Hwang Tae-su was watching TV.

A report on kkotjebi was being broadcast.

The upheaval had changed many things. Even the word kkotjebi itself was proof of that.

A term once used exclusively in North Korea was now widely recognized in South Korea as well.

Before the upheaval, there had been no one in South Korea who could be called kkotjebi.

But after the upheaval, vagrants roamed the streets—children starving and wandering.

Since the words "starvation" and "vagrant" had long faded from South Korean vocabulary, the well-known term kkotjebi was used in their place.

“This country is a fucking mess.”

Hwang Tae-su didn’t usually watch documentaries like this. They just pissed him off.

He changed the channel, and a breaking news report was on. It was about the 12-K98 Gate.

“There’s no chance of failure.”

Kim Chul-jun’s confident declaration made Hwang Tae-su click his tongue.

“Is it because he’s young? That’s some serious confidence.”

Older folks would call that recklessness.

Hwang Tae-su knew.

He knew exactly who had placed the barrier around the 12-K98 Gate…

“It must be that guy.”

No other awakened individual would dare to pull off something that audacious in District 12.

And he had seen that man’s power firsthand.

A monstrous existence. And that barrier—he had put it up.

There was no way Kim Chul-jun could break through it.

The real question was—why had he placed a barrier around the 12-K98 Gate in the first place?

“Could there be a gold mine there or something?”

“There’s no gold mine.”

“Which bastard—?!”

Hwang Tae-su, who had been lounging lazily, shot up like a spring-loaded doll.

“Boss! You’re here!”

Standing before him was Seo-jun.

“There’s no gold mine.”

“I’m sorry!”

Quick to read the atmosphere, Hwang Tae-su bowed and retrieved a drink from the fridge—a Bacchus energy drink.

“I was able to get through a tough spot thanks to you last time. I never got the chance to properly thank you…”

“No need. I didn’t do it to help you.”

“Ah… Then, what brings you here today, sir?”

“I have some things I want to sell.”

Seo-jun opened a subspace.

It never gets old.

Hwang Tae-su had seen it multiple times before, but Seo-jun’s subspace always amazed him.

“Are you not going to calculate the price?”

“Ah, right!”

After calculating the value of the monster remains and magic stones Seo-jun had taken out, the total came to over ten million won.

“Would you like it in cash again today?”

When Seo-jun nodded, Hwang Tae-su took out money from the safe.

1,081,000 won in total.

“Much appreciated. I’ll be back.”

“Take care!”

After leaving Hwang Tae-su’s office, Seo-jun headed to a large supermarket in Yeoksam-dong.

The reason he didn’t go to a supermarket in District 12 was simple—napa cabbage.

Since napa cabbage had become an expensive crop, the supermarkets in District 12 didn’t stock it.

“Please step onto the security scanner.”

Even the entrance process in Yeoksam-dong’s supermarket was different from District 12.

A well-dressed security guard guided Seo-jun to the scanner.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

After passing through security, Seo-jun took a look around the supermarket.

They had everything.

One section caught his eye—the toy aisle.

Now that he had a nephew, toys, which he had never paid attention to before, suddenly seemed interesting.

Seo-jun placed a robot toy into his cart and continued shopping.

Since it’s summer cabbage, it seems a bit softer.

It also didn’t look as fresh as winter cabbage.

But there was no choice—winter cabbage wasn’t available in summer…

“Hm?”

A sign caught his attention.

Awakened-grown napa cabbage?

As he approached, he realized it wasn’t just cabbage. There were all kinds of crops.

“Excuse me, what are these?”

Curious, Seo-jun asked a supermarket employee who was restocking the display.

“These are crops grown by awakened individuals.”

“Can you explain in more detail?”

“Are you a returnee?”

“Yes.”

“I guess you didn’t hear about it in the rehabilitation program.”

“I only took the short course.”

“Ah… Well, think of it as something like old organic farming, but very different at the same time.”

“How is it different?”

“The cabbage you’re holding is summer cabbage. It’s not in season.”

Napa cabbage was traditionally in season during November and December, and that hadn’t changed even after the upheaval.

“But this cabbage here was grown by climate-type awakened individuals. They manipulated temperature, humidity, and other conditions to match the cabbage’s natural growing season. So, it tastes just like in-season cabbage.”

“I see. Thank you.”

As the employee walked away, Seo-jun examined the awakened-grown napa cabbage again.

Unlike the summer cabbage, its core was firm, and it looked much fresher.

Of course, the price was different, too.

While summer cabbage cost 34,000 won per head, awakened-grown napa cabbage was 240,000 won per head.

Seven times more expensive.

Might as well get the in-season cabbage.

Food always tasted best in its proper season. Napa cabbage was no exception.

Seo-jun placed 35 heads of in-season cabbage into his cart, along with coarse salt and other ingredients for kimchi seasoning.

The total cost came to 9.64 million won in an instant.

After paying, Seo-jun discreetly stored the cabbage and other ingredients into his subspace, avoiding prying eyes.

Kimjang (kimchi-making season), huh…

The reason he had gone to see Hwang Tae-su and bought 35 heads of cabbage was all for making kimchi.

If it were just for his family, 5 to 8 heads would have sufficed, but he planned to serve it to guests as well.

Just then—

A woman rummaging through a food waste bin came into view.

The woman was frantically picking up food from the trash can and eating it.

“Hmm…”

Suddenly, the streets of Yeoksam-dong from just a while ago came to mind.

Sophisticated streets, bustling roads, gleaming buildings, and the lively faces of the people...

The difference in people's lives was stark, just a few kilometers apart.

At least in the past, there weren’t people rummaging through trash cans.

“Hmm.”

In the meantime, the woman had disappeared from sight.

Shaking off thoughts of her, Seo-jun resumed walking.

Before long, he arrived at Lee Sook-hee's house.

Lee Sook-hee carefully examined the napa cabbages.

“Where did you get these precious seasonal cabbages?”

She recognized them instantly.

‘Well, of course.’

Before the upheaval, Lee Sook-hee had been making kimchi for decades.

She wouldn’t fail to distinguish between summer napa cabbage and seasonal napa cabbage.

“A regular customer at the store gave them to me.”

“To get this many seasonal cabbages in the middle of summer would cost at least ten million won. What kind of customer would do such a thing…?”

“An Awakened customer.”

Lee Sook-hee nodded as if she understood.

To ordinary citizens—especially those living in District 12—Awakened individuals had only one meaning.

Rich.

Awakened ones could earn a lot of money, an amount unimaginable to the residents of District 12.

Not every Awakened person became wealthy, but that was the common perception.

So she kept it simple in her mind.

An Awakened customer who frequently visited Seo-jun’s store happened to taste his kimchi stew and decided to provide seasonal napa cabbage.

That kind of scenario.

“Did you bring the other things I mentioned?”

Seo-jun didn’t know how to make kimchi.

More precisely, he didn’t know how to make it as delicious as Lee Sook-hee’s.

So yesterday, he had asked her for guidance, and she had listed the additional ingredients needed for making kimchi.

Seo-jun carried the supplies he had left outside into the house. They were all the ingredients she had mentioned.

“I never thought I’d use this red rubber basin again before I die…”

She looked at the red rubber basin and became lost in nostalgia.

There was a time when every household used these red rubber basins to make kimchi.

During kimchi-making season, neighborhood women would gather to help each other, or they would share their homemade kimchi with one another.

‘They say even the mountains change in ten years…’

Lee Sook-hee sighed quietly.

Nowadays, few households used red rubber basins. Especially in poor areas like District 12, even less so.

She looked at Seo-jun and spoke.

“Have you ever made kimchi before?”

“I’ve helped my grandmother make it before.”

“Then let’s get started.”

Anyone who has ever made kimchi—or at least helped—knows how much effort it takes.

It’s an easy dish to pull out of the refrigerator and eat, but considering the hard work of the person who made it, it’s never truly simple.

Even the task of cutting the napa cabbages in half was a chore.

But the real challenge lay elsewhere.

The process of salting the cabbage.

Mixing salt into water and rubbing coarse salt thoroughly between each layer of cabbage leaves—it was simple manual labor, but staying in the same position for hours made it tough.

Of course, the salting process took about a day.

It had to be left to rest for a day.

The next morning, Seo-jun woke up early, prepared ingredients for his store, and headed straight to Lee Sook-hee’s house.

“You didn’t call me.”

He found Lee Sook-hee struggling to wash cabbages in the yard.

“I figured you’d be busy with your store late at night, so I didn’t call you.”

Recently, Lee Sook-hee’s way of speaking had become slightly more casual.

Seo-jun took it as a good sign. It meant they were getting closer.

And in fact, he did feel that way.

“I’ll do it. Please give it to me.”

“It’ll be hard, though…”

“It’s fine.”

The toughest part of making kimchi was salting and washing the cabbage.

That was no exception for Seo-jun.

It wasn’t physically tiring—more mentally exhausting.

‘If I had used my subordinates, it would have been done in an instant. A shame.’

Once Seo-jun finished washing the cabbages and stacked them neatly, Lee Sook-hee approached him.

“We need to leave them like this for about a day.”

“I thought it only needed about half a day?”

It was the so-called "draining" process.

As far as Seo-jun knew, salted cabbage usually needed to drain for 10 to 12 hours.

Lee Sook-hee nodded and explained.

“That’s not wrong. But the method I use isn’t the Gyeonggi-do style, it’s the Jeolla-do style.”

“Jeolla-do style?”

“In Gyeonggi-do, they usually drain the cabbage for about half a day, but in Jeolla-do, they let it drain for more than a day.”

“Ah…”

“I’ll prepare the kimchi seasoning, so come back tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

“Promise me.”

Park Yeon pouted as he grumbled.

“Didn’t I already promise?”

“How can I trust the words of the Demon King? Give me a more solid guarantee.”

“What kind of guarantee?”

“For example… an advance payment.”

“Advance payment?”

“I learned from dramas. Normally, people are paid in advance before being hired.”

“How much do you want as an advance?”

“Since today’s promised wage is 50,000 won, just give me 10,000 won as an advance.”

“At least you got an early taste of capitalism. You won’t get scammed in the future.”

“Of course. I’m a warrior who learns things quickly.”

…Or so he said, but suddenly, an incident from a few months ago crossed his mind.

That gold ring—if it were now, he would never have sold it for just 40,000 won…

‘If I ever catch that bastard…!’