The Flea Market That Never Ends
Methods for distinguishing edible mushrooms from poisonous ones.
Methods for preserving homemade dairy products for long periods.
Methods for weaving sturdy baskets that wouldn't break even under rough use.
The residents of the North, without exception, each possessed their own unique know-how for surviving on this barren land.
'Perhaps that's only natural.'
Since the land was desolate and the climate cruel, they must have had to try anything and everything just to survive.
'Or is it the other way around?'
Perhaps only those who could survive in such a harsh natural environment were the ones who had continued their lives in the North.
Whatever the priority, one unfortunate thing was, as expected, this damn insularity.
'Each person's skills and know-how were not being shared at all.'
What was the reason Aiden had opened this flea market?
Those who existed, yet did not exist.
The unregistered.
The market was chosen as a device to draw out those who had been living in hiding, minimizing contact with outsiders.
He had reasoned that if the Lord's Castle held the largest trading venue in the North where surplus goods could be exchanged, those who had been holding their breath outside the system would have no choice but to be incorporated into it.
“Hmm.”
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
It was Jamie.
“I thought it was time for you to go around for a lap, but since you didn't come, I came out to find you.”
“Perhaps, Jamie.”
“Yes?”
“I think I might be able to change the form of this market a little.”
“Change the form?”
“Not just trading goods, but a place where skills and people can interact…”
Aiden’s brain began to spin rapidly.
'If I could combine the role of the market with the role of the Administrative Welfare Center well…'
If the market took responsibility for the movement of goods and the Administrative Welfare Center took responsibility for administration,
'It might actually work.'
Jamie quietly led his superior, who was lost in thought. Since his superior, once deeply immersed in thought like this, always found the answer, he, as an adjutant, had to clear the surroundings so that his superior would not be disturbed by anyone.
“Hahaha! Then let’s go over there and have another drink… *hic!*”
The man who had been passing by them, talking loudly, shut his mouth quietly, hiccuping at Jamie’s demonic face as he glared with bulging eyes.
“Administrative Officer, here is paper and a pen.”
“Ah, thank you.”
The two returned to the situation room.
Aiden began to scribble something on the paper frantically.
It wasn't organized yet; it was a kind of brainstorming.
Words that seemed completely unrelated were packed onto the paper, but if he wrote them down according to the flow of thought like this and looked at them again after a while, he could sometimes find a lead.
It was a method Aiden usually favored.
- Boom, ba-boom, boom, boom!
- Waaaaaah!
How long had he been at it?
The day was gradually darkening, and it was time for everyone to tidy up the stalls they had been assigned.
As if they had been waiting, the sound of cheerful drums followed by a roar that shook the ground echoed.
“Whoa. What is that?”
Aiden, who had been lost in thought, was also startled, put down his pen, and gestured for Jamie to explain.
“Hehe, you told me to at least catch some wandering troupe.”
“…I did?”
When?
Aiden was dumbfounded.
He wasn't some bandit leader; there was no way he would have given such an order…
- *Sigh.* I wonder if there’s a wandering troupe somewhere.
- Should I go catch one?
- It’s a shame if a local event is missing a guest singer.
…Did he?
That was never his intention, but wouldn't an unnecessarily over-loyal adjutant have brought one in even if he had to create a singer out of thin air?
Boom, ba-boom, boom, boom!
For some reason, the drum sound that had been ringing excitedly until just a moment ago felt ominous.
“You didn't actually go and catch innocent people, did you?”
“What do you take me for? I just put up some decent prizes and held a singing contest.”
“Prizes? Was there anything worth putting up as a prize?”
“I put up a few barrels of liquor.”
“Ah-.”
Come to think of it, there was quite a bit of liquor in the underground warehouse of the Lord's Castle. It was a legacy of the previous administrative officers, most of whom had lived relying on alcohol.
“But are there people who would get on stage just because you put that up?”
“Our Northern people go crazy for liquor, you know, hehe-.”
Thinking about it, the servants of the Lord's Castle were also always drinking, singing, and playing instruments…
'Whenever they had a company dinner, they went all the way to the end.'
Looking at this, they didn't seem like cold and cynical Vikings, but rather like the high-spirited people of North Hamgyong Province.
“How about it, would you like to go and see?”
“Forget it. I’m going in to organize what I was thinking about and sleep. Take responsibility for finishing up after the singing contest. You can do that, right?”
“Of course!”
It didn't seem reliable at all, but he had to trust and leave it to him. Because Aiden couldn't handle everything by himself.
“Contact me if anything happens. I’ll be at the Lord's Castle as always.”
“Get some sleep early today. You’ve been working hard since dawn.”
“Well, I suppose I should.”
Even without that, his eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.
'There’s still a mountain of work to do…'
Should I follow Jamie around and try to train my body a bit?
'Would my stamina improve if I did that?'
Then I could work more.
Aiden was frustrated to the point of madness, wondering why his stamina wasn't as good as a Northerner's, making him unable to work even when he wanted to.
Chirp, chirp, chirp!
Piro-rong-!
Aiden jumped up at the sound of the mountain birds.
“How long did I sleep, anyway?”
He didn't know how long it had been since he’d slept this refreshingly, but he also felt a little anxious.
It felt as if he was on the verge of being late because he had overslept.
“Hoo-.”
But Aiden soon let out a sigh of relief.
He remembered that there was no boss to nag him even if he was late.
“Nice. Is this why everyone is obsessed with promotions?”
He was the same in his past life and now, thinking that public service was his true calling. However, since he was only interested in ‘public service’ itself, he hadn't paid any attention to the rest of the things needed for promotion—in short, ‘networking’.
Thanks to that, he had plenty of work but wasn't particularly recognized, so he hadn't been promoted quickly.
'Here, I’ve even tried being the head of an agency.'
If he had known that it would be this enjoyable to approve and evaluate the work he had done himself, he would have been a little more greedy for promotion in his past life.
Click-.
“I’m getting used to this cold air now. …Hm? What is that?”
Aiden, who was stretching while opening the window and feeling the wind, saw servants carrying a lot of things and heading somewhere.
'What is it?'
Are they trying to embezzle goods?
'That can't be.'
If they were planning to steal something, they would have come in at night when everyone was asleep and left through the side door; they wouldn't be heading toward the main gate confidently through the garden full of workers.
'Then where are they going?'
Unable to overcome his curiosity, Aiden went outside the Lord's Castle after just washing his face.
He was able to catch up with the servants who were carrying various items in no time.
No, to be precise, as soon as he left the Lord's Castle, he discovered the servants who had come out with things packed to the brim.
It was coarse bread, water, bowls, cleaning tools, and the like.
He understood the cleaning tools, but he wondered why things like bread and water were needed, and then,
“……”
Aiden was momentarily speechless at the sight outside the Lord's Castle.
“Snore, phew-!”
“Wake them up over there too, the sun is already high!”
“Wake up, you have to do business again today!”
“Oh, my stomach. I don't even remember how much I drank.”
“Ugh-. My stomach is turning…”
He had thought it wouldn't be neatly organized.
That was because he remembered hearing the sound of the singing contest continuing endlessly in his sleep last night.
He knew that the Northerners, with their liquor, songs, and snacks, wouldn't easily leave their seats, but,
'Even so, this is a bit-'
Aiden’s brow furrowed.
The vacant lot in front of the Lord's Castle remained exactly as it was, with the tables and sections used in yesterday's event completely unorganized, and people were curled up and sleeping on the ground everywhere, having simply spread out a piece of rough cloth.
It was a situation where there wasn't even a trace of an attempt to clear up the flea market.
Veins bulged on Aiden’s forehead.
“Wake up, hurry!”
“Mmm, who is it from the morning…”
“How about this, if lying on the street is your constitution, should I just remove your desk from the office entirely?”
“…Who is it that’s… Gasp! Administrative Officer!”
It wasn't very difficult to find Jamie in the atmosphere that was like a refugee camp.
“What is this? Explain.”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“Why are people sprawled out like this, and why is the vacant lot not organized at all?”
At Aiden’s question, Jamie answered stammeringly, as if asking why he was asking something so obvious.
“…Uh, well, the singing contest went on until late last night… And… uh, if we cleared the vacant lot last night, we wouldn't be able to do business today, right?”
“?”
“Ah! But as you can see, the stage for the singing contest has been cleaned up neatly! Hehe!”
Jamie pointed to a pile of planks, saying that even after drinking, they had taken axes and dismantled the stage, turning it all into lumber.
“It’s a waste to throw those planks away, so I put them in the warehouse to use later when we make something.”
Jamie, who added words like, 'Isn't it good to save resources?', puffed his nostrils as if asking for praise, but,
“What does that mean?”
“Yes? I mean, I thought there would be a place to use those planks again…”
“That’s not it, what do you mean we can't do business today?”
“Yes?”
“Hm?”
It seemed like they didn't understand each other’s words at all.
Neigh-!
“Ah, I told you horses shouldn't come inside here!”
A familiar line was heard from far away.
'I think I heard this yesterday too?'
Aiden’s head turned as if it would snap.
“……!”
An unbelievable sight entered his eyes.
“Now, now. Come this way. This is read as number 13, it marks your spot. You shouldn't set up your stall at another table!”
“Oh, of course, sir! Thank you!”
“Now, next!”
Aiden slapped his own cheek without realizing it.
'Is this genre regression, not possession?'
Why is what happened yesterday morning repeating itself?
“Oh my. It looks like I’ll have to make a few more tables. It seems like there are more people who came to do business today than those who left after business ended yesterday. Ugh!”
“No, wait, wait a minute.”
“Yes, Administrative Officer.”
“Are you doing this today too? No, I mean, how many days are you doing this for?”
“Uh… shouldn't we do it for at least two or three more days?”
“What? Why? Didn't you announce that the flea market was yesterday?”
“Geez. People don't keep dates that strictly, do they? A difference of a few days is just something you gloss over. Hehe.”
“…But people didn't come early yesterday, did they?”
“Quite a few people came early. Where else would these logs for making tables come from?”
“…Did those people cut them down?”
“You have to do this much work if you’re being fed. Where is there anything free in the world?”
“……”
At that moment, the word that popped into Aiden’s head was, Korean Time.
The US military government era. It was a term used to describe how Koreans, who could not adapt to the modernized new lifestyle, did not keep appointment times well.
Some say it’s not simply the presence or absence of systematic time management, but that they are late on purpose because they think arriving on time diminishes their authority,
'Whatever it is, this place is a mess too.'
What on earth does it mean to not even keep the correct day, let alone the correct time?
Neigh-!
“I told you not to drive the horses this way!”
In the midst of that, the footsteps of those who had confidently broken the market day continued.
“…Damn…”
Aiden was troubled again today.