tongue. Her manner bore an unmistakable resemblance to someone confronting a case beyond redemption. Though she said nothing, he could almost hear the unspoken words: “Lying again?”
“I’m serious. Please believe me.”
At the young man’s plea, Yu Seon-hwa bit down hard on her lower lip. Then, with a sharp tap, she turned on her mobile phone.
“Yes. Is this the Seolak Land consultation desk? Hello. I’m calling to verify something—could you check the entry ban list for me? The name is Seol Ji-hu….”
Watching her confirm it over the phone, something bitter rose in his throat. What kind of mess had he made that she—let alone his family—had memorized the Seolak Land phone number?
“A permanent entry ban? Today, and he applied himself…?”
Yu Seon-hwa’s expression shifted.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
She hung up and looked at him with eyes full of disbelief.
“You….”
Her eyes blinked rapidly, and she pressed her lips together.
“…What did you come here to tell me?”
Her voice was sharp as before, yet there was a subtle warmth in it now.
A chance that would never come again.
Seol Ji-hu summoned his courage.
“I’m sorry!”
He bowed deeply. Through his lowered vision, the ground came into view.
“What did you say?”
“I’m truly… truly sorry.”
His left hand, clutching the paper envelope, clenched tight.
“I… I know… I’ve lived like a real bastard… but still, I wanted to ask for your forgiveness….”
“…….”
“For the lies… for letting you down… for making it hard on you… for hurting you with cruel words… I wanted to… apologize….”
As he spoke hesitantly, his eyes suddenly burned with heat. Seol Ji-hu gritted his teeth and held back.
“I’m sorry….”
Seol Ji-hu continued to beg for forgiveness.
He couldn’t offer a eloquent apology, nor a clean one. To do so would have been an insult to her.
The longer she remained silent. The more he spoke. The more his throat seemed to tighten.
“Someday….”
Suddenly.
“Yes. I used to hope that someday a day like this would come.”
Her voice was low and quiet. He concentrated all his senses on hearing every word.
“Of course, I’ve regretted many things. Perhaps some of this is my fault too. I should never have given you money when you first asked. I should have listened to your parents from the start.”
Seol Ji-hu found himself speechless.
“I believed that someday you’d return to who you were before. So I waited, holding onto that hope alone. But even this is just an excuse, isn’t it.”
As her calm voice continued, he wanted nothing more than to bite his own tongue. He wanted to shout that it was all his fault, that it could be no one else’s.
He could have endured a barrage of curses from her like his sister gave. But hearing these words, he didn’t know what to do with himself.
Yu Seon-hwa opened her mouth carefully.
“Did you mean what you just said?”
“…Yes….”
“You came to apologize to me? Really?”
He nodded.
“Then.”
Yu Seon-hwa approached slowly and extended her arm.
“Take this.”
The moment Seol Ji-hu saw the cash being offered, despair settled in his chest.
“Seon, Seon-hwa.”
“Take it. If what you said is true.”
Her eyes grew more complicated, but only slightly.
Her reason for holding out two million won was unmistakable.
The severing of a threadbare bond.
“If you truly feel that way… I want you to show it not just in words, but in action.”
The meaning had shifted. From ‘Take it and disappear’ to ‘Don’t make this harder than it already is.’
Already, a chasm too deep to bridge had opened between them.
In the silence that followed, Seol Ji-hu’s throat trembled.
He couldn’t bring himself to take it.
The moment he did, it would truly be over.
No—it was already over.
Yet knowing this, he couldn’t accept it.
In the end, Yu Seon-hwa sighed and quietly slipped the money into his pocket.
“Thank you for requesting the permanent entry ban. Your parents must be so happy. Woo-seok and Jin-hee too….”
Watching the young man stare at the ground, Yu Seon-hwa gently cast her eyes down.
“I’m… so exhausted. Confused too, and honestly, with how I feel right now, I don’t think I can accept an apology.”
“…….”
“But if you’ve truly come to your senses… I hope you work hard and live well going forward, in a way that proves it. Then maybe one day I’ll be able to look at you and smile?”
One day.
For better or worse, Yu Seon-hwa had forged a deep bond with the Seol family since childhood. There would be family gatherings now and then where they might see each other.
What she had just said wasn’t a proposal to start over—a fact both of them knew and accepted.
How much time had passed?
“…Okay.”
Seol Ji-hu finally lifted his head. His eyes still fixed on the ground.
“Thank you for believing in me.”
Yu Seon-hwa was indeed good.
Her treatment of him now was incomparable to when he had faced her family.
After being so badly deceived, one would have expected her to refuse to believe him.
Yet she believed him anyway.
Her gentle, indirect way of speaking was kindness in its own form.
Yes, he knew that….
“The two million won… I understand. I’ll take it. I know what it means.”
For some reason, his chest ached twice as deeply.
Seol Ji-hu sniffled and fingered the cash she had given him with his right hand. He had to give her something in return.
“But… at least accept this.”
He raised his left arm, holding out the paper envelope, and opened his palm.
And.
“Huh?”
The moment Yu Seon-hwa looked down with a questioning expression,
“…What.”
Her usually composed eyes widened dramatically.
Her mouth fell open in disbelief. The shock registered instantly and vividly on her face. She even stumbled backward.
Fearing she might refuse again, Seol Ji-hu forced the item into her hand. Her fingers, which brushed against his for a moment, were remarkably soft. He didn’t want to let go.
“I’m going.”
But satisfied with even that brief touch, he managed a smile. Yu Seon-hwa’s face was still frozen in astonishment.
“You, you… when?”
“I won’t appear again… take care.”
Seol Ji-hu turned and ran down the alley.
Overwhelmed by something he couldn’t contain, he sprinted with all his strength.
“Oh.”
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Coming to her senses belatedly, Yu Seon-hwa instinctively checked the paper envelope hanging from her hand. Banknotes with Shin Saimdang were packed inside, bundled tightly. There was no way to hide her shock.
“This… wait. Just now…?”
After a long moment of confusion, Yu Seon-hwa hurriedly powered on her mobile phone.
“Woo-seok? Yes, yes. Did you… were you here? When?”
Her voice grew steadily higher as she spoke.
“Fifty-five million won?”
– Yeah. And he picked up Jin-hee’s car too, bought a laptop while he was at it.
“That doesn’t make sense. Where would he get that kind of money?”
– I don’t know. He insists he didn’t win it gambling, but…
“However—”
– I know. It was the same day you gave him money. So I called Seolak Land and checked his access record. March sixteenth, Thursday, was the last time. If that’s the case, he couldn’t have won it gambling…
“When did you say?”
– March sixteenth. Anyway, since he says the money’s legitimate. Besides, he said he’d be leaving soon, so he wanted to—
March sixteenth.
‘No. It can’t be.’
Yu Seon-hwa stopped listening to Seol Woo-seok altogether.
“No… this can’t…”
The paper envelope tumbled to the ground, cash spilling across the pavement.
But Yu Seon-hwa didn’t spare it a glance, bolting out of the alley.
“Seol Ji-hu!”
She looked around frantically, crying out desperately.
“Seol Ji-hu!”
But there was no sign of him anywhere.

(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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