"Hi-hi."
"Well, well, well!" exclaimed Tae Sagi, pushing off from the fence and taking a few theatrical steps forward, yet remaining on the border of the shadow. "Taek Jung, just look who decided to visit us! Guys," he gestured towards those sitting on the bench, "let's bow our heads before our 'authoritative' new 'boss' of the Tae family! He clearly won't tolerate our disrespect."
On the bench, someone snorted, someone roughly shifted their position. Taek Jung, sitting closest to Tae Sagi, only gloomily lowered his head.
Ming You felt the smirk on his face beginning to stiffen. He held it with effort.
"Enough jokes and formalities, I'm here on business."
"Oh," Tae Sagi placed a hand on his chest, feigning wounded pride. "What a rude, businesslike 'boss' we have! Let me guess, you came for money, huh? Has the school cafeteria food gotten so expensive? Oh," he narrowed his eyes, and they glinted in the darkness, "or do you want to buy yourself some flashy thing, like a trendy hoodie, huh? Gotta impress the classmates somehow."
Taek Jung let out a short, barking laugh:
"Haha! You're as sharp-tongued as ever, Sagi-nim."
"Maybe we can get down to business now?" Ming You's voice sounded more even than he expected. "Or are you planning to put on a circus act until morning?"
"Hey, look at this arrogant guy!" Tae Sagi turned to his company, spreading his arms. "So important, so businesslike... It's breathtaking, such responsibility."
"Alright, alright, let's play your game, since you're such a playful little bitch," Ming You thought to himself.
He straightened his shoulders and stretched his false smile even wider:
"Well, Tae Sagi, right? And your real name, 'Swindler'*? Or are your parents jokers? Maybe you were an unplanned child, so they really named you that from birth?"
"..."
The air on the court thickened and became heavy. The hum of the lamp suddenly seemed deafening. The cigarette embers on the bench froze. Taek Jung slowly, with a creak, turned his head towards Ming You, his broad face expressing not so much anger as a soul-chilling premonition in his head:
"He's fucked."
He tried to interject, his voice sounding hoarse and unnaturally loud:
"Sagi-nim, he didn't mean... He just..."
"Ha-ha-ha!"
Tae Sagi's laugh cut through the tension, but there wasn't a drop of mirth in it. It was a sharp, dry, almost mechanical sound.
"Finally, you're getting it!" he exclaimed, and a genuine, lively interest flashed in his eyes. "I was starting to think you were actually a boring goody-two-shoes. Want to know the answer to your three questions? We've got plenty of time! But if you want to get to your business, the reason you came here... just say so."
Ming You looked directly into those mocking, gleaming eyes of Tae Sagi.
"Yeah, I actually do have one matter..." he began slowly, with feigned pensiveness, as if choosing his words. "I wanted to know where your mom lives, you see... I'd like to fuck her in all her holes..."
He made a deliberate pause, letting the shocking words hang in the stunned silence. On the bench, someone sharply inhaled. Taek Jung froze like a mountain ready to crumble.
"Oh," Ming You drawled with fake horror, covering his mouth with his palm. "Did I say that out loud? What should I do, hmm..."
"!!!"
"Well, this time you've really fucked up," Taek Jung mentally concluded.
Not a single muscle twitched on Tae Sagi's face. Only the corners of his lips trembled, but not from anger—from something else—from a wild, uncontrollable excitement. His eyes widened.
"Well, well!" he whispered with almost admiration. "You're not just a little milf hunter, but also a necrophiliac! Fufufu!" he let out a strange, hissing chuckle. "Alright then, should I give you the address of the cemetery where she's buried? Don't think I'm a cuckold, but, damn, I'd love to see that spectacle!"
"You know... let's do it!" Ming You threw back defiantly.
"Hmm," Tae Sagi shook his head with the look of a disappointed teacher. "You look like a decent guy, but you've got clear issues with women if you're drawn to rotten corpses... Didn't expect that, didn't expect that. Alright, write it down: district..."
Taek Jung, like the others, was in complete shock and bewilderment. He mentally uttered:
"You're both completely fucking nuts! Both of you!"
"Let's do it later," Ming You interrupted him, pretending to seriously consider the problem. "First, we need to think about how to get there and where to put her. I think I'll need a van. I'm sure you or your guys have one."
A new pause fell, but now there was a shift in it. Tae Sagi looked intently at Ming You, and the mockery in his eyes was replaced by an assessing, penetrating gaze.
"Oh," he drawled. "So that's the real reason you came here. You want to transport dead, and possibly live, bodies in a van?"
"Actually, I've moved," Ming You said, suddenly switching to a calm, business-like tone, as if the previous conversation never happened. "And my house is far from school and far from the subway, so I'd like to borrow it for a while."
Taek Jung couldn't take it anymore. He heaved himself up from the bench, and his shadow enveloped Ming You.
"Fine with the basketball games, you can set whatever rules you want and earn money, but why the hell would we lend you a van? Can you even hear yourself?"
Tae Sagi raised a hand, stopping him. His gaze didn't leave Ming You.
"Ah," he said to Taek Jung with light reproach. "Took the words right out of my mouth. I was just about to ask the same thing, but more... elaborately."
"Haven't you all, especially you, Taek Jung, forgotten about your debts to me?" Ming You retorted coldly, throwing a glance at the massive thug. "Besides, I plan to take it only for a while."
"Who the hell do you think you...!" Taek Jung began, but he was stopped again by Sagi's look.
"Oh, right, debts," Tae Sagi nodded, as if just remembering something insignificant. "Yeah, almost forgot! Okay, let's say. But why a van? Wouldn't a car be faster to get to school? Or are you planning to move furniture? A new bed for... um... future meetings?"
"Have you forgotten I have a basketball team?" Ming You replied, ignoring the hint. "I need space for at least five people, plus equipment. So a van is the ideal option. And I'm sure you have one."
Tae Sagi tilted his head to the side, studying Ming You.
"That's too logical an answer... Boring. But fine. Do you even have a license? Or are you planning to drive on the sidewalks?"
"Would I ask for transport if I didn't have a license?"
Taek Jung almost choked on indignation.
"What? Sagi-nim, are you serious? Just give him the van like that? He's..."
"Why not?" Tae Sagi interrupted him with a light smile. "Besides, we do have 'debts' from some basketball game, right, Taek Jung?"
"I apologize..." Taek Jung started, but Tae Sagi wasn't listening to him again.
"And besides, it's just to drive around for a while, right, Ming You?" he asked, and that playful, dangerous note returned to his voice.
"Surprised you understood," Ming You threw back dryly.
Taek Jung only snorted, full of helpless rage:
"Tch!"
"Hey, I can get offended too," Tae Sagi made a sad face, but his eyes were laughing.
"So, can I take the van?" Ming You repeated his question, ignoring everything else. "Or do your friends, including you, not keep their word? The word 'swindler' on your business card isn't just for show, it turns out?"
Tae Sagi thoughtfully rubbed his chin. He seemed to be weighing something in his mind. His gaze slid over his people, lingered on Taek Jung's face pale with anger, and returned to Ming You.
"Alright," he finally said, spreading his arms in a magnanimous gesture. "Take it. What can I do, I'm a man of my word, even with a bad reputation. Taek Jung," he turned to his subordinate, "tell him where the van is parked. And give him the keys. The blue one, with the small dent on the left fender."
Taek Jung just stared at him for several seconds, not believing his ears. Then his shoulders slumped helplessly. He shoved his hand into his pocket, clatteringly pulled out a key ring, and without looking, threw it at Ming You's feet. The keys jingled against the asphalt.
"The v-van..." he spoke through his teeth, "...is in the parking lot near the apartment building. A hundred meters from here. On the right. Grey, not blue. Dent on the right fender."
Ming You didn't bend down immediately. He looked at the keys on the ground for a few seconds, then slowly, without taking his eyes off Tae Sagi, crouched down and picked them up. The metal was warm from Taek Jung's body.
"Recognizable?" Tae Sagi asked. "Won't mix it up?"
Ming You silently nodded and stood up. He turned and unhurriedly walked towards the exit of the court, feeling with his back the many eyes boring into him. His steps echoed hollowly in the silence again.
"And thank you?" a melodious voice came from behind.
Ming You stopped but didn't turn around.
"Thank you very much for you, the debtors, gradually paying off your debt. Very conscientious of you."
One of the thugs burst out from the bench:
"This is beyond all limits! I won't..."
"Quiet!" Tae Sagi's voice sounded not loud, but with such an ice-cold, commanding intonation that the guy instantly fell silent and sat back down. "Are you all really so easily provoked? What's happened to you while I was gone?"
Taek Jung lowered his head even further.
"You're right... it's our fault, but mostly mine, Sagi-nim. I let him deceive me, and now he thinks he can set conditions for us."
"Oh, come on, Taek Jung!" Tae Sagi patted him on the shoulder. "So what if some petty schoolboy outsmarted you, don't worry about it. It happens to the best. The main thing is to draw the right conclusions."
"Gkh!" Taek Jung merely clenched his jaw, holding back fear, shock, and fury.
"As for the rest of you..." Tae Sagi looked them over, and his smile became completely lifeless, "...keep doing your job. After all, now, essentially, you're running errands for a schoolboy. An interesting twist, don't you think?"
"Sagi-nim, we... we'll fix this," Taek Jung uttered in a strained voice. "I promise. We'll return it all with interest."
"Don't fix anything," Tae Sagi said softly but resolutely. "You'll only make it worse. Ming You is, after all, quite useful, right? He provided us with decent income from those basketball matches. And, honestly," his voice became thoughtful, almost dreamy, "He's a very interesting fellow."
"Alright, we understand," Taek Jung said submissively. But then he raised his eyes, and a shadow of doubt flashed in them. "But I have one question..."
"Hm?"
"I might be mistaken, of course, but..." Taek Jung hesitated, lowering his voice to a whisper, even though Ming You was already far away.
"Just say it."
Taek Jung looked directly into Tae Sagi's eyes.
"The van is... rigged with a bomb, isn't it?"
A wide, absolutely sincere smile slowly spread across Tae Sagi's face, like a rising sun. Merry sparks danced in his eyes.
"Heh."
He didn't say "yes" or "no." He simply made this short, eloquent sound.
But it was enough for the violent reactions:
"!!!"
***
*Sagi (사기) directly translates from Korean as "fraud/swindler."