Caught by a Strange Person
I must've gotten tangled up with some weirdo. Three morning breads sat innocently on the cooling rack.
Staring at their glistening perfection, I couldn't help but let a silly grin creep across my face.
"Heh heh heh..."
Simple flour, passing through my hands, transformed like alchemy into top-tier potions.
Fatigue reduction.
Hunter elites practically lived in the Tower, so fatigue management was life-or-death for them. Even non-awakened folks knew how much cash they blew on those bitter, nasty stimulants.
Mine worked better and tasted good.
"This is gonna make me filthy rich."
I needed to hit the Hunter Association Seoul Branch and sell them right away.
I fired up my phone and searched for the Seoul branch on the map app.
Stuff like this deserved official channels—no shady back-alley deals when they paid top dollar and guaranteed everything.
"Three subway stops from here."
I carefully packed the breads into a container.
I wanted to bolt out the door, but my current look was the problem.
White tiger ears and a fluffy tail to boot. Even without the tail, a cute beastkin girl wandering the streets would draw stares—this was overkill.
Rifling through my closet, nothing fit properly.
"Hmm..."
No choice—I grabbed my old oversized black hoodie from my guy days.
On this body, it draped like a baggy dress down to my knees.
I yanked the hood low, stuffing my twitching ears inside.
Tying the strings tight kept them from popping out. That eased my nerves a bit.
The fluffy tail got crammed into my thick pants.
"Ugh... this feels so weird."
Every step, the fur brushed my skin, sending shivers up my spine.
Gripping my uncomfortable hip, I forced a natural stride and headed out.
Hunter Association Seoul Branch.
The massive all-glass building oozed intimidation from the entrance alone.
Fatigue-ravaged hunters bustled in and out.
I felt a twinge of fear.
Sure, my mind was adult-level, but this body? One flick from those hunters and I'd flop over dead like a flatfish.
My tail curled up tight in my pants, terrified.
And those exhaustion-etched faces made them twice as scary.
Was that why housing prices around here were freakishly low?
Clutching my bread container, I muttered a capitalist incantation under my breath.
Money, gotta make that money... my vanished fried chicken weeps from the underground.
I slipped cautiously into the lobby, swarming like a marketplace.
Standing awkwardly, scanning around, I spotted the Awakener Registration desk and scurried over to the woman there.
"Um, excuse me."
Standing on tiptoes to call out, the suited staffer leaned over the counter.
Spotting me under the deep hood, her eyes went wide.
"Oh my... little one, are you lost? Where are your parents?"
Totally understandable.
I looked like a middle-school kid wandering into the Hunter Association alone.
Keeping the hood pressed down, I replied carefully.
"I'm not lost. I'm here to register as an awakener."
"Oh? Awakener registration...?"
The staffer blinked in surprise.
No age limit on awakening, but a middle-schooler? Even for a seasoned association vet like her, it was shocking.
She composed herself with a kind smile and offered the awakener detection orb.
"Are you really awakened? Must've been scary... just place your hand on this orb, okay?"
I rolled up my baggy sleeve and pressed my palm to it.
Woooong—
A faint silver mana shimmered from the orb. Not blinding, but unmistakably an awakener's signature.
"Gasp...!"
She flinched, checking her monitor.
Seeing a real awakened kid, her eyes mixed pity and admiration.
"Y-you're really an awakener... at your age, wow."
She felt proud yet sorry for the girl before her.
Getting roped into a death-adjacent job so young.
Hiding her sympathy, she rushed through the procedures.
Paperwork, fingerprints—all zipped through fast.
"Here, your temporary hunter license. You're officially an awakener now. But from Tower floor 3 on, you need proper training to enter."
"Thank you!"
Grasping the license card, the reality hit—this wasn't a dream.
Hiding my excitement, I got to the real reason I came.
"Um, I want to sell some stuff to hunters."
"Sell stuff? Oh, crafting side, huh."
She asked cutely.
"Yeah... I made it myself and wanna try selling."
"You made it yourself? Impressive already."
She seemed to chalk it up to kid play, but stayed polite and helpful.
"Students like you don't have sales history or credit yet, right? For first-timers, I recommend the auction system."
"Can I use the auction right away?"
"Of course. High-value items get bids naturally, and you set a reserve price—no losses."
She swiveled her monitor, showing the exchange location, with a friendly nod.
"Head inside there, scan the barcode at the terminal, consign the item, and it auto-lists on association auctions. Good luck!"
"Thank you!"
I bowed and dashed to the sales area.
Slotted my license into the unmanned terminal, tapping the screen.
Super intuitive—even for a newbie like me.
I registered the item.
I slid the bread container into the consignment slot.
Please hit the jackpot.
Procedures done, I skipped home lighthearted.
Home sweet home—I flung off the hated hoodie and flopped onto the bed.
"Hope it sells well..."
Effects were guaranteed, but nerves were nerves.
My suppressed tail swished, mirroring my bloated mix of hope and worry.
I opened the association auction app I'd installed on the way.
Refresh. Refresh.
"Huh...?"
[Bidders: 0]
[Current Bid: 100,000 won]
My listing hadn't budged. No bids, just pitiful views trickling in.
Anxious, I tapped into the item page's comments.
"......"
After reading the comments, my tail drooped straight to the floor.
Makes sense... No matter how good the effects, an unknown seller hawking miracle bread screams scam.
To life-risking hunters, it wasn't about bread price—it just looked like garbage fraud.
"Sigh... should've set the reserve at least 20 million won. Then they'd think it was some named account."
Too late for regrets.
"Ah, whatever. Sleep it off and rethink tomorrow."
Sorrow and regret crashed over me.
I chucked my phone into the bed corner in resignation and passed out.
——
Kim Hyunah, supply team leader of Baekya Guild, had just wrapped a mid-Tower raid and returned to base. She set down the auction app, face etched with exhaustion.
"Fuck. Took even longer this time... guild master's nagging is gonna be brutal..."
She slumped against the sofa with a heavy sigh.
"Kids' fatigue is rock bottom—no scheduling for a while."
Potion prices through the roof, hunters collapsing from stimulant side effects everywhere.
Scrolling down, one item caught her eye.
"...Fatigue reduction?"
Obvious scammer bait. Comments were already flooded with curses.
But at just 100,000 won? Worth the gamble.
Guild members were dropping like flies from fatigue—if real, this was a lifeline.
It passed association appraisal to list... sure, probably still a scam, but even a tiny effect...
As if possessed, Kim Hyunah hit bid.
The next morning
I woke to dazzling sunlight.
Rubbing my face on the pillow, I stretched.
"Yawwwn... ahh... slept like a rock."
The bread? Probably passed—no biggie, bake more and hawk at Tower entrance.
Resigned, I grabbed my phone from the bed corner.
Screen lit up, a short buzz—notif popped.
"Huh..?"
Sale proceeds of 100,000 won settled.
"It sold...? For real?!"
Reserve price, but sold!
Rushed into the app—yep, 100,000 won in my account.
And below, dozens of buyer notifs.
"What the... this person's creepy..."
Looked like I'd properly hooked a crazy one from the start.
"Aish... should've sold on the street."