[Encore]

After the misadventure with Ida, I realize there's no other place like The Stranger. It's the only place where I feel like other customers want to know me for who I am even when they have ulterior motives. It's the only place where I don't feel awkward when I pick the weirdest drinking combinations. It's like home to me.

I mean, do I have any other choice? What I know is that I have no time to waste in thick plots involving dodging women. I just want to enjoy myself for one night. I'm not asking for the moon, or whatever.

Charlene is at the counter, as usual. Her grin is even more unbearable. I don't know why, there's this feeling I just can't shake. Maybe I'm simply overreacting, or there is something fishy.

When I take a seat at my usual stool, she side eyes me. "I told you, Sim Card. There's no place like The Stranger." Usually, I'm okay with her acting smug or making inappropriate puns. This time, I want to slap her. I don't do it literally, though.

"You'd better not have a single drop of Absolute Vodka or absinthe here." As I deadpan, she facepalms. I think she's just putting an act. I suspect she still does have that shit somewhere.

"Again? How many times do you have to insist with that bullshit? Leave me alone, goddamn!" Her scowl gets on my nerves to the point that I leave the counter. I sit at a table instead. I choose the farthest from the bar to avoid her sight.

Too bad I have all eyes on me now. I'm minutes away from getting banned from here. Unlike what I try to show, it's terrible news to me. I would never fit at any other pub. I'd have to make do with doubling down with cheap beer at home. That's not necessarily bad, but I'd have to share the booze with Perla or, worse, have to bear with drama in the flat block.

A woman who looks my age takes a seat opposite me, at the same table. Her gloomy glance makes me uneasy. Under any other circumstance, I'd lie to her that the seat is busy and she should find one elsewhere. Today, things are different. I leave her be, only for her to start sobbing.

"Mom was right... I'm a good for nothing, dimwitted bitch... I'm useless!" I think self loathing can be helpful, but this seems a little too much. What does she mean? What did she do to earn her mother's contempt? How bad was her attempt to overcome failure?

I rummage through my pockets and find a used handkerchief. It's all I have, but I'm hopeful she won't mind. She takes it without taking a peek, and uses it to wipe her eyes filled with tears. For the first time since sitting next to me, she looks into my eyes.

"Who are you?" she asks, her voice still broken.

"I'm Sim Daejung. Here, everyone calls me Sim Card, but, you know what, just call me Daejung." That nickname rolls off my tongue terribly. It reminds me of Charlene, of how she's just blindsided me all while not taking accountability for nearly ruining customers' livers, including Perla's.

"Oh, okay... As you wish." She looks back for a minute, only to turn back to me. "I'm Verna. Are you new here?"

I shake my head. "No. I've been a regular for a while. Kind of."

"What do you mean? This is the first time I see you." I don't usually pay attention to the other attendees, except for the usual four or five, and Charlene, of course. Have I become such a close knitted person?

Verna asks again. "Do you know Sujin Han? I still owe her a favor." Sujin? Does this woman know her? And what kind of favor is it? Too many questions pile up in my head. I think Daehwa also has a part in this, but I can't say it loud just yet. I'd better wait until Verna spills everything.

I answer, "Sujin? Oh, yes. I know her. She's quite the interesting type." I'm tempted to tell her all about my experience with her, starting from her near stalkerish messages to her approach in bed, but I choose not to. I want her to see it in person.

"Oh, good to know. I look forward to meeting her again." Speaking of the Devil, here she is. Sujin. Of course, she isn't alone. Daehwa is with her, as usual. Is there ever a chance of seeing the two of them separatedly?

"Oh, hi Verna. Nice to see you," says Sujin. "I didn't expect you to already know Daejung..." She giggles, much to my annoyance. "By the way, have you told him anything?" She laughs again, this time followed by Daehwa and then by Verna. What's the problem with the three of them?

I interrupt them. "I think I'll go and take a breather-"

Daehwa stops me. "No, Daejung. Stay, please. There's something we'd like to show you."

"What?" I'm confused. I don't know what they're planning, but it doesn't seem to be good news. I pray it's not another of their games. I just want to drink in peace. I'm not all in for their shenanigans.

The three women leave the table and head to the center of the room, where, out of a sudden, a pole rises from the floor. Are they in for a strip tease? That comes as the biggest shock of the night.

As soon as they prepare for whatever they have in mind, here comes none other than... Perla! What the fuck is going on?

Instead of acknowledging me, she dashes to the center of the pub with the others, takes her shoes off, and throws them towards the counter to start performing. Verna and Sujin do the same; Daehwa stays still.

Usually, I enjoy this kind of exhibition; for some reason, today I feel more embarrassed than anything else. I want to go home, but can't. I can't afford to chicken out. I have to stay and watch their payback. It's okay, it's okay, it's not like they're slipping poison in my drink, it's not like they're holding me at gunpoint. I can resist. I must resist.

The show goes on for one hour and a half, during which I have a hard time keeping myself from drooling. I want to tear my eyes off my orbits not to see how much these women turn my brain into dust. To add insult to injury, Daehwa has also joined halfway through the performance, doubling down on their fun—as well as my embarrassment.

I even take some time to notice that Charlene has taken what was Verna's seat. She offers me a drink. She gives me a sly smile. "I promise, Sim Card, this baby isn't laced with Absolute Vodka. Just normal one." She worries the fuck out of me. She'll throw a huge bomb at me and is trying to mellow it down by giving me alcohol. Is she stupid enough to think it works?

My reaction to her trap is even dumber because I fall for it. I take the drink and gulp it in thirty seconds. She rubs her hands against one another as she says, "Good, isn't it? Like that performance over there? They're magnificent."

I groan halfheartedly. "I guess so. Why the drink, though? You were pissed at me just two hours ago."

"It's fine. I have broad shoulders, which you need more than anything else. The ladies out there," she adds, pointing at Sujin and the others, "are having a lot of fun without you in the picture, do you know?"

"What does it mean? I tried something with Perla and Sujin, and it simply didn't work. What's the deal?"

For the first time, Charlene turns dead serious to the point that she drops my code name. "The deal is, Daejung, they had a foursome behind your back. Thrice."

"And so?"

"How can you be so oblivious? They've had fun in bed all together since Sujin did it with you. Of course, she finds Perla a lot hotter than you." I should've seen it sooner. How the fuck am I going to look at Perla? How am I supposed to still be at her place without being awkward?

As soon as her show with her girls is over, I need to talk to her. In private.