Chapter 31
Around the time the sun was beginning to sink into darkness.
“Phew…”
Song Do-hyeon exhaled heavily as he looked at the scenery before him.
“Thankfully, it seems I didn’t arrive too late.”
Eun-pyeong Market came into view in the distance.
Even though the sun had already sunk halfway below the horizon, Eun-pyeong Market was still shining as brightly as it did in broad daylight.
Because of the lanterns hung throughout the market, it was almost easy to mistake it for a place where another fire had broken out.
“A night market…”
Song Do-hyeon muttered as he entered through the market entrance.
Lanterns were lined up all along the entrance, creating a sight as though a red carpet had been laid out.
“She certainly knows how to use her head.”
The cool breeze tousled his hair.
The temperature had certainly dropped another degree once evening came.
With the heat that had built up during the day subsiding, it was just right for taking a walk.
When he first heard the words “night market,” it had felt as though he had been struck on the back of the head.
‘Why didn’t I think of it? Such a simple idea.’
It did not cost any money, nor did it require any special effort.
All one had to do was wait for the sun to set.
But his regret did not last long. Because he soon remembered one important fact.
There was a curfew.
“One hour until curfew.”
Song Do-hyeon looked at Eun-pyeong Market meaningfully.
It looked rather convincing from the outside, but there was a high possibility that it was empty inside.
It would be difficult to attract customers by opening a market for barely an hour. Moreover, everyone knew that Eun-pyeong Market had become a ruin after the fire.
It was unreasonable to think that customers would come to such a market.
What on earth would they come here to see?
Especially at this late hour.
“Shall I see just how many customers there are?”
Song Do-hyeon entered the market with a quiet sneer on his face.
And he soon realized.
Just how shallow his thinking had been.
“This can’t be…!”
What greeted Song Do-hyeon as he entered Eun-pyeong Market was a crowd beyond anything he could have imagined.
“A night market… This is incredible!”
“Who would have imagined that a market would open at this hour?”
“Isn’t this basically a festival?”
“Exactly. It feels like there are way more people than there were a few days ago.”
“Don’t push! I said, don’t push!”
“Come buy goblin rice cakes! Buy now, and I’ll give you an extra one!”
“Goblin straw sandals, available only here! If you don’t get them today, you’ll never get to see them again!”
People were packed so tightly together that there was hardly even room to set foot down.
The noise from the crowd filling the market and the merchants calling out to sell their goods was enough to make his ears ring.
In the very center stood a goblin statue towering over the market as though looking down upon it.
“So this is the Goblin Market…!”
Song Do-hyeon involuntarily exclaimed.
Everything was goblin-themed.
Goblin rice cakes, goblin decorations, goblin clothing, goblin bowls… everything visible was goblin-themed without exception.
The merchants were no exception either.
Watching them sell goods while wearing goblin masks created such an illusion that it seemed as though real goblins were selling the merchandise.
‘Can this truly be the Eun-pyeong Market I knew…?!’
Here and there, traces of the fire could still be seen. Scorched pillars and blackened marks.
But that was not particularly important.
No, Hayun had actually emphasized those traces.
Just like exposed concrete in modern times, she had exposed what would normally be hidden and used it as part of the presentation.
Rather than detracting from the atmosphere, it actually heightened the strange mood of the Goblin Market.
‘All of this came from that guy’s head…?’
Once he entered the middle of the night market, he was forced to admit it, no matter how much he disliked doing so.
This was not simply a matter of changing the market.
She had created a kind of culture rather than a market.
Culture could not be stopped. The more one tried to suppress it, the more it would spread like a wildfire.
‘Unbelievable!’
He had to find out.
Was this truly that bastard’s doing?
“Excuse me.”
Song Do-hyeon happened to grab hold of a merchant wearing a goblin mask as she passed by.
“Oh my?”
A delicate woman’s voice suddenly emerged from behind the goblin mask.
“……H-Huh?”
Her voice was filled with obvious bewilderment.
As though something she had never imagined had just happened.
Song Do-hyeon lowered his head.
“I’m sorry if I startled you. If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d like to ask you a few things.”
“Yes?”
The woman wearing the goblin mask still seemed unable to calm her startled heart.
Song Do-hyeon waited for her to settle down for a moment before speaking again.
“Who is in charge of this place?”
“What do you mean…?”
“I mean, who planned this Goblin Market?”
“Ah…!”
A brief silence followed.
Then, from behind the goblin mask, there seemed to be the faint sensation of a grin.
“Oh my? You still don’t know?”
The woman’s voice rose slightly.
“It’s Haengsu Im Ha-seong of Mansang. She planned everything.”
“As I thought, that bastard…!”
He had suspected it, and sure enough, it was true.
This was her doing once again.
Having sensed another defeat, Song Do-hyeon’s expression darkened.
The woman wearing the goblin mask quietly asked,
“You must know Haengsu Im quite well?”
“Hmph, know him well? Not at all.”
Song Do-hyeon scoffed.
“We’re merely colleagues who do the same work.”
“Colleagues?”
Her response suggested that she found that surprising.
The woman muttered the word “colleague” as though turning it over in her mind.
“Colleagues, colleagues…”
Then she asked again.
“Then are you also a haengsu of Mansang, Mr. Song…? No, I mean, are you a haengsu as well?”
“That’s right.”
Even as he answered, Song Do-hyeon’s gaze remained fixed solely on the Goblin Market.
His eyes moved busily, as though determined not to miss even the slightest detail of the scene unfolding before him.
Seeing that, she asked casually,
“If you’d like, would it be all right if I showed you around?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
There was no reason for him to refuse.
No, in fact, he could hardly ask for anything better.
“Then follow me this way.”
When the woman wearing the goblin mask beckoned, Song Do-hyeon immediately followed behind her.
“This is where they sell goblin rice cakes.”
“Goblin rice cakes…”
“Once they put them out, they sell out before even two gak have passed. That’s how incredible they taste.”
The woman naturally moved along as she began showing him around the various parts of the market.
“This side sells decorations. There are many things made in the shape of goblins, so lots of people buy them as souvenirs.”
“Souvenirs…”
“If you’ve come to the Goblin Market, you have to take home at least one decoration made by goblins.”
Perhaps because she was enjoying herself so much, the woman’s voice was filled with excitement.
“These are called goblin shoes, and they’re very popular. They’re one of the best-selling items in our market.”
As soon as the woman finished explaining, the shoe seller began calling out to customers as though he had been waiting for his turn.
“Come on, try on these shoes made by goblins! They’re as light as down!”
“Tch, such childish sales tactics…”
Song Do-hyeon quietly scoffed.
They had merely dressed up the appearance to make it look convincing, but in the end, they were nothing more than ordinary shoes.
The same was true of everything in this place.
They had simply attached the name “goblin” to everything, but there was not the slightest difference from the goods he himself dealt with.
They were all Mansang’s goods… But this made one thing certain.
All of this was Im Ha-seong’s doing.
As Song Do-hyeon stood there blankly for a moment, the woman wearing the goblin mask spoke to him.
“Rather than standing there like that, why don’t you pick something you like? If you purchase something, you’ll get a chance to draw a lucky pouch.”
“A lucky pouch? What is that?”
Hearing about it for the first time, Song Do-hyeon showed interest.
The woman wearing the goblin mask immediately held up a lucky pouch as though she had been waiting for him to ask.
“Inside these lucky pouches are slips of paper marked from fifth place to first place. If you draw first place, we’ll give you an incredible prize.”
Song Do-hyeon firmly shook his head.
“I’m not interested.”
Relying on luck was not his way.
He had always acted through thorough calculation and judgment.
Being swayed by such a sales gimmick was no different from moving according to Im Ha-seong’s intentions.
Song Do-hyeon coldly turned his back.
“…No.”
Then he suddenly stopped.
‘If I want to beat that guy, I need to know everything about her.’
What kind of sales trick had she hidden here?
What were the prizes?
And how many of each were there?
He had to dig into every single detail.
Having changed his mind, Song Do-hyeon approached a nearby merchant.
And without much hesitation, he picked up an item.
“I’ll take this.”
“One nyang.”
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
What Song Do-hyeon had picked up was none other than a binyeo.
The hairpin, decorated with lily-of-the-valley flowers, had an unusual shape that was not commonly seen on the market.
After purchasing the item, Song Do-hyeon returned to the woman wearing the goblin mask.
“Will this do?”
“Yes, that’s right. Now, take out one slip of paper from the lucky pouch.”
The woman held out the pouch.
Song Do-hyeon instead held out the binyeo he had just purchased.
“I don’t need this, so you may have it.”
There was no particular meaning behind it.
He had merely bought the item to draw from the lucky pouch.
It was completely useless to him.
“……!”
However, the woman wearing the goblin mask could not speak for a while.
“…Thank you. I’ll put it to good use.”
“Then I’ll draw.”
Song Do-hyeon casually reached his hand into the lucky pouch.
And, surprisingly, he began carefully feeling through the slips of paper.
He was not particularly the type to believe in luck, but once he had made up his mind about something, he was the kind of person who had to see it through to the end.
Even if it meant defying fate itself.
A short while later.
Song Do-hyeon picked out a slip of paper that caught his fancy.
Then he immediately checked it.
After confirming the characters written on the paper, Song Do-hyeon said nothing.
“…….”
Silence flowed for a moment.
The woman wearing the goblin mask carefully asked,
“Why? Are you disappointed because it’s fifth place?”
The woman spoke as though it were only natural.
“That can happen. Actually, most of the slips in here are fifth place.”
She continued with a smile.
“There used to be a higher chance of getting something better than this, but so many customers have been coming lately that… we had no choice but to increase the number of fifth-place slips.”
The woman rambled on as though making an excuse.
“Still, fifth place isn’t bad. At least it’s not a dud. Right?”
The woman hurriedly turned her head.
And as though there was nothing more to see, she immediately began searching for the fifth-place prize.
“Where did I put the goblin club… Ah! Here it is!”
After finding the prize, the woman tried to take it out.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Song Do-hyeon grabbed her arm.
It was an entirely unexpected turn of events.
“……!”
The woman whose arm had been grabbed froze in an instant.
As though she had been caught hiding something.
By then, her voice had begun to tremble.
“W-Why…?”
“…….”
Song Do-hyeon silently stared at her for a moment.
Then he finally opened his mouth.
“It isn’t fifth place.”
“Th-Then what is it?”
Instead of answering, Song Do-hyeon held the slip of paper forward.
Written on it were the characters [一等].
“First place.”
“……!”
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