Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Paradise (5)
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The Yongsan Auction House.
As the largest auction house in South Korea, its regular mid-month auctions were renowned for the high quality of their items, attracting even foreign participants.
"Haaah."
Arriving at the auction house entrance, Ha-eun let out a tense breath.
Tap, tap, tap.
Leaning on her cane, she went inside.
"Are you here to participate in the auction?"
"Ah, yes."
"Then please fill out this paperwork first."
After asking around, she finally reached the counter, where an employee handed her some documents.
Ha-eun wore a troubled expression.
The employee, watching Ha-eun stand blankly before the counter, noticed the cane in her hand and let out a small gasp.
"Ah... my apologies. Do you not have a guardian with you?"
"...No. I don't."
"Hmm. In that case, would it be all right if I filled it out for you?"
"Yes. Please do."
As expected of Korea's largest auction house, the service was excellent.
After providing some basic personal information for the employee, she received a waiting number.
If she were a VIP, she could have entered immediately, but as someone who barely met the entry requirements, let alone VIP status, she had no choice but to wait.
After about two hours of waiting.
"We will now begin entry! For security reasons, re-entry will not be permitted once the auction begins, so please take care of any necessary business before entering!"
The admission process had begun.
-Thump, bump.
"Ah... w-wait."
As the waiting crowd surged forward all at once, she was jostled from all sides.
Thanks to her superhuman body, she avoided the disaster of being pushed over, but she couldn't stop herself from being swayed back and forth.
"These bastards, really..."
A wave of irritation washed over her, but she couldn't exactly cause a scene here.
Ha-eun waited for the crowd to thin before slowly making her way into the auction hall.
"Excuse me, where is seat P-17?"
"Hmm? Ah... just go straight down to the right."
Every time she stopped someone to ask for directions, she heard quiet murmurs.
-Even a blind person is participating in auctions these days.
-Something you couldn't even dream of a few years ago.
-But why doesn't she have a guardian?
-Tsk, tsk. Who'd want to be saddled with a disabled person in times like these?
Mockery and gasps.
Voices mixed with pitiful sympathy.
"..."
Squeeze.
Ha-eun clenched her fists tightly.
Her nails dug into her palms.
It hurt.
Not her palms, but her heart.
'It's okay.'
As long as I can get the Yongmaan.
I can wash away all this resentment, this gnawing pain.
"Alright, everyone! Let's begin the December Yongsan Auction!"
The auctioneer stepped onto the stage.
"The first item we'll be introducing today is the one called the best among 4-Star Relics, the [Ashen Censer]!!! It has a reputation for being an excellent relic for practical combat!!!"
The auction began with his slick sales pitch.
As always, the auction started with an appetizer-like relic.
"The minimum starting bid is ten million won! The buyout price is one billion won!! Ah, and as you all know, buyouts can only be made with cash, right?"
Apparently, there were too many cases where the winning bidder didn't actually have the money, so buyouts were restricted to cash-only transactions.
'Buying something at the buyout price means you desperately need it.'
After all, one didn't have to look far to find examples of desperate people telling lies.
"One hundred million!"
"One hundred thirty million!!"
As the bidding began in earnest, the atmosphere inside the hall heated up.
Just as the auctioneer had confidently introduced, the 4-Star Relic [Ashen Censer] was indeed a high-performance item among its class.
"Three hundred forty million!"
"Four hundred million!"
The price climbed rapidly.
"Six hundred seventy million!!"
"Six hundred seventy million!! We have six hundred seventy million! Are there any higher bids?"
"..."
"Alright! Then the [Ashen Censer] goes to bidder number 157!"
Six hundred and seventy million won.
That was more than double her entire fortune.
"...Ah."
Not even enough money to buy a 4-Star Relic.
The hope that had filled her mind quickly cooled.
"N-no."
Shudder.
Her clenched fist trembled slightly.
The [Ashen Censer] was a popular relic to begin with.
The Yongmaan, by comparison, was a relic with far less general utility, so she could still hold out hope.
"Now, the next item I'll be introducing is...!"
The auction continued.
By the time all the 4 and 5-Star appetizer relics had been sold.
"Haha! Thank you for your patience! It's finally time to introduce today's main attractions!"
Gulp.
This was the true start of the auction.
In novel terms, the prologue had just ended.
"My, my! It's been a long time since this item was last up for auction! A relic that can be obtained, though extremely rarely, from dragon-type monsters!! A relic with the incredible effect of being able to lift any curse!!"
Finally.
"It's the 6-Star Relic, the [Yongmaan]!!!"
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of polite applause could be heard.
'Yes!'
Seeing that there was almost no cheering, it seemed the competition wouldn't be too fierce.
"Now, about this relic—it's not an equippable item you carry around, but an absorption-type relic that seeps into your body upon use! Which means!"
The sensation of her lips drying up.
"You can permanently gain the power to 'lift' all sorts of curses without the hassle of carrying it around! Kyaha! Everyone! In a Gate, where you never know what might happen, wouldn't having a relic like this be incredibly reassuring?"
Rattle, rattle.
Her cheap prosthetic leg trembled faintly.
"The starting bid is one hundred million! The buyout price is ten billion won!"
"O-one hundred million!"
The moment the bidding started.
Ha-eun shot her hand up and shouted.
"Pfft!"
"Did she seriously just bid the starting price?"
"Hahaha! Must be an auction newbie!"
"Heh heh. Or maybe she's just a beggar hoping to strike it rich?"
Snickering laughter filled the air.
Ha-eun's face flushed hot.
Their guesses hit the mark, and she bit her lip, lowering her head.
"Hmm~ haha. Yes, one hundred million! We have one hundred million! Any higher bids?"
The auctioneer also let out a faint smile, his expression showing he had a good idea of what was going on.
'Please.'
She clasped her hands and prayed desperately.
'Don't let anyone else bid.'
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
And then.
"Two billion."
"Two billion, five hundred fifty million!!"
"Yes! A higher bid has been made!! Hahahat!"
Without incident, without anomaly.
Without leaving even a sliver of a miracle.
"Ah..."
A short gasp escaped her lips.
Moisture welled up in her unfocused, ashen eyes.
"Three billion, two hundred million!"
"Three billion, two hundred sixty million!"
The price kept climbing.
Just to make a higher bid, not even to win, she would need ten times the money she currently had.
"Ha... haha."
Hope turned cold.
A bitter sneer escaped her pink lips.
"Right... there's no way I could afford it."
A 6-Star Relic sells for at least five billion won.
How could she dare think she could buy one with less than a quarter of that amount?
"..."
She bit her lip until it bled.
Why, why, why.
What had she done so wrong?
"Just once..."
Hasn't my life been so damn hard?
Abandoned by parents I've never even seen, haven't I scraped by, living a dog's life?
And yet.
Why on earth.
"Just once... it wouldn't hurt for a miracle to happen."
I'm not asking for much.
I don't want everything.
One time.
Just one single time.
"I just want to be... with Oh-jin..."
I know it's greedy.
I know it's a selfish thought.
Oh-jin has his own life.
He has aspirations, and desires.
For five years now—no, even before that—I've been shackling his life.
I cast the curse of 'Song Ha-eun' upon him, dragging him down into this pitch-black darkness.
"Ah, uh."
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Four billion, one hundred million!!"
"Four billion, two hundred thirty million!!"
"Four billion, three hundred million!"
Even as her tears fell.
The Yongmaan slipped further and further away.
Even though it was already out of reach.
—It was then.
"Huhu. Are you here for the Yongmaan, by any chance?"
A greasy voice whispered in her ear.
An unpleasant tone, mixed with desire and greed.
"...Who are you?"
Ha-eun glared sharply in the direction of the voice.
"Ah, my name is Choi Jong-cheol, from the Starlight Lake Guild. I'm sure you've heard of the guild?"
The Starlight Lake Guild.
A guild of healers, formed by the Awakeners of Aquarius.
"...So?"
"I've been watching you since you were waiting earlier."
A slimy voice.
"You were trying to buy the Yongmaan, weren't you?"
"..."
Ha-eun kept her mouth firmly shut.
A sticky, unpleasant feeling spread down her spine.
"Five billion. No... I can lend you up to six billion."
"...!"
Ha-eun's ashen eyes widened.
The dying embers of hope flickered back to life.
"In return."
She could feel Choi Jong-cheol moving closer.
His hand came to rest, *thump*, on her thigh.
"This son of a bitch has lost his..."
Ha-eun's expression soured, and her hand, which was about to clench into a fist, flinched to a halt.
Six billion.
That astronomical sum of money echoed in her mind.
"Huhuhu!"
His oily laughter reached her ears.
"In exchange... could you be 'friends' with me for about five years? Well, I'm not asking for much. Just have a meal with me when you have time, maybe a drink, and after that... I don't need to spell it out, do I?"
"..."
Shiver.
Ha-eun's shoulders trembled faintly.
It felt as if filth had been poured onto her thigh.
An unbearable disgust made her want to vomit.
'...But.'
Six billion.
With that money, she might be able to obtain the Yongmaan.
She could escape this pitch-black darkness.
With him.
She could live.
'But, but, but.'
Her lips were parched.
A tear rolling down her cheek formed a droplet at the tip of her chin.
"What do you say?"
"..."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
She forced down the rising nausea.
Forcing open lips that wouldn't move.
"—Alrigh—"
BAM!
Just then.
The auction hall doors were thrown open violently.
"W-what the?"
"Who are you!"
A sudden commotion.
CRASH!
She could hear the bodyguards rushing toward the entrance.
"You can't enter during an aucti—"
"...Huh?"
"A-an Executor?"
"Why is an Executor here...?"
"Wait a minute. Isn't that the guy? The one from Seoul Station a few days ago..."
The flustered voices of the bodyguards.
And then.
-Thud.
The sound of low footsteps.
Rang in her ears.
"—Huh?"
Her ashen pupils trembled.
'W-what?'
-Thud, thud.
It was a familiar sound of footsteps.
-Thud, thud.
A sound she should never have heard.
-Thud, thud.
A sound that should not be heard.
"Why, why...?"
Why are you.
Here...?
"Ahem! My apologies for the brief disturbance, everyone! Uh... Executor from the Association, why are you here...?"
The auctioneer gave an awkward smile as he looked at the uninvited guest who had barged in mid-auction.
-Drrrk, drrrk.
-THUMP!
The uninvited guest shoved two large trunks he'd been dragging, sending them sliding across the floor.
The trunks fell over, and bundles of cash spilled out like snowflakes.
"—Ten billion. All in cash."
A low, heavy voice echoed throughout the auction hall.