Yoo Yeonha opened her eyes to a white ceiling and the sound of something being cut. She turned and saw Kim Suho slicing an apple with a fruit knife.

“… What are you doing here?”

Yoo Yeonha asked dumbfoundedly. Kim Suho glanced at Yoo Yeonha before smiling bashfully.

“You’re awake? It doesn’t hurt anywhere, right?”

“… I’m fine.”

“The doctor said there’s nothing wrong with your body.”

Yoo Yeonha sat up. She felt slightly stiff and sore, but could still move.

“What I want to know is why you’re here.”

“We’re taking turns nursing you. Me, Nayun, Shin Jonghak, and Kim Horak.”

“Why?”

Yoo Yeonha asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, it’s kind of our fault…”

“… Huh?”

Yoo Yeonha pondered Kim Suho’s incomprehensible words. How was it their fault? She couldn’t understand after contemplating what had happened. Did they do something I didn't know about? Yoo Yeonha glared at Kim Suho and demanded an explanation.

“As members of the same team, we should have been more careful. Unfortunately, we were too absorbed in caring for Nayun that we neglected you…”

The sheer stupidity of Kim Suho’s statement astonished Yoo Yeonha. It wasn’t like they could have known she would get attacked. The investigation team only met twice, and a huge argument occurred in the second meeting.

“… Sorry.”

“Pfft.”

Yoo Yeonha chuckled at Kim Suho’s apology. If anything, she realized he was stupidly kind.

“You don’t need to be sorry. I got what I deserved.”

Kim Suho scratched his neck and gave Yoo Yeonha a plate of sliced apples shaped like rabbits. She subconsciously smiled. Naturally, she liked cute things like any other girl.

“They look cute.”

“Thanks.”

Kim Suho laughed innocently. His handsome face seemed to shine. Yoo Yeonha stared at him before suddenly remembering something.

“… Oh right, um, did that person come?”

“That person?”

Kim Hajin. Yoo Yeonha couldn’t say his name. She still had a conscience and didn't expect him to visit after what she had done.

“No, never mind.”

She looked outside the window and didn’t see a cluster of clouds in the East Sea’s blue sky. The world appeared exceptionally bright under beaming sunlight.

Yoo Yeonha fell in thought at this dazzling scenery. She had learned many things. Of course, her 17 year old personality wouldn’t entirely change with just this one incident. Tomorrow’s Yoo Yeonha might not be too different than today’s, but she undoubtedly felt many things from the bottom of her heart. She wasn’t sure whether it was self-reflection, introspection, or just plain gratefulness. Before writing everything down in her diary, she picked up her smartwatch. She still needed to do something.

***

I received a message.

[Thank you. I’ll repay today’s debts for sure.]

It came from Yoo Yeonha. I smiled as I saw her name and read the message. I wanted to say something cool, but the person in front of me asked for another affirmation.

“Um… So I can just take this money? Really?”

I stared at him. Park Soohyuk had been like this for a while now. I lost count of how many times he asked if this was real. Haa. I couldn’t help but sigh. It was my money, so why was he so hesitant? Just buy a HUV (hunter utility vehicle) and a proper magic pouch!

“Yes, yes, yes. Please take it! Please!”

I stood up and bowed at a 90-degree angle.

“Please take it!”

“Ah, um, I—”

“Do I need to kowtow? I’ll do it!”

“No, no! I’ll take it! Thank you so much for investing in SH Agency!”

He finally put the signed documents in his suitcase. How did this easygoing person become the world’s greatest agent? I created this setting, but couldn’t understand it.

“By the way, how old are you?”

“I’m 29.”

“Ah, you’re more than a decade older. You don’t have to talk so formally.”

Talking casually would be better for our relationship.

“How can I do such a thing to an investor…”

“Don’t think of me as an investor. Think of me as a business partner. You know, like we’re building SH Agency together.”

“But still…”

“Don’t worry. I’m fine with it.”

“But…”

A back and forth argument went on about talking formally or casually. Eventually, Park Soohyuk submitted.

“Okay… I won’t talk so formally then.”

“Good.”

I got up.

“Then let’s go hunt. We’ll stop at just two for today.”

“Alright, this hyung [1] will support you from the back.” 

Park Soohyuk laughed as we left the coffee shop. We planned to head out to the field, but I spotted a convenience store.

“Um, Soohyuk hyung?”

I suggested talking casually, but I felt somewhat shy now.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“We should buy a lottery ticket.”

I pointed at the poster that said [lottery tickets for sale]. Honestly, this was the first method I thought of to make money with my absurd luck. I hadn’t been able to until now because I was a minor without a guardian.

“Come on. Lottery tickets are a waste of money. You might be too young to understand, but the lottery is a scam.”

“It’s not a scam. I have good luck, so I’ll probably win something. I’ll invest what I win into SH Agency, so give it a try.”

“No, I’m telling you it’s a scam…”

“Just follow me.”

I dragged Park Soohyuk to the convenience store. I grabbed ten instant lottery tickets from the counter. The clerk didn’t even ask for ID because of Park Soohyuk’s older face. After buying the tickets, we went to a nearby table.

“I need something to scratch them with.”

“Oh, here’s a coin.”

Even though he said lottery tickets were a scam, he gave me a coin with anticipating eyes.

“I’ll start then.”

Shashak. I started scratching the silver foils on the ticket. The first was a failure. Immediately, I moved on to the second. Then the third.

“Yaaawn.”

Park Soohyuk had already lost interest. Unperturbed, I continued scratching. Fourth, fifth, sixth… While Park Soohyuk walked around the cup ramen aisle, I scratched the tenth ticket.

“Oh, finally.”

“You won? How much?”

Park Soohyuk casually asked after picking up a cup ramen.

“20 million won.”

“Oh, nice.”

Park Soohyuk started walking towards the counter before stopping and tilting his head. Did I mishear that? Murmuring so, he turned towards me.

“… Can you repeat that?”

“I won 20 million won. Looks like winning the first place jackpot is asking for too much.”

First place was 100 million won. I showed Park Soohyuk the lottery ticket. His jaws dropped.

“W-What, is, is this real?”

“It’s real, so take it.”

I handed him the ticket.

“W-Why are you giving this to me?”

“I’m still a minor, so I can’t claim the money. You can take it as an additional investment, so send me a modified contract.”

Park Soohyuk stared at me in shock. His gaping mouth didn’t seem to close. The cup ramen could probably fit in it.

“Take it.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Park Soohyuk quickly put the lottery ticket in his pocket. Then he looked around and began to sweat as though he had committed a crime.

“You can put your guard down. No one is going to steal it. “

“No, you don’t understand how scary the world can be…”

***

Moonlight shone through a broken window and lit up dusty ruins. Only vines and mosses lived in this desolate place.

This abandoned factory in Suwon served as the Chameleon Troupe’s temporary base.

— Boss.

A voice rang out in the empty space. The call woke an existence sleeping in the darkness.

— You’re awake?

The existence slowly opened its beautiful yet threatening eyes.

— Those bastards started moving. They just listed themselves as Packhorse Master on the stock market.

The voice relayed the information. 

“Understood.”

The existence briefly replied in a dull voice.

— What should we do next?

It put off answering the question and slowly raised its body. Meanwhile, a full moon appeared from behind the clouds. The bright moonlight shone through the window and lit up the existence’s body. 

— That aside, Boss is beautiful as always.

She had a graceful figure with long black hair seemingly weaved out of shadows, full pink lips, and smooth white skin. A woman who seemed to be the manifestation of modern beauty spoke without the slightest change in her expression.

“Do you have a death wish?”

Dark blue magic power crackled from her hands.

— I’m kidding, but it’s not like I can say Boss is ugly. Forgive me.

The magic power akin to an erupting volcano calmed down.

— Anyways, what are we going to do? Packhorse Master is making its move.

“We will only steal. We don’t care about anything else.”

She answered apathetically, but her command was clear.

— Oh, by the way, someone is buying Packhorse Master’s stocks en masse.

“Stocks?”

— Yep. I thought it was just a small investor with 3 million won at first, then another 10 million, but he suddenly threw in 250 million won on top of that. A small investor wouldn’t randomly do that.

“Coincidence?”

— Mm… 95%, I’d say. But Boss, I’m concerned with the other 5%. There’s no reason to buy this stock. Packhorse Master doesn’t even have a guild page yet.

The guild stock market posed much more risks than the regular stock market. Few investors would support new guilds without accurate information, and no one would have information on Packhorse Master.

“Don’t mind it. We only have one job.”

— Mmm… If you say so. I’ll tell the troupe members.

“Un.”

With that, the voice disappeared. Then it quickly came back.

— Oh right, a few exciting pages appeared on Violet Banquet.

The woman tilted her head.

— Artifact Search Corp, Jonggak's Dog Meat Soup, and Truth Agency.

“Are they of any use?”

— The first two are slowly building their reputation, but I don’t know about Truth Agency. I just included it because of how confidently it introduced itself. Since it’s boasting on Violet Banquet, I’m sure it has some skill.

“Take it out.”

— Come on. You know how things are. It wasn’t just once or twice we hit the jackpot with ordinary pages. I’ll give you the page number later, so take a look. It says it’ll answer any question. Who knows? Maybe it can help us find that son of a bitch.

However, the woman remained uninterested.

“That doesn’t happen often.”

— Still. Alright, I’m going. See you later, Boss.

The conversation ended, but the voice came back once again.

— Oh, one more thing, Boss.

“…”

Veins popped out on the woman's white forehead.

“What now?”

— Cube’s exams start next week. You’ll go watch, right?

Huuu. The woman sighed before replying.

“Yeah, I will.”

1. A term that means older brother, how younger males refer to older males in a friendly, family-like manner. ☜