GTLTGIDES chapter 9

“Huh, ‘Negotiation,’ you say?”

“Yes. ‘Negotiation.’ Let’s be honest here. Without me, all three of you would be in trouble, right? Is there any other guide willing to join Special A Team? Especially after I made this public confession, if I suddenly leave the team, your reputation will drop even further. I doubt anyone would step up to be the dedicated guide.”

“Wow, Heewoon, you’ve grown a lot. Now you’re disguising threats as negotiations?”

Although it wasn’t intended to be a threat, I had to use everything I could.

I asked the three of them again.

“So, are we going to negotiate or not?”

Elliot closed his thin lips. Straightening his back, he looked down at me, slightly lifting his chin.

His expression was blank, but I could clearly read the emotions in his light pink eyes.

My words weren’t wrong, and that must have hurt his pride.

But soon, he threw a bait with a leisurely smile.

“What are your terms? Should I put about 500 million won in your pocket all at once?”

‘Oh…. Five hundred million!’

I swallowed and covered my mouth. I almost blurted out ‘Yes!’ before I knew it.

Actually, it wasn’t me, but the Yang Heewoon inside me.

“Mo-money is not the issue….”

My hands were trembling. Damn it.

I just want to give up and ask for the 500 million won. (Around 365,000 USD)

But I have to endure. If I take that money, they will demand more from Yang Heewoon, and the impact will reach Eunsoo, my successor.

This is all…. all for the sake of my precious child!

“Just keep three things for me.”

Elliot narrowed his eyes. It was the kind of look that seemed to say, ‘A poor bastard like you is refusing money?’

Having lived a poor life as desperately as Yang Heewoon, I felt quite hurt.

‘Being poor is miserable, damn it. I just want to negotiate well and get about 800 million won to leave as an inheritance for Eunsoo.’

But if I did that, the world would end when the climax of the original story comes.

Even if I got that kind of money, I wouldn’t be able to give it all to Eunsoo.

I have to endure. Don’t settle for immediate gains, look far ahead.

Fortunately, Cha Junseong intervened between me and Elliot.

“Tell us. As you said, we are at a disadvantage, so we will allocate the maximum budget.”

“It’s not about the budget. Money… is not needed….”

“You must be crazy. Yang Heewoon saying he doesn’t need money….”

Shut up, bastard. I find it unbelievable too, so don’t say it out loud.

Even now, I’m considering extorting about 1.2 billion won from you to smuggle Eunsoo abroad.

I steadied my wavering heart that was leaning toward money and held up three fingers towards them. Then, one by one, I stated my conditions.

“First, greet me properly wherever you see me. Second, if you need guidance, don’t just approach me at will, but ask and get permission first. I’ll do everything you want, so don’t force me and trust me. And third.”

I folded my last finger as I spoke.

“Camaraderie. I am also a member of Special A Team. We are one team, so let’s get along from now on.”

Although I finished speaking, there was no response. All three just stared at me blankly.

The first to speak was Cha Junseong, the highest decision-maker here. He asked in a bewildered voice.

“…Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“Yang Heewoon must be really crazy. To ask us for such things? Refusing 500 million won?”

Hey, stop talking about 500 million. I’m already struggling with my regrets.

“You said you needed me. I need you too. So let’s win-win. It’s not a difficult thing, right?”

Actually, it’s a difficult thing.

I only asked for the basics, but those three don’t even have the basics.

Moreover, now they would prefer to solve things with money rather than start with the basics.

But that’s why I deliberately said it was not a difficult thing.

To give those prideful guys the nuance of ‘Is it so difficult that you can’t even do this?’

“Th… That’s right, it’s not a difficult thing.”

Especially prideful Elliot took the bait first.

Once one bites, the rest will follow. Now that he has said it’s easy, what will he say, that it’s difficult?

That’s unthinkable in a prideful Special A Team.

Feeling like I caught a big fish, I held back my excitement and asked.

“Then can I take it that you accept my conditions?”

“Wait a minute. The first two are fine, but the last one is too vague, isn’t it? How are we supposed to maintain camaraderie?”

I was waiting for this moment. I proposed this with a plan in mind.

With a sly grin, I lifted my portable device.

“We’ll have to try various things, but for now, let’s start by creating a group chat.”

[‘Yang Heewoon’ has invited ‘C’, ‘R’, and ‘E’.]

…….

[‘C’ has entered.]

[‘R’ has entered.]

[‘E’ has entered.]

“Wow, they actually joined.”

I checked the chat room several times in disbelief.

Honestly, I did this partly to reform these bastards for Eunsoo’s sake, but it was also very selfish.

It’s been a dream of mine since a long time ago. Creating a group chat with the people I like and chatting about trivial things.

During my school days, I was shunned for being a poor orphan, so I had no real friends. As an adult, it was hard to make ends meet, so I never had a chance to do this.

And now, the participants are the people I like the most. Just looking at the device made me feel full.

[Yang Heewoon: Welcome!]

I excitedly sent the first chat, but there was no response for a long time.

Damn antisocial bastards.

[Yang Heewoon: Aren’t you going to greet me?]

[Yang Heewoon: Remember the first rule? Greet me when you see me.]

[E: Isn’t that only applicable when we see each other in person? Even here?]

[Yang Heewoon: Of course, it applies here too.]

[E: Wow. Yang Heewoon, you’re really something.]

[E: Ridiculous.]

[R: Hi]

[C: Take care, Yang Heewoon.]

Elliot seemed to have many complaints and wanted to argue with me, but the other two didn’t support him at all.

Not long after, even Elliot sent a greeting.

[E: Take care. You were really weird today, so wash up and go to bed early. Got it?]

It was a bit crooked, but it was enough.

After hesitating with a wide grin, I quickly typed on the screen.

[Yang Heewoon: Thank you for joining and greeting me. I really like all three of you. Take care and have a good night. I’ll miss you.]

As soon as I sent the embarrassing message, I closed the device.

By now, the group chat might be filled with question marks and discussions about whether Yang Heewoon has really gone mad. Or it could be completely silent out of sheer disbelief.

No matter how they reacted, I had conveyed my sincerity and taken a step toward what I wanted.

Isn’t this a great success?

I stepped out of the car with a grin. On such a pleasant day, it’s only right to end it by seeing Eunsoo.

After all, it was thanks to Eunsoo’s positive energy this morning that I managed to accomplish this much today.

‘I wonder if they drank the beverage I gave them?’

I thought about giving them some bread this time and headed towards the convenience store.

“Hey, you little shit! Why the hell are you wearing a hat in front of customers with no manners!”

The moment I heard the voice coming from inside the store, the blissful mood I had been soaring in came crashing down instantly.

The convenience store was in chaos. Specifically, a man was shouting angrily with curse words, his voice echoing throughout the store.

“Take off your hat already!”

“Can’t you hear me? Are you deaf?”

“You little shit! A grown adult’s words mean nothing to you, huh? Want to die, really?”

“Take it off, you asshole! Aren’t you going to take it off?”

‘No way…….’

Eunsoo can’t take off the hat inside the convenience store.

There’s a restriction from a special contract.

If broken, Eunsoo would be banned from ever stepping foot in the store again.

To avoid losing the only place where they can breathe freely, Eunsoo would never take off the hat.

They would endure anything else before that.

A cold sense of dread washed over me.

My heart raced loudly.

As expected, when I opened the convenience store door, my anxiety turned into reality right before my eyes.

A man standing at the counter was slapping Eunsoo’s cheek.