At 3 Segwang-ro Lane, Mumyeong City, the Mujak Arcade has a slot machine where you wager a day's worth of luck.
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A delivery truck rumbling along in the early dawn.
"3 Segwang-ro Lane, Mumyeong City? Never been to this neighborhood before."
The delivery driver read the address on the invoice attached to the enormous box.
Mujak Arcade.
Judging by the size of the package, it was clearly a new arcade cabinet.
The arcade lights flickered with unusual brightness through the glass, but the place was deserted, giving it an eerie feel.
Various children's educational stickers plastered haphazardly over the game machines were the only thing that brought any warmth to this cold place.
"Owner! Delivery!"
The driver looked for the recipient to bring the box inside the arcade.
The arcade owner, who had been loading neon-colored coins into the bill exchanger, looked up.
"Hard at work since dawn, I see. You can set the package right here."
"Sure thing."
The owner held the door open, and the driver wheeled the cart into an empty corner of the arcade.
"Thanks for the hard work. Here, have a coffee before you go. I accidentally ordered two this morning and have one left over."
The owner dropped some ice into the cold coffee to cool it down and offered it to the driver. The driver, who had worked up a sweat hauling the heavy package, bowed his head in thanks and downed the iced coffee in one gulp.
"New arcade cabinet, I take it?"
"Nope. It's a slot machine."
"...Are you planning to turn the arcade into a casino?"
"Ha, no. This isn't a gambling machine that takes money."
"Then...?"
The owner smiled slyly.
"It's a slot machine where you wager your luck. You put in a day's worth of luck, and the machine either multiplies it several times over — or wipes it out entirely. The type of luck you end up wagering is random, so a major misfortune might vanish, or a small stroke of good luck might get doubled."
'Sounds like a scam.'
The driver didn't bother saying it out loud, but since he'd been treated to free coffee, he put on a polite smile.
The owner carried on with his explanation undeterred.
"You see, to keep consumption up and the local economy humming, people need a steady dose of stress. It's a trade secret, but I've designed it so people take home a bit more bad luck than good. Nothing major, of course."
"I see...."
"Fun slot machine, isn't it? Want to give it a spin?"
Rrrip, rrrip. The owner asked while slicing open the box with a knife.
"Didn't you just say you designed it so people take home more bad luck?"
"That's true, but the first couple of spins usually turn out well. You look skeptical, and it's free anyway — just give it a try!"
"........"
The driver, looking slightly awkward, pulled the slot lever. Since it was free, after all.
Dun-da! Dun-da!
The slot spun round and round to a childish, repetitive rhythm.
First symbol.
Cherry, spider, pudding, centipede, 7, 6.
The six images spun and spun, then stopped on centipede.
"Centipede...?"
Second symbol.
Cherry, spider, pudding, centipede, 7, 6.
The six images spun and spun, and stopped on centipede again.
"Hey, owner — regardless of what the pictures are, getting three of the same is good, right?"
"......."
The arcade owner's expression had gone stiff. He said nothing.
And the final symbol.....
Dun-da! Dun-da!
The images spun round and round, then stopped on one.
***
Centipede, centipede, centipede.
'Wow! Looks like you'll be able to visit again next time. That's a relief.'
After seeing the result, the owner's stiff expression melted into something enigmatic as he offered those cryptic words. It felt a bit unsettling, but the driver hadn't taken the slot machine seriously to begin with, so he quickly shook off the thought.
Will I ever have a reason to come here again?
It's an interesting neighborhood — I might drop by again on a day off.
The driver turned up the radio volume.
— Someone calls from within the fog, a worn and nameless wind —
The music from the radio hummed softly in his ears.
"Someone somewhere is calling me~"
The driver was singing along to the melancholy lyrics when a blinding light suddenly overtook his vision, making him squint.
— Don't ask where I'm going. The starlight remembers the way.
A car from the opposite side was barreling toward him at high speed — driving in the wrong lane.
"What the—!!!"
SCREEEEECH!!!!
The driver spun the steering wheel with all his might.
KRAKAKAKAK!
The car only scraped the tail end of the truck and sped past. There was a curve just behind them, and the car couldn't slow down — it tore straight through the guardrail and off the road.
The driver flicked on his hazard lights and pulled over to the side of the road. To calm his racing heart.
— Like a flowing river, I drift along
— Now, now, open your eyes and wake — dawn has come
— Far, far away, even if it fades, the light will return again
As if nothing had happened, the radio continued to ring out with music, clear and bright.
