NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 1 part 2
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to…um.”
“Vomit?” Phii Joe said with a slight raise of his eyebrows.
“Yes.” I bowed my head in genuine remorse.
“It’s okay. Just pay for the damages.”
“Pay?”
“For the damages.” Phii Joe clarified, pointing to a piece of paper in my hand. I looked at it and then turned to Ter again, seeking a clearer explanation.
“The list of things you broke. You have to pay for all of that.” Ter explained.
“…”
“Are you crazy? This is hundreds of thousands! What did I break to cause this much damage? It was just a little scuffle at the pub.” I exclaimed loudly. Normally, I wouldn’t make such a fuss, but the figures on the paper were way too much!
“No, I was helping the housekeeper check the bill this morning. You really made a mess.” Ter said with a serious tone, looking grim, which made me feel grim too.
“And what about this list of liquors? I don’t remember drinking that much.”
“You didn’t drink them, but you broke the bottles, and they were expensive ones at that.”
“How so?”
“They were on someone else’s table, and I guess they were within your reach.” Phii Joe explained. That was all I needed to hear to understand how bad it was…
“And what’s this ‘hush money’ for?”
“To keep the staff and the people at the pub quiet. If the university finds out, you might not just get suspended, you could get expelled.” “And the medical expenses?”
“Those guys are asking for a lot, plus there is this thing about the compensation for their shock.” Phii Joe answered, sounding exhausted, like he was scolding me, T^T.
“And the clothes, why are they so expensive, in the tens of thousands?”
“It’s for the shirt of Phii Joe that you threw up on.”
“That’s insane. Wearing clothes worth tens of thousands.” I muttered to myself quietly so Phii Joe wouldn’t hear. And why does it have to be included in this? It’s just a shirt. I’ll buy him a new one, T^T.
“For the fight you got into and the damage you caused at the pub, that’s under ‘other charges’.” Ter said, pointing to the last line. That ‘other charges’ part is pretty heavy too.
“And why am I paying for it alone? They were fighting with me too!”
“They’ve already paid.” Phii Joe said.
Damn fate…Temp’s family must be rich…
“And this, the vase, wine, and other stuff?”
“You broke a lot of stuff in Phii Joe’s house. From vomiting on the floor, breaking expensive vases and various items, even the housekeeper couldn’t clean it all up. She said you probably got up looking for the bathroom at night, wandered around, and broke stuff along the way.”
“…”
“I even knocked over the wine display cabinet.”
“Shit…”
There was nothing else to say but ‘shit,’ really.
I took a deep breath to regain my composure, wishing this was just a dream, but it was too real…Everything happened so fast. I wasn’t even prepared. Just went out to drink, got the drunkest I’ve ever been, had a small…no, quite a big scuffle, and now I wake up owing hundreds of thousands.
I should’ve listened to Ter from the start not to drink too much.
North, you idiot…
Life’s gone to crap.
When I glanced at the numbers on the paper again, I had to look away, almost too afraid to face the truth. Why were the numbers so large? Just thinking about having to pay that much sent chills down my spine.
“Um…but you broke my phone too.” I said, remembering, thinking maybe I could knock a thousand or two off my debt…though, a thousand or two wouldn’t even make a dent in the number on the paper, T^T.
Upon hearing that, Phii Joe tossed something in a bag towards me. I wasn’t quick enough to catch it, so I looked down at the bag that landed in my lap, confused.
“That’s not included in the debt.” Phii Joe said. When I opened it, I found it was a new phone, still in its plastic wrapping.
So, you bought a new one because you’re saying a phone isn’t a big deal, right?
“You could just cover the repair costs.” I offered. Even if he did break it, buying a new one was too much; the cost to repair the old one would’ve been much less.
“It’s cumbersome.” He said, showing a slight sign of annoyance.
“Take it, it’s just this.” Phii Hill chimed in, probably because he noticed I was uncomfortable. His words made Ter and me exchange looks.
Using the phrase, ‘just this’…
You can’t call a phone worth tens of thousands ‘just this’…
I fell silent for a moment, gathering my thoughts. I probably needed to tell Phii Joe straightforwardly that I really didn’t have that kind of money. Who would have that much? I’m just a student. No, even if I was working, that amount of money… Asking for the debt to be waived or reduced might not work; all this happened because of me, and Phii Joe is just covering the costs upfront. “Can I pay in installments, like a thousand a week…?”
“You can, but with interest.”
!!!
“How…how much?”
“It’s not that high…I guess.” Phii Joe said, pausing to think, “Twenty percent…?”
“No way!” I interrupted before he could finish. That’s insane! Twenty percent interest! Are you some kind of loan shark?
Phii Joe gave a slight smirk, seemingly pleased by my outburst. Is he in the mood for games at a time like this?
“Then we’ll figure it out later.”
“See ya.”
“You are leaving already?” Phii Hill asked as the person sitting next to him stood up from the sofa.
“Yeah, take care.” Phii Joe said as he left the room.
What’s with him, leaving so suddenly…
“You got homework, wanna head back?” Phii Hill asked.
“Yes, let’s go back!” I nodded quickly, making Ter chuckle, “In such a hurry?”
“I better hurry back. Who knows, maybe I’ll rack up more debt if I stay.”
“Hahaha, poor guy, but it’s kind of funny, don’t make that sad face.”
“Try waking up with debts in the hundreds of thousands like me.” I said with a pout, feeling rather annoyed before standing up with some effort. The hangover was still there, but not as bad as the body aches.
“You’re still standing strong. When Kyu told me, I thought it would be worse.” Ter looked me over from head to toe, guessing I probably had a split lip, a bruised eyebrow, and some bruises. “Just a typical day, dude.” I said, raising an eyebrow at him, “By the way, whose clothes am I wearing?”
I asked after checking myself out. Not asking about what happened to my old clothes, I was more concerned about whose new clothes I was wearing so I could return them properly.
And I didn’t ask who helped me change clothes either.
Ter mentioned that a housekeeper came to clean me up, which means it must have been her who changed my clothes…That’s embarrassing to think about; better not to dwell on it.
“They are Phii Joe’s, so you can ask.”
“Well, it might have been the butler’s clothes too, right? They’re expensive clothes, and he still lets me wear them.”
“Good at being sarcastic, huh?”
“Give me a break. I can’t do anything else anyway.” I said, and then the three of us left the room. This place isn’t just a house; it’s more like a mansion or a castle. I believe now that he’s very rich; those rumors weren’t exaggerated. I couldn’t look around for long before I had to focus on walking, or I’d risk falling over and damaging something else.
Along the way, we encountered the house staff, and they all looked at me. I was so embarrassed I had to hide behind Ter, silently repeating to myself:
“Just this.”
“I’m sorry for causing trouble.” T^T.
Phii Hill’s luxury car slowly drove us back to the dorm. After letting the couple say goodbye, Ter and I headed back to our room.
“Oh, add Phii Joe on LINE too.” Said Ter after I flopped onto my bed, exhausted both physically and emotionally.
“What?” “You’re his debtor now, don’t make a fuss.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I grumbled slightly, picking up the new phone I had received, feeling out of my element with such an expensive device, not knowing what to do with it.
“You don’t seem too stressed about it. I thought you’d cry, too bad.” Said Ter.
“I’ve run out of tears, man, I’m empty now.” I said, “Sure, I’m stressed. Who wouldn’t be? But part of me still can’t believe it.”
“I couldn’t believe it either. If I hadn’t seen the state of the living room downstairs at Phii Joe’s, oh, I’d think Godzilla had attacked.”
“That bad?”
“So bad. Do you usually go wild like this when you’re drunk?”
“Not like this, maybe I was just really angry. Angrier than I’ve ever been.”
“You get angry when you play games too.”
“That’s different, Ter.” I sighed at him, “Seriously, I feel more guilty. He’s just fronting the money for me, it’s like I owe him…just a lot more than usual.”
“So what are you going to do? It’s not a small amount.”
“If your boyfriend’s friend decides not to charge interest, I’m thinking of paying a thousand a week.”
“Bastard…”
“Hey, I’m serious. My job could handle that.”
“A thousand a week, until you graduate.” Ter shook his head slightly at my idea, “But if he just charges a little interest, it’s okay. You have to understand where he’s coming from, he works for his money, suddenly losing hundreds of thousands without getting anything back, it’s a big opportunity cost in business terms.”
“Did Phii Hill tell you that?” I asked. No doubt about it. If Ter says something with such reasoning, Phii Hill must have taught him. “Yes. At first, he explained it at much greater length, but that’s what I remember. Otherwise, I’d have gone berserk about the interest on my friend’s debt.”
“Yeah, yeah, I understand. Sigh, should I sell this phone? It’s worth tens of thousands at least, and these clothes too, they’re expensive.”
“North, use the phone, he bought it for you. Just return the clothes.” Ter said.
“Okay, okay, I know. Just kidding.” I was just joking anyway. Selling the phone he bought to pay him back would look bad, wouldn’t it? “But why did Phii Joe have to pick me up? This part is still unclear.”
“I told you, I don’t know, but if I had to guess, it’s because Phii Joe is responsible, maybe?”
I looked puzzled at Ter after he said ‘responsible’.
“Like…I don’t know everything, ask Kyu. But if I had to guess, Phii Joe probably went to handle the brawl situation. Remember the medical and hush money? He probably sorted it all out. Don’t worry, if they had left you there, you’d have been expelled before you could even shift gears.”
“Don’t curse me, but you’re right. Never had issues at university before, it’s more complicated than high school for sure.”
“Have you learned your lesson?” Ter asked, his tone slightly mocking, or maybe I was just imagining it.
“Absolutely, I’m not drinking again, damn it.” I said, lightly ruffling my hair.
“Good. Call Nao and the others, they must be worried.” Ter suggested, reminding me I should check on them too. I quickly opened LINE, logged into my old ID.
There were tons of new message notifications.
But what’s most important is:
‘Jaja: (New Notification (120))’ When I opened it, Jaja sent even more messages. Or maybe this was the person Ter was talking about who was bombarding me with messages.
Before Phii Joe threw my phone against the wall…
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