Of Men And Mummies
The elevator shuddered and the lights on the buttons lit back up. Semi pushed Subong off her shoulder and stood up, putting her phone in her pocket. “Thank god.”
Subong clapped and whistled. “Let’s go!”
The door slid open and all three of them froze, standing in front of them was a familiar face: Junhee’s ex-boyfriend, Lee Myunggi.
Subong acted first, grabbing Myunggi by his shirt collar and dragging him down the hall. “MG Coin, Imma fucking kill you.”
Semi and Namgyu followed. “Where’s your room?” Semi asked Myunggi.
“Look, this is about the coin, right? I didn’t know it would crash; I’m not omniscient.” Myunggi defended.
Namgyu snickered. “What kinda book did you pull that word from?”
Subong tightened his grip on the man. “I lost all’a my fucking money cause of you. Worked hard for that shit.”
Myunggi tried to tug himself away. “In that rap contest that you were runner-up in? And I put a disclaimer at the end of the video, it’s not my fault you didn’t read it.”
Semi sighed as she watched insults being traded. “You owe us 1.4 billion in total. Let’s just be reasonable and handle this without a fuss.”
Myunggi snorted. “You invested 1.4 billion into the coin? Everyone knows that you should diversify your investments.”
Subong slammed Myunggi into the wall, and Myunggi grunted on impact. “I made a promise not to kill you, but if you keep pissing me off, man.” Subong pressed the man harder into the wall. “I’ll fucking kill you.”
“So, are you killing me or not? You keep contradicting yourself.” Myunggi quipped.
Subong growled and pressed Myunggi harder into the wall.
Namgyu walked over to them, cutting off any route of escape and obscuring Myunggi from the rest of the hall. Semi heard the flick of a knife being unsheathed.
Semi crossed her arms. “Let’s take this to his room; this hallway is too visible.”
Subong nodded, and him and Namgyu dragged Myunggi to room 333. “Open it.” Subong ordered.
Myunggi looked at Semi. “You do know that if you kill me, then you will go to jail.”
Semi stayed silent as she rummaged through Myunggi’s pockets for a key. She opened the door, and Namgyu and Subong shoved Myunggi in. Semi gently closed the door behind them and locked it. “Let’s tie him to a chair.” She grabbed the desk chair and pulled the sheets off of the bed.
Namgyu and Subong sat Myunggi in the chair, still trading insults with him. Semi took the sheets and wrapped them around Myunggi until the upper half of his body looked like a mummy.
Semi stepped back and stared at Myunggi. “How much do you have?”
Myunggi looked at them. “12 million.”
Subong walked closer to Myunggi, leaning over him. “That’s not how much you owe us, man.”
Namgyu walked over to Myunggi’s other side, crowding him. “Then where’s the money?”
Myunggi glared at them. “I lost money from the coin too.”
Semi chuckled. “Pretty terrible scam.”
“Crypto isn’t a scam; you just need to know how to play the markets.” Myunggi argued.
Semi raised her eyebrows and walked closer to Myunggi. “Not a scam? But a lot of people, including your pregnant girlfriend that you ditched, lost a shit ton of money.” Semi shrugged. “I don’t know about you, but where I’m from? That’s called a scam.”
Myunggi’s eyes widened. “You know Junhee?”
Namgyu smirked. “Jealous?” He whispered something into Myunggi’s ear.
Myunggi glared at them. “She would never associate with dogs like you.”
Semi met Myunggi’s gaze; he wasn’t threatening while bundled up like a swaddled baby. “That’s not why we’re here; can you get us the money? Even if you have to rob a bank; I don’t care. Just get us the money.” Semi stepped away from Myunggi. “Where’s the 12 mil?” She asked.
Myunggi scoffed. “So, you’re just going to rob me? I already have grounds to call the police.”
“I’ll break your phone.” Subong threatened.
Myunggi looked unimpressed. “There are other phones, idiot.”
Subong gave Myunggi a death glare but didn’t touch him.
Semi rummaged around the room. “If you call the police, then they’ll arrest you.”
“And they’ll see I wasn’t committing fraud; I’ll be released.” Myunggi retorted.
Namgyu snickered. “You talk a lot for a guy tied to a chair.”
Semi pulled out a portable safe. “If you weren’t scared of the police, then you wouldn’t be running. What’s the passcode?”
“Why would I tell you that?” Myunggi replied.
Semi handed Subong the taser. “Go wild. Don’t electrocute yourself.”
“0395.” Myunggi blurted out.
Subong tased him, and Myunggi’s limbs jerked against his wrapping.
Semi put in the code and chuckled. “Wrong order.” She muttered as she pulled the money out and stuffed it into her inner coat pocket.
“You get it, señorita?” Subong asked.
Semi nodded and shoved the safe back into its hiding spot. She looked at Myunggi. “We’ll be back for the rest.”
Subong patted Myunggi on the back. “Until then? You’re our bitch, boy.”
Namgyu slapped Myunggi on the back. “You’re lucky that we’re nice people.”
Semi headed towards the door with Namgyu and Subong trailing. Myunggi stared at them as they left. “Wait, how am I supposed to get out?” They closed the door and started walking down the hallway.
“How’s he not got the money?” Subong grumbled.
Semi pushed open the door to the stairs. “He did have 20 mil though.”
Subong clicked his tongue. “Why’s everyone lie about how much they got, man?”
“For real.” Namgyu replied.
☺
Semi sat down on the couch next to Junhee and handed her the 20 million won. “Sorry, it’s not everything, but it was all he had.”
Junhee stared at the money. “How did you get this?” She thumbed through the bills. “It’s a lot of money.”
Semi smiled and looked down. “We’re charming people.”
Junhee nodded as she put the money in her pocket. She paused. “Just, please don’t do anything that will get you in trouble.”
Semi nodded. “Don’t worry about us.”
Junhee leaned against Semi’s shoulder. “I’ve come to care about all of you a lot.” Her voice wavered. “It’s just…” She trailed off.
Semi looked over at Junhee; her eyes were watering. “It’s okay, you can say whatever you need.”
Junhee wrapped her arms around Semi. “It’s just that… Some of the things that you do are a little—weird.” She held her hands up. “I don’t mean it in a bad way, but in a way that makes me feel anxious, like something bad’s going to happen.” Junhee sniffed and chuckled. “Maybe I’m a psychic.”
Semi chuckled as her heart beat steadily in her chest from the feeling of Junhee’s breath against her neck. “Yeah, maybe. But seriously, we’ll be fine.”
Junhee pulled away from Semi. “Okay.”
Semi patted Junhee’s back.
Junhee shifted her position and laid on Semi’s shoulder. Semi’s heartbeat sped up.
“How are we going to get Namsu and Subong’s money?” Junhee asked.
Semi held back a laugh; Namgyu only sort of tolerated Subong calling him Namsu. “I told him we’ll be back.” She replied.
“I want to come next time.” Junhee looked across the living room. “I need to see him one more time.”
Semi hummed. “We’ll wait until after you give birth then.”
Junhee looked up at Semi. “He’ll be gone by then.”
Semi fiddled with her lip ring. “He knows we know you. And that you’re pregnant.”
Junhee furrowed her brow slightly. “Do you think he’ll show up before the baby’s born?” She paused. “He might; his ego’s big enough.”
Semi looked at Junhee. “I was thinking that maybe he would answer a call from you. Now that he knows, but you know him better.”
Junhee sighed. “Or he might not care at all. He wanted the abortion.” She groaned. “I hate men.”
Semi chuckled. “Yeah, they can be pretty terrible.”
“The worst.” Junhee added as they both started laughing.
Semi smiled at Junhee’s laughter; she actually loved Junhee, oops.