I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 73

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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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073-Regrouping
73.
Boredom.
I’d only taken a single day off, yet boredom gnawed at me.
The tedium was so suffocating that I actually considered calling Dae-hoon over.
Yet I endured it well.
In fact, I savored the monotony.
I set my smartphone aside, left the television dark,
and instead indulged in contemplation while gazing at the landscape.
When would another day like this come around?
What, should I just return to the Philippines if I’m this bored?
I suppose I could, but right now I need rest.
I accomplished far too much in the Philippines.
I’m truly not an ambitious person by nature.
But when you’re working, certain matters simply cannot be overlooked.
I only intended to cover the basics, yet the work kept expanding.
Those people kept bringing me more tasks.
And the peculiar thing about the Filipinos is that they manage perfectly well on their own most days,
yet the moment I arrive, they ask me about every single detail.
Sandro, Dennis, Ana, Simon—they all perform excellently, yet they consult me the instant I’m present.
Even Manager Kang has started asking me for my input now.
What do I know about interior design?
I simply offer praise. “Well done. Magnificent. Excellent. Thumbs up.”
The only person who doesn’t ask me is Lim Yu-na.
But whenever I say anything to her, her face flushes crimson, making it seem like I’m scolding her.
Conversation with her feels awkward.
In any case, the Philippines now runs smoothly without me.
The systems have settled into place, one might say.
All I need to do is make the crucial decisions.
Everything else operates on its own momentum.
Of course, another traitor like Manager Nam will inevitably emerge,
but there’s nothing to be done about that.
As I’ve always said, betrayal and greed are fundamental to human nature.
They’re not traits that reason can overcome.
Does that mean I should treat everyone as a potential traitor and conduct my affairs accordingly?
That would be far more unrealistic.
If I operate under the assumption that everyone will betray me, I’ll never accomplish anything properly.
Instead, I trust, delegate, and judge based on results later.
That’s my standard.
I refuse to live in perpetual suspicion of someone, anxiously wondering if they might betray me.
I’m not doing this for that person—I’m doing it for myself.
When you start hating someone and doubting them, it’s not their world that becomes hell, but your own.
For now, I choose to trust.
So I’ll stay here in Seoul for a while and take time to reassess the situation in the Philippines.
I’m planning to conduct a comprehensive review of all my operations.
Until now, I’ve kept strict boundaries between each territory, preventing any crossover.
But this election has torn down all those walls.
Sandro has built a relationship with Dennis.
Ana has started working at Candy Tour.
Because of this, I had to recheck my operations in the Philippines.
This time, not as a player, but as a spectator.
I want to observe from a distance.
You see the game better when you step back, and you can offer guidance more clearly.
When I think of it as someone else’s problem, everything becomes easier.
It’s only difficult when I think of it as mine.
That’s why I’m planning this from Seoul, not the Philippines.
Seoul is a logical city.
There’s another reason too.
Part of me has been thinking of this as an internal vacation.
When I left the Philippines, I wanted to clear my head and refresh my spirit, you could say.
I’m not sure how many more days I’ll stay, but I’m planning to remain for at least a week.
.
.
.
I enjoyed the hotel staycation, but ultimately boredom won out.
The hotel room began to feel slightly suffocating.
Let me go out.
Let me have a beer at the Hotel Bar.
As I headed down to the Hotel Bar, it felt odd to eat there after coming all this way, so I decided to go out instead.
South Korea is safe, and people speak my language well—there’s no need to stay cooped up in the hotel.
The weather was nice, and as I walked a bit, I came upon a Commercial District.
But why are there so many academies here?
Everywhere I look, there’s nothing but academies.
Even the street name is Academy Street.
My desire for a beer faded.
Seeing young students in school uniforms stirred old memories, and I felt an inexplicable urge to buy them snacks.
Without thinking, I entered a Convenience Store and bought bread and drinks.
Instinctively, I scanned the price tags, trying to match exactly 2,000 won.
I didn’t have to do it, but I wanted to.
But I failed.
The Convenience Store was far more expensive than the School Canteen, far more expensive than my memories.
Come to think of it, it’s been over seven years since I graduated high school.
Prices have risen considerably in that time.
I picked up a cheap loaf of bread that looked appropriately stale and a carton of milk.
The bread and milk I used to buy every single day when I was Yang Jung-won’s shuttle.
If I eat this, will I be able to feel what Yang Jung-won felt?
Will I gain a sense of superiority?
Is this some kind of magical potion?
I decided to buy it and try it out of curiosity.
Holding the bread and milk awkwardly, I headed toward the register, but the moment I turned the corner, I felt a sharp impact.
A woman who looked like a university student had collided with me.
She had a kind face.
The kind of face that suggested she’d never commit a sin in her entire life.
She didn’t fall, but the impact was enough to make her let out a small cry.
“Oh!!”
“Are you okay? I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t see you either.”
“That was quite a hard collision. Don’t you think you should go to the Hospital?”
“Why would I go to the Hospital over something like this? I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Then I’ll be going. I’m late for a meeting.”
The student said that and left, and I made my way out after paying for the bread and milk.
On the Convenience Store floor.
I noticed something lying on the spot where we’d collided.
A pink pouch smaller than the palm of my hand.
Ah, I shouldn’t do this… but I’m curious.
I could just pick it up and tell the clerk to find the owner… but I can’t do that.
I’m curious about what’s inside.
After a moment of deliberation, I decided to satisfy my curiosity and then turn it in at the counter.
That way, I solve my curiosity and the girl gets her pouch back.
That’s a win-win, isn’t it?
Admiring myself, I sat down on a plastic chair in front of the Convenience Store.
Between the bread and the pouch, I chose the pouch first.
When it comes to choosing, the fun and good things always come first.
Saving it for later just ruins it.
Of course, I can just put it in my inventory.
My inventory doesn’t spoil.
I carefully grasped the zipper of the pink pouch.
I felt like I was committing a crime.
It’s not like I’m trying to steal it.
I’m just checking the contents to find it, that’s all.
Making excuses to myself, I unzipped the pouch.
Why am I trembling like this?
It feels like I’m opening someone else’s privacy, their secrets.
Zip—the pink pouch opens.
Inside the pink pouch were an ID card, one card, 21,000 won in cash,
and several candies smaller than fingernails in a ziplock bag.
An ID, a card, and cash.
Just an utterly ordinary wallet? Or pouch.
Nothing special.
But those candies.
Why do they feel so familiar?
Like I’ve seen them somewhere before?
Are they candies I ate as a child?
It’s impossible I had candies like that as a child, so I’ll exclude that possibility for now.
I concentrated hard, trying to remember.
The memory hovered on the edge of my mind but wouldn’t surface.
It only frustrated me more.
Ah! I remember now.
I saw them when I was in Macau.
Candies with medicinal ingredients, supposedly.
Marian told me they were popular in Thailand.
Now I remember.
I recall they came in several flavors, so why are they in this pouch?
Surely not.
And on a university student, no less?
There are so many candies with similar designs,
so I might have misidentified them, or my memory could be wrong.
I’m foolish, and my memory isn’t good.
So my recollection must be mistaken.
I stopped thinking beyond that point.
I had to prevent my thoughts from spiraling.
I felt like I needed to do something else.
I had to redirect my attention elsewhere.
So I started eating the bread and milk.
Something I had to do anyway.
I chewed the dry-looking bread, but I couldn’t taste anything.
I felt nothing at all.
It was bread I’d chosen with such determination to understand Yang Jung-won’s feelings, yet I’d failed.
This bread couldn’t make me Yang Jung-won.
The milk was no different.
It only relieved the dryness in my mouth slightly.
But why did I need to use the bathroom at this crucial moment?
I asked the Convenience Store Clerk where the restroom was.
The clerk frowned and pointed me toward the bathroom.
It’s annoying—and I’m not even going for that.
On my way out of the restroom.
I spotted that Female University Student from earlier bolting away from the Convenience Store toward somewhere.
She must have come looking for the pouch while I was in the bathroom, didn’t find it, and just left.
Of course it’s not at the Convenience Store.
I have it.
If I leave the pouch at the Convenience Store now, I’ll be late.
Besides, leaving a pouch full of mysterious candies at the Convenience Store feels wrong.
If I hadn’t seen it, that would be one thing.
I started running after the Female University Student.
She ran at a quick pace while scanning the ground, searching for the pouch.
She headed toward a Study Cafe.
In front of the Study Cafe, three or four young men and women in their early twenties with laptops and tablets were searching for something nearby,
and the Female University Student I’d collided with joined them.
They were the kind of university students you’d see anywhere.
Fresh and youthful.
“It’s not here. I think I lost it.”
“Really? Look again.”
“I had it until the Convenience Store. I think I dropped it when we bumped into each other, but I checked and it’s not there.”
“What about on the way back?”
“I searched everywhere. It’s not there.”
“This is bad. My ID is in there too.”
“Yeah. I put it in the pouch because I didn’t have anywhere else to put it. This is really bad.”
“It’ll be fine. It’s just candy anyway. People won’t know. It’ll just pass by.”
“You think so?”
“Of course. We didn’t even think it was medicine.”
“Right?”
“Haha. It’d be hilarious if some idiot turned it in to the Police.”
One of the guys with them, oblivious to the mood, laughed as he spoke.
The Female University Student I’d collided with reacted sharply to his words.
“What are you saying, you idiot? The Police would just think it’s candy and move on. Why would they investigate further? And if I get caught by the Police, do you think I’d take the fall alone? You think I’d be the only one blamed? You moron.”
“What?”
“Of course I’d say you were involved too.”
“You crazy bitch. Just try that. I’ll—”
“That’s why instead of cursing, go find the pouch, you idiot. Stop loitering here!!”
“Why are you forgetting and raising your voice at me?”
“Is that important right now? Finding the pouch is what matters. We need to put out the fire first. You don’t understand priorities. I have no idea how someone like you got accepted to a major corporation.”
“Fine. Let’s look for the pouch first. It’s a pink pouch, right?”
Hearing their conversation, my hopes that the candies were of a similar design crumbled.
My memory was accurate.
I wasn’t stupid, and my memory wasn’t poor.
I’d considered quietly turning the pouch over to the police.
But then they’d ask where I found it, who found it, and if drugs turned up, things would get complicated.
I’d abandoned the idea of reporting it as a lost item to avoid getting tangled up in unnecessary trouble.
I despise complications.
Still, I had to find the owner.
I walked toward them.
The Female University Student recognized me.
“Oh? Sir, what are you doing here?”
“Is this what you forgot?”
I showed her the pink pouch.
“What? Why do you have this? Give it back, please.”
“I will. But before I do, I have a few questions.”
“What questions? Did you… open it?”
“I did.”
“Why would you open someone else’s belongings like that? It’s personal property.”
“I had to open it to find out who it belonged to and return it. I don’t have psychic abilities, though I have other talents.”
“What are you talking about? Just give it back.”
“But where did those candies come from?”
“Huh? I just bought them at the Mart. I eat one whenever my blood sugar drops.”
“Is that so? My blood sugar’s dropping too. Mind if I have one? After I eat it, we’ll take a trip to the Police Station.”
“What the hell are you saying? Why would you eat candy and go to the Police Station?”
The Female University Student reacted irritably to my mention of eating the candy and immediately spat out a curse.
The kind face I’d seen earlier vanished without a trace.
“‘Officer, I found a pouch with a candy inside, and I feel great. Can you help me find the owner?’ How about that? There’s an ID card in here too, and the name is···”
“Damn it.”
“I know what this is. How about we both get what we want cleanly and go our separate ways?”
“What do you want? If you have questions, ask them quickly. I need to go to Study Cafe.”
“Where did the candies come from?”
“Um···”
“Police Station?”
When I acted as if I really would go, the Female University Student hesitated before spilling out words like machine-gun fire.
“There are people selling these. A lot of them. They sell them as jellies and candies that improve concentration. I bet a lot of people preparing for employment around here are eating these.”
“Really?”
I was genuinely surprised.
I thought these people were special, but I had no idea so many people were using them.
“Yes. At first, friends just gave me one to try. Then I noticed my concentration improved when studying after eating it, so I asked that friend where I could buy the candy.”
“And then?”
“They gave me a messenger ID.”
“Did you know this was a drug when you took it?”
“I didn’t know at first, but I know now… they said it only has a very, very tiny bit of drug components? They said it’s only illegal in our country—it’s legal everywhere else. They sell it at Marts too. Said there’s no problem… but could you let me go? I’m late for Study Cafe time.”
“Fine, go.”
I handed over the pouch.
She disappeared like she was fleeing the moment she took it.
I’d given it to her without the candy.
She didn’t even check.
She’s exactly the type to get scammed anywhere.
But is this right?
University students doing drugs?
And for the reason of better concentration.
That sweet-looking Female University Student didn’t seem to be taking the candy because she wanted to use drugs.
She wanted to get into a good company.
To succeed at job hunting, which is said to be difficult,
isn’t she just trying to do whatever it takes?
That Female University Student is struggling desperately.
She’s trying to survive in this society by any means.
It’s just that her method is a bit wrong,
and aren’t money-obsessed bastards selling drugs by holding the desperation of job seekers hostage?
No matter how good money is,
there are plenty of assholes who would do anything for money.
But isn’t this crossing a line?
Feeding drugs to young sprouts.
If things continue like this, when I return to Seoul to live, won’t it have become a city of drug dealers?
The situation is far more serious than I thought.
Though I haven’t stayed in Seoul for long, this doesn’t feel right.
Drugs seem to have penetrated too deeply.
I remembered the peaceful Han River.
I hope this Seoul doesn’t fall apart.
It seems like some countermeasure is necessary.
I spoke to Dae-hoon while we had dinner.
“Dae-hoon. We need to take care of Seoul.”

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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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