“Mini sent a dropkick, and mini Seong Hyunjae rolled away to dodge, then landed and hooked my leg to knock over” — below, the contents of the panel appeared. “Co to think of it, it’s the sa as with Seong Hyunjae. Even if sothing bad cos up this ti, I won’t feel as cheated.
[All your hard work has paid off and your business is booming! Nobody in the industry doesn’t know your na!]
Ping, ping! Little fireworks popped as the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) ssage window glittered. Wow, that’s really great, a nice bonus.
“I apologize for not recognizing you!”
“I will follow Yujin Freight unconditionally!”
The gunders bowed their heads to in a line. Wait a minute. I never planned to beco a mafia boss. I’d thought I’d shake down these bloodsuckers while reclaiming my stuff, but...
Hey, system! I wanted to be a bounty hunter or sothing like that! Why are these jerks pledging loyalty to !
“The new king of the East!”
I won’t be. I haven’t always lived with a clear conscience, but at least I never picked the pockets of weaker people. If I borrowed from soone against their will, I returned it with interest. I only shook down people whose consciences wouldn’t suffer much — or who’d attacked first.
But since things have co to this...
“Bring all your ledgers.”
Ti for so cleaning up.
“This lunatic just took over soone’s shop? He really is the mafia, you gunder bastard!”
“Did you build the road or maintain it? You wouldn’t even pick up a stray can, so what gives you the right to collect tolls? Give it all back!”
“‘Protection fee’ my ass. If you didn’t fight, there’d be nothing to protect!”
“Don’t strong-arm us! Doubling up on retail prices like in a grocery store?”
“You’re smuggling every ridiculous thing under the sun. It’s illegal—pay your taxes!”
If Manager Song saw now, he’d be proud. This is the model citizen of a rule-of-law country.
Even if this isn’t the real world, I can’t stand seeing villains exploit ordinary people for success. Besides, there’s Yerim, Yuhyun, and Noah—all still young. And Riette... doesn’t seem like soone who’d prey on the less fortunate. She looks like she’d eat people, but...
‘Even if it’s fake, this still feels wrong.’
After everything I’ve been through, I can’t just toss ethics and morality aside and run wild. The gunders got what they deserved. Look at the weapons they’ve stockpiled. Plenty must’ve been victims.
“Honey~ The Northern Union is sending congratulations—what should we do?”
“Tell them politely to get lost.”
I have no intention of joining forces with them. I glanced at the sunlit panoramic window and yawned softly. Yuhyun, who was sitting beside checking the ledgers, shot a worried look.
“Hyung, you should go upstairs and sleep now.”
“I’m fine. I’ll finish sorting this out and then catch so shut-eye.”
We were in the house of the biggest gunder gang boss around here. The owner had been blasted far away. Just look at the garden—doesn’t it all look like the sweat and blood of ordinary people?
“You really stayed up all night?”
Yerim, who had gone upstairs saying she needed to sleep so she could relieve , ca back down the stairs. I also spotted Noah.
“I want to help, too... Is there much left?”
“No, we’re almost done.”
“But sir, if you return everything, won’t it be hard for us to win the bet? I think we should keep a little. Look at this.”
Yerim turned on the TV mounted on the study wall. As she flipped through channels, an ad played.
[Welco!]
Mari, wearing a bright dress, smiled and greeted viewers. Two huge Chinese woks appeared in her hands, and flas flared up. What is this ad?
“Mari unni has beco super popular. She’s now a chef in a glamorous suit.”
The channel changed to a studio shot of Mari.
[This is the dress made for Mr. So-ryeongdang yesterday! Perfect, right?]
[Wow, not a single drop of sauce splattered!]
[It’s so white and fluffy! Amazing skills!]
...Why do they gauge cooking skills by how clean soone’s clothes are? Cleanliness is important for a good chef, sure, but that’s more like a stunt than cooking.
[Se-sung’s food is famous for being delicious, too.]
[Yes. It’s made with the owner’s recipe. The nu changes every single day~]
Footage showed the Se-sung Restaurant building and Seong Hyunjae. Impressive, but one restaurant alone can’t make that much money—anyone could follow that model...
[It’s said that billionaire Mr. Mia-m, moved by Chef Seong Hyunjae’s cuisine, invested a huge sum to open a franchise.]
[They say all the buildings around Se-sung belong to Chef Seong Hyunjae. As an investnt in revitalizing the street, the value has more than doubled.]
Hmm...
“The gap must be pretty big.”
Even with a dice buff, he left this place less than a week ago, and already franchises? And buildings? Did he buy them with the initial billion won he got? And now they’ve doubled?
“Don’t worry. I’ve got it all thought out.”
I didn’t want to bring in black money in this world, but our world matters too. So.
“Good afternoon, boss~”
Se-sung was on break. The restaurant was empty of custors. Normally I wouldn’t sit on a table, but just for today I perched on the tabletop and crossed my legs. Riette blocked the doorway, Yuhyun and Noah stood on either side of . Yerim, who should’ve been waiting in the car, had quietly followed and was peeking from behind . Yerim, I told you not to co.
“Mr. Han Yujin! I got a regular program!”
Mari greeted warmly. She was still in a dress. It turned out that in this town, formal wear ant lavish dresses for everyone. The more frills, lace, and decorations, the more formal. A person in an elaborate dress who moved gracefully and swiftly earned praise.
“Congratulations, Ms. Mari.”
I nodded as I returned Mari’s greeting. I saw Seong Hyunjae descending slowly from the second floor. Samir erged from the kitchen too.
“You cut off our deal without a word—what’s this about?”
“Let introduce myself properly.”
I took a chocolate cigarette from my breast pocket.
“As of today, I, Yujin Freight, am in charge of the East District.”
Sweet. I bit off the end of the chocolate cigarette and smiled at Seong Hyunjae. I don’t plan to fleece ordinary people in this town, but you’re neither ordinary nor a civilian, so I’ll make use of your forr temporary position.
“Mr. Seong, you started a business here but never even said hello.”
Seong Hyunjae slowly curled the corner of his lips. Mari tilted her head in confusion, and Samir leaned in to whisper an explanation.
“You really didn’t recognize .”
“Let properly greet you, then.”
He raised his hand and spread his five fingers.
“I’ll take exactly fifty percent. Half of the profits you’ve made since starting this business.”
Wow, he’s leaving a lot. I peeled back the wrapper and snapped off a piece of the chocolate. I gave the remaining half back to Yuhyun. You shouldn’t eat too much sugar.
“From now on, I’ll only take thirty percent.”
How considerate. Seong Hyunjae strode toward . His polished shoes clicked on the glossy floor.
“My dear Mr. Han Yujin.”
He bowed to , and at the sa mont I raised a revolver to the underside of his chin. It was an ordinary gun with a small caliber—it wouldn’t even scratch him if I fired—but still.
“To honor our history, I’ll arrange employnt for you. Conveniently, the restaurant is short on cleaners. A housekeeper wouldn’t go amiss, either. Your house is huge.”
“Our house is big but we only have a truck and a potted plant to guard.”
“What about the villa?”
“I sold it. It had gone up in value thanks to you, after all.”
It wasn’t nearby, but in the sa district, so it was affected. With so many abandoned houses in the East, there’s no need to cram into a cramped villa.
“Given your line of work, it’s not unfair, right? You’re in a job where you can rob and destroy things.”
I’ll just rob Seong Hyunjae and wash my hands of it.
“We’ve renegotiated regular tribute. You can hand over five hundred thousand.”
I’ll use that to start a new venture. Before I knew it, Mari was holding a giant frying pan. Samir had a kitchen knife in hand. If a fight broke out here, it’d only hurt them.
Seong Hyunjae straightened his back and prepared to speak as he looked down at —
[If a business dispute arises between participants, the outco is decided by dice!]
The ssage popped up. Why again? Why dice!
“Board gas usually do that.”
“Damn it!”
Maybe I should just run. No, I’ve got nothing to lose. I have to do this!
[The higher dice roll wins!]
A white and black die appeared. Seong Hyunjae picked up his die first. Could it really be another six? It was six monts ago. Please, please, please...
[1!]
“Yes!”
I definitely win! It’s a one! Even a two would have beaten him! Grinning from ear to ear, I picked up my die.
“Exactly half. Prepare it.”
[1!]
“I’m screwed!”
Yerim and Mari gasped in amazent. Riette burst into giggles. Hey, you’re on my team. Yuhyun and Noah awkwardly tried to console . Seong Hyunjae casually scooped up the dice with elegant fingers.
“Since it’s a tie, I’ll roll again.”
“How do you roll a one here? How!”
This is ridiculous. Why a one? They must be rigged... But Seong Hyunjae threw the die without rcy.
[5!]
...Everyone, never gamble. Don’t leave your life to chance. I’m sorry, guys.
[Team Honey is arrested by the police! Do not resist!]
“It’s the police!”
Police cars appeared in an instant in front of the restaurant. Police balloons sward in and entered the restaurant.
“Are you alright?”
An officer asked Seong Hyunjae as he pulled out handcuffs.
“Thank you for the quick response. I was very frightened, so this is a relief.”
Seong Hyunjae said shalessly. Then he held out his hand to .
“I’ll always make room for Mr. Han Yujin, so if you ever change your mind, contact .”
I hurled the revolver I’d been holding with all my might. It pinged off Seong Hyunjae’s chest and clattered to the floor. The police, in a fuss, handcuffed my wrist.
“Don’t cuff the kids! I’m the boss!”
“Yeah! My brother is kind and handso!”
And so we were hauled off to the police station. They threw us in a cell and the door slamd shut. Oh, my life.
“I was trying to do the right thing... I’m sorry.”
“No, hyung. It was a good plan. You just had unlucky dice rolls.”
Why did I roll a one there? If only it hadn’t been a one. I could’ve taken Seong Hyunjae’s fortune and started anew—why a one, why! How!
“Can we resist now? Shall we deal with the police and escape?”
Yerim snapped her handcuffs apart and said it. It would be easy to get out, but...
“Yerim, even if this is a world made for bets and we’ve turned into balloon dolls, these are still people. The gunders attacked first, they kill and steal, but the police are a different matter. In the end, it’s our fault.”
“I know, but it just felt like a ga.”
That much is true. Being balloon dolls probably made it feel more like a carnival shooting gallery.
“If it were truly like a ga where you only did what you were allowed, it’d be better—but these balloons aren’t people. They’re not alive like us. If we beco desensitized like this, we’ll end up like transcendentals playing conquer-the-world with real people’s lives.”
“Ugh, I don’t like that.”
Even transcendentals didn’t start by sacrificing people thoughtlessly. They only got numb over ti. Then they’d think, ‘Hey, the people down there are just like us,’ and beco newcors. Though so were strange from the start.
“Riette, be careful, too.”
“I usually leave weaklings alone~. Yerim, whatever world we’re in, it’s best to spare ordinary people. It’s easier for us.”
“Huh, easier? It’s a hassle to get arrested if you ss up.”
“That’s one thing. If everyone’s gone, I’d have to find food myself, build a house myself, carry water myself! Water doesn’t gush from a tap. How annoying would that be. So it’s nice to protect people who work hard at living.”
Riette’s strange words made sense. Not that killing people is morally wrong, but rather that if people disappeared, life gets inconvenient for . A completely different perspective. And Yuhyun—
‘He doesn’t even see the difference between balloon dolls and people.’
Yerim’s inability to distinguish them was obvious. To Yuhyun, they’re the sa. Just a bit tougher than non-awakened humans, and they vanish cleanly when killed.
“Well, we can’t stay here. Let’s go.”
We slipped out quietly. What next? Need a breakthrough business idea. Noah and Riette pulled out their claws. The thick wall sliced away like paper, revealing the street. A passing balloon stared at us in surprise.
“Hello~”
“Ah, hi.”
“We’re repairing the wall—please watch your step.”
If you act brazenly while repairing sothing, people get used to it and won’t bat an eye. I wondered if our truck was still parked in front of the restaurant and whether Seong Hyunjae had left our Pongpong alone. Walking along the road like strollers instead of escaped criminals, I spotted a poster on the wall.
[Harbor Love Party? Sea routes are the way of life!]
...Politics. Well, I’m already king of the East District.
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