Go Kyung-soo went to Narae Kindergarten with the admission certificate in hand.

The enrollment process was swift. So swift that it felt almost anticlimactic.

At the same time, he was angry.

At himself, for trembling over a mere admission certificate.

At himself, for practically neglecting his daughter just because he lacked a few million won.

And at himself, for trying to rationalize it all, convincing himself that it would be okay…

“Hoo.”

“They say sighing too much drives away good fortune.”

At the sudden remark, Go Kyung-soo turned his head.

A young man was extending his hand.

What was his intention?

Was he asking for a handshake?

As he pondered in confusion—

“You’re Hye-jin’s father, correct?”

“Oh? How do you know that…?”

“Do you know Hye-jin’s friend, Seo-woo?”

“Ah, could you be… Seo-woo’s father?”

“Yes. Nice to meet you here. Haha.”

“Indeed. I should have visited earlier, but I’m sorry. Work has been so busy that I kept putting it off.”

“I understand. You’re a police officer, right?”

“How did you know…?”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. Hye-jin brags about it all the time.”

“Hye-jin does?”

“Yes. She always says that if bad men come, her dad will take care of them, that her dad is stronger than Awakeners.”

Go Kyung-soo chuckled awkwardly.

“I also used to think my dad was stronger than Iron Man. Seems like Hye-jin feels the same way.”

“For children, fathers are heroes regardless of the era.”

They were heading in the same direction.

As they walked to the store, Yeon-jun and Go Kyung-soo had an easy conversation.

Perhaps because they both had six-year-old children, their talk flowed smoothly.

“So, is Seo-woo like that too?”

“Yes. When I watch Hye-jin and Seo-woo, it seems like boys get even more worked up.”

“Hahaha. He must look really cute when he sulks.”

“I’m not just saying this because he’s my son, but he really is adorable. Customers sometimes suggest I enter him in kids’ modeling competitions.”

As they chatted about their children and parenting, they arrived at the store in no time.

“Well, I should get going now. I really enjoyed our talk today.”

“You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”

“Huh?”

“Dinner. Your evening meal.”

“Ah, well, that’s true, but…”

“If this isn’t fate, then what is? Stay and eat before you go.”

“But what about the store…?”

“We haven’t opened yet, so there’s plenty of time. My brother is an amazing cook.”

“Actually, I’ve heard about that. Our center chief comes here often.”

“Since you’ve heard the rumors, you should come in.”

“No, I should eat with Hye-jin…”

Just then—

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Hye-jin came running from the back of the store and jumped into his arms.

“Daddy! Seo-woo's Uncle made something delicious!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Let’s go eat right away!”

Go Kyung-soo smiled awkwardly.

“I hope we’re not imposing.”

“Not at all.”

The two of them stepped into the store.

Seo-jun visited Hwang Tae-su’s office early in the morning.

It was because Hwang Tae-su had contacted him, saying that due to a recent decrease in the trade of magic crystals, their price had skyrocketed, creating a surplus.

“I could have come to see you.”

At the sight of Hwang Tae-su bowing so humbly, Seo-jun momentarily imagined something.

Hwang Tae-su standing outside his store with a gang of thugs, blocking customers from coming in…

‘That would definitely scare away business.’

As he smirked at the thought, Hwang Tae-su handed him a Bacchus energy drink.

“Is Bacchus all you have?”

“Huh? Oh! Sorry. Right now, all I have is Bacchus… If you’d prefer something else…”

“No, it’s just that you always give me Bacchus.”

“Ah…”

“By the way, thanks for the scholarship program.”

Hwang Tae-su frantically waved his hands.

“Oh no… there’s no need to thank me. I just did what I was supposed to do. If you ever need anything again, just let me know.”

Seo-jun smirked.

He must have been thoroughly scared. That was the only explanation for his overly submissive attitude.

But from Hwang Tae-su’s perspective, it was only natural.

He didn’t want to risk disappearing without a trace.

It was from that one time when Seo-jun had opened a subspace.

Hwang Tae-su had heard it clearly.

—“Please, let me out… No, I beg you! Please… Please, I’m begging you… Hrk… sob…”

A voice wailing… No, screaming in despair.

How a voice could be heard from what was essentially an infinite subspace, he didn’t know. But that wasn’t important.

What mattered was that if he made the wrong move, he could end up just like the owner of that voice.

Gulp!

“…Huh?”

Lost in those thoughts, he hadn’t even heard what Seo-jun had said.

“Huh?”

“I asked how much the surplus is.”

“Ah… Sorry! I’m still half-asleep.”

“So, how much is it?”

“19.2 million won.”

“That’s quite a bit.”

“As I mentioned over the phone, the decline in black market trades of magic crystals has significantly raised their price.”

“I assume this happens from time to time?”

“Not frequently, but it does occur occasionally. Magic crystals have limitless uses, after all.”

Just as Hwang Tae-su said, magic crystals had endless applications.

Especially the barcode-free ones circulating in the black market.

Though they were a bit bulky, they were virtually weightless—about the same as paper money.

Because of that, they were often used for bribery behind the scenes.

Of course, the main clientele was Awakeners.

A massive quantity of magic crystals was required for transformation.

“This is just a guess, but I think the Abyss Guild is behind this recent price surge.”

“The Abyss Guild?”

“Yes.”

Seo-jun knew the name from the internet.

“It seems Myung Hyung-jun is aiming to transform into an SS-rank Awakener this time.”

Seo-jun recognized the name. Yeon-jun had mentioned him before too.

—“Hyung-jun is doing well these days. You know the Abyss Guild, right? He’s part of it. His position is quite high—like a branch manager or something.”

“SS-rank? Is that even a thing?”

Seo-jun was somewhat surprised.

He thought the highest awakener rank was S-Rank

Of course, he had never been curious enough to look it up himself, only learning about it through the conversations of his customers.

“Yes. The rank after that is S-Rank, right? If S-Rank is called a ‘Transcendent,’ then SS-Rank is called an ‘Absolute.’ That’s how rare they are worldwide.”

“Then is there an SSS-Rank as well?”

“Of course.”

“What is that rank called?”

“They are called Gods.”

“Gods?”

“Yes. There are fewer than 500 people worldwide who have reached SSS-Rank.”

“Hmm.”

“Anyway, it seems like the Abyss Guild is buying up all the magic stones for Myung Hyung-jun.”

“It’s surprising that a major guild would do something so shady when they don’t really need to.”

“That’s why they often use shield guilds.”

“Shield guilds?”

“Like in ‘meat shield.’ If they get caught by the police or the Bureau of Management, the shield guild takes the fall.”

“Isn’t that too sloppy?”

“Of course, if someone wanted to gather concrete evidence, they could. But what can you do? If you mess with a massive guild like Abyss, you could end up getting destroyed instead. So people stay quiet. The major guilds know this, so they use shield guilds as a way to let the authorities save face.”

“I see.”

“Ah! Would you like the surplus in cash?”

Seo-jun nodded.

At that, Hwang Tae-su took out cash from the safe.

As expected, Seo-jun stored the money in his subspace.

Seeing that pitch-black void without a single speck of light, Hwang Tae-su felt dizzy and nauseous.

It almost seemed like he could hear a voice from deep inside.

Please, please, please, let me out!

…A desperate voice.

“See you next time.”

“Huh? Ah, yes! Take care, boss!”

Even if he had to live a narrow and cautious life, Hwang Tae-su never wanted to end up inside that subspace.

Before returning to the store, Seo-jun stopped by the market.

Didn’t he usually go to the supermarket?

Yes. Seo-jun was a man who went to the supermarket.

But since the market was on the way, and he happened to be feeling hungry, he decided to stop by.

The market had naturally formed in what used to be a street filled with cafés. Though small, it had everything one might need.

“Take a look at this fresh napa cabbage!”

“Need some side dishes? These dried radish strips go perfectly with rice!”

Seo-jun disliked markets.

The musty smell, the seemingly unsanitary conditions.

The thought that they might overcharge people who didn’t know any better.

But paradoxically, he also liked them.

A little boy holding his mother’s hand tightly, pointing excitedly at deep-fried snacks.

A grandmother haggling with a customer while soothing her crying grandson.

A young man with a towel draped around his neck, pushing a handcart for deliveries.

A housewife meticulously inspecting the seafood in her basket…

These were all sights one wouldn’t see in a supermarket.

‘Not that I’ll be seeing this much longer.’

Seo-jun smirked as he reminisced.

Markets like this no longer existed in Seoul.

Most had been shut down, replaced by large supermarkets or other buildings.

Markets had become symbols of poverty.

Symbols of the slums.

Suddenly, a savory smell tickled his nose.

Seo-jun instinctively moved toward it.

The smell of deep-fried food and tteokbokki coming from a stall on wheels.

“Welcome! What would you like?”

Seo-jun scanned the food on display.

There were quite a few options.

Chicken skewers, rice cake skewers, hot dogs, sausages, fish cake skewers, seaweed rolls, japchae dumplings, fried fish cakes, fried dumplings, tteokbokki, sundae, and more…

“I’ll take one chicken skewer, one serving of tteokbokki, four seaweed rolls, and two fried fish cakes.”

“You’ll be eating here, right?”

“Yes. How much is it?”

“It’s 32,000 won, but just give me 30,000.”

Seo-jun took out money from his pocket and handed it over.

Since District 12 had particularly bad public safety, most stores required payment upfront.

In fact, the after-meal payment system at ‘Let’s Have a Drink’ was the rare exception.

The vendor wrapped the chicken skewer in napkins and handed it to him.

The skewer was so heavily coated in teriyaki sauce that it dripped temptingly.

Seo-jun took a big bite.

The sweet teriyaki sauce spread through his mouth.

He couldn’t help but smile.

The chicken was incredibly tender, likely made from thigh meat.

Just as he was finishing the skewer, the vendor handed him the tteokbokki and fried food.

“A grown man like you should at least wipe your mouth. You’ve got sauce all over.”

“Ah, thank you.”

After wiping his mouth, Seo-jun focused on his next meal.

Tteokbokki, seaweed rolls, fried fish cakes.

All foods he loved.

Especially market tteokbokki, which had a unique taste that couldn’t be replicated at home.

Something about it reminded him of the ones sold at stationery stores near schools.

He used a fork to pick up a piece of rice cake and fish cake and put them in his mouth.

The taste was exactly as expected.

Sweet, spicy, and savory.

Yet, strangely, it made him smile.

And it brought back old memories.

“Why are you sitting there with your eyes closed like you're appreciating a piece of fine art?”

“It’s just so good.”

“It’s not like this is your first time eating tteokbokki.”

“That’s true. But for some reason, it tastes even better today.”

“You sound like an old man who's lived through everything. You’re funny.”

As he chuckled faintly, the vendor wrapped another rice cake skewer in napkins and handed it to him.

“This one’s on the house since you enjoyed it so much.”

“Thank you.”

While rice cake skewers could be eaten cold, fried food was different. Setting the skewer aside, Seo-jun picked up a seaweed roll.

Now came the moment of decision.

Soy sauce vs. tteokbokki sauce.

A crease formed on Seo-jun’s forehead.