Monopoly: Today's Diary

Han Sujung had been living a normal life as an ordinary employee at Dachiso Merchant Group in Korea. After work, as usual, she dove headfirst into her web novel binge-reading session. Her favorite genre was romance fantasy. More specifically, she loved stories where a villainess with a tragic backstory got healed and thrived.

One of the novels she'd recently devoured was The Returned Villainess Falls for Her Guard. It was packed with the fluffy, bickering romance between the heroine and her guard knight after they both regressed to the past via the resurrection ability—the exact kind of content she adored.

After finishing it, she wrote a glowing 4,700-character review. Satisfied, she drifted off to sleep... only to wake up her soul possessing another body.

At first, she floundered, unsure if she was in the book. But as she settled into daily life, she realized the truth: she'd possessed a character inside the novel.

From then on, she flaunted her modern knowledge to grow the merchant group. Then, just yesterday—precisely—the novel's male lead, the guard knight, showed up at the merchant group.

She ignored him at first. Couldn't risk derailing the original story with her interference. But the info he brought hit her like a rollercoaster: makgeolli, a super familiar term. And kimchi. Convinced she'd met a fellow Korean, Han Sujung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't hold back her excitement.

Ever since, she'd been counting down the days to meet the villainess heroine. The moment she'd been dying for...

"Grrrrr..."

How the hell did it come to this?

She knew why the lady was on guard. 'Someone's encroaching on what's hers.' The young lady had fierce possessiveness by nature. The instant anyone touched something in her territory, she'd gladly turn full villainess.

To ease that wariness, Han Sujung figured there was only one way. She put it into action.

"Ahem. Thank you so much for gracing us with your visit, my lady."

"......"

Lucresia was far less hostile than in the hallway. She glared at Han Sujung, one eyebrow arched as if daring her to speak.

"Allow me to introduce myself first. I'm Christa Han, leader of the Dachiso Merchant Group. The man beside me is our guard captain, Romance."

"......"

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Romance, captain of the merchant group's guards."

And Han Sujung quickly added,

"He's my boyfriend."

"...Huh?"

The moment the words landed, Lucresia's stiffly raised eyebrow drooped. Her mouth and jaw slackened wide. Her face flushed beet red, draining of color like it'd been dipped in paint.

"...Ughhh."

She buried her face in her tiny palms, groaning miserably. Marie and Rio, seated on either side, watched with warm smiles. The pair across from her wore similar expressions.

"...Grraaah! A-Adult... c-conver...sation! ...H-Hi... there..."

Lucresia even bit her tongue, mangling her words. Now no one in the room could hold back their laughter.

Han Sujung was no exception—after all, this was her favorite character from the book. She barely stifled her giggles and replied,

"Yep! First off, would you mind taking a look at these documents I've prepared?"

"Documents?"

Lucresia took the first sheet. Her eyes scanned left to right, devouring the page.

For a while, the parlor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was filled only with the warm, nutty aroma of servant-brought coffee and the summer sun streaming through the windows.

At the center of that cozy space sat Lucresia. Any trace of shyness vanished from her eyes, replaced by sparkling sharpness as her small hands gripped the papers tight.

Srrk—

The soft rustle of paper and fingers was the only sound breaking the awkward silence.

I took the documents from the lady as she finished each one. They were filled with neat handwriting analyzing a single product from every angle: basic market potential, regional target breakdowns, logistics loss and defect probabilities for cost control. Finally, the crucial BEP, profit structure, and settlement ratios.

'Impressive.'

There weren't even computers here. Quantifying all this in a single day was worthy of real praise.

"Hmmm..."

As I marveled at her skills, the lady scratched her nose and let out a low hum. Han Sujung tilted her head, watching her.

"Do you have something to say?"

"Mm."

"Feel free to speak—we'll incorporate whatever we can."

"Rio, hand me that document for a sec."

"Sure."

She pointed to one spot.

"Here, the settlement ratio."

Settlement ratio. We all watched tensely where her finger landed. Money matters like this always tripped people up.

I felt the same—this needed to be solid. But 'Isn't 8:2 fair enough?' If anything, it felt like we were the ones overpaying.

'Usually it's 7:3.'

I gave her a puzzled look, and she grinned, dropping the bombshell.

"Drop our side to 6."

"What?! My lady?!"

Insane. Funds were already drying up faster than in my past life. Why now?

"Quiet down—I have a plan."

That shut me up, but my mind screamed what I couldn't say aloud.

'A plan? You're a full-on beast now!'

She'd even been turning into a four-legged dog lately.

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at her profile.

"What, punk? Think your glare scares me?"

"......"

...I looked away. Truth was, I had nothing.

'Gotta talk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the merchant leader privately later.'

Right then, Han Sujung asked without hiding her surprise,

"...Any other conditions?"

Merchants gonna merchant. 'Straight to terms.'

I backed off the conversation—not out of ignorance, but pure curiosity.

'No popcorn here? Craving some consomme-flavored puffs.'

I'll ask her later.

"Yeah. Could you limit makgeolli sales to commoners only?"

"Just commoners? That's a bit..."

Dachiso didn't chase noble connections, but their customers already included assorted commoners and some nobles.

'Like a discount department store.'

Commoners alone wouldn't scale the business. Even pleb-focused groups needed noble VIPs for steady revenue.

But exclude those VIPs? 'That's tanking the merchant group.'

What kind of wild idea was this? 'Beast Breathing, Form 1?'

I watched them eagerly, eyes flicking back and forth.

"Yeah, figured as much. So instead—and this is kinda awkward—but how about an exclusive contract with me?"

"...Exclusive? That doesn't benefit you, my lady. And why the ratio... Ah!"

Han Sujung sighed in realization.

"Like an advance to offset lost noble credibility?"

"Exactly. Plus the exclusivity with me."

"But why avoid noble sales?"

"Mm... Personal reasons. Can we keep it secret?"

She dodged like there was some epic backstory, but 'Crown Prince, obviously.' Sales to nobles would inevitably reach him.

'Can't stop servants buying it, though.'

Still, she wouldn't flaunt it publicly for face-saving. One of her stubborn streaks, for sure.

"Hmm, sure. Mind if I think it over?"

"Take your time."

She glanced at the ceiling, calculating, then locked eyes back on the lady.

"That exclusivity isn't with the family, right?"

Of course not. It was the lady's product.

"Yep. That's why I lowered our ratio."

"Hmm..."

"I want us as equals, not contractor-client."

"......"

Han Sujung's mouth fell open slightly.

'Nice.'

Our lady wasn't just a sharp-headed flower-field beast!

'A thinking beast!'

I knew she was smart, but this? News to me.

As I stared in awe, Han Sujung's voice dropped, firm with resolve. Her faint smile screamed decision made.

"...Alright, my lady. I'll stake my merchant life on you."

"...For real?!"

"Yes. Looking forward to working together."

"Thanks!"

Guess she hadn't expected it either. 'If she had, she'd be a prophecy dog.'

Her fiery red eyes, blazing moments ago, now sparkled like polished gems—pure pigeon-blood ruby.

'Yeah. That's the lady I know.'

I was content. Like she'd returned to her old self from back then.

"Mm-hmm."

But my satisfaction lasted exactly that long.

Because Han Sujung dropped a dogshit line.

"To celebrate our partnership, how about a drink?"

"Sounds good!"

"I've got some special—"

"That works, or I could bring a prototype makgeolli—"

My head spun.

"......"

Their voices mumbled like they were underwater. I saw the future. At least one of them was turning into a four-legged beast for sure.