Goblin Library - Chapter 175

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 175.

Once the mahjong game ended, the Goblin Man vacated his seat. Lee Hye-eun took his place and shuffled the tiles with the other players.
“Miss, do you play mahjong?”
“Don’t waste your breath at the gambling table. If you want to meet women, go to a bar.”
A man who appeared to have lost money muttered in a rough tone, and the one who had spoken squinted before letting out a soft chuckle.
“Yeah, you’re right. What’s the point of distinguishing between men and women at a gambling table?”
I wanted to say something in response, but since it came from someone who had lost money, I let it slide.
Clatter! Clatter!
The players shuffled and drew their tiles. Watching them, Lee Hye-eun pulled a cigarette from her bag and placed it between her lips.
Smoking at a gambling table was nothing unusual, so no one paid it any attention.
As they took turns drawing and discarding tiles, Lee Hye-eun deliberately dropped the lighter she had placed on the table.
“Oh.”
Lee Hye-eun bent down as if to look at the floor, and while doing so, inserted the lipstick into the internet port behind her chair.
A small green light illuminated at the base of the lipstick.
“Done.”
[Run the app I gave you on your phone.]
Lee Hye-eun picked up the lighter and straightened, examining and exchanging her tiles before lighting her cigarette.
She then tapped her phone discreetly to activate the app.
[All set. Let me see… Okay! Good news—the line is still active. They’re running their own server. For now…]
I heard Jang Ma-ru muttering in my ear as I focused on the mahjong game.
Computer work was Jang Ma-ru’s specialty, so I could leave it to him.
In the meantime, I would earn some pocket money doing what I did best—playing mahjong.

Choi Tae-sik fingered the hwatu cards, winning and losing in endless cycles. He didn’t particularly enjoy gambling, but he could play hwatu casually enough.
And hwatu was a game where, as long as no cheaters were involved, the scores didn’t swing wildly in either direction.
You needed genuine luck to win big; otherwise, you simply bled money away gradually—that was the norm.
As Choi Tae-sik continued this cycle of winning and losing, Lee Hye-eun’s triumphant cry reached his ears.
“Ron!”
Turning his head, he saw Lee Hye-eun grinning brightly, her hand raised in victory. Choi Tae-sik sighed and shook his head.
[Sister, you’re incredibly good at mahjong.]
“Aren’t you not supposed to draw attention?”
[It’s suspicious if it’s too quiet during gambling.]
“How’s the operation progressing?”
[Looks like they’re short on phone chargers here.]
“What do you mean?”
[Some guy was charging his phone by connecting it to a computer.]
“You can charge a phone through a computer?”
[It’s slower than a proper charger, but it works. Thanks to that, I hacked into the phone, so now I can access this place whenever we need to. Oh, but the phone has to stay connected to the computer for it to work.]
“So we can leave now?”
[It’ll look suspicious if we leave too soon.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun’s voice came through.
[Since we’re already here, let’s make a bit more pocket money before we go.]
Choi Tae-sik turned to look at Lee Hye-eun, who had interjected. She smiled and waved her chips playfully with her hand.
Choi Tae-sik sighed and glanced at his own chips. They had dwindled considerably.

Lee Hye-eun smiled as she placed her chips at the exchange counter.
“Please exchange these for cash.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s request, the attendant who had guided her examined the chips and spoke with a smile.
“You’ve had quite the lucky day.”
“I had fun, so it was worth it.”
Lee Hye-eun discreetly pressed a hundred-thousand-won chip into the attendant’s hand.
“Oh my, thank you so much.”
“Rather than exchanging your chips for cash, it’s better to keep them for next time you visit.”
“Rather than exchanging your chips for cash, it’s better to keep them for next time you visit.”
The implication was clear—those who frequented gambling establishments paid fewer fees by keeping chips rather than exchanging them for cash each visit.
At the attendant’s words, Lee Hye-eun chuckled and whispered softly into her ear.
“It’s not even my money I’m gambling with.”
When Lee Hye-eun glanced subtly at Choi Tae-sik, the attendant nodded knowingly.
Lee Hye-eun had come to gamble with a man, so there was no real reason for her to keep the chips.
The gambling establishment offered another service as well—when cash amounts were substantial, they provided a handbag or purse sized to accommodate it.
Lee Hye-eun stuffed all the cash into a large handbag of the sort loan sharks might carry and left the establishment with Choi Tae-sik.
Then she turned to look at him and spoke.
“You should never gamble like this.”
“I don’t gamble.”
“Thank goodness. How on earth did you lose ten million won in such a short time?”
“You took three hundred with you.”
“And I won three thousand from it.”
Lee Hye-eun had turned three hundred into three thousand—ten times the amount—playing mahjong.
At her words, Choi Tae-sik sighed. Watching him, Lee Hye-eun removed an accessory from her chest and held it up to the light.
“This is money I earned myself, so it’s mine.”
[Very well then. Or would you like me to manage it for you?]
“Why do you sound like parents on a holiday?”
[I’ll grow it for you.]
“You will?”
[You know I have a talent for multiplying money.]
“Ah…”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun laughed and spoke.
“Then you’d better multiply it a lot. I’m so happy I can’t stop laughing.”
[Haha! Of course. I’ll multiply it substantially for you.]
“Ah! But if you have such a talent, why don’t you use it more often?”
[More often?]
“If I had your talent, I’d make a fortune. You know, kids good with computers are making huge money with cryptocurrency these days.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Jang Ma-ru laughed and spoke.
[I do it because of our operational funds. I don’t have much desire for money.]
“No desire for money? Why?”
“I don’t have much I want to do with money.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun tilted her head curiously.
Was it because he was still young?
After thinking for a moment, Lee Hye-eun held out the money bag to Choi Tae-sik.
“What?”
“Would you want me, a delicate young lady, walking around carrying something like this and getting pickpocketed?”
“You’d probably never let go of that bag even if your arm fell off.”
“So you’d prefer my arm to fall off?”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Choi Tae-sik looked at her, shook his head, and took the money bag.
Once Choi Tae-sik took the bag, Lee Hye-eun pulled out her phone and searched for something.
Soon after, Lee Hye-eun adjusted the earphone app on her phone to turn it off, then looked at Choi Tae-sik.
“Turn off your earphones too.”
“Why?”
“I have something to tell you.”
“Maru’s going to feel hurt that I’m keeping secrets from him.”
“Turn them off anyway.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Choi Tae-sik looked at her, then took out his phone and turned off the app.
“Why?”
Choi Tae-sik watched her with a mixture of curiosity and tension on his face.
“I’m going to buy some snacks.”
At the word “snacks,” Choi Tae-sik’s expression became puzzled.
“Snacks?”
“Yeah, snacks. There’s a famous old-style roasted chicken place nearby. I’m going to get some from there.”
“But why did you turn off the earphones?”
“So Maru doesn’t find out.”
“Why?”
Lee Hye-eun smiled and spoke to Choi Tae-sik, who was looking at her as if confused.
“When I was at the Orphanage, on holidays and special days, visitors would bring snacks or pizza. That’s why the children looked forward to those days. Oh, of course, it’s not like we never ate pizza or roasted chicken growing up. It wasn’t often, but whenever something good happened to the residents, the Orphanage Director would have us do something or make it for us.”
“Sounds like a good director.”
“She really is. A truly wonderful director. That’s why I still visit there. If she had been one of those cruel directors you see in movies or dramas… I probably would’ve already become her target and ended up a beggar.”
“Anyway, so why did you turn off the earphones?”
At Choi Tae-sik’s question, Lee Hye-eun smiled and answered.
“It’s simple. When delicious food suddenly appears before you when you weren’t expecting it, it feels so much better.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. That’s how it was for me. When volunteers would bring pizza or roasted chicken that I hadn’t anticipated, it felt so good. Receiving food when you already know what it is and suddenly getting to eat something you never expected—the feeling is completely different.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Choi Tae-sik thought for a moment before speaking.
“Is it like that scene in dramas where a father comes home from work and suddenly brings roasted chicken?”
“You could say it’s that kind of feeling.”
Lee Hye-eun nodded and continued.
“That’s why I wanted to give Maru that same feeling. He’s really going to love it when I bring home something delicious.”
Lee Hye-eun spoke with a smile, but Choi Tae-sik sighed and shook his head.
“Why?”
“Don’t you think Maru will feel hurt?”
“Yeah, probably. But since it’s a surprise, won’t he be even happier later?”
Choi Tae-sik looked at Lee Hye-eun before responding to her words.
“You understand human psychology well, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Then think carefully about that psychology. It seems like you’re misunderstanding something.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Maru is a lonely kid. Sure, I and my older brother look after him, but that’s only in our capacity as older brothers. It’s far from tenderness or warmth. It’s more like a sense of reliability—someone who protects and guards him. Truth is, neither my brother nor I are the type to show affection to Maru.”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lee Hye-eun’s eyes narrowed. She was beginning to understand what he meant.
“But you’re different. Maru really likes you. Because you treat him well and warmly. He might even think of you as a real older sister.”
“I know that.”
That’s why Lee Hye-eun wanted to treat Jang Ma-ru well.
“So when that kind of older sister suddenly turns off her earphones and says she wants to talk only to me, Maru will feel very hurt. If I were him, I wouldn’t make him feel bad when I could make him happy instead.”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lee Hye-eun thought for a moment, then licked her lips and nodded.
“You’re right.”
How could someone so versed in male psychology have thought something so foolish?
It was more important not to do things he’d dislike than to do things he’d like.
She’d been so focused on wanting to see Jang Ma-ru happy that she hadn’t considered this.
Perhaps…
It was because she cared for Maru so much.
Of course, not as a man, but as a younger sibling.
Until now, she had only shown her best side to seduce others.
But with Jang Ma-ru, there was no need for that—she simply liked him purely and gave him affection, so all she wanted was to make him happy.
That’s why she’d made a mistake she normally wouldn’t make.
With that, Lee Hye-eun opened the phone app.
“Maru.”
Lee Hye-eun called out, but Jang Ma-ru didn’t respond.
“Maru, your sister made a mistake.”
[…What do you mean?]
“Actually, while I was searching for restaurants nearby, I found this old-style roasted chicken place. So I was trying to buy some old-style roasted chicken to surprise you.”
[Old-style roasted chicken? You disconnected because of roasted chicken?]
At the bewildered tone in Jang Ma-ru’s voice, Lee Hye-eun quickly spoke.
“I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t expect it, but I thought you’d like it if I brought something delicious.”
Then she continued in a careful voice.
“So your sister is apologizing.”
Jang Ma-ru, who had been silent for a moment, let out a soft laugh.
[Okay. But the old-style roasted chicken has to be really delicious.]
“It really is delicious. Especially their special salt here—it’s supposedly really tasty.”
“Okay! If it’s really delicious, I won’t just apologize—I’ll make sure your sister’s money grows too.”
“Really! Thank you so much! I’ll go grab some roasted chicken from that old place right away.”
After finishing her words, Lee Hye-eun looked at Choi Tae-sik.
“Let’s hurry and go get the roasted chicken.”
Choi Tae-sik shook his head slightly and spoke.
“Where is it located?”
“It’s nearby. Come on.”
As Lee Hye-eun quickened her pace, Choi Tae-sik followed behind her.

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