There Is No Rainbow (4)
I entered the set under the guidance of the camera.
I wasn't alone. Im Hae-jun, Ryu Yeon-hwa, Seo Ji-woo, and I—the four of us walked in together.
Ryu Yeon-hwa spoke to Seo Ji-woo.
"Ji-woo. It looks like you came out wearing only your pajamas."
"What are you talking about, you crazy girl? Ever heard of a crop top?"
Ignoring their bickering, I looked at the set. Packs of trading cards were piled high on a long table.
My heart fluttered slightly.
I've always liked collectibles like this.
Even back during my active-duty days, it was one of my few hobbies.
Especially since trading cards were surprisingly practical and highly valuable items.
"All four of you are here, right?"
PD Kim A-rang appeared.
"Today, we're only shooting this one segment. It's a YouTube-exclusive video that'll be uploaded in about two days."
It seemed she had completely become my dedicated producer; wherever I went, Kim A-rang was always there. Is this why people call me the "PD's pick"?
"You all know about the Explorer Trading Cards, right? Our show, Labyrinth Exploration NaN, collaborated with the Association to release the NaN Pack. We're also planning to hold a fan meeting, with entry tickets raffled to buyers."
Explorer card packs.
It was a marketing gimmick using a fan meeting as bait, but an individual probably wouldn't be able to buy many. They were bound to sell out the moment they hit the shelves.
"See those twenty trading card packs over there? Each pack contains five explorer cards. Each of you will grab five packs and open them right here."
"A slice-of-life shoot? I love this kind of stuff."
Im Hae-jun grinned and reached for the card packs.
"Stop."
I cut him off. I pointed a finger at the hasty Im Hae-jun and narrowed my eyes.
"Freeze."
"...What is it, Master?"
I had seen this scene before. Trading cards were expensive. A single pack cost a hundred thousand won, but the cards inside could be worth far more.
Kang Hyun's autographed Rookie Gold Card had once sold at an auction for two billion won.
No, wait. It was two million dollars, so in Korean won, it was closer to 2.8 or 2.9 billion.
"Stay still, Ryu Yeon-hwa."
Ryu Yeon-hwa, who had also been about to grab a pack, froze in place.
Seo Ji-woo crossed her arms.
"What is it now? Is there something there?"
"Trust me. These card packs are important."
"...Mr. Je-Mal-Olh. Ever since that day, I've found it hard to trust people."
Ryu Yeon-hwa suddenly muttered like she was unburdening her soul.
I wondered what "that day" was, and then realized she meant Kim Du-gyeom.
"Cut the crap. Don't worry about other people—don't trust yourself."
"...Excuse me?"
"Whatever. Let's settle this with rock-paper-scissors."
The four of us put our hands together.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Im Hae-jun: Rock. Seo Ji-woo: Rock. Ryu Yeon-hwa: Rock. Seol Ha-woon: Paper.
I was first.
The other three played among themselves to decide their order.
"Okay. Since I'm first..."
No, wait. This wasn't something to celebrate. The reason I won first place was likely because my winning would ultimately benefit Seo Ji-woo. I was semi-certain of it.
I turned to Seo Ji-woo.
"Seo Ji-woo. You choose first."
"...What? Why?"
Seo Ji-woo furrowed her brow.
"Consider it a privilege of the first-place winner."
"What's the catch?"
"Just do it. When I tell you to."
I gave Seo Ji-woo a gentle nudge. Grumbling, she picked up five packs.
"Good. Now give those to me."
I held out my hand. Seo Ji-woo tilted her head.
"Why?"
"Do you not want to?"
This response was also crucial.
"No, it's not that."
I carefully took the card packs imbued with Seo Ji-woo's luck.
"I'm second, so I'm picking now."
The moment Seo Ji-woo reached for another set of packs, I fell into deep thought.
The card packs Seo Ji-woo had just chosen, and the card packs she had handed over to me.
Which one did her luck apply to?
If it was a simple, one-dimensional luck, then the packs in my hands were the real deal.
But...
What if her luck ultimately operated in a way that benefited Seo Ji-woo herself?
Then the card packs she chose just now were the real deal.
"Wait."
"...Ugh, what now?"
Even if it made me look petty, I had no choice. In fact, it was better to be petty before the cards were revealed. Before the cards are shown, it's skill and bluffing; once they're revealed, it's cheating.
"Why?"
Seo Ji-woo's lips twitched. I said to her, "Wanna swap?"
"Hey, what are you two doing? I'm third."
"Don't interrupt. Mind your own business."
"...What the heck."
Im Hae-jun, giving me a narrow-eyed glare, picked up his card packs and ripped them open cleanly.
"What? Not even a single Rare."
"I knew you'd end up like that."
Next, Ryu Yeon-hwa opened hers.
Looking at her face, she clearly had no idea what she was looking at. Well, a sheltered noble girl wouldn't know anything about trading cards.
"Answer me quickly. Swap?"
I focused my gaze on Seo Ji-woo again.
"Ugh, whatever. Do what you want."
Do what you want.
That was a highly difficult answer.
The reason I was being so fiercely competitive was because, before my regression, one of the explorers on Labyrinth Exploration NaN had pulled Lee Jun-ho's Rookie Gold Card.
That future wouldn't easily change. The Association must have selected and placed that card in the pool for promotional purposes.
And if one of the explorers was destined to pull Lee Jun-ho's Rookie Card, it had to be Seo Ji-woo.
"I don't care. Swap if you want."
Seo Ji-woo held out her card packs. I hesitated, running the variables through my mind until my prefrontal cortex throbbed.
"...Yeah. Let's swap."
Luck would operate on a higher level.
I had asked Seo Ji-woo to make the choice, but the final outcome was manipulated by my own will. Therefore, Seo Ji-woo's luck wouldn't have triggered on my packs.
The true luck lay in her second choice, made of her own free will!
"...Here I go."
"Master, are you playing Yu-Gi-Oh or something?"
"Will you shut up?"
Amidst skin-crawling tension, I tore open a card pack.
Jun-ho, please come out.
Rip!
First pack.
Flip, flip, flip, flip.
I flipped through the five cards in an instant. All duds.
Second pack.
Flip, flip, flip, flip, flip.
Also duds.
I went through the third and fourth packs. Then, on the border of the very last card in the fifth pack—a golden gleam!
Gold Rookie!
"!"
My hands trembled.
"I knew it."
I had beaten fate. I had triumphed over luck.
"Whew..."
I calmed my racing heart with a deep breath. Trying my best to remain composed, I pulled the card out.
"Good to see you, Jun-ho... Huh? Wait, what the—who the hell is this?"
The face printed on the card was someone completely unexpected.
More than shocked, I was utterly dumbfounded.
"This... no way."
I held up the card and showed it to the camera.
"Why is this... why is this bastard here?"
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
Im Hae-jun, Ryu Yeon-hwa, and PD Kim A-rang, who were watching from the side, stared at the card with bewildered expressions.
"Ah... indeed."
Kim A-rang let out a hollow laugh.
"I guess they ran this collaboration back when Kim Du-gyeom was still on the show..."
It was a Kim Du-gyeom Gold Rookie Card.
Why won't this bastard leave me alone?
"Hold on. Let me check with the Association."
Kim A-rang stepped away for a moment to make a phone call.
"Ugh, gross. What is this?"
Just then, Seo Ji-woo muttered in disgust.
"Why is Lee Jun-ho here?"
"......"
I whipped my head around.
In Seo Ji-woo's hand was Lee Jun-ho's Rookie Gold Card. On the golden card, he was wearing a handsome martial arts uniform, smiling with his longsword resting on his shoulder.
Jun-ho, why did you go over there?
You were supposed to be in my hands.
"Oh, wow! Congratulations. That must be incredibly expensive."
"As expected, Ji-woo has amazing luck~"
The staff members congratulated Seo Ji-woo.
I felt utterly bankrupt.
But who knew? Maybe Kim Du-gyeom's card could become valuable too. Just looking at his face made my blood boil, but it was bound to be rare in its own way.
I needed to make a lot of money now. If I bought loot with cash and gave it to Aro, it could be converted back into Diamond Coins.
"Excuse me. If I put this up for auction, do you think it would sell for a high price?"
Just as I grabbed a staff member to ask...
"Ha-woon?"
Kim A-rang returned.
"Sorry, sorry. Legally, a criminal's portrait rights cannot be used for trading cards. Selling it is also illegal, so we'll have to discard it."
"......"
I glared at the face on the card. He was smiling like a saint even here. Kim Du-gyeom, you son of a—
"Hey. Want to trade?"
Seo Ji-woo offered in a pitying tone.
"You seem to really like cards. This was originally yours, Mr. Je-Mal-Olh."
"...No."
I shook my head.
"Once a pack is opened, there's no going back. The moment the world confirms what's inside, the state is fixed..."
This was the principle of the human named Seol Ha-woon, a belief that kept my core upright.
"Why are you saying that so solemnly?"
"Keep it, it's expensive. 1 of 3. It means it's the first of only three cards in existence."
Even if she sold it at the end of this year, it would easily fetch hundreds of millions of won.
"Oh, really? I hate looking at Lee Jun-ho's face anyway, so I should sell it right away."
Patter, patter.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed toward our set. Several staff members from other sets were rushing over.
"Um, Ha-woon! Kate just pulled a Je-Mal-Olh Rookie Card!"
"...What?"
I was dumbfounded.
"And they say it's not even a Gold, but a Prism!"
Kim A-rang and I furrowed our brows at the same time.
Kate stared at the card in her hand.
Seol Ha-woon was standing with his cane, his profile shown with his long, messy dark hair fluttering. His signature was written on the card's surface, which shimmered brilliantly. The radiance was as dazzling as a rainbow.
"Seol Ha-woon... Prism 1 of 1?"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
Beside her, Lee Jong-su kept shouting.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
"Seriously, stop."
Kate knit her brows. She had almost jabbed him in the mouth with her elbow just now.
"Congratulations."
This time, it was Kang Hyun. He, too, stared at the card with a look of envy.
Kate lightly raised the card.
"Would you like it?"
"No. If I take it, I'll have to pay a massive gift tax. I don't have that kind of money right now."
Kang Hyun smiled gently and toyed with his pockets.
The main PD, Yoon Sa-hyeok, let out a sigh.
"...This is quite something. If a Prism card is pulled here, it might cause some controversy."
"You can put it back. I don't mind."
"No. That would be rigging. That's even worse... The grand prize of the lottery got pulled on the very first day."
If the first-prize lottery ticket is pulled on day one, sales are bound to plummet, even if there are a few more top prizes left.
Yoon Sa-hyeok scratched the back of his neck.
"For now, keep it. Take good care of it. If you hold onto it for a few years, it'll easily be worth billions of won. If Mr. Ha-woon becomes a Mage, it might actually go up to ten billion."
It was an amount that would make an ordinary person's eyes spin, but Kate looked entirely uninterested.
Yoon Sa-hyeok chuckled dryly.
"Of course, money is the last thing you'd care about."
"Wow, I'm so jealous, Ms. Kate..."
Lee Jong-su chimed in again.
"Is this what they mean by money attracting money? Wow... A Je-Mal-Olh Prism Card... I've dabbled in cards myself, and I estimate the previous winner Lee Je-hoon's Rookie Prism Card is valued at around two billion won. But this is way more—"
"Yes. Thank you."
Kate quickly cut him off.
"Ms. Kate, I'm seriously so jealous... Ah, man, what is this garbage I got?"
Lee Jong-su picked up his own cards. Out of twenty-five cards, not a single one was a member of NEXIT; they were all strangers.
"Who on earth is Yu Tong-hwang? How can someone's name be Yu Tong-hwang?"
"He must be very good at the distribution business."
Lee Jong-su froze at Kang Hyun's joke. He stared at Kang-tong with shocked eyes.
Kang-tong tilted his head.
"Why?"
"No... Hyun. What did you get?"
"I find this person fascinating. Moon Moon-moon."
"Moon Moon-moon?"
"The explorer's name is Moon Moon-moon."
Kang Hyun held out his card. Lee Jong-su looked at the name.
It really was Moon Moon-moon.
"Well... it is a Rare."
Moon Moon-moon.
Yu Tong-hwang.
It felt a bit rude to say, but both of them should probably consider changing their names...
"What! Who pulled a Prism?!"
Suddenly, Lee Jun-ho burst in with a loud shout.
Lee Jong-su smiled and whispered to Kate.
"Jun-ho really loves cards too. He's an even bigger otaku than me."
"Holy crap, it's true?! A-And it's even Je-Mal-Olh?!"
Lee Jun-ho recognized the card in Kate's hand from afar. Striding over, his hands trembled as he asked, "C-Can I take a look just once?"
He even gulped.
"Yes. Go ahead."
Kate handed over the card. Lee Jun-ho turned the Prism card over and over, examining it.
"Wow, look at this texture... Ah, you might not know, so let me explain. This Prism is the absolute highest tier. No Tier, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and then Prism at the very top."
"......"
"But the important thing is, the Association rarely issues Prism cards. They only release them for explorers who are already somewhat legendary. But on top of that, a Rookie Card only comes out once in an explorer's entire career—during their zeroth year. Once in a lifetime."
He's casually speaking informally again. Kate felt annoyed, but since he seemed so happy, she decided to let it slide.
"So what does that mean? What is a Rookie Prism?"
"......"
"What is it?"
"...It's rare?"
"It's not just rare. Let me put it this way. Prisms are only issued to legendary figures, but explorers who are already legendary in their rookie year are extremely rare. There are fewer than fifty of them a year. Do you understand? So a Rookie Prism is rarity multiplied by rarity. And since this is a global print run..."
Lee Jun-ho was becoming incredibly talkative. Did this card possess some kind of magical power?
Kate let his words go in one ear and out the other, extracting only the key phrases.
Je-Mal-Olh Prism... I'm so jealous... It's not about the money... Collecting the history of exploration...
She felt a sudden urge to punch him in the throat.
"Whew."
Finally, he finished talking.
Lee Jun-ho toyed with his own cards. Kate became slightly curious.
"Who did you get?"
"I got one Silver of our members. Kim Woo-hyun. I swear, there's some kind of connection between him and me."
I don't want to talk to him anymore. He keeps speaking casually.
Kate turned around immediately, but someone was standing right behind her.
Seol Ha-woon.
Kate froze.
"I heard you pulled my card."
He asked with a look of curiosity. He looked as casual as ever.
A sudden impulse surged within Kate, but she didn't let it show.
"...Yes. I pulled it."
There was nothing stupider than showing hostility to someone who might be an enemy.
"......"
Seol Ha-woon stared at her in silence. It was a piercing, searching gaze.
"I pulled one too."
He thrust a card right in front of her face.
"Kim Du-gyeom."
What was he trying to do? Was he bragging about Kim Du-gyeom? Or was he testing her?
Kate nodded.
"Yes. I'm jealous."
"...Are you?"
Seol Ha-woon asked back. His expression didn't change in the slightest, remaining perfectly calm. He looked as if he were watching a sparrow flying far away.
"Of course. Excuse me."
Kate left the set. Seol Ha-woon stood still, watching her retreating figure.
He thought to himself:
The Kate I know isn't someone who just says whatever comes to mind.