Chapter 12
Every time his tongue brushed against the split inside his mouth, he tasted the metallic tang of blood. Mu-gyeong didn’t respond—he only let out a low chuckle. Maybe he was silent because he was genuinely considering it, or maybe he was just amused. Whatever the reason, Guppping took his lack of response as hesitation and pressed further.
"Hongju’s remaining debt is a little over two billion won, you know? Since it’s you, Mu-gyeong, I could hand him over for twenty—no extra margin."
A sharp silence fell. The distant shouts and laughter from inside the back rooms suddenly felt deafening in contrast.
"......."
Mu-gyeong already knew the exact amount of Hongju’s debt. He had once heard Hongju say it was around 1.4 billion. Guppping was obviously lying. Despite himself, Hongju tensed. How would Mu-gyeong respond? The cold in his right ear, already frozen red from the winter air, suddenly became unbearable.
"That’s a pretty damn expensive body."
"His bastard father ran off with the debt fourteen years ago. No—fifteen now, since the new year’s started. We clothed him, fed him, raised him. And that’s without adding up those costs. Even then, he’s still worth this much."
"Hmm."
Mu-gyeong dragged out a long breath. The chair creaked—he had probably leaned back against it.
"Why are you suddenly putting a price tag on him? Feels a little pushy."
"You look interested, that’s why. I... Tsk. I wasn’t gonna bring this up, but..."
Guppping’s voice dropped, making Hongju’s breath catch. His body instinctively braced, already anticipating where this was going. He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing all his attention on the conversation inside.