Sandro
"Wash up."
Those were the first words I said to Marian when she entered the hotel room.
Without a second thought, Marian headed straight into the bathroom. A moment later, the sound of running water echoed from inside. I immediately checked the bag.
The only reason I had told her to wash up was to buy myself some time alone—time to inspect the bag and store it in my Inventory.
The attache case was secured with a double-lock mechanism. After a quick inspection, I slipped the entire case into my Inventory. Then, I sent a message to the local contact.
Just as I finished my conversation with the contact, Marian stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered.
"Get ready. We're going out."
"Huh?" Marian stared at me, her expression completely blank.
"Didn't you say you'd show me around? Are we just going to stay in this hotel room the whole time? Is this a hotel tour?"
"Well, no, but..."
"I'd appreciate it if you hurried up."
Though she looked utterly baffled, Marian began to get ready.
Leaving the hotel, we wandered around Bohol like an ordinary couple. We rented a car and drove out to Chocolate Hills, visited the tarsier sanctuary, ate lunch along the Loboc River, and even rode a zipline.
I had only initiated this to blend in as a typical tourist, but once we actually got going, it was surprisingly fun. There were moments when I found myself staring blankly at the unfamiliar landscapes, completely captivated. The scenery was truly that striking.
As for the zipline, while it was entertaining, it couldn't quite match the thrill of military rappelling or airborne training.
It seemed like this was Marian's first time on a proper trip as well. She looked even more excited than I was. Then again, just as there are plenty of Seoul residents who have never actually been to N Seoul Tower, there was no guarantee a Bohol local would have visited all the tourist spots. In Marian's case, it was undoubtedly even less likely.
After returning to Alona Beach for dinner, we headed back to the hotel.
The next day, I used Marian once again to secure the bag before preparing to leave Bohol. Three days had been more than enough. Surely, I had fulfilled my duties as a tourist by now.
I broke the news to Marian.
"I have to leave now. I had a good time."
"Thank you, too. Thanks to you, I got to escape that living hell for three days."
Marian's expression shifted. A flicker of emotion—perhaps sadness, perhaps regret—passed over her face.
I was exceptionally good at reading anger or a desire for revenge, but subtle emotions like this were still difficult for me. Maybe it was because I hadn't experienced many farewells in my life.
Unsure of what to say in this situation, I remained silent. Seeing my quietness, Marian spoke up.
"There's actually something I need to apologize for."
"Apologize? For what?"
Marian hesitated, looking deeply apologetic.
"You know... that steakhouse."
"The one we went to?"
"Yeah."
"What about it?"
"To be honest, it's not a famous restaurant at all. It's just overpriced and the food is terrible."
"Really? I didn't eat, so I wouldn't know."
I brushed it off. Restaurants could be bad and overpriced; the world was full of places like that. It didn't bother me.
"But... I really wanted to go there just once. So I lied to you to get you to take me. I'm sorry. And thank you for taking me anyway. Thanks to you, I got to fulfill a wish. Hehe."
Hearing her words, the image of Marian slowly and meticulously chewing her steak flashed through my mind.
She really just wanted to savor that moment.
Suddenly, a wave of pity washed over me. I recalled how amazed she had looked at the tourist spots, and how she had kept eating despite claiming she didn't have a large appetite.
To me, it had been nothing more than a job. I had only dragged her along to hide my own movements, using her as a shield.
But for Marian, it had been a brief escape from hell.
Without realizing it, I began calculating how much money I had left in my Inventory.
I had taken 3 million dollars from the rebels. I gave 2.2 million of that to my team members. Of the remaining 800,000 dollars, I spent 100,000 on the sniper rifle. That left 700,000 dollars. Add to that the 50,000 dollars I received from selling the guns last time, and my total cash reserves stood at 750,000 dollars.
Excluding my military salary and Korean currency, that was the pure amount of US dollars sitting in my Inventory.
Could I afford to spend 30,000 dollars of that for Marian? Was it the right thing to do?
Even if I bought her freedom, what then? I couldn't leave her in the Philippines indefinitely, nor could I take her back to Korea with me.
"I won't forget this. I was truly happy. I mean it," Marian said.
I didn't know if this was the right call. But what could I do? My feet refused to move.
It wasn't love, nor was it romantic attraction. It was more of a... projection? If I had grown up in the Philippines, or if I had been born a woman, wouldn't I have ended up just like her? That was the thought that crossed my mind.
If 30,000 dollars could change a person's entire life, I figured it wasn't a bad gamble to take.
"Get up."
"Already? Can't we stay just a little longer?" Marian asked, her voice laced with quiet desperation.
"Where do we need to go?"
"You don't have to walk me back," Marian said, her expression turning frantic.
"Didn't you ask me to buy you? Let's go ask for the price first."
Not long after Marian stepped out of the restaurant, the mustache guy pulled up in his car. He parked and gestured for Marian to get in, but when he saw me standing right beside her, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Didn't mean to startle you, sorry. I have some business with your boss too, so let's go together."
The mustache guy glanced at Marian, and she gave a quiet nod.
We drove to a spot just behind Alona Beach, barely ten minutes away. Their headquarters turned out to be a run-down, single-story office building.
As I made a move to enter, they stopped me to conduct a pat-down. I let them search me, using the opportunity to scan the building and the surrounding men.
Only one entrance. Three windows, but all of them were barred. There were three men outside. I couldn't tell how many were waiting inside yet.
I stepped through the door. Inside, there were a few desks and a cheap sofa. Only one man was sitting in the office.
"Welcome. I'm Sandro."
The rather portly man greeted me warmly, acting as if we were old friends.
"Hey there," I replied with a smile, taking a seat on the sofa and crossing my legs.
Sandro naturally sat down across from me.
"So, what brings you here? I've been in this business for over fifteen years, but you're the very first person to walk right into our office."
"Really? I'm honored. Do I get a first-time customer discount or something?"
"That depends entirely on why you're here."
"I'm here to buy Marian."
"Oh? Really? That's Marian for you. She completely stole your heart in just three days. But what should we do? Marian is our ace, so she's a bit expensive."
"How much?"
"One hundred thousand dollars."
"What? One hundred thousand? You said it was thirty thousand!" Marian shrieked from the side.
"How long ago was that? Do you have any idea how much prices have gone up since then? We have to adjust for inflation."
"Whoa. That's way more expensive than I thought. No discount?"
"That is the discounted price for a first-time customer."
"Is that so? Then I guess I can't afford her. I'll be on my way."
"Not so fast. This isn't some convenience store you can just stroll in and out of whenever you please. I just gave you a consultation. Even if you can't buy Marian, you still have to pay the consultation fee before you leave."
"And how much does a consultation cost around here?"
"Empty your pockets. Whatever you have on you, that's the fee."
I reached into my pocket, pulled out a single twenty-peso bill, and tossed it onto the table.
"This is all I have in my pockets. Thanks for the consultation. I appreciate it."
"Hahahahaha!"
Sandro burst into a roaring laugh at my antics.
"Hahaha! This is hilarious! I don't think I've had this much fun in years."
"Is it that funny?"
"Yeah. It's absolutely hilarious. I've never met a guy like you. But twenty pesos is all you have in your pockets?"
"Yep."
"You came to buy Marian with twenty pesos? You expect me to believe that?"
"I'm not an idiot. Did you think I wouldn't expect you to pull something like this? Obviously, if we agreed on a price, I'd withdraw the money from a bank. Who walks around with that much cash on them?"
"Fair point. In that case, I guess I'll have to collect your ransom instead of a consultation fee."
"What?"
"You've just been kidnapped. You've seen it on the news, right? Tourists going missing in the Philippines. Today, you're going to join them."
"Aren't you committing a pretty serious crime over a mere twenty pesos?"
"Who knows if it'll be twenty pesos or two hundred thousand dollars? I'm going to take your phone and call everyone in your contacts. If someone pays, great. If not, well, too bad. From now on, you're a lottery ticket. Let's see if we hit the jackpot."
"Now I see why you're working out of a dump like this."
"What?"
"Your only way of making money is taking me hostage? Isn't that a bit old-school? I can think of a dozen better ways."
Sandro pulled a handgun from his waistband and aimed it directly at me.
"I prefer the term 'classic.' And you'd be surprised how lucrative this is. Plus, cleanup is easy."
"Hahaha."
"What's so funny?"
"It's just a bit ridiculous. Pointing a gun at a paying customer... what an idiot."
Incensed by the insult, Sandro aimed at the ceiling and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
"Do you think this is a joke? Just because I'm smiling, you think you can laugh too? Huh?!"
Sandro marched toward me, gun raised, as the gunshot prompted his thugs to burst into the building.
"Whoa, whoa... calm down. I'm your hostage and your customer. You should treat me with a little more care."
"I'll decide how to treat you. Now shut the hell up."
Sandro swung the butt of his gun toward my head. I had absolutely no intention of letting that hit me.
Rising from the sofa, I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around Sandro and spinning him around. In an instant, Sandro was positioned in front of me like a human shield, and the gun that had been in his hand was now firmly in mine.
Without a moment's hesitation, I fired at the three thugs standing by the door.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
They collapsed instantly, clutching their legs. Sandro, still trapped in my grip, gasped in sheer shock, his mouth hanging wide open.
"Now, shall we have a proper chat?"
I dragged the wounded men together and applied first aid to stop the bleeding.
"I've stopped the bleeding. As long as you keep pressure on it, you won't die."
Since I had aimed for their thighs, their lives weren't in danger. Perhaps because it was their first time being shot, the thugs had completely lost any will to fight. They were simply trembling in terror.
Sandro, on the other hand, was thrashing wildly against the ropes binding him. But even his struggles looked pathetic.
"Untie me! When the rest of my boys get here, they're going to tear you apart!"
"Oh, I'm terrified. In that case, I guess I'd better kill you quickly and get out of here."
Sandro had assumed I would be the one begging for mercy. The sudden realization that his own life was on the line left him utterly speechless and pale.
"Mind if I look around?"
Ignoring Sandro's panic, I began searching the dilapidated office.
"Stop! Don't touch anything! If you want to live, back off!"
"Don't touch that!"
Sandro kept screaming, but I paid him no mind, systematically checking the desks and cabinets.
Inside the filing cabinet, I found a treasure trove: various documents, bankbooks, fake IDs, and thick stacks of cash.
"Wow... you guys really do a bit of everything, don't you?"
"You even forge IDs? Think you could make a couple for me?"
"And you launder money too?"
"You guys might actually be pretty useful."
"You bastard, touch that again and I'll kill you! I swear to God!"
"Relax, I'm just looking."
Of course, I wasn't just looking. I was pocketing everything worth taking. But as I swept up the loot, an interesting idea popped into my head.
"Sandro. How would you like to go into business with me?"