Assistant Manager Lim Seonwoo, Assistant Manager Song Seogyeong
Friday morning.
Sseuppio— Sseuppio— Sseuppiriririri—
"Listen to those cicadas, belting it out at full volume."
Awakened by the morning sun, Dohyeon climbed out of bed.
Click-click!
With a hood pulled over its head, Gob 1 sprang into nimble action and tidied up the bedding.
"...So today's finally the day she makes her debut...!"
Dohyeon's resolute eyes were locked on the stable.
Ever since the day after Gob 1 was built, he had thrown himself into crafting a single object, pushing Advanced Jade Bone Processing to its absolute limit — all for this Friday, when Assistant Manager Lim Seonwoo and Song Seogyeong were due to visit.
A quick wash later, Dohyeon headed for the stable where that object was kept.
Click— ssssssss— The doors swung wide on hinges that let out barely a whisper.
Inside gleamed a creation of radiant jade.
A wheeled vehicle.
A horse carriage — no, an elephant carriage, built for the Taesan and Soran couple to pull.
Two reasons had driven Dohyeon, through round after round of trial and error, test runs, and revisions, to build the thing.
One was the guilt of a host finally offering the hospitality he'd owed Assistant Manager Lim Seonwoo.
The other was pure boyish heart — the maker's itch, in a self-respecting creator, to build a vehicle that could stand in for a car.
And so Dohyeon completed a vehicle with no engine, no brakes, no wipers, no rearview mirror — not even a button to roll the windows up and down.
Primitive beyond any comparison with an automobile. In truth, nothing more than a big square box with wheels bolted on. And yet it was the very first vehicle Dohyeon had ever built with his own hands.
It looked simple, but far more detail had gone into it than anyone would guess.
A frame with just the right firmness. Wheels that gripped without slipping, on asphalt and ranch ground alike. Seats shaped for a person to sit in comfort. Springs to soak up every jolt rising from the road surface...
Hardest of all had been the windows — one-way panes like a car's coated glass, transparent from the inside but opaque from without.
After chasing down this reference and that to fuss over the trim and decoration as well, a thoroughly presentable elephant carriage stood complete.
"What time is it..."
Eight o'clock — the ranch staff hadn't clocked in yet.
The couple was arriving on a flight that landed around ten, so it was about time to set out.
"Taesan! Soran! Let's go!"
Click-click!
Taesan and Soran, every bit as worked up as he was, harnessed up and pulled.
The elephant couple had spent their entire lives inside a zoo.
Not once had they gotten to roam this freely across so wide an open space.
Thud-thud-thud, thud-thud-thud—
Sreeeeee— The jade elephant carriage glided smoothly out through the ranch gate.
Jeju International Airport, Friday morning.
Travelers trickled out one after another with their bags in hand, yet every eye in the terminal — and every camera lens — had swung toward a single point.
Click, click.
Murmur, murmur.
A colossal jade-white elephant skeleton.
And perched atop it, a squat little jade skeleton.
In the little one's hands was held up a sketchbook that read, "Mr. Lim Seonwoo."
"You didn't rent a car, right?"
At Song Seogyeong's question, Lim Seonwoo nodded.
"Yeah. Dohyeon's coming to pick us up. Besides, with all the Climbers living on Jeju and all the resorts, they say the rental counters are crawling with rip-offs."
"Then is he already outside? Want me to call him?"
Tap tap.
Lim Seonwoo tapped the shoulder of Song Seogyeong, who was peering at her smartphone.
"Honey. Look over there."
"What is it now?"
Mr. Lim Seonwoo
There, riding atop the elephant skeleton, stood a goblin skeleton.
Sketchbook in hand.
"Welcome, Assistant Manager! You can hand your bags to Gob 1!"
"Uh... right..."
Gob 1 received the couple's luggage and loaded it into the elephant carriage's cargo compartment.
Lim Seonwoo stepped onto the footboard and climbed aboard.
"Whoa..."
Settled into their seats, the couple sat gaping even at an interior that was, objectively speaking, nothing special.
Watching the two of them marvel, Dohyeon felt a quiet swell of pride.
"Assistant Manager. Was the trip in all right? Have you been keeping well?"
Lim Seonwoo finally came back to his senses.
"Oh — man. I've been fine, no trouble at all. You, on the other hand, must've had a whole saga over there — though judging by your face, seems it all blew over. Good. Oh — is this Goldie?"
Click-click!
Assistant Manager Lim Seonwoo spotted Goldie sitting obediently at Dohyeon's feet and gave him a cheerful wave, and Goldie turned his head toward Seonwoo in greeting.
Watching Seonwoo puzzle over how exactly one was supposed to pet a dog who was now nothing but bone, Dohyeon held out a toilet brush.
"What's this?"
"That's what you pet him with. Ever since he turned into a bag of bones, it hurts my hands to pet him barehanded."
Squeak-squeak—
Lim Seonwoo set to work brushing Goldie with a will, and Goldie wagged his tail in sheer delight.
"Hey, Dohyeon. This feels... weird. Like I'm cleaning a toilet. Is this normal?"
"Hehehe — completely normal. It felt exactly like scrubbing a toilet for me too, at first."
Having gotten the greetings out of the way, Dohyeon set the carriage in motion.
"We'll head to the ranch first so you two can unpack, then I'll take you somewhere great for lunch. A local joint the tourists have never heard of! Sound good?"
"Couldn't be better."
At a glance from Dohyeon, Gob 1 stuck an arrow out the window and waved it.
A moment later, Taesan and Soran set their legs moving, and the carriage's wheels began to roll.
Assistant Manager Lim Seonwoo studied the goblin with its jade arrow for a long moment, then asked.
"Is that... a turn signal?"
"Yes, exactly. I can't speak for the future, but for now I couldn't manage actual indicator lights. Still, we're going out on public roads, so I rigged up a temporary one."
"Hahaha! You really do know how to live, huh? I'd catch your NeoTube stuff now and then, but I never knew you were having this much fun."
Song Seogyeong, quiet until now, covered her mouth and let out a small laugh.
"Ever since I cleared the tutorial, I've been doing my best to live easy and enjoy it."
Inside the slow-rolling carriage, warm laughter bloomed all around.
Friday night.
At Dohyeon's house, the three of them were tipping their glasses back and forth.
"Kkuh. Now that's what soju should taste like. Good liquor, good people, good place — even this industrial alcohol turns into something delicious."
"How's Jeju treating you?"
Assistant Manager Lim Seonwoo answered without a beat of hesitation.
"Honestly? It's great. It's a famous tourist destination, sure, but I was worried at first — the whole island sits inside the Jeju Tower's zone, and with all the hunters around... But now that I'm actually here, it's a completely different story. The vibe is wonderful. And the best part of it all is this ranch."
Jeju was famous for its many Climbers.
And Climbers were famous for being best avoided entirely.
But in reality, Jeju was nowhere near as overrun with Climbers as people imagined.
Climbers made up a mere 0.1% of the South Korean population.
Given that the vast majority settled in the cities where the Towers stood to enjoy the many perks the Tower Management Bureau rolled out for them, the Climber ratio among the citizens of Seoul and Busan came to 0.002% and 0.005% respectively.
Applied to Jeju, the figure was 0.027%.
More than thirteen times Seoul's — and yet it never felt that way on the ground.
0.002% or 0.027%, either way they were just as hard to stumble across.
Snagging a bite from the drinking snacks, Lim Seonwoo added his own round of praise.
"The ranch is really lovely, and the staff all give off this easygoing vibe. Maybe it's my imagination, but even the animals seemed remarkably gentle and relaxed. I can see why someone would love working in a place like this."
Dohyeon smirked, then answered half in jest, half in earnest.
"If you wanted to come, Assistant Manager, I'd create a position that doesn't even exist. If Seoul ever gets to be too much for you, you're genuinely welcome here. I make enough now to put food on the table for the people around me."
Even as he said it, Dohyeon couldn't quite grasp how far he'd come, and an odd expression crossed his face.
It's been a complete whirlwind ever since Mom and Dad passed... but I've found my footing now, too.
His late parents surfacing in his mind, Dohyeon took a slow sip of soju.
"Oh. You wouldn't know yet, would you, Dohyeon?"
At her words, both men's gazes swung to her.
"Me? Wouldn't know what?"
The couple, sitting side by side, traded knowing smiles.
"Well, fair enough — you've already quit, so I suppose it doesn't matter if you hear it."
Dohyeon, who had been slouched deep against the backrest, straightened up in his chair.
"Know what, exactly?"
"Seonwoo's father is the CEO of IM Solution."
"I'm sorry — you're telling me you're the CEO's son?"
Objectively speaking, the heir to a mid-sized company was hardly worth a second thought to a Climber capable of crafting things that shook the world. But not to the human being Cha Dohyeon.
IM Solution was the company that had taken him in when, orphaned, he'd needed a paycheck just to survive.
Assistant Manager Lim Seonwoo, who in theory was nothing more than his workplace senior, had held him steady like a flesh-and-blood older brother.
Still carrying the everyman's heart of those days, along with the bond he'd forged with Seonwoo, Dohyeon was floored by the man's true identity.
"Hold on — why would the owner's son join as a regular employee? Are we talking some kind of undercover operation?"
Assistant Manager Lim Seonwoo waved him off.
"Oh, it's nothing that dramatic. It's just my father's philosophy. And I happen to agree with it."
Popping another morsel into his mouth, Seonwoo went on.
"I guess this goes for any byproduct-processing company, but ours went from nothing to major player in a single generation. So my father experienced everything — from the lowliest hands-on work all the way up to running the company — in an incredibly short stretch of time... And somewhere in there, he came to feel it was crucial for the people on top to truly understand the work. That's why I started at the bottom."
"Ohhh..."
Dohyeon let out a genuine sound of admiration at the conviction of a mid-sized company owner — a world he'd never have had any way of glimpsing on his own.
"Hmm... something about you looks different to me now."
At Dohyeon's deadpan remark, Seonwoo and Seogyeong cracked up completely.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Hahaha!"
"What? Why are you laughing?"
When Dohyeon narrowed his eyes into a sly squint, Seonwoo explained.
"I mean, come on — to you, a mid-sized company assistant manager and a mid-sized company heir are basically the same thing."
"Have I really gotten that big already?"
At that, the two of them burst into laughter all over again.
After a good long laugh, Seonwoo dabbed away the tears at the corners of his eyes and asked.
"While we're on the subject — what's the plan from here for Climber Cha Dohyeon? As someone close to the human Cha Dohyeon, I'm curious about the Climber's future, too."
Dohyeon studied the Seonwoo–Seogyeong couple with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
"Hmm... This isn't some assignment from the Management Bureau, is it?"
At the half-jesting suspicion, Song Seogyeong waved her hands in denial.
"Not in the slightest. I am on vacation as of right now. The Bureau's salary and benefits are excellent, but they don't ask you to hand over your private life in tribute."
Arms folded, Dohyeon mulled it over for a moment.
My future, huh... If the Assistant Manager's that curious, there's nothing here I can't share.
"For starters — nothing's set in stone. My skills are a bit unusual, and the direction of my growth has already changed several times. It could change again."
"Understood. I'll listen with that in mind."
"Right now, I'm planning to make more goblin skeletons. The Bureau already knows this, but I can run my summons without occupying stats, under certain conditions. The little guy holding the arrow up on the carriage doesn't take up a single stat point either — so I'm going to put it to the test."
Lim Seonwoo smacked his knee. Thwack!
"Whoa! That's insane! You can get more than ten goblin skeletons a day, right? Aren't you about to become a textbook Mob Boss Necromancer?"
"Ha — there are other restrictions, so I can barely manage one a day. And it's still an open question whether the other goblins will be free of mana occupancy... Anyway, after that come the ranch animals. If any of them ever pass away, I'll try raising them back up..."
And so the night over Jeju deepened.