The Bewitching Vendor
“Huaam!”
Zeon stretched as he got up from bed, but his brows furrowed when he spotted something.
His gaze fell on Briel.
Her eyes were bloodshot red, as if she’d pulled an all-nighter.
She was glaring at a silver cauldron with those injected eyes.
An unidentified liquid bubbled furiously inside the silver pot.
“Just a little more… just a bit longer…”
Briel muttered, clenching her small fists tightly.
A thick madness emanated from her.
Zeon shook his head.
“Pulled another all-nighter, huh.”
Briel was nocturnal.
Dazed and foggy during the day, but come nightfall, her mind sharpened crystal clear.
That’s when her research began.
Her thirst for knowledge, suppressed and trapped underground, now erupted maniacally.
Like she was saving up energy all day just to explode at night.
Even now, she stared at the liquid she’d brewed through the night with manic eyes.
“It’s almost done. Just a little more…”
Poof!
In that instant, the liquid in the cauldron exploded.
“Kyaaak!”
Briel got drenched head to toe.
The liquid splattered not just her, but the entire house.
Zeon clicked his tongue, surveying the disaster inside.
“Tch!”
“What went wrong? The formula was perfect…”
Briel muttered in a dazed stupor.
Zeon said to her,
“Clean this shit up.”
“Ugh! Why’d it fail? What the hell broke?”
“Hoo.”
It was like Briel couldn’t even hear him.
She scraped at the liquid on her body and tasted it, analyzing the failure.
“Uwaaa! What the fuck is wrong with it?!”
Leaving the freaking-out Briel behind, Zeon stepped out of the house.
He knew from experience that when she had an episode like this, she’d be out of her mind for at least three or four hours.
She’d snap out of it eventually and clean the place herself.
Better to kill time outside until then.
Zeon strolled down the street, hands shoved in his pockets.
“Hm?”
A glint sparked in Zeon’s eyes.
A shabby street stall had appeared that he hadn’t seen yesterday.
It was selling skewers, and the aroma wafting from it was incredibly tempting.
There were other customers besides Zeon.
But most of them were men.
Zeon quickly figured out why.
The stall owner was a woman.
A pretty damn attractive one, at that.
Not flashy, but with a simple, natural beauty.
That alone was enough to draw the eyes of slum men.
“New face, huh?”
“Where you live?”
The men chewed on their skewers as they peppered her with questions.
All prying into her personal life.
Even in this fucked-up world, men’s lust for pretty girls hadn’t changed.
One might think their pestering would burden her, but the woman responded calmly, without batting an eye.
“Of course I live in Shinchon. But since it’s my first time vending, I must seem unfamiliar.”
“That so?”
“Yep!”
“When you wrapping up? Wanna end early? I know a nice spot—let’s go together.”
“Hoho! Thanks just for saying that. But to make a living, I gotta sell long.”
“How much you make a day? I’ll cover it all.”
“Oh my! Really?”
“Damn right!”
“Hoho! Thanks just for saying. So reliable!”
“Hehe!”
The woman knew exactly how to handle men.
Their faces softened at her praise and sweet talk.
Zeon pushed through them.
“How much for one skewer?”
“Oh! Handsome bro? Ten skewers for one sol.”
“One sol?”
“This is cultured meat from Neo Seoul. Tastes totally different from monster meat.”
“Yeah?”
Zeon showed interest, and the woman handed him a skewer.
“Try it. Once you taste it, you won’t want other meat again.”
Zeon nodded and bit into the skewer.
True to her word, it was delicious.
Good enough to brag about.
You didn’t find skills like this easily in the slums.
Zeon took another bite.
Still delicious.
The woman smiled and asked,
“Good, right?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
“Knew it! Told ya, handsome bro!”
“You look way older than me, though?”
“Hoho! Handsome guys are always ‘bro.’ You’re seriously hot.”
“Thanks.”
“You live around here too, bro?”
“Yeah!”
“Where?”
“Ant Den.”
“Oh my! Rough place. Not scared?”
“Nah.”
Zeon answered flatly to her fussing.
“But bro’s outfit looks high-class. Item gear?”
“Nothing special.”
“No way! It’s so glossy and sleek.”
The woman reached out naturally, stroking Zeon’s robe.
In that moment, a faint light emanated from her hand. But no one noticed.
Her gesture was so natural, anyone would mistake them for lovers.
Jealousy flashed across the faces of the earlier male customers.
“What the? Why’s she so nice to that prick?”
“Judging by looks?”
Despite their outbursts, the woman’s expression didn’t change.
“Quiet, all of you. Who said I’m playing favorites?”
“Huh?”
“No?”
Suddenly, the men’s faces went blank.
Like they’d been hypnotized, accepting her words.
It was bizarre.
Anyone watching would think something was off.
Yet none of the men around the stall realized it.
The woman smiled brightly at Zeon.
“Now we can talk quietly, right?”
“Neat skill. Mind manipulation, huh.”
“Oh? Sharp eyes too. Liking you more and more.”
She clapped and laughed.
Like she couldn’t contain her delight.
Zeon, meanwhile, remained unfazed.
He’d already clocked she wasn’t normal.
No female vendors on this street because it was that harsh a world.
The slums were lawless—decent-looking girls got kidnapped or raped without it being weird.
That was a woman’s worth these days.
Unless awakened or backed by muscle, even going out was risky.
Yet here was a pretty girl boldly vending? Suddenly, out of nowhere?
No way that was normal.
Zeon asked,
“You here for me specifically?”
“Not targeting, just… naturally meeting?”
“Same difference, no?”
“Totally different. Connotation’s key.”
“You talk funny.”
“Funny? Good, then.”
“Why approach so elaborately?”
“‘Cause I like you.”
She answered without hesitation.
But Zeon wasn’t naive enough to buy it from a stranger.
“Who sent you?”
“I really came ‘cause I like you.”
She smiled brightly.
Making her seem even more beautiful.
Like a halo glowed behind her head.
“Tch!”
Zeon clicked his tongue and set down his skewer.
“Why? Not tasty?”
“You keep hitting me with brainwash, killed my appetite.”
Her smile vanished at his words. But she quickly composed herself.
“When did I brainwash you?”
“Plenty. From Dongdaemun, maybe?”
“……”
“Bingo.”
“What a pain in the ass, bro. Hot as fuck, but why so perceptive? And that mental barrier—why so damn tough?”
She couldn’t deny it anymore.
The woman was Kim Jae-kyung.
Yohan’s right-hand.
Her specialty: mind skills like brainwashing.
She’d drop her plain guard, make contact, deploy the skill—and all ten out of ten fell for her charm.
With sustained use, they became utterly subservient.
She’d pulled countless men this way.
Hit rate: 100%.
She figured Zeon would be no different.
Brainwashing a punk like him was child’s play.
But her skill bounced off Zeon.
His mental barrier was tougher than expected.
“Bro’s more impressive than I thought.”
“Yohan’s orders?”
“-nim!”
“Huh?”
“Add ‘-nim.’ He’s not for trash like you to mouth off.”
At Yohan’s name, Kim Jae-kyung’s eyes changed.
Madness gleamed in them.
Zeon grumbled inwardly.
Tch! Briel had that look earlier, now this bitch is going mad too.
Morning was off to a shitty start, but his face stayed stone.
“Fine. Yo‧han‧nim. He sent you?”
“Yep! Said to persuade you nicely.”
“Brainwashing’s ‘nice’?”
“Duh! Getting mindfucked by a beauty like me—what bliss.”
“I know way prettier girls than you.”
“What?”
“Not that hot by my standards.”
“Eek!”
“Know your place.”
“Fuck! Tried nice—now submit!”
Her shout rang out, and intense light burst from her body.
C-rank skill: Subordination.
Huge mana drain, but guaranteed results.
Kim Jae-kyung stroked Zeon’s body twice, injecting her mana.
Prep work done.
She was certain it’d land.
Then—
“Hmph!”
Zeon snorted.
A hammer-like shock slammed her brain.
Bam!
“Aaaak!”
Kim Jae-kyung screamed and collapsed.
Blood poured from her nose and ears.
Zeon looked down at her.
“Tch! Use mind skills smart. Reckless use backfires on you—didn’t know?”
“Y-you… what’d you do?”
“Like I said—nothing.”
“No way…”
Kim Jae-kyung’s face twisted in disbelief.
No one had ever resisted her skill.
Well, one.
Yohan, her god.
His mental barrier was sky-high, impenetrable.
Is this guy’s mind as ironclad as Yohan-nim’s?