After Ten Millennia in Hell-Chapter 46Epilogue - Summer Vacation (8)

After Han Seol-Ah hit the jackpot, Oh Kang-Woo and the others received their earnings at the casino counter and headed to the shopping mall with their newly-earned money.

“Everything is on me today! Pick out whatever you want!” said Seol-Ah excitedly and confidently as she walked into a brand-name store.

“How about this watch? I think it would look great on you, honey.” She pointed with sparkling eyes at a watch that cost a few million won. “Or what about this wallet? I think it would cost around 1.5 million won. The one you’re using is quite worn out.”

“Darling...?”

‘Holy... is this really the cheapskate I know and love?’

“Wha...”

The saying that money earned through gambling did not feel like one’s own seemed to be true. Seol-Ah, who was usually too cheap even to spend fifty won for a plastic bag at a grocery store, had become a flexing bourgeois.

“Darling, you don’t have to push yourself.”

“Pardon? Wh-What do you mean?”

“I mean, you don’t have to feel obligated to buy us expensive stuff.”

It was not like they couldn’t afford to buy brand-name goods before they won the jackpot. Kang-Woo couldn’t help but criticize Seol-Ah for acting so differently despite being the one who always taught them to be frugal.

“Ah...” Seol-Ah expressed, realizing how she was acting. “I-I’m sorry. I must’ve been too excited.”

“Man, but gambling sure is scary if it was enough to make my cheapskate Darling change.”

“P-Please don’t say that...” Seol-Ah’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment. She gently pulled on Kang-Woo’s clothes and continued, “Indeed, I got a little ahead of myself because of the earnings, but... that’s not the only reason.”

“Then why?”

“Umm... it’s a little embarrassing to say this, but... I’m not earning money like Yeon-Joo.”

“Oh. Well, yeah.”

Unlike Yeon-Joo, who ran the globally renowned Red Rose, Seol-Ah did not earn money because she spent her time doing housework and raising the children.

“Even if I made this money through luck... umm... I-I just felt that it’s been a while since I made money.”

“Is that why you wanted to buy me an expensive gift?” Kang-Woo asked.

“Yes...”

Seol-Ah averted her gaze from Kang-Woo, her lips quivering. Kang-Woo, unable to hold back his urges, embraced his lovely wife.

“Man~ You’re too good for me, Darling!”

“Kyaah?! H-Honey?”

“How can you be this beautiful and have such a kind heart? Huh?”

“P-People can see...!”

“Who cares? Let them see.”

Kang-Woo smiled and kissed Seol-Ah. He could hear people mumbling but he paid no mind to them.

“Darling,” he called.

“Yes?”

“You don’t have to feel guilty about not earning money. You’re doing something far more important than that.”

Han Seol-Ah was like the pillar of the Oh Kang-Woo family. She raised the three children like her own despite two of them not being hers, did all the housework that others might put off due to laziness, and resolved any conflicts that occurred or were about to between family members. He was not trying to compare which was harder, but Seol-Ah’s role was not something she should feel guilty over because it was too simple.

“Honey...”

Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo with teary eyes. She wrapped her arms around Kang-Woo’s waist and leaned in for another kiss.

“Hmm. Don’t you think you should dial it down a little?” Lilith interjected to stop their expressions of love. “Why don’t you save the confirmation of your love for each other for tonight?”

“Ahem.”

“Yes, unnie.” Seol-Ah smiled faintly and nodded. “Oh, but since I earned this money, I at least want to buy you some clothes as a commemoration. It doesn’t have to be expensive.”

“I suppose that’s fine.”

“My, are you buying me something too?”

“Of course, unnie.”

They chatted as they walked around the shopping mall when they noticed they had forgotten something.

“Come to think of it, where’s Yeon-Joo?” Kang-Woo asked.

“She said she was going back to our room because she was tired.”

“Really?”

Yeon-Joo did not have much interest in shopping, so it didn’t matter that much if she was absent.

“In that case, let’s take a look around quickly before the kids wake up.”

“Okay! You can trust me to be the guide!”

Seol-Ah expressed confidence as she held the card containing her jackpot earnings.

***

“Darling... why don’t we head back?” asked Kang-Woo, his hands filled with shopping bags.

“Oh, I have somewhere to stop by with unnie, so you can head back first,” replied Seol-Ah.

“Huh? Where?”

“Fufu. I wonder~?”

Seol-Ah and Lilith smiled mysteriously as they glanced at each other. Kang-Woo flinched, feeling a strange sense of uneasiness. Lilith and Seol-Ah approached Kang-Woo and whispered into each of his ears.

“As for what we’re going to buy...”

“You’ll find out tonight.”

Their sweet voices tickled Kang-Woo’s ears. Lilith and Seol-Ah hummed as they headed into a lingerie store. Kang-Woo coughed and turned around.

“Th-Then I’ll head back first!”

Kang-Woo hurried to the hotel room as if running away. He opened the door to their room and saw that it was empty.

“Urgh... Shopping sure tires you out.”

He could feel his energy draining each time they entered a store.

“Haaah.” Kang-Woo lay on the bed and stretched, letting the soft bed melt away his fatigue. “Wait a second.”

Just then, he felt an anomaly.

‘Where’s Yeon-Joo?’

Since she had returned to their room to rest, she should be here.

“Don’t tell me...”

An uneasy feeling traveled down his back.

Clack.

Just then, the door opened and Yeon-Joo entered.

“I thought you were going to rest because you were tired. Where have you been?” Kang-Woo asked.

“Huh? W-Well...” Yeon-Joo slurred as she averted her gaze from Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo’s eyes narrowed. A thought crossed his mind as he stared at Yeon-Joo as restless as a dog needing to poop.

“Yeon-Joo, don’t tell me... were you at the casino the whole time we were shopping?”

“N-No!” she shouted as she furiously shook her head.

“Then where have you been this whole time?”

“Huh? W-Well... the thing is...”

“You were at the casino, weren’t you?”

“Yeah...” Yeon-Joo answered quietly as Kang-Woo demanded an answer.

“Haaa. I knew it.”

His uneasy feelings were always on the mark. He sighed deeply and glared at the restless Yeon-Joo.

“N-No, hear me out. Wh-What happened is...” Yeon-Joo stuttered. “I-It’s Seol-Ah’s fault! The bitch was all happy-go-lucky because she was the only one who won something! I couldn’t stand for it!”

She blamed Seol-Ah for no reason.

“So? How much did you lose?” Kang-Woo asked.

“H-Huh?”

“You heard me.”

He could tell from her demeanor that she had not won money, so it all came down to how much she lost.

‘We spent about an hour shopping.’

Hence, she could only have lost about one or two thousand dollars at most.

“A-At first, I was only going to put in another hundred dollars, but... u-umm...”

“Stop stuttering and speak clearly.”

“...llars.”

“How much?”

“T-Twelve... thousand.”

“What?”

‘She spent fifteen million won in just one hour?’

“Th-The thing is... there was an option where you could bet forty dollars per spin, and... i-it said online that those spins had higher jackpot chances...”

“What in the...”

‘What has this crazy bitch done?’

“You... if Seol-Ah finds out about this...”

If Seol-Ah, who had been that excited just from winning ten thousand dollars, found out that Yeon-Joo had lost more than she had won, there was no need to explain the disaster that would ensue.

“N-No! Anything but that!” Yeon-Joo ran to Kang-Woo anxiously and grabbed his pants. “H-Hubby! Please let me borrow some money!”

“You want... to borrow?”

“Seol-Ah will find out if I don’t put what I lost back into my account!”

‘Oh. Come to think of it, Seol-Ah said she would be checking Yeon-Joo’s bank account.’

“I’m begging you! Please...!”

Yeon-Joo looked up at Kang-Woo, teary-eyed. She might lose her right to spend money on games if Seol-Ah found out she had lost fifteen million won to gambling.

“Hmm. I mean... that’s not a problem,” Kang-WOo remarked.

“R-Right? You’re rich, aren’t you, hubby?!”

“But you lack sincerity.”

Money earned easily could also be lost just as easily. Yeon-Joo might spend it all on gambling again if he gave her what she had lost.

“I-I swear I will never gamble again! I promise!”

“Verbal promises don’t mean shit.”

“Urgh... then what do you want me to do?” asked Yeon-Joo nervously.

“I wonder...” Kang-Woo thought deeply and smirked after some time. “Come to think of it, I’ve seen this Zero Two dance that’s been trending on YouTube lately.”

“Z-Zero Two?”

Yeon-Joo flinched. She had seen it many times because it had spread throughout all social media. It was a humiliating dance where the dancer placed both hands behind their head and shook their hips from side to side.

“Y-You want me to do that dance?”

“Not just the dance. I’ll be filming too.” Kang-Woo smiled and switched his smartphone camera to video mode. “If you break your promise and go to the casino again...”

“A-Are you going to show the video to Seol-Ah?”

“Nah, of course not.”

“Haha. Right? You’re not that kind of person, right?”

“Of course. It’s a precious video of the Red Rose guildmaster, after all.” Kang-Woo smiled widely and continued, “It should be shared for all the Red Rose guild members to see, wouldn’t you agree?’

“...” Yeon-Joo’s expression hardened. “Y-You crazy son of a... Y-You’d leak it to the guild members? A video of me doing the Zero Two dance?”

“Yup. If you break our promise, that is.”

“I won’t! I won’t fucking do it! I’d rather die than do the Zero Two dance!” shouted Yeon-Joo as she turned around.

“It’s okay. It will never see the light of day as long as you keep your promise.”

“Ngh...”

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Kang-Woo approached Yeon-Joo and whispered, “Don’t you need... money?”

Yeon-Joo trembled, shaken by the demon’s temptation, and turned toward Kang-Woo.

“You... damn demon!”

“Yup, I’m a demon.” Kang-Woo smiled and sat on the bed. “Right... shall we begin?”

“Urgh. Y-You’d better not send that to anyone, got it...?”

Yeon-Joo stood up, interlocked her fingers, and put her hands behind her head. She shook her hips from side to side to the beat of the music coming from the smartphone.

“Good, that’s it.”

Kang-Woo cackled as he filmed his wife’s humiliating dance.

***

“Mmm...” A boy woke up from his deep sleep. “What time is it...?”

He checked the clock on the wall of their hotel room and got up as he rubbed his eyes.

“Hm?”

He noticed the two girls sleeping beside him. He got out of bed carefully so as not to disturb their sleep and left the room.

“Haaa. I was so rude to Father.”

He had shouted at his respectable father for the first time.

‘It’s not like he knew what I was going through...’

He went to his father’s room as his heart felt heavy with guilt.

“Okay. I’ll apologize.”

The boy resolved himself and used the spare key his parents gave him to carefully open the door to his father’s room.

“Waaaaahh. H-Hubby... How long do I have to keep dancing?”

“Longer. Keep shaking those hips.”

“No more... P-Please forgive me...!”

The boy witnessed his father filming his mother, who was shamefully shaking her hips from side to side.

“...”

Clack.

The boy closed the door.