6 – Well, well, well, Nakana-naka Nakama (Colleague). (1)
1.
But what do I do now?
It was good to be pulled out of the seemingly endless hell of boredom, but Cheolhoon’s attitude, who called me, seemed to be eager to fight.
No, it didn’t just seem like he was eager; it was certain. Being labeled as an ex-convict right from the first meeting is nothing but a challenge.
It’s really awkward.
In the past, when I was a thug, I wouldn’t have cared and would have fought back without any hesitation. But ever since I entered prison seven years ago, I decided to quit being a thug.
I received a ten-year sentence without a word of military service to wash away the past, and deciding to engage in thuggery again after being released for seven years is proving my past seven years of hardship meaningless.
The time that has passed has been the time of endurance, not for today or yesterday, but to live looking forward to tomorrow, to become a new me.
So, it was absolutely unacceptable for me to just accept it when they openly challenged me to a fight.
Alright, let’s try to resolve this through conversation. It’s the first time I’ve ever attempted to have a conversation when faced with a fight, but I’m still human. I believe we can resolve this through dialogue.
There’s nothing in the world that can instill as strong a prejudice in people’s eyes as having a criminal record.
However, even when I was a prisoner, I had the experience of befriending Director Kim, who was so hostile towards me. So, if I can honestly show them who I am this time, I can dispel the misunderstanding that I’m a “gangster obsessed with blood and fighting” and we can get along.
Alright, let’s try to have a conversation. They’re suggesting that we start with words, but it’s rare for a modern person to choose words over a preemptive strike! Even if they were to choose words, if I can hold back my fists, even if reluctantly, then they would have no choice but to stop their punches and engage in conversation.
At that moment, when I was prepared to take a blow, I opened my mouth to Choi Cheol-hoon.
“What are you doing? Come in.”
“Huh, huh?”
When I snapped out of it at Choi Cheol-hoon’s dissatisfied voice, I realized that I was at the entrance of the sauna.
“Since I can’t acknowledge you, let me acknowledge you once. Whether you’re really a filthy criminal or, as Seong-hyeong-nim claims, an innocent victim who was wrongly accused.”
Choi Cheol-hoon grimaced as much as possible, pointing his thumb to the entrance of the sauna behind him, and concluded his words.
“It’s in this sauna that we can have a truthful conversation.”
The situation was unfolding differently than what I had expected.
2.
When Choi Cheol-hoon heard that he was getting a manager from Barun-gil Entertainment, he felt like he was flying.
A manager. A manager for me!
It wasn’t strange at all for an entertainer to be assigned a manager; in fact, it was expected. But for an unknown entertainer like Choi Cheol-hoon, having a manager was not at all a natural occurrence.
Having a manager meant earning much more profit than the expenses incurred by having a manager.
Except for rookie idols or similar newcomers, having a manager was a sign that one was in demand as an entertainer, a symbol of “I make a living in the entertainment industry.”
So, the only broadcasting job I had was as a panelist in the early morning hours, and even then, it was just scripted reactions like “Ohh…” or “Wow!” I never considered myself to be connected to the word “manager” in any way. I was just an unknown celebrity named Choi Cheol-hoon who only knew how to express admiration like “Wow!” or “Ohh!”
But suddenly, I’m getting a manager? Unbelievable!
Since I heard that I was getting a manager, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why would I need a manager?” Because to me, a manager was a dream-like symbol of success that I could only see in my dreams.
Cheol-hoon was confident that if he jumped out the window right now, he could fly like a bird.
He was so happy that his heart was pounding, adrenaline surging through his whole body.
Yes, that was until he heard that the manager he was getting had a criminal record as a former gangster who had attempted murder.
※※※
I heard that he was the victim of an unjust accusation and that he said he was my brother who I should trust, but… I couldn’t just accept that based on his words alone.
After all, Kang Jin-hyuk was a former gangster, a criminal with a record of attempted murder.
It was too much of a flaw to just accept it with a simple “Oh, I see. Nice to meet you.”
That’s why Cheol-hoon decided to test him. And since he believed that taking someone to the sauna was the best way to find out what kind of person they were, he took Kang Jin-hyuk to the sauna.
“Hmm… What should I say?”
Cheol-hoon arrived at this moment, standing next to Kang Jin-hyuk, who was trembling in front of the sauna lockers.
Unlike Kang Jin-hyuk, who was still struggling to take off his outerwear, completely naked and showing off his muscular body, Cheol-hoon deliberately snickered at him.
“Why? What’s wrong? Are you embarrassed or something?”
One of the things that Cheol-hoon despised the most was people who used their bodies like a canvas. He only barely accepted tattoos that could be covered by his palm or ones that had his family’s names. Anything else, he considered those who didn’t cherish the precious bodies given to them by their parents as ungrateful children.
And that’s one of the reasons why Cheol-hoon despised gangsters.
“Do you also draw landscapes on your entire body? Is that how you express the precious gift your parents gave you, turning your body into a canvas and now planning to show it off to others?”
Because gangsters, especially the most brutal ones who commit attempted murder, usually have animals or landscapes tattooed all over their bodies. At least that’s better than what you’ve got going on.
Still, it’s better to be embarrassed than to be confident. If you shamelessly took off your clothes and revealed tattoos without knowing shame, you would have been beaten up right away.
The reason he could beat you up is that the boss, Jung Baro, said to Choi Cheol-hoon, “Even if you don’t know your skill as an entertainer, your ability to judge people is certain. I’ll give you the right to fire your manager.” He transferred the authority to him.
But that doesn’t mean they can tolerate a gangster with full-body tattoos. Just because he got through a small crisis doesn’t mean he can relax.
While Choi Cheol-hoon was thinking about how to deal with the situation, Kang Jin-hyuk, whose mouth had been closed, spoke up.
“It’s not really something to be ashamed of, and it’s not like there are landscapes on my body. It’s just that my body is a bit grotesque. People would be surprised if they saw it.”
“What?”
When he heard that, Choi Cheol-hoon’s eyes lit up like a hunter who found his prey, thinking, ‘Did he put animals instead of landscapes? Wait. So, he’s not ashamed? This guy is caught well!’
“But still, what’s the point of beating him up here? It doesn’t make sense not to wash in the sauna…”
However, with a voice that seemed inevitable, Kang Jin-hyuk mumbled and revealed his body by taking off his clothes.
“Huh, huh…? What the…”
Choi Cheol-hoon stopped all the tricks he had been playing in his mind until then and could only be dumbfounded.
※※※
Splash!
“Ah, this… Wow, when was the last time I was in a bathhouse? It’s been seven years.”
As he finished showering and immersed his body in hot water, he felt as if seven years of accumulated fatigue were melting away like snow.
Thinking of properly releasing the fatigue, he stretched out in the tub, letting out a small groan, and as he was groaning, the suddenly exhausted Choi Cheol-hoon timidly entered and sat next to him.
Splash.
“Are those scars for real?”
And he would ask, looking at the scars engraved all over my body, completely out of the blue.
“Are those scars real? Are there scars that aren’t real in this world?”
Hmm, now that I think about it, there might have been. I remember back in my gangster days, I used to give a guy who had a tattoo that looked like a scar, saying it looked cool and like a scar made by a knife on the eye.
“Well, yeah. It’s real. Not something to be proud of though.”
But the scars on my body were not like tattoos.
Each scar on my body was impressive enough that I could kindly explain how each one came to be.
“So, what about that big scar diagonally across your chest…?”
When Choi Cheol-hoon cautiously asked me, clearly curious about my scars.
“Hyung, are we going to that place again after we’re done with the sauna?”
“Well, we should. Isn’t that why we came to the sauna in the first place? You have to put in the effort while bathing to catch a big fish.”
“But it’s not good to do that. Every time I go there, it’s so hard that I feel like I’m going to die, Hyung.”
“hahahahaha! That’s right. You think that girl is so pretty, don’t you? Honestly, I want to have a secret round with her too… But if I do that, it’s inevitable that there will be a bloodbath. Let’s just wash up for now, guys!”
“Yes, Hyung!”
Splash!
Without even showering, three burly guys threw themselves into the hot tub, shouting loudly words that stank just by listening to them.
“… Tattoos. Full-body tattoos…”
As Choi Cheol-hoon muttered, it was a bonus that all three of them had densely drawn pictures all over their bodies.