I never in a million years pictured myself in the girl's bathroom, but here I am, handing a girl a box of tampons.
She remained quiet. Her eyes were deep and sunken, and it did not take a genius to figure out she was exhausted.
She was one of our best customers — the top student in her school because of the drugs we sold her.
"Be careful with these, Min-seo," I warned, accepting the wad of cash from her. I quickly shoved it in my pocket, and I did not miss the angry expression she sent my way, which she quickly hid.
"I need these to study," she said. "If I fail, my life is over."
But is school worth dying for? You do not seem fine at all.
I said nothing despite the thoughts racing through my head. I was used to customers like this. Yep, this was no different from any other transaction — but I felt somewhat guilty.
"We need to go."
A voice cut through the awkward silence, and I tilted my head to face my best friend, Seok-jin.
Seok-jin was your regular high school delinquent — a fake replica of Eminem: a blonde buzz, some neck ink, and an expression that screamed I am a drug dealer.
I nodded my head in agreement.
"Goodbye," I waved my hand as we walked out of the bathroom.
"What did I tell you was our number one rule?" Seok-jin asked.
Yep, he definitely heard me.
"Never ask our customers if they're okay, especially if they are not."
"Why?"
"Because we do not need to know."
I did not completely agree with him, but the strategy helped. It made me feel less responsible.
Yes, it was not my fault. I cannot blame myself for people's addictions.
We made it to the back of the school undetected until a voice stopped us dead in our tracks.
"Stop right there!"
I took one glimpse at the person, and I was relieved when it turned out to be an overweight man in uniform.
Obviously a security guard.
"If we sprint now, we can make it," I whispered to him. The wall was not that far — just at least thirty steps, and we would make it.
Seok-jin cracked a smile. "I say we take him."
Ugh, this guy.
"Good luck!" I yanked him back and propelled myself forward. I sprang toward the tall walls that guarded the school.
I stuck out my tongue at him as I jumped over the wall, and he looked at me as though I had betrayed him — which I had.
"Do you think people noticed we were missing?" Seok-jin asked as we glided through the city on our skateboards.
"No one notices us." I shrugged my shoulders. Even if they did notice we were gone, no one would actually care.
"So what do we do now that we have a full day to ourselves, since, you know, we bunked school?" he asked, propelling himself with his foot.
"Let's take on more orders, and we need to refill our stock," I reminded him, swerving past a man, nearly avoiding an accident.
"I'll go get our supply," he offered.
Which meant I would be dealing with the lousy customers. I sighed.
I nodded my head and split up from him. I hopped off my skateboard and caught it in my hand effortlessly.
The first order I got was from one of our regulars — a hostess from a karaoke bar in Itaewon.
Fuck. This is going to be a long day.
Our drug business was simple — people hit us up on Twitter using a secret code.
Then they would tell us which drugs they wanted, and we would deliver.
Very simple. Nothing too risky.
Almost every day was like this for me. I never really expected much from school.
I was born to a poor family, and I was sure I was going to die poor, so why would I bother trying to change that? It would be a waste of time and energy.
---
I collapsed on my bed after a long day of work. My body ached all over, and worst of all, I was so hungry it felt like my stomach was eating itself.
It looked like I would have to go another day without eating. Nothing I was not used to.
Bing!
I groaned at the notification on my phone. I opened my phone and saw an order from an account I had never seen before.
We made it clear that no orders were allowed after 6 p.m., so who the hell thought it would be a great time to order at 9 p.m.?
I stared at my screen for a while, contemplating what to do. Everything in my body was telling me no, and I was not about to go against my intuition, so I tossed my phone aside.
Bing!
Bing!
Bing!
I picked up my phone angrily. Who the hell does this person think they are, sending me useless messages late at night?!
Once I opened my phone, my mouth fell open at the pictures the mystery person had sent me.
I felt my stomach churn at the pictures of me handing out drugs to customers I had met today. My blood ran cold.
What the fuck?!
Who the fuck is this guy?
I scrolled down to the last text. It read:
"So what is your next move, Kim Tae-hyun?"
This fucker is crazy.
I grabbed my black jacket and put it on, picked up my skateboard.
I ran out the door of a scrappy shack perched on top of a gym. It was small, cramped, and I still had to pay rent.
I rode on my skateboard through the bustling city. My heart thundering in my chest at the thought of my life in prison.
I would get raped there! I'm too pretty for prison and most importantly who is going to take care of my dad?
A new emotion burned deep inside me, anger. I was not going to let some fucker try to mess with my life.
I arrived at the address the person had told me to come. It was the karaoke bar i had dealed to the hostess.
This person wants to play games and he better get used to losing.
I fished out my phone from my pocket and texted the person i was there.
Bing!
"Room seven" I read out loud. The glass sliding doors opened as i strode inside. The place was as lively as usual.
I walked up to the room, i took in a deep breath to control the anger coursing through my body when i felt some of my anger melt away i pushed the door open.
Neon lights danced about the small room, I walked inside. There was no one inside just a black duffel sitting on the couch, the bag oozed dark aura.
I unzipped it, my eyes flew wide trying to taks it all in. It was a bag of ecstasy pills. I rummaged through it and pulled out a black envelope.
I opened it.
'Enjoy yourself, Kim Tae-hyun.'