A Shop That Knows Its Stuff
A private message from Byeolbaembaem.
She wants to talk for a minute? No reason I can't.
Why'd she suddenly drop the bit, though? Normally it would have been something like, Newbie, let's talk for a sec, dayo.
…It's probably nothing.
I fire a reply straight back.
The verbal tic is back. Weirdly, that actually calms me down.
I remember Yanggung saying something like that on my first day in the gallery. That Byeolbaembaem was unregistered too.
Honestly, the perks you get from staying unregistered are basically zero. So why hasn't she registered?
The curiosity wells up, but I swallow it for now.
How many have I actually stacked? Somewhere around five to six hundred grams, maybe.
Ah… right. How am I supposed to sell these? If I'd registered as a hunter, I could dump them through the Association at market price. Or sell direct to a private company or an individual looking to buy.
Except those routes are, as the name implies, for registered hunters only.
For unregistered types like me, there's really only one way that comes to mind.
Every market has a black market. A back-alley for the deals that don't belong in the sun. The hunter market was never going to be any different.
Not having to body-slam my way through a market just to learn how it works is a massive advantage. Doubly so when the place in question is a black market — dangerous, and the information is anything but evenly distributed. A veteran's hard-won scars, earned by ramming into walls so I don't have to. I'll take that meal with gratitude.
Kilogram? Ah. I've only ever heard of that one on the news.
If KakaSamTalk is the messenger of the sunlit world, Kilogram is the messenger of the dark, right?
The app where every shady good and every dirtier deal in the country supposedly changes hands… I never thought I'd be the one installing it.
What kind of handle is that. Not my problem. Moving on.
Whew… today's climb is done, I've got a little time, and I've got stones to sell. Might as well.
Byeolbaembaem's speech pattern is weird, but the intel she hands out is always the juiciest kind. I wonder what her rank is. I'll ask once we're closer. Throw her some gear as thanks, too.
Kilogram finishes downloading.
Maybe it's all the images I've absorbed from the net over the years, but my finger hesitates over the icon. Still — what choice do I have? The first time is always the hardest.
First things first. Let's see how many stones I've actually got.
Ah. I should've asked Byeolbaembaem about the going rate.
Well… I can just ask now.
Was the fact that she pulled this into DMs instead of calling me out in the gallery her way of saying, if you've got questions about this kind of thing, hit me up in private?
I'll ask in a bit.
I open the status window.
Not a bad haul.
Should I take one out?
Kzzzt.
A lump of stone blooming with a deep violet light materializes in my palm.
Whoa… it's throwing off a purple aura that looks actively hazardous. If you could see radiation with the naked eye, would it look like this?
The vibe is too nasty. I stuff it back in.
I can pull it out when it's time to sell.
I send Byeolbaembaem another message, this one asking about the market price for magic stones.
The reply comes almost immediately.
A million won per ten grams… that's insane.
Five hundred fifty grams would be fifty-five million won…? Come on, that can't be right. That means almost ten million every time I clear a floor?
Even if I get stuck climbing, I can just re-run the floors I've already beaten. Cleared floors open back up after a week, after all.
Fifty million in five days… it doesn't feel real.
Of course it isn't my money until it actually hits an account. Which means I should sell. Fast.
I open Kilogram.
All that unease about the underworld this and the underworld that is long gone.
It wants a nickname. Fine. Anon it is.
Their ID was… @SSALSUNG77, right?
Find Friends… this one?
Ugh. A golden pig grinning like it just won the lottery greets me as the profile pic.
The bio is every bit as gaudy as the picture.
I send a message.
Bzzzt.
A reply in under ten seconds.
How does the actual trade even work?
I don't ask. Asking would make me look green, and I am trying very hard not to look green. I wait, and another message comes in.
An address.
A taxi ride. No problem.
An hour and a half to kill…
The courtesy is a lot more polished than I expected. Maybe I was the only one playing mind games here… Then again, Byeolbaembaem recommended the place. How sketchy could it be?
Hmm…
A dangerous thought flickers through my head.
What if Byeolbaembaem pointed me here on purpose?
It could be a genuine favor, offered because she actually cares. But what if there's another motive tucked underneath?
Say… the kind of motive that wants a look at my face.
I moved too fast.
……
Or am I just putting on a one-woman paranoia show?
Yeah. Time to take it down a notch. This habit of going bristling-sharp and treating every kindness like a trap — I should start letting that go, little by little.
Take goodwill as goodwill. If she really does try to screw me, I can always settle it then.
Decision made.
Ai… but can I actually walk in like this?
A sloppy top hanging almost to my knees, pant legs pooling well past my calves.
Anyone looking would clock me as the little sister swimming in Dad's — or big brother's — clothes…
Are they even going to take the trade seriously?
They will! They will. I've got ID.
I just say I'm twenty. That's all it takes.
Ah, screw it!
The outskirts of Seoul, deep in a run-down shantytown, down a shabby alley.
It's summer, so the sun is still hanging on — but night has already moved into this particular alley and made itself at home.
I ransacked drawers and the wardrobe until I found a comically huge pair of sunglasses, a mask, and a hat, and I put all three on.
Glad I did.
The people drifting through this alley look… yeah.
Hoo… this it?
GOLDEN PIG TRADING
Clank. Clank.
I climb a staircase made of iron plate, then knock.
Knock. Knock.
"Coming!!"
A booming voice from the other side of the door.
"Sorry for the wait! Right this wa— this way, please."
"Uh. Yeah."
The reaction I expected. But they're a pro too, apparently — they recover in a heartbeat.
We talk as we walk the hallway.
"You're the Anon who messaged us this afternoon, yes?"
"That's me."
"And you're here to trade 550 grams of magic stones?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
We're at a door before I know it.
Knock knock.
"Hyung! Anon's here!"
"Come in."
"You can go on in!"
This one isn't coming in with me, apparently.
I swallow without meaning to.
"Hahaha! That's a long way to come! Have a seat!"
A massive frame. A short sporty crop. Black sunglasses I cannot explain, given that we are indoors. Gold accessories stacked on his neck and both wrists.
That is the man sitting in front of me.
"You're Anon, right?"
"That's right."
"Name's Geum Tae-ji! Feel free to call me Golden Pig! Hahaha!"
That's the identity check? We're done?
He's a loud, generous kind of guy. Or maybe that's just how this business is.
"Understood."
"Great. Mind if we start with the stones?"
"Not at all."
I pull the magic stones into my hand.
"Hoh… mind if I weigh them?"
550 g.
A clean, exact 550 grams.
"Exactly 550 grams. Then let's talk price!"
The part that actually matters.
Byeolbaembaem's rate was a million won per ten grams. If he comes in under that, I haggle. If the haggle goes nowhere, I walk. I have no interest in taking a loss for the sake of being polite.
"How does 56 million won sound?"
Huh?
A million more than I was bracing for?
My answer lags, so Tae-ji adds another line.
"Not to your liking? Then we can take our time and hag—"
"No!! That's great?!"
I yell it before I can stop myself.
Silence fills the room.
"Wahahahaha! You startled me, customer!"
Tae-ji breaks the awkward quiet like he's done it a thousand times.
"Did I… startle you? Hahaha!"
"We're good!"
Tae-ji offers a handshake.
I like this hyung.
I stick my hand out, shake, and rattle off my account number.
His hand is enormous… or is mine just that small.
We sit back down.
Then Tae-ji says,
"Bank transfer or cash — which would you prefer?"
"Sorry?"
Cash is an option?
"Ah… we do both. This neighborhood's a little rough, though, you know? So if you'd rather, we can just wire it."
What is this place.
Byeolbaembaem really did send me to a shop that knows its stuff.
Should I take the advice and go with a transfer?
No. I want to see a pile of cash.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll just have to deposit it anyway, and walking around with that much cash is a stupid thing to do.
But then where's the fun!
How many times in a life do you get to look at fifty-five million won in actual bundles?
"Cash, please!"
I go for it on the spot.
"You got it! We'll have it ready right now!"
Tae-ji fills his lungs.
"Gwang-pal!!"
"Yes, Hyung!!"
"Go get 56 million won!!"
"On it!!"
Right. Fifty-six million.
Heh heh heh…
"Just a moment. Haha!"
I could wait an hour.
A knock, then the door opens. A hefty document case lands on the table.
"Go ahead. Open it."
Click.
Hooooooly……
How many fifty-thousand-won notes even is that?
"A hundred notes to a bundle."
A hundred notes to a bundle… eleven bundles of a hundred, and one bundle of twenty.
"C… confirmed."
"Kuhahaha! Excellent! Thanks for the business. Come again anytime!"
Is that really it?
I just pick up this case and walk out?
Tae-ji is beaming.
I give a small nod and step out of the room.
"Travel safe!!"
Gwang-pal asks Tae-ji a question.
"Hyung, that one looked like a total kid. Is this trade gonna be okay?"
Tae-ji answers while digging in his ear.
"Yah, yah. If we start nitpicking every little thing like that, we can't do business."
He blows the wax off his finger.
"It's not like I've only been in this game a couple of times. What's with you?"
"Yes. Sorry."
"That's a valued customer. Age, nationality, race — doesn't matter. Anybody who brings us magic stones is a valued customer. Got it?!"
"Got it!"
"Good, good. Let's do this right."
I make it home.
My hands are shaking.
I open the document case and check the money.
Hoooooooooly……
Fifty-six million won.
Not fifty. Not fifty-five. Fifty-six million won.
Kraaaaaaah.
Thank you, Byeolbaembaem. You really do have to go to a shop that knows its stuff.
I've got money now, which means it's time to spend it.
All right. Let's kit myself out for real!
Happy shopping time.