To Me, an Auction Is Murder (1)
Auction.
Also known as competitive bidding — the act of presenting a lot to multiple bidders, letting each put forward their desired terms, and awarding the sale to whichever offer suits the seller's fancy.
And Lee Jun was now walking into just such an auction house.
The largest one in Korea — the place where the country's most dangerous things changed hands.
"You said something about an auction?"
"That's right. We're going today, so get ready. Quickly."
"...Right now?"
It was a morning in mid-August, when Seo Yoon's training was in full swing.
Lee Jun had called her over without any warning at all.
"Our first gate — the one I mentioned before. Today we go win the bid on it."
"This is very sudden, sir. I don't even know which gate has come up for sale yet..."
"Ah, don't worry about that. There are plenty of ways to find out."
Gate auctions were, by their nature, conducted in strict confidence.
Held every Saturday, these auctions guarded the identity of every gate that came up for bid as thoroughly as a state secret.
But there was always a way to find out.
Plant a spy on the inside, or simply pay for the information.
Lee Jun had tolerated such practices to a reasonable degree during his own tenure.
Information-gathering was a skill like any other, after all.
Those with the ability to extract good intel had every right to profit from it.
Not that he hadn't ruthlessly fired every spy he'd ever caught, of course.
"Anyway, it's convenient if the staff inside already know me. Favoritism really is a wonderful thing, isn't it?"
"......"
Seo Yoon accepted the thick bundle of papers he handed her and found herself at a loss for words.
Inside was a dossier of exactly the same caliber as the materials handed out on auction day itself.
She had served as an Information Bureau Chief in the snowfields herself, so she understood the value of this intelligence at a glance.
Who on earth was this insider, that they could produce something this detailed?
"This is..."
"The lots coming up today. There are a decent number of dungeons this time too, but we'll be going for a nice, safe gate."
What Lee Jun had his eye on was Taesan's S-Class gate.
He had no intention of bidding on it exclusively, of course.
He held zero expectation of winning an S-Class outright — and even if he somehow did, clearing it would be impossible.
So his plan was simply to skim off the hidden reward waiting inside that gate.
'The original owner of that reward... dies five days after acquiring it anyway.'
He didn't feel particularly guilty about stealing it.
And in the end, it would fall into a criminal's hands regardless — better that Lee Jun held onto it himself.
"An S-Class... Do you really think we can win that bid, sir?"
"As long as it's not a solo bid, the odds are perfectly reasonable."
Though "perfectly reasonable" still meant difficult.
Which was why the most important thing was persuasion.
Instilling in the judges the conviction that his team could absolutely clear this gate — that was what raised the odds of winning the lot.
The judging was done by human beings, after all.
In truth, an auction like this was less a bidding war and more a contest of who could sway the panel of judges hardest.
Objectively measurable credentials mattered most, granted — but on that front, Lee Jun was the strongest card in the deck: the only S-Class hunter in South Korea.
And he had more than enough other angles to work with besides.
"Everything's prepared perfectly. All you have to do, Seo Yoon, is follow my lead."
He pressed an armful of pre-selected clothes into her hands and urged her along.
Bewildered, Seo Yoon gathered up the pile of garments and trudged off to change, wearing a distinctly sour expression.
All right. Now, time to get myself ready.
As the moon began to swell toward its peak, the hunters who stood at the very top of the industry started converging on a single destination.
The Korean Central Auction House in Mokdong.
Every gate and dungeon auction in South Korea was conducted here.
And not just the big-ticket items — everything from potions and monster byproducts on the small end to top-grade artifacts on the large end.
Any auction with even the faintest connection to hunters was handled at the Korean Central Auction House.
"I never get tired of resenting this place."
Lee Jun said it while gazing at the auction building rising in the distance.
Back in the day, he had attended as an Association executive serving on the judge's panel.
Coming here every week in that capacity had long since worn out its novelty.
Granted, this time he was arriving as a participant, not a judge.
"An auction decided not by money but purely by the judges' discretion... Fascinating, every single time."
"Items that transcend monetary value deserve to find owners worthy of them."
Allocating gates by money alone would obviously be dangerous.
Every guild in the country had agreed on that point long ago.
"But then, isn't there a risk of the judges themselves being bribed?"
"That's exactly why every judge enters with a precaution in place."
The artifact known as the Falsehood Predator.
A choker-style artifact whose true nature was... a bomb collar with a built-in lie detector.
Before every auction began, all five judges donned the Falsehood Predator and swore an oath.
"That no fraud of any kind is involved in the auction."
"So that's what that device was."
"It's classified, technically. Too much public knowledge and people start kicking up all kinds of fuss."
"And if someone lies while wearing it...?"
"Boom. It goes off."
"......"
No judge's head had actually exploded mid-auction yet.
Everyone seemed to understand the value of their own necks.
"Artifacts really do work exactly as advertised, don't they? Nobody has the nerve to test whether they're real or not."
And so the fairness of the auction was as good as guaranteed.
The one wrinkle was that the judges were drawn from the various organizations themselves...
"Today's panel is Skullpy's vice guildmaster, the Baekma guildmaster, HIM's vice guildmaster, the Samhwa Group's vice guildmaster, and — unusually — the Artisans' Guildmaster this time around?"
Lee Jun reeled off the list of judges for this session.
Compared to previous rounds, only one seat had changed — his old spot had gone to the Artisans' Guildmaster.
The man rarely showed his face at events like this. Curious, that.
Was he after something?
And unfortunately, it seemed no Association personnel were among the judges.
Well — since Lee Jun had retired, there was no one left to send here in the first place.
"Still, charity does tend to begin at home, one way or another. A pity."
And since that kind of bias stemmed from personal conviction rather than bribery, the Falsehood Predator couldn't catch it.
Granted, the other four judges would judge objectively — but even one friendly face on the panel counted for something.
Lee Jun looked out the window and let himself drift into old memories.
Before the regression, it had been this seat on the auction panel that barely kept his ever-shrinking foothold from collapsing entirely.
Now he had given up that seat of his own will. Looking back, it was a strange feeling.
"Let's see... almost seven o'clock. Time to get moving."
"Understood."
The auction began at eight in the evening.
Doors opened at seven, and every attendee had to be seated in their assigned spot by seven fifty-five sharp.
Miss the deadline and there was no mercy.
Forget the guildmaster — even the guildmaster's grandfather wouldn't get past the door.
"Shall we?"
Creak—
Lee Jun pushed open the driver's door and stepped out.
Reporters were already swarming the entrance.
This particular auction had no shortage of headline material, after all.
His own participation was one draw, but the Artisans' Guildmaster sitting on the judge's panel was another.
A man who was hard enough to glimpse on ordinary days, appearing at an official event like this? Naturally, every lens in the lot would be pointed at him.
Why he'd suddenly shown up, Lee Jun couldn't say...
"Whew..."
He deliberately steadied his breathing and started walking.
Lee Jun was wearing the most flamboyant outfit he owned.
A sharply tailored suit beneath a long coat.
Black as his hair, with red accents like his eyes.
And on top of that, the sunglasses he almost never wore.
He looked like a man who had decided, deliberately, to be seen.
'Back when I came as a judge, I dressed with nothing but propriety in mind. The contrast should hit even harder now.'
Today was not just another auction for Lee Jun.
It was the first official appearance since the founding of S-Class Hunter Management.
A prime opportunity to shed the old image of the Association's vice-chairman once and for all.
Being constantly lumped in with the Association would only be a drag on everything he planned to do going forward — he needed to make the most of this moment.
Click—
Bathed in a downpour of camera flashes, Lee Jun opened the passenger-side door.
"Ready?"
"...Yes."
Seo Yoon stepped slowly out of the car.
Her appearance... turned heads without question.
A violet dress, elegant without being excessive, and low-heeled shoes.
Her glasses were off, just as in combat, and although she was someone who rarely bothered with makeup, tonight her face was lightly powdered.
Her hair — no longer in its usual disciplined ponytail — hung long and loose, falling naturally past her shoulders.
The black locks cascading down were like polished ebony.
The reasoning behind all this was thoroughly political.
Lee Jun's flamboyant attire carried its own message, but even that extravagance was held in check.
Because tonight's main event was someone else entirely.
Seo Yoon.
She was the first hunter of S-Class Hunter Management — a milestone in the truest sense.
And Lee Jun intended to make her the star.
'Narrative matters at events like these.'
In this world, image was everything.
And nothing built an image more powerfully than storytelling.
It happened to be one of Lee Jun's specialties.
The image he wanted: a woman who had once moved like a shadow through the snowfields, now standing tall and unashamed in the public eye at Lee Jun's side.
Clichéd? Absolutely. Which was exactly why it worked so well.
"All right, let's go."
"......"
Lee Jun extended his hand, the picture of an escort.
Seo Yoon hesitated a moment, then took it.
"Well? Are we drawing the eyes?"
"Dressing like this is... rather embarrassing, sir..."
"The face of our management isn't me — it's you, Seo Yoon."
"Still... I'm not used to it."
With her ear-tips faintly flushed, the two of them made for the auction house entrance.
Tap-tap— tap-tap—
The crisp click of heels followed close behind.
Inside, the building was quiet.
Made sense — doors had only just opened.
"Mr. Lee Jun, Ms. Seo Yoon. S-Class Hunter Management — confirmed."
Security verified their identities and led them straight to the hall where the auction would be held.
The two of them took a table near the middle of the floor.
—S-Class Hunter Management
Seeing the company name printed on the table placard put him in a strangely good mood.
And at the same time, it made everything undeniably real.
I really... came back.
I really was given a second chance.
'I regressed. I'm walking a different road than before... and today will be the third step along it.'
Steadying himself with that resolve, he glanced to his side.
There sat Seo Yoon, still wearing an awkward expression as she took in the building around her.
The first hunter of the management agency.
And for now, its only hunter.
...Right. She's my second step.
He was confident that much had succeeded. Now it was time to pull off everything that came after.
With that thought, Lee Jun began mentally reviewing the judging process one more time.
That was when it happened.
Someone approached their table.
"Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Vice-Chairman himself."
"...It's been a while, Guildmaster Baekma."
A man with a face that could only be described as smarmy.
Guildmaster of Baekma — Choi Seung-yo.
Baekma Guild hovered in the awkward space between large and mega, and Choi Seung-yo himself was no great hunter either.
He was also exactly the type of person Lee Jun couldn't stand.
Which made the one relevant detail all the more annoying: the man was one of today's five judges.
"I understand you're on the panel today, so what brings you out here?"
"Word was that someone rather precious would be attending."
"Is that so... Aren't these the same old faces as always?"
"Why, it's the first auction where the Vice-Chairman participates as a bidder rather than a judge. Of course it's a day worth commemorating."
"...I see."
He'd been grating on Lee Jun's nerves from the first word.
That Vice-Chairman title... deliberate, obviously.
Lee Jun made no effort whatsoever to hide his displeasure about it.
But Choi Seung-yo showed no sign of shutting up.
"And what lots has the Vice-Chairman come to see tonight? Artifacts? Or gates?"
"The gates look good this time around."
"Oho, gates? I hear that C-Class that opened in Samhwa's territory is quite promising. Is that the one?"
"No. I've got my eye on Taesan."
"Hahahaha! Taesan? Isn't that an S-Class? Even for the Vice-Chairman, I'd think that might be a bit beyond him!"
"......"
He just kept poking and poking.
Yeah. There really are bastards like this.
Men who strutted around as if judging an auction made them something special.
Utter nobodies, the rest of the time — and yet here they were, always like this.
"No answer, Vice-Chairman?"
"...Because I'm not the Vice-Chairman anymore."
"Hmm, then what should I call you?"
"That's your problem to work out. Though frankly, anything is fine as long as it isn't Vice-Chairman. That seat's behind me now."
Lee Jun looked Choi Seung-yo dead in the eye and smiled.
It meant: stop wasting my time.
Apparently the man did have some survival instincts, because his expression steadily stiffened.
Lee Jun sat back down at the table, as if to say he had nothing more to discuss.
God, just go away already.
This once, the universe obliged.
Choi Seung-yo stalked off wearing a resentful scowl.
But... an even more god-awful voice drifted over.
"That temper of yours really hasn't improved a bit."
"...Looks like we're both getting grief from every direction today."
In the end, the one person he'd wanted nothing to do with had waded in too.
Right. This is an event virtually every guild in South Korea attends.
I figured there was a chance we'd cross paths — but seeing her face in the flesh just makes it so much more infuriating.
"Lee Hyeon-ah."
Vice Guildmaster of Seolwon.
What a truly shit hand fate had dealt him.