Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Strange Purchase Review
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At Jihyun's words, Sangjin's lips twitched.
He'd tried to hold back with superhuman patience, but he ultimately failed to keep his mouth shut.
Even though it was their first meeting, he just couldn't resist messing with her.
"Sister-in-law...?"
Only then did Jihyun realize what misunderstanding she'd caused.
Her face flushed bright red in an instant.
"No...! That's not, not what I meant!"
How could he not tease her when the setup was this perfect?
"If you're going to stick by his side and protect him forever... then... that might be the only way? Please take good care of our lacking big brother, sister-in-law."
With that, Sangjin bowed deeply in a full prostration.
Woojin didn't react much, as it was par for the course with him.
He just thought to himself, 'Crazy bastard...'
Jihyun unwittingly returned the bow without thinking.
"Oh, so you're accepting my brother?"
What kind of brothers were these?
No man had ever acted like this toward her.
"Ah, no. You did it first, so I just...! M-marriage should be with someone you love...!"
Sangjin blinked.
"No one said anything about marriage? Do you want to marry my brother?"
"!!!???"
She looked like she might cry if he teased her any more, so Sangjin took a step back.
"Ahaha, just kidding. Bro, come talk for a sec."
Sangjin's joke lightened the mood.
But Woojin was still frowning.
"Why? It's all over. Proposal, return bow, meeting the parents—none of it matters. No way, not doing it, go home."
Woojin's quip landed perfectly.
They could endure anything else, but they couldn't hold back on brotherly roasts. Deeply affectionate brothers indeed.
Overwhelmed by the brothers' relentless teasing, Jihyun was at a loss.
"!!! P-proposal? It's not...!"
At his brother's joke, Sangjin winked at Jihyun and fired one last shot.
"Today's achievement for Jihyun: 'Spirit' confession, 'Day' 1."
Click—
As the brothers entered the room, Jihyun broke out in cold sweat.
"Wh-what... the hell... are they...?"
Once inside the room, Sangjin explained to Woojin why he should accept the deal.
"Bro, just do it."
"Why are you marrying me off?"
"Pfft, as if. No, it's just..."
Sangjin chuckled and explained the growth of Woosang Shop and his brother's safety.
His brother's precautions weren't bad, but Sangjin painted a bigger picture.
"It's DH Group, no less. We started strong, but we're limited on our own. We need allies. And for your safety too."
Woojin sighed after hearing Sangjin out.
"Ha... yeah, that's true, but..."
"Bro, we need time. That breakwater she offers will help a ton. It's like us finally getting some backing after suffering without any."
Woojin reluctantly nodded.
The brothers returned to the living room.
As if she'd done something wrong, Jihyun was kneeling, waiting for Woojin.
"Let me see the Gale Roll. I'll take a look."
"!!!"
"But it might not work. If the materials are the issue, there's nothing I can do."
"Yes, that's more than enough!"
Sangjin said with a sly smile.
"But there are conditions, sister-in-law."
"S-stop calling me sister-in-law...! Wh-what are the conditions?"
Sangjin explained what he wanted from Jihyun.
First, strict secrecy.
Hide it as much as possible, even if it gets out eventually.
Second, protection.
Not close protection for Woojin, but patrols around to prevent trouble in advance.
Third, future cooperation with Woosang Shop.
Not unconditional, but if Woosang Shop seems worth dealing with, provide group-level protection and collaboration.
Jihyun nodded after hearing all the conditions.
"As the youngest... my authority isn't huge... but that much should be doable."
"And it's not free. Bro's taking a risk too, so we'll charge for enhancements."
"H-how much?"
This time, Woojin stepped forward and held up one index finger.
"You have to give this much per enhancement."
Woojin had in mind ten million won.
'Too much? But she's a chaebol daughter...'
Jihyun nodded.
"If it's that much, I can cover it with my allowance."
Woojin let out a hollow laugh.
Tens of millions as mere pocket money.
"Then hand it over."
"Yes!"
Jihyun passed the Gale Roll to Woojin.
'Let's see...'
Form Change Lv 1 (+6 unlock),
Amplification Lv 1 (+9 unlock)
The reason Jihyun could pull the Gale Roll out of empty space was thanks to that basic Subspace Storage skill.
'As expected of a legendary item. Totally OP.'
Skills that auto-recall it after throwing, freely change its size and shape, and even amplify its power.
It was the pinnacle weapon for a Valkyrie.
Especially for a Valkyrie strong in javelin throws, that Recall skill was essential.
'Alright then...'
Woojin was pretty surprised inside.
'For real? A legendary item enhances without materials?'
No choice but to try it and see.
Flash—
A (+1) appeared next to the Gale Roll's name, and Woojin successfully direct-enhanced it straight to +3 in one go.
'Oh??'
But as expected of a legendary item, three enhancements drained all his mana.
Woojin looked at Jihyun.
"It worked out well, Ms. Jihyun."
Woojin handed the +3 Gale Roll back to Jihyun.
Jihyun was over the moon seeing the improved stats.
"Kyaa!!"
And then she hugged Woojin tightly.
"Thank you! Thank you, Woojin!"
Woojin was utterly flustered.
As expected, the savage roast came from Sangjin.
"Quickie proposal, quickie skinship... Next thing you know, a quickie nephew on the way."
Realizing what she'd done, Jihyun shoved Woojin away and backed off.
Sangjin flashed Jihyun a lecherous grin and gave a thumbs up.
Embarrassed by Sangjin's antics, Jihyun turned on her smartphone.
"A-account number, please! And your phone number!"
Woojin gave her his phone and account numbers.
Then, an alert chimed.
Ding—
Jihyun had transferred the money.
"Keep your promise."
"Of course! Don't worry! I won't tell a soul! And our security team will keep a close watch around you two!"
Woojin chuckled.
Was it really that great?
"Um... later, +9 should be possible too, right?"
Woojin shrugged.
"+3 already used up all my mana. For +9, my level needs to go up more."
Jihyun nodded.
"Got it! Anyway, thank you so much. I'll head out now."
With that, Jihyun left like the wind.
She couldn't wait to test the +3 Gale Roll.
"What a storm of a sister-in-law... Cute though. Date her? She seemed into you."
Woojin shook his head at Sangjin's mutter.
"Even in Unriworld, her nickname was Storm Valkyrie. Dating someone like that, you'd need multiple lives."
Sangjin nodded with an 'I see...' expression and asked,
"Did the enhancement fee come through properly?"
Only then did Woojin check his banking app balance.
"She gave it right? No way a chaebol stiffs us on 30 mil? Huh? What's this?"
"What?"
"No... the amount... one, ten, hundred, thousand, ten mil? Three hundred mil!?"
Sangjin snatched Woojin's phone at his scream and checked the amount.
"Crazy, for real? Burning 300 mil on enhancements?"
It was absurd.
He praised his past self for not specifying "ten million per enhancement" and just showing one finger.
"To Woosang Shop's first sale and our adorable pushover sister-in-law!"
Clink—
The dull sound of water glasses clashing echoed through the villa.
They were a bit late because Jihyun dropped by, but Woojin and Sangjin raised a toast to their first sale.
The 300 million from Jihyun was nice, but the brothers were happier about their own first sale.
No fancy liquor glasses in Woojin's home, so they poured cognac into water cups with ice.
Excited by his first-ever cognac, Woojin downed his glass in one go.
"Gulp, gulp."
Watching him, Sangjin remarked,
"You got a grudge against the cognac or what? Drink slow. High-proof stuff can cause acute alcohol poisoning."
Despite his sensible little brother's nagging, Woojin emptied his glass and exhaled, feeling his esophagus burn.
"Phew~! Man! This is good!? Sweet and delicious!? No wonder people drink expensive booze!!??"
Sangjin pitied his brother raving over 46,000 won for 700ml cognac as "expensive booze."
Then he reaffirmed his goal.
'I'll make this company a success no matter what. So we can live cushy lives, bro.'
That's when it happened.
Woojin set down his glass mid-drink and spoke to Sangjin with resolve.
"Sangjin."
"Yeah?"
"Let's move."
"!!!"
Thanks to Jihyun, they could achieve the dream the brothers had long harbored.
Sunday and Monday passed quietly at Woosang Shop with no activity.
Monday evening.
Sangjin came home from school and entered to see his brother lounging oddly on the sofa, playing a mobile game.
"Bro, you finished today's stock and now you're gaming?"
At Sangjin's question, Woojin shot up and grumbled.
"Hey, Sangjin, let's change our product. No, list other products too. Waiting for chopsticks to sell will bankrupt us."
Woojin had a point.
Most online shop owners list multiple products at once.
Then focus on the best-sellers.
But Woosang Shop couldn't do that.
"I have thought about it. But for a real jackpot, this is better. We have product quality. That's enough—jack-of-all-trades image would just hurt."
To ease his anxious brother, Sangjin explained more.
"I'm growing Woosang Shop big. First, build the brand. A unique brand image only Woosang Shop has. With your skills, bro, it's easy. Trust me."
Despite Sangjin's confident words, Woojin was antsy.
He thought good products online would sell like hotcakes, but why so many hurdles?
Mid-conversation, both Woojin and Sangjin's phones chimed simultaneously again.
Woojin reacted fastest.
"Sale! A sale!?"
Woojin hurriedly checked the notification.
But it wasn't a sale.
The foreigner who'd bought chopsticks on Saturday had left a review.
Woojin told Sangjin, who was changing clothes, disappointedly.
"Aw... not a sale. It was a purchase review."
Sangjin perked up.
"Oh? Review? A good one can be better than 10 sales. What'd they say?"
At Sangjin's words, Woojin opened the shop page to check.
Thankfully, 5 stars. But... the review was weird.
Woojin was baffled by the strange review.
"What do you mean 'what is this'? Chopsticks? Is this guy picking a fight?"
Sangjin leaned in, saying "Lemme see," and made a puzzled face too.
"What...? Still, 5 stars means satisfied with the product. Not negative. Maybe 'What is this? Chopsticks that work too well!' or something?"
Woojin thought Sangjin might be right.
"Even so, what a half-assed review."
Right then, their phones chimed again—not once, but three times in a row.
"Wh-what!?"
Woojin checked frantically. This time, purchase notifications.
Three of them! Woojin yelled at Sangjin excitedly.
"Hey! Sangjin! Purchases! Three of them!"
Then another chime.
This time a review. Woojin checked it.
"Not used to typing. Lots of typos."
Sangjin pointed at the "jwakka rack" part.
"Feels like they're trolling on purpose, or is that just me?"
Woojin, who'd been cursing earlier, had already switched modes thanks to the three sales.
"Sticks right to your mouth though. Our precious customer wouldn't troll."
The three items were repurchases by the same foreigner.
Not different buyers, but who cared?
Three sales at once! Woojin jiggled all over, humming a weird song.
"Five mil~~ ten mil~~ fifteen mil~~ fifteen mil in ten seconds~~ Kuu!! My hourly is five thou mil~~ Oh yeah~~."
Sangjin was dumbfounded by his brother's sudden antics and that song from who-knows-where.
The hourly math checking out oddly pissed him off too.
And that jiggling dance... infuriatingly weird.
"Stop... you look like a moron...."
But Woojin didn't care.
"Just three a day means 4.5 mil a month! Kyaa! Word's spreading! Maybe his foreign friend recommended and bought proxies?"
"Sounds right, bro? Pricey stuff—not like one person needs multiples."
At Sangjin's agreement, Woojin cheered.
"Right!? Right? Hey, India's that way, Sri Lanka too? Gotta bow to the temple over there."
Woojin started bowing grandly toward the window.
"Madman."
Ignoring his brother's weirdness, Sangjin fiddled with the shop admin.
"Bro's weird, this guy's weird, 'praise satisfy'? Like stuffing 5,000 chars of praise? With that typing?"
Woojin, mid-bow, jumped up and yelled at Sangjin.
"What? It's their feelings. Calling our premium customer weird? Apologize now."
Sangjin stared at Woojin incredulously.
"You're insane, for real...."
Shaking his head, Sangjin got back to work.
About three hours later, another shop alert.
"Oh! Alert!"
Woojin scooted his butt excitedly to the laptop.
Now he understood why Pavlov's dog drooled and wagged at bells.
Checking, the buyer had left a third review.
But weird again.
Woojin shoved it at Sangjin, fresh from the shower.
"Hey, look at this."
"What?"
The review was just a lone Nutube link.