Chapter 12: Networks are assets to merchants(4)

“Grandma, are you crazy? You should have thought about going to the hospital with that money!”

The girl shouted. I was lucky. I was able to obtain information.

“I don’t have many years left to live…”

“You should live as many years as you can!”

“Hey, you brat. Siu’s mom told me everything! You’ve been skipping classes and not showing up every day, right? So, if you can’t pass the test… you might get expelled, right?”

“You heard that? This… damn it. Why did that lady have to say unnecessary things…”

“Do you think I don’t care about spending this money? I saved this money to marry off my baby, but still… you need to graduate…”

The girl bit her lip as if she felt wronged.

“Why did I skip classes in the first place! I skipped classes to work part-time to raise money for your treatment! You don’t even know that!”

“Don’t do useless things, if you’re a student, you should study!”

“Enough, enough! I can pass the expulsion test on my own. So don’t worry about it, Grandma!”

I had enough information. It wasn’t good for them to fight anymore.

“Calm down for now…”

“Do you think I can calm down now? Just get out!”

I suppressed my anger and forced a smile.

“Um… Madam. I’ll talk to your granddaughter, so please go inside and rest for a while.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. This girl takes after her mother and is very stubborn…”

“It’s okay, just wait a moment.”

The girl shouted as if she felt wronged.

“No, I don’t have anything to talk about with this man!”

“Don’t shout, just listen to the gentleman! Um, sir. Please take good care of her.”

“Alright, alright.”

I went into a small room with the girl.

“Can she hear well?”

“She won’t be able to hear if you close the door. Just finish your nonsense and get out. Get lost! Ah, ugh….”

She couldn’t contain her anger and pulled her hair.

“Ah, phew… I’m sorry. Thinking about it, you didn’t do anything wrong. You just came to sell something and had a hard time…”

“That’s okay. First, let’s summarize the situation.”

“Situation?”

“Your grandmother is sick and you need money for her treatment. You’re working part-time to raise money. Right?”

“Y-Yes. That’s right. Thank you for kindly summarizing the sh*tty situation.”

The girl looked at me with a sullen expression.

“Old people are stubborn.”

“So?”

“If I just say I won’t sell the item and leave, she’ll grab my pants and force me to take the money and buy the item.”

“Oh, so. You’re going to sell that gun even after seeing this mess? Wow, I’m going crazy. I’m sure you’ll do great in business.”

“Well, I’d like to give it away for free, but if rumours spread, it’ll be a headache… and I have a partner, so that’ll be a bit difficult. It’s not something I can decide on my own.”

“Don’t change the subject. So, you’re going to sell that gun. I don’t need it. I can pass the expulsion test on my own!”

“I’m sure you can.”

With her circumstances, it didn’t seem like she could afford the tuition. She was a scholarship student.

And the fact that she could enter the academy on a scholarship proved that she was far superior to other students.

She could easily pass the ‘mere’ expulsion test.

“That grandmother… having that money isn’t a good thing. Even if it’s not me, she’ll meet another salesperson or scammer and get ripped off.”

“So, you’re going to rip her off? Wow, I’ve never seen such a shameless scammer.”

“Yes. That’s right. And with that 10 million won, my own money…”

I quickly calculated the amount of money I could invest in her.

The Gremlin pistol business was booming. I had a lot of cash.

A portion of it wouldn’t be a waste to invest in the future.

“Roughly 40 million won, I’ll give it to you. 50 million won.”

“Huh?”

The girl’s eyes were filled with doubt.

“That should be enough for the treatment, right?”

“Y-Yeah, of course. No, it’s more than enough. But why are you giving me that money?”

“Of course, I’m not giving it for free. I’m lending it to you. Pay it back in 5 years.”

“How much interest are you going to charge….”

She still didn’t let her guard down, and she slowly backed away and crouched down.

“Actually, I don’t have to take it, but if you’re worried, well. 3 percent per year. 15 percent in 5 years. That’s 1.5 million won in interest.”

“O-One and a half million…”

“What’s wrong. It’s not that much money, is it?”

“How is that not a lot of money! W-Well, of course, I’m really grateful, but-“

She was angry as if she felt wronged. I didn’t understand why she was angry.

“It’s not a lot of money. In 5 years, aren’t you going to be a hunter?”

“Ah.”

“You’re going to graduate from the academy, right? Do you think a hunter will struggle with that much money?”

Hunters make a lot of money. Academy graduates make even more money.

Even I, a gatherer, was making more money than I could have imagined in the past, and hunters inevitably made more money.

“Actually, I don’t understand why you’re poor now. You’d make a lot of money as a gatherer.”

“They don’t hire minors…”

“Ah.”

Anyway, what I had to do didn’t change.

“You need money now. You’ll be a hunter someday, but your grandmother needs treatment right now, right?”

“That’s… right.”

“Let’s take the 10 million won your grandmother is holding and send her to the hospital.”

I smiled mischievously.

“Your grandmother will be satisfied that ‘she used the 10 million won she saved up for her granddaughter’, and you can send your grandmother to the hospital. Isn’t it a win-win situation?”

It was impossible to break the old woman’s will head-on. Realistically, it wasn’t possible.

Even if it was a bit of a deception, it was better to make it seem like their will was being accepted and then solve the problem among the young people.

“Then, what’s in it for… you? You’re… at a disadvantage. There’s no reason for you to do this for me…”

This was the look of someone who couldn’t believe in goodwill.

The look of a person who couldn’t accept the luck that fell in front of them and doubted everyone around them.

You shouldn’t use tricks when dealing with these people. You have to honestly and sincerely tell them what you gain.

“First, I can sell that item, right?”

“Ah.”

“The item you would never buy. For 10 million won, seven pistols and 300 bullets… I can sell that, right?”

She didn’t know, but this item had no original cost. It wasn’t close to zero, it literally didn’t exist.

Just by making this deal, I could earn 7 million won. Even though it would be a long time before I got that money.

“Secondly, this transaction is safe. You’re an academy student, and I know your personal information. And you… are someone who is very likely to pay back the money in the future.”

Unless the girl loses her limbs in an unfortunate accident, she will definitely become a hunter. At least a gatherer.

Either way, it’s a job that requires a clear identity. And it’s a job that makes a lot of money.

It was safe to say that there was almost no chance that I wouldn’t be able to get this money back in 5 years.

“Thirdly, I can buy your heart.”

“My heart? Mister, you seem a little crazy…”

“If you think about it as buying a hunter’s favour, this is a reasonable expense.”

“Oh, that kind of talk…”

I didn’t know what she was imagining, but I was sincerely trying to buy her favour.

‘Hunters aren’t easily swayed by money.’

It wasn’t because hunters didn’t have greed, it was because hunters couldn’t be tempted by just any amount of money.

Hunters make a lot of money. A sh*t ton of money.

A gift set of Korean beef or red ginseng wouldn’t be enough to make them feel like it was a ‘small and insignificant gift from the heart’.

In 5 years, this money will be pocket change to her. It’s not enough money to grab her and shake her.

But to the girl now, this money is life. The life of a precious person.

‘In the short term, I’ll make a scholarship student my ally. In the long term, I’ll make a hunter with decent skills my ally…’

If I can do this for just 40 million won, it’s a profit. It can’t be considered a loss.

“Give me your account number. I’ll take the cash and deposit 50 million won.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. Just keep the gun as a souvenir. If you’re confident in your skills, it’s better to do what you’re good at instead of taking the shooting test.”

Tears fell from the girl’s eyes.

“Th-Thank you. Mister. You were such a good person… I suspected you of coming to sell something suspicious… sniff…”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry too much, and keep up the good work at the academy.”

“Thank you, really…”

Her crying was a touching sight, but I was getting tired. I wanted to finish and go home.

“Give me your account number quickly.”

“Okay…”

After we finished talking, I left the room with the crying girl.

“Sir. Are you done? No, what did you do to her that she’s crying like that-“

“No. Grandma. It’s just… that, this person is a very grateful person… I was touched and cried.”

“Really? Then, the toy gun-“

“Yes. I’ll sell it. Here are seven pistols and 300 bullets.”

“Oh, thank you. Thank you…”

I didn’t know why I, who came to sell something for money, had to hear ‘thank you’, but I smiled and nodded.

“Yes, Grandma. Stay healthy. Then I’ll be going.”

“Okay…”

Just as I was about to open the door and leave, the girl grabbed me.

“Mister.”

“What?”

“My name is Lee Jian.”

“…So?”

“Just remember it! You were talking about my heart or whatever, were you going to leave without knowing my name?”

Actually, I knew. I saw her name when I transferred the money.

But that wasn’t the answer she wanted, so I smiled and nodded.

“I will. In the future… a long time in the future, please take care of me. Lee Jian.”

“Yes!”

The girl smiled brightly, with tears in her eyes.

It was a very rewarding face. At least, I didn’t think I wasted my money.
****
Yuhwa stared at her phone, biting her lip.

“I want to buy a gun too…”

Of course, she had the five pistols he gave her. But that wasn’t enough.

There was already a student with ten pistols, a student with fifteen pistols. Yuhwa couldn’t accept that another student had more guns than her.

Of course, she texted Isu. But Isu was cool and firm, telling her to ‘bring your parents like the other students’.

“Should I… call Mom?”

The anxiety of bothering her busy mother with unnecessary things and the temptation to buy a gun tormented her.

After much thought, she eventually picked up her phone and made a call.

“Oh, Mom! Yes. It’s me. Yuhwa. It’s nothing else, but there’s something I really want to buy, and I think you need to help me-“

Not knowing what that call would cause.