Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Q&A, Plans
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“By any chance, what do you think about Hwayeon?”
A question tossed out casually, as if it were nothing at all.
The nuance drifting from it was close to ‘just asking~’, a sort of icebreaker.
‘……What?’
For some reason, it felt like a dagger straight to the solar plexus.
Why had she thrown that question at me, ‘Han Sa-byeok’, who had only been a mere model?
Had she figured out I was an Awakener?
Impossible.
The way to distinguish Awakeners from regular people was mana.
In my case, I never used mana unless summoning monsters.
Even when sending mana through threads, it was the same.
No one even knew about the existence of my threads in the first place. Same principle as how I couldn’t read Choi Seong-han’s hand.
Even Joo Ha-neul hadn’t noticed I was an Awakener…
Hyeon-ah in front of me wouldn’t have been any different.
‘Maybe she really was just asking?’
Blink.
In the time it took to blink once, my brain spun rapidly, producing about three possible answers.
And one more blink.
“…….”
Roughly five seconds of silence passed.
Dragging it out any longer would just invite suspicion.
In the end, I picked the most ordinary and reasonable response and let it slip from my mouth.
“Uh……. Honestly, I don’t like her much. I know she doesn’t get along with Molrangmol.”
I even added a perfectly natural smile honed from model work.
That should be a sufficient answer, right?
“I see.”
But it seemed insufficient to Hyeon-ah.
Nodding her head, an even more specific question popped from her mouth.
“Does she ever give you trouble? Hwayeon seems like the type who’d be really annoying.”
“Well……. I think it’s okay. I don’t do SNS or anything, so I don’t get any bothersome messages.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
Hyeon-ah nodded with a soft eye smile.
Did it go over smoothly? Something feels off.
I thought I was pretty good at reading people’s expressions, but I couldn’t glean anything from her.
“Anyway, if Hwayeon bullies you, contact me anytime. I might be able to help.”
“Hehe……. Thank you.”
“As you know, they’re such zealous types. They poke their noses into everything.”
Poke their noses, huh.
There were a few incidents that came to mind.
Hwayeon had definitely planted so-called ‘spies’ in rival guilds.
I’d heard Baekya had weeded out a few recently. She’d planted so damn many that Joo Ha-neul had been furious.
It wouldn’t be strange if there were spies in the Hunter Association too.
No, there definitely were.
Was that why the merch sales permits kept getting rejected multiple times? It had delayed sales schedules before.
Anyway, I fully understood what Hyeon-ah meant in my head—
“Uh… Is that so? I wouldn’t know…….”
I pretended to be completely clueless.
How would a regular model like Han Sa-byeok know about internal guild affairs?
“Anyway, be careful. It could be dangerous.”
Hyeon-ah nodded again. Suddenly, the aura leaking from beside her began to envelop me.
It was definitely invisible energy, yet its flow was crystal clear to the eyes.
The leisurely stream of qi circling around me—it seemed about to return to her—
‘……Huh?’
Then it subtly began caressing my threads.
Bzzz!
As if to prove it wasn’t mere coincidence, it even formed a circular ring enclosing all my threads.
…No way.
She’d known from the start that I was an S-rank summoner.
I’m totally screwed.
Was danger about to befall me right here?
Thinking that, I unconsciously looked up at Hyeon-ah, and she spoke with a slight twist of her lips.
“Don’t worry. Nothing like that will happen.”
And then, pat pat.
Hyeon-ah stroked my head, tidying up the strands messed by sweat drops.
Shiver!
The surging tension and anxiety melted away in an instant.
An upgraded version of what Joo Ha-neul did. The kindness was so overwhelming, it felt like my soul might drift away.
Shiver!
Thankfully, before that could happen, Hyeon-ah withdrew her hand and stood up.
“It was fun today. We’ll meet again sometime.”
And that was the end of our brief encounter.
Vrrr!
“Fwaaaah…….”
Ugh, my energy’s completely drained.
What was it? It felt like she’d sucked out all my vital essence.
Is this why she felt like a vampire?
My body was all languid and stretched out; I just wanted to rest like this.
Vrrr!
No time to slack.
9:05. Exactly five minutes since Molrang Park officially opened.
“Mom! Mom! Dragon meat! Hurryyy!”
“We came to eat, so stop whining. Want to grab a seat? I’ll go order.”
“Hey! It’s Sa-byeok! She’s really making rice cake soup!”
“Will she take photos too?”
“Dunno. But maybe if we ask nicely.”
A ton of people started flooding in.
Ding!
[Order received. Special Dragon Rice Cake Soup for 4]
[Order received. Special Dragon Rice Cake Soup for 2]
[Order received. Special Dragon Meat for 3]
[Order received. Special Dragon Skewers for 2]
[Order received. Special Dragon Rice Cake Soup for 4]
Ah, business time.
**
[What’s Molrangmol doing with the Hunter Association? [Author: Han Sa-byeok No.1 Fan]]
(A photo of Han Sa-byeok and Lee Hyeon-ah together)
The Association President really came today.
What the fuck.
That should’ve been my spot.
- Huh? Why’d she go?
ㄴ(Author): Got the Molrang Tail auction and it came with Molrang Park tickets.
ㄴSo you just got outbid, right?
ㄴ(Author): Fuck off.
ㄴlololol right on
- Fr, she really went? Did she bid just to see Sa-byeok?
ㄴNah nah, probably business with Molrangmol.
ㄴWhat’s that got to do with seeing Sa-byeok?
ㄴJust showing off that they’re buddy-buddy with Molrangmol~
-Okey, buying Ya-baek Logistics stock after this.
ㄴIsn’t Ya-baek Logistics trash stock? Better do Baekya if anything.
ㄴNewbie? It’s Molrangmol → Baekya → Ya-baek → Ya-baek Logistics.
ㄴlololol this dude’s a pro.
**
Poke poke.
“Fwaa…….”
Poke poke.
“Owow…. Not there, a bit lower? Uh… no, around the waist.”
10 p.m.
After finishing everything and returning to my rooftop room, I was…
Poke poke.
“Yeah. Right there… fwa…….”
Lost in Seol-baek’s poke-poke massage.
Honestly, I regretted it a lot.
Why did I say I’d make rice cake soup myself for three days?
Just doing some photo fan service would’ve been enough.
I made a mountain out of nothing… I’m dying here.
Tap tap.
[Sales Settlement]
[Dragon Tail Meat (1,000kg) - Sold Out]
The one ton of tail meat for today’s sales sold out without a gram left.
Nearly 6,000 servings.
Out of that, 1,500 bowls of rice cake soup sold.
Boiling it itself wasn’t hard in a huge pot.
‘Almost passed out serving it.’
Bringing the soup myself and doing fan service on top made the workload insane.
If I hadn’t secretly chugged Awakener energy drinks midway, I might’ve collapsed.
Poke poke.
“Can you press a little harder?”
Whirr!
In the end, I had to resort to Seol-baek’s poke-poke ultimate for fatigue recovery.
A super high-class massage infused with mana.
A luxury only I in this world could enjoy, a heavenly service only Seol-baek could provide.
Hm.
Should I skip tomorrow? Let the staff handle it?
[Rice Cake Soup - 1,500 bowls / 195,000,000 won]
Too bad to give up the profits.
Sure, one Molrang Tail could cover the time cost, but still.
[Today’s Popular Videos]
1st: How’s the taste of Molrang Park’s special Dragon Rice Cake Soup?
.
.
10th: (Baekya Official) Sa-byeok’s Lunar New Year Greeting
Sweeping the Mitube popular videos was the real jackpot.
Videos everywhere featured me as the main star.
Maybe time to make a Molrangmol Mitube account?
We’re big enough now; no need to go through Baekya.
Poke poke!
“Ekyaaa! That tickles, I said!”
Seol-baek’s naughty hands had me jumping up like Mr. Scream from a knife stab.
Always messing around like this.
She didn’t used to. Did growing a new tail bring puberty?
Whirr!
Seol-baek blinked innocently and shoved her head at me. Meaning: pet me quick.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Fair enough, since she relieved my fatigue.
I pulled Seol-baek into my arms, caressed her all over, and fiddled with my smartphone.
Time like this to check community sentiment for the day.
[Dragon want < < < < Check public opinion go go go]
[If Sa-byeok ruled the gal, it’d be peak lololol]
[(Premium Review) What does Dragon Rice Cake Soup taste like?]
“Heh heh heh…….”
As expected, popular posts were plastered with Molrang Park stuff.
Even on the main gallery, not just Molrangmol’s.
Maybe time for a surprise appearance. Ah, ban still lifted?
While devouring popular posts, one caught my eye and I clicked.
Squeeze.
[Molangmol Ticket Schedule? [Author: Lotus Researcher]]
Lost my tickets somehow… (Actually succeeded at first ㅠㅠ)
Any info on next schedule??
Will reward if anyone knows.
-If I knew, I’d have booked lol
ㄴFr lol
-Succeeded but lost? What’s that mean? Possible?
ㄴ(Author): Ugh… I’m with Hwayeon, entered Awakener cert and got canceled;
ㄴLmao busted
-What a retard? Just use a friend’s info.
ㄴFr, it’s non-login booking anyway.
ㄴ(Author): Didn’t know; haven’t bought Molrangmol stuff;;
ㄴHow don’t you know that?
ㄴ(Author): Always working ㅜㅜ
-Serious talk: Quit Hwayeon. Bro’s at Quantum now, happy af.
ㄴQuantum pays more?
ㄴNah nah, pays less.
ㄴThen not great..
ㄴBut joined Molrangmol Membership VIP, right?
Hm.
Definitely seeing more people running from Hwayeon lately.
Obviously not just from pure anti-Hwayeon policies…
Probably a trigger for all the pent-up dissatisfaction.
Maybe time to seriously check Hwayeon.
Poach some researchers? Like headhunting.
They’d probably mod gear well for pros…
“Sleepy…….”
Of course, still just plans for now.
Finish Molrang Park opening cleanly first, then think seriously…
“Yawwwn……. ……….”
**