[Take it. Take it.]
Fu said over and over again in June's mind.
'Were you a thief in your past life?'
[Imagine what you could do with it, host!]
There were definitely a lot of things he could do with 10,000 dollars. For starters, he doesn't even need to think about his rent for the next few months! He can also buy another phone and replace the cracked and old phone he currently has. He can repay Grandma for all the meals she had cooked for him!
June can even accomplish the first mission on his list: Donate to charity.
He inspected the wallet once again and went through the IDs inside. He saw it belonged to the rich-looking lady a while back. Now that he thinks about it, the lady probably won't even feel a loss of 10,000 dollars.
But then again, he shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Besides, it wouldn't be good for his reputation if people found out he had stolen a wallet.
June brought out his taped-up phone from his pocket and typed in the number written on one of the ID cards.
[You're going to give it back?]
June ignored Fu and waited until the person on the other side picked up.
"Hello?" the familiar voice of the woman said.
"Hello, Miss Hana?" June asked.
"Umm, yes. Who is this?"
"I'm calling from Seven Star Convenience Store. It seems you have left your wallet here," he said. He couldn't help but sigh since he still felt that it was a shame.
10,000 dollars!
June never even had that amount of money when he was still with White Tiger. Sure, he had dealt with money as big as millions during negotiations, but he was paid with petty pennies compared to those.
"Oh, thank goodness," Hana said. "I thought I had lost everything. Thank you for calling me."
"Can you get it here? I'm still on my shift," he said.
"Of course," Hana exclaimed. "I was just in a restroom nearby. I'll go there right now."
"Alright," June said.
"Thank—"
June turned off the call before Hana could even finish her sentence. The girl, who was on her way back to the convenience store, looked at her phone with confusion. Did that guy really just abruptly end their call?
Does he not recognize who she is?
Hana smiled and shook her head in amusement. And to think he's returning her wallet. Other people would not have hesitated to keep the 10,000 dollars for themselves.
He must be a very kind man.
On the other hand, June can't stop sighing at the convenience store. Maybe he should have kept the wallet for himself. It didn't seem like Hana was frantically looking for it, either.
However, it does go against his principles. Even as a thug, he never stole any money from innocent people. He only ever stole money from those who deserved it. June believed that normal people who had no business with gangs and their world shouldn't be involved.
It didn't take long before the sound of the door chimes was heard, signaling the entrance of Hana. Hana had a wide smile on her face as she entered, already thanking June with her gaze.
"Here," June nonchalantly said. "I didn't take anything."
Hana chuckled at the young guy's cold demeanor. It felt refreshing not to be treated like a celebrity all the time.
"I'm sure you didn't," Hana said. "Thanks for being honest."
"I would have kept it if ya didn't tip me," he seriously said, but it elicited a chuckle from Hana.
"I like you," Hana suddenly said, causing June to raise both his eyebrows.
"Do you go around falling in love with people you don't even know?" he asked.
She shook her head. "It's not that kind of "like," young man. I just like that you brought this back to me. You seem very kind."
Kind?
June scoffed.
If only she knew.
"You're honest, too," she added. "Here," she said, suddenly bringing out a 500-dollar bill from her pocket. "A token for being a kind and honest man."
June wasted no time in taking the money and placing it in his pocket. Stealing from a normal citizen was something he didn't want to do, but when the blessing is right in front of your face, you shouldn't even hesitate to grab it!
"Thanks," he muttered. "Have a good day."
Hana looked at him, amused. "That's it?"
"What else do ya want?" June asked.
Hana chuckled. "Nothing, nothing. I'm just curious—do you not know who I am?"
June frowned in confusion. He looked at her face, but she didn't seem familiar.
"No," he honestly said.
Hana nodded and smiled. "That's nice. I'll get going then."
June merely nodded, causing Hana to chuckle once again. "I hope to see you around sometime!"
With that, she waved her hand and left the convenience store.
June sighed in relief since his shift was almost over. There weren't any new people coming in, too, so he decided to clean up while waiting for the owner to give him his salary for the week.
June first arranged the chips rack, then moved over to the alcoholic drinks. How he wishes he could drink tonight, but they were going to shoot for Rising Stars tomorrow. He looked at the soju bottle with longing, imagining its taste on his tongue.
He frowned, however, when he saw a familiar face on the soju bottle.
"Miss Hana?"
***
June's shift was now over, and he was already on his way home. He had a huge bag of gummies in his hand and quickly popped one in his mouth.
His eyes widened in glee when he tasted the cola-flavored gummy.
"These BenBen gummies are quite good," he muttered.
In the end, the owner could only pay him 500 dollars compared to the 588 dollars they agreed on. It was alright with June since he had gotten a pretty large tip from Miss Hana. However, he couldn't go home empty-handed, so he asked the owner to compensate him with BenBen gummies instead.
So, now, he had 10 bags of gummies in his possession.
They better help him grow at least 1 cm!
On his way home, he came across an orphanage, causing him to stop and stare at the old and knackered building. Somehow, it reminded him of the orphanage him and Mei Ling used to live in.
It had awful living conditions, and they fought for food every single day. However, the nuns who took care of them were kind enough to raise them well with love and care. Of course, that was difficult with the lack of funds they had, but they still tried their best.
When June entered the gang, he felt quite guilty, knowing the nuns raised them to be kind people. However, June believed he didn't have a choice. In the end, he wanted to give Mei Ling a good life.
To ease his guilt, June donated to the orphanage every month when he was still Jun Hao. That's probably one of the reasons he couldn't save a lot of money back then. But it was nice seeing the nuns that raised him smile in gratefulness whenever he donated.
June was reminded of his mission once again. Whilst chewing on his gummies, he brought out his wallet and saw the 1,000 dollars he had earned in a span of one week.
He had to spare 600 dollars for his rent from last month until the next month, so he was left with only 400 dollars left.
June wanted to buy some decent clothes for the filming of the show or maybe treat Grandma and Minjun before he went.
However, he heard the sound of children cheering from inside. June peered through the musty window and saw about 15 kids and 2 old caretakers sharing a vegetable dish on the table.
June sighed and brought out the 500 dollars that Hana gave him this morning.
"This wasn't supposed to be mine anyway," he muttered.
[Mission Success: Donate to Charity]
[Please pick one aspect to improve.]
"Dance."
[Wise choice! Dance + 1. Current grade: D+]
June's just a little guy. Hope you're liking the chapters! June's going back to continue filming Rising Stars tomorrow!