Chapter 71

“Bilton Auction House?”

“Ah. Understood.”

When Yeonhan Kim replied, Taehyeok Sa handed over his key card and said,

“The card is in my luggage, so take it yourself.”

“What, are you going to buy it for me?”

Cho-i laughed. Taehyeok Sa held his head and said,

“Use it in moderation.”

Normally, he wouldn’t say something like that at all, but the problem was that his opponent was Cho-i Hyeon. If she wanted to, she could sweep up that auction house. In fact, even if she swept it up, it wouldn’t matter financially. The problem was storing all that junk.

“Keep a close eye on her.”

“Yes.”

“Bring Suui Kim.”

“Yes.”

Seeing how exhausted Taehyeok Sa looked, Yeonhan Kim and Dongju Kim immediately took Cho-i Hyeon to the hotel. Rest was essential for patients, and as long as Cho-i Hyeon was by his side, rest was impossible. Cho-i Hyeon’s mind was currently sold to the auction house, and she looked quite excited.

“There’s no auction house in Korea?”

“It’s not that there isn’t one, but because the Yuhan Department Store provides a smooth supply of items, it’s not as big as overseas. Sometimes, hunters even come to Korea just to visit the Yuhan Department Store.”

“Really?”

“Because the quality is guaranteed and the prices aren’t erratic.”

“Is it like K-beauty or something?”

“…Comparatively, yes.”

The group pulled even Suui Kim, who was staying at the hotel, and headed straight to the Bilton Hotel auction house. The hotel, not much different in size from where they were currently staying, had a sign pointing to the auction house. The four of them had their hunter licenses checked before being allowed inside. In the center of the auction house was a circular platform where items were displayed, with chairs arranged around it. Cho-i Hyeon plopped down in an empty seat and looked around. People were gathering in small groups. Suui Kim sat to Cho-i Hyeon’s left, and Dongju Kim sat to her right. And each of them held Cho-i Hyeon’s arms tightly.

“Why, what is it? What’s going on?”

Cho-i expressed her dissatisfaction and looked at Yeonhan Kim, but Yeonhan Kim smiled faintly from behind Cho-i and nodded. What, why are they doing this? The reason was revealed immediately after the auction began. It was because of Cho-i Hyeon, who tried to raise her paddle every time an item appeared.

“Depla’s Water Bottle, the water from this bottle grants a health increase buff…”

“Me, me! Ugh!”

Dongju Kim and Suui Kim grabbed Cho-i’s arms simultaneously, and Yeonhan Kim covered her mouth from behind. Ugh, ugh. Even if Cho-i resisted, she couldn’t overcome two S-Ranks and one A-plus at the same time. Although Suui Kim’s arm was trembling, he calmly used all his strength to prevent Cho-i Hyeon from raising her paddle.

“We’re here to buy a sword.”

“Yes, let’s be patient. Let’s be patient.”

“Ugh, ugh!”

“If I let go of your mouth, you’ll behave, right?”

“Ugh!”

“She says no.”

Dongju Kim also seemed to read Cho-i’s eyes and nodded.

“If you stay still, I’ll buy you a sword. Please, just stay still.”

Yeonhan Kim said with a benevolent smile. Cho-i Hyeon eventually had no choice but to nod. After several auction items passed, when a sword finally appeared, Cho-i Hyeon couldn’t help but explode.

“I want that! That one!”

“Calm down, calm down. First, listen to the explanation.”

While Suui Kim was soothing Cho-i Hyeon, the auctioneer began to explain the sword on the auction block.

“Katys’s Sword! A rare A+ Rank. It has an attack power correction effect of 15% and, while both sides are sharp, it has a defense penalty of -5%, but it’s good for dealers to use.”

“Hey, hey, dealer trade.”

“What does it matter! I want that!”

“Other swords might come out.”

“No, I want that one!”

“Why?”

“It’s black.”

Cho-i Hyeon said with sparkling eyes. Indeed, the blade, which was jet-black and smoothly gleaming from the hilt, was literally like a well-polished obsidian. Cho-i Hyeon seemed to be fixated on it and pushed everyone away.

“Starting at four million dollars!”

Cho-i raised her paddle high.

“Four million dollars. Do I hear four and a half million dollars?”

Then, people started raising their paddles here and there.

“Four and a half million dollars!”

“Five million dollars!”

“Five and a half million dollars!”

“Five point seven million dollars!”

Cho-i Hyeon raised her paddle again.

“Six and a half million dollars!”

Then, someone else on the other side raised their paddle again.

“Seven million dollars.”

Cho-i Hyeon glared in that direction. A man with a baseball cap pulled low was holding up a paddle. Cho-i Hyeon narrowed her eyes.

‘Something… familiar?’

While she was doing that, the price continued to rise.

“Seven and a half million dollars!”

“Eight million dollars!”

Cho-i Hyeon quickly raised her paddle.

“Eight and a half million dollars!”

The man raised the price steeply.

“Fifteen million dollars.”

His voice was familiar too. She turned her head in that direction again and carefully watched the person who bid fifteen million dollars. Then, as if he felt her gaze, he looked towards Cho-i. The jawline below the hat was so familiar…

“Fifteen million dollars! No more bids for fifteen million dollars!”

The man wearing the hat also looked surprised. He slowly took off his hat. Cho-i Hyeon’s eyes widened.

“Hyori…?”

“Fifteen million dollars! Sold!”

The man who took off his hat stood up and started walking towards her. His long black hair reached his collarbone, and the sharp ends of his eyes were exactly like Cho-i Hyeon’s.

“Long time no see?”

Hyori Hyeon, her only family. No, the man who used to be her family.

“Sister.”

Her younger brother. It was Hyori Hyeon.

* * *

After the auction, Cho-i and Hyori were sitting in the hotel cafe. Hyori Hyeon had secured four or five other auction items in addition to the sword, considering how many bullets she had brought today. Cho-i took a few sips of the hot coffee in front of her and asked,

“How have you been?” “That’s what I should be asking.”

Hyori said with a bright smile.

“It seems like you broke up with him—.”

Those were his first words.

“You never listened when I told you to break up, but now it seems you have a new guy. But who is it? You’re with three of them, so I don’t know who it is.” “Hmm.”

Cho-i laughed at Hyori’s words. It was also a thoughtful expression. When Hyori didn’t answer properly, she smiled with a ‘just as I thought’ expression. Slash!

“Oh, hot!”

She was hit with coffee. Cho-i had spilled hot coffee on Hyori’s top. Not spraying it on her face was a consideration.

“What are you doing?!” “What am I doing?”

Cho-i raised her hand, still smiling.

“What am I doing, you son of a bitch, I think it’s more ‘what are you doing’ to speak to your sister like that after not seeing her for so long.”

Smack—! His face turned to the left. Hyori felt the lukewarm taste of blood in her mouth and shifted her gaze. She saw Cho-i raising her hand again.

“W-wait, time out.” “Time out, my ass. Clench your teeth, you crazy bastard.”

Whack!

“Aargh! Sister!” “Why are you calling me sister now?!” “No, why are you so temperamental?!” “A lot has happened since I last saw you, you bastard!”

Thump, whack, crack! Cho-i clenched her fists and literally beat her younger brother. Even though she adjusted her strength considering she was S-Rank, Hyori, being a civilian, took a few hits and then passed out. Cho-i continued to beat him until the cafe staff came to intervene, then let out a sigh and said,

“Get up.”

“…”

“While I’m being nice.”

“Yes.”

Hyori slowly got up from his seat and sat down quietly. His shirt front was completely soaked with coffee. Cho-i sat cross-legged on the opposite side and asked again.

“I’ll ask one more time. What have you been doing?”

“I’ve been a weapons dealer.”

“That’s what I know, but the scale has gotten bigger?”

“I made a deal with a pretty big guild.”

“Isn’t the scale too big to just call it ‘pretty big’?”

Then Hyori scratched his slapped cheek with his finger and looked away.

“I can’t tell you the details.”

“It doesn’t seem to be a legal place again.”

“……”

“Alright, you live your life, not me.”

These were the words Hyori had said when he left home. Receiving his own words back, Hyori narrowed his eyes at Cho-i and asked,

“…Is she really my sister? Her personality has changed so much in just a few years?”

“Of course I’m your real sister, not a fake one? Some things happened. I can’t explain it either.”

“No, seriously. She’s changed as if she died and was reborn.”

Cho-i snorted at that. He was right.

“More importantly, are you still C-Rank, sister? You used to be C-Rank.”

“Do you not follow the internet?”

“I was in China for a while. I was too busy to look at the internet for a while.”

“Go home and look at it now.”

“…Well, I will.”

Cho-i said that casually and then immediately got to the point.

“More importantly, give me that sword.”

“Suddenly?”

Hyori asked back in disbelief.

“I’ll give you the money back. Hand it over. I was momentarily flustered because of you and couldn’t win the bid.”

“I’m sorry, but I had 20 million dollars in bullets on that alone.”

“I had 30 million dollars, you bastard.”

Anyway, it’s Taehyeok Sa’s money.

“Then it’s your fault for not winning the bid back then, sister.”

“You want to get beaten to death again, don’t you?”

When Cho-i raised her hand, Hyori flinched. Hyori Hyeon crossed his arms over his head in an X shape with a truly wronged expression.

“Are you a gangster, sister? Why are you acting exactly the same!”

“Oh, so you’re working with gangsters these days? But did gangsters have that much money?”

No matter how much she thought about it, she didn’t know much about that, so she couldn’t say anything. Hyori frowned, with a look that said, ‘Why did her perception get so fast?’ Cho-i very naturally took the coffee in front of Hyori and slurped it down.

“I can give you more money. So just hand it over.”

“No, well. It wasn’t an absolutely necessary item, so I could do that, but…”

“What’s the problem?”

Hyori scratched his cheek and then whispered to her.

“What’s your current rank, sister?”

“S-grade.”

“…Don’t lie.”

“S-grade, you bastard. Why would I lie? Did I tell you to look at the internet or not?”

“When would I have had time to look in the meantime?”

“Then don’t ask back, or you’ll die.”

Hyori looked away, avoiding eye contact with Cho-i, who had her legs crossed and was baring her fangs fiercely. No, what had really happened while he wasn’t looking to change her personality so much? Feeling his whole body still numb, he briefly reflected on himself. Should I have spoken more gently when I left the house?