Chapter 146

 

I looked proudly at the potions filling the warehouse. These were the results of several days of hard work with Seung-yeon.

“By tomorrow, all of these will be sold…”

“Eui-jin nim. We should keep half in reserve and only sell the rest. We’ll be receiving customers every day from now on, and since our potion production is limited, we should also set purchase limits.”

“You’re right. After all, it won’t end tomorrow – customers will keep coming the day after, and the day after that!”

I checked the clock as I closed the warehouse door. It was almost time for pre-order applications to open.

“Thirty minutes to go. Let’s head up.”

I was curious about how many customers would flood in, and to experience the reservation process firsthand, we decided to try the pre-order application ourselves just for the first day. We could always back out at the final confirmation button without completing the submission.

Having thoroughly prepared to the point of creating accounts in advance, we sat in front of the computer, chatting while waiting for the time to arrive.

“For items with long shelf life, let’s talk to Jin-myeong and get them in advance. We have plenty of space anyway.”

“Yes. And Jin-myeong has recently been… Eek! Eui-jin nim!! It’s, it’s eight o’clock!”

“What? It was definitely forty-five minutes just now…”

Looking at the clock, it was 8:02. I thought I had been checking the time regularly, but somehow it had slipped by. We hurriedly searched for the website, but only a blank white page appeared.

“Huh? What’s this?”

The login screen should have appeared, but nothing showed up on the page. Thinking the computer might be broken, I gave it a few taps when Seung-yeon quickly answered an incoming call.

“Yes, this is Yeon Seung-yeon… What? The website crashed?”

“What do you mean it crashed?” 

A frantic voice came through the receiver Seung-yeon was holding. With each word, Seung-yeon’s face grew paler.

“But I clearly explained the situation to you. We signed the contract believing your boss’s promise to expand capacity as much as possible to accommodate everyone, and now you’re just telling me it crashed? What?! Th-three million people?!?!?!”

Seung-yeon’s legs gave out and she slumped into his chair. My mouth fell open at the number I’d just overheard. 

We knew people would flood in, but nobody had anticipated such a huge number. Everyone was contacting us asking what was going on—Su-cheol who had already gone home, Da-in noona, Ha-yan noona, and even Lee Cho was calling.

Seung-yeon struggled with the site administrator, trying to find a solution. I felt frustrated that there was nothing I could do to help.

While lying stretched out on the sofa calculating how many days it would take to meet three million people at 150 per day, they finally found a solution. 

The ridiculous figure of three million was due to Awakened ones mobilizing their non-Awakened family members and acquaintances, and even purchasing foreign accounts. 

In the end, they restricted access to Korea only and required registration of Awakened information at the reservation stage rather than at entry, which got the site working again, albeit slowly.

The announced time was 8 o’clock, but it was nearly midnight before everything was resolved. Exhausted, Seung-yeon collapsed onto the sofa.

“Seung-yeon, you worked hard. Go upstairs and sleep.”

“Yes… I’ll just stay like this for a bit…”

Seeing his face buried in the sofa, I could tell he was about to fall asleep. I thought I might as well carry her up, but decided to let him sleep there—it wasn’t a big deal.

“At least tomorrow things will run more smoothly… that’s… good…”

My words slowed until only the sound of gentle breathing could be heard. As I listened, I stared at the words prominently displayed on the computer screen.

「150 seats/SOLD OUT」

I was looking forward to tomorrow, to meeting my first customers.

***

I looked at Seung-yeon, who was still in a daze. He was trying to fight off sleep with wide-open eyes, but it wasn’t working. 

No wonder he was sleepy after waking up before dawn to prepare. I tossed Seung-yeon a potion, clicking my tongue at him. Catching it reflexively, he stared at me with round eyes.

“Eui-jin? Why this potion…?”

“Drink it. It’s a fatigue recovery potion with a mild awakening effect.”

“Th-thank you!”

I felt an intense gaze from beside me. Turning around, I saw Su-cheol looking at me with eyes full of expectation. His shoulders were tensed up, probably from nervousness, so I firmly turned my back on him.

“Not for you. If you drink that in your current state, you won’t be able to control your power. There’s an energy potion in the office, go get that instead.”

“Yes, sir!”

Su-cheol nodded, unable to hide his joy.

The workshop opening time was approaching. People were starting to gather, with crowds covering the area beyond our fence. Since there couldn’t be that many customers in the first time slot, the rest must be spectators and reporters.

I felt a bit nervous at the thought of customers right in front of me. Part of me wanted to press my face against the window to watch them, but I had to maintain my dignity as the owner, so I forced my fidgeting backside to stay put on the sofa.

After an excruciating ten minutes, one minute before the workshop opening, Su-cheol jumped up from his seat.

“Eui-jin nim, I’ll open the workshop door now!!”

“Okay.”

Su-cheol flung open the workshop door and walked creakily across the garden. When he opened the main gate, tremendous cheers erupted along with camera flashes.

“Waaah! Kang Eui-jin! Kang Eui-jin!”

“Please, just one interview!!”

“150 spots? Who are you kidding! Please increase the capacity!”

When the door opened, some tried to force their way in, but they all flew back, unable to cross the fence. Following Su-cheol’s guidance, customers who had completed their reservations began entering the garden one by one. But something seemed off. Everyone’s appearance was unusual.

‘Is it just my imagination…?’

Even after rubbing my eyes and looking again, nothing changed. Every single one of them was wearing luxurious clothes and flashy equipment. People adorned with items that appeared to be A-grade or higher at a glance couldn’t possibly be ordinary Awakened ones. And that flashy peacock-like guy in front…

I asked Seung-yeon without taking my eyes off them.

“Weren’t the customers supposed to be randomly selected? Why do they all look like big shots?”

“Te-technically it was random, sir. The reservations themselves were probably affected by internet speed… click speed maybe? But even so, how…”

Seung-yeon trailed off, apparently noticing the oddity as well. The first group of ten customers had all entered, and the main gate closed. The flashily dressed man who approached me first bent his knee in greeting, tossing his long hair. That exaggerated greeting still felt strange no matter how many times I saw it.

“Hello, Eui-jin nim. This is our second meeting—do you remember me by chance?”

“How could I forget… François.”

“Oh, what joy! What an honor. I made quite an effort to be the very first today. Hu hu hu.”

François was a fairly successful potion maker. I didn’t particularly like him since our styles differed, but he was definitely a shrewd guy. But why was he at my workshop…?

This was completely different from what I had imagined. I had expected heartwarming situations where I’d recommend potions with suitable additional options to new hunters, and returning customers would express gratitude for surviving thanks to my potions.

“I only have low-grade potions, so what are you doing here?”

“Does the grade really matter when it’s made by a master? They’re perfect for my collection.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Still, I would have preferred people who actually used my potions. I had even secretly prepared several small potion samples to give to customers, working extra hard without Seung-yeon knowing.

I wasn’t feeling great about this unexpected situation. Then François pulled out an ornate box with gold embellishments from his inventory and handed it to me.

“A small gift with my sentiments. I selected it with great care, so please don’t refuse.”

“This is…!”

The box contained two pairs of Old Deerling horns, an S-grade ingredient that was extremely difficult to obtain. Even those Nox guys could only bring Young Deerling horns at best. Then why give this to me?

Seeing my surprise, François quickly unfurled a feather fan he’d been holding and covered his mouth as he spoke.

“It would be a lie to say I have no ulterior motives. Truth be told, it’s an ingredient I can’t handle with my abilities. I’m curious to see how it might be reborn in the Master’s hands.”

“I’ll accept it. Well, feel free to look around.”

François smiled and stepped back with exaggerated, dance-like movements. Then the people who had been waiting rushed forward to fill the empty space.

“Eui-jin nim! I’m Jin Jin-won, the KQ sub-guild leader! Here’s an opening gift prepared by KQ!”

“Hello, Eui-jin nim. I’m from Seok Chung Boutique, just a block away. Congratulations on your opening—I’ve prepared an outfit for you. If it’s to your liking, please consider modeling for us…”

“Eui-jin nim, congratulations on your opening! We have a gift for you too. To avoid troubling you, we’ll just leave it right here!”

“I’m Lee Hyun-ah, head of the ShinShinHwaWon headquarters of the Workshop Association, newly launched with El-sung Corporation. Congratulations on your opening, Eui-jin nim…”

Caught between all these distinguished people, Yeon Seung-yeon looked at me with a bewildered face. As our eyes met, I felt an ominous premonition.

The 15 visits scheduled for today… surely they wouldn’t all be like this?