24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 85

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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 85

Episode 85. A Day with Absolutely Terrible Luck (8)

For a whopping 12 years, from my first year of high school until now at age 28.

We bicker every time we meet, and we’ve never said anything kind or gentle to each other, but we’ve never truly fought.

Nobody believes it, but it’s true.

Since we only have a moderate interest in each other to begin with, it’s natural that there’s nothing to fight about.

When there’s no contact, we assume the other is off having a good time somewhere and forget about each other for months.

Then out of the blue on some random day, we contact each other to drink soju with blood sausage soup, as if it’s the most natural thing.

We’ve simply maintained a very ordinary and familiar friendship.

So I’ve never seen Guk Min-seong get angry before.

Oh, I saw it once, but that wasn’t directed at me, so it didn’t bother me much.

But.

“Lee Hae-won, what the hell.”

This was clearly anger directed at me.

‘Or is it?’

Whether he was angry at me or just annoyed.

Since I had no data on situations where he gets angry, it was hard to properly assess.

I quietly made eye contact with Guk Min-seong.

Guk Min-seong was staring at me intently with a rigidly hardened face.

His expression was complicated in many ways, as if he was more concerned about something else than the fact that he had almost died just now.

“What are you thinking? Get up so we can go back.”

I deliberately turned my head away, pretending to be nonchalant.

It was a natural reaction, even though I knew that changing the subject wouldn’t work on a serious Guk Min-seong.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“Why are you avoiding eye contact?”

“Just because.”

“Lee Hae-won.”

“Fuck off.”

When I snapped curtly, Guk Min-seong snorted.

I bit my lip while staring beyond the blizzard where Kusarich had disappeared.

It would be nice if he tactfully backed down at this point, but he always becomes persistent at times like this.

I could feel an intense gaze that seemed like it would bore a hole through the back of my head.

As I stubbornly kept looking at the distant scenery with determination not to give in, an attack hit the back of my head.

“Isn’t this going too far, even for you?”

“What is.”

“Shouldn’t you explain what this situation is right now?”

“Me?”

“Hey, you…”

I had just responded as usual, but Guk Min-seong seemed at a loss for words and sighed deeply.

At this point, I really felt conscious of his reaction, so I sneakily turned my head to observe Guk Min-seong’s behavior.

Guk Min-seong, who had forgotten to zip up his padding, was clutching his hair.

“If you don’t explain now, how am I supposed to understand the situation…! Ah, seriously.”

Guk Min-seong, who had been raising his voice as if incredulous, shut his mouth.

Watching Guk Min-seong clutch the hair at his temples so hard that he might develop baldness soon, I felt deep regret wash over me.

It was a mistake.

I shouldn’t have made up that ridiculous title of ‘merchant friend who’s always around’ when Guk Min-seong got caught up in the Gate with me.

I shouldn’t have stepped forward trying to look cool either.

If Guk Min-seong hadn’t been there, it might have been different.

The downside of improvisation is this clear.

‘How do I get past this?’

I racked my brain noisily for a while, but couldn’t think of any particular explanation.

Unless I said ‘this was all a dream,’ there was no way to resolve that doubt.

Guk Min-seong kept his mouth shut for a while, then started pouring out rapid-fire rap.

“Hey, I may be someone who works at a desk, but I’m still B-rank. Merchant friend? Do you think that kind of title even makes sense?”

Then does Open Market Manager make sense?

I wanted to retort, but I decided to quietly listen to what Guk Min-seong had to say.

“You said you’re E-rank, right? Did you lie about your Skill? No, that tent definitely has mana emanating from it – where would you get the money to buy something like that?”

“I bought it on clearance, clearance.”

“Even at Hunter Market, it’s at least in the hundreds of millions, you bastard!”

“Ah, really…?”

I should have checked the Hunter Market prices too, not just Friendly Market.

I had no idea magic tents were that expensive.

‘No wait, even Kalashi’s tent was in the 6 billion range.’

Maybe because I dug my own grave with words I threw out to try to slip by, Guk Min-seong poured out even more questions.

“I’ve been watching since you started subtly asking about scenarios. What kind of suspicious stuff are you doing that made Ahn Yeon-seo stick you in a part-time position?”

“Wasn’t Ahn Yeon-seo just a nice person?”

“Idiot! There’s no way that’s true. Ahn Yeon-seo’s specialty is sticking suspicious guys in the basement of the Aegis building, you safety-unconscious fool.”

How was I supposed to know that…?

He’d faint if he knew the Karma Guild leader broke into my house.

I kept my mouth firmly shut.

Honestly, I was more flustered than sorry and lost for words.

Where did that sniveling kid from earlier go, and why is he being so logical now?

And was he always this sharp?

“And why didn’t you tell me you moved to Babel View Officetel? Where did the money come from? No, more than that, what exactly is your title? Your Skill isn’t some merchant thing either, right? No, never mind that. How do you even talk to monsters in the first place?”

“…How did you hold back your curiosity all this time?”

“Because! I thought! You’d tell me! Eventually!”

Guk Min-seong, who shouted as if he was going crazy from frustration, lost his temper.

His voice was so booming that even Kusarich, who had quietly left, might turn back around.

Kicking the snow in frustration was a bonus.

“Do you think I’m really stupid?”

“Uh, I did think that…”

“Ah…”

Guk Min-seong forgot that this was supposed to be his moment to be angry and just stared blankly with his mouth open.

I didn’t miss that opportunity and conveyed my position.

“I get that you’re worried, but I can’t tell you. Just wait a bit more. If you’ve waited this much, you can wait a little longer! I have my circumstances too! I’ll tell you, eventually!”

Not now.

How many people know my identity right now?

Even if Guk Min-seong and I are best friends, he’s someone who works at the heart of Aegis.

Having already drawn Ahn Yeon-seo’s suspicion and been investigated, he was someone I couldn’t easily reveal the truth to.

That was separate from the solid trust I had in Guk Min-seong – it was more like a survival instinct.

Usually he’d understand when I put it this way, but Guk Min-seong snorted and replied.

“Here you go announcing you’re going to act up again.”

I frowned at the curse word thrown at me mockingly.

Of course, I’m not the type to speak prettily either, but isn’t this just whining like ‘Why didn’t you tell me, wah wah!’?

Is having secrets between friends that hurtful?

‘No, why the hell are you getting angry?’

Weren’t we the kind of friends where the unspoken rule was to wait until the other person eventually tells you?

‘Don’t tell me, this crazy bastard….’

I scrunched up my face and asked.

“Why are you mad at me? Ugh, don’t tell me you like me?”

“Crazy bastard, I can’t even tear your mouth apart.”

Too angry to even shout, Guk Min-seong squeezed his eyes shut and spat out harsh words.

Hmm, that’s definitely not it.

Thank goodness.

“How can you joke around right now?”

“I misspoke.”

When I quickly admitted it, only silence followed.

Surprisingly, it got cold once we stopped talking.

Guk Min-seong, who had been quietly glaring at me while enduring the relentless blizzard, finally raised his hand.

“…Let’s go back to the tent for now.”

“Let’s do that.”

Making our earlier shouting match seem pointless, Guk Min-seong and I quickly got up and headed toward where the tent was.

Seeing how well we get along at times like this, I guess we really are friends after all.

“Damn cold.”

Guk Min-seong, who had forgotten to put on his padding hood, grumbled while wrapping his clothes tighter.

Since we had walked far enough that we couldn’t hear the sound of the noise grenades going off, we had quite a long way back.

I silently followed behind Guk Min-seong, adjusting my clothes.

The cold that I had forgotten about while arguing hit my cheeks with a stinging sensation.

Guk Min-seong, who had been trudging along without a word, quietly spoke up.

“You, when Brother Hae-on disappeared.”

“…Yeah.”

“Back then, you searched every dangerous place trying to find him. Not even knowing how dangerous it was. You almost really died doing that.”

“That’s what happened.”

When Brother disappeared, I used every method I could think of to find him.

Things like paying money for someone to find Brother, or going to designated places for information about Brother.

Of course, it was all scams.

Guk Min-seong added in a much calmer tone.

“When you got dragged to that weird place, honestly I thought what was coming had come. Since you went looking for places that normal people would avoid because they’re dangerous.”

“Me?”

“Don’t ask back, just listen, it’s pissing me off.”

‘Uh-huh….’

I answered inwardly and caught up to walk beside Guk Min-seong.

“So you just dive headfirst into dangerous situations without thinking. You even jump in without any safety measures. What are you, a moth to a flame? This time feels the same way too. I get the feeling you’re hiding something really big and doing dangerous stuff.”

He hit surprisingly close to the mark.

As expected, my judgment that Guk Min-seong is stupid and foolish needs some revision.

It is dangerous for an E-rank Hunter to turn off Merchant’s Mark and enter scenarios.

Same with jumping back into that ocean when I can’t even swim just because it didn’t look cool.

It didn’t seem like much of a problem to me, but thinking from another person’s perspective, I guess it would seem that way.

I lightly nodded and asked.

“You were worried?”

“Well, something like that. I hate saying stuff like this. So just interpret it however.”

Even though his way of speaking is terrible, I know what Guk Min-seong is trying to say.

Guk Min-seong is a friend who really cares about me.

And though I hate to admit it, I’m honestly weak when it comes to Guk Min-seong.

It was Guk Min-seong who pulled me back into daily life when I was desperately searching for Brother.

He didn’t stop me from drinking, but he always made sure to help with hangovers.

Thinking back now, it seemed like he was checking to make sure I survived and made it to morning.

I finally understood Guk Min-seong’s feelings.

‘He’s anxious because he has no idea what I’m doing when I’m out and about.’

Worried that I might do something strange again and step onto a dangerous path without hesitation.

As expected, I was flustered because he seemed a bit smart, but Guk Min-seong is definitely my friend.

I walked silently looking at the ground, then opened my mouth.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“I’m the Friendly Market administrator.”

I delivered the fact as calmly as possible.

Right, even if all sorts of people might be looking for me, Guk Min-seong isn’t the type to sell me out.

Park Ji-woon and Chae Geun-dam, who I haven’t known for long, know my identity, so what’s the big deal if someone I’ve known for 12 years finds out.

‘Though he doesn’t seem to sense danger either.’

I felt like I needed to tell this sulking guy something to feel better about it.

I couldn’t predict what kind of reaction he’d have, so I was walking quietly when.

“…What.”

I stopped walking abruptly.

The presence that had been struggling through the snow beside me had disappeared.

When I turned around, Guk Min-seong was standing a few steps behind, staring at me blankly.

With an expression that seemed to gather all the bewilderment in the world.

He seemed a bit smart earlier, but looking at him again, he looks stupid.

“What?”

The moment I frowned and asked, Guk Min-seong roared.

“What the ×uck?”

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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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