Chapter 7: A Very Polite Public Execution

“It’s something that can screw over someone I f*cking hate.

That’s worth throwing my entire fortune at.

By the way, how much money do you have?

If there’s any left over, instead of those watches, you could buy me one of those too…”

Jin-yeop pushed away Noh Young’s face, who was muttering nonsense beside him, as they entered the private room.

His eyes met those of a man who had been sitting on a red velvet sofa but quickly stood up.

For some reason, the moment the man saw Jin-yeop, he couldn’t hide a sour expression.

However, Jin-yeop just smiled brightly.

At this, the man instantly erased his expression and smiled back.

Instead of pointing out the change, Jin-yeop approached and offered his hand for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you.”

“I-It’s nice to meet you.”

The man awkwardly shook hands with Jin-yeop before hurriedly gesturing toward the sofa.

“P-Please, have a seat.”

Seeing his obvious fluster, Noh Young’s eyes narrowed, but he sat on the sofa with Jin-yeop without showing it.

He had no idea what was about to happen, but a bad feeling brushed against the back of his neck.

Once the two were seated, the man gestured toward So-yeon.

She then brought three watch boxes from the back and placed them on the center table.

“As the employee probably explained, the items are truly inadequate.

I’m sorry we can’t show you proper products.”

“Let’s see them first.”

At Jin-yeop’s words, the manager, wearing white gloves, opened the watch boxes one by one and began introducing them.

“The first model incorporates the processed core of the B-class dungeon boss ‘Rampaging Golem.‘

As you know, since it’s a defensive-type monster, it deploys a protective shield once against physical attacks…”

“Next.”

Jin-yeop tilted his head with a blank expression.

His attitude was incredibly cocky, but the manager explained the second model without complaint.

Seeing the two of them, Noh Young narrowed his brow.

In truth, customers like this were probably common, so the man’s response was not just natural but professional, but Jin-yeop’s behavior wasn’t.

He wasn’t someone who dismissed others like this.

Wondering why he was acting so out of character, Noh Young scratched his head and kept his mouth shut.

After all, the items the manager had shown weren’t particularly high quality.

“The second model is made with spirit stone for the exterior glass, rather than regular glass or plexi-sapphire.

Not just the glass, but everything except the hands and indexes is made of spirit stone, so in an emergency, the energy of the spirit stone itself…”

“Useless for an Esper.

Next.”

Jin-yeop cut him off mercilessly, as if there was no need to hear more, and leaned back on the sofa, even crossing his legs.

“Th-Then how about the third model?

It’s crafted from a branch of the World Tree that grew inside the A-class dungeon ‘Cradle of the Fairy King.’”

The moment Jin-yeop saw that watch, his eyebrow twitched.

It was the item he wanted.

“Cradle of the Fairy King…

That was a dungeon with no boss, right, I think?”

Noh Young, who had been quietly observing the strange situation, also sat up straight and began examining the item from all angles.

“Right after the dungeon appeared, there were fairy-like monsters, but they vanished without a trace.

They had no will to attack either.

As if it was meant to be abandoned from the start…”

The history of the raw material wasn’t important.

Pretending to be nonchalant, Jin-yeop sprawled lazily but scrutinized the watch carefully.

The other two products the man had shown utilized spirit energy in existing metal watches or inserted a golem’s core, but this product, made entirely from a branch of the World Tree, was clearly on a different level.

“This by-product, called a branch of the World Tree, when worn by an Esper, has the effect of reducing the mental and physical impact from overusing abilities.

There’s no better everyday wearable item for an Esper.”

“This one’s actually worth buying.”

As Noh Young chimed in, the man looked quite confident and took out the item to show it in detail.

The design was impeccable, and the fact that they had processed a branch of the World Tree to this extent clearly marked it as a top-tier product.

But Jin-yeop wasn’t looking at the product; he was staring blankly at the man’s face, silent.

Even though this was exactly the item he wanted, his expression was utterly cold.

“Are you trying to screw me over?”

“Ex-excuse me?

What do you mean…”

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

Noh Young tapped Jin-yeop’s shoulder as if asking what he was talking about, but Jin-yeop just glared at the man with icy eyes.

“I’ve been really put off since earlier.”

Jin-yeop adjusted his posture and stared at the man.

The man, at a loss, began darting his eyes around.

“Do you think I don’t know you’re deliberately only showing me these crappy items?”

“No, that’s not…

That’s absolutely not true.

The items we have prepared are really…”

“Nothing prepared?

Who do you think you’re lying to?

Hey, Noh Young.

You tell me.

When you came here, did they only show you items like this?”

“Huh?

What?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Noh Young was flustered but quickly shook his head.

No, because he had never once been shown items below A-class.

“That’s not the case…

There must be a reason.”

“That’s right!

It just so happens that the items currently in the store are only these…”

It was plausible enough.

Thinking the same, Noh Young quickly nodded and looked at Jin-yeop, but he didn’t seem inclined to calm down.

“Is that so?

To me, it doesn’t seem that way at all.”

“…..”

“Especially that last watch.

That doesn’t seem like the kind of watch to recommend to an Esper whose partner Guide is talking about divorce.

What, is it implying that since I’m about to be divorced, I should just wear some low-grade watch like this?”

“You’re misunderstanding.

That was absolutely not the intention.”

Seeing Jin-yeop start to pick a fight, Noh Young tried to stop him.

“What’s really wrong with you today?

Did you make a deal with a fairy or something?

Like, make your life as miserable as possible in exchange for 1 trillion?

Hey, calm down…

Earn it by working.

Work for it.”

He tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but Jin-yeop pushed him away.

“I’m misunderstanding?

Then is it also a misunderstanding that you had the employee cut me off based on my purchase history?”

“It wasn’t intentional; we genuinely had no products to show you…

The purchase history issue is also due to established guidelines.”

“You did it because of guidelines?”

“…..”

“Then how was I able to buy items before, when I had no purchase history?”

“At that time, your husband…”

“Exactly.”

Jin-yeop reached out and, as if to make a point, touched the three open boxes, closing them with a thud, thud, thud.

Startled by this, the man flinched but couldn’t bring himself to stop Jin-yeop.

“So you’re the one misunderstanding.”

“…..”

“I haven’t divorced Kang Jung-hoon yet.

On paper, we’re still married.

So it was possible then, but not now?

Does that make any sense?”

“Well…”

“That’s not all.

The watch I bought with my own money back then—why isn’t it recorded under my purchase history?

Who the hell did that without my permission?”

“…..”

“If that had been properly recorded, I wouldn’t have any reason to be treated like this.

You’re perfectly fine pulling shit like that because we’re married, but now that we’re getting divorced, I can’t see items?

Don’t you think that’s a bit strange?”

“Maybe it’s because you didn’t come with someone?”

Noh Young added, trying to calm Jin-yeop, who looked like he might burst into flames at any moment, but it was useless.

“I came alone back then.”

“Huh?”

“But they did it anyway.

Fine, Kang Jung-hoon even designated a salesperson over the phone, so I’ll let the item viewing back then slide.

But shouldn’t the purchase history have been handled differently?”

“…..”

“Manager Lee Soo-hyuk.

Why don’t you tell us yourself?

You’re the one who sold me that watch back then, aren’t you?”

At Jin-yeop’s accusation, the manager’s face began to pale.

Seeing this, So-yeon, who had been standing silently, involuntarily gasped and covered her mouth.

“You even came to my wedding.”

“…..”

“As Kang Jung-hoon’s guest, right?”

Soo-hyuk’s face, now ashen, contorted instantly.

He quickly covered his face with his own hand and let out a groan.

‘He must have thought I wouldn’t recognize him.

No, if I hadn’t done the crazy thing of regressing ten times, I probably wouldn’t have.’

There was no way he could remember the face and name of every employee who had sold him a watch.

Besides, when he gifted the watch to Jung-hoon back then, Jung-hoon had already arranged everything from the salesperson to the product.

So all Jin-yeop had to do was go to the store, pay, and pick up the watch.

But if you repeat that same action several times, it gets etched into your memory.

The face became oddly familiar, and he fully recognized who it was after several regressions.

Though they had never even exchanged greetings, at some point Jin-yeop became aware that Lee Soo-hyuk had attended his wedding as a guest.

‘Having held the same wedding several times, I couldn’t help but memorize it even if I wanted to.’

Jin-yeop scoffed inwardly.

Pointing this out only now made him feel utterly ridiculous.

Moreover, the reason Jin-yeop was angry now wasn’t about some uncredited purchase history.

If anyone thought he was making a fuss here over such petty change, they’d be mistaken.

His real purpose for coming here, today’s main dish, was the fact that Lee Soo-hyuk and Kang Jung-hoon had conspired to completely swindle Jin-yeop.

“Kang Jung-hoon brought you a damaged artifact, didn’t he?”

“…..”

“Do you know that I was the original finder of that artifact?”

At the word ‘artifact’ from Jin-yeop’s mouth, everyone stared at him in shock.

“That’s stolen goods.

You’re not going to tell me you received it unknowingly, are you?”