Negotiation (4)
“Shit!”
The Witch’s face hardened like stone the moment she realized what Yubin was about to say. Still holding his prosthetic hand aloft, Yubin continued in a cold voice.
“Just thinking about your building makes my wrist ache all over again. Our friends were dragged off to Yongsan and killed too. So why the hell would I stop them?”
“That’s not PC! You guys are supposed to be the good guys! Ganging up on one person! And a woman at that! Trying to physically oppress her?”
The Witch clutched her chest and let out a piercing shriek.
“You brought more than enough yourself, you crazy bitch! It’s just that those bastards were pathetically weak!”
Sheriff shouted in irritation. He was right. She had brought four bodyguards. They had even tried to smuggle in pistols. Only two of their people had subdued them all. The word “cowardly” didn’t fit the situation at all.
“So? What are you going to do about it? If a bunch of big guys team up and kill me, is that your happy ending?”
With every logical argument dismantled, the Witch’s voice trembled with fear.
She has a point…
Yubin was asking himself the same question.
What was the right way to deal with this deranged villainess…? No—what would benefit them the most…?
His mind grew even more tangled. Capturing the Witch of Ruin had always seemed like such an unrealistic fantasy that he had never seriously considered what to do if it actually happened.
He had always thought it would require borrowing the military’s full strength and storming Taeyang Group—an absolutely monumental task. Yet here she was, suddenly in the palm of his hand.
“Ouch! It’s really going to break, you dumbass!”
On the other side of the table, the Witch was still writhing in pain, twisting her whole body.
“When I think about all the people who died because of you, this is nothing. You really have no shame… ugh!”
Still, Sheriff eventually released her and roughly shoved her back into the chair. The Witch massaged her blue-tinged fingertips, her lips quivering with rage. The moment her eyes met those of her bodyguards, she began hurling curses at them.
“Haa…! Haa…! Stupid assholes, useless shit!”
After panting out a string of English profanity, the Witch turned her head toward Yubin.
“Look. Even if you murder me, you get nothing. But if we negotiate, it’s win-win for both sides. I can forget all the nasty things you’ve done to me. After all, I’m a professional businessperson and a reasonable human being.”
“What the hell is she saying? Speak so we can understand, you crazy bitch! Stop muttering in your own language!”
Irritated by her bizarre speech patterns, Sheriff frowned and grumbled. The Witch glared at him, clenched her teeth, and slowly repeated herself.
“Let’s act like adults. So send a radio message to General Kim. Tell your boss that I want to make contact. Now you got it?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. We have nothing to do with anyone named General Kim.”
Yubin stood up and walked over to her. The Witch clearly didn’t believe him.
“Do you think I’m an idiot? I know the generals who got the blood delivered live ammunition to Chungju. That’s General Kim’s territory.”
“That was just a gift. We don’t take orders from him. You must have come here thinking that even if things went wrong, you could negotiate with General Kim. You picked the wrong insurance policy. It doesn’t exist.”
Yubin tapped the table with the barrel of the pistol they had confiscated earlier, creating an atmosphere that suggested he could pull the trigger at any moment. From experience, he had learned that with arrogant people like her, Mingu’s brutally direct approach was far more effective.
“Th-then who… haa…! Who are you working under? There has to be a boss, right? Don’t make a serious mistake. Just let me talk to that person.”
Now visibly more frightened, the Witch couldn’t take her eyes off the gun. Yubin stood in front of her and gave a small, crooked smile.
“You’re already talking to him.”
“You’re… the man in charge?”
The Witch’s gaze quickly swept over Sheriff and Mingu before returning to Yubin. No matter how she looked at it, this small, unimpressive man didn’t seem like he could be the boss. But… neither of those two deadly fighters showed the slightest sign of objection or mockery. If anything, their expressions suggested this was completely natural. The Witch grew confused.
The four men she had brought were the elite bodyguards of Taeyang Group Security. The fact that these two had subdued them in an instant meant they were undoubtedly from some extraordinary special forces unit… yet this man with the prosthetic hand didn’t give off even the slightest military vibe. And he was far too young to be a leader.
“…Liar. That’s a lie.”
The Witch shook her head. Yubin answered in a tone that suggested he couldn’t care less.
“Believe whatever you want. Just don’t cling to the vain hope that someone above me will spare your life.”
“Hah…!”
The Witch let out a dumbfounded sigh and asked again.
“Then what exactly is your process for getting Terra’s blood? General Kim wouldn’t just leave such an important resource free for the taking.”
“This isn’t the time for you to be asking questions like that. Can’t you read the room? If I were you, I’d be terrified right now.”
Yubin pointed the gun barrel at one of the bodyguards who was still writhing on the floor, bleeding profusely, and continued coldly.
“There isn’t a single person here who can help you.”
“Ughhh…”
The aide who had been pretending to be Lieutenant General Park—the one Sheriff had knocked unconscious—finally began to stir and regain consciousness. The sight seemed to make something click for the Witch.
The head of security for Taeyang Group… seeing him in that state, she had no choice but to acknowledge their capabilities. Whether they were under General Kim or not, these men clearly had real power.
“Fine.”
The Witch lifted her head with a look of determination.
“I’ll make you a deal. What you wanted was forty grand per blood pack, right? We’ll offer double. Eighty grand. Eighty thousand rounds of live ammunition per pack. Total of two hundred and forty thousand. How about it? That’s a satisfying deal, isn’t it?”
“Don’t get cocky. We’re the ones setting the conditions.”
Yubin immediately rejected her offer and asked his own question.
“How did you come here instead of Lieutenant General Park?”
The figure known as Lieutenant General Park didn’t feel like a completely fictional character. If he had been, the other warlords wouldn’t have left the billboard alone. The Witch answered rather obediently.
“I… made an excuse and took the opportunity. We promised to cover all the costs and split the blood serum in half.”
“Good. That opportunity is gone now. A different negotiation has begun.”
Yubin nodded and gestured for the Witch to make a call.
“Call the helicopter. It’s supposed to come when you radio them, right?”
“Call the chopper and do what?”
“You stay here. These guys will go back and deliver our demands to Chairman Hwang.”
“…What? What demands?”
The moment she heard she had to stay, the Witch’s voice grew even more fearful. Yubin answered as if it were obvious.
“Same as before. Only the bargaining chip has changed from the serum to you. If you release all the people you’re holding in Taeyang Group, we’ll send you back.”
“No way! Ha…! That’s ridiculous!”
The Witch immediately burst into forced laughter and shook her head violently.
“Do you really think my father will accept such a demand? If you honestly believe that, then you are so naive! Too soft! He probably won’t even respond to this ransom. You don’t know my father at all. That man has no blood or tears! Family? He doesn’t care! Especially not about someone as insignificant as me. He’d just say goodbye?”
“Well, then there’s nothing we can do about that. Even if it turns out that way, we can still kill you, so it’s not all bad. As I said earlier, we have a lot of feelings about you. …Hey, get up!”
Yubin calmly delivered lines that sounded like something a murderer would say, then lightly kicked the leg of the dislocated bodyguard who had collapsed. In this situation, he had to appear completely heartless if he wanted the negotiation to succeed.
“Ugh!”
The dislocated bodyguard groaned and staggered to his feet, using the floor for support. Yubin pointed the gun at him and ordered,
“Call the helicopter and take your friends before they die. You heard what we said, right? Don’t show any signs while you’re on the radio. Once the helicopter lands, deliver the conditions.”
“That plan won’t work, I’m telling you! There are tons of people inside the group who are dying to kill me! This ransom will never work!”
The panicked Witch stood up again and spoke rapidly.
“Just listen to me! Okay? I’ll suggest another plan! This one is much easier! The result will be the same anyway…”
Shing—!
The moment Mingu pressed the kukri against her, the Witch finally shut her mouth. Mingu held the blade—still glistening with blood—close and gave a short command.
“Sit.”
Instinct warned her: this man doesn’t give second warnings, so don’t resist recklessly. Following that instinct, the Witch quietly sat back down in the chair, but she still hadn’t given up on persuasion.
“Haa…! It’s just… I have a much better idea…”
“Shut your mouth too.”
Mingu stabbed the kukri into the corner of the table.
Thunk—!
A deep, vivid gash was carved where the blade had passed. Seeing the terrifying sight, the Witch swallowed hard and bit down on her heavily lipsticked lips.
“What… what should I say?”
The dislocated bodyguard, now holding the radio, asked in a trembling voice. Yubin pointed to the plaza where their helicopter had landed earlier.
“Do exactly what you were going to do. Tell them the negotiation went well and to come pick you up. Only one helicopter can land at a time, just like before. Turn off the rotors the moment it lands.”
“Yes.”
“If you spout any nonsense, I’ll shoot you immediately. Even if you die, it won’t affect this negotiation at all.”
Yubin aimed the gun at him and gave a firm warning. He couldn’t give these men even the smallest opening.
“Y-yes…! Yes…!”
The dislocated bodyguard nodded vigorously to show obedience, then turned on the radio and pressed the transmit button.
“Ahem, ahem! Eagle, respond! NY has finished negotiations and is ready to return! After landing, stop the rotors and pick us up.”
— Static! This is Eagle, copy that. Will arrive at Point Alpha within three minutes. Remain on standby on this frequency. Static—!
The conversation sounded ordinary enough. The dislocated bodyguard took his finger off the transmit button. Yubin nodded in approval and gave further instructions.
“The deadline is four days, including today. The release location is the plaza where the billboard was set up. If the people aren’t all released within four days, we will cut off one of this woman’s arms. If another day passes without resolution, she dies. Make sure to tell Chairman Hwang clearly. It’s simple, so no need to repeat it, right?”
Before the bodyguard could even nod, the Witch screamed like a madwoman.
“That kind of warning won’t work, I’m telling you! And these people aren’t even at a level where they can meet my father directly! If you say you’ll kill me, there are plenty of fucking bastards in the group who will see it as a good chance and try to make it happen! So just listen to my idea…!”
“Hey! Shut the hell up, you crazy bitch! Your language is trash and you’re so damn loud!”
Sheriff slammed the table, forcing the Witch to close her mouth. Ignoring her completely, Yubin ordered the kneeling bodyguard and the fake Lieutenant General Park—who had just regained consciousness—to stand up.
“If the helicopter doesn’t return immediately and circles suspiciously, this woman will lose her wrist. So keep your finger on the radio’s transmit button until you board. We want to hear everything you say. And…”
Yubin handed them the radio they had prepared for the negotiation, then stood two beer cans upright on the messy table.
“I’ll show you a magic trick. If I raise this hand like this…”
Bang—! Bang—!
The instant he raised his prosthetic hand to signal Jinwoo, two gunshots rang out and the beer cans exploded, flying far away. Yubin tapped the beer dripping down the table with the tip of his prosthetic and continued.
“Anything can burst. Whether it’s a beer can or the head of some bastard who stops pressing the transmit button. Got it?”
Nod—!
All four bodyguards nodded with terrified expressions. Jinwoo’s trick truly never failed. In reality, the helicopter landing zone was a blind spot from Jinwoo’s line of sight, but these men didn’t know that.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—! Whump-whump-whump-whump—!
A short while later, the sound of a helicopter that had been circling south of the Han River approached again. Confirming that the Black Hawk was nearing the plaza just like before, Yubin signaled the bodyguards to move.
— Static! Haa…! Haa…!
Through Yubin’s radio, the men’s ragged breathing could be heard. They were supporting two injured people and running while terrified that a bullet might fly into the back of their heads at any moment. It was only natural that they were out of breath.
Whump-whump-whump-whoooong—!
The Black Hawk landed exactly as instructed, stopped its rotors, and waited. The sound of the propellers slowing down without power echoed loudly through the radio.
— Static! What the hell happened here? Was there a firefight? Where’s NY?
As the bodyguards got closer, the helicopter crew saw their blood and asked in shock.
“NY?”
Sheriff looked at Yubin with a confused expression. Yubin, listening closely to the radio speaker, answered quickly.
“Her name is Hwang Nayeon. That must be her initials.”
In the meantime, the voice of the bodyguard who had been forced to his knees by Mingu came through.
— Static! Things got complicated! NY has been taken hostage and we received demands!
— What are you talking about? …Static! Hostage? Then what about the serum?
— This isn’t the time to talk about serum! Hurry back and deliver the demands to the VIP—Static!— or NY will be in danger!
— Static! I got it! I got it, so calm down! Where is NY right now? What about their forces? Static—!
The helicopter crew asked again. Knowing that the back of their heads were aimed at by gun barrels, the bodyguards’ voices grew desperate.
— Static, I’m telling you this won’t work! If you don’t follow the demands, both we and NY will get hurt! Static!
— Just answer, you bastard! Where is NY’s current location? And static—! What is the scale of their forces? Do they have the serum?
— Static! Well…!
The kneeling bodyguard glanced back toward the riverside café and hesitated for a moment.
— This isn’t the time! Hurry back and— Static!
— How many people and where, you bastard! Static—! Slap—! Slap—!
It looked like the helicopter crew was slapping the man across the face multiple times. The intimidated kneeling bodyguard asked in bewilderment.
— Static! What are you doing? Why are you acting like this? In front of the director…!
— Shut up and report properly! Static—!
The interrogator started slapping him again. Eventually, information began spilling from the kneeling bodyguard’s mouth.
— Haa…! The blood serum and Static! NY are both at the riverside café over there! But you can’t approach! There are only three people there… Static—!
Before he could add that there was a sniper team somewhere else besides those three, an enormous burst of gunfire exploded through the radio speaker.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
Three of the four bodyguards who had come with the Witch sprayed red mist into the air and collapsed to the ground.
“Wh-what the—?”
Yubin shot to his feet without realizing it at the unbelievable sight.
“Huuuuurk! What the fuck!”
The Witch clutched her head and let out a choking gasp. After a moment of stunned silence, she snapped back to her senses, turned to Yubin, and screamed.
“…Did you see that? I told you! Someone is trying to kill me!”