Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Visit, Stronghold
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“Wow…………. There are so many people.”
A heavy sigh escaped from the lips of Shinwol Pavilion’s head chef, Ryu Seo-hyun.
Tuesday. 9 a.m. Precisely, 9:03.
It should have been a weekday when everyone in the world was busy.
“Mom! Let’s ride the dragon first!”
“No way. It’s dangerous.”
“The other kids bragged that they rode it.”
“Where would you like to go first?”
“Look, they say the dragon meat here is amazing. We gotta eat that first.”
“Then we should head straight there. I heard they only sell a limited amount per day.”
“Great! I’m counting on you.”
What the hell was this sea of people?
…This was driving her insane.
She checked the time again: 9:04.
Molang Park had only been open for a mere four minutes…
[Current queue: 3,221 people]
Three thousand people ahead of me?
Seo-hyun shook her head in disbelief. Was this even possible?
It had been open for a bit now, and more importantly, it was a weekday.
And yet, this line.
Even accounting for all the foreign tourists, this was too much.
No wonder they sold tickets in limited quantities.
If they let in unlimited crowds like other theme parks, people might not even make it to the elevators before closing time.
‘Ugh, damn it…… I should’ve booked VIP.’
Seo-hyun joined the line but couldn’t help glancing toward the VIP elevator.
It wasn’t empty, but it was definitely manageable. At worst, a thirty-minute wait.
Tap.
She pulled up the reservation site to check again.
[Sold out.]
But only a cold message greeted her.
Tap tap tap. She frantically refreshed in hopes of a cancellation, but nothing changed.
Thud!
“Oh, sorry…….”
“…….”
Thud!
“Hey, mister, you kidding me? I was here first!”
“We’re just holding spots.”
[Current queue: 3,014 people]
Ah.
At this rate, she’d collapse before her turn came.
Her energy was draining way too fast.
The commotion was bad enough, but the sheer press of people was suffocating.
She never imagined she’d feel the horrors of rush-hour hell trains here.
Seo-hyun started feeling her head heat up.
Suddenly, anger surged within her.
It was a perfectly natural reaction, really.
She had planned to visit on opening day.
She’d even secured VIP tickets through pre-sale.
‘But why did they have to come that day of all days?’
Opening day had been Lunar New Year’s Day.
She’d used vacation time for it. A whole week in advance.
But then, out of nowhere, it got denied the day before.
Reason: “Emergency schedule.”
Some state guest or high-ranking official had chosen Lunar New Year’s to visit Shinwol Pavilion.
Of course, as the face of Shinwol Pavilion, she couldn’t miss it.
“Haaa…….”
If not for that, she wouldn’t be suffering like this.
She’d even come in at dawn that day.
Not like she was a hardcore fan or anything, but she bought every photobook—no, it wasn’t fandom, she just thought it was cute—and she wanted a photo with Saebyeok at least.
This was truly lamentable.
[Current queue: 2,701 people]
Should she just come back later? Book VIP and take it easy?
But the time she’d already waited felt wasted.
Especially with her first half of the year packed; squeezing in a relaxing day off would be tough.
Ugh. No way.
She’d originally planned to just properly dissect and analyze the dragon meat.
Now she’d squeeze every last drop out of this place.
**
“Mm. The familiar smell of Seoul.”
The slightly stuffy air mingled with the noise of crowds.
Just past noon.
I set foot on Seoul soil.
Maybe because it was lunchtime.
The flow of people was way higher than usual.
And all their eyes were fixed on me.
It was only natural.
‘Even I wouldn’t be able to look away.’
My appearance was wrapped in Seolbaek’s disguise magic, resembling the blue pictogram.
Just cosplaying in the middle of a Seoul street would draw stares.
But my current look… was a whole level beyond mere cosplay.
It was like a glitch in reality’s engine, something that’d make you sigh, ‘The Earth author’s writing is trash again.’
Paradoxical, in a way.
I’d used this method to hide my identity, but it ended up drawing even more attention.
‘Well, it worked out better this way.’
People would figure it out soon enough anyway.
That Pictogram = Molangmol.
So parading around openly like this and letting them see was probably for the best.
This kind of public activity had a pretty positive impact on public perception too.
Swish.
I hopped over a nearby safety fence and stepped inside.
“Not fully cleared yet, huh.”
The gate collapse incident from a few months ago, likely Hwaryeon’s doing.
This was the site of the ‘Baekya’ Gate.
The gate itself had vanished completely. All that remained were crumbled barriers.
They’d put full demolition on hold in case of further incidents, or so I’d heard.
Safety inspections would wrap up soon, they said.
“Prime location.”
I spun around, taking in the surroundings.
First off, a subway station nearby.
Out of sight, but probably three bus stops within five blocks.
The five skyscrapers rose clearly between the other high-rises.
And best of all, the Han River—guardian deity of Seoul real estate—wasn’t far.
Mm, perfect.
As I nodded in satisfaction, a voice came from behind.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
It was Joo Ha-neul. As beautiful as ever, but even more so today.
‘She dressed up properly.’
Her outfit was sharply tailored.
Makeup a touch heavier than usual, and heels with a bit more height.
“Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Baekya Guild Master Joo Ha-neul.”
With a slight tremble in her voice—nerves, maybe?—she bowed politely in greeting.
Yeah, she had reason to be tense.
It wasn’t just anyone; it was Molangmol’s president.
We were partners with Baekya, sure, but there was a hierarchy.
Strictly speaking, Molangmol was the A-party. Baekya was B.
Without Molangmol, Baekya wouldn’t have risen again.
“Hello. Nice to meet you.”
I extended my hand toward her.
My voice was altered too. Even direct contact was fine, thanks to Seolbaek’s magic.
“Ah……. Yes!”
Ha-neul grabbed my hand with both of hers and shook it vigorously.
……That enthusiastic?
It was a bit surprising how thrilled she seemed.
Well, I got it.
She’d always sung praises about wanting to meet me in person.
“So, what brings you here today…… to meet here, of all places?”
Joo Ha-neul gazed at me with sparkling eyes.
It felt kinda burdensome. Like she’d hand over her liver and gall bladder out of pure loyalty.
She trusted people way too easily, amazingly so.
Maybe that’s why she got screwed over by those rotten executives.
On the flip side, our joint ventures had solid results, so she trusted me more.
“Ahem. I’d like to purchase the rights to the land where the Baekya Gate was.”
“Yes…? This land?”
“Any reason it wouldn’t be possible?”
“No, it’s not that… but this is dead land, so I wondered why bother……”
Dead land.
That’s what people called land after a gate vanished.
Like it had its energy sucked dry—a bit like feng shui superstition.
Someone might scoff, ‘What, feng shui in modern society?’
But precisely because it was modern society, such superstitions held sway.
Just hear about someone jumping from a building, and the place’s rep takes a hit—even if the building’s fine.
And this? A perfectly stable gate collapsed. People couldn’t help but shy away psychologically.
“It’s fine. No, I’d welcome it.”
So, buy low.
There were no real issues anyway. When else would I snag prime Seoul land like this?
“But… why buy this place?”
Joo Ha-neul asked tentatively.
Should I tell her?
No real reason not to, but I was curious about her reaction, so I stonewalled for a bit.
“Oh, forget I asked. I was just curious… you don’t have to tell me……”
Did she think she’d upset me?
Ha-neul started babbling in a fluster.
A rare sight—her flustered like this.
Snap a pic of her now and post it online; her fans would lose their minds.
She was adorably frantic. I let out a quiet chuckle and spoke.
“I’m going to build here.”
“………Pardon?”
“Here, I’m going to build a Molangmol skyscraper.”