Chapter 37
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 37
"Bidding can be done through the tablet provided at your seat, and instead of your name, your number will be called......."
With the auctioneer's brief, clear explanation, the auction began.
Cheon Seo-yoon fought down her nerves and checked the auction order.
Since the more expensive items came later, the necklace was fourth among the twenty lots.
That meant its appraised value was low, but value was always relative.
It was a fragment of a life she absolutely had to recover, proof of her growth, so she resolved never to miss it.
The auction seemed to be proceeding smoothly.
-Lot 1, the Ancient Spindle Whorl, has been sold for 50 million won. Customer No. 542. Please come up to the platform to inspect the item.
-80 million won, 80 million won, 80 million won. Lot 2, Yang Guifei's Ornament, sold to Customer No. 75.
-The next item is...... Ah, one moment.
The sudden disruption occurred at that moment.
-We apologize, customers. The order has been changed, so allow us to guide you again. The auction for Lot 3, the Demon Soldier Corps Longsword.......
The longsword had been canceled due to a last-minute quality inspection issue, and the Lorelei Necklace, originally fourth, had been moved up to third.
Apparently, this was uncommon for an auction of this scale.
But so what.
Cheon Seo-yoon clutched her pounding chest and took a small, deep breath.
Biting her lips hard, she focused, and focused again.
-The Lorelei Necklace. As for this piece, it is a necklace specially crafted by Troika, a renowned French atelier, using processed portions of Magwang Ore airlifted from the Lorelei in Germany.......
She listened to the auctioneer's words, and the moment it began, she pressed the bid button.
-Wow, Customer No. 680. You're fast. Looks like you came determined. A bid of 70 million won has just come in.
When her number appeared on the front screen, she felt relieved for now.
-Customer No. 43 has bid 80 million won.
-Customer No. 464, 95 million won.
-Customer No. 683, 100 million won.
......But.
Contrary to expectations, the competition was fierce.
It was a simple accessory with no additional effects, so she had thought she'd win it without trouble.......
Bids were coming in from all over, as if people had been waiting.
"These people, seriously."
Cheon Seo-yoon quickly adjusted her price and bid again.
-Customer No. 680, 105 million. The appraised value of 100 million has already been exceeded....... Ah, 110 million just came in. Customer No. 683!
The moment she raised it, No. 683 followed right behind.
That was the person who had bid 100 million at the end.
Who on earth.......
The competitor was getting on her nerves, and she wanted to see who it was.
They were just two seats away, so she craned her neck slightly.
Then she saw a middle-aged woman whose refined elegance was obvious at a glance.
Spring had long since arrived, yet she was draped in a fur coat.
On her plump fingers, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, vio...... no, anyway, three or four rings set with large gemstones glittered brilliantly.
"Seriously, she already has that much, so why is she buying more?"
Cheon Seo-yoon gritted her teeth and raised the price.
-The competition is getting fiercer. Customer No. 680, 115 million.
-Ohh, Customer No. 683 bids once more. 120 million.
-Customer No. 680 again, 125 million.
-Customer No. 683, 130 million!
As the amount climbed, Cheon Seo-yoon's mouth went dry.
She had exactly 155 million won in total.
She had little left before hitting her limit.
If she kept inching the price up like this, the other side would likely keep following.
She didn't know much about auctions, but her instincts told her so.
"Shit......."
In the end, she had to make a decision.
Money could be saved up again, so she resolved to focus on recovery.......
Cheon Seo-yoon went all in with every won she had and hit the bid button.
-Oh, Customer No. 680. You've offered 155 million in one go.
The auctioneer shouted excitedly when he saw the amount, and a murmur ran through the hall.
"Wow. That young lady is something else."
"Is it worth paying 50% over the appraised value?"
Among the concerned voices were those of her companions watching from the spectator seats.
For one thing, they had already been greatly surprised that the item Cheon Seo-yoon had been waiting for so desperately was the necklace—
"Didn't you raise it too much at once?"
"Right. You should've waited a little longer."
Now they were worrying that she had bid too high.
Joo A-rin, who had auction experience, saw it differently.
"No, she did the right thing. If she really wants it, that's the kind of amount she needs to bid."
"Why?"
"50% over the appraised value is a kind of unwritten rule. It signals to the other party that you absolutely have to buy it."
Now it all depended on No. 683.
If they were as desperate as Cheon Seo-yoon, they would keep bidding. If it was only a desire to own it or passing interest, they would be better off saving that money for the next item.
Joo A-rin, who had turned her head to look at No. 683, soon smiled faintly.
Fortunately, it was the latter.
-Any more bids? The current highest bid is 155 million.
When the auctioneer called out, No. 683 casually raised a hand and signaled their withdrawal.
"Wow, A-rin, you really know everything."
After Lee Dae-ho's sincere exclamation of admiration, the bidding finally seemed to be winding down.
-Then I will call it three times.
The auctioneer folded his fingers one by one as he called out 155 million.
-155 million. 155 million.
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had stayed tense the entire time, finally let her shoulders sag.
The relief that it was finally over, and the sense of accomplishment that she had done it.
The five years it had taken to recover the traces of someone she missed.......
As fragments of those memories resurfaced, a surge of emotion welled up.
-Final call at 155 milli—huh!
A new bidder appeared at that moment.
-Ah, it's not over yet.
The customer number displayed on the front screen was 21.
The amount offered was a staggering.......
-T-two hundred million won! We have 200 million! That is far above the previous high bid of 155 million won!
The audience stirred at once.
"What do you mean, 200 million?"
"Seriously, what even is that necklace?"
It wasn't a matter of money.
Most of the distinguished guests here could drop 200 million won without blinking.
The real issue was that it was double the appraised value.
At twice the appraised value, it was beyond overpaying—it was practically throwing money away.
"200 million?!"
Cheon Seo-yoon shot up from her seat.
What kind of lunatic had sabotaged her at the last minute? She looked around, searching for the bastard's seat.
But she couldn't get a clear look.
The seats were widely spaced, and the seat itself was in a corner.......
-Then I will call it three times.
She wanted to counterbid, but she didn't have that kind of money left.
I-it's over.
Her vision blurred for a moment, and Cheon Seo-yoon lowered her head.
-200 million, 200 million, 200 million. Sold to Customer No. 21.
The auctioneer's words sounded distorted.
-There will be a brief item inspection process. Customer No. 21, please come forward.
But the last words rang out with unusual clarity.
If she was going to recover it later, she needed to at least see the bastard's face.
Cheon Seo-yoon clenched her fist and raised her head again. That was when it happened.
......Huh?
As a familiar silhouette headed toward the platform, she rubbed her eyes hard.
But nothing changed.
It was still the face I knew.
Cheon Seo-yoon murmured blankly, as if she had even forgotten her anger.
"...Park Ha-yul?"
* * *
I walked calmly.
.......
For now, I kept walking.
With my unusually sharp hearing, I caught people saying the young guy had no eye for value.
That I was just throwing money around.
......And.
Cheon Seo-yoon's flustered voice buzzed in my ears, but I ignored it and kept walking.
The real part was only beginning.
Soon I stepped up onto the platform and faced the auctioneer.
No, the Demonkin wearing the auctioneer's mask.
"Congratulations, customer."
The bastard wore a good-natured smile and bowed politely. I offered a simple pleasantry in return.
"You're quite the talker. Maybe you should go into this line of work instead."
"Pardon?"
"Never mind. Just show me the item."
"Understood. I'll have it ready right away."
When the bastard clapped his hands, a female employee pushed a cart out from behind the stage.
On top of it sat a box that looked quite luxurious.
The necklace was probably inside.
But that wasn't what mattered, so my gaze followed the female employee rather than the box.
Black bobbed hair, vacant and unfocused eyes, and a burn scar between her brows that was easy to miss unless you looked closely.
She was exactly as I had drawn her, so there was no way I wouldn't recognize her.
Because she was the key figure in this terrorist attack.
The Bomb Demonkin.
A member of the Demonkin criminal organization Exorcism Society, and the possessor of a trait that could turn anything her Demonic Energy touched into a bomb.
The Demonkin had been able to plant bombs despite the auction house's rigorous item inspections because of her.
With just three seconds of contact, she could turn an ordinary necklace into a lethal weapon.
She had probably done her work just before coming onstage, in the process of placing the necklace into the box.
There was no real defense against it. If you did not know what she could do, you were bound to fall for it.
The cart, now a bomb, soon arrived in front of me.
I watched the Bomb Demonkin until she finished the delivery and disappeared at an unhurried pace.
Then another Demonkin invited me to my death with a sly grin.
"Customer. Go on and inspect it."
Unable to hide his excitement, the bastard spoke more forcefully than before.
As he did, he glanced down below the platform.
Following his gaze, sure enough.......
I sensed suspicious movement in the dim auction hall.
Several figures rose and moved behind people's backs.
Their plan was probably to use the chaos when the bomb went off to seize hostages immediately.
But too bad. I had no intention of playing along.
"Sure."
I smiled leisurely and opened the box.
The bomb detonated on physical contact, but I pretended not to know and slid my hand into the box without hesitation.
......At that moment.
BOOOOM!
An ear-splitting blast erupted as dark crimson flames swelled outward.
RUMBLE—!
A tremendous shockwave swept through the hall, making the floor shudder beneath my feet.
The explosion had occurred just as they wanted, but.......
"......What the hell is this?"
The auctioneer's face soon filled with confusion.
"Why is it like that? Is it some kind of surprise show?"
"But isn't that a famous piece?"
The auction hall began to buzz as well.
The explosion's epicenter was none other than Medusa's head.
I had put my hand inside the box without making contact and activated the sorcery formula I had engraved beforehand.
Fwoooosh—
Using Medusa's head as the sacrifice, dark crimson smoke bloomed into a mushroom cloud across the ceiling, then began spilling downward.
"X—, what the hell is this?!"
"Cough, cough."
Then the reactions started coming.
Some people who inhaled the smoke began coughing, and others slumped down, trembling.
"Are you all right?"
The watching guards approached them in alarm.
"Huh."
But soon they pulled their hands away and stepped back again.
An unfamiliar blood-red light now gleamed in their eyes.
"R-red eyes!"
"They're Demonkin. Everyone step back!"
The same detection played out all across the auction hall.
The smoke was a kind of filter that reacted only to Demonkin.
32-stroke Wind-Style Sorcery, Blood Cloud Incense.
It was the effect of the sorcery I had pre-inscribed.
It was obscure even among Sorcery, an old technique that had all but vanished from use.
Activated through the caster's blood, it was a hunting Sorcery once used to agitate and lure Monsters.
But these Demonkin were only Green Grade, not even capable of manifesting their Traits.
As long as they belonged to the lowest of the six standard grades, the effect was the same.
They would be driven half out of their minds, which meant one of the bastards' strongest cards had been neutralized.
Hostages.
Half-mad, how could they think clearly enough to act?
That made it impossible for them to use hostages as leverage for their threats.
"Stupid bastards. Over nothing but a little smoke like that."
So the auctioneer.
No, the Blue Grade Demonkin, Helmut, was enraged.
The bastard soon looked back and forth between the necklace and me, then spoke.
"......What the hell are you?"
I looked at the back of my hand, somewhat pale from the blood I had paid as the price for Blood Cloud Incense, and smirked.
"Me? The owner of the necklace you bastards tampered with."