Chapter 58

 

He shouted, looked around in surprise, and hid the note in his arms.

 

“Ho-hyun, really? Are you really going to make it?”

 

Unlike me, who was treated as dead and all contracts with the center were terminated, Yeon Seung-yeon, who had left the company and still had an oath to “not reveal anything about the Guiding Potion,” asked carefully.

 

“Yes, I’ve been thinking of giving it a try for the first time when I’m in the center.”

 

“Ho-hyun! You’re amazing. No matter how hectic you are, you shouldn’t forget your mission as a potion maker. You’re different. I’ll learn from you, too!”

 

While Yeon Seung-yeon was renewing his commitment, I was lost in thought. Even if I had the intention to make it, I wasn’t supposed to be in such a hurry. However…

 

‘Han Seojin, I wonder if you’re doing well.’

 

Of course, I heard from Seung-yeon that Han Seo-jin was doing well. Even though he thought I was dead, he seemed fine. I was fortunate, but for some reason…

 

I shook my head off my careless thoughts. No, that’s enough. It’s okay, as long as he’s doing well. Anyway, even considering Han Seo-jin, I’m going to make the guiding potion a success. I can’t deliver it to him directly, but it’s on the agenda for the time being. I’m a wonderful man who never forgets kindness!

 

“Ho-hyun! There are many types of stones here! Come!”

 

I quickly approached Seung-yeon. There was a lot of work to do.

 

“Is this a stone of greed?”

 

The store owner clapped and nodded at my question.

 

“Most people can’t tell because it’s similar to the appetite stone, but you recognized it right away! Yes, that’s right.”

 

It was time to see the different kinds of colored stones. At the corner of my view, something big flew away. Then I heard a loud shout, along with the noise of something crumbling down.

 

“Who told you to run a business here?”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

The boss shook his head and kicked his tongue as he looked around in wonder.

 

“Tsk tsk, they’re freaking out again.”

 

“What are they doing?”

 

“Huh? I guess it’s your first time to see Wolgye Naru. If you don’t know them.”

 

“Yes. We’ve only been here for a few days.”

 

The boss nodded and opened his mouth to hear Seung-yeon’s answer.

 

“It’s called Merchant Compliance Unit ^[1] I couldn’t find a direct translation so I made up the name within the context. Feel free to suggest other names. .”

 

“Merchant… What?”

 

When asked about doubting his ears, Yeon Seung-yeon was surprised and corrected.

 

“Ho-hyun nim. It’s Merchant Compliance Unit!”

 

“Who names themselves like that?”

 

“It means to be a respected expert and a respected person, but it’s only good to say! Don’t you think you need to do something worthy of respect to be respected? Who even sees them like that?”

 

The boss frowned at the gang members of the Merchant Compliance Unit, who were acting violently while picking up the stalls around him. Not only the boss but also other merchants looked at them with unfavorable eyes, but they couldn’t step in prematurely and everyone was just looking differently.

 

“If you don’t have a stall, you should leave!”

 

“Come on, wait!”

 

“No! My ingredients….”

 

Yeon Seung-yeon’s face turned white on the shelves that collapsed right next to him.

 

“Why, what’s wrong with you?”

 

“On days managed by the Merchant Compliance Unit, separate numbered tickets are distributed. Without that, the daily stall cost is enormous, and even the number of numbered tickets is up to them. Ugh, why are they being so harsh as if there is no merchant here who didn’t start out at a stall…?”

 

“Is that okay? Shouldn’t we call the police?”

 

“What are you saying because you don’t know? The business district of Wolgye Naru is managed by the association’s organizations in turn, so even if you report it, that’s the only time… Who would dare report it when they will face retaliation later?”

 

Yeon Seung-yeon, who was looking at Merchant Compliance Unit with a serious look, suddenly whispered to me.

 

“Ho-hyun nim! The badge worn by the people of Merchant Compliance Unit…. The bad wholesale store owner we saw on our first day was also wearing it!”

 

“That means they’re in the same group.”

 

You’re doing all sorts of things. You trash bastards.

 

One of them, who was slowly disappearing, spat and approached us. Yeon Seung-yeon grabbed my arm and trembled.

 

“H, Ho-hyun…”

 

The man who seemed to be coming towards us, frowning and looking crookedly, stopped at a stall right in front of the store and kicked the board where the ingredients were lined up with his foot.

 

“Oh my god!”

 

“No!”

 

Through the flying materials, a woman hugged her younger sibling. The girl in her arms shouted to the man.

 

“We got permission, why are you doing that!!”

 

“You’re sticking out of the line here.”

 

“No! It didn’t pop out at all! That’s why I measured it last time, too! Why didn’t you check….”

 

“Really? I must have misread it. Make sure you get it right from now on.”

 

The little one cried and shouted at the ingredients that were scattered and stepped on in all directions, but the man, who shrugged his shoulders, turned his back and disappeared. The girl, with her eyes full of anger, quickly exited her sister’s arms, clenched her fist, and rushed in. The woman shouted, reaching out her hand.

 

“Da-hye! No!”

 

I made eye contact with the woman and unknowingly snatched the back of the little girl passing by in front of me and lifted her up. At the same time, the ground right in front of my feet went out in a circle with the sound of the ground collapsing.

 

“Wow, Fuc… Huh.”

 

I didn’t expect her to be an awakened person, so I was so shocked that I cursed. I quickly shut my mouth in fear that the little one might have heard it. Fortunately, the little one, who seemed to have not heard it, looked at me with embarrassed eyes.

 

“What’s that ahjussi?”

 

“Ahjussi! For someone that’s the size of a mouse drop…”

 

“Let go of me!”

 

I was distraught for a moment when I first heard her called me ‘ahjussi’ that I lost consciousness for a moment. In my 22 years of life, this is the first time I’ve heard such a derogatory name!

 

“Ho-hyun! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Da-hye!”

 

I quickly got up behind Yeon Seung-yeon and the boss and handed the kid to the woman.

 

“Here.”

 

“Who are you, ahjussi? Why are you blocking me!”

 

“Thank you very much. Baek Da-hye, stop it!”

 

As the woman bit her lip and urged, the little one puffed out her cheeks and turned his head. She must have been close with the boss’s older sister, so while she was scolding her for making such a big deal out of it, I realized that Yeon Seung-yeon was nowhere to be seen. When I looked around, I saw Yeon Seung-yeon picking up the fallen stalls, chairs, and name tags.

 

‘Being nice….’

As I was putting together the already spoiled ingredients by gathering them with my feet, the little girl who turned her head in a sulky manner shouted in shock when she saw it.

 

“Hey! That ahjussi!”

 

“Da-hye, I told you to be nice.”

 

The little kid who ran to me despite her sister’s yelling blocked my path and shouted in front of me.

 

“Hey ahjussi, pay for all this!”

 

“I threw away the trash, so you should pay me.”

 

“It’s not trash! My sister worked hard to get it!”

 

“I can’t use it all because it’s gone bad.”

 

“What do you know! You can pick it up right away! Or I’ll call the police. That’s 100,000 won, that’s 50,000 won, that’s 150,000 won!”

 

I sat down with my knees bent and matched the level of my eyes at the appearance of a little girl who pointed and shouted one by one.

 

“Hey, kid.”

 

The little girl’s mouth opened small when he heard the robe and saw my face revealed, and he stuttered in a panic.

 

“What, what. This ahjussi.”

 

“How can I be an old man? Have you seen such a young and handsome man? Call me Ho-hyun nim.”

 

“I don’t want to!”

 

It’s been bothering me for a while, but that’s great. I opened my mouth while looking into the eyes of the woman behind her.

 

“You have to store this thousand-leaf rabbit grass and lightning tree bark in a glass bottle. If the wind blows on them, it becomes trash. And these fruits—you picked it from the one that grows inside the cave, right? Even the slightest impact will cause it to rot within an hour. I wonder how you got this far, but it will rot and fall apart in no time due to what just happened. And you also collect ferns? These should have been dried as soon as they were opened, and they were packaged nicely. You can’t sell them anyway.”

 

“What do you know! My sister, she’s having a hard time…”

 

“Baek Da-hye. Come here.”

 

Da-hye, who ran to the woman’s call, buried her face at the hem of her skirt and cried. The woman stroked her hair and said it with an apologetic look.

 

“I’m sorry to trouble the person who helped me. I’m sorry.”

 

“What trouble. I guess it hasn’t been long since you have been awakened, right? Seeing that you don’t even know how to store it.”

 

“Why are you talking down to my sister? Ask her how old she is! Ahjussi’s face looks just like a child.”

 

Everyone was lost for a moment in Dahye’s contradictory words.

 

“Well, I’m off to go. I’ll come buy the stones later.”

 

It seemed like I was done with my business, so I was about to take Yeon Seung-yeon and go back, when an ingredient caught my eye on the stall that Yeon Seung-yeon had roughly put together.

 

“That’s……”

 

I squinted. The woman hesitated and waved her hand at me showing interest.

 

“Oh, that’s not for sale. I came across it by chance, but I didn’t have it anywhere in particular and it’s unique, so I brought it to you just in case there’s anyone who wants to keep it…”

 

I quickly approached, grabbed it, and felt it. I’ve only been able to check the item information after a few failures, perhaps because I used my S-level emotional skill, which I haven’t received back yet, and intermediate emotional skills instead of Flamel’s pending issues.

 

<Happy weed>

 

What’s wrong with being common? Weeds are good.

 

Among weeds that are ignored because they are common,

 

A rare happy weed!

 

‘As expected!’

 

Happy weeds were known to be a hundred times harder to find than a four-leaf clover. I even came across them by chance! I thought they were just ordinary collectors……. What kind of collection skills do they have?

• 1. I couldn’t find a direct translation so I made up the name within the context. Feel free to suggest other names.