TRIPLE 11

“Give birth to a child for me?” It wasn’t an unexpected proposal. I knew the flow of the original story. Even though the situation was more subdued than the original, I couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

Siyeon ran his tongue over his dry lips and asked back.

“Do you have any intention of letting me go if I say I don’t want to?”

“Are you planning to refuse?”

“Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t accept such a proposal.”

As Siyeon laughed as if it were absurd, Beom Yisu also brought out the cards he had prepared.

“The debt you owe, Hong Siyeon—five hundred million plus interest. I’ll take care of all of it.”

Roughly one billion including the principal and interest was hanging over Siyeon’s head. It wasn’t a small amount of money, but to ask me to give birth to a child for only that amount. A tycoon, you say? Your guts are smaller than I thought. The moment Siyeon swallowed a scoff to himself, Beom Yisu’s voice continued. As if he had read his mind.

“Of course, that is just the contract advance. If you safely give birth to the child, I will add three times that as the remaining balance.”

If he adds three times the advance… that’s about three billion. That would be a decent amount of money to live a comfortable life after the contract.

Honestly speaking, it was tempting. I didn’t have a single shred of desire to see the terrible ending where I am imprisoned, exploited, and killed by a vicious couple who shouldn’t be dealt with, but given the situation, I couldn’t completely abandon the option of a compromise.

If, even after running away for a hundred days, I am fated to run into them again eventually.

‘If I can’t avoid it, shouldn’t I at least have something in my hands?’

The problem was whether that compensation would truly become mine. Under the same conditions, what went to the protagonist of the original story didn’t even amount to small change.

It was obvious that Chief Kang had acted as a broker in the middle and siphoned everything off. If he got involved again, the flow wouldn’t change this time either.

‘If I could just get rid of Chief Kang… it would be better than the original.’

But that guy was a human who could smell money like a ghost. There was no way that the Jip Yohan loan shark, who had finally found Siyeon after he hid with all his might, would easily let go when faced with a big spender like Beom Yisu.

The circumstantial evidence was enough. Today, the look in his eyes as he glared at Beom Yisu… it told me that he intended to latch on somehow and rip off a bigger share.

After agonizing over it, Siyeon bit his lips repeatedly and then raised his head.

“You’re a gambler. Seeing as you suddenly raised the stakes.”

“I have no intention of gambling with a child. I have simply offered compensation for legitimate labor.”

“Ah, labor, is it.”

Siyeon, momentarily speechless, twisted his lips and smiled. Right, that guy was that kind of character to begin with. As expected, it was a response worthy of an arrogant tycoon in a soap-opera novel. At the attitude that was exactly as expected, Siyeon let out a breath mixed with sarcasm.

“You seem to believe that everything can be solved with money, Representative.”

“Most things are like that. Well, do you need more time to think?”

“No. Because I’m not going to do it.”

At the firm refusal, Beom Yisu looked straight at Siyeon for a moment, then tilted his head at an angle. With a face that said he couldn’t understand it at all.

“Hong Siyeon, you need money.”

He was just pointing out the facts, but from the position of the one listening, it wasn’t a very pleasant thing to hear.

‘Anyway, look at that nerve.’

Siyeon clicked his tongue, at least to himself. Even though the mood was not great, it didn’t mean I was hurt. Since I thought that this body and I were separate anyway, I opened my mouth without avoiding Beom Yisu’s eyes.

“I do need it. Exactly the amount you proposed, as it happens.”

“Then, does that mean you would rather crawl back under a trashy creditor than accept the proposal?”

“Doesn’t it have nothing to do with you how I pay off my debt?”

The moment I drew a line to tell him not to mind it, Beom Yisu’s eyes, which had been expressionless the whole time, sank even more coldly. Enough to feel that his mood had completely dampened, even without him having to say it in words.

“Then I shall become the person directly involved.”

A low voice that slipped out like a mutter. At the sharp reaction that exceeded expectations, Siyeon stumbled and took a step back.

However, as if Beom Yisu had absolutely no intention of letting Siyeon go, he took one more step forward and narrowed the distance to Siyeon.

“What is… that…”

“It means that if you want a low-quality treatment, I can match your tastes.”

He threw away the pretense of proposing a deal like a gentleman and was openly threatening me. Somehow, it felt like the cold-blooded Beom Yisu from the original story was overlapping.

‘If I keep playing hard to get here, will I go to the original route?’

Since that is something I would refuse even in death, I had to find a way to clear this heavy atmosphere. Whether you hit first, spit, or throw sand. Doesn’t a gap usually appear only after you have completely rattled the opponent’s mind?

I had to create a flow favorable to myself through that momentary gap. That was why I chose this extreme method.

“Then ten times!”

Cutting through the brief silence, Siyeon’s clear voice rang out in the alley of Nagwon-dong.

“If you give me ten times the advance you just proposed, I’ll think about it seriously too.”

At the daring proposal, the corners of Beom Yisu’s mouth slowly twisted. Between the flickering, dim streetlights, I felt him staring straight at me.

“It is free for you to inflate your own price, Hong Siyeon.”

It was difficult to read Beom Yisu’s thoughts from his expression alone. Somehow, I felt like a puppy before a tiger, but Siyeon maintained a confident attitude without avoiding his gaze.

Then, he, who furrowed his brows as if agonizing over it, whispered in a terribly low voice.

“However, I would like to verify for myself if you are worth that much.”

It was a voice that couldn’t tell if it was ridicule or interest. At his words, which seemed to be probing my inner thoughts, Siyeon shrugged his shoulders, forcing a hearty laugh.

“You said everything is solved with money, so you don’t want to invest even that much?”

“It is my policy not to enter into a contract that incurs a loss.”

“Then I’m good, too. You were the one who grabbed someone who didn’t want to and threatened them to give birth to a child.”

I countered with great spirit, but I could feel my throat tightening stiffly myself.

‘…As expected, did I call out too high?’

Ten times the one-billion advance… is that ten billion? Honestly, it was an absurd amount. Like Beom Yisu said, I also wondered if this body was worth that much. But wasn’t it Beom Yisu who boasted that ‘everything is solved with money’?

Ultimately, this situation now means that the proposal was rejected because the amount was insufficient. If an answer of ‘I can’t give that’ comes out here, only his pride would be wounded.

‘If you’re scared, back off. Even without you and your spouse, I only need to avoid that guy, Chief Kang, and that’s a piece of cake.’

But what if he gives me the money here? Even if I get as much money ripped off by Chief Kang as in the original, I would have more than that. If I had enough money, I might be able to run away when an opportunity arose.

Anything would be better than being a beggar, so if it were accepted, it was a profitable direction. Even in the moment when anxiety and calculation crossed, Siyeon observed Beom Yisu’s expression with a brazen face.

“Just because I have debt, I don’t want to give birth to a baby for a stranger blindly. We are people who met for the first time today.”

Siyeon, who was racking his brain, put on a pitiful expression and clutched his collar tightly. Like a timid, tragic protagonist. Since it would be difficult to control if I deviated further from the orbit of the original, it was time to show a thoroughly weak appearance.

“Aah, this is really troublesome. I still… haven’t even had a relationship yet….”

Siyeon held his forehead and delivered the lines loudly enough that it would be hard to call it a mutter. From the furtive gaze to the awkwardly trembling tone. It was a clumsy script even to my own ears, but I didn’t miss the moment Beom Yisu’s gaze wavered.

It seemed that the face, layered thick with a backstory, covered up all the flaws.

“If that is the issue, we can start by getting to know each other.”

“…Getting to know each other?”

The follow-up answer was overly specific.

“Let’s start with being pheromone partners. If you want, I can also add a privacy guarantee clause later. However….”

His gaze, as he continued to speak, was fixed on Siyeon’s face.

“You will have to prove your worth as much as the price I paid.”

It was still a dry tone, but the gaze that was piercing through Siyeon, as if all this negotiation had already finished, was heating up.

“Wai, wait a minute. That sounds like you want to sign the contract right now.”

“Since we need to prepare the document, it would be impossible right now. Let’s finish with just a verbal agreement for now.”

“No, that’s not what I meant… are you really going to give it to me? If it’s ten times the advance, that’s ten billion.”

“I have simply judged that reducing useless waste of time is a gain.”

Siyeon had a dumbfounded face for a moment, but Beom Yisu did not care. After a brief glance at his wristwatch, he threw the words out nonchalantly.

“Accept it. I will organize the detailed conditions and send them to you.”

A mobile phone was extended shortly after. When Siyeon hesitated, Beom Yisu’s brows narrowed. As if to say he would not allow any more waste of time, he roughly grabbed Siyeon’s wrist and forced the phone into his hand.

“It would be best not to think of any useless tricks or running away from now on. Because accepting this proposal will be the most rational choice for you, Hong Siyeon.”