chapter_0661

661 – Measuring Tape

661 – Measuring Tape

After finishing the meeting, Hanyeoreum stepped outside the guild building.

Walking along the same path as Kang Jinho, Hanyeoreum sensed that someone nearby was watching her.

‘Is that them…?’

Turning her head, Hanyeoreum was startled to discover the children hiding behind the flower bed.

Gyeoul and Levinas had hidden the fastest, while Bom and Haneul were a step behind.

Saebyeok was a little late in hiding, allowing her to make eye contact with Hanyeoreum.

“Uh…?”

Why are the kids suddenly hiding?

Flustered, Hanyeoreum noticed one child who hadn’t hidden yet.

It was Gaeul, with a blank expression.

“Hek…”

Gaeul wagged her tail while looking at Hanyeoreum.

Just as Hanyeoreum was about to wave at Gaeul, a white hand reached out and pulled Gaeul down.

“Huh? Mu-yak?”

Gaeul’s confused voice came from behind the flower bed.

Hanyeoreum couldn’t help but chuckle at the awkwardly hidden children.

It was because the distinctive ears of the Beastmen were peeking out over the flower bed.

“Hey, Wanga, why are you suddenly hiding?”

“Uh, um…”

From behind the flower bed, Gyeoul’s hesitant voice could be heard.

Hanyeoreum, who had no particular friction with Gyeoul, sensed that it was related to Kang Jinho.

“Master, is something going on?”

“…Something?”

Kang Jinho, who paused to think at Hanyeoreum’s question, took out his smartphone.

He suddenly opened a stock app, but Hanyeoreum figured there probably wasn’t much to see, so she waited quietly.

“…”

Instead of explaining, Kang Jinho showed Hanyeoreum a particular stock.

A stock that recorded -4.2% and a terrified Gyeoul.

Hanyeoreum understood the situation just from that.

‘Stocks… Did Gyeoul buy… Did Gyeoul recommend a stock that dropped…?’

No wonder they were being so cautious.

By the way, how much did the Master invest in stocks for Gyeoul to be like this?

Just as Hanyeoreum was about to ask, Kang Jinho began to walk back into the guild building.

“Oh.”

This seems interesting.

Hanyeoreum temporarily postponed her business and followed Kang Jinho.

They arrived at the guild’s asset management department.

“…Master!”

Tension filled the room at the unexpected appearance of a superior.

Junior employees who had not worked long with Kang Jinho were so distracted by important charts that they barely noticed his presence.

Why did the Master suddenly come here?

Was it because the investment performance was poor?

This month, the market was chaotic, and even the securities firms barely avoided losses.

The employees speculated about Kang Jinho’s purpose for visiting, but he said something no one expected.

“Is it possible to do simple image editing here?”

“Image editing? If it’s simple, we can do that…”

Watching the conversation between the employees, Hanyeoreum understood what Kang Jinho wanted.

Today, she decided to be a perceptive employee.

“Um, about the stock Gyeoul bought yesterday? I was hoping you could edit it to show a profit…”

“Yesterday… Are you talking about the specialty food?”

“Yes, that one. Gyeoul is feeling down because of it.”

Did the Master move to cheer up Gyeoul because of the stock drop?

Even going so far as to request an edit?

The employees weren’t particularly surprised.

It was a well-known fact among the people of Dawn.

“Um… I think you might not need to edit it.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Specialty foods fluctuate greatly on a daily basis.”

The employee showed Kang Jinho and Hanyeoreum the chart on the monitor.

-3.9%

-3.7%

-3.3%

The stock that had hit -4.2% began to recover gradually.

At this rate, it might rebound quickly.

What kind of stock is this?

No, this is how stocks are supposed to be.

While Hanyeoreum was watching the chart rise in real-time,

Peek-

Gyeoul peeked her head out from the end of the office.

In Gyeoul’s hand was a small yellow flower.

After hesitating for a moment, Gyeoul seemed to have made up her mind and ran toward Kang Jinho.

“Uncle, look at this… It’s a pretty flower…”

Is she trying to win him over with a pretty flower?

Hanyeoreum couldn’t help but smile at Gyeoul’s pure tactic.

Kang Jinho also slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

“It’s pretty.”

“Right…? This is a gift from me…”

“Mm.”

While Hanyeoreum listened to the conversation between Gyeoul and Kang Jinho, she continued to check the chart on the monitor.

-1.2%

-0.9%

-0.7%

The stock that had been rising steeply finally hit +0.1%.

Who would have thought a stock that had hit -4% would rebound so quickly?

Not missing the opportunity, Hanyeoreum pointed at the monitor and said,

“Wow, I heard Gyeoul bought this yesterday, right?”

“Y-yeah…?”

Gyeoul’s gaze turned toward the monitor.

The stock Gyeoul had recommended was precariously at +0.1%.

“Uh?!”

Gyeoul’s tail perked up as she looked at the chart.

Gyeoul’s eyes sparkled as if she couldn’t believe it.

“The stock Gyeoul recommended has already gone up this much?”

“R-right?”

Gyeoul clasped her hands together as if praying, her eyes shining.

Unable to contain her joy, she started bouncing on the floor and even puffed out her chest.

Thank goodness Gyeoul was feeling better.

Hanyeoreum and the others shared similar thoughts.

Of course, the amount invested in specialty foods was just pocket change by Dawn’s standards.

It was an amount that wouldn’t matter even if they lost it all, but no one told Gyeoul this.

There was no foolish person in Dawn who would spoil a child’s joy.

**

“Uhahaha.”

I strolled through the park, laughing heartily, unlike usual.

Perhaps intrigued by my laughter, Saebyeok’s tail turned into a question mark.

“Gyeoul, did something good happen?”

“Yeah. The stock I bought went up.”

“Gyeoul seems to be good at stocks. How about becoming a stock trader in the future?”

“Um… But stocks seem scary, so I don’t think I can do it.”

The shock of being in the negative was still fresh in her mind.

To maintain peace of mind, she planned to avoid looking at stocks for a while.

“Not doing it isn’t bad either; it’s Gyeoul’s choice.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

That’s definitely Saebyeok.

She supports me no matter what I do.

As I smiled at Saebyeok, Gaeul slowly approached.

Munch munch-

Gaeul was eating something.

From the sound alone, it was clear it was a rather chewy food.

“Gaeul, what are you eating?”

“Jokbal.”

Gaeul pointed to one side of the park.

There were people sitting on a mat, and among the food was jokbal.

“Wow, did you get jokbal?”

“Yep!”

“Did you say thank you?”

“Yep. Gommaeohaetda.”

“Good job.”

As I patted Gaeul’s head, the other children began to gather around.

The last to arrive was Bom, holding a measuring tape.

“Hey, do you know what this is?”

“Isn’t that a measuring tape?”

“Juja?”

Gaeul showed curiosity toward Bom’s measuring tape.

Then Bom flashed her characteristic mischievous smile when playing pranks.

“Yeah. This is a measuring tape, and it can stretch super long!”

“Really?”

“Yep! It stretches this much.”

Bom spread her arms wide.

The measuring tape does stretch long, but what kind of prank is she planning with it?

For now, I decided to watch with curiosity.

“Watch closely.”

Bom pulled the measuring tape with both hands.

The children’s eyes widened as the tape emerged from the small plastic casing.

“Wow! It really stretches long!”

“Wow.”

Levinas and Gaeul jumped for joy.

Even though it was just a tape stretching, the children were fascinated.

“How is it? Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yeah! It’s amazing!”

Clap clap clap-

Levinas clapped his hands.

Then Bom began to wear a truly wicked smile.

“But this can stretch even longer than what you just saw!”

“Can it stretch longer than this?!”

“Yep. But for that, someone has to hold one end.”

At Bom’s words, Levinas raised his hand eagerly.

Gaeul also raised her hand late.

“Then, do you want to hold it here together?”

“Yeah!”

“Hek…”

Bom handed the plastic part of the measuring tape to Levinas and Gaeul.

Bom took hold of the tape part and started running forward.

’10m should be about here.’

Swoosh-!

The long-stretched tape stopped exactly where I had predicted.

Just pulling out a measuring tape made the children jump up and down in excitement.

“Wow! It’s long!”

“Wow, look! Look!”

“No, Gaeul, a whale is bigger than this!”

“Huh?! Gu-ae?!”

Getting excited over just a measuring tape.

I guess that’s what kids are like.

While I smiled watching them, a shocking turn of events occurred.

Bom let go of the end of the measuring tape she was holding.

Swoosh-!

The tape, pulled to its maximum, began to retract.

Though not fast by Beastmen standards, it was enough to startle the children.

“Huh?!”

“Ying?!”

The children stomped their feet, watching the retracting tape.

Not knowing what to do, they looked back at me.

“Ikgu mu-yak?!”

Thud-!

With Gaeul’s scream, the tape returned to its original state.

In the end, nothing happened, but Levinas and Gaeul wore expressions of surprise.

It is indeed a bit scary when the tape comes back quickly.

Bom’s prank was a huge success.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations! They always give me strength!

I’m sorry for being late again today… I always struggle with the last 300-400 characters… ㅠ.T_T..

Is it possible for a stock to drop to -4% in a day and then rebound instantly…?

It seems stocks can do that… sob sob…

───

Thank you to the anonymous member [H] for the 10 coin support!