Free Web NovelChapter 14: Another Loanshark
Richard returned to Happyland later that afternoon while carrying the black duffel bag carefully beside him.
The moment he entered the narrow alleys of Tondo again, the contrast between Ongpin and this place immediately hit him.
Cramped houses.
Hanging electrical wires.
Children running barefoot through the streets.
Laundry hanging overhead between homes.
The smell of cooked food mixed with drainage water lingering in the humid air.
Normal.
This was the environment Richard grew up in his entire life.
Meanwhile inside the duffel bag in his hand?
Over one million pesos.
Honestly, even now, the contrast still felt surreal.
Richard quietly kept walking through the alleyways afterward while trying not to draw attention.
Because in places like this?
Showing wealth openly was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
One rumor alone could spread through an entire neighborhood within hours.
And the last thing he wanted right now was attention.
Still...
As Richard approached their house, he immediately noticed something wrong.
His expression instantly frowned afterward.
Then the moment he stepped closer toward their small home—
He saw them.
Two men standing outside their gate. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
One was thin and heavily tattooed.
The other was overweight with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
Meanwhile his mother stood near the doorway looking visibly stressed.
Angela was beside her too.
Richard’s eyebrows furrowed instantly.
What the hell?
Then he heard the tattooed man raise his voice.
"You think we’re joking around here?"
"We already gave extensions twice!"
Theresa immediately shook her head nervously.
"I already told you, we’ll pay—"
"When?" the overweight man interrupted harshly.
"You people always say next week."
Richard’s eyes narrowed immediately afterward.
Loansharks.
Again.
But wait.
Richard suddenly frowned harder.
These were not the same collectors he paid earlier. They have different faces.
Confusion immediately crossed his mind.
What?
He already settled the medical debt yesterday.
Then suddenly, Angela noticed him first.
"Brother!"
The moment Theresa turned and saw him, her expression instantly became complicated. She has mixed reaction, relief, worry, and panic. All mixed together.
Meanwhile the two men also turned toward Richard afterward.
The tattooed collector immediately sized him up casually.
"You the son?"
Richard ignored him completely at first and looked directly toward his mother instead.
"What’s going on?"
Theresa looked visibly uncomfortable afterward.
"It’s..."
Then she hesitated.
That hesitation alone already annoyed Richard slightly.
Because he already knew what that meant.
Another debt.
The overweight collector suddenly spoke instead.
"Your mother borrowed money."
Richard looked toward him coldly.
"How much?"
"Her debts piled up to fifty thousand pesos. It’s overdue for months now and if she doesn’t pay up, we will have to take drastic measures."
Richard’s expression slowly darkened afterward.
"Drastic measures?"
The overweight collector shrugged casually while taking another drag from his cigarette.
"We’re just doing our job."
The tattooed man beside him smirked slightly.
"Your mother kept delaying payments."
Richard looked toward Theresa again.
His mother visibly avoided eye contact afterward.
That alone already answered enough.
Meaning this debt had been hidden from him for quite a while now.
Probably because she did not want to burden him further when he was already working nonstop at Divisoria.
Richard slowly exhaled afterward.
The amount honestly barely registered compared to the money sitting inside the duffel bag beside him.
What angered him instead was the way they were cornering his mother publicly outside their house like this.
The tattooed collector suddenly spoke again.
"So what now?"
"Another promise?"
Richard’s eyes narrowed slightly afterward.
"Why don’t we talk about it somewhere private," Richard said. "Come on."
"What are you doing Richard?" Theresa asked nervously.
"I’ll handle this mom, you guys just stay there."
Richard’s tone sounded calm.
Too calm.
Honestly, even Theresa looked confused by it.
Because normally whenever money problems appeared, Richard always looked stressed.
But now?
He sounded almost irritated instead.
The two collectors exchanged brief glances afterward before following Richard down the narrow alley beside the house.
The farther they walked from the main pathway, the quieter things became.
Only the sounds of distant televisions, barking dogs, and tricycles echoed faintly through the cramped neighborhood.
Richard eventually stopped near a rusting metal fence beside an abandoned shack.
Then he slowly turned around toward them.
The tattooed collector crossed his arms afterward.
"So?"
Richard did not answer immediately.
Instead, he calmly lowered the black duffel bag onto the ground.
The moment the heavy bag landed—
Both collectors instinctively looked at it.
Then Richard unzipped it slightly.
And immediately—
Stacks of cash became visible beneath the dim afternoon light.
The tattooed collector’s expression froze briefly.
Meanwhile the overweight collector visibly blinked twice.
Because honestly?
Seeing that much money inside a cramped Tondo alley felt surreal as hell.
Richard looked directly at them afterward.
"How much exactly?"
The overweight man immediately recovered first.
"Fifty thousand."
Richard nodded once.
Then without hesitation, he reached into the duffel bag before pulling out several thick bundles.
The movement alone made both collectors stare harder at him.
Because suddenly Richard no longer looked like another broke resident struggling to survive.
Now?
He looked dangerous in a completely different way.
A man carrying serious money.
Richard counted quickly afterward before shoving the cash directly toward them.
"Fifty thousand."
The tattooed collector accepted it almost automatically.
Then immediately started counting.
One bundle.
Two.
Three.
Complete.
The overweight collector looked at Richard differently now.
"See?" Richard suddenly said coldly.
"It was that easy."
The tattooed collector gave a dry chuckle afterward while pocketing the money.
"That’s how this works."
"You pay, we don’t bother you."
Richard stepped slightly closer afterward.
Then his voice hardened.
"Good."
"Then take the money and fuck off."
The alley instantly became quiet again afterward.
Because despite Richard speaking calmly...
The anger in his tone was obvious.
The overweight collector narrowed his eyes slightly at first.
But then his gaze drifted toward the still-open duffel bag again.
Toward the ridiculous amount of cash still remaining inside.
Immediately, his expression softened again.
Because whatever assumptions they originally had about Richard?
They were gone now.
Poor people did not casually carry bags containing over a million pesos.
The tattooed collector finally tucked the money into his sling bag afterward.
"No problem."
Then he shrugged lightly.
"As long as payments are complete, there’s no issue."
Richard stared at him coldly.
"There won’t be another issue."
And honestly?
He meant that.
Because from this point onward, Richard already swore to himself that his family would never deal with loansharks again.
Never.
The collectors quickly lost their aggressive attitude afterward.
In fact, they almost sounded polite now.
Funny.
Just minutes ago they were threatening his family publicly outside their home.
Now?
They suddenly acted reasonable.
Money really changed everything.
The overweight collector gave one final glance toward the duffel bag afterward before speaking.
"You should be careful carrying that around here."
That... honestly was true.
Even Richard knew it.
Showing this much cash openly inside Tondo could genuinely get someone killed.
Richard simply nodded once.
"I know."
The two men eventually walked away afterward before disappearing through the narrow alleyways of Happyland.
