Part 1, Chapter 2 (1)

How did it come to this?

“…Kuuul.”

I looked at the black-haired beauty sleeping as if dead on the sofa in front of me, then dropped my head in frustration.

How did it truly come to this? If only I could turn back time, I’d go back even just 10 minutes, no, 1 minute ago.

“Why are you here?”

She wasn’t a character who should appear at this timing. She wasn’t a character who should be here at this time. So, I just helped her without thinking when she was being attacked by monsters.

But it seems that was a flag.

An awakening event where one of the main heroines falls into misanthropy and awakens her abilities.

By me saving her, she was unable to awaken.

“The original story is messed up….”

Because of me.

How did this happen? I traced back my memories from the morning.

* * *

9 AM, April 4, 2020, a shabby office in a building near Incheon City Hall.

“So, you want me to convert all of this into cash right now?”

Baek Sang-woo rubbed his temples, looking at the various colorful orbs in his cross-body bag.

“Yes. You can do it right away, can’t you?”

Phoenix, the one who brought the troublesome items, smiled brightly and pointed at the orbs on the table.

“These are fresh goods, not even made into Cores yet. Look. They’re vibrant, aren’t they? Not a single scratch, right?”

“Yeah. They’re all so clean, it feels like monsters could attack this place any second.”

When Phoenix pulled out the monster Cores, Sang-woo seriously considered just running away immediately. With his long experience as a fence, he had reached a level where he could discern the grade of a Core with his naked eye, and his intuition confirmed that the Cores in front of him were C to B-grade.

If this place wasn’t near the City Hall, which was protected by A-grade Heroes, monsters, having smelled the Cores, would have immediately rolled their eyes back and rushed into the city.

“The quantity is just….”

If a B-grade monster ate all of this, wouldn’t it quickly evolve into an A-grade? Perhaps sensing Sang-woo’s worry, Phoenix waved her hand and laughed.

“Oh, come on. That would never happen. Right, Deokbae?”

“…Yeah.”

Deokbae, who was standing behind the sofa where Phoenix sat, took off his hood. Inside the revealed hood was a monstrous human whose entire skin was covered in rock.

“A Villain?”

Of course, since monstrous humans hadn’t been publicly revealed yet, Sang-woo misunderstood Deokbae’s skin as a Villain showing off their abilities. Phoenix nodded and explained.

“As you can see, my escort is an ability user. Even if you just go to northern Incheon, there are plenty of good places to hunt monsters, aren’t there?”

“Well, that’s true, but….”

Sang-woo looked at Deokbae and the bag of Cores alternately with suspicious eyes. He seemed too weak to have collected such a large quantity of Cores.

“Then, are you, too?”

“Something like that.”

Phoenix shrugged. Sang-woo racked his brain, trying to remember if the woman in front of him was among the known ability users.

Vivid blue hair.

It was a uniquely distinct color even among ability users, whose hair color often changes upon awakening their powers.

But he didn’t recall any such ability user. Could she be a rookie who recently awakened her powers?

“Well, whether you caught the monsters or killed someone and stole them, that’s not important.”

“You quickly grasp the customer’s needs. Hehe.”

“If you were a properly registered Hero, you’d have gone through the Association’s window, right? An ability user who brings this kind of stuff here, it’s obvious what kind of person they are.”

This was a place that sold through illicit channels from the start. Sang-woo put on the white gloves lying on the table and examined the Cores one by one.

The white gloves moved among the dark gray orbs, stroking their surfaces.

“They really seem to be C-grade. And this one.”

Sang-woo carefully took out three Cores placed at the bottom of the bag. Their size was clearly larger compared to the other Cores at a glance.

More importantly, unlike the C-grades, they had a slight ‘color’. The form of green lines twisting and glowing like a genetic sequence was clearly a B-grade monster Core.

“It’s B-grade. It was a pain to catch.”

“You two must have had quite a struggle catching a B-grade. Didn’t any Heroes or hunters catch you? If you stole it from some guild, I can’t do business.”

“It’s fine. There’s absolutely no way we’d get caught. We dug it up from Yeongjongdo.”

Pwooosh!

The employee drinking coffee at another desk spat coffee all over the monitor. A sticky coffee smell spread through the room.

“Was that a joke just now?”

“Whether you believe it or not is up to you. So, how much will you give me?”

“Hmph. Annoying. Can I smoke a cigarette?”

Phoenix nodded. Sang-woo took a cigarette from the pack he pulled out and searched for his lighter.

Hwarureuk.

“…Huh?”

Gray smoke rose in front of him. A tiny flame danced and burned on Phoenix’s index finger.

“Ah. You were looking for a lighter.”

“Heh heh.”

Sang-woo took a drag from the cigarette and ran a hand through his hair.

“Is this supposed to mean you’ll kill me if I don’t give you a fair price?”

“Do you think of it as a threat? It’s a kindness.”

“Just because a tiger plays with a rabbit doesn’t mean they’re friends.”

Sang-woo flicked the ash into the ashtray. The cigarette burning down faster than usual didn’t seem to be just his imagination.

“…To get to the point, I can’t give you cash.”

“‘Cash’?”

Phoenix tilted her head.

“Of course. How much do you think all of this is worth? Even D-grade market price is around ten million won.”

“Isn’t it thirty million won?”

Deokbae, who had been silent, interjected. Phoenix clicked her tongue, and Sang-woo, with a much more relaxed expression, wiggled his index finger.

“That’s when you sell through the Association’s official channels. Isn’t it obvious you won’t get the full price if you sell it to a fence like me?”

“The value dropped to 1/3, Deokbae.”

“Tch.”

Deokbae’s face twisted in annoyance at Phoenix’s taunt. Sang-woo took another drag from his cigarette and continued.

“So, C-grade is five million each. And B-grade, I’ll give you five hundred million.”

“…? You’re adding that much? Can you even make a profit?”

As Phoenix asked in confusion, Sang-woo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. He barely managed to suppress a sigh and grumbled at the employee who was frantically wiping coffee.

“Look at this. She’s a pro. If she had haggled the price down, we’d all be dead.”

“Oh, come on. I wouldn’t kill you.”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure you wouldn’t. So, we’ll leave the absolute minimum margin and give you 2.2 billion won. Is that good?”

“Sounds good.”

As Phoenix coolly nodded, Sang-woo glared at her with an uneasy look and pulled out a contract.

“No more negotiations, got it? I’m recording this, okay? Are you going to put your thumbprint on the contract?”

“I’m not interested in that. More importantly, it’s only 2.2 billion won, right? But you can’t give me cash?”

“That’s right. I sent a large amount of cash to New Seoul recently.”

Sang-woo took a sip of instant coffee. The smell of cigarette smoke mixed with the coffee, giving off a stale odor.

“If you intend to become our regular customer, it’s good to know this. All the money earned in an office in a remote area like this, minus minimum expenses, goes to the main office in New Seoul. The transaction amount is also paid from the main office. We’re just like an intermediary.”

“Oh, really? And?”

Sang-woo pressed his throbbing head and pointed at the Cores.

“I’m telling you clearly because it seems you’re making a big mistake.”

Sang-woo twisted his lips at Phoenix with a look of exasperation, then pointed to the smartwatch on his wrist.

“Who carries cash around these days? Everyone puts it in here.”

“Ah.”

Phoenix frowned, looking troubled for the first time. Sang-woo flicked his tongue and smiled like a snake.

“Customer-nim, you don’t have a virtual account, do you? No, in this 21st-century smart era, were you really planning to carry around bundles of paper cash and just throw it around? If it were New Seoul, maybe, but if you do that in Gyeongin, you’ll just get dragged to some secluded place and lose everything.”

“Timeout for a moment.”

Phoenix raised a hand to buy time, then turned her head and gestured to Deokbae.

“You have an account on this smartphone, right?”

“I do, but that’s Hocheol hyung-nim’s account. If you don’t use his biometric authentication, the account will be frozen immediately. The police will also trace it right away.”

“Your account?”

“Don’t have one. Didn’t make one.”

“…Ah, damn it. I should have just cut off a finger.”

‘Did I burn it for nothing?’

Phoenix, clicking her tongue and looking regretful, met Sang-woo’s eyes again.

“Alright. Since we’re already doing business, could you throw in some extra service?”

“At this rate, it sounds like it’s going to be a huge hassle for me.”

Phoenix clapped her hands.

“A resident registration card. A virtual account. A smartphone under that name. We’re going to be doing continuous business, so you can do that much, right?”

“Isn’t that your real objective, actually?”

“It’s a two-for-one deal. Hehe. So, you can’t do it?”

Sang-woo shrugged, acting all high and mighty.

“Two hundred million won.”

“Deal.”

“??”

“????”

Cognitive dissonance occurred in Sang-woo’s brain. Did I mishear?

“Did I misunderstand? Did I explain it too briefly? In exchange for meeting your conditions, I’m saying the Cores in this bag will be worth 2 billion won. I just cut 200 million off. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Is there a problem with that?”

As Phoenix asked, truly unable to understand, Sang-woo looked around at the others in the office. Deokbae, her companion, had turned his gaze away as if uninterested, and the employee had been frozen in place for a while now.

“Hmph.”

Sang-woo lit another cigarette. A blue flame naturally rose, and the cigarette burned down. It was a small courtesy, but he found it a bit much.

“……Listen. It might sound funny coming from someone who deals in money, but I’m telling you this because it seems we’ll be seeing each other often in the future. Listen carefully.”

“Then I don’t think you need to tell me.”

Sang-woo pointed his cigarette at Phoenix.

“Know the value of money. Huh?! No matter how much the world is dominated by Heroes, the value of money remains the same. No, it’s gone up even more! New Seoul is now a place you can’t enter without money. 2 billion won? That’s not even enough for a 10-pyeong apartment in the outskirts of New Seoul. And honestly, does it cost 200 million won to create a fake identity? If you try to make one through the Chinese route here in Incheon, it won’t even cost 100 million. It seems you, young lady, are too ignorant of the ways of the world….”

“Wow. Is this what they call an old fogey?”

Sang-woo almost threw his cigarette but managed to hold back. After all, the other person was an ability user. He was not.

“I have every right to be angry right now, don’t I? Right now? This kid really lives life however she wants. Wow, I really have a lot of money, but I’m holding back because I don’t have power.”

“It’s a joke, pffft.”

Phoenix covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled, then straightened her posture and replied with a serious face.

“Whether you cut 200 million or take all 2.2 billion, I don’t care. Money is just something you earn as much as you need. So, the ID card, account, and burner phone are possible right away, right? I’d like to receive them by this afternoon at the latest. Oh, I almost forgot. While you’re at it, please open a ‘Black Market’ account for me too.”

“Haa, fine. You’ll only learn your lesson when you starve and struggle without money someday. Yesung-ah! Bring the documents!”

“Yes, boss-nim!”

The employee, who had been wiping between the keyboard keys with a wet wipe, got up and started rummaging through a cabinet. Sang-woo put out his cigarette, glanced at his watch, and muttered.

“Hmm. If I spend another 100 million, I could probably get it done before three o’clock….”

“Then please do that.”

“Yesung-ah!! When you order lunch today, add a large Tangsuyuk too!!”

“Yes!!!”

Yesung smiled brightly and ran around the office, gathering various things.

“The city’s like this, and you can still get delivery?”

“If it were Seoul, maybe not, but this is Incheon. Haha. Alright, then, customer-nim. Would you mind waiting a little? We’ll put the remaining 1.9 billion, after deducting 300 million, into your account. If you need anything else, please tell us. We’ll prepare it right away.”

“…Didn’t you suddenly change?”

“Hahaha! For our pushover customer, no, our customer-nim, who’s letting us cut 300 million, I can do anything! I even feel like I could kiss the tip of your shoe! Hahaha!”

“Oh? You just said you could do anything, right?”

Phoenix’s eyes sparkled, and she put her hands together.

Sang-woo felt a chilling sensation run down his spine and involuntarily trembled his fingers.

“Th-that is, within the scope of what I can do-“

“Since we’ll be doing frequent business from now on, would you mind selling these too?”

Phoenix clutched and pulled out three Cores from her pocket. They were Cores with distinct, vivid colors, clearly different from C-grade and B-grade.

“Pretty, aren’t they? When it’s an A-grade monster, the Core strongly displays its respective attribute and covers the whole thing in its own color…. Huh? Excuse me? Are you listening?”

Sang-woo rubbed his eyes, feeling as if what he was seeing couldn’t be real. An A-grade monster Core was right there, raw, in the middle of Incheon.

“Boss-nim Baek Sang-woo~ Are you listening?”

“Why.”

“Huh?”

“Why isn’t the monster alarm going off? At this point, shouldn’t monsters be smelling this from Yeongjongdo and flying over?”

Yesung had already fled the office. Phoenix, who had been idly fiddling with the orbs for a moment, chewed on Sang-woo’s words and then understood his thoughts.

“Ah. You’re asking why monsters aren’t attacking this place when there are so many monster Cores here?”

Phoenix smiled brightly, patted her shoulder with her palm, and tossed the Cores into her bag.

“I told you. Monsters will ‘never’ attack this place.”

Sang-woo’s eyes met Phoenix’s.

Within her round pupils, a blue flame was burning.