Returns Refused
A pristine white check for 1 billion won slid across the counter like discarded trash. It was the very same one Baek Seol had slammed down with such gusto. Han Siu flicked it back toward her using just his index and middle fingers—a dismissive shove, as if shoving a snotty tissue into the bin.
"Return?"
"...What?"
"Our store doesn't do human trafficking. And besides, you're not for sale."
Siu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and jerked his chin toward the wall clock. "See that clock? I've got exactly 30 minutes left on my shift. The boss is coming soon for checkout, so don't interfere with business. Please leave."
Baek Seol's mind ground to a halt. She, the guild master of Korea's top guild, Valhalla, had just been turned down for 1 billion won. Not because the money wasn't enough, but because this guy didn't want his quitting time disrupted.
Her red lips twitched in a spasm. "Are you insane? Didn't you count the zeros? It's a billion! Money you couldn't touch in a lifetime of scanning convenience store barcodes!"
"I don't need money."
Siu's reply was firm—no, downright annoyed, like he was sick of the hassle. "I can't buy rare magic ink with it right this second, or snag a translation of ancient script. To me, catching tonight's anime episode live and grabbing a tuna-mayo triangle kimbap is worth more than a billion."
Madness. That's the only word Baek Seol had for the man before her. An F-rank hunter in capitalist society prioritizing fandom over cash. And this unflinching calm in the face of her S-rank killing intent—where did it come from?
"This... this is really...!"
Unable to contain her boiling rage, Baek Seol lunged to grab Siu's collar again—
"Ugh..."
A faint groan rose from her feet. It was Yuri, teetering on death's door. Thanks to Siu's 'cooking oil jelly,' the black poison devouring her gut had vanished clean.
Yuri slowly lifted her eyelids. Her blurry vision sharpened, the world's colors flooding back. But the first thing she saw wasn't her guild master Baek Seol gazing down with worry.
Her eyes locked on the man beyond the counter—wiping grease from his hands with a wet wipe, his expression utterly indifferent.
It was warm...
In the hellish agony, a golden glow had pulled her from the brink. The touch of the man who conjured it still lingered on her scarred skin.
S-rank healers had given up on her, yet a mere convenience store clerk had saved her. 'Benefactor' didn't cut it. This was a kind of marking.
Yuri's pupils glazed over dreamily as she stared at Siu. An instinctive craving welled up—to know who this man was, his name.
At that moment, a deafening rumble shook the entire building. Snack bags tumbled from the shelves in a cascade.
The disaster alert blared noisily.
Baek Seol's face hardened. No time left for bickering here. Once the gate fully opened and monsters poured out, this little store would be obliterated.
And freshly awakened Yuri was in no shape to fight.
She had to choose: Drag this tantalizing talent by force, or secure her subordinate's safety and plot for later?
What if he vanishes without a trace afterward...?
An inexplicable refusal to let go surged for this man. Baek Seol bit her lip until it bled.
She was a cool-headed guild master. Right now, evacuating Yuri came first.
"...Fine."
Baek Seol roughly swept back her hair and helped Yuri to her feet. She left the 1-billion-won check sitting boldly on the counter—a declaration of war, a territorial marker.
"I'll retreat for today. Gotta save this girl first."
She turned to Siu, her bloodshot eyes piercing his. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not giving up. I'm leaving that there, so take it even if you don't need it."
"Goodbye. Trash bin's outside."
"We'll see how that cocky mouth holds up later."
A chilling yet oddly seductive warning. Baek Seol growled on. "That dungeon out there? I'll smash it in 30 minutes and come back. Don't think of running. I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth and make you my exclusive crafter."
Bam!
She kicked the door hard enough to shatter it on her way out.
Yuri, cradled in Baek Seol's arms, twisted her head back to gaze at Siu until they vanished into the rain—a silent promise in her eyes to return.
The storm of an S-rank hunter passed, leaving the convenience store in silence once more.
"Whew..."
Siu let out a deep sigh. Not from relief, but dread at the mess on the floor.
"S-ranks are all nuts, every last one. A billion? They could've just hired another part-timer with that."
Grousing, Siu fetched the mop. Flour and oil smeared everywhere—a disaster.
Back in 30 minutes after smashing the dungeon? Whatever. By then, he'd be home showering and cracking a beer.
"Gotta clean fast and bounce. Can't miss this quarter's new anime drop."
Swish, swish.
Only the mop's rhythm filled the quiet store. Outside was chaos—red lightning cracking, sirens wailing—but Siu cared only about the stains.
But that peace didn't last.
Ding-a-ling.
A cheerful bell chimed. Not the door-shattering crash from Baek Seol's entrance. A quiet, stealthy intrusion.
"Welcome...?"
Siu reflexively looked up.
Despite the raging storm, the woman's clothes entering the store were bone-dry. A transparent mana barrier around her repelled the rain.
A black long dress draped with a red shawl. Cat-like eyes with upturned corners and a beauty mark beneath. Korea's rank 3, vice guild master of Black Lotus, Hong Yeonhwa (S-rank).
Folding her umbrella, she glanced at the 1-billion-won check rolling on the floor.
"Oh my."
A lazy, sticky sigh of admiration slipped from Yeonhwa's lips. "That fox Baek Seol dumped a fortune here? A billion? For her, that's basically emptying her pockets."
She was Baek Seol's rival and sworn enemy.
Here to scout mana waves from the nearby dungeon, she'd sensed the bizarre golden mana flare from inside and entered. Spotting Baek Seol storm off, instinct told her: something amazing was in here.
Click, clack.
Yeonhwa approached the counter in her high heels, a thick rose scent wafting over. Siu instinctively stepped back. If Baek Seol was violent flames, this woman was suffocating poison mist.
"Um, customer? Disaster alert's on—no sales right now."
Siu tried the bluff quick.
"I know. Total chaos out there."
Yeonhwa just smiled and propped her elbows on the counter, leaning in. Her deep dress cleavage spilled out blatantly—an overt lure to snag his gaze.
Her eyes slowly scanned his face, horn-rimmed glasses, worn shirt. An ordinary F-rank guy, no mana to speak of.
But judging by Baek Seol's exit, she bet a billion and still got rejected?
"Hmm..."
Yeonhwa's eyes narrowed with curiosity. Her finger swept flour and oil stains from the counter corner. Faint mana residue clung—traces of forcibly altered material properties.
Interesting.
Baek Seol would've brute-forced it, but Yeonhwa was different. She licked her lips slowly.
Not just scouting greed. A burning curiosity to uncover what this nerdy nobody hid that drove high-and-mighty Baek Seol to desperation.
"Baby."
Yeonhwa leaned further, closing the gap until their noses nearly touched. Her hot breath brushed his face.
"Baek Seol's got no eye for talent—shoved cash first like a brute."
"..."
"Makes me wonder. What'd you show her?"
Her finger trailed up his chest, tugging his tie lightly. "Wanna show me too? If you're worth Baek Seol burning a billion on."
Siu's face soured. One pest gone, a worse one arrived.
Five minutes to quitting time. Looked like no on-time anime binge tonight.
"Hah... excuse me. Can I please just clock out?"
Despite his plea, Yeonhwa just smiled seductively, like a kid with a fun new toy.
"Dunno. Satisfy your big sis, and maybe I'll let you go?"
Thunder crashed outside; inside, intoxicating perfume hung heavy. Siu's peaceful part-time life shattered to pieces.
