Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Outsider Who Almost Got Stabbed
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ But as time passed two o'clock, some rather suspicious customers started showing up at our booth.
They were all wearing masks that hid their faces and blankets draped over their bodies, making it hard to tell who was who.
One thing they all had in common was their slightly youthful voices—they seemed about our age, still young.
"Uh... H-Hello! Could I get one of these stickers and a translucent file folder, please!"
"Hello! Um, could you maybe sign the back of a sticker for me?"
What...?
I felt a bit uneasy, but Yoo So-mi just beamed with gratitude at her stickers selling and happily accommodated them.
"Sure thing!! Thank you so much for buying! I never even thought about doing signatures before, so I'll write my name in the cutest handwriting ever!"
"Whoa. Could you sign one for me too?"
"Hey, if I buy one of these blankets, would you sign that too?"
...
They must be fans who already knew Yoo So-mi, judging by how badly they wanted the artist's signature.
But from their speech... it didn't seem like they even knew the character's name.
"Kyaaah!!! Thank you so much!! Yi-an! My stickers are selling like crazy! This is awesome!"
Well, as long as Yoo So-mi herself was happy, I guess it was fine.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ We handled customers as they came, selling merchandise and explaining the characters to those drawn in purely by the artwork's quality.
We even took turns wandering to other booths for a look around.
Before we knew it, the Seoul Character World event had come to an end.
Han Si-a, looking a bit tired, compared the inventory to the sales ledger and spoke up.
"The translucent file folders sold out ages ago. The stickers nearly sold out too, thanks to those shady masked folks insisting on signatures. We have some blankets left, but considering the profit margins, we're way ahead."
For high schoolers participating in a doujin event for the first time and selling almost everything—that was an encouraging success.
The doujin market is packed with pros-level artists, so anyone with mediocre skills risks leaving with unsold stock, a deficit, and tears.
I asked Yoo So-mi about our net profit from the event.
"Hmm... I didn't expect these big blankets to sell so well—way better than I imagined. Net profit-wise, maybe around 200,000 won? Let's all go eat something delicious with this tomorrow!!"
At that, Han Si-a asked in surprise.
"But all we did was man the booth today. Is it really okay? You drew the art, prepared the merch... Considering all your hard work, you'd deserve to keep it all, and it still wouldn't be enough..."
But Yoo So-mi just grinned brightly.
"It's fine! Now that Si-a's joined me at an otaku event, we're friends!"
"...So we weren't friends until now...?"
Han Si-a looked a little shocked, but I decided to ignore it.
.
.
.
We cleaned up the venue, packed the remaining goods, returned the rented equipment to the office...
Dragging our weary bodies, we finally exited the event hall.
All that was left was to call a taxi home together, but someone stopped us right in front of the entrance.
"Looks like you had fun at the event without me, So-mi..."
It sounded like a woman.
She was on the plump side with short hair, so it was a bit ambiguous at first—but her voice hadn't deepened like a guy's during puberty.
"They suddenly banned me from the event and kicked me out. I even reached out to other artists for help... but they all treated me like I didn't exist. Sure, it was wrong of me to use your art and lie with it, but was it such a huge sin that you'd humiliate me like this? Huh?"
It was Kim Ji-su. She looked even heavier than in her Facebook profile pic, so I hadn't recognized her at first. This was our initial in-person meeting.
"I lost all my friends in the blink of an eye, while you get to frolic happily with yours... This is so unfair... Why is the world so unfair!!!!! Hand over all the event profits!!!"
Kim Ji-su screamed hysterically in front of everyone watching.
Honestly, she didn't seem scary or pitiful—just ugly to behold.
...
So this bitch is the one who forced those pervert outfits on Yoo So-mi and tried to skim the event profits?
I stepped forward, thinking I'd intimidate her.
But Han Si-a gestured for me to hold back and whispered quietly.
"Jeong Yi-an, get behind me first. That bitch has a knife in her hand."
This fucking... I'd thought she was just holding a paper bag in her right hand, but looking closer, a kitchen knife handle was poking out.
If I'd rushed in to pin her down by sheer size, I'd have a hole in my gut right now.
Yet Han Si-a calmly addressed the knife-wielding lunatic like it was nothing.
"You didn't contribute a single thing to this event, did you? And now you're trying to rip off high schoolers. Isn't that a bit too shameless? The event's over now—we can call the cops if you want."
At Han Si-a's words, Kim Ji-su responded a little deflated.
"Ugh... That bitch... That bitch deserves it! Unlike me, she's got a pretty face and a slutty body that's total whore bait! A girl like that can make friends easy and pick whatever guys she wants~ Plus, she's got drawing talent!!"
"So isn't it fine if someone like me gets used a little? Wouldn't that actually be fair!?? "
...
We were all stunned speechless by Kim Ji-su's deranged rant.
Then, Yoo So-mi was the first among us to speak up.
"I... I really thought you were my friend, unnie!!!! That's too much!!! Why are you treating me like this? You know how hard it's been for me without friends!!"
Yoo So-mi glared daggers at Kim Ji-su, yelling in fury as she spoke.
"You're not my friend anymore! We're done!! Don't contact me ever again!!!"
Yoo So-mi stormed off, huffing and puffing.
...
Watching that, Kim Ji-su deflated completely and muttered weakly.
"I never thought of a hotshot like you as a friend anyway..."
Kim Ji-su shuffled away dejectedly, mumbling to herself as she vanished somewhere.
...
"That was a close call, but it all worked out in the end. You're better suited to studying diligently and working under me later than spouting nonsense like Bitcoin."
Han Si-a offered me a fist bump, and I met it with mine.
Our plan: I'd doxx Kim Ji-su on SNS, and Han Si-a would isolate her.
Ultimate goal: Ensure Kim Ji-su could never cling to Yoo So-mi again.
But Kim Ji-su overreacted hysterically, tanking her own reputation—and as a result, Yoo So-mi shook her off easier than we'd worried.
Working under her, huh.
Her way of putting it pissed me off a bit, but by Han Si-a's standards, that was high praise.
"The rest will be handled quietly and swiftly by these guys here. So-mi probably won't even notice it's happening."
At that, burly plainclothes men emerged from the event hall, following Han Si-a.
...
I asked if those guys were cops or private security, but Han Si-a brushed it off as none of my business.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ *** From the Perspective of Class 5 Female School Boss Sin Su-jeong ***
Friday. Yoo So-mi suddenly left early.
Our class's students are the usual slave class who never talk to Yoo So-mi, but that doesn't mean we're uninterested in her movements...
As her official lackey, I went to the homeroom teacher on everyone's behalf to ask why she'd left early.
And get this: She left early because she was busy preparing for the Seoul Character World event tomorrow!
Never heard of it, so I searched it up—turns out it's an otaku event!!!
Whoa! Yoo So-mi's great at drawing, so she must be participating as an artist!!!
Everyone in our class, who cares about Yoo So-mi more than anyone, easily pieced together her drawing skills and the otaku event connection.
...
Truth is, being an otaku is prime teasing material and a weakness in itself.
If some easy mark of a girl got exposed as an otaku, I'd rip her apart and crush her under me.
But this time, the target is Yoo So-mi.
She's Baekseung High's Female School Boss and Class 5's queen. No student can interfere no matter what she does.
Maybe that's why? The class's reaction to this wasn't bad at all.
Some even said they wanted to see Yoo So-mi running a booth at the event.
But a fact Yoo So-mi didn't tell us directly isn't something we should know.
So we gathered over the weekend, bought some face-hiding props nearby, and took turns using them.
Yoo So-mi must never know we visited, and we must forget we ever knew she was there after the event.
That's why we said:
"H-Hello!!"
The Yoo So-mi who usually glares at us like she wants to kill us greeted us with a radiant smile.
And when we bought cheap mystery stickers, she thanked us profusely and smiled even brighter.
We took turns in masks and blankets, enjoying time with Yoo So-mi.
Before the class dispersed, as her lackey, I made sure no one brought today's purchases to school or breathed a word about it.
Honestly, the sticker art was kinda iffy... but the blankets and file folders? Those were on another level. Made me think dipping into otaku stuff might not be so bad.