Sirenic Menace

㉘Isn't It Weird?

 
Taehyung’s sullen eyes waltzed around his empty store, lips hanging tamely. It had been about an hour since he opened his business for the day, and not a single customer paid his store a visit.

He had to find a way to attract more customers, but no worth-keeping ideas came to him. At times like this, he truly questioned his choice of opening an art business and his ability to operate it.

A ding rang in his ears, and his wandering eyes leaped at the door. He smiled at the presence of a young-looking man, but his muscles tightened as he noticed two more men trailing behind him, all of them dressed in black.

“Good morning. My name is Shin Joon.”

All confusion drained away at his introduction. “Um, good morning.”

Shin Joon examined the drawings on the walls with a swift browse. “Are all paintings and items for sale?”

“Yes. But I can’t sell everything to you.”

“Why?”

Mild displeasure hardened his eyes. “We agreed. With Jungkook.”

Shin Joon cracked a smile as he nodded. “Mr. Jeon said one more try to convince you wouldn’t hurt. But anyway. Boys, grab all of those”—he pointed with a sweep of his hand at the paintings on the wall behind him and to his left—“and two of the stands with these shirts.”

Taehyung watched as the other two men slid two paintings off the wall each and headed out. His vision focused on Shin Joon when he placed a black bag on his desk.

“This is the amount I was instructed to give you.”

“But I have—I have to check it first.”

Shin Joon grimaced, shaking his head. “You don’t have to. It’s more than enough.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” He extended his hand to take hold of the bag, but Shin Joon yanked it out of his reach.

“Don’t worry. It’s a fairly small amount. He didn’t want to piss you off, he said.”

Although doubtful, Taehyung released a nasal, raspy sigh. “How many zeros?”

The corner of his lips tipped up. “Six.”

Another breath poured from Taehyung. “This is illegal, right?”

“Well, you want to give me a receipt? Think about your taxes.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll go help them because it’ll take too long. Enjoy.” He pushed the bag towards him and bundled off.

Taehyung held the bag with both hands, staring at it unmoving. Just thinking of having a bag full of cash in his store where people would come and go — even the few customers he usually had — made him anxious.

He waited until two of the walls ended up empty and two stands disappeared from his store and decided to quickly go home to leave the bag. Then, he could return and continue his shift normally, with an eased mind, and with a much lighter heart.

🥀

Sitting in his bed after eight hours of work, Taehyung finally unzipped the bag. He didn’t dare check the amount earlier, no matter how curious he was.

He peeked inside, hesitant. There were many stacks of fifty thousand won, and his heart pranced in anxiety and a glimpse of thrill. He never had that much money in his possession.

A stack was one million won, he realized with a quick counting. He fished out one stack at a time, and his eyes grew into two big circles of disbelief when he saw how many they actually were. “Seven... Seven million. I can’t believe he gave me seven million. He’s fucking insane.”