Chapter 124
Chapter 124
I don’t know how much time is left until the end of the world.
If it was my previous life, I would know that there were less than five years left. But the world’s flow has changed slightly because of me.
The proof is that the number of worlds that were not cleared at all has decreased.
‘Maybe the grace period until the apocalypse has gotten longer. Of course, this is too optimistic an observation, so I have to move at least with five years in mind.’
The most important thing is that I told the people of White Flower Management about the future.
I revealed the information about the future that hasn’t happened yet.
It might be a forbidden act in some ways, but I felt relieved after saying it.
I didn’t ignore the threat of secrets leaking out.
I trusted our team members more than that.
It was much better to tell them the truth than to keep everything secret and cause unnecessary misunderstandings and doubts.
“Okay, that’s it for the explanation. Are we done now? I’m going to work.”
“Where do you think you’re going!”
I tried to slip away naturally but was restrained by Kwon Jia.
“Don’t try to sneak away.”
“Ugh. I thought it was natural.”
“…Do you think we’re stupid?”
“No, but this is enough rest, isn’t it?”
“Enough rest? What do you mean by rest? Anyone can see that this is an extension of work.”
How is drawing simple pictures on a whiteboard and explaining the future work!
I wanted to shout that but I couldn’t argue back because of the fierce glares from the three of them.
But I thought I couldn’t give in like this and spat out a timid resistance.
“I think I rested enough.”
“We don’t think so.”
“Ahem. Jia-ssi. Let’s have a serious conversation. This rest is ultimately a matter of personal preference. To someone else, this might be work but to me, this is also rest.”
“But not everyone will accept that. Socially speaking, that’s also work.”
The regressor who was closest to being an anti-social being spouted such an argument?
I was speechless but immediately rebutted.
“No. If that’s work then why don’t you think breathing is work too? Will you stop me from doing that too?”
“If necessary. Do you really think breathing is work?”
…A very fierce answer came back.
Baek Seo-ryeon and Kang Hye-rim were the same.
They looked like they wouldn’t let me go even if I thought breathing was work and would cut off my airway.
How scary are these people?
The reality of virtue signaling has fallen flat on the ground.
“Are you unhappy?”
“…No.”
I had no choice but to surrender to the three pairs of eyes that stared at me.
They were saying it for my sake so I couldn’t say anything back.
I couldn’t avoid the pressure that came at me.
In the end, I had to waste my time lying on the sofa like a shriveled corpse.
I wanted to do something but I couldn’t find a way to avoid the eyes of those three wicked guards.
“Ah, by the way, Yu-hyun-ssi. I just thought of something.”
That’s when Baek Seo-ryeon spoke to me who was quietly sitting.
“What is it?”
“You said you brought the documents related to the Twilight Veil from the safe, right?”
“I did.”
“Then, wasn’t there anything else in the safe besides that?”
I answered nonchalantly to the question that was asked out of pure curiosity.
“Yes. There was a lot. Cash and jewels that were perfectly laundered and had no trace of origin, and even gold bars.”
“…Huh?”
“Well, um. I don’t know the current price of gold bars, but excluding that, cash and jewels alone would be more than 3 billion won. There were about 50 gold bars too. That would be about 5.5 billion won. Yeah, something like that.”
“Oh, oh oh oh oh fifty-five billion?”
Baek Seo-ryeon started to shake her hands and feet as I told her the rough figure.
It was an amount that she couldn’t handle. I took it out of a safe in a snap, so it was enough to make her dizzy.
“Ah. Come to think of it, I don’t need cash anyway, so I’m going to return some of it to White Flower Management. I’ll only pick out the clean ones that won’t get caught no matter where I send them.”
“Yes, yes?!”
Baek Seo-ryeon, who got a huge amount of money in her arms, looked like she would foam at the mouth and faint if I touched her lightly.
Kang Hye-rim and Kwon Jia looked at her with concern.
Baek Seo-ryeon’s eyes swirled wildly as she struggled to control her body, but soon she straightened her back.
She barely overcame the panic.
“Oh. You made it.”
“Ah. I made it.”
“You made it.”
“What are you three talking about all of a sudden!”
Baek Seo-ryeon was angry at being treated like a spectacle, but there was still a trace of surprise in her mouth that trembled slightly.
Hmm.
Maybe I should stop teasing her for a while.
“Anyway, I’ll leave some of the money to Seoryeon-ssi. If I have to choose a place to spend it, it would be moving the office. We can’t stay in this place where we’re stuck together like a beehive forever.”
“But this is the closest place to the association or the subway station…”
“That’s why I’m saying we can find a better place with that money. Get a new office and change the interior completely. Well, wouldn’t that be enough? A free mansion is better than a stiff office.”
Of course, that amount might not be enough for that.
It would take 5 billion won to buy a mansion in Seoul Gangnam.
But there was something I hadn’t calculated yet.
We still had the huge byproducts we got from the crystal cave world.
Rare minerals and herbs that are essential for making potions that can’t be found on Earth.
If we calculate all of them, well, we might not be able to build a building but we might be able to find an office that suits us well.
“Some of the money can be used to pay off Seoryeon-ssi’s debt. It’s not a big deal considering how much we’ll earn in the future.”
“That, th-th-th-that…”
Baek Seo-ryeon didn’t know what to do with the money she was given suddenly.
I wondered if this was okay seeing her flustered like this but she would surely bring more than expected results if she calmed down a bit.
Her talent was an undeniable ‘real’ thing.
“You can do it, right?”
“…I have to. You trusted me and gave me this job.”
She seemed to calm down a bit as her voice stopped shaking and I smiled satisfactorily.
Baek Seo-ryeon was overjoyed but she tried to suppress it as much as possible.
As I watched her, I buried myself in the sofa again.
I lost my motivation again as another task disappeared.
That’s when Kang Hye-rim who was watching me spoke to me.
“Yu-hyun-ssi. Are you bored?”
“I’d be lying if I said no.”
“Hmm. It must be frustrating to do nothing and just stay in the office.”
“Yes. It is.”
“Then, would you like to go out with me?”
“Really?”
I was surprised by her sudden request to go out.
Kang Hye-rim blushed slightly and stammered.
“N-No, I mean, it’s just… staying inside like this is honestly kind of boring, don’t you think? I know how you feel, being chased by people outside. I just thought… maybe going out would be nice. You know, get some fresh air. It just came to my mind…”
The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became, until it was barely audible.
She bowed her head.
“Or… is that a bad idea?”
“It’s a great idea!”
“Really?”
She lifted her head and looked at me with a puppy-like expression, as if asking if I meant it. I nodded.
“I’m not lying, I think it might be better to go out for a change. It’s better than doing nothing here, and walking around outside might cheer us up.”
I meant what I said. It was much more productive to see something new than to rot away in here.
She brightened up at my compliment, her face blooming like a beautiful flower.
She looked lovely when she smiled.
“Then… will you go with me?”
“But what about all the people outside?”
“It doesn’t matter if you use your engraving ability, right? You can just engrave some glasses or a mask, and no one will recognize us.”
“Hmm. That’s true.”
“And the points we’ll use, I can pay for them, right? That’s okay?”
“…Well, if you insist.”
“Yeah!”
She clenched her slender fist and cheered when I agreed.
Baek Seo-ryeon and Kwon Jia looked displeased by the scene, but they didn’t seem to have any intention of saying anything to the cheerful Kang Hye-rim.
“Don’t worry. I’ll escort you perfectly today so you won’t be bored.”
“Okay… I’m looking forward to it.”
She was so enthusiastic that I had never seen her like this before, except when she was holding a sword and ready to fight.
Was going out that fun?
I was more curious than amazed. I didn’t realize until now that she also wanted to rest and have fun sometimes, since she was always swinging her sword.
“Well then! Let’s go!”
She put on the frameless glasses that I had engraved for her and said that.
I also put on a pair of glasses to match her.
Hmm.
It was my first time wearing glasses, but it didn’t matter since they were just for fashion.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…Why are you staring at me like that?”
I felt awkward because the three women were looking at my face intently.
They were startled by my remark and avoided my gaze, their faces slightly red.
“N-No, it’s just… we were curious.”
“It’s nothing.”
“You look good with glasses… Hehe. You look very smart.”
They had different reactions. It seemed that they found me wearing glasses unusual.
Well, I guess most people do look different when they wear glasses or not.
I also admired how Kang Hye-rim’s impression changed when she wore glasses.
It must be similar to that.
“Shall we go then?”
“Yes!”
She smiled happily and followed me closely.
Thanks to the engraving on the glasses, no one recognized us or bothered us as we left the office.
Unless they were collectors, ordinary people or reporters couldn’t see through the engraving that changed our appearance naturally.
“Where should we go first?”
“Hey, don’t stick too close to me. It’s hot. Do you have any places in mind?”
“Uh, um. I thought of some places, but I’ve never been there before, so I don’t know.”
She answered timidly with a lack of confidence.
That was understandable.
She had lived a hard life before she met me.
It would be strange if she knew any fun places.
But I couldn’t give her any answers either.
I had lost my normal life ten years ago.
Even though I pretended to be normal on the outside, I was not a good person when I peeled off a layer.
Now I was not even human, but a teller.
“Then we have no choice.”
“Oh…”
Did she feel anxious by my words? She sighed regretfully.
“We’ll have to figure it out as we go.”
“Huh?”
“It would be a waste to go back now. We don’t have to give up just because we don’t know anything. We can learn one by one, from now on.”
“…Yes!”
She smiled brightly again and nodded.
We went to a busy street where many people were walking around.
The street was full of energy.
There were couples everywhere who seemed to be dating, and the streets were decorated with youth and glamour.
I did simple things with Kang Hye-rim one by one.
We went to a restaurant and ate delicious food, and visited an outlet and did some shopping.
Especially seeing her change into different clothes that were unlike her usual style was a pleasant sight.
“How about this?”
She asked me, holding the hem of her skirt with her fingers, shyly.
“It suits you. You should dress like this more often.”
“Heh, hehe. But… it wouldn’t suit me when I fight.”
“That’s… true.”
I regretted what I said.
That was the life of a collector.
Especially, Kang Hye-rim had to bear more burden after hearing the truth of the world from me.
Because this place was a world doomed to destruction.
We had to fight to stop it.
“But you can enjoy yourself as much as you want right now. Forget about everything else for now, and just savor the joy of each moment. There’s nothing more inefficient than worrying about something that can’t be done.”
“Keke. Really, what are you saying? That’s what I wanted to say to you.”
“Is that so?”
We looked at each other and laughed playfully.
After shopping enough, we sat down at a cafe with a nice view and drank the beverages we ordered.
‘Hmm. I’m getting used to this.’
It was the first time I enjoyed a break since the end of the world and my resurrection.
It felt strange and uncomfortable, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit me. But as I relaxed and stayed still, that feeling gradually faded.
It wasn’t bad to sit peacefully like this, I thought.
“What is your relationship with Jia?”
She suddenly asked me that.