This Is What Real Item Luck Looks Like (2)

Yu Cheong. She was one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the dragons who had crossed over to Earth through the gate. What made this particular dragon special was that she crafted her own weapons and artifacts. Then she would line up her failures alongside her masterpieces and put them to the test. On who? The occasional customers who wandered into her shop.

'It's nice to call it a test. In reality, she's just messing with them.'

Humans couldn't recognize the true worth of a dragon's creations. Knowing that perfectly well, she had opened her shop in plain sight anyway. She took twisted pleasure in watching customers fail to spot the scam-tier weapons and leave empty-handed. She really was one perverted dragon.

"Welcome! I'm Yu Cheong~!"

The dark little shop brightened instantly with the bright, lively smile of a child. Choi Ahyeon beamed at how adorable she was and walked right up to her.

"We're here to buy some weapons. Are you helping your parents out?"

"Yes! I get allowance in exchange for watching the shop!"

"Aww, how impressive. How old are you?"

"Twelve!"

Choi Ahyeon spouting grandma-like lines while Yu Cheong cosplayed as a little kid. It was an absolute circus. I held back my laughter and approached the two of them. Only then did Yu Cheong seem to snap out of it and clap her hands.

"You're here to look at weapons, right? Just a moment please~."

She left those words behind and scampered off into the back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the shop. Choi Ahyeon let out a little squeal at the sight.

"Oh my god! Isn't she just too cute?!"

"You're not thinking of biting her, are you?"

"Hey! What do you take me for? I'm not that bad."

Watching her puff out her chest and pat it proudly, I couldn't help but smile wryly. If she actually bit a hatchling like Yu Cheong, her mother dragon would chase her to the ends of hell, so I could only hope ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ahyeon would show some restraint.

About three minutes later, Yu Cheong returned holding a staff and a shield.

"These are the weapons I recommend for you two. What do you think?"

"Um... yeah, they're nice, but..."

Choi Ahyeon kept glancing at Yu Cheong and trailing off. She clearly didn't want to say anything negative to the cute little girl she'd taken a liking to. Looked like I'd have to step in.

"This big sister is a dealer. She mainly uses dual daggers."

"Ah... I-I'm so sorry! I assumed too much!"

"It's fine. You got mine right, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at least."

She had brought a genuinely useful shield, after all. 'I heard she gets it right every single time. Guess even she makes mistakes sometimes.'

Yu Cheong would show decent weapons to customers she liked. The rumor said her accuracy was one hundred percent, but apparently that wasn't entirely true.

"We're actually here to buy weapons for this sister today. Mind if we look around?"

"Oh. Yes, go ahead!"

Yu Cheong clasped her hands together and stepped back politely. Ahyeon immediately started browsing the daggers. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement at first, but they soon began to tremble.

"This is insane... the prices..."

The designs were worse than mass-produced junk. The daggers barely qualified as weapons, yet they cost two or three times more than similar items at other shops. Absolute rip-off. A total rip-off.

While Choi Ahyeon was trembling her way through what could barely be called browsing, someone poked me in the side. It was Yu Cheong. She looked up at me with the mischievous expression only a child could pull off.

"Mister, is that lady your girlfriend?"

"No. Just a friend."

"Aww, you're lying."

"I'm serious."

"Really really? If you're lying, you'll grow hair on your butt, you know?"

"I swear on the sky, it's true."

Yu Cheong gave me a strange little smile at my answer.

"You're going to have a hard time from now on."

Have a hard time? It was a small mutter, but my ears didn't miss it. If she were an ordinary kid, I would've let it slide. But this was Yu Cheong. As a dragon who could see through the essence of things, I couldn't ignore it.

I was about to ask what she meant when—

"I'm done picking!"

"Already?"

"Yep. Ta-da! Here! What do you think of this one?"

A dagger with dust thick on the blade. It was the cheapest weapon in the entire shop. 'Sigh. I knew it.'

"It's not bad, but wouldn't that one over there be better?"

I pointed at the two daggers tucked away in the farthest corner. They had white handles and black blades—an unusual design.

It was an artifact you wouldn't find anywhere else, but the blade was chipped in several places and covered in rust. The condition looked terrible. On top of that, the price was about fifty percent higher. A normal person would never choose it. Choi Ahyeon tilted her head in confusion.

On the other hand—

"Oh..."

The corners of Yu Cheong's mouth slowly rose. It was the mischievous expression you often saw on elementary school kids. Then she grabbed my sleeve.

"Mister, just buy what the lady picked. I'll give you a special thirty percent discount today only!"

"Th-thirty percent?! Seonghyun, let's just go with this one!"

Choi Ahyeon's eyes had clearly rolled back at the suddenly affordable price as she urged me on. I looked down at Yu Cheong. That little devil smile was so very like her.

'Should I tease her a little?'

I smiled inwardly and nodded.

"...Sure. If the person herself likes it, we'll take that one."

"Yes! Thank you!"

4.5 million won. Even with the discount, it was still expensive. If not for my parents' inheritance, I wouldn't have been able to afford it. After finishing the payment and leaving the shop, Yu Cheong came out to see us off.

"Come again, mister and miss~!"

"Yeah! I'll come visit again~!"

"See you next time."

Leaving behind Yu Cheong waving her hand brightly, we headed into the alley.

"Seonghyun, thank you. I'll use it well."

"Thank Han Yuri instead. She's the one who put her entire share into the party funds."

"Hehe. Just wait until she gets back in a week. I'm gonna hug her so tight!"

"Yeah, yeah."

As we walked, Ahyeon suddenly stopped.

"Whoa... that's insanely cute."

"It's a polar bear plushie."

A pure white polar bear plushie, about the size of an adult's upper body, was lined up on display. Ahyeon let out a low groan.

"Ughhh..."

She kept looking back and forth between her wallet and the plushie, hesitating. Her living expenses this month must have been tight. 'That's what happens when you drink so much.'

I sighed and spoke.

"I'll buy you one. Just one."

"Really?! Seonghyun, I love you!"

Choi Ahyeon jumped up and down while hugging me tightly. At times like this, she really was just a kid. A total kid.

"Go pick one out. I'll hit the bathroom and catch up."

"Okay!"

Watching her dash into the shop, I turned around as well. 'It should be perfectly ripe by now.' Time to hurry.

"Hehe~!"

Yu Cheong was in a good mood. Not only had she found something 'interesting' after so long, but her little game had succeeded too. It had been about a year since she opened the shop. At first, it had been pure curiosity—would any human be able to recognize her masterpieces?

'You can only see as much as you know.'

As a dragon, Yu Cheong understood that truth better than anyone. That was why she had opened the shop despite her mother's opposition.

But whether it was good luck or bad, not a single person had recognized the true value of her artifacts. Everyone was blinded by the high prices and ugly appearances, missing the real jewels hidden underneath.

'There were a few customers like that mister from earlier, but... a little push and they always fall for it.'

Her masterpieces, made by mixing in her own scales and claws. If they were ever revealed to the world later, that man would probably beat the ground in regret. Just imagining it made her laugh.

It was the only joy she'd found in her boring dragon life. No matter how many times she did it, she never got tired.

She was giggling like that when—

Creak.

The door opened.

'Lots of customers today.'

Normally she got maybe one visitor a week, but this was already the third today. She turned her head, wondering how she should toy with this one this time, when...

The man she thought she'd never see again was standing there.

"Huh...? Mister...?"

"I left something behind."

"Ah. Yes, what was it?"

She was momentarily flustered but quickly resumed her pure child act. But that performance cracked the moment she saw the dagger Lee Seonghyun had brought.

"Didn't you... say you weren't going to buy that earlier?"

"It kept bothering me. And..."

Lee Seonghyun began picking up various items from all over the shop.

"......"

Yu Cheong's expression completely collapsed. The pure, innocent child's face vanished, replaced by utter disbelief.

"Th-this... what..."

She was so shaken she couldn't even speak properly. This was the very person she had been waiting for since opening the shop.

"I'll take all three of these."

"......"

"Why? Is there some reason I shouldn't buy them?"

His voice was gentle, like he was soothing a child. But Yu Cheong could tell. Beneath that voice was the amusement of someone watching a kid's silly antics.

'Ha...'

She had lost. A complete defeat. The moment she realized it, frustration surged up from deep inside. She, who had always been the one doing the teasing, had just been hit by a human.

She forced the corners of her twitching mouth upward.

"Mister, I'll help you with the payment."

"Good."

While wrapping up the artifacts, she activated her Dragon Eye. It was a dragon's authority that could distinguish truth from lies—one of the proofs that dragons were superior to humans. White for truth. Black for lies.

"But mister, is there a reason you specifically chose these artifacts? There are so many other weapons."

"Hmm... call it intuition. I just liked them, so I bought them. No particular reason."

Black energy wrapped around the man.

'As expected!'

A lie. There was definitely another reason!

But then—

'Huh?'

White energy and black energy began to mix. The two that should never have mixed, like water and oil, started penetrating each other until—

'Gray...?'

A color she had only seen once in her life. The color she had seen when she first used Dragon Eye on her mother. It appeared when the target was equal to or greater than a dragon, rendering the Eye useless.

'No way...'

The man before her was her equal? A mere human, equal to a dragon like her?

It was a refreshing shock. A wonderful stimulus that broke through her boring, dull daily life.

While she stood there speechless, the man opened the door and started to leave. I jumped over the counter and called out to him.

"Mister! Wait!"

The face that turned back held a faint smile.

"Um... could you tell me your name?!"

"Me?"

I nodded eagerly. The man thought for a moment, then let out a small chuckle and looked straight into my eyes.

"Lee Seonghyun. First-year at the Hunter Academy, Lee Seonghyun."

With those calm words, the man left the shop.

"Unbelievable..."

It felt like a storm had just passed through. I placed a hand over my chest. The dragon heart that had remained still for three hundred and sixty-five days, twenty-four hours a day, was now pounding violently.

A new discovery. It was on a completely different level from the 'interesting thing' I had seen earlier. The real thing had been—

'Right here!'

I hurriedly picked up my phone. The person I was calling was, of course, Mom.