CHAPTER 22: Bad Luck

"Thank you for the service, man," Yuan uttered simply before turning his back on me to resume his shower. Meanwhile, I was left standing there in a daze, staring down at my hand covered in the sticky fluid from his length.

Fuck shit!

I whirled around to face him, greeted by the sight of his broad back and the water from the shower streaming down over his firm glutes. Once I regained my composure, I couldn't stop myself from kicking him, sending him crashing face-first into the glass wall of the shower.

"Shit!" he cursed, his voice dripping with anger at what I'd done.

"Don't you dare forget your payment, asshole!" I snapped at him, turning to the bathroom sink to wipe my hands clean.

I still couldn't believe I had just done that for him. I was about to splash water on my face out of sheer frustration, but I froze, remembering what I had just touched with those hands.

Once I finished wiping off, I rushed out of the bathroom and left his bedroom behind. Reaching the living room, I sank back down onto the couch. Then I spotted a throw pillow nearby, so I grabbed it and began pounding it with my fists, letting out my irritation by imagining it was that bastard's face. Only after venting my rage did I manage to calm down.

I was furious with myself for being so weak, for letting his pheromones get to me like that. I couldn't explain it, but this anger felt different, sharper and worse than usual, yet I was completely powerless to make it go away. The longer this went on, the lower I felt my self-worth dropping because of this man.

It felt as though he was a constant reminder of my flaws, the things I lacked, and the life I dreamed of but could never reach.

I was seething, but it was the kind of rage where I was completely helpless, forced to face a truth I hated admitting to myself, that I was weak.

I leaned back against the couch, staring blankly up at the white ceiling.

"Why is my life so damn cursed?" The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Hey, you're not cursed."

I heard the bastard speak from behind me. I didn't bother turning around, knowing it would only reignite my fury.

He walked up from behind, leaning down to peer into my face.

I rolled my eyes and threw a punch at him, but he dodged it smoothly.

"You know, the longer I know you, the more predictable you get," he said, stepping around to the opposite sofa and flopping onto it.

I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Oh, really? Don't worry, I'll start inventing some secret moves."

He just smirked, pulling out his wallet from his pants pocket.

He drew several cash bills from it and set them on the coffee table. "Here's my payment, plus a little extra for you."

I grabbed the money and counted it. Sure enough, there was an extra thousand pesos. Instead of handing it back, I shoved the whole stack into my pocket.

"See? You're not cursed, because I'm here," he said with supreme confidence, acting as if he were my guardian angel and I owed him a thank you.

I stood up and rolled my eyes at him. "Do you want to know why I said I'm cursed?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't answer, offering only a smirk that felt like a deliberate provocation.

I raised my middle finger straight at him. "It's because of you! You are the curse in my life."

With that, I turned to walk away, but before I could leave the condo's living room, his voice called out.

"Hey, Neo, let's do it again."

"Fuck you!"

"My offer is still on the table."

I turned back to face him. "Hey, if you're that desperate, go rub your face against the floor!" I barked before storming out. Stepping out of his condo unit, I slammed the door shut behind me with a loud bang and kicked it for good measure.

"Asshole!" I shouted.

Tsk. I was going to die young, not from my debts, but from high blood pressure.

"Boss, why did you call for me?" I asked Antonio, the Indian loan shark.

I was at their hideout, an old, dilapidated building that looked straight out of a gangster movie setup.

I stood in the office of Antonio, the man managing the operations here. He sat behind a large desk, puffing on a cigar like he was the CEO of some major corporation.

"I just wanted to praise you, Neo, because you haven't missed a single payment on your debt since last month," he said. His voice was calm, but its deep timbre gave it a heavily intimidating edge.

I leaned back against the single-seater sofa across from him, keeping my arms crossed as I studied him carefully. Why did I get the feeling he had something much worse to tell me?

There was no way he called me all the way to his office just to hand out compliments.

"Is that all you wanted to say, Boss? I'll be heading out then, I have a shift later," I said.

I was about to stand up when he raised a hand to stop me.

"Don't leave just yet, I still have something to discuss."

I immediately complied, settling back down. "What is it, Boss?" I asked, a bad feeling settling in my stomach about what was coming next.

"Given your recent performance, I really must commend you."

Wow, talking like this was some school performance review.

"However, I've been thinking. Why don't we raise your monthly payment amount?"

I bolted up from my seat at his words. "Boss, come on! I'm already struggling to pull together fifty thousand every month, and you want to add more to that?" I protested.

His suggestion was completely unreasonable. What kind of idiot would agree to that? I was already working myself to the bone just to survive, and now he was going to make paying it off even harder.

"That's business, Neo."

I clenched my fists, shaking my head at his cold response.

"I know you can handle it. You always manage."

From his tone, I knew he hadn't brought me here to ask for my opinion. His mind was already set.

My jaw tightened. "How much?"

"One hundred thousand."

When he dropped that number, it felt like the ground gave out beneath me. Holy shit! One hundred thousand?! Where the hell was I supposed to find that kind of money every single month? This bastard was insane!

"Starting this month, your required payment is one hundred thousand."

I gritted my teeth. "Boss, that's way too much! What do you expect me to do, sell my kidney?" I snapped sarcastically.

"You know, Neo, you're actually my favorite among all my debtors," he said suddenly, his eyes showing a trace of genuine amusement. "Because no matter how large the sum is, you always find a way to make it happen."

I ground my teeth together. "Boss, you know how hard fifty thousand already is for me. Why push it to one hundred thousand?"

"Neo, don't you see the upside? This will clear your debt much faster. If I were you, I'd start looking for a job that can bring in one hundred thousand a month."

Holy shit, what was he even implying? Where could I possibly find a job paying a hundred thousand a month? I wasn't a college graduate, not a celebrity, not a doctor, and definitely not the child of some wealthy CEO.

This bastard was out of his damn mind.

"Boss, why don't you just kill me instead?" I blurted out, the words leaving my mouth before I even processed them.

A small smirk played at the corner of Antonio's lips. "Neo, if you want to die, I can arrange that for you right now."

He reached under his desk, pulled out a handgun, and racked the slide with a metallic click. He pointed the barrel directly at my heart.

I didn't feel a surge of panic, nor any real fear of what might happen next. The only thought left in my mind was that maybe it was time for all of this to finally end.

"But are you sure that's what you want? You really don't want to live anymore?" he asked, his voice laced with a subtle weight, not trying to persuade me, but asking in a way that made me rethink everything.

I swallowed hard, staring down the barrel aimed at my chest. Memories flashed through my head of all the times I had nearly died. Aside from this loan shark, my father had borrowed money from several other lenders too.

I had been hit by a car, stabbed, and caught up in terrible situations that almost took my life, yet here I was, still breathing, still drowning in debt.

I often thought I wanted to die, but the reality was that I survived not out of luck, but because I was desperately clinging to life.

I constantly asked myself why I wanted to stay alive. Did I still have a purpose here? Was anyone waiting for me? Did anyone care about my existence? Did I even have a single true friend? Every single time, the answer to those questions was no.

Yet here I was, desperately trying to survive, driven by sheer pride and a stubborn refusal to let bad luck win.

I turned my back on him, my hands balled tightly into fists. "I was just joking, Boss."

Leaving those words behind, I walked out of his sight.

Once I cleared the building, I grabbed fistfuls of my own hair in frustration.

Shit! Where was I going to find a hundred thousand pesos every single month? Fuck this life.

Damn this relentless bad luck.