NOVEL NEXT chapter 74
Jurim, who had returned alone, became entangled in countless rumors.
Because of his personality that avoided sentimentality, and his frank yet rude manner of speech, the world’s reactions were either ice-cold or searing hot.
People had advised him to be a little more agreeable, but even after weighing this and that, he said he acted that way because it was justified—and because he could.
He didn’t seem particularly concerned with how others responded, but the signs of exhaustion always trailed behind him.
No one asked about the story of the 99th floor. Everyone knew it had all been Ijo’s decision. Ijo never went back on his choices, and Jurim—only with Ijo—would bend.
It wasn’t long before reports began surfacing about the privileges Doan had received, and Jurim, puzzled by the movements in political circles, eventually uncovered the existence of a “project” that Ijo had taken part in.
Jurim laid the documents about the project—one even he hadn’t known the details of—right in front of his father.
“What is this? Did you know about this too?”
“Yes.”
“Did you send it? For that pathetic bit of money?”
“Chairman On, the auction is about to begin. Please, this way.”
He had apparently been gone too long, and someone had come to fetch him. Suhyeong nodded and followed the employee.
There was a time when he had been in such pain that he wondered if this world was even worth living in, if it was a life worth holding on to.
As he made his way to the table, On Suhyeong quietly gazed at the backs of the child and Jurim. Then, as if etching the two into his memory, he closed his eyes.
Even pain that felt eternal could, in the course of living, be whittled down, vanish, or become familiar.
After letting go of what he could not carry, when he looked at the world again, there were still things in it worth treasuring.
Thank you, Ijo. For leaving me a world like this.
****
The auction proceeded smoothly.
The by-product of Malikian—the item with the most attention this auction—was sold at slightly above its expected price.
Then came the twist, when bidding began on Chairman Nam’s collectible, which had been expected to go for no more than 1 billion won.
“The starting bid is 200 million. The bid increments are 5 million won.”
The fact that the item from Chairman Nam’s collection actually belonged to Guru had already been quietly passed around.
That was why Chairman On raised his paddle—to hand his granddaughter some pocket money.
“Paddle number 11. A bid of 250 million has been placed.”
After his initial bid, paddles began to rise from here and there. The auctioneer continued the bidding as the price climbed.
At a table labeled Luminous Holdings, someone tapped a custom price into a tablet and sent it in.
It was a tactic to scare off the competition by naming a much higher price than expected. Since bidding wars usually brought higher returns, it was rarely used.
The auctioneer blinked as he confirmed the number.
“Two billion… Paddle number 71 has offered two billion.”
Two billion for a mana stone expected to sell at one hundred million? A murmur erupted among the attendees.
Even On Suhyeong rested his paddle on his lap with a dumbfounded look.
“The current bid is two billion. Any other offers?”
The hall was full of murmurs, but not a single other paddle was raised.
“Then it’s sold to paddle number 71 for two billion.”
Jurim and Gidan both cast glances at the mannequins seated at the Luminous Holdings table, then looked at each other.
Having won the item he wanted, Serhi blew a bubble with his gum, tucked his phone into his pocket, and stood up.
Naohyeong hunched his shoulders, glanced around nervously, and followed behind.
Fuck, that almost went south.
The order to win Chairman Nam’s mana stone had come from Teacher. He had said to bring it back, no matter the price.
What the hell does he want with that ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) old thing anyway?
Teacher was always someone who lived in his own world. He just dropped orders and fluttered off, and Serhi had only said he would use it as a foundation for the next phase of the plan.
It had been an easy job—so easy, in fact, that he’d let himself get distracted for a moment. Who’d have thought On Jurim would suddenly show up? He hadn’t been caught, but it had nearly raised unwanted suspicion.
Still—
What’s with that little girl?
He snuck a sideways glance at the girl sitting at the table.
[Unmeasurable Item], huh…
That alone didn’t tell him whether it was a lottery ticket or a piece of junk.
But if it was the former—
Desire clouded judgment and narrowed his vision.
He wanted to know. What that girl was holding.
If he had the chance—no matter what it was, no matter how—he’d find out.
He stared at Guru with eyes brimming with regret, then turned and followed Serhi out of the hall.
Meanwhile, Guru blinked as she confirmed the final bid for the mana stone.
“Two biwwion?”
A giant number 2 popped into her mind, followed by a parade of zeroes lining up behind it.
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand…
If dere awe twenty biwwion won…
Having never imagined such a number before, Guru just stood there, mouth agape in a daze.
“Gwuru… now iz wich?”
****
At kindergarten, as she rolled the Blue Marble dice with Harry, Guru stared indifferently at a Seedling Bank bill marked “One Hundred Million Won.”
When had it started, this numbness toward printed money?
“Gwuru… iz Gwuru too much of a gwown-up now?”
They said people like her, who got rich all of a sudden, were called “nouveau riche.”
After searching for a long time to understand what that meant, Guru found out it wasn’t always used in a nice way.
The image of a nouveau riche person implied they lacked grace and class in their behavior.
That was the resolve she had made.
Harry pointed at her.
“Gwuru, youw mouf’s weally weiwd. It’s aww squishy.”
Gasp! Guru clapped both hands over her mouth.
“Nuh-uh! Gwuru haz dignity!”
“Nuh-uh, she duzzen’t.”
Did she give off some kind of unmistakable nouveau riche scent or something? Guru pouted, then handed over the hundred million won bill from Seedling Bank to her friend.
“But Gwuru haz twenty of deez!”
According to the agency, the auction amount would be deposited after deducting fees and taxes. That meant the total would shrink, but it would still be a massive sum.
Thump-thump.
Either way, Guru was gleefully awaiting her induction into nouveau riche society.
Harry, after building up a fortune in Blue Marble, cheered that she was rich—and then suddenly asked:
“Hey, Gwuru, awe you aww weady?”
“Fow whut?”
“My mommy and daddy awe coming tomowwow. Is youw Guildmastuh coming too?”
“Ah, yeah~”
Guru beamed with satisfaction.
Ever since she met the Fourth Place Ajusshi at the auction, Guru had been thinking deeply about how she could be a source of strength to her Guildmastuh.
And then, as the kindergarten Parent Participation Presentation Day approached, she came up with the perfect idea to show her filial piety.
She had made careful preparations at kindergarten in advance and invited Jurim.
“Guildmastuh! Gwuru invites you to Spring Kindygawten~!”
Jurim had said:
“Do we have to?”
Guru puffed out her cheeks indignantly.
She was convinced she had to confiscate words like “Do we have to?”, “Suddenly?”, “No.”, and “Busy.” (as he put on his sleep mask) from Jurim.
“I’m not planning on enrolling in kindergarten at this point,” Jurim murmured quietly.
“…!”
She must’ve said something in the auction hall that made him think she didn’t attend kindergarten, which caused a misunderstanding.
Guru pulled up the KidsNote app and showed him the notice from the kindergarten.
“This was a thing?”
“Yeeeesh~”
“What are you presenting?”
“Dat’s a secwet!”
Jurim had readily agreed to come, and the day was already almost here.
“Aw youw mommy and daddy comin’ too, Hawwy?”
“O’ course dey awe, dumb-dumb. But not my daddy. He haz ta go to wowk. Only mommy’s comin’. Tomowwow, Hawwy gonna show mommy!”
“Yuh-huh! Gwuru gonna show hew Guildmastuh too!”
Guru and Harry smiled wide.