24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 65

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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24-Hour Friendly Market Specializing in Dimensional Items Episode 65

Episode 65. Who is ‘Lee Hae’? (4)

“Would sandwiches be alright?”

“That’s fine. I drank too much coffee today, so I feel a bit bloated.”

“Hae-won, do you want to eat too?”

Guk Min-seong turned to look at me and asked kindly.

Seeing Guk Min-seong with a gentle smile I’d never seen before made me feel like I was going to throw up.

“Ugh.”

“Oh my, are you alright, Hae-won?”

Oh no, I didn’t expect to actually dry heave.

I suppressed my embarrassment and nodded awkwardly with a forced smile.

Meanwhile, Guk Min-seong tapped my foot and gave me a look.

This bastard was telling me not to cause trouble that his company colleague could use against him.

‘Is this guy seriously insane?’

This situation of sitting face-to-face with Ahn Yeon-seo was already uncomfortable enough to drive me crazy, and having to pretend everything was fine while making conversation was even more maddening.

Where in the world is there a crazy person who runs into their boss while meeting with a friend and then sits together?

I glared at Guk Min-seong with a resentful expression, but he was completely unaffected.

Instead, he just deflected my pleading gaze with that disgusting smile, pretending to be harmless and warm.

I desperately prayed to the employee who was carefully wrapping each sandwich one by one.

Please hurry up.

But God wasn’t on my side, and neither was the employee.

As I was resentfully watching those slow hands cutting the bagel in half, Ahn Yeon-seo cautiously spoke up.

“Hae-won, is something wrong?”

“…Me?”

When I looked up, Ahn Yeon-seo had somehow come closer.

Maybe because she was a bit shorter than me, her worried gaze looking up at me was quite warm.

Of course, if I weren’t a merchant, I might have been moved by it.

‘No, it looks a bit sharp to be considered worry?’

Having observed Ahn Yeon-seo from afar on the battlefield, I could easily tell that she wasn’t purely worried right now.

This was observation.

She had definitely noticed something strange about me.

I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but it was the gaze of an analyst who had found a clue and wanted to solve it.

Of course, she wouldn’t have any idea that I was the owner of Friendly Market.

But the reason I was nervous in front of Ahn Yeon-seo was clear.

This person was Aegis’s brain, who played the biggest role in Aegis securing the number one guild ranking.

Though it wasn’t officially confirmed, there was widespread suspicion that Ahn Yeon-seo had skills related to analysis and strategy formulation.

It would be troublesome if I appeared suspicious once or twice and ended up on this person’s radar.

Smart people know how to paint the big picture with just one piece.

It was only a matter of time before this person put the puzzle together.

‘Lee Hae-won, you should have managed your expression better.’

It was too late to blame myself now that I’d already pulled Ahn Yeon-seo’s trigger.

Think of her as a customer.

Shamelessly, without being intimidated, as if the lie was my true self.

I looked down sadly and muttered.

“I got rejected from a part-time job interview.”

I think I said it quite convincingly.

I was able to immerse myself a bit more because my situation was pitiful.

Damn, as a building owner with a three-story Babel Square, this was the only excuse I could come up with.

It was frustrating, but this was the only excuse that came to mind right now.

“…Really? Are you perhaps non-awakened, Hae-won?”

The sharp, probing question was no ordinary one.

Just as I was about to skillfully spout lies.

“No, my friend awakened not too long ago.”

‘Guk Min-seong, this bastard really.’

Did this guy lose his sense along with his blood and flesh while working?

Barely swallowing my curse, I added with an even sadder expression.

“Maybe because I’m E-rank, no one really wants to hire me.”

“Still, if you’re awakened, doesn’t your stamina stat increase? May I ask what your title is, Hae-won?”

“Ah… that’s…”

When I trailed off as if troubled and smiled awkwardly, Ahn Yeon-seo immediately waved her hands and apologized.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I don’t usually ask about these things.”

Who would have thought I’d be so grateful for the social culture of not revealing titles unless you’re famous?

With Ahn Yeon-seo’s information network, she might be able to break into Babel’s national database, but Babel has the strange habit of only recording titles for B-rank and above hunters.

I never thought I’d be grateful for a system that people constantly complain about.

I inwardly sighed in relief and smiled as if it was okay.

“You could be curious. But it’s nothing to boast about… so it’s a bit awkward to say.”

“I don’t know mine yet either. But I didn’t know you couldn’t even get part-time jobs.”

Is this giving me poison or medicine?

Why haven’t I cut ties with this guy and stayed friends until now?

“Ah, then you might not have stamina or strength-related skills. For E-rank hunters, skills are important.”

“…”

Really, every word that comes out makes my heart race.

I must have unconsciously made a sour expression, because Ahn Yeon-seo startled and apologized again.

“Sorry for keep talking about awakening. It’s because of my job, I keep steering the conversation this way.”

Her expression looked sincere, so she seemed genuinely sorry.

‘Am I mistaken?’

The problem was that I’d met so many strange people here and there that it was hard to easily let go of my suspicions.

Ahn Yeon-seo offered me the complimentary cookie that came with the sandwich and asked carefully.

“Should I look into whether there are any part-time positions at Aegis?”

“Oh no, it’s fine! I’ll look for something myself.”

“No, our company has a team that only assigns D-rank and below awakened individuals. It’s sorting byproducts work, and we’re recently doing a major internal reorganization and recruiting people, so that’s why I mentioned it.”

Honestly, if I were an ordinary awakened person, I’d welcome this proposal with both hands.

‘Should I jump on this opportunity then?’

Just as I was briefly contemplating, Ahn Yeon-seo kindly added.

“If you need it, please contact me through Min-seong.”

“Yes, I’ll think about it. Thank you just for mentioning it.”

She’s definitely someone who works at a large corporation – her way of wrapping things up is clean without unnecessary details.

I nodded with a professional smile similar to Ahn Yeon-seo’s.

Meanwhile, Guk Min-seong gave me a subtle look.

It seemed to say, ‘This is a good opportunity, so make sure you grab it, you unemployed bum.’

While firmly stepping on the foot of Guk Min-seong, who was clueless and only successful in his own social life, I was certain.

‘This seems like big trouble.’

I think I’ve definitely gotten on Ahn Yeon-seo’s radar.

* * *

In Ahn Yeon-seo’s life of information, statistics, and calculations, there are times when intuition strikes.

Something without any concrete evidence, but vaguely felt as needing to be dug into.

Sometimes that intuition is right and sometimes it’s wrong, but what’s certain is that Ahn Yeon-seo continues to feel frustrated until she digs into it.

Ahn Yeon-seo lightly tapped the desk with her finger as she became absorbed in thought.

‘Something feels strange.’

Right now, Ahn Yeon-seo was thinking about Lee Hae-won, whom she had just met.

Just a friend of an Aegis employee, someone with nothing suspicious about her at all.

She had pretty features, but her unkempt hair, comfortable clothes, and the carefree expression she showed Guk Min-seong suggested she wasn’t the type to care about appearances.

That’s why she had dismissed the possibility of her being Guk Min-seong’s lover from the start.

Judging by how she kept avoiding eye contact, she must have an introverted personality.

She could tell just from how the woman seemed burdened by her kindness.

There were no other particular peculiarities.

If she had to point out something special, it would be the unexpectedness felt from her gentle way of speaking, which was far removed from her fierce appearance.

‘But why does it keep bothering me?’

What Ahn Yeon-seo particularly noticed were the eyes that wavered slightly when they first met hers, then quickly regained composure.

Though it’s a bit awkward to declare about herself, Ahn Yeon-seo was quite a celebrity, at least domestically.

She had met truckloads of people who were surprised to see her.

However, Lee Hae-won’s reaction was different from curiosity.

It was closer to bewilderment, one might say.

Why was that?

Why exactly had she been flustered upon seeing her?

Seriously contemplating while unwrapping the still-warm sandwich, Ahn Yeon-seo frowned.

“Ah.”

It wasn’t the chicken grilled sandwich Ahn Yeon-seo had ordered, but a basil ricotta sandwich.

…The sandwich had been switched with Lee Hae-won’s.

Ahn Yeon-seo let out a hollow laugh.

If something was going to get switched, it should have been important items like phones or wallets.

Of all things, it had to be a sandwich with no reason to contact about.

Ahn Yeon-seo, who disliked ricotta cheese, put the sandwich back down and swallowed a sigh.

“Should I just dig into it once?”

Muttering this, Ahn Yeon-seo began to seriously consider.

It was illegal for an employee of the private company Aegis to collect information on ordinary hunters.

‘But what if it’s information that doesn’t involve entering Babel?’

There’s a term with a long history called ‘background investigation.’

While maintaining the image of an upright company on the surface, there are times when unavoidable dark choices must be made for a company to grow this large.

Ahn Yeon-seo made a quick decision.

If it was just digging into how she had lived and what kind of person she was, even kindergarten teacher Park Ji-woon would turn a blind eye.

Ahn Yeon-seo took out her phone and typed a message.

[Please set up a Karma meeting.]

The recipient was already decided.

There was a guild in greater Babel society that specialized in this kind of work.

* * *

Due to the mental shock from the unexpected encounter with Ahn Yeon-seo, I slept soundly all day long.

I looked at my reflection in the phone screen and opened my mouth wide to yawn.

“Like a moon.”

After tossing and turning from worrying whether Ahn Yeon-seo might investigate my background, and tossing and turning from the discomfort that was on a different level from Babel Square’s bed.

Having slept straight for 14 hours without waking up once, my face wasn’t just swollen but had doubled in size.

‘I wonder if Alessandro slept well.’

There’s another mountain of work to do when I return.

According to the official press release from Babel yesterday, I would have to visit Floor 52 soon.

Floors 51 and 52 had opened simultaneously, and it was said that entering Floor 51 would lead to Konaga, the beastkin territory, while entering Floor 52 would lead to Casabl, the human territory.

Of course, it was also possible to move between each other’s territories from inside.

It was somewhat like a two-story house with separate doors on the first and second floors.

My goal was the Tower of Babel that would be somewhere in Casabl.

Since I couldn’t confirm it when I was kidnapped during the Floor 51 scenario, I absolutely had to check this time.

As I was about to enter the Tower of Babel in a daze, I discovered something.

“…Damn.”

And I had no choice but to stand there on the spot.

It was a construction site.

A construction site!

A real construction site!

I thought it was noisy because of the Sacred Covenant protests, but I had no idea they were actually doing construction.

‘How did I only see one thing when people have two eyes?’

Admiring my own narrow vision, I sneakily poked my head out to see what kind of construction they were doing.

And.

‘…I’m screwed again.’

I looked at the unbelievable structure at the Tower of Babel entrance and let out a sigh of despair.

A neat rectangular building, and inspection stations being installed at the entrance.

Even terminals where hunter licenses could be scanned.

It seemed Babel had really decided to catch me.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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