I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 6

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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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006-Academy
6. Academy
“You’re not going to Academy? You attend, don’t you.”
“I said I’m sick.”
Slurrrp.
Kwon Ju-ah answered while eating ramen.
As a result, I couldn’t eat a single bite.
“Is there no kimchi?”
“How could there be? Aren’t you asking too much from an orphan?”
“No… that’s not what I meant…”
“Forget it. Just eat that.”
“Sorry… I think I misread the necklace.”
“Yeah. I accept your apology.”
“But you really make excellent ramen. It’s the best I’ve ever had.”
“Even if you say that, I won’t make it again. There’s no ramen. That’s it.”
At my words, Kwon Ju-ah suddenly wore an expression of deep regret.
“Sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll buy you ramen next time.”
“It’s fine. I can afford that much myself.”
I ate ramen because you were here.
Without you, I would have eaten sashimi or meat.
Unable to say it aloud, I swallowed the words.
Worried that Kwon Ju-ah would eat less if I kept staring, I gathered some fallen branches from the Mountain.
And I lit them on fire.
Crackle, crackle—the wood began to burn.
As the sun set, the darkened yard grew bright.
Since our Home has no electricity, we sometimes make a fire like this when we’re outside.
“Wow, the atmosphere is great. It feels like we’re camping.”
What?
Did you come to play?
Aren’t you leaving?
Once you go, I need to quickly eat sashimi and meat and everything else. Just leave already.
“How is living alone?”
“It’s miserable. Or almost miserable? Anyway, everything is bad. My wish is to go to an orphanage. Haha.”
“I’ve never met a kid like you. You’re really something.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. You just seem a bit unusual.”
“Enough. Once you’re done eating, go. It’ll be dangerous if it gets any darker.”
“Can’t I stay a little longer? Sitting here watching the campfire and the night view is really healing. Don’t you have anything to drink?”
“Did you come camping?”
“This is better than a camping site.”
I agreed with her.
This was better than a campsite, at least.
Though I had no idea what a campsite actually looked like.
But something to drink?
I quickly scanned my inventory.
There was only beef.
I didn’t have any beverages worth offering.
And if I gave her something to drink, she’d probably stay even longer.
I needed to send her off now.
“I don’t have any.”
“Really? That’s too bad.”
Kwon Ju-ah genuinely seemed disappointed.
Why was she trying to squeeze more out of my meager possessions?
Wasn’t one bowl of ramen enough?
“Huh? What’s that?”
Kwon Ju-ah, who had been scanning the surroundings with keen eyes searching for something, spotted something.
“What?”
That was here?
I’d picked up coffee from the Mart out of curiosity after hearing so much about coffee, Americano, and espresso on YouTube.
I’d taken one sip out of curiosity, immediately spit it out, and left it forgotten.
After that one sip, a serious question had formed in my mind.
People actually pay money to drink something this bitter?
Why?
Incomprehensible things were happening in this world.
Kwon Ju-ah scurried over and brought back a bottle of espresso.
It came in a pack of six, and I’d only taken one.
“Oh~ straight espresso concentrate?”
“You’re going to drink that?”
“Yeah. You can’t drink espresso concentrate straight—you make it hot or iced.”
Hot or iced? I’d heard those terms before, but I had no idea what they meant.
“You have water at home, right?”
Of course I did. Obviously.
I had Arisu water I’d collected from the Public Restroom.
“Can you get it for me?”
“Sure.”
Kwon Ju-ah poured water into the kettle and lit the burner.
Once the water came to a boil, she poured the hot water into a cup and added a small amount of espresso concentrate.
An absurdly small amount compared to the water.
Damn.
So that’s how much you’re supposed to use.
Of course I’d curse—I’d just drunk straight from the cup without thinking.
Kwon Ju-ah held the mug with both hands, blowing gently across the surface before taking a sip of coffee.
“This coffee is delicious. I should buy some of this too. It’s exactly my taste.”
Watching Kwon Ju-ah drink it, the coffee really did look appetizing.
I followed her lead, blowing gently before taking a sip myself.
It tasted awful. I’d been deceived.
True, it was better than drinking straight espresso, but it wasn’t something worth adding to my inventory.
Still, I didn’t voice my disappointment aloud.
I had enough sense for that.
The crackling sound of the campfire echoed around us,
and Seoul’s night lights spread out before us,
while the warmth of the coffee settled in my hands—everything felt refreshingly new.
Though it was my own home, it felt like we’d stepped into a camping site somewhere far away.
Kwon Ju-ah, who had been gazing silently into the distance, finally spoke.
“Being here puts my mind at ease. It feels like I’m free. I’ve been so suffocated. Even breathing felt difficult, but here… here I can actually breathe.”
“Shouldn’t you be writing that in a diary?”
“Should I? You can just be my diary.”
“I’m already stretched thin being Yang Jung-won’s errand boy. Don’t push it.”
Kwon Ju-ah looked at me and asked,
“Can I come here sometimes?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“It’s dangerous, and besides, we’re not even that close… Anyway, no.”
“But I feel so good here…”
Kwon Ju-ah truly loved this place.
She’d been to every supposedly wonderful destination her parents could take her to.
Yet none of them had ever given her this sense of liberation.
So this is what it feels like to truly breathe, she thought.
So this is what it means to escape someone’s gaze, she thought.
After a brief pause, Kwon Ju-ah continued.
“I know I shouldn’t say this, but sometimes I envy you.”
“Me? Why?”
“I live to meet my parents’ expectations. I’ve never even thought about what I want, about my own life. Since childhood, my parents set the goal of medical school for me, and I’ve been walking that path ever since. I can never deviate from it, and I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
“Isn’t this rebellion a bit much for someone like you?”
“This is my first time rebelling like this. I’ve never done anything like it before, but my parents’ schedules conflicted, so they’re both on overseas business trips. They’ll be back tomorrow. So today—just today—I’m free. Can’t you give me just one more hour of this freedom?”
“Fine. I’ll give you an hour.”
“Thank you.”
Kwon Ju-ah took another sip of her coffee.
I watched her profile intently.
They say human life is a comedy from a distance and a tragedy up close.
Kwon Ju-ah, who had always seemed so intelligent, confident, and flawless, now appeared different to me.
She looked exhausted, fragile, and precariously balanced.
I could see how much weight she carried on those small shoulders.
Being close to her,
talking with her, I began to see things that had remained hidden before.
.
.
.
Kwon Ju-ah touched her cheeks, flushed slightly from the warmth of the fire before us.
I hadn’t come here with this intention.
I was genuinely curious about how that gold necklace had vanished so instantaneously.
The method fascinated me.
I’d thought that if I suggested going home and searching for it, she’d be frightened enough to reveal the technique.
That’s what I expected from Kwon Ju-ah.
She was easily frightened, after all.
But I never imagined she would come home with me so willingly,
nor did I expect a single strand of ramen eaten in this place to taste this exquisite.
I hadn’t anticipated that this space itself would be so healing.
Being here, I felt a sense of liberation.
All the constraints that had bound me seemed to dissolve,
and I felt freed from the weight that had been pressing down on me.
The Americano I usually drank without thinking had today loosened Kwon Ju-ah’s innermost thoughts.
Though the words spilled out haphazardly, this was the first time I’d ever shared such genuine feelings with anyone.
I couldn’t speak like this even to Ji Min-seo, my closest friend.
We’d casually labeled each other as best friends, but we’d never truly opened our hearts.
Yet with this person before me, it felt like I could say anything.
It felt like I’d found a new hideaway.
It felt like I’d made a new friend.
*******
I still hadn’t spent the three million won I’d received as settlement money.
After charging my transit card, was it two million nine hundred ninety thousand won?
Whenever money came in, I was busy buying food, but since I could get everything I needed from the Mart, there was barely any reason to spend it.
Wondering what to do with this money, I decided to learn combat sports.
Shouldn’t I at least escape this shuttle role before graduating high school?
There were many options—judo, jiu-jitsu, boxing, MMA—but I chose boxing.
I vaguely remembered reading somewhere that boxing was the best for street fights.
It was only natural that I, a nobody, would choose boxing.
When I registered at the Boxing Gym, they gave me a jump rope.
I spent endless hours jumping rope and learned the jab.
I practiced the jab repeatedly in front of the mirror.
The Boxing Gym had its perks—I could shower there.
Back home, the water didn’t run, so I’d just rinse off hastily at the Public Restroom, but here I could use warm water as much as I wanted.
Plus, there were no time restrictions on training.
Every day after School ended, I headed straight to the Boxing Gym.
I’d stretch, jump rope, practice jabs, one-twos, and hooks, then do some basic strength training.
I could feel my stamina improving.
The gym owner and coaches would pat my shoulder and tell me I was doing well.
It was the first time anyone had ever praised me for anything, and it felt incredible.
I wanted to do better, to work harder.
For two months straight, I didn’t miss a single day at the gym.
I’d usually train for two hours, sometimes three.
That day, I was doing shadow boxing intently in front of the mirror when—
“In-bae, you’ve improved a lot.”
“Thank you. It’s because you teach so well, sir.”
“Now that I think about it, you seem taller? And you’ve put on some muscle too.”
“Really?”
“Want me to measure you?”
“Sure.”
I’d vaguely sensed something had changed, but had I actually grown taller?
The measurement showed 176 centimeters.
I’d been 170 at the physical exam in early spring, so I’d grown six centimeters in nearly ten months.
I thought I was done growing, but gaining height felt wonderful.
I’d noticed my height increasing gradually lately, and apparently it was real.
Whether it was because I’d been malnourished and was finally eating well thanks to my Inventory, or—
Whether my growth plates were stimulated by the exercise I’d started doing, I couldn’t say.
I didn’t know the reason,
but it had to be one of those two.
Eager to grow even taller, I resolved to push harder at both.
I ate better,
moved more,
and trained harder.
Before long, winter break arrived.
In the past, I would have dreaded winter break.
It was cold and hungry season.
But now it was fine.
I had my Inventory.
After Kwon Ju-ah showed me the charm of camping,
I visited large Marts, Warehouse-type Marts, and camping specialty shops to stock up on gear.
Our Home life wasn’t so different from camping anyway.
No electricity, no running water, no gas.
Plus, it’s a mountain. This is camping.
Before, I focused on practicality, but after Kwon Ju-ah visited, I switched to more emotionally appealing products with superior designs.
I watched YouTube and found so many excellent product reviews.
I continued earning money bit by bit.
When I stole pens from the Stationery Store, they weren’t particularly popular,
but camping equipment sold quite well.
Especially tents—they were expensive enough that the profits were decent.
With money in hand, my thoughts kept wandering.
I didn’t want to squander it recklessly.
I could always store necessary items in my inventory anyway.
I wanted to learn something with the money.
Academics were out of the question.
I couldn’t do it anyway, and I didn’t want to.
Boxing was enough for exercise.
If I ever wanted to learn another sport, I’d consider it only after reaching a certain level in boxing.
At that point, I might want to learn MMA or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
But not now.
Boxing is sufficient for now.
That’s when the thought struck me—what if I learned a foreign language?
Even if I can’t do academics, a foreign language isn’t a bad idea.
As a kid, I was so envious of those who spoke English well.
Maybe I could even use my inventory ability more effectively.
It’s a global era, after all.
So I enrolled in an English Academy.
The registration fee was steep.
I wondered if I’d made a mistake.
But the textbooks were in PDF format, they said.
I’d need a laptop or tablet.
What? Can’t I just scribble on paper?
It didn’t matter.
I could just go to an electronics store and take one.
I walked confidently into the electronics store.
Huh? That won’t work?
At the Warehouse-type Mart and large department stores, these electronics weren’t displayed openly;
you had to ask an employee to bring them out.
There were display models, of course, but taking one would be too obvious.
I had no choice but to buy a tablet.
I bought a stylus too.
It cost a lot of money.
Enrolling in an English Academy while living in a house with no electricity.
A tablet for studying English, of all things.
I didn’t quite understand it myself, but seeing myself actually doing something gave me a strange sense of accomplishment.
Grammar, vocabulary—none of that interested me.
As long as I could communicate, that was enough.
I focused my studies on conversation.
But studying English turned out to be more fun than I expected.
I was starting to think buying the tablet was a good decision.
Watching YouTube made English feel easier.
During the day when the Boxing Gym was quiet, I’d go work out,
then stop by the Academy for English lessons,
take the bus or subway to a Warehouse-type Mart to pick up what I needed,
and return Home to watch videos—that was my daily routine during the break.
I could honestly say I spent my vacation productively.

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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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