* * *

That night, heavy rain flooded the semi-basement apartment where Taejoon lived with his grandmother.

No matter how much water they bailed out with buckets, the house couldn’t be saved.

Their bedding was soaked, as was the second-hand fridge they’d bought, the lacquered chest his grandmother had brought as her wedding dowry, Taejoon’s school textbooks, and even his uniform.

If they wanted to survive, they had to abandon the house.

Taejoon carried his grandmother out to the surface before continuing to scoop water out the window.

But it was futile—he couldn’t hold back the flood.

Overwhelmed with frustration and despair, Taejoon bitterly thought about how he wished he lived in an apartment with loving parents, free from money troubles.

But he’d been born into poverty and bad luck.

Now, even the shabby 350,000-won rent apartment they called home was gone.

The water rose to his chin, forcing Taejoon to swim out of the semi-basement.

Standing in the pouring rain, he stared blankly at the sky, wondering who had punched a hole in it.

If he found that bastard, he’d kill them.

“Oh no, what do we do? What do we do?”

His grandmother collapsed onto the ground, wailing in despair.

Taejoon thought of one person—Yeo Woohee.

That sucker would probably help if he saw their situation.

Then again, maybe not.

Yeo Woohee might secretly hate him.

After all, Taejoon extorted money from him, even hiking up the price of suppressant pills twentyfold.

He was probably only hanging around out of fear, and seeing Taejoon like this might make him think, ‘There really is a god. Watching a bad guy get punished feels so good.’

Still, Taejoon forced himself to act like everything was fine.

If he stayed in the rain much longer, he might catch a cold, but his grandmother could end up with pneumonia.

“Grandma, let’s go to the sauna. We need to wash up and rest. Staying here won’t solve anything.”

“Okay, but… I left my wallet at home. Taejoon, did you bring yours?”

Taejoon, drenched and still in his pajamas like his grandmother, reassured her with a bold smile and led her to the neighborhood sauna.

Though the owner seemed reluctant to let them in, she didn’t turn away the elderly woman.

“It’s 10,000 won per person.”

“Oh my, that’s so expensive! Taejoon, let’s just leave. I’ll go back home once the rain stops.”

For his grandmother, 20,000 won was a small fortune.

For Taejoon, it was no different.

If he were alone, he would’ve waited out the rain, but he couldn’t leave his grandmother in such a pitiful state.

“Don’t worry. Let’s go in. I’ve got plenty of money from my scholarship.”

“That’s right. My little rascal did so well in his studies that he got a scholarship. Grandma forgot about that. Our Taejoon is such a filial grandson, he really is.”

At the counter, Taejoon and his grandmother received two sets each of bathhouse keys, towels, and sauna clothes.

They went to the bathhouse, washed up, and changed into clean sauna clothes.

After scrubbing off the grime in the warm water, Taejoon felt both exhausted and hungry.

They bought two bottles of sikhye and two packs of roasted eggs at the snack bar.

Though they didn’t have money on hand, the bathhouse key allowed for deferred payment.

Taejoon’s grandmother sipped the cold sikhye and then handed it to him.

“This sikhye is so tasty. My grandson, here, you drink it. I haven’t touched this one—let’s return it for a refund,” she said, her constant worry about money surfacing again.

“How do you refund something you’ve already bought? I’ll drink mine. You should have more, Grandma,” Taejoon said.

“Do you know how expensive these sauna eggs are? Where’d you get the money to buy so many?” she asked, anxiously glancing around the sauna.

Taejoon ignored her, cracked open one of the roasted eggs, and started eating.

“Grandma, you should eat too,” he said.

Even though she insisted it was too much, she ended up eating all three eggs in one pack and finished the sikhye down to the last grain of rice.

Taejoon lay down on a mat, telling her to get some rest too.

But as soon as she lay beside him, she began groaning in pain.

“Now, what’s going to happen to us?” she asked.

Taejoon pretended to be asleep and didn’t answer.

His eyes stung with tears.

“Damn this world. Let it all burn,” She muttered bitterly.

Sleep didn’t come easily for Taejoon.

How could it?

They had lost everything in one night.

If it had been due to gambling, at least there would be no one else to blame.

But this?

They were just hit out of nowhere, like waking up to a flood.

There was no one to blame—not even themselves.

At 7 a.m., Taejoon woke the snoring man next to him and asked to borrow his phone.

Though the man grumbled, Taejoon didn’t have a cent on him, so he had no choice.

He called Woohee.

“Hello?” came the answer.

“It’s me, Na Taejoon. I’m at Okcheon Sauna in Gayundong. Bring my wallet, now. If you don’t, I’ll kill you,” Taejoon said, hanging up quickly.

The threat sounded harsh on purpose—he was afraid Woohee might refuse to come.

As the minutes passed, Taejoon chewed his nails nervously.

If Woohee didn’t show up, his only option would be to go to the police station.

To distract himself, he picked up a comic book lying around the sauna.

He couldn’t focus on the words or the story, but he pretended to read.

Thirty minutes later, Woohee walked into the sauna, still in his uniform.

Taejoon jumped up, tossing the comic book aside, and ran to him.

“Hey, give me my wallet,” Taejoon demanded, extending his hand as if it were Woohee’s duty to have it.

“What’s going on?” Woohee asked.

Taejoon’s grandmother sat quietly, watching them, her eyes wide.

Speaking in a low voice, Taejoon muttered a veiled threat.

“Hand over the money.”

“Do I just need to cover the sauna bill?” Woohee asked.

“…Yeah,” Taejoon admitted hesitantly.

Woohee walked over to the counter and spoke with the manager.

Taejoon crept closer, trying to eavesdrop, but their conversation ended before he could hear anything.

“Taejoon, it’s paid,” Woohee said.

“Fine. Let’s go,” Taejoon replied.

“Aren’t you going to school?” Woohee asked.

His uniform was soaked from the rain, and the only clothes Taejoon had were the sauna clothes.

There was no way Woohee would know his situation, and Taejoon’s pride wouldn’t let him explain.

“I’m skipping today. Now, get lost,” Taejoon said.

He went back to the sauna mat and lay down.

After a while, he turned to check if Woohee had left.

He was gone.

What now?

Taejoon’s future looked bleak.

He threw his arm over his eyes and fell asleep, exhaustion finally winning over the anxiety he’d been fighting all night.

* * *