Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: A Welcome Face and a Peculiar Person
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“A Friendly Face and a Unique Person”
“See you later then?”
Woo-ee!
Mini waved her little hand enthusiastically to see me off.
Molrang and Molcang were dozing lazily on the bed. They’d just eaten some mana stones, so it looked like a case of food coma.
Thud!
The cool air brushed against my skin, thanks to the rain that had fallen at dawn. Not a single cloud in the sky. It already felt like everything would go smoothly today.
Tap-tap.
As I headed down the stairs, I checked the chat from yesterday.
[Shin Ha-young (Same-dang): What do you think?]
[Me: Hmm… She’s good at it, right?]
[Shin Ha-young (Same-dang): Yeah. Her skills are in that area.]
[Me: Okay. Could you ask if she’s free tomorrow?]
After much deliberation, I decided to go with Shin Ha-young’s contact.
I didn’t have anyone else to ask anyway.
Better to trust a friend of a friend than hand it off to a total stranger.
[Shin Ha-young (Same-dang): (address) Just head here. I’ve already talked to her.]
[Me: Perfect!]
“Where is it….”
The map app pinpointed Incheon. Public transit would take about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
A bit of a hike… Why’s it so far? Incheon’s right next to Seoul.
I tapped the taxi option. Time shortened to around 20 minutes.
“…40,000 won?”
But the price that popped up was absurd.
Still, I’d made some money, so maybe I could flex a little this time?
Decision made, I started leaving footprints on the damp asphalt. Destination: the subway station a short walk away.
‘Honestly, 40,000 won is too much.’
No matter how much I’d earned, my sense of money hadn’t changed.
Expensive was still expensive. It made me hesitate psychologically. Plus, building good spending habits early was key.
‘This line of work doesn’t guarantee steady income every day.’
Get too loose with spending now, and one day it might catch up to me.
That’s how I made it to the subway after a short walk.
Pappappabam! Pappappabam!
Maybe because it was late morning, the station was pretty empty. Even so, the stares directed at me felt heavy. And that was with a cap pulled low and a mask on.
‘Well, yeah. How do you hide silver hair and red eyes.’
I could cover my face, but there was no hiding the silver hair reaching my thighs or the bright red eyes.
Even I thought they were striking features.
Awakener appearances changing was common, but silver hair and red eyes were rare even among them.
Normal people couldn’t help but stare.
[Next stop is Incheon Station, Incheon Station. Doors will open on…]
Stepping out of the station, a salty sea breeze hit me full force.
Without thinking, I walked toward where it was coming from.
“Oh….”
The sea. Watching the waves glimmer softly calmed my mind.
Not far off, people were bustling about.
‘Heard a gate opened under the sea.’
Sure enough, several bizarre creatures floated on the surface.
Probably ones that escaped the gate and drowned by bad luck. Whoa, that one’s huge. How much is that worth?
Just sitting there and monsters die on their own? Sweet gig.
I recalled one of the top five guilds, Zenith, had bought the rights. Must be raking it in.
I edged closer to where the people were. As far as I could safely go, workers’ voices carried on the wind.
“Hey! Bring that over! That!”
“Yes, foreman!”
“Fill it up as much as you can for now!”
Workers were stuffing chunks of a mangled corpse into something. Massive fragments slid smoothly into a small, squishy container.
“Huh?”
It was a Molrangtori. Never thought I’d see one here. A smile tugged at my lips. My shoulders lifted a bit too.
One day, civilians would use them just like this.
Of course, they hadn’t gotten civilian certification yet, so that was still a ways off.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
Snuuup! I inhaled the briny scent deeply, then opened the map app.
I was supposed to take the bus, but I felt like walking.
I’d left early, so time wasn’t an issue, and I wanted to savor this satisfied mood while strolling.
About 40 minutes later, I arrived.
“This is… the place, right?”
A rundown building stood before me. No welcoming sign in sight.
The map pointed here, though…
Click!
[Me: (photo) This it?]
[Shin Ha-young (Same-dang): Yep. There should be stairs going down next to it.]
Good, I’d found it. Following Ha-young’s directions, I descended the stairs into the basement.
“…….”
Light from the world above poured in right behind me, but it felt oddly sticky. The sturdy iron door radiated a vibe of total isolation.
In movies, this is where they’d lock someone up…
Nah, it’s fine.
Knock knock knock!
I rapped on the door with slightly shaky fingers.
“Anyone there?”
No answer. Pressing my ear against it, I heard rustling. Someone was inside.
Knock knock knock!
“Hello~?”
The rustling grew louder. Uneven footsteps. I stepped back, bracing for whoever might open it.
Creeeak!
The door finally swung open. A head peeked out through the tiniest gap, like it doubted visitors even existed.
“…….”
Stringy, unkempt long hair poked out from under a black hoodie. A face paler than mine, drained of all color. Dark circles so vivid—why?
She looked like she’d collapse any second.
“……Who?”
A cracked voice slipped through chapped lips. Classic sign of someone who hadn’t spoken in ages.
“Uh… Shin Ha-young unnie referred me….”
The woman’s brow furrowed. Dull eyes scanned me up and down.
“…Hold on.”
Bang!
The door slammed shut. Sounded like she was making a call. Probably to Ha-young.
“Yeah, …yeah? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.”
What conversation has her just agreeing like that?
At least she’d confirmed I was legit.
“…Come in.”
She flung the door wide. I followed her inside.
“Kehok!”
A cough burst out at the same time. The room was thick with hazy smoke. Was something on fire?
“Oh, sorry.”
Click!
She pressed a button.
Whiiiiiir!
The ventilator kicked on. Through the semi-basement window, it sucked the smoke right out.
Creak!
The woman slumped into a chair, reclined the backrest, and stuck a long pipe in her mouth.
“Oh, this? Hookah. Hookah. Awakener-only… Clears your head right up. No carcinogens or anything… Don’t worry too much.”
Phaaaa, she exhaled a cloud. No smell, but the volume was intense. That explained the fog.
I stared in fascination, and she casually offered me the pipe.
“Wanna try?”
“Huh……?”
“Oh, sorry. You’re too young for this.”
Puff puff, she blew out a few more clouds, then tossed the pipe onto the desk.
Pop!
She cracked open a can. Energy drink. Hates sleep that much?
“Phew! Can’t resist this taste.”
She laughed heartily, wiped her mouth, and got to business.
“So, what do you want?”
“Help sprucing up my site.”
“Right, yeah. That’s it. Take a seat?”
She scooted over. Four massive monitors. I pulled up Molrangmol on the bottom-left one.
“……Huh?”
A startled exclamation escaped her.
“This… was you?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow.”
She let out a short gasp, then made camera shapes with her hands.
Nodding as if scanning me. Then she rummaged in a drawer and pulled something out.
A floppy, collapsed form. Another familiar shape.
Molrangtori. Didn’t expect to see another one.
“Oh? You bought one?”
“Of course. Can’t resist new tech like this. Haven’t used it much though…”
Trailing off, she handed me a sheet of white paper and a pen.
“Why this…?”
“Oh, autograph please.”
“Huh?”
“My name’s Yoo Jin-ah. Write it with yours.”
Light finally sparked in Jin-ah’s eyes. She genuinely wanted my signature.
Caught off guard, but it didn’t feel bad.
Scribble scribble.
First time signing anything, but it came out surprisingly cute.
“Here.”
“Ooh… Nice! Saebyeok… Saebyeok, huh. Am I the first?”
“First what?”
“To get your signature.”
“Yeah… you are.”
Color briefly returned to Jin-ah’s face. Who knew lips could twitch like that.
She admired the signature several times before tucking it safely in the drawer. A few others were already there—not her first time.
“Alright. You came to the right place. I’ll take good care of you.”
Jin-ah nodded repeatedly, patting my shoulder.
Hm. Surprisingly… maybe not a bad person?