What Money Can’t Buy (3)
As anxiety began to grip my entire being, I had no choice but to grip Cho Hyejin’s hand.
“Don’t do that. It may not be obvious, but I am pretty attractive. You can’t check my face because of the mask. This is uncomfortable. I can’t even take it off…”
“We’ll be with you next time when the opportunity comes. I am sorry, but I have an appointment today.”
“Even just for a minute? I’d like to talk in a quiet place. I don’t do this to anyone… Really.”
“I’m sorry.”
I glanced at Cho Hyejin helplessly, as if telling her to handle this insane woman in front of me. Seeing this, she stepped forward, still holding my hand tightly.
“I don’t know who you are, but I think that’s enough. He has clearly refused. Don’t be rude.”
“Ahhh…”
“Let’s go quickly, Yuka.”
“Yes, Haruka-nim.”
“What the… She was a subordinate and not a girlfriend?”
“Our relationship is not your business. Would you step aside? If you keep bothering us, I’ll call security. I don’t want to cause any problems, so please just go away. It’s also quite unpleasant that you keep blocking our way.”
“Your subordinate is more possessive than I thought…”
“It’s not about being possessive or not. It’s about basic etiquette.”
“…”
“…”
I could see the two women staring at each other. I felt a little nervous, but what could this crazy woman do? She knew that she couldn’t make a fuss here.
Cho Hyejin pulled me towards herself once more, but I knew she did not mean anything by it except to protect me. However, to everyone else, it looked like she was marking her territory.
She must not mean anything strange.
Thus, a woman with a unique characteristic of Corpse Lover looking at me slowly moved away from the crowd. Another woman, whose unique characteristic was A Master that Causes Pain, also lost interest.
‘There are so many crazy women here.’
There were also many crazy guys, but they were irrelevant since they didn’t care about me in the first place.
In the end, Shaolin slowly started to move away from us as well. Seeing some of the men nearby running towards her, I could guess that they were her subordinates.
“Paper and pen.”
“Yes.”
“This is the address where I can receive the letter. I hope you will contact me soon.”
“I will contact you if I have the time.”
“It seems that the people who do not want to reveal their identity to each other are all equally ordinary… Seeing that you’re here, you seem to be the same, but I’m more capable than you think. Perhaps I can be helpful. In many ways, even…”
“It’s hard to promise that I’ll contact you, but I’ll see you someday.”
‘I’ll never do that, bitch.’
“You must. You made a promise, okay? Then, I’ll be going…”
‘Please, go away quickly. Please disappear. Disappear from the continent…’
As if unsatisfied, I felt her gaze continuously followed me. I could feel goosebumps rising on my skin. I tried to avoid her gaze as much as possible, yet at some point, I could affirm that she was indeed completely gone.
“You’re very popular.”
“It’s undesirable popularity in a place like this. I wish you could walk a little closer.”
“…”
“I don’t want to pretend to have a good relationship with you either, but can’t you at least make it look like you’re marking your territory? It’s uncomfortable to have eyes focused on me from everywhere.”
“Are you spraying pheromones?”
“I think that’s similar. It’s a little bit painful to say that these are the ones who get affected, but… Anyway, walk a little closer…”
“It’s a bit unpleasant being so close.”
“It hurts quite a bit to hear that right in my face.”
“…”
However, it worked. As we walked like a couple in a romantic relationship, I felt safer, as if I was out of these women’s range.
In the first place, talking to others in this kind of place was not a commonsense behavior. It was clear that the woman I just saw had been a little too active.
As it was a place where customers’ security and safety should be thorough, I could reduce my worries about anything happening.
‘Let’s never meet again.’
I had no plans of meeting any of the women here.
Of course, it was undeniable that everyone here was also capable, but I didn’t want the number of women I had to deal with to increase.
Anyway, as I still had a purpose, I had to look around slowly once again.
Cho Hyejin also started to snoop around as if she was getting used to this place. Right now, her curiosity seemed to triumph over her discomfort. However, the more we went inside, the more she noticed that the atmosphere was changing, so she naturally became cautious.
When one could see people disappearing one by one in the corridor that was once full of guests, it seemed that everyone had gone for their own personal affairs. That meant we should, as well.
When I glanced at the security guarding one of the doors, they went and opened it for us.
Inside was a typical slave auction house. Numerous people were sitting in luxurious chairs, indicating that they were regulars in this place.
‘Is it her first time seeing a different species?’
When I took a seat with Cho Hyejin, I saw a guide approaching us. He must have come to ask what we were going to drink. Meanwhile, I felt like I could fall asleep just sitting in this luxurious and fluffy chair.
As if it hadn’t started yet, I could see more people coming in and taking seats one by one.
“What is this place?”
“Well, I did not check before coming in… It looks like a slave auction house. I’m just saying this, but let’s not make a fuss.”
“I know that much.”
“I’m glad to know that. Do you know anything about different races?”
“No. I only heard them through stories. I just saw it once during that time.”
“Really? It’s a little disappointing. I don’t know much about it, either.”
“Rather than that, look at that woman sitting farther. Isn’t that the same one from earlier?”
As I followed her gaze, I could see that it was definitely that woman.
‘Fuck…’
“She probably didn’t follow us. Don’t look at her. I don’t want to announce that I’m here.”
Apparently, she had been here even before we came in.
I tried to turn my gaze away from her, and after a while, someone stepped onto the stage. Bright lights poured down from across the room.
Then, a voice spoke.
“You’ve all been waiting for a long time. Today, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of you for visiting our auction house. You can look forward to the quality of today’s products. We have our heart in our club, which always delivers sincerity.”
These cheap comments were typical of such a place. I was expecting more for such a luxurious atmosphere, but this part seemed to be inevitable.
“It wouldn’t be nice for me to take too long, since you are all busy people. It’s sudden, but I’ll start the auction right away. First, we have the 54-year-old Elf Rumenia.”
A woman with long ears on one side slowly stepped onto the stage.
I hated this, but my own eyes widened. This was because she had the most beautiful face than anyone I had seen so far.
However, I was only fooled for a short while.
Seeing the elf looking up at the stage with a terrifying face, I frowned. Her body was not wearing a single thread, and her hands and feet were wearing restraints. Her trembling figure was enough to induce sympathy.
Greed quickly filled the eyes of those sitting in their seats.
She was puffing her mouth, but I couldn’t hear her voice, so she seemed to be under some spell.
“This is a hard-earned object. She has unusual emerald-colored hair, and, as you can see, she is in great shape. It’s a clean product that’s very well maintained, as well as its nutritional status.”
As two people who came together slowly grabbed the elf’s body and arrested her, she screamed and opened her mouth, but I still couldn’t hear her voice.
It seemed like they were trying to show us her back, but she trembled as if that alone was terrifying. Big tears popped out of her eyes, and she couldn’t even stand as if her legs gave out.
“As she doesn’t have any fighting ability, we didn’t train her. I think it might be a necessary item for customers with a sadistic personality. It’s also quite a young age for an elf.”
“I want to hear her voice.”
“Ah. If you want, of course, I have to show you. I need to ask for the other customers’ consent. From now on, I’ll only release the magic that she’s been under for a while.”
The wizard on one side of the stage slowly chants a spell, and immediately a voice similar to a scream burst out.
“Help! Please… Help. Someone… Please help me.”
The voice itself was clear and crisp, but the content was not clear. She looked around with a crying voice, but there was no way that there would be a reaction.
In the first place, some nobles of the Holy Empire did not see other races as human.
“She has a nice voice.”
“Hahaha. Of course, I thought you would feel that way.”
As I looked beside me, I saw Cho Hyejin shivering. Her crumpled face and clenched fists seemed to represent her feelings. I knew she would be a little angry, but I couldn’t even imagine that she would be this furious.
Cho Hyejin’s personality was a little better than I thought.
“I say it once again, but if you cause a fuss….”
“I… know.”
In other words, this was the scene depicting human rights violations. Definitely, the common sense of modern people could not be understood.
There is no way the righteous Cho Hyejin can understand the low people who sent cheers or raised their fingers to express purchase intentions. They didn’t even care about the pain of others. No, to be precise, they enjoyed seeing others in pain.
“What do you think is the problem? What do you think can solve the problem?”
“What do you want to hear?”
“Nothing, Yuka.”
It seemed to me that she was regretting this and was feeling stressed. Maybe she couldn’t even imagine that something like this existed. She didn’t really understand how this place worked.
“This is normal. Honestly, it’s surprising that it’s a little cleaner than I thought. Well, there may be places dealing with special slaves, but there is no time. You better pass it over.”
“…”
“I checked the reality of the slave trade myself. So, aren’t you curious about how the monsters that they caught illegally will be used?”
“That’s…”
“Let’s stand up.”
I saw Cho Hyejin’s face with her lips tightly closed.
“Give me a glass, too.”
I knew she would react like this.
“Let’s go to another place, Haruka.”
“Okay, Yuka.”