HA1 11.2 - Teammates

  Saturday morning, Takeo usually would sleep until noon as his mother would bring Kei and Rei to their restaurant. But today, he wanted to talk to his parents. Therefore, he woke up earlier than usual.

  "So, what do you want to talk about?" Takeo's father calmly asked.

  "I find that other than the loan arrears, you also have mortgaged our house and restaurant."

  Takeo's father instantly frowned, but only for a moment. "You don't have to worry about that."

  "I want to help." Takeo placed a large bag on the table and opened it while adding, "I have six million Ren and will earn more."

  With a tone full of concern Takeo's mother immediately asked, "Son, how did you get this money?"

  "I become freelancer programmer for robotic R&D sub-contractor."

  "A freelancer programmer for robotic R&D sub-contractor?" Takeo's father asked as he gave Takeo a deep gaze.

  "Yes." Takeo handed over a piece of pamphlet to his father before adding, "Here's the summary about them. It's a bit difficult to contact them by phone or video call, but their staff will answer chats, emails, or other text messages 24/7."

  'Elven Robotic, CEO Zimo Hund,' Takeo's father muttered before turning his gaze to Takeo. "What kind of work they give you?"

  "They ask me to write a segment of robotic programming. For every segment, I will get 0.5 - 1.5 million Ren."

  Takeo's mother instantly gasped "They paid you that much?"

  "Actually, it's not that much. I'm just a beginner. Hide who brings me in, is working on a segment with a value of 1-2 million Ren."

  Takeo's father and mother instantly looked at each other in wonder. They had hard time imagining a high school kid could earn up to 1-2 million Ren. However, the money that Takeo handed over to them was too hard to argue with.

  Takeo's father took a deep breath before saying gently, "We will accept your money as a loan."

  Takeo firmly said, "No need, the house and the restaurant are mine too."

  After shaking her head gently Takeo's mother said, "We don’t have intention to hand over the house and restaurant to you. They belong to Rei and Kei."

  Takeo's father added, "For you, we hope you can enter university and get a better job than us."

  Takeo casually replied, "Don't worry. I'll go to the best university in the country and get a job that will make you proud."

  "We believe in you." Takeo's father smiled widely before asking, "Did you find something else in my PC, that perhaps you want to talk about too?"

  Takeo realized his father was asking him about the suicide method using sleeping pills, and so he pretended he did not know about it.

  "Something else? Do you guys have other loans?"

  "No, we don’t." Takeo's mother took a deep breath full of relief before saying, "Ignore your father's questions."

  "Okay."

  Takeo's mother then smiled and asked, "So, when you brought Rei and Kei to Aizawa's house the other day, did it have anything to do with your work?"

  "Yes, at that time Hide gave me the explanation about the job."

  "Do you mind if we invite Hide and Aizawa to express our gratitude? Mom also wants to talk with Hide a little."

  "No, not at all."

  "Good," Takeo's mother said happily.

  ---

  After the conversation with his parents, Takeo returned to his room. He dropped his body into the bed, and then took a deep breath of relief.

  Initially, his plan to trick his parents was quite simple. He would tell them he became a freelancer programmer a few months ago, together with Hide.

  However, Hide then asked him to develop a deeper plan, such as creating a fictitious sub-contractor, several fake IDs, and a group of chat bots that would answer text messages 24/7. The goal was to convince Takeo's parents once and for all.

  At first, Takeo thought it would take a lot of time to execute Hide's idea. But once again, he got the impression that Hide had used the idea for several times, and everything was ready in less than two weeks.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Most of all, Takeo could see his programming skill was higher than Hide, but in terms of experience, application, and execution, he was just a child in front of him. It made Takeo very happy because it meant he was the perfect partner for Hide. At the same time, his curiosity about Hide grew even more.

  'Hide, who exactly are you?' Takeo muttered as he looked up at the ceiling.

  ---

  Sunday afternoon, Hide and Aizawa entered Kikuchi Restaurant’s lobby hand in hand, and they were immediately greeted by Takeo, Rei, and Kei.

  "Kei, Rei, go to second floor with Aizawa first. I'll catch up in a moment."

  ""Mhm.""

  Kei and Rei immediately took Aizawa's hand.

  "Big Sis Aizawa, Mom prepared a VIP room for us." Kei cheerfully said.

  And Rei happily added, "And Daddy prepares a special seafood hotpot."

  "Mhm."

  As his sisters cheerfully took Aizawa towards the stairs to 2nd floor, Takeo smiled before turning his gaze to Hide.

  "Ready to talk to my Mom?"

  "Yeah."

  Wasting no time, Takeo led Hide to the back room. Just before the kitchen, the two turned into a small hallway and entered the first room.

  Inside the room, Takeo's mother was already waiting for the two. She wore casual clothes, but with an ideal body figure and appearance that looked like a woman in her late 20s, casual clothes were more than enough to emit her lethal charm as an attractive mature woman.

  Hide was sure that a normal high school kid won't be able to think straight when sitting face-to-face alone with Takeo's mother, who for some reason was wearing a bra that made her breast looked very provocative.

  'What a vixen,' Hide muttered.

  At the same time Takeo cheerfully said, "Mom, Hide is here."

  "Yupe."

  "I'll go to second floor first."

  "Okay."

  Once Takeo left the room, his mother invited Hide to sit on the sofa in the middle of the room.

  "Hide, I’m sorry for asking you to come all of a sudden."

  "No problem, Ma’am. I'm the one who should thank you for the lunch invitation."

  Takeo's mother smiled gently before saying, "As I mentioned on the phone this morning, can you please explain a little about Elven Robotic, especially for the parts that are not mentioned on their website."

  "Sure."

  Hide already knew what he had to say, so he easily explained.

  "The website says their main office is in Madried, Svain, but their center of operations is in Kasko, Vinland. Their main contract comes from West Eurova, but recently they get a client from Nikko and hired local freelancers for it."

  "So, it's not a terrorist or criminal syndicate?"

  "It’s not, and to be honest, Elven Robotic is just a small sub-contractor who takes crumbs from big player in the field. They have only two expert programmers and a dozen freelancers. That's why they use cheap and ready-to-train people, like me and Takeo."

  A big question mark instantly appeared on Takeo's mother's forehead, "Cheap labor?"

  "Yeah, Takeo and me, we are basically the lowest-level workers in programming industry."

  "I see."

  A shock was evident on Takeo's mother's face. She never thought there was a low-ranked worker with such high wages. However, she also felt a sense of relieve because it made sense that right now Takeo was still in the lowest pecking order.

  Hide then calmly added, "Of course, there is no certainty how long we will be employed by Elven Robotic."

  Takeo's mother nodded slightly before saying, "Hide, thank you for bringing Takeo to join Elven Robotic. Believe me, it's the greatest kindness our family has ever received. It's a bit difficult to explain it, but you are a savior of our family."

  After skillfully pretending to blush Hide said, "Mrs. Ishida, I think you're exaggerating it. As national champion in programming competitions, Takeo deserves the opportunity."

  "I see."

  Takeo's mother had no intention of explaining further, so she just smiled. For her and her husband, the most important thing was that Takeo did not join criminal organization to earn big money. Moreover, after Takeo took part in paying their debts, they felt their fighting spirit was being rekindled and optimism filled their hearts.

  With a heart full of relieved, Takeo’s mother then walked Hide to the hotpot room. She was oblivious that previously, Hide was actually very nervous.

  The plan of using fake company to trick Takeo’s parent was not without flaw. If Takeo’s mother asked him about the payment method from Elven Robotic and its record, he wouldn’t be able to provide satisfying answer and the play would crumble.

  ‘Later, I will have to address this issue,’ Hide muttered as he followed Takeo’s mother. ‘And then burn Elven Robotic for once and all.’

  ---

  "Big Sis Aizawa, this squid is super yummy."

  "The prawns are super yummy too."

  "Mhm."

  Kei and Rei cheerfully showed Aizawa the best part of the seafood hotpot their father had prepared, while Hide and Takeo watched the three with a smile.

  "It seems you manage to calm my mother down."

  "For now at least."

  "I owe you a lot."

  "We are teammates. It's natural to help each other out."

  "I see."

  "Just make sure you treat Shizuka well, like how I support you."

  "I will."

  "Good."

  Hide smiled widely, and then took his chopstick. Before long, he already joined the happy hunting on the hotpot.

  However, deep down he felt the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier. Now, if something happened to Takeo and their cover was exposed, he would have to answer directly to his parents.

  'There is no other choice. Everything has its own price and I need to make sure Takeo can carry out his share without distraction,' Hide muttered as he downed a piece of egg tofu.

  ---

  In the middle of the night, after applying moisturizer to her face, Takeo's mother then climbed into bed where her husband lay staring the ceiling.

  Takeo's father then asked, "Dear, do you remember Akira's son who became a programmer, and how Akira boast that he earned eight million Ren per year?"

  "So what?" In a sharp tone Takeo's mother asked back.

  "I mean, how Takeo makes money nearly as much as Akira's son's annual income in less time."

  "Akira's son graduated from a third-rate university, and who knows if he actually works as a programmer in his company."

  "Still ..." Takeo's father turned his head to Takeo's mother before continuing, "Maybe I should contact Elven Robotic and talk face-to-face with Takeo's supervisor?"

  Takeo's mother instantly massaged her forehead. Then, in an icy tone she said, "They are busy people. If you annoy them and it affects Takeo, I will beat the shit out of you until our children don't recognize you."

  "Okay," Takeo's father meekly replied.

  "Don't overthink it," Takeo's mother said as she rested her head on her husband's chest. "I found an interest-free loan document legalized by Totsuka Firm in Takeo's room. He borrowed three million Ren from Hide and still has several hundred thousand Ren in cash."

  "I see," Takeo's father softly replied. “He also borrows money from Hide.”

  "Yeah, and it's been a while since we do it." Takeo's mother's hand touched her husband's third leg before continuing, "So, let's do it all night."

  "Okay."

  Takeo's father immediately initiated the midnight versus contact. A moment later, the sound of 'Creak! Creak! Creak!' were heard, along with Takeo's mother's panting and moan.

  *****