April Loves Black Coffee: First Impressions (24 page)

Now, it is just her in constant pain.

Sometimes, just listening is the best way to comfort someone. I learned this a long time ago. I keep my arms around Lina and let my cousin grapple with the darkness that is taking over her. She is consistent and then incoherent. I suggest we go out for drinks, and then we can burn everything that is Spyder-related. Lina entertains the idea, but decides against it. She’s too exhausted. So we spend the rest of the night in.

When the warm, late night weather gives into a chilly morning air, Lina finally falls asleep.

In exhaustion, I fall asleep too. My thoughts tangle with concern. I sleep dreaming about leaving The Trax, giving Choi Sangwoo an answer to his contract proposal, and helping Lina with her situation. Slowly, my molehill of problems is turning into mountains. 

B
Y THE TIME I WAKE
up, it is already early afternoon and I am restless with a slight headache. My body aches from sleeping on the couch with little leg space. I leave Lina resting on the couch for my tote bag by the door. As quietly as I can, I head for my bedroom to call Eunhye. I have errands to run before work at The Trax, but I need to take care of an issue first.

Eunhye is still not home. I call my mother and she answers with haste. “Hi honey. Is everything okay?”

“Hi mom. Everything’s fine. Just calling to see how you’re doing. Are you doing double shifts at the hospital?” I wander to my closet for a pair of jeans and a gray sweatshirt.

“Yes. We are backed up here. A lot of traumatic injuries related to summer sports activities.” The fatigue is easy to decipher in her voice. I can imagine my mother tapping her left hand against a solid surface on the other side of the phone line.

“Oh. I take it you slept at the hospital?”

“I did. Six hours of sleep. I’ll be home later on tonight though. Maybe we can have dinner before you go to work? I’ve been meaning to invite aunt Yuna, uncle Dom, and Lina out for the last week.”

“That sounds good mom.”

“Great. I’ll see you later honey. I love you.”

“I love you too mom.”

I hang up the phone wondering if Lina will be up for dinner tonight with the family. She probably wants nothing to do with the adults as of the moment. I will have to deal with that issue later. I have matters that are more pressing at the moment.

I scroll back to the home screen on my phone and scan for my contacts book. Bryan, filed under
Spyder’s Brother
, is located at the bottom of my lackluster contact list.

I mentally prepare myself before I press the call button.

“Baby.” He picks up on the second ring. Bryan’s voice is smooth and desperate as usual.

“Hi Bryan,” I stress his name. “Question. Where would I find your brother on a Monday afternoon?”

“May, baby, if you want to talk to me you don’t have to use my brother as an excuse. I’ll be back in Seoul in an hour. We can go for ice cream and a movie?” Bryan is deadpan even in his tone of voice.

“Bryan, I’m not calling you for a date. You know better than that. I need to talk to your brother. It’s important. I need to know where he is.” I hold my ground.
Come on, I can overpower an eighteen-year-old.

Bryan hesitates with that quick tongue of his. Perhaps hearing the dire tone of my voice changes the impending wisecrack he has lined up.

“He’s probably at the pool place he always goes to,” Bryan divulges with nonchalance. “Why do you need to talk to him for? Isn’t Lina with him?”

“Thanks Bryan,” is all I say. I have to cut him off before he withdraws further detail.

“Alright. Well, if you’re up for a date afterwards, call me back,” is his goodbye. “It’s nice to hear your voice May. I miss–”

“Bye Bryan.” I hang up the phone quickly before he can harass me.

With the location of Spyder’s whereabouts, I quickly change into the jeans and sweatshirt. On my way out of my bedroom, I grab a small blanket for Lina; she is still in a deep sleep. My cousin looks helpless, like a small child who is resting after a run-in with her bully.
Don’t worry Lina. I’ll set that no-good-ex-boyfriend of yours straight!

The morning sunlight greets me when I step out of the apartment. The summer chill surprises me, increasing my appreciation for the gray sweatshirt. My ensemble gives me extra protection at the place I am heading to, but the weather is also in favor of it.

I head down the apartment complex to the center square of the neighborhood. The perks of living near downtown Seoul is any destination is always a five-minute walk. A slew of people are out-and-about; some are going to work while others are hurrying to their next forsaken destinations. I am invisible, ducking in and out of the crowd with diligence.

The billiards place Bryan refers to is not the one that is often populated by older gentlemen who prefer another pastime beside chess. The billiards place that Spyder, along with other social degenerates, frequents is at the edge of downtown Seoul tucked in a crowded alley. Miscellaneous stores, along with unmarked businesses, tower together in a horde.

8-Ball Pool is notorious for its underground affiliations and unwarranted social schemes. It is open twenty-four-seven and operates in absolute darkness. It is a place where vampires, ghosts, and phantoms dwell in. Mainly social degenerates, rebels, and troublemakers keep this particular place alive. 

I have only been to 8-Ball once and planned to never go back. Today, however, I am breaking one of my many rules for the infamous Spyder.

When I enter 8-Ball, clouds of smoke hanging in the air with varying degrees greet me. Here, the implied dress code is all black. Everyone blends into the shadows and melts with the walls. There exists a dark undertone to the entire place. It is a one-story building; there’s a lonely bar to the far right of the billiards place. A number of pool tables scatter throughout the entire vicinity.

“Can I help you?” Fake Blonde at the front cashier is in my face. Her platinum hair spirals from her face. Her dark eye makeup makes her cheekbones and lips protrude. Fake Blonde is two inches taller than I am with a no-nonsense attitude.

“I’m looking for someone.” I scan the room and it takes me all but five seconds to see Spyder’s wiry body against the back of the room. Obviously, he’s not in enough pain if he can play pool.

“Fifteen dollar cover.” Fake Blonde holds out her hand. The bubble gum she is chewing cycles in her mouth.

“Fifteen dollars?” I can barely contain the horror in my voice. Who are they trying to rip-off?
Do I have rich tattooed on my forehead?
My intuition sighs, shaking her head fervently.

Before I can refuse, I look behind Fake Blonde to see a beefy security guard approaching. The dark suit he’s wearing gives off the impression of gangster. I wonder briefly if he belongs to a lower gang, as Choi Sangwoo would refer to them. Oh no, even my mindset of thinking about other people is rapidly changing.

“Is there a problem here?” he demands. The security guard is fabulously bald and heavyset.
Baldy
, my conscience names him.

“Nothing,” I grumble. I reach into my bag and pull out three five-dollar bills. I slap them into Fake Blonde’s hand and she steps back to let me through.

Baldy eyes me as I cross the threshold.

Shit.
I have to make this quick. I curse Spyder to hell.

I walk through the dark cloud of smoke and bodies that are moving around me. They remind me of shadows in nightmares, lurking and waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Spyder,” I call out his name when I approach his table.

Spyder’s holding a pool stick and doesn’t notice me. The Band-Aid on the left side of his face is still there. Spyder is currently playing with four other men, one looking like the miniature replica of the other. Don’t these people work?

“Spyder,” I call again.

He finally turns at my voice and surprise coats his eyes. “May, what are you doing here?”

“We need to talk,” I tell him sternly.

“Shit,
May. We have nothing to talk about. Go home.” Spyder brushes me off quickly, doing his best to remove me from the situation as soon as possible. This is the Spyder I know underneath the fake one.

I am boiling with anger at his blatant disregard. “You think you can just hit my cousin and leave her?”

“Shit May. You’re going to put me on blast like this? Get the hell out of here. Whatever is going on with Lina and me is our problem,” Spyder snaps at me.

All four of his friends freeze at their posts around the pool table. Spyder glances at them and deciphers the curiosity bouncing off each one. Evidently, Spyder hasn’t updated them on what is going on with his relationship.

“Well, you made it my problem when you abandoned her you bastard. It’s bad enough that you’re walking away when she needs you the most, but you’re also forgetting you owe Mayhem a shitload of money, so no you don’t get to get off so easily with me!” I retort with contention.

“Shit Spyder. You owe Mayhem money?” One of his friends looks like he swallowed something foul.

Suddenly, the entire billiards area is quiet. I glance around and can see the fear tripling from one person to the next at the mention of the gang lord’s name. Is he really such an infamous enigma?

“Fuck.” Spyder drops his pool stick and grabs my right arm.

“Let go of me!” I hiss. I struggle in his grip. For a tall, wiry guy he sure is strong.

“Let’s talk outside!” Spyder pulls me to the nearest exit. I am now aware of 8-Ball’s second exit. Only someone who haunts this place frequently would know of its existence.

“Let go of me!” I am normally not a violent person, but I manage to jerk my arm from Spyder’s hold with brisk force.

Spyder lets me go and slams the back door of 8-Ball open. We spill out into the back alley bustling with people taking the shortcut to the main street. Some of them pause to watch the commotion we are causing.

Spyder corners me near the door and leans in close. He lowers his voice in a menacing manner. I had forgotten the cruel features on Spyder’s face; the way his lips turn into a malicious sneer and the malevolent glare in his eyes send my stomach hurling.

“Are you stupid?” Spyder growls at me. “Why the hell are you going around screaming that I owe Mayhem money? Don’t you know anything? You do not speak of Mayhem’s name! His name is a death wish, a death threat, and a death sentence.”

“You coward,” I rebuke him the best way I know how. “You’re only afraid of him because you’re powerless at repaying him back. You have to resort to your girlfriend and me to pay him back. What kind of a man are you anyway? I should have let that Danny beat the shit out of you! You deserve it.”

“Don’t talk to me like that May. Watch what you’re saying to me.” Spyder’s attempt at threatening me doesn’t sit well.

“I knew you were no good from the beginning. We all saw through you. Now you want to abandon my cousin? If you ever touch my cousin again, I will kill you. Then, I’ll let you figure out how to pay Mayhem back thirty thousand dollars!” I threaten him.

“Oh really?” Spyder narrows his eyes at me. “And you think I’m the only one they will come after? Lina had part in that money too. So it won’t just be me that they’re coming after, but Lina
and
you. Did you forget you’re associated with Crist?”

And the true demon inside Spyder rears its ugly head.

“Wow, Spyder.” I take a step back from him. The shock radiates from me.

A couple strolls past us, glancing at Spyder and then at me. The girl tugs on her boyfriend’s shirt. He shakes his head and they continue walking. They must think we are arguing over mundane problems.

“So you’re going to be like this. You’re really going to do this to Lina. After an entire year with her, you’re going to do this to her–the one person who put up with your bullshit and even managed to love you?” The revelation is clear in my eyes. “You’re even worse than what I thought. I told my cousin that you were bad news when I first met you, but I supported her when she told me there’s good in you.”

Spyder glares at me. “Stay out of this May. Just get the money to Mayhem like you promised.”

“So you can run away from Lina and the debt as free as a bird?” I ask him in disbelief. “I’m not asking you to be reasonable. I know I can’t. But how is this fair for me to take the brunt of your mistakes? You better make things right with Lina or I won’t pay Mayhem back, and let him do away with you whatever he wants to. Lina and I will be protected by Crist.”

“You will pay Mayhem.” Without warning, Spyder’s hands grip my right arm. He thrusts me back against the wall of the building. “And you will stay out of what is going on between Lina and me. You don’t even know half of the story. Your cousin is not completely innocent in all this.”

“Let go of me!” I hiss. I attempt to escape from his hold, but Spyder has me in a death grip. “Stop it!”

“You listen to me!” Spyder snarls in my ear.

“She said let her go.”

A cool, mild voice interrupts our heated confrontation.

Spyder relaxes his grip on my arm from fear of social judgment. When he sees who it is, Spyder releases me. Fear and anxiety replace the violent look on his face.