Chapter 83
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: The Land of Eom Bok-dong
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Young-su stood waiting at the apartment entrance with a heavy expression on his face.
Just then, Jin-su came waving cheerfully from far off in the distance.
"Young-su!"
In stark contrast to Jin-su's bright smile,
Young-su replied in a listless voice, short and curt.
"Yeah, you're here."
Jin-su picked up on Young-su's mood right away.
"Something wrong? What's with the face?"
Young-su took a deep breath, frustration bubbling up, and let it out in a sigh as he spilled the story.
"Nah, just couldn't get my allowance from Mom.
So I called Chang-hee and told him I couldn't make it today 'cause I was broke.
Last time I covered for him, so I asked him to spot me this time,
but the guy kept insisting he was flat broke right up to the end."
Jin-su grimaced and nodded as soon as he heard it.
"Dude, that jerk's been a cheapskate since forever.
Loves mooching off people but would die before paying his own way."
Jin-su spat out the curse like Chang-hee's antics were all too predictable. Young-su still looked lost.
"He flipped out saying they couldn't game without me and it was my responsibility.
Dude, you got any cash? I'll pay you back as soon as I get my allowance."
But even Jin-su looked awkward as he replied apologetically.
"Sorry, man. I barely talked Mom into giving me just enough for the gaming session.
No extra for snacks or anything."
Young-su's face darkened even more at the news that Jin-su was broke too.
"Damn it, what now? Tomorrow at school, those guys are gonna rip me a new one for sure..."
As a high school sophomore, Young-su could already picture the teasing and bullying from Chang-hee and the rest at school.
The stress was piling up already.
After a moment's thought, Jin-su suggested,
"Let's just go anyway. Once we're there, maybe one of the others has cash. We can plead our case."
Young-su nodded weakly at Jin-su's words.
With heavy hearts, the two slowly made their way to the PC bang.
When Young-su and Jin-su arrived at the PC bang,
the other friends were already gathered in little groups, waiting.
Young-su approached them with a tense look and explained his situation once more.
But the moment he finished, Chang-hee sneered and shot back mockingly.
"Dude, I told you to scrape some money together earlier.
What'd you show up empty-handed for?"
Young-su's face flushed red in an instant.
He'd already explained everything over the phone,
so he couldn't understand why Chang-hee was humiliating him in front of everyone.
Embarrassment mixed with a brutal hit to his pride.
"I told you on the phone. I couldn't get the money."
The other friends shook their heads awkwardly too.
"Yeah, I'm broke too. Just enough for gaming."
Even so, Chang-hee kept prodding Young-su with sarcastic jabs.
"What, your family's that poor? Can't even scrape together a few thousand won
and have to beg your friends?"
Young-su's anger boiled over uncontrollably.
He glared at Chang-hee and snapped sharply.
"Fuck you, you little shit. Forgot how you whined to me last time when you were broke and I covered you?"
As the fired-up Young-su stepped toward Chang-hee,
the other friends panicked and jumped in to separate them.
"Hey, hey, calm down. We came to have fun, not fight.
Chang-hee, you went too far.
Shit happens when you're broke, wasn't that a bit harsh?"
The others tried to intervene, but Chang-hee wasn't backing down easily either.
He glared wide-eyed and fired back at Young-su.
"Did I say anything wrong? Fine, you covered me once, I admit it.
But that's different from this, right?
And if you're gonna lord it over me like that from now on,
just don't pay next time.
We all agreed to hang out, and now you're saying you're broke? Come on."
Young-su trembled with rage at Chang-hee's shameless words.
His pride was shattered, but he didn't want to back down here.
Face flushed with fury, Young-su said coldly to Chang-hee,
"Fine, I'll scrape together the money somehow, so you guys go in and start without me.
And you, you fucking prick, watch your mouth. It's pissing me off."
With that, Young-su turned and stormed off.
His mind was filled with one thought: no matter what, he had to get the money, if only for his pride.
In his desperation, Young-su called his mom again.
He figured he could at least get next month's allowance early.
"Mom, come on, just this once, can I have my allowance early?"
Her voice came through the phone.
"Huh? What's going on all of a sudden?"
Young-su knew she'd never give it if he said it was for the PC bang,
so he scrambled for an excuse but nothing came to mind in the panic.
In the end, he just whined desperately.
"Just... need it for something."
Mom cut him off short and firm.
"No. You need to budget your allowance properly.
What are you gonna do if you burn through it early?"
With no other choice, Young-su hung up.
Standing by the roadside, he clutched his head and let out a deep sigh.
"Ah, what the hell am I supposed to do..."
Right then.
A bicycle was parked in front of the nearby convenience store.
Young-su wandered over absentmindedly and checked it out.
No lock on it at all.
A dark thought flashed through his mind.
'Sell this? Take it to a junk shop?
Or nah, list it on Carrot Market?'
With his pride in tatters, he wasn't seeing straight anymore.
He made up his mind.
Glancing around, he hopped on casually like it was his and rode off smoothly.
As he pedaled, he noticed how strangely light and responsive the bike was.
'What is this? High-end stuff? Gotta be expensive.'
A flicker of worry hit him, but as a minor, he figured even if caught, the punishment wouldn't be bad.
'Eh, worst case, Mom yells at me once. Whatever.'
Young-su pedaled hard and sped away from the spot.
First stop: the nearby junk shop.
But the bike was too light, and the owner looked troubled.
"Can't take this. Not even scrap value."
Disappointed, Young-su turned away.
In the end, he decided to list it on Carrot Market.
He snapped some pics and set a price.
'It's a bike, so at least 100,000 won, right?'
As soon as he posted the photos, a buyer messaged within minutes.
Young-su's heart started racing.
I was, as usual, scouring Carrot Market from the morning.
My gig was simple: spot underpriced items, buy 'em cheap, flip for profit.
At first, I just wondered why people sold so cheap,
but then it hit me—"What if I buy this stuff and resell it for cash?"
That first flip doubled my money, and hooked me for good.
Most crazy deals were stolen goods or stuff dumped quick without the hubby or fam knowing.
Sometimes I'd get "give it back" messages later, but I ignored 'em all.
I'd bought at the listed price—nothing illegal about it.
Today, phone in hand from dawn, digging through Carrot.
"Hmm... nothing good today."
Eyes getting tired.
Used to be great finds like stuff from deployed brothers or hubby's pricey hobbies,
but lately, no real jackpots.
Then it popped up.
A bicycle, priced at 100,000 won.
My eyes lit up.
"Whoa, looks pretty nice in the pics?"
I dove into the post, downloaded all the photos, and Googled 'em.
"......!!!!!"
Heart pounding.
"This guy's insane? Selling this bike for just 100k?"
Biggest score in my flipping history.
No hesitation—I messaged the seller.
[Coming to buy right now.]
Reply almost instant.
[Sure, come here.]
I jumped in the car and headed straight there.
Got myself a Porter for hauling big stuff like this—perfect for jobs like these.
At the meetup spot, a baby-faced kid was waiting.
I rolled down the window to check.
"Hi? You the Carrot seller?"
The kid nodded awkwardly.
"Yeah..."
Just to be sure, I asked,
"This isn't stolen, right?"
He waved his hands frantically.
"No! My bro's in the army, just selling quick."
I nearly burst out laughing inside.
'Oh, you little punk... selling your deployed bro's bike for pocket cash.
Wanna smack him.'
As a vet with a little bro myself, I felt it for a sec, but nah—just grinned and handed over the 100k.
Loaded the bike quick and headed home.
Got back, listed it on the bike forum for 10 million won right away.
"Buy it" messages flooded in immediately.
"Kuh... this is why I Carrot."
Big payday incoming after so long—mood soaring.
Decided I'd treat myself to premium beef tonight, smiling contentedly.