Chapter 127
“Ugh. Come on, that’s not fair. I’m a grown-up and the CEO, you know? Don’t you think it’s a bit harsh to throw a tantrum like that?”
“I’m barely holding back the urge to pinch your cheeks. Reflect on yourself.”
“Tsk. But if I don’t do this, you won’t come out, right?”
“Why do you want me to go out so badly?”
“You went on a date with Hyerim yesterday.”
“That was…”
Yu-hyun tried to say something, but he clamped his mouth shut.
He couldn’t deny it no matter how much he thought about it.
He just went out to clear his mind, but it did look like a date in some ways.
No, wasn’t it actually a date?
They ate together and went shopping.
Baek Seo Ryeon took Yu-hyun’s silence as a confirmation and spoke confidently.
“So, today is my turn.”
“Can you please stop treating me like a public good?”
“It’s the CEO’s order.”
“They say workplace bullying is a serious social problem, and here it is right in front of me. I’ll sue you.”
“Think of it as a reward for a hard-working employee.”
“My reward is more work.”
“Geez. Really. Who would say you’re not a workaholic?”
Baek Seo Ryeon sighed and hooked her arm with Yu-hyun’s.
“Come on, let’s relax today.”
“I already relaxed yesterday.”
“I need to relax too!”
“But, that’s…”
“CEO’s order!”
“Ugh.”
He could have refused if he wanted to. But Yu-hyun couldn’t do that.
He knew how much Baek Seo Ryeon had suffered and worked hard until now.
Yu-hyun was fine with working all the time, but he didn’t like it when Baek Seo Ryeon did the same.
It was a selfish thought, but that was how he felt.
That was why he couldn’t reject her proposal to spend time together so bluntly.
Baek Seo Ryeon had worked so hard until now.
She had just seen the light of success recently.
How could anyone object to her wanting to rest?
In the end, Yu-hyun sighed and lowered his head.
“Sigh. Fine. Since you say it’s the CEO’s order, I’ll gladly accompany you today. Be grateful.”
“Hehe. How generous of you.”
Yu-hyun chuckled as he watched Baek Seo Ryeon giggling and looking around the outlet mall.
Since he had no choice but to be here, he decided to do his best to make her happy.
“Oh. Yu-hyun, look over there. There are so many amazing things.”
“That’s where they sell things made from by-products of the world of ideas.”
Baek Seo Ryeon’s eyes were drawn to a rather peculiar place.
The by-products of the world of ideas were used in various fields. But that didn’t mean they were all useful.
Sometimes, there were leftover items that were too vague to use, and Baek Seo Ryeon was interested in a place that made accessories out of those by-products.
“Let’s go check it out.”
“Sure.”
They quickly entered the store.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary accessory store, but inside, everything on display was made from by-products of the world of ideas.
Things made from materials that were hard to see and get on Earth.
They were clearly useless things that were somehow recycled into products, but ironically, they also stimulated the buyers’ desires and there were quite a lot of customers.
“Did you have a lot of interest in these things, Seo Ryeon?”
“Nah. It would be a lie if I said I didn’t. I’m also working in the collector industry after all.”
“That’s true.”
“I was curious too. What kind of place is the world of ideas, and what kind of things are there? But I can’t just go there as a non-collector.”
“Well…”
Baek Seo Ryeon said that, but in fact, anyone could go to the world of ideas if they wanted to.
It was just that ordinary people were forbidden from going there because they couldn’t stand against the fantasy entities. But those who wanted to go would find a way somehow.
Baek Seo Ryeon didn’t know that fact. Maybe she wouldn’t have done such a thing even if she knew.
Yu-hyun also knew that fact and didn’t say anything.
“Ta-da! How about this?”
Baek Seo Ryeon held up an earring made from a strange plant and asked Yu-hyun.
Yu-hyun widened his eyes.
“What is it?”
“Oh, come on. I’m asking if it suits me.”
“Oh.”
“Look.”
She asked ‘how about it?’ and brought the earring close to her ear.
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She tucked her hair behind her ear and her face became much clearer than before.
Yu-hyun’s gaze unknowingly went to her exposed neck.
Her neck, which was usually hidden by her hair, was spotless and white.
‘No, no.’
Yu-hyun quickly shook his head and answered her question.
“Hmm. It kind of suits you, I guess?”
“Huh? What kind of answer is that? You don’t sound sincere.”
“I don’t know much about accessories, okay?”
“I thought you would know better. You always do everything so well.”
“I only do what I can, that’s why it seems that way. I’m a gemophobe when it comes to this stuff.”
“Ha ha. A gemophobe, huh?”
“Is that funny?”
“Honestly, I find it hard to believe when you say you can’t do something. It seems like you’re good at it, but you’re just pretending to be humble. Anyway, that’s the vibe I get.”
“What vibe is that, what vibe? I don’t know much about matching and stuff, but I have an eye for things, so I’ll help you out a bit.”
Yu-hyun was also interested in this store.
He thought it was a unique idea to make something out of by-products that others didn’t care about.
The person who came up with this idea must have had a very creative mind.
‘But I wonder if there are any dangerous things mixed in?’
Just because they were by-products didn’t mean they were harmless.
Rather, some of them were so dangerous that they were disposed of as surplus by-products.
But no matter how much he looked around, he didn’t see anything that could pose a risk.
‘Well, they must have filtered them out beforehand. It’s amazing. Accessories made from by-products…’
Rings, necklaces, earrings, hairbands, etc.
Not only things for women, but also things for men that looked suitable, such as belts, badges, watches.
‘If I didn’t know they were by-products, I might have mistaken them for a junk shop. No, is this a junk shop?’
Yu-hyun examined the items in detail. Baek Seo Ryeon watched him from the side with a silent smile.
He pretended not to care, but he was the most interested and focused when he came here.
‘Ah. He’s kind of cute?’
She had seen him concentrate on something several times before, but the fact that it was a cute accessory made it a strange situation.𝚗𝘰ѵ𝒆𝒍𝚋Ꭵ𝔫.𝓷𝑒𝒕
He picked up a few items and put them back in place.
He wondered if there was any special energy from the by-products of the world of ideas, but there was none.
They were nothing but ordinary objects with special materials.
“Ta-da! How about this, Yoo-hyun?”
What Baek Seo-ryeon showed me this time was a hairpin.
She tucked her hair behind one ear with the jade-colored hairpin, which made her look more calm and composed.
Baek Seo-ryeon was small and round-faced.
She wasn’t chubby, but her cute appearance gave her that image.
But when she fixed one side of her hair with the hairpin, her image changed completely.
She looked like a smart office worker.
And that was similar to the distant future I had seen in the apocalypse.
“…”
“Yoo-hyun? Yoo-hyun?”
“…Yes? Oh, yes.”
“Why are you spacing out? Did it not suit you?”
“No, it’s just… I remembered something from the past.”
“The past?”
“It’s nothing. Anyway, that hairpin suits you very well. Yes. It looks great on you.”
“Oh, wow. What’s going on? You’re giving me so much praise.”
“I’m a person who praises when I need to.”
“You’re not even human.”
“That’s just an expression.”
As we chatted, the eyes around us increased.
Most of the customers who came here were either women or individuals.
We were the only case of a man and a woman together.
To others, we looked like a perfect couple of handsome and beautiful.
‘If only I had such a pretty girlfriend!’
‘Oh, man. They make me jealous. I wish I had such a gentle boyfriend.’
‘Where are they flirting in the sacred (?) store?’
That was the majority of the gazes. But Baek Seoryeon, who was immersed in shopping itself, didn’t notice it at all.
Yu-hyun, who was sensitive to the eyes, turned his gaze with a bitter smile, looking for other things.
Then suddenly, his eyes went to one thing.
‘This is …’
At a glance, it looked like a thing that was no different from other accessories around. But what Yu-hyun saw was not the appearance of the thing, but the energy that flowed from the inside.
As Yu-hyun naturally picked up the thing, Baek Seoryeon sent him a surprised look.
“Huh? That’s a norigae.”
Norigae.
One of the decorative items that was attached to hanbok or skirt waist. It was a luxurious item.
What Yu-hyun was interested in was this norigae.
“It’s amazing. Norigae can only be made with traditional knotting techniques, so it’s not something you can easily see here. And the color is very colorful. Is it woven with seven-colored threads?”
“The owner here must be very skilled.”
“Well. To make such a thing with the by-product of worldview, he must be no ordinary person.”
“Probably, that’s right.”
What attracted Yu-hyun’s attention most was [the power of story] contained in the norigae itself. Ordinary people could never perceive it, and collectors were no exception. Only Yu-hyun, who had [Laplace’s fragment], could barely know it.
This norigae was not an ordinary thing. It was closer to an artifact that had a unique energy.
It wasn’t made on purpose by someone. It just happened to be made like this by ‘chance’.
One of Thousand
A masterpiece that pops out at a very rare probability, out of the intention of the creator.
‘I’m lucky. I never thought I’d find something like this here.’
The price was also very cheap considering the value of the thing. Yu-hyun eventually decided to buy it.
“Are you buying that?”
“Yes. I like it.”
“What are you going to use it for?”
Baek Seoryeon asked Yu-hyun, who had bought the norigae.
Yu-hyun smiled and put the norigae on her clothes.
“Here.”
“What, what?”
As Yu-hyun suddenly approached, Baek Seoryeon’s face turned red.
“Yoo, Yu-hyun?”
“Just stay still.”
“Yes, yes!”
“There… done.”
Yu-hyun succeeded in attaching the norigae to her clothes.
Baek Seoryeon glanced at the norigae he had bought and then looked up at him.
“Is this for me?”
“Yes. It’s a gift. It’s not an ordinary thing, so keep it well.”
The [story] contained in the gifted norigae protected the wearer from danger and kept them safe from disease and disaster.
Yu-hyun didn’t need it much, but it was a very good effect for Baek Seoryeon, who was an ordinary person.
“It suits you and looks good.”
“Oh… thank you.”
Baek Seoryeon stuttered and thanked him, her face burning like a red apple.
She was worried that he might be bored by dragging him along with her interest, but he even gave her a gift.
Baek Seoryeon’s lips loosened as she glanced at the norigae on her clothes.
“Heh, hehe. I’ll use it well.”
“Since we’ve bought everything we need, shall we look around elsewhere?”
Here is my edited text:
“You’re buying that?”
“Yes. I love it.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
Baek Seoryeon asked Yu-hyun as he paid for the norigae. He smiled and pinned the ornamental accessory to her outfit.
“Right here.”
“Huh, huh?”
She blushed when he suddenly leaned in close to her.
“Yoo, Yu-hyun?”
“Hold still for a moment.”
“Okay, okay!”
“There… perfect.”
He finished attaching the norigae to her clothes. She peeked at his purchase and then lifted her head to meet his eyes.
“Is this for me?”
“Yes. It’s a gift. It’s not something you see every day, so treasure it.”
The [story] within the norigae shielded its wearer from harm and safeguarded them from illness and calamity.
Yu-hyun didn’t really need it, but it was a wonderful benefit for Baek Seoryeon, who was a normal person.
“It looks great on you.”
“Oh… thank you so much.”
She thanked him shyly, her face glowing like a ripe apple. She had been worried that he would find it boring to follow her around based on her interests, but he surprised her with a gift.
Her smile widened as she looked at the norigae on her clothes.
“Heh, hehe. I’ll take good care of it.”
“We’ve got everything we came for, so how about we check out some other places?”
“Yes, of course.”
The two of them left the store, ignoring the jealous glares of the other customers.
Baek Seo-ryeon felt more excited than when she had just arrived here.
She looked fresh and youthful, just as her age. She had always been busy with work, so this was especially rare for her.
But then, Yu-hyun suddenly noticed something strange.
“Seo-ryeon, wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
“Can you sit down there for a moment?”
There were chairs in the outlet where customers could rest.
Yu-hyun knelt down in front of her as he seated Baek Seo-ryeon on one of them.
Without hesitation, Yu-hyun took off Baek Seo-ryeon’s shoes.
Her bare feet, wrapped in flesh-colored stockings, were exposed.
Baek Seo-ryeon trembled at his bold action and the strong grip of his hand on her ankle.
“Yu, Yu-hyun? What are you doing all of a sudden?”
“As I thought. Something was off.”
“What?”
“Seo-ryeon. Your stockings are torn.”
Yu-hyun pointed to the place where Baek Seo-ryeon’s stockings were badly frayed around her ankle.
Baek Seo-ryeon felt her heart sink at Yu-hyun’s serious expression. What was going on?
“Oh, you’re right.”
“Since this happened, let’s buy a new pair. You should also buy some clothes that you like, you need them anyway.”
“That’s true, but. How did you know… Ah.”
Baek Seo-ryeon sensed a playful mood. She deliberately stretched out her foot in the stocking to Yu-hyun and smiled mischievously.
“Yu-hyun. Do you like this kind of thing?”
“…”
