Chapter 2
Amidst it all, a man whose face was slightly flushed from the booze tried to take control of the mood.
["Raise, fifty thousand dollars.1) Miss, looks like you think the poker table's a pushover just 'cause you've breezed through life on that pretty face of yours. Better turn around and head out now while you still can."]
Ha-jin just let a faint smile curl her lips at the man's taunt. Without even bothering to check her cards again, she indifferently shoved the chip stack forward.
["Re-raise. One hundred fifty thousand dollars."]
The table's atmosphere froze in an instant at Ha-jin's flat declaration. The man's face turned red then purple with rage. Assuming she was bluffing, he deliberately raised his voice even louder.
["Oh, mind games, huh? Call!"]
The dealer laid out three community cards on the felt: 7, 8, and Jack.
The man's eyes twitched faintly. With the 9 and 10 already in his hand, he was one card away from a straight. All he needed was a Queen or a 6. But Ha-jin, without a hint of hesitation, bet a hundred thousand dollars. The man inwardly cheered and called.
Idiot. Betting big on just Jack pair, huh. With a sinister grin, he quietly called to drag her deeper into the trap.
The turn card was a 9. The draws lit up all at once. A suffocating tension filled the room. Ha-jin pushed two hundred thousand dollars forward without even checking once. The man called right back, refusing to back down.
Suppressing the urge to burst out laughing, the man was convinced. Aggressive for a newbie, but recklessly so. Looked like some rich daddy's clueless daughter. People who gathered in places like this were usually the type never cowed by money anywhere, and the less experience they had, the more they over-bluffed and self-destructed. Ending up walking right into the slaughter, drunk on their own hand.
The river card, the final one, was revealed: Queen.
The man's eyes flashed. The straight was complete at last. He shoved his remaining stack all in.
["All in. Alright, time to show your cards?"]
Ha-jin didn't flinch. Propping her chin with an utterly expressionless face, she slowly flipped over her two hole cards. The man's eyes, brimming with anticipated victory, filled with shock instead.
10 and King.
[ "...What the fuck is this." ]
Ha-jin, who had ignored every taunt and focused mechanically on the play, let her lips curve softly.
["When two straights clash, the higher end wins, of course. You know that, right?"]
The man had Queen-high straight, but Ha-jin had completed the taller one from 9 to King. While he was crowing over his straight, Ha-jin had been holding 10-King the whole time, baiting him perfectly for the higher hand.
He'd thought he had a monster and gone all-in to crush the arrogant little bitch in one shot, but that pettiness had backfired spectacularly. A straight just one pip higher. She'd outplayed him completely from the start.
["No way... She read that all the way and re-raised?"]
At the low murmurs of admiration from around the table, the man's face flushed an explosive shade of dark crimson. Ha-jin didn't even glance at his twisted expression as she elegantly sorted the heap of chips the dealer pushed her way, muttering to herself.
["Heavier than I expected."]
As the man's glare bored into her, Ha-jin finally turned her head to look at him and smiled a little.
["Oh, not your bet. The chips are kinda heavy."]
[ "......" ]
It went beyond mere mockery—it was outright disdain. The chips in the High Limit Lounge weren't cheap plastic; they were premium ceramic. Galliano's in particular were famed for their satisfying heft, word-of-mouth favorites among serious casino-goers.
Not knowing that meant she wasn't some regular in these games.
"There are always types who try to get under your skin if you look loaded or just rub 'em the wrong way. No matter what they say, don't show emotion, and don't stoop to trading barbs like trash."
"Then... should I just keep taking it?"
"Who said to hold back? Nothing looks dumber in this world than playing defense. Think up the one line that crushes their ego most, and dropping that is plenty."
Nothing truer than those words. Ha-jin barely suppressed a scoff, hiding it behind her composed expression. She watched without emotion as the men who'd mocked her lost hand after hand, waiting for the next deal.
"She's got some bite."
Ha-jin turned at the low voice breaking the silence.
The man buried in the shadows at the secluded head seat slowly rose.
Was there even a seat there?
The man who stood had a broad, solid chest and shoulders that strained his shirt taut. The room's dim lighting made colors hard to discern, but the vest over his shirt and suit pants screamed luxury craftsmanship—easily worth a normal person's annual salary.
Like a beast eyeing intriguing prey, he fixed his gaze on Ha-jin, eyes gleaming.
"More talent for shattering egos than raking in cash, it seems."
He lightly spun one of the hefty chips stacked before him on his fingertip.
"New face."
Despite it being their first meeting, his casual condescension drew a curt reply from Ha-jin.
"You too."
Ha-jin irritably shoved the massive chip stack the dealer had given her to the corner. The man asked again in a low voice.
"Name."
Even his arrogant command didn't faze her; she stared at him impassively for a moment before turning back to the dealer.
["Deal the hand."]
It was blatant dismissal, ignoring the man's bid for introductions like it was nothing. The dealer hesitated, glancing at the man, and Ha-jin's eyes narrowed.
["What? Short on chips? Or can't even shuffle without this guy's permission?"]
A low chuckle escaped the man's lips. Ha-jin was treating him like just another Vegas blur. He crooked his mouth into a smirk, rolled up his shirt sleeves, hooked the chair directly across from her with his foot, and sat.
["Deal. She's the impatient type."]
The man nodded to the dealer, and finally, the rip of new cards being opened echoed.
The air in Room 7 had grown heavy, like it'd soaked up water. Everyone but Ha-jin and the man facing her might as well have been props long ago. The man leaned back in his chair and drawled lazily.
"Most people introduce themselves first when they sit across from me."
"......"
"Or at least flash their cards to kiss ass."
"I'll tell you my name after you beat me three times in a row."
"What?"
A disbelieving laugh slipped from the man's lips.
"Kissing ass isn't my style."
The watching men exchanged uneasy glances, at a loss. No one in this High Limit Lounge casino ever took that high ground against him—Baek Joo-heon. And from some random chick who popped up out of nowhere? It already looked like an innocent bystander was about to get skinned alive; the thought left a bitter taste.
The dealer fanned out three community cards: Heart 8, Diamond 9, Heart 10. Joo-heon pushed 150,000 dollars forward, his gaze obsessively scanning Ha-jin's eyes.
"One fifty. Bet you'll spill it before the hand's even over."
Ha-jin quietly lifted the corner of her mouth and parried calmly.
"Pretty confident. You can say that after you win."
As Ha-jin looked up, a staffer standing by lit the cigarette dangling from the man's lips just then. The dim room flashed briefly with the lighter's flame, flickering in his long, sharp eyes. A ruthless gaze, like he'd rip out your throat if you slipped.
1) Raise: Means raising the pot. Re-raise is countering an opponent's raise—a kind of psychological showdown.
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