Fair Trade

“The amount deposited to you this month was quite large, but is it still insufficient for you ?”

Sei was quite anxious about his hands leaving marks on her skin, but she still calmly answered him back.

“To prepare for old age. I wanted to earn as much as I could while I’m young so that once I’m old, I can live comfortably.”

“But you don’t have that much money. I’ve been observing you for a very long time. Even though you earn so much, you don’t smell like money. Why? Huh?”

“It’s because I’ve been poor for a long time.”

“Hmm,….or are you hiding some pimp behind my back? Is he stuck to you like a leech and sucking you dry?”

Sei rubbing her neck slowly raised her eyes. She tried to grasp his intentions. He not only suddenly appeared before her but was also watching her from behind. In the current situation, if he came to her in confidence and not in doubt, then it was very dangerous.

“If there was anything like that, you would have already killed me.”

She retorted in a low voice. Nevertheless, he smiled brightly.

“Bingo.”

When it came to the subject of Mafia, Giulio Parenti’s smile was always sweet. As the head of an organization, he created social issues and then climbed up to the top every time by appearing in the press.

Satan wearing an angel’s mask? It was ironic that his Mafia supported Catholic projects and even helped the poor, but that was the sad reality.

Only a few people knew what kind of man was hidden behind that mask.

With a deep sigh, Giulio wrapped his arms around her shoulder and led her to walk with him.

“So, Sei.”

Giulio, with a friendly tone, was scarier than usual. Yeah, well, the fact that she was scared of this man had never changed. She had all her reasons for being scared of him.

Seeing her flinch, Giulio smiled as if it was fun.

“The accounts related to you have been robbed. I don’t know who did it, but there’s a dirty rat among us.”

His hand caressed her thick hair and he bent his upper body to whisper in her ear.  As his body brushed against her, goosebumps sprung all over her skin.

“Find it and bring it to me. Can you do it?”

Just as they reached in front of the door of the casino, he suddenly grasped her chin and smashed his lips with hers. It was a wild, strong kiss. Sei held her breath. Her heart was beating frantically as if it would come out, but she didn’t shake him off fearing it would ruin everything.

She pretended to give out her tongue and bit his lips painfully. Then a fine wrinkle appeared on Giulio’s forehead. It was a strange expression of satisfaction. Sei knew very well that if she wanted to live long, she would have to dance on Giulio beats and satisfy him for now.

After removing her red stained lips from his, she smiled as she rubbed off the smudged lipstick.

“Well, if you want to play a game, come to me. Tough jerks don’t excite me.”

With a smile, he let her go and stepped into the casino with his men. She saw the manager running to guide him. Julio soon disappeared into the Diamond Zone, where only the top class could enter.

As she stared coldly at his back, she gnashed her teeth in anger and spit out curses.

“Fuck you, motherfucker, you piece of shit!”

As expected, it was best to swear in Korean.

[T/N: Oh i forgot to mention the author’s note in Prologue. Generally their conversations are in english but in the novel it’s written in Hangul. So she put the English conversation in <>. At that time I thought since it’s in Korean and I have to translate it to English, there’s no point in using it. ]

That was it for today. As long as Giulio was on the same boat, it was no longer possible to work.

With a fierce look on her face, she left the casino without hesitation. Perhaps because of the red marks on her neck, people’s eyes were glued to her persistently.

Sei returned straight back to her room, and as soon as she opened the clutch, she was stunned.

“Ha, right…”

Somehow she had forgotten about it for a while because of Giulio. The room key of the customer with platinum hair was sparkling inside her clutch. It was also the key to the Royal Room on the top floor, which was different in color from that of the regular room.

Sei thought for a moment. She thought it would cover her four months’ living expenditure, but what if it turns out to be her two years’ worth of living expenses? In fact, a customer that was not only rich but also handsome was a once in a lifetime opportunity. At least, so by her standards.

She chewed her lips several times while pondering about this. She made up her mind and then picked up her last name tag.

<Yuri Rose>

‘The customer and Giulio must still be at the casino.’

The only chance was now.

“Well I’ll escape by taking the next ship.”

Her eyes became fierce as she picked up the uniform. She had a bad feeling about this, but she decided to ignore it.

‘I’ve lived all my life with one resolve. This time again, I will surely survive.’