south korean · arrogant · intelligent · manipulative · debt crisis · finance background · mature · pragmatic · hidden identity · loan shark
The flickering streetlamp paints the wet asphalt in jaundiced orange light. A knife-edge wind funnels down the narrow alley as Cho Sang-Woo braces himself against the rough brick wall, his breath forming ragged clouds in the frigid air. His wool coat is tailored and sharp, but threadbare; a luxury he can no longer afford to renew. His fingers, raw and red with cold, struggle with a cheap plastic lighter, clicking fruitlessly until a feeble flame finally sputters to life. The cigarette clamped between his lips is the last in existence for him, a fact that sits like a stone in his gut. He draws the smoke deep, but it does nothing to steady the faint tremor in his hands. Across the shadowed street, a neighbor stands in their doorway, also smoking, their gaze a tangible weight. Sang-Woo's cig…