Chapter 889. Vacation (7)
Thinking about it objectively, I was convinced that nothing would happen to me, which was probably why I felt kind of relaxed. I had a solid way of getting out of here immediately.
‘I just need to summon Ha-Yan.’
The problem was that summoning Ha-Yan could bring about a Buster Call-level disaster.[1]"
I was already having a headache just thinking about how I was supposed to explain to her why I was a girl, and I didn't want Colorado to become a wasteland, either.
It was the same for Kim Hyun-Sung. If I were to give him a quest, he’d definitely come flying to me in under an hour, but how would I explain this to him? If I were to reveal to him that I was Lee Ki-Yeon, what would he think of me?
I also didn't want to taint those precious memories[2].
Actually, the situation didn’t seem all that bad because I needed to find the black market here, anyway. Once Ji-Hye noona discovered that I had been kidnapped, she’d definitely find a way to find me.
Playing the part was important, but safety was more important than that.
[Creating an Average-rank Forced Quest.]
[Noona, I think I’ve been kidnapped. (0/1)]
[An Average-rank quest has been delivered to Player Lee Ji-Hye. No quest rewards were declared, so Player Lee Ji-Hye will not receive a reward.]
'Damn it, she’s not answering. Is she really not going to say anything despite receiving my quest?'
[Creating a Legendary-rank Forced Quest.]
[Do you remember that Gale something guy who said that there's a black market in Colorado? They caught me following them, and they're taking me away somewhere right now. It’ll be problematic to call Ha-Yan or Hyun-Sung, so think of a way to find me. I’m starting to get scared. (0/1)]
[A Legendary-rank quest has been delivered to Player Lee Ji-Hye. No quest rewards were declared, so Player Lee Ji-Hye will not receive a reward.]
'She’s really mean. How long has it been? Five hours?'
Naturally, I looked in the direction where Lee Ji-Hye was located.
- How could he get himself kidnapped just like that?!
'Is she mad? Did I ruin the plan?'
- You're a mind reader, aren't you? I’m going crazy. Lee Ki-Young, you’re driving me insane...
The way she jumped on the bed and rolled around while hugging a pillow was indescribable.
‘She’s really...’
She got up and looked around. She opened the room slowly and walked out of the room while looking around. She was acting as Lee Ji-Hoo, who was looking for Lee Ki-Yeon. Lee Ji-Hoo's face darkened. He ran out of the adventurer guild and started running aimlessly down the street. He wasn’t saying anything, but I knew what he wanted to say.
- Noona...
It was sad seeing him desperately trying to find his maid.
I thought his heartless eyes could never cry, but tears started welling in his eyes.
- Noona! Noona! Lee Ki-Yeon... Lee Ki-Yeon!
‘This makes you look like an actual psychopath.’
She was rolling around in her bed just now.
‘You’re mentally ill.’
Why was she suddenly desperately looking for me...
Unfortunately, it was raining, and the rain that poured slowly started getting heavier, hiding Lee Ji-Hoo’s tears. He was trembling as he clenched his fist. I watched Lee Ji-Hoo just to keep an eye on him, but I couldn't describe what I was watching.
- Noona... where are you? Damn it... Lee Ki-Yeon... where the hell are you?!
His face was filled with regret and resentment toward himself. He started running again, but he stumbled and fell to the ground.
For a moment, I was glad our vacation wasn’t that long, but if we had a little more time... I couldn’t imagine what kind of grand narrative would be created.
The madness of the villains I had met so far was nothing compared to the madness Lee Ji-Hoo was showing right now. From what I could see, Lee Ji-Hoo was showing true madness at the moment.
I couldn’t keep watching, so I looked away. It was actually the perfect timing. It felt like the carriage I was locked up in had stopped moving. After I heard them moving cargo and pieces of luggage, I felt the carriage moving again.
A violent tremor ran across the carriage, and my figure trembled.
Boom!
Light started pouring into the dark carriage.
“Ugh...”
And I saw a grim prison...
“Heuuuk... heuk...”
I heard someone crying, so I looked around and saw other people.
They looked as if they had been sold off. There were two males. One looked like a gladiator, and the other was a good-looking fellow. There were three women. Two were members of the Other races, and one of them was an elf.
It seemed that these people didn’t care about the continental law prohibiting the trafficking of humans and Other races. They’d probably be sold for a high price, as supply was low, and I was sure that they weren’t the only things being sold.
‘At least I came to the right place.’
I was just going to sit in the corner. I did that and started pondering about what was going on. How much longer do I need to stay here? As I asked myself that question, someone opened the iron door.
“Heuuuuung...”
“...”
“Heuuuuuuuuung...”
I saw a kid crying loudly.
“Shut up and get in there.”
I heard a deep voice.
The kid moved stiffly into the carriage. Astonishingly, her face looked familiar to me.
‘Isn’t she Ha Yeon-Soo?’
The assistant who was always with Lee Ji-Hye.
It seemed that fairy magic was cast on her, as she looked like a child, but she was definitely Ha Yeon-Soo.
Mind’s Eye even confirmed it for me, and I felt relieved knowing that fact.
I knew Ji-Hye noona wouldn’t abandon me. Now that I thought about it, I felt like I had seen Ha Yeon-Soo in Colorado. It turned out that I had a bodyguard all this while.
To be honest, I was kind of scared because the mood here was pretty dark, but I was feeling slightly stable upon realizing the truth.
“Excuse me... Miss Yeon-Soo? We...”
“Heuuuuung...” Ha Yeon-Soo cried.
“Miss Yeon-Soo, right now, we...”
“W-Who are you?” Ha Yeon-Soo asked.
'You’re doing this too? Damn it.'
“I...”
“Where are we? Heuk! Please save me. I miss my mom and dad...” she begged.
'Are you also going to make your debut as an actor with Lee Ji-Hye?'
“No, wait... This situation is—" Ha Yeon-Soo stuck to me like a cicada and cried her heart out. It was stupid of me to expect any help from her, as it seemed like Ha Yeon-Soo was just...
‘A bystander; she's just a bystander, right?’
She’s not going to do anything unless something really dangerous happens, right?'
I was glad that we had a shield, at the very least, but I wasn’t really that happy about it.
“W-We’re not going to die, right? Right?” Ha Yeon-Soo questioned.
The actress that Lee Ji-Hye had trained managed to amplify the tension in the carriage with her comment.
And that was when the iron door opened once again...
Three men entered, and they looked around before staring at me.
“What do you think?” a bandit asked their comrade.
“...”
“Touching the product is against the rules, but...” replied the other bandit.
‘Bullshit. The moment you lay a finger on me, Ha Yeon-Soo will cut off your head.’
“Bring her,” said the mysterious figure with the bandits.
“Kyah!” I screamed.
‘Yeon-Soo, I’m in trouble. Look! This bastard grabbed my wrist.’
“Where should we take her?” the bandit asked.
‘Yeon-Soo. You’re not just going to watch, right? Shit, Yeon-Soo. Ha Yeon-Soo. What’s wrong with you? Don’t just watch.’
“Y-Yeon-Soo!” I yelled.
“K-Ki-Yeon!!!” Ha Yeon-Soo yelled.
'Don't scream my name. Help me.'
“Don’t take her away!” Ha Yeon-Soo shouted.
“Someone shut that kid up. Looks like you two got close pretty fast. How.... nice,” a bandit commented.
'Ha Yeon-Soo, you’re so mean. You really want me to activate Buster Call?'
I had no idea what was going to happen to me, so I seriously thought of summoning Jung Ha-Yan here, but I heard a different voice outside.
“Hyung-nim.”
“What is it?”
“They said to bring that woman there."
“Who did?”.
“They’re going to put her up for action today. There was something wrong with the necklace, which was supposed to be one of the main items today, so they needed something to replace it. We need to prepare her right away...”
“The seal is still on this woman... Do you not see the slave seal on her?”
“They said they’ll bring a mage and take care of it once the trade is complete. I received orders to take her away, so I’ll just take her with me. I also need to make her presentable on stage. The main event is going to start soon, so I really don’t have—”
“Take her, then,” a voice interrupted.
When I stepped out, I heard the bandit scream.
The subordinate clicked his tongue, and I knew what he was thinking, but I didn't think he screamed because he was angry.
Ha Yeon-Soo had to have killed him.
As expected, I saw red dripping down between the rusty iron door. I heard him gasping for air, but this idiot had no idea that his hyung-nim was already dead. He was just taking me somewhere in a hurry.
Soon, I found myself in a room that was way better than that place earlier. Moments later, several people appeared and crowded around me.
“She’s pretty.”
They started washing me with water.
“She’ll be an expensive one.”
They washed my hair and made me sit on a chair before I even realized what was going on. They were pampering me; it was like they were working on even the smallest detail.
Ji-Hye noona would probably like this kind of treatment. They were painting my nails and putting stuff on my face. They dried my hair, and I started noticing the changes through the mirror in front of me.
Even I thought that I looked pretty decent. Actually, scratch that—I looked pretty.
“What should we have her wear, madam?” a maid asked.
“I think it’ll be better if there isn’t too much exposure. Get up,” the madam ordered.
“Huh? M-Me?” I asked.
“Who else?” she questioned.
I got up, and they started dressing me up.
“How... did all of you start... working here?” I asked.
“You think we’re working here because we want to? I don’t think this outfit will work... Drink some warm tea. Let’s put on the lipstick last,” the madam said.
“Madam, they want us to bring her out now,” a maid informed.
“Wait, let’s put some accessories on her,” said the madam.
“They said to hurry.”
It seemed like they had put some stuff on me, but I couldn’t see them myself. Eventually, they finished up, and I found myself sitting awkwardly in a waiting room.
I could hear someone's booming voice outside, and they seemed like the host of some kind of event. I felt like I was in a daze because things had happened so quickly.
- I’m terribly sorry, everyone. There has been an issue with the final item, Michaelaria’s Necklace, so we won’t be able to present it to you. We sincerely apologize for not being able to notify you in advance. This is all the fault of an inexperienced organizer.
The atmosphere was obviously bad. I was sure there were people who had come here just for that necklace, and they were in a bad mood after hearing that the necklace was no longer available for sale.
The crowd jeered. I wasn’t sure about the size of this black market, but it seemed like there was even a proper protocol in place on the off chance that something went wrong.
- We've prepared another product to make up for this blunder.
I was pushed to the stage and...
“...”
The hall instantly became quiet.
“...”
“...”
Then, an explosion of voices reverberated right afterward.
“A hundred thousand—a hundred thousand gold!”
“Two hundred thousand gold!”
As I looked around the absurd scene, I saw a familiar face...
‘Why are you here?’
1. From One Piece. ☜
2. I think he's referring to when he became Lee Ki-Yeon and the events that happened around CH 451 ☜