Three Eight

"Wh-why are you betting yourself?"

"Because I'm money, and money flows from me."

Mu-gyeong shrugged and laid down another card. Hongju hesitantly looked at the new card in his hand. March... and—

"......"

The Gwang character glared back at him from the top-left corner. Three-Eight Gwang-Ttang. One of the highest-ranking hands in Seotda, capable of sweeping up any pot.

Hongju flicked his eyes upward, studying Mu-gyeong. He barely reacted, simply checking his own cards before placing them facedown on the makeshift table.

"Neither of us has anything else to bet, so let’s call it. I have five-kkut."

The black-gloved fingers flipped his cards. Five-kkut. Confirming Mu-gyeong’s hand, Hongju turned over his own.

"Three-Eight Gwang-Ttang. I win this round."

"Gu Hongju, you got a good hand."

Mu-gyeong picked up the ballpoint pen sitting on the box and tucked it lightly behind Hongju’s left ear.

Hongju instinctively held onto it before it could fall.