April Loves Black Coffee: First Impressions (8 page)

“I’m looking for someone . . . I wonder if you can help me.” Mohawk’s sharp facial structure is home to a broken nose, slightly bruised cheekbones, and a small cut on his upper lip. Whether these are fresh battle scars or not, the three foreign symbols tattooed on the right side of his face indicates the jurisdiction for it.

“Well, sir, all stores have a privacy policy in which we are not allowed to reveal our customers and–” I start explaining at a rapid pace.

“No,” Mohawk cuts me off quickly, conveying a rapid sense of impatience. “I’m not looking for a customer. I’m looking for your co-worker.”

I feel the chill down my spine, but something is clearly stuck in my throat. A new type of fear washes over me. Before I can respond, Lina returns from the back room.

“Ok. Let’s go. Did Bae come in yet?” She has a fresh smile on her face, excited to leave work. Lina has her bag swinging from her left hand and her right hand clutching her cell phone. But everything comes to a stop for Lina when she sees the figure standing on the opposite side of the counter.

Immediately, the smile disappears from my cousin’s face. I feel as though the bottom of my stomach drops too. Lina and I wear our emotions on our sleeves. If we are happy, mad, or sad anyone and everyone can read it from our expressions and body language. When I see the look of surprise changing to fear on her face, I know my cousin has gotten herself into irreversible trouble.

Lina knows this all too well. Yet, at the present moment, she is speechless and immobilized at the sight of Mohawk.

“Hi Lina.” Mohawk stands from the counter at the sight of her. He smiles at her as though they are longtime friends. Whomever Mohawk represents requires him to be professional, patient, and particular.

“Hi,” Lina’s reply is barely above a whisper. She walks slowly over to my side. “You’re here at my work . . . .”

“I am,” Mohawk agrees without hesitation. “I was beginning to worry about you and Spyder. Maybe you two got into a horrific accident, I thought. That would be the only reason why you both have been ignoring my phone calls for the past week. But, look at you standing here healthy and alive! Not a care in the world.”

My eyebrows come together in confusion. I don’t have to wait long to understand the topic of conversation.

“I-I’ll pay you back. Spyder and I will pay you back. It’s just been rough this past month. We weren’t avoiding you. We were just trying to gather the money–”Lina’s words are long-winded bursts.

“Shut up.” His playful demeanor subsides at Lina’s pleas. Without warning of an emotional outburst, Mohawk slams his right fist onto the glass counter.

Lina and I both jump back, convinced that the glass counter would shatter under his force.

“What is he doing?!” I can’t help myself. “What’s going on Lina?” I ask my cousin with haste.

My cousin simply shakes her head as the colors of fear change on her face. She desperately wants me to shut up and for the situation to be a dream.

“I didn’t hunt you down to hear your excuses.” Mohawk’s voice lowers with menace. “My Boss is currently on his way to Spyder’s house as we speak. He required that you be at the meeting as well.”

The realization of Mohawk’s threat drains the remaining blood from Lina’s face.

“Spyder’s house? Your Boss?” Lina blinks furiously as the tears form in her eyes. “P-please! I beg you. There’s no need to involve your Boss. We’ll pay you back. Just give us an extension.”

Boss? Extension? Pay you back? What the hell is Lina talking about?
My heart is pounding in my ribcage from the tides of confusion and surprise.

“I didn’t come here to negotiate terms. My job is to make sure you attend the meeting.” Mohawk steps back from the glass counter. His face becomes hard and cold as stone. “So you can decide to come by yourself or I can help you.”

“Please . . . ,” Lina mutters. By now, the tears are free falling from her eyes. Lina hastily wipes them away with her shirtsleeve.

I have never seen my cousin cry with such fear before. I reach out to her. I’m so baffled my head starts gathering the necessary chemicals for a migraine. “Lina, what’s going on?” My voice sounds like I am squeaking.

“I owe them money,” Lina sobs into my arm. “They’re after me now.”

Shit.
I do my best not to gasp aloud. My conscience peeks over her glasses.
Choi Sangwoo
, my conscience whispers. I cover her quickly with a sheer blanket.

Meanwhile, Mohawk stands as a motionless statue. I suppose in his field of business he is used to the tears, sweat, and even blood of others. I want to give my cousin a hug and console her, but I decide against any sudden movements with Mohawk standing in such close proximity.

“I’ll go,” Lina states when she faces Mohawk again. She wipes her nose one last time. “I’ll go to the meeting.”

“I’ll come too,” I volunteer immediately. “I’m her cousin. Maybe I can help and settle a deal with your Boss. I’ll help Lina pay back what she owes,” I add before Mohawk opposes me.

“No May,” Lina protests. She grabs onto my arm tightly. As if there is a fourth wall between us, she says, “Stay out of this. I’ll call you after.”

“No,” I retort. Lina must be crazy if she thinks I am going to let her go with
Mohawk alone. “I’m going with you. I’m not going to leave you, Lina.”

Mohawk narrows his eyes at my suggestion, but his lips curve into an entertained smile. “What a loyal cousin you have, Lina. It isn’t a bad idea for a third person to co-sign your hefty loan. It might save your head.”

Lina gives him a resentful look. When she turns to me, Lina’s eyes are full of defeat and remorse. “I’m sorry May. I don’t want to get you involved.”

I can only give her arm a small squeeze. It is my way of telling Lina that I am going to be here for her, regardless of how bad the situation turns out to be. I am still in shock, but I do my best to compose my surprise.
You think you have enough credibility to deal with loan sharks after your brush with the gangster?
My intuition purses her lips at me and shakes her head.

“My Boss does not like to wait ladies.” Mohawk takes a couple of steps back from the counter, a clear indication that we are supposed to follow him now.

Lina holds onto my arm as we follow Mohawk out of the store. The feeling of leaving Sansachun without a choice is terrifying. Lina and I could not have predicted our great day would take a turn for the worse. There are so many questions I want to ask her, but I know this isn’t the time or place. With a heavy heart, I walk with Lina and follow Mohawk out of the store. The silence is hard for me to bear when the questions are dancing on the tip of my tongue.

It becomes apparent that the red carpet treatment allows Mohawk to be here. A large, black sport utility vehicle is waiting for us outside of Sansachun. Its engine is still running at a steady beat. Mohawk stops when he reaches the driver’s side of the car. He waits for Lina to close up the store. Lina’s hands are shaking uncontrollably as she locks up the front door of Sansachun. I offer to help her, but Mohawk makes it clear he wants her to feel the torment of anxiety and fear.
Asshole.

After Lina extracts the key out of the lock, Mohawk motions for Lina to get into the back seat of the car first. I follow shortly behind her. Once I am in the car, Mohawk closes the door behind us and walks around to the front passenger’s side.

Inside, the car is total darkness. There is a solid black partition separating the back seat from the front. It is halfway down, revealing a driver who has one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gearshift. The driver is wearing black sunglasses that cover more than half of his face.

When Mohawk gets into the passenger seat, he simply nods to the dr
iver. The car’s automatic locks switch on as it pulls away from Sansachun’s curb.

The late afternoon sunlight is as bright as ever. However, inside the car, the light is a mute dark blue color. The streets are bustling with the spontaneous commotion of cars and people. It all seems worlds away from where Lina and I are heading.

Occasionally, I catch my cousin’s concerned face. Thoughts run through my mind at a rapid pace as I try to find some logical and rational meaning to the situation. Then, I remember Spyder and his money issues. To the naked eye, Spyder has plenty of money, but a closer introspection would probably cite an unreliable income source. After all this time, I am about to find the truth to my suspicions. It is just too terrible that Lina has to be involved in something as reckless as this.

“Is Boss on his way?”

From the front passenger seat, Mohawk’s left hand flashes to his ear. He is holding an unidentifiable cell phone. At the same time, the car’s partition rolls up. Mohawk and the driver disappear out of sight shortly. Apparently, the partition is not only vision proof, but sound proof as well.

“Who are they?” I immediately turn to Lina. “We need to call the police!”

Lina’s eyebrows came together in worry. She looks at the partition to gauge if it is safe to talk. “We can’t call the police May. It’ll be worse for us if we do. They’re loan sharks. I’m sorry May.”

A feeling of dread comes over me. “How long has this been going on?” Somehow, I feel betrayed.

Lina gives me such a sad look that she almost appears to be a different person. Apparently, she has been hiding this fact from me for quite some time. “About two weeks now. Last time, we asked them for an extension and today’s the last day.”

“We?” I have been under the impression this is Spyder’s sole doing.

“Spyder and I have some financial problems. I borrowed ten grand to help my parents. Spyder borrowed an additional ten grand for his own personal reasons,” Lina whispers as rapidly as she can. Her eyebrows come together in defeat. Lina’s shoulders sag as her tone of agitation increases.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I know it is an impractical question to ask, but I can’t understand why Lina kept such an important problem from me.

“. . . Because I thought I could handle it. It’s embarrassing to have such financial problems.” Lina makes a sour facial expression. The regret is also evident.

“Everybody has financial issues,” I remark and attempt to conjure up something that would brighten up the situation. But a dark thought crosses my mind instead. “How deep are you in this?”

“Enough,” Lina mutters in reply. “Hopefully, I can ask the Boss for an extension.”

“You–” I start to reply when the partition lowers with a soft hum.

Evidently, Mohawk is done with his private phone conversation.

“Talking about us?” Mohawk rests the left side of his head against his chair’s headrest. When Lina and I don’t answer him, Mohawk lets out a feigned sigh. “That’s right . . . not everyone gets to have a meeting with my Boss. We’re not the type of business where you can schedule an appointment with us when it is convenient for you. We are also not the type of business where apologies and pleas can earn you extensions and forbearances. You’re lucky my Boss is taking time out of his day to entertain your sorries. I would choose my words wisely if I were you.”

Who do you think you are?!
My conscience is shoving a closed knuckle at his head. I bite my lower lip at Mohawk’s rude diction. I want to disagree, but Lina touches my hand softly. She shakes her head feverishly, adamantly advising me to let it go. Fortunately, I don’t have to put with him any longer.

The car makes a sharp turn around the familiar bend of the dreary road. Spyder’s house is on steep hills that lead to a shabby neighborhood. His is the only house on top of the highest plateau with skewed black gates. Every single
window is tinted a dark shade of black, and the front door is constructed entirely out of shutters. At the moment, however, the most fascinating thing about Spyder’s house is not its unusual design. It is the fact that the uninvited vehicles line the front like flies attracted to a particular light.

Four unmarked sports utility vehicles, identical to the one we are sitting in, park in front of Spyder’s house. From the headlights down to the grill of each tire, the cars make an intimidating convoy. The SUV Lina and I are in round out the end of the group. It comes to a slow and calculated stop right in front of Spyder’s gates.

“Let’s go.” Mohawk is out of the car before the driver can turn off the engine.

“I can’t do this, May.” Lina turns to me with abrupt panic. Fear, anxiety, and nervousness splay themselves on her expression.

“Stay calm.” I try to comfort my best friend and cousin. “It’ll be ok. Take a deep breath.”
Are you convincing yourself too?
My intuition is gulping down her Red Bull with a lets-do-this sticker around her forearm.

Lina inhales tentatively and then exhales again.

“Let’s go!” From the outside, Mohawk pounds on the car door.

“Come on. He’s getting on my nerves.” The irritation free flows through me now.

I open the door and get out of the car first. Lina clasps both hands around my left wrist to pull herself out. I don’t want to let it show, but a sinking feeling develops at the bottom of my stomach. I survey Spyder’s house and the area. The quiet neighborhood is oblivious about the house on top of the hill. Many of the houses on the block are empty; their owners are still a long way from home at this time in the afternoon.