“Why did you guys borrow money from Mayhem, Lina?” I ask instead.
Lina’s eyes flick in a rapid blinking pattern, giving the impression that negative thoughts are tugging at her tear ducts. Lina begins her confession at a rapid pace. “My parents are underwater with their bills. The hardware store is not doing so well. I’m not making enough money and I couldn’t rely on Spyder. We heard through his friends that Mayhem’s loan shark division is one of the wealthiest to borrow from. Their interest and turnaround rate was supposed to be low and slow. We really thought we could pay the twenty thousand back within the given time frame. But I didn’t know Spyder was going to go behind my back and launder out the money to Mayhem’s rivals. To be honest, I don’t even know why he did that.”
“Breathe Lina.” I reach across to touch her shoulders softly. “It’s going to be okay.”
My cousin nods her head, but her brave face does little to hide her impending tears. “I’m sorry I got you involved in this. Before the end of this week, Spyder and I might be able to scrounge up about ten grand. We still need twenty more.”
I am hesitant to speak up next, but I know I cannot have an honest conversation with Lina without telling her the truth. I know now is not the time to introduce another complex issue, but I am willing to reduce my cousin’s pain. “I asked Choi Sangwoo for help. He’s the leader of Crist,” I disclose with conviction.
Lina lifts her head up, revealing her misty eyes underneath the worn baseball hat. “What?” It is clear she’s beyond surprised.
“Sangwoo, from yesterday, is actually the leader of Crist. He says he’ll help,” I repeat with a low tone.
If Lina’s eyes can pop out of their sockets, they probably will. “I knew it!” she exclaims with a whispered gasp. “How did you meet him? No wonder why you told Mayhem you were an associate of Crist. How did he know to come to Spyder’s house yesterday?”
I take a deep breath before I tell Lina the truth–from how I met Sangwoo last week to him leaving his necklace behind in my apartment to how we said goodbye last night. I tell Lina the facts, but keep my emotions out of it. By the time I am done, my cousin is dizzy with the amount of information.
“Wait a minute, so he’s willing to give you thirty thousand to pay off your debt to Mayhem under the condition of a contract? What is the contract made of?” Lina remains flabbergasted when I end my recount.
“It’s not like that, Lina. I don’t know what contract he’s going to propose.” My voice is barely a whisper. “We’re supposed to have dinner tonight after I get off work.”
“You’re having dinner with the leader of Crist?!” Lina gasps too loudly.
I motion for Lina to lower her voice. Swinging my head around, I make sure no one is listening. “I’m thinking of canceling.” The thought of being alone with him scares me beyond reprieve. I don’t want to tell Lina about my Google history. She will definitely be upside down about the situation.
“Canceling?” Lina gives me a winded look. “You are not going to cancel dinner with the Crist leader. Give him a chance May. You can’t go through life exiling yourself from new people and new experiences.”
I feel drained now that I have divulged to my cousin the truth. “But he’s from a different world than ours. He’s a gangster. Regardless of the fact that he’s a high-end gangster, he’s still involved in illegal and volatile businesses. You saw how Mayhem dealt with us yesterday.”
“Yes, but that’s Mayhem. Choi Sangwoo was incredibly nice yesterday. He helped us. He took us to the hospital and took care of everything. He’s offering to draw up a contract to lend you money. Who does that? He clearly likes you.” Lina chucks reason after reason at me. My cousin is on a mission to help me see the light.
I am aware that I am gaping at her bold statement. “He doesn’t like me Lina. It’s not like that.” Eunhye and Lina are both seeing something you’re so blind to. With one eyebrow lifted, my conscience sticks her head into my business again.
Lina shrugs and simultaneously takes another sip of her milk tea. “You’re very naïve May. Men are very simple. Men only want one thing in this world . . . and that’s a woman. Everything they do, create, make, and maintain is always for a girl or woman. Everything that they do would mean nothing without a woman or a girl, as James Brown would say.” Lina’s penchant for music proves itself useful.
“Why would he be interested in me?” I am definitely not his type. I am not very interesting or exceptional beautiful. I know nothing about his world. All I know is work and school. I’m not especially talented at anything, and I have a marred childhood.
Lina narrows her eyes at me. “Hey, what’s wrong with you? You’re smart, ambitious, motivated, and pretty. He’s the one who’s lucky. You’re a Lee, May. Where’s your self-confidence?”
They always say no one loves you like family does.
“But if you’re really uncomfortable with the idea, then don’t worry. Spyder and I will still find a way to pay Mayhem back,” Lina concedes softly. A dark look crosses Lina’s face and I know she is thinking about her debt. Although it is entertaining to Lina that Choi Sangwoo can help us, my cousin will support my choice.
I reach for her hand. “I’ll help you.”
“Ah hell May, don’t worry.” Lina tries to take her hand back but I don’t let go. “Besides, one dinner and talking about a possible contract won’t kill you.”
“Are you sure?” I mean for it to be funny, but I know the truth is all too real.
“Choi Sangwoo might be a gang leader, but he doesn’t seem scary or intimidating. You can tell he has a good heart. He didn’t flip out when you told him you lied about being associated with him. He actually wants to help you. I don’t think you should judge him yet, especially since he was sincere in helping us yesterday. He took us to the hospital and then dinner,” Lina reminds me.
When I don’t answer her, Lina grows anxious.
“I'm not defending him or even advocating for you to like him.” Lina throws her hands in surrender.
“Oh god, Lina.” I place a hand against my forehead and sit back in the booth. “I just wish you told me all of this earlier instead of putting me through all this shock in less than forty-eight hours.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t plan it like this. I wasn’t going to involve you. I didn’t know Mayhem would send one of his guys out for me like that.” Sorrow clouds her gaze. Lina’s regretful tone is difficult to bear as her family member.
“I’ll figure it out with Sangwoo.” I am determined. Damn it Lina! You’ve been getting us into trouble since we were young. Thought this crap was over with! My intuition puts on red boxing gloves. “I’ll help you as much as I can, but you have to promise me you’re never going to borrow from another gangster again.”
“I’ll be homeless if I have to.” Lina holds two fingers to her heart. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
Now that I can share with Lina my worries, I feel better. Just when I think I can manage the stress, a shrill voice breaks through our quiet meeting.
“Lina? Is that you? Is my brother with you?”
“Oh crap,” I mumble when I recognize the voice.
“I swear I didn’t know he was going to be here.” Lina gives me an apologetic look. She squirms in her seat.
“May? Is that you, May?” He approaches the end of our booth with such eagerness that I have to brace for the worse.
“Hi Bryan.” My tone marks the dark clouds spilling over a sunny day.
Sang Baean, who often goes by his American name, Bryan frowns at my lackluster greeting. “May, where have you been? I missed you!”
“Busy,” I mumble as I stare at him in disbelief. I have forgotten the fabulous Bryan.
Bryan is Spyder’s younger brother at the fresh age of eighteen-years-old. Even though he and Spyder are biological brothers, one would never know it because they look nothing alike. Bryan is shorter in stature with a lean and muscular body to accompany a childish face. On t
he outside, Bryan appears quite average. It’s the inside that has severe issues. Ever since Lina started dating Spyder, Bryan attached himself to me like a lost puppy in love. When I first met Bryan he was normal, but over time he’s developed an intense crush on me. It isn’t a serious crush, but it is serious enough where Bryan is convinced I will be his wife one day. I don’t like to talk about Bryan for the same embarrassing reasons why some people are simply uncomfortable discussing their bowel movements.
“I called you, texted you, left you messages, and you never got back to me.” Bryan takes it upon himself to sit down next to me. He wraps an arm around my shoulders.
I close my eyes as I listen to Lina’s soft laughter. I choose not to answer Bryan’s comment. It’s true that he blew up my phone last week, but I ignored it out of habit. Bryan is entitled to the hope that one day I will return his phone calls and text messages.
“Bryan, take your arm off me please. You smell like old cologne,” I mumble. “Come on!” I do my best to remove his arm.
“Did you know when you hit and yell at someone, it's an expression of love?” Bryan asks as he refuses to move his hold around me. His affections have always been suffocating to say the least.
“Bryan, this is so not the day.” I toss my head back against the booth. I have bigger fishes to fry! Amused, my conscience gives Bryan an adoring smile. She has a soft spot for him–much like adoring an orphaned puppy.
“Aww, what’s wrong May?” Bryan examines my face. “Can I help you with anything?”
“Yes, go away,” I tell him bitterly.
“Bryan, leave her alone for once.” Lina finally intervenes with a grin. My cousin finds our relationship hilarious and often does little to prevent Bryan from crawling under my skin. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“Looking for my brother,” Bryan answers her. He starts running his hand up and down my hair. I dig my fingernails into his arm. Bryan pulls away quickly and says, “You want me don't you May?”
“Yes Bryan,” I say lazily, placing a finger on my temple to keep my head from exploding. “I want you just as much as I want to open a freshly delivered pizza box to find maggots inside. I want you just like I want a good sunburn that will leave me with skin cancer. I want you just as much I want to squeeze lemons onto a cut.”
“Oh god.” Bryan withdraws from me. I think for a second my comment has finally put him off, but he reaches for my right finger instead. “What happened to your finger?”
This is where I drew the line. “Nothing.” I pull my finger away from him. I don’t want to explain or disclose any information.
“Leave her alone Bryan.” Lina slaps him on the forehead finally. “Your brother’s at my house.”
Bryan looks back at Lina with suspicion. “Because he tore ours apart?”
“We’ll be by later today to clean it up,” is all Lina says.
Evidently, we are not going to tell Bryan what is going on. The less Bryan knows about the incident last night the better. It is difficult for him to keep anything a secret, especially since he has gotten in with the wrong crowd lately. Bryan used to be a sweet and nerdy teenager, but now he’s into hard styles and harsh words.
I glance at my watch and realize noon is rapidly approaching. “I got to go to work. I’m going to be late.”
“I’ll take you to work.” Bryan reaches for my wrist again.
I shake him off me. “Bryan, do me a favor and get yourself a real girlfriend.”
“I’m dating May. I’m dating to forget you, but I haven’t met anyone with your it factor,” Bryan replies as though this is all truth coming from the depths of his soul.
Girl! This kid is hilarious! My conscience is grinning with all her teeth showing.
“Sometimes I wonder if you really do like me or you just like to annoy the living life out of me, Bryan.” I pull away from him indefinitely. “I don’t have time for this. I’ll talk to you later, Lina. Call me.”
“Bye May.” Lina is suppressing laughter at the sour look on Bryan’s face. “Call me after your dinner tonight.”
“I will,” I answer my cousin. My heart beats a little faster at the reminder.
“Dinner?” Bryan makes a face. He leaves nothing to the imagination. “With who, May?”
I give him a brisk wave before leaving. If he thinks I am going to tell him, Bryan seriously needs me to set him straight one day.
“She’s just playing hard to get.” I hear Bryan’s statement behind my back.
“I don’t think that’s playing hard to get Bryan, it’s more like a plain rejection,” is Lina’s snappy remark.
I suppress a laugh at Bryan’s childish ways. I realized long ago that Bryan continues to tease me because I put up with it. If I return his supposed feelings, Bryan will be the one hiding from me. Bryan makes it hard to take him seriously because his antics are so outrageous.
I END UP LEAVING MULA feeling lighter. Now that I have worked out the kinks with Lina, I do my best to keep my mind off the impending dinner with Choi Sangwoo tonight. I allow myself only a moment to think about how he is going to call me; I never gave Sangwoo my number, so how are we going to meet tonight? Something tells me that predictability and organized scheduling is not Choi Sangwoo’s style. Now, I am on a different tangent thinking about how I want to discuss the money-borrowing ordeal with him. I have never borrowed money from anyone, much less thirty thousand dollars. Mayhem must be affluent to have thirty thousand lying around for someone as average as Spyder to borrow. Well, Mayhem’s going after it so that proves he doesn’t regard money lightly. My intuition’s whiny voice shatters my peaceful flight.
I arrive twenty minutes later at The Trax no longer refreshed. Instead, I am on edge and wired. The Trax is in its full restaurant mode. The foot traffic increases by mid-afternoon and all staff members are wholly busy, so break schedules shift to an hour after the usual time.
By the time my break comes around, I find myself sitting at the end of the bar. Tailor mixes me a refreshing drink before fulfilling his bartender duties with a group of executives at the other end of the bar. I am in the middle of stirring the ice cubes against the bluish green drink when the stool next to me groans.
Son plops heavily down next to me. “God, it’s hot!” He wipes a sheet of sweat off his forehead. Without waiting for Tailor, Son reaches over the counter and grabs a bottle of water.
“I thought Joolie is taking her break,” I comment. I look around for my other co-worker and find her taking orders from a table near the window.
“We switched,” Son answers with a hoarse throat. He opens his water bottle and chugs it down like a fish. When he finishes, Son wipes the corners of his mouth. “Are you okay?”
Uh Oh. Can he see it on my face too? I glower inside, hating the fact that I am such an open book.
He may not show it often, but Son does care about the people he works with. Although Son takes his job seriously, he’s mindful of the people associated. As of the moment, Son is looking at me with sincere concern.
“Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?” I let out a feigned laugh and do my best to hide it by taking another sip of my drink. Remember that Crist member Son? He’s helping me pay off a thirty thousand debt my cousin and her loser boyfriend racked up. My conscience sits down on the talk show chair.
“You just seem kind of out of it lately,” Son remarks. He cocks his head to the side and eyes me warily. “Like you have a lot on your mind.”
“Really?” I ask nonchalantly. “Maybe working two jobs is getting to me. I’m almost always on the brink of exhaustion.”
Son nods his head at the familiar sentiments. “That makes sense.”
I tap the side of my glass twice as a thought permeates my mind. “Can I ask you something?”
“What?” Son asks. He takes another swig of his water bottle.
“Remember that night when that Crist member was here?” I start slowly, not wanting to sound too eager for the information.
&
nbsp; “Yeah, and he threw up everywhere on this counter?” Son makes a face.
“Oh yeah.” I withdraw my elbow from the surface. “How did you hear about gangs like Crist?”
Son’s eyebrows come together. He has a faraway look in his eyes. “You live under a rock May?”
“Come on. All I know is work and school.”
“How long are you going to use that excuse for?”
“It’s not an excuse!” I laugh at Son’s aggressive tackle on my ignorance.
I expect him to laugh with me, but Son’s smile slowly fades from his lips when he answers my question. “My cousin was a Crist member.”
My eyes grow big at Son’s revelation. Oops. This is not what I was expecting.
“They’re more prevalent than you’d think May. You just have to know how to identify them.” Son narrows his eyes in an obtrusive manner. “People have preconceived notions that gangsters wear saggy pants, oversized shirts, designer shoes, and stand on street corners. Those are the lower street gangsters. Crist members are higher up in the food chain. There are social rankings and a complex hierarchical system in organized gangs. There are the street soldiers, the carriers and runners, the recruiters, the underbosses, the bosses. There is a lot more that I am not too familiar with. I only know from when my cousin was active.”
“When he was active?” I repeat after Son. There’s a queasy feeling in my stomach.
Son gives me a lost look. A sad expression strikes his face. “That’s how it usually ends when you’re in a gang, May. The only way out is death.”
I suck in a deep breath. Electricity charges through me. “Was his Boss nice to him?” I imagine Son’s cousin working under Choi Sangwoo.
Son lets out a deep chuckle that rumbles from the bottom of his throat. “Yeah, his boss was nice to him. Nice enough to green light my cousin’s execution.”
Shock electrocutes me. I nearly drop my drink from Son’s comment. “What else do they do?” My voice is barely above a whisper.
April Loves Black Coffee: First Impressions Page 15