— Big Bird Carousel Bar —
Nine in the evening, a realm of wine and decadence.
The familiar Big Bird Carousel Bar was operating as usual. Being the weekend, the crowd was even denser than on weekdays.
At this moment, a new face Brook had never seen before sat at the counter.
“Credit where credit’s due, your place has a lively atmosphere, but it always feels like it’s missing something—like some soul-stirring jazz music, for instance.”
A blond young man chattered away, holding a tall glass filled with low-proof sparkling wine. He shook his head in critique.
Brook, the bartender, couldn’t care less about the bar’s ambiance. His gaze drifted constantly across the patrons, scanning for a specific figure to appear.
“You’re right, sir. But complaining to a drink mixer won’t do you any good. You’ll have to see if our boss has any plans to hire a resident band.”
Brook polished a silver cocktail shaker, speaking absently. There were only a few hours left before the day ended. If that English gentleman failed to show up, Brook was going to lose a hundred-kronen bill over a bet with his coworker.
Bloody hell, how could he not come?
Faced with Brook’s distracted reply, the blond youth across the bar stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“You have a point.” After a moment, he snapped his fingers and stood up. “I’ll go talk to your boss. It’s a real shame for such a fine establishment to lack music.”
With that, the handsome blond youth departed, his dashing figure vanishing into the swaying crowd. The glass of sparkling wine, having only been sipped once, remained sitting on the counter—what a waste of good liquor.
Soon, the seat at the counter was vacant again.
Brook resumed his half-hearted shift, grumbling mournfully under his breath, “My hundred kronen…”
Just then, a vagrant passed by.
Clutching her remaining one thousand kronen, Nicole walked with determined steps toward the second floor of the Big Bird Carousel Bar beneath the dazzling neon lights.
“Hold on, vagrants aren’t allowed up here.”
A bouncer stationed at the staircase blocked her path. Wearing dark sunglasses and boasting a burly, imposing physique, he looked capable of taking down two of her with ease.
Seeing this, Nicole pulled back her hood, revealing her soot-stained, disheveled face. Her eyes were firm. “It’s me.”
Behind his sunglasses, the bouncer’s eyes seemed to tremble. He instantly straightened with profound respect. “It’s… it’s actually you! Please, right this way!”
And so, drawing no unwanted attention, Nicole headed up to the second floor of the Big Bird Carousel Bar, carrying her thousand kronen.
“My hundred kronen…” Brook was still muttering at the counter.
Time slipped quietly by. Twenty minutes later, a patron wearing a thoroughly exhausted, melancholic expression stepped into the bustling establishment.
He Ye had arrived.
Wearing his trench coat with both hands shoved deep into his pockets, he brushed past the flirtatious women with a blank look on his face. Into this den of vice and desire, he had returned once more.
“Give me a glass of plain water.”
Taking a seat on his familiar stool, He Ye raised a hand listlessly.
The moment Brook laid eyes on him, he froze in place, the cleaning rag in his hand nearly slipping to the floor.
“Am I glad to see you!”
After a stunned second, Brook broke into a smile of pure relief.
He Ye had no idea what petty schemes were churning in the bartender’s head, nor did he have the energy to care. In truth, he shouldn’t have come today, since the note had specified meeting at the bar tomorrow—after all, anyone wiping their mouth with a handkerchief soaked in Kumingdine would typically sleep for an entire day, making a next-day rendezvous logical.
However, He Ye was a trained spy. The Organization had subjected him to endurance training against such outdated narcotics over a decade ago, which was why he had managed to wake after only a few hours.
“I’ll take that as a kind word,” He Ye said, waving a dismissive hand. “Just give me a glass of water.”
“Why not order a drink?” Brook asked, puzzled. “We don’t usually serve plain water here. It’s not even on the menu. You can drink water when you go home to sober up.”
He Ye felt that was a terrible question to ask, so he maintained an awkward silence. He didn’t have a single copper to his name right now, and his inn room had only been booked for two days. Since his time had expired this afternoon, he had been forced to check out sheepishly and leave his luggage with the ladies at the front desk.
He had come to the Big Bird Carousel Bar purely to kill the night.
“Just tell me if the water is free or not.”
“Of course it’s free, bro. Considering your perfect attendance, I’ll even buy you a drink.”
Brook deftly set about mixing a cocktail. The silver shaker danced through his hands, flipping left and catching right like an acrobat’s performance.
In the end, he slid over a glass of Blazing Whisky.
“I can tell you’ve got troubles on your mind today too, bro,” Brook comforted, leaning his elbows on the counter and leaning in close. “This is the second strongest drink we have. Hope it makes you feel a little better.”
Hearing this, He Ye fell silent for a moment. He certainly had troubles—far too many of them, to the point where an unspeakable bitterness welled in his throat.
The failure of his fresh start, which he had barely endured.
The elite graduate and the degenerate director posing as a priest, completely shattering his moral baseline.
And the girl named Nicole Griffith, who had seemed so bright and cheerful, only to leave him with his wallet “borrowed.”
At this thought, the bitterness surged.
He slammed the glass to his lips.
Down the hatch!
He downed the glass in a single breath!
The whisky burned down his throat and plunged into his stomach, the heavy alcohol instantly numbing his frayed nerves. People always said liquor was a terrible vice, yet when sorrow and frustration hit, what else was a man supposed to do without it?
Phew… that hits the spot!
He Ye slammed the empty glass onto the counter, his face flushed red.
“Glad you like it, bro,” Brook laughed like an old friend. “Want another round?”
He Ye felt a slight twinge of warmth.
“What’s your name?”
“Brook.” The bartender shrugged. “Though my coworkers always tease me, saying I share a name with one of their childhood buddies.”
“It’s a good name.”
“Thanks.”
He Ye chatted with him in passing. One sat on a high stool raising his glass, while the other stood behind the counter shaking drinks, their eyes wandering. It was clearly a place designed for drowning one’s sorrows, so why did it bring him this strange sense of peace? This fallen, sordid den had no business fitting into his new life.
Inside the bar, neon lights flashed in garish extravagance.
“A plate of fried rice, please… Sigh.”
Just as He Ye was chatting with Brook, a familiar voice drifted over from beside him.
He Ye froze. He turned his head toward the sound.
What met his eyes was that same battered hooded cloak. Nicole pulled back her hood, revealing her soot-streaked face twisted in utter gloom—she had only been away from him for half a day, yet she had already managed to get herself filthy all over again, looking more like a sewer rat than ever.
“You—?!”
The words caught in He Ye’s throat.
He hadn’t expected to run into her right here, right now.
Brook, however, chimed in before he could speak, letting out a cheerful whistle:
“Yo! If it isn’t Star Nicole!”
“Ugh, don’t even talk about it…” Nicole buried her face in her hands, looking miserable.
“Did you actually lose? That’s a rare sight.”
Nicole squeezed out a bitter groan. “Some bastards rigged the game against me.”
Sitting beside them, He Ye listened to their exchange, his eyelid twitching violently. The content of their chatter was steering his deductions toward something exceedingly foul.
What does she mean by ‘rigged the game’?
And Brook, didn’t you claim you didn’t know the vagrant Nicole?!
A storm of conflicting emotions roiled in his chest. In the end, He Ye decided to focus on the main priority. He turned toward the dejected acquaintance beside him and spoke in a chilled tone:
“Hey, Nicole.”
“Huh?” The girl sitting beside him shuddered.
She turned her head stiffly, and upon seeing who had spoken, she found the last person on earth she wanted to see right now.
Holding his glass, He Ye pressed his lips together, locking eyes with her.
For a moment, her trembling body wasn’t enough to convey her panic. Something far more immediate gave her away—
Tears.
Glistening tears burst from her eyes.
“Ugh… waah… waaaah…”
“Sir, I’m sorry… waaaah…”
“I… I… Wah~~”
She choked on her sobs.
Crying so hard that tears poured like a torrential downpour, Nicole dropped to her knees before He Ye, wrapping her arms around his trouser leg, rubbing her snot and tears against his fabric like a fool drowning in regret.
He Ye was rendered speechless. All the interrogations he had prepared were stopped dead by her tears. He could only suppress his anger and snap:
“Wait… what the fuck are you crying for?! I’m the victim here, all right?!”
Nicole bit her lip, trembling. “Th-th-then I’ll hold it in… I’m sorry, sir.”
“You two know each other?” Brook asked curiously.
Looking at Nicole, who had gradually shifted from wailing to quiet sniffling, wiping her tears away one sleeve at a time like an errant kitten crouching beside him—
He Ye turned his head with a heavy heart, explaining to Brook first:
“She’s the vagrant I bought fried rice for yesterday. Back then, you claimed you didn’t know this weird creature.”
“Oh, uh…” Brook shrugged awkwardly. “Can’t help it. I only recognize people by their faces… By the way, Nicole, you wanted fried rice, right? Hey, I’ll go rush the kitchen for you.”
With that, Brook slipped away. He could tell the atmosphere between the two was completely off, and he had no desire to get dragged into the mess.
With Brook gone, the two of them were left alone in their immediate corner, staring at each other.
He Ye took a deep breath to steady his nerves, then looked at Nicole. He pulled the slip of paper from his pocket—the note written in Nicole’s messy handwriting, the one left atop the white dress.
“Can you explain a few things to me? I’d still like to believe you’re a good kid,” He Ye said, taking another deep breath.
“Sir…” she sniffled, stealing a moment between sobs.
“I’m only going to ask you three questions. Just answer them. Don’t change the subject, and don’t bring up irrelevant nonsense.”
He Ye spoke without joy or sorrow. His face betrayed no emotion, yet he did his best to maintain his patience.
Nicole nodded earnestly. “O-okay.”
She stood up and climbed back onto her stool, though she remained visibly fidgety.
“First question. What did you mean by going to prison if you didn’t pay your debt? Do you owe money?”
Nicole pressed her lips together. After a long silence, she hung her head and muttered softly:
“Yeah… I owe Pavlo Credit & Loan Company two hundred and forty thousand.”
He Ye: ?
Wait.
“How much?!” He Ye’s brow furrowed tightly.
“Two hundred and forty thousand…” Nicole whispered.
The moment he heard that figure, a profound sense of helplessness washed over He Ye’s heart. He felt as though she had to be joking—after all, the house he had bought three years ago had cost roughly that much!
“How could you possibly owe that much money?” He Ye massaged his temples in disbelief. “Are they loan sharks?”
“I don’t know…” Nicole lowered her head even further. “I just know the bill kept rolling over, and I couldn’t pay it back.”
All right, all right… Whew.
He Ye felt he was being remarkably patient. Taking another deep breath, he decided to switch topics and press on, asking the other detail that had caught his attention.
“Then what did Brook mean when he said you won again?” He Ye asked patiently.
Nicole twiddled her thumbs under the counter, speaking quietly:
“There are betting games on the second floor of the Big Bird Carousel Bar. I only found out about it four weeks ago. They play dice, cards, and steel balls up there. You can place a bet with as little as two steel coins…”
He Ye cut her off directly, having no interest in the backstory:
“You gambled, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir…” She bowed her head in penitence.
If the previous revelation had left him speechless, this one left He Ye laughing out of sheer exasperation.
“What on earth possessed you to gamble on that… haha.”
Nicole stammered in defense, gesturing with her hands:
“Because I have great luck! I-I’ve never lost! In the four weeks since I discovered the games on the second floor, I haven’t lost a single time…”
“Never lost a bet, huh?”
“Hey, sir, you’re so knowledgeable!…”
“…” He Ye was left with nothing but pure bitterness. He couldn’t even muster a twitch of a smile.
He had no intention of caring about this hopeless wretch any longer. It was abundantly clear that his kindness had indeed been wasted—flushed straight into a foul, stinking sewer.
Right now, he only wanted to do one thing.
“Give me back my money.”
“…” Nicole’s body stiffened.
“Taking my money without my permission is theft. If I wanted to, I could have you thrown into prison right this second,” He Ye said tonelessly.
“Eeeek—!” Nicole began trembling and stammering hysterically. She threw her arms around He Ye’s leg once more, wailing, “Anything but that! Please, no!”
“Then give the money back.” He Ye offered no more pity.
“…” Nicole stiffened again.
“Don’t tell me you don’t even have a single cent left?” He Ye asked, a sudden dread rising in his chest.
“Y-yes… Out of that eighteen thousand six hundred and seventy-five kronen, I already paid seventeen thousand six hundred and fifty-seven to the Pavlo Credit & Loan Company. As for the thousand kronen I had left… I ended up having terrible luck.”
Nicole kept her head low, speaking with strained difficulty. To her credit, she was entirely honest, laying out the facts down to the exact amount she had taken.
“Now… I only have ten kronen left for the fried rice.”
She meekly produced two five-kronen steel coins, each stamped with the portrait of a balding, middle-aged man.
“Haha.”
He Ye covered his face, laughing in absolute defeat, overwhelmed by pure helplessness.
It felt like a middle-aged corporate drone returning home after a grueling day at work, spotting two pairs of men’s leather shoes in the entryway and assuming his wife was having an affair—only to discover his son walking out with a man, introducing him as his new boyfriend.
“Then what about my money?” He Ye simply sighed.
Hearing this, Nicole clutched her chest as though swearing an oath, squeezing her eyes shut in nervous devotion. “Sir, once I finish paying off the loan company, I’ll mortgage myself to you as a maid or a beast of burden! Y-you can make me do whatever you want!”
“No need. I just want the money that was in my wallet.”
He Ye sighed, utterly exhausted.
“…” Nicole fell silent for a long time. Looking at He Ye’s mournful expression, she seemed to recognize a familiar sorrow in his eyes. Knowing full well how deeply she had wronged him, she finally made up her mind, slowly pressing a hand to her chest.
“I-I understand. I’ll go to the Pavlo Company and demand the money back… Y-you just wait here for my good news.”
Yet He Ye did not place his faith in her as easily as before. He shook his head.
“I’m coming with you.”
