Episode 10
#5 Black Market (4)
Dr. Geum took off his thick, round glasses that were obscuring his view. His sharp eyes, hidden behind the glasses, were revealed. Despite his nickname of 'mad scientist,' Dr. Geum's eyes were filled with a sharp intelligence.
That guy who came by a little while ago, calling himself a fortune teller.
I didn't believe everything that guy said. He can see the future? And with a power like that, this is where he ends up?
He didn't seem to be lying, which made it even more suspicious.
Baek Do-san? He came to save that guy?
No way.
'As far as I know, nobody's got any love for that guy. Maybe an enemy would come looking for him, but that's it.'
But if that guy really said those words out of goodwill to save Baek Do-san, and if that prophecy is really true.
'I should give him a good reward.'
Even if it's just me, his friend, making up for that cheapskate.
* * *
Score!
I got my ID tag removed for free, and I scored a decent fake ID to use for a while. Talk about lucky!
'And who knows, maybe the future will change.'
Baek Do-san was a key player for Seol Rok-jin. Unlike me – I was just Seol Rok-jin's lapdog – Baek Do-san was a real asset to him.
I wanted to spill the beans about Seol Rok-jin's powers and tell him not to meet that guy, but that'd be going too far.
This is perfect.
Dr. Geum keeps his mouth shut, so he won't go blabbing about me.
'Still, I better switch up my identity again before anyone starts sniffing around.'
If he actually believes I can see the future, I could get snatched up any second.
Even if Dr. Geum is tight-lipped, he might spill to Baek Do-san.
I just hope he doesn't repay me for saving him from Seol Rok-jin by turning on me.
Anyway, since I saved some cash, I might as well grab some hunter gear while I'm here.
My biggest problem is that I can't attack monsters directly. That's why I couldn't become a hunter.
But if I can just clear that gate... somehow, I'll figure something out.
As I was thinking about that and heading towards the place that sold equipment,
I heard a sound like a beast roaring.
A monster? I jumped, but everyone else around me was calm. Their calmness jogged an old memory.
Oh yeah, 'that place' was nearby, wasn't it? I frowned. Years ago, back when I was still running errands for Seol Rok-jin, I came here to buy 'something'.
The memory was so awful that my feet felt like lead.
The clanging of iron bars, the roaring of beasts, and the busy chatter of people grew closer.
I know I'm no saint, having just ripped off my ID tag to dodge the government, but these guys are on a whole other level of messed up.
Kidnapping young Awakeners, messing with their bodies, and selling them off – I don't even want to call these scumbags human.
I peeked inside the makeshift wall.
Inside the iron cages meant for huge beasts, there were kids – not even adults, barely teenagers – locked up with ID tags like the one I used to have.
The collars on those kids were way more brutal than the one the government had slapped on me.
The people buying and selling other human beings inside the makeshift wall had the nerve to look serious.
What's messed up is, most of the people handing over tokens in front of the wall looked totally normal.
Shouldn't people with such twisted minds look monstrous on the outside? That way, everyone could spot their sick thoughts from a mile away and steer clear.
I clicked my tongue to myself.
I wanted to bust those innocent kids out of there, but with the cash I had, I couldn't even buy a stick of gum.
What was I even doing here if I couldn't do anything? Shaking my head, I picked up the pace,
The makeshift wall in front of me crumbled, and a black shape burst out.
"Damn it!"
"I told you! Don't provoke it!"
The black shape burst out of the wall, which shattered like a cheap toy. People screamed and scattered.
The shape – or rather, the guy who'd broken through the wall – growled at everything around him.
Every time he moved, the chain holding him clattered on the floor. Guys who finally came running out from behind the wall tried to grab the chain, but he moved like a wild animal, dodging them every time.
People freaked out even more at his movements – he was moving on all fours, like some kind of animal.
Watching him move, it hit me: four legs are faster than two.
Anyway, he was darting around, dodging people left and right, way too fast for the guys who came out to catch him. They just stood there looking lost.
"When are you gonna catch him?"
"Yeah! Get it together!"
Customers and even the shop owners nearby started yelling at the guys, but this dude was slippery.
"You said he was collared? What are you waiting for? Hit the button!"
"We're already juicing him as much as we can!"
Like the guys said, sparks were flying from the collar around his neck – pzzzt. You could see the electricity arcing; enough to fry a person to a crisp, but this guy was stubbornly holding on.
His face, all scabs and grime, was mostly hidden by his shaggy hair, but from what I could see – the soft jawline, the peach fuzz still on his skin – he looked like he was barely in his late teens, if that.
Of course, that was just his face. His body was massive, bigger than most grown men. He was practically naked, so you couldn't miss his bulging muscles.
"Shit."
Our eyes met.
Just my luck – I was trying to get out of there like everyone else, and this guy locks eyes with me, looking all desperate, like he's begging me to save him.
I flinched back without even thinking.
That's when it happened.
Thwack, a dart hit him.
It wasn't just one dart. Two, three more slammed into him, one after another. And just like that, the guy who'd been shrugging off the electricity started to go down.
"Whoa!"
Everyone around started yelling.
"Damn, finally."
A guy in a white coat came out from behind the wall, slumping his shoulders and bowing to everyone around.
"Sorry about that, folks. Didn't mean for you to see that."
"That's the second time this month!"
"Sorry, we've had a lot of fresh ones come in lately."
"Yeah, well, those new ones are feisty."
Seems like slaves busting out of that place wasn't exactly rare. Everyone was acting like it was no big deal.
"Still, he's got spirit, so he might be useful. Breaking a guy like that won't be easy, though."
"True enough. But those are the ones that are worth it in the end, right?"
Even while people were talking about him like he was a piece of meat, the guy was still conscious, fighting it. Even after they hit him with enough tranquilizer to knock out a horse, he was trying to stay awake. The dude had some serious willpower.
But finally, he couldn't fight it anymore, and he collapsed face-first on the floor. Watching the guy still twitching, a man licked his lips and said,
"When's he going back on the market?"
"Yeah! He looks like he'd be good on stage."
"If you put him on stage, let me know. I wouldn't miss that for the world."
Because of that whole escape mess, the guy had drawn some seriously unwanted attention. Tsk, tsk, I was thinking,
"Hey, you interested in our merchandise?"
Suddenly, someone spoke to me, and I jumped, looking over.
A guy in his early 30s with dark brown shades was grinning at me.
I gulped and gave him an awkward smile.
"Uh, no. I was just passing by and stopped to watch the commotion."
"You were checking out our merchandise pretty closely for someone just passing by. Interested? We've got even better stuff inside."
"Nah, I'm good."
I turned him down and started to walk away,
The guys lifted up the unconscious kid. His matted hair fell to the side, and when I finally saw his face, my jaw dropped.
"……!"
I know that guy.
'Kim Jae-ho?'
What's he doing here? No, wait, of course. He's the one I bought from this place on Seol Rok-jin's orders.
Before Seol Rok-jin got his hands on him, this guy had a rap sheet a mile long. They said he'd bitten his previous owners so many times that his contracts were ripped up.
I heard he was a real problem child here until Seol Rok-jin messed with his head and turned him into a loyal meat shield.
'Still, what are the odds of running into him today?'
Was this some kind of twisted fate?
I hesitated for a second.
Should I grab him now?
Kim Jae-ho was an Awakener who could melt into shadows. Nobody was better at taking out enemies quietly.
If I was going to go up against Seol Rok-jin, I needed weapons. Kim Jae-ho was exactly the talent I needed.
But how?
Unlike Seol Rok-jin, who could completely dominate the guy's mind with brainwashing, my ability is just being good at lying.
Even if I emptied my entire fortune, no, even if I invested more than that to 'buy' that guy, could I tame him?
But the guy hasn't completely lost his humanity yet. Maybe it's time to play the 'savior' once.
After organizing my thoughts, I asked the man.
"I'm just curious, but how much is that guy from earlier?"
At my words, the man opened his mouth in a tone that was unexpectedly like giving advice.
"You'd better buy something proper than that kind of thing. As you can see, that one is defective."
"I think it would be fun to tame him, just like people said. And he doesn't seem to break easily."
I twisted the corners of my mouth into a smile. Since I have a rather fierce impression, this expression would probably make me look quite mean.
At my face, the man grinned and said.
"500 million."
At those words, my mouth snapped shut.
Kim Jae-ho, you bastard.
You're more expensive than I thought.
* * *
In the end, I couldn't buy Kim Jae-ho that day. But one fortunate thing was that that guy wouldn't be properly sold to anyone for the next three years either.
He's destined to become dead stock here, stuck in place.
So, I just need to come pick him up within the next three years.
The concept of buying and selling people is disgusting, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?
After a few returns, he'll probably be sold off at a discount, so I should aim for then.
Well then, shall I go look at some other merchandise?
There's a gate I need to conquer, after all.
