Chapter 59
Flode Department Store was a luxury department store.
So this was what Do Baek-ho meant when he said he would make Ha-min pay the full price.
Still, Kang Ha-min had already agreed to compensate him, so he had no choice but to call a taxi.
"Lord, if you want, I can make a carriage out of shadows."
Siriel's shadow magic.
Umbramancy.
Kang Ha-min had already learned during training just how absurdly useful her shadow magic was.
Being able to create almost anything out of shadows was certainly useful, but.
"Carriages are extremely rare in our world. We'd probably stand out even more."
It would be difficult for Siriel to understand a car well enough to create one.
Likewise, Kang Ha-min himself was not skilled enough yet to do something like that.
More importantly.
"And in our world, you need a license to drive. If you don't have one, the police will stop you."
"This society really has a lot of restrictions."
She wasn't wrong.
"That's exactly why you can't just do whatever you want."
"I'll try!"
He could trust her, right?
Although he was still a little uneasy, Kang Ha-min decided to believe in Siriel.
More importantly.
The taxi driver kept glancing into the rearview mirror.
It was probably because Siriel's appearance stood out too much.
Kang Ha-min had spent enough time around her that he had somewhat grown used to her beauty.
If anything, her abilities stood out even more than her looks, so recently he didn't pay much attention to her appearance.
But other people were different.
To others, Siriel looked as though a god had personally sculpted her.
It was impossible not to look at her.
...Should I buy her sunglasses or something at the department store?
He had underestimated Siriel's appearance too much.
Maybe staying indoors for so long had destroyed his sense of reality.
If I cover her eyes, she should attract at least a little less attention.
While Kang Ha-min was thinking about that, the taxi stopped in front of Flode Department Store.
For some reason, the driver even got out and personally opened the door for them.
"Have a good day, customers! I hope I can serve you again next time!"
That was an excessive level of kindness.
Is this the power of beauty?
Once again, Kang Ha-min realized just how frightening good looks could be.
"Whoa."
"What is that?"
"A celebrity? Is she an actress?"
And the moment he stood in front of the department store with Siriel, they immediately drew attention.
Nearly every passerby stared at them blankly.
Some people even subtly raised their phones.
They seemed to think Siriel was some kind of celebrity and wanted to take pictures.
Kang Ha-min didn't particularly like that.
It felt as though his personal information might spread for no reason.
"Ms. Siriel, you might have to go back into my shadow. Too many people are looking at us."
"What? They're making Lord uncomfortable? Then I'll take care of them."
A faint killing intent appeared in Siriel's eyes.
How dare they disturb Kang Ha-min?
"Stop, stop! Don't! Absolutely don't do anything!"
Before she could act, Kang Ha-min panicked and stopped her.
The entire area almost became a disaster zone in an instant.
"They're only staring because you're pretty! Don't worry about it!"
"Ah, pretty? Lord, really."
One compliment from Kang Ha-min immediately relaxed Siriel's expression, and she smiled happily.
Meanwhile, cold sweat was pouring down Kang Ha-min's back.
She looked like a delicate beauty from a painting, which only made it harder to say anything.
"Ms. Siriel, let's go over there for a moment."
There was no benefit in attracting more attention.
He took Siriel to a corner of the building.
"Ms. Siriel, can you make one of those with your shadows?"
He pointed at someone wearing sunglasses.
Siriel snapped her fingers.
A moment later, a pair of black sunglasses appeared over her eyes.
"How is this? Will this work?"
It didn't completely hide her beauty.
Still, it seemed better than nothing.
Screeeeech!
At that moment, a sports car stopped in front of the department store entrance with a loud noise.
The driver got out as if he was used to it, and an employee immediately took the keys.
Apparently the department store offered valet parking.
He must have been a VVIP.
And that VVIP had a very familiar face.
Do Baek-ho.
"Ms. Siriel, let's go over there."
They were here to meet Do Baek-ho today.
As Kang Ha-min approached, Do Baek-ho noticed him.
"Hey, Kang Ha..."
Do Baek-ho was about to shout at him.
Then his face froze.
Beside Kang Ha-min.
He had seen Siriel.
Even though sunglasses covered her eyes, her beauty was impossible to hide completely.
And such a woman was standing affectionately beside Kang Ha-min.
Kang Ha-min was someone Do Baek-ho had always looked down on.
Perhaps seeing Kang Ha-min possess something even money could not buy filled him with inferiority.
His face immediately twisted.
Looking at him, Kang Ha-min thought quietly.
Idiot.
How could someone remain this consistent?
What were the things people boasted about in life?
Money, connections, ability.
Those were probably the three most common things.
But sometimes, there was another kind of thing people liked to boast about.
A romantic partner.
It was common for people to envy someone whose partner was exceptionally attractive.
Just walking beside such a person attracted attention, so how could anyone fail to notice?
Kang Ha-min agreed with that much.
He was human too.
Of course he liked pretty and handsome things.
But even so.
I don't normally feel inferior just because a friend's partner is attractive.
Right beside Kang Ha-min.
Do Baek-ho kept glancing toward Siriel.
Kang Ha-min couldn't hide the pathetic look he gave him.
Well, they weren't really friends in the first place.
Do Baek-ho had always looked down on Kang Ha-min.
Back then, Do Baek-ho had seemed physically large.
But now, somehow, he looked small.
Maybe because he's small-minded.
No.
Kang Ha-min himself had literally gotten bigger.
After undergoing Rejuvenation through the Blood Stone, his physique had grown.
That was why Do Baek-ho looked smaller than before.
And Siriel isn't even my girlfriend in the first place.
But after seeing Do Baek-ho's expression, Kang Ha-min had no intention of correcting the misunderstanding.
If he explained it, someone with Do Baek-ho's personality would probably try to flirt with Siriel.
And if he did that, Siriel would kill him.
Kang Ha-min definitely didn't want that.
Most importantly, Kang Ha-min was an Estrogen Man!
Embarrassing as it was, this was petty revenge!
If you've pulled out a radish, you should at least slice it with a sword...
No, wait!
If you've drawn your sword, you should at least cut a radish!
He had accidentally drawn the blade of revenge, so wasn't it fine to swing it a little?
This kind of revenge was something only children did.
An adult's revenge was supposed to be like this.
...Probably?
"Do Baek-ho, what are you doing? Didn't you tell me to buy you clothes?"
Once Kang Ha-min snapped him out of it, Do Baek-ho finally looked back at him.
His startled face still seemed absentminded.
"You, no, that..."
He was rambling.
He probably wanted to ask whether Siriel was Kang Ha-min's girlfriend.
But Kang Ha-min wasn't going to play along.
Talking would only put him at a disadvantage!
"I'm busy. I'll buy what I owe you and finish this quickly, so let's go."
Without even letting him ask, Kang Ha-min turned and walked inside.
Do Baek-ho had no choice but to follow.
Naturally, his expression remained uncomfortable the entire time.
He had been humiliated at the bar by someone he had always looked down on during school.
And now, even at the department store, which was basically Do Baek-ho's home ground, he had suffered another defeat.
His pride must have been so wounded that he couldn't even straighten his shoulders properly.
On top of that.
"...Didn't you get taller since the bar?"
Do Baek-ho was also intimidated by Kang Ha-min's changed appearance.
Kang Ha-min used to be skinny and slightly shorter than average.
His weak appearance made him the perfect target for Do Baek-ho's bullying.
But the current Kang Ha-min was different.
He was big.
Big enough that Do Baek-ho had to look upward.
He still looked fairly lean from the outside.
But even through his clothes, his muscles and build felt large.
A pressure that could be seen with the eyes.
Humans were animals in the end.
A difference in physique naturally changed how people perceived one another.
A Shih Tzu and a wolf were clearly different.
Right now, Do Baek-ho was feeling that difference.
"You were probably too drunk to notice properly. You drank so much you could barely stand and even fell over."
"Th, that was because of you!"
"I was trying to catch you in the first place."
He really had tried to catch him.
The problem was that Do Baek-ho's clothes had ripped because of it.
Do Baek-ho's lips moved.
He had originally tried to punch Kang Ha-min, which was why the whole thing had happened.
He looked like he had plenty to say, but couldn't get the words out.
It probably felt as though he didn't have a single advantage over Kang Ha-min anymore.
"So how much did you say the clothes cost again?"
But those words reminded him.
So what if Kang Ha-min had gotten bigger?
So what if he had a beautiful girlfriend?
Kang Ha-min was still a civil servant.
A stable job, perhaps, but one far removed from wealth.
Do Baek-ho assumed Kang Ha-min was only showing off because his girlfriend was beside him.
A vicious smile appeared on his face.
"That piece was twenty million won, including the premium."
Learn how terrifying money can be.
"I see. Got it."
Now Kang Ha-min would freeze in fear.
Soon, he would probably grab Do Baek-ho's legs and cry while begging for forgiveness.
Do Baek-ho turned toward Kang Ha-min expecting exactly that.
"I'll compensate you with twenty million won worth of goods. Since you called me to the department store, you want me to buy you that much, right?"
Only then did he feel that something was wrong.
Kang Ha-min's expression was far too relaxed.
It was the ease of someone who had money.
"...You're really going to compensate me?"
Kang Ha-min tilted his head.
Why was he asking again?
"You told me to compensate you."
Twenty million won.
It was definitely a large amount of money.
But for the current Kang Ha-min, calling it a huge amount felt strange.
The Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest generated far too much money.
Selling a single medicinal herb could easily earn more than that.
Twenty million won had become almost insignificant.
So Kang Ha-min dragged the blank-faced Do Baek-ho around and encouraged him to buy things.
Of course, he had no intention of letting him spend more than twenty million won.
This money was simply compensation because Kang Ha-min felt bad for destroying his clothes.
That was all it meant.
The card payment for twenty million won was completed in an instant.
Only a few days ago, Kang Ha-min had struggled over spending one million won for his parents.
Yet somehow, money had already become this light to him.
Even though I'm spending money on the Returnees, there's still plenty left.
He had more than enough money to secure his future.
People said no matter how much money you saved, it was never enough.
In the end, those words were simply the painful cries of people who had never managed to earn enough.
Money wasn't what mattered most to me.
Back when he had desperately chased money, he had only been able to see money.
But now that he had more than enough, the value of money suddenly seemed much smaller.
What I really wanted was simply a stable life.
In many ways, his obsession with safety really was severe.
Safety first, always.
The stability that money provided.
That was the only reason he had worked so hard for it.
Now that he finally had that stability.
Kang Ha-min had gained the freedom to look around himself.
Do Baek-ho stood there blankly, holding a luxury shopping bag.
Why had he wrapped himself in luxury goods and obsessed so much over money?
Probably because money was the only thing that represented his self-esteem.
Kang Ha-min was no longer afraid of Do Baek-ho.
A man who needed money to fill his self-esteem was no longer someone Kang Ha-min had any reason to fear.
"Do Baek-ho."
Perhaps because of that.
The unpleasant memories that always came to mind whenever he thought about Do Baek-ho no longer surfaced.
Instead, Kang Ha-min could smile at him.
"Live well from now on."
Would Do Baek-ho understand what those words meant?
Unfortunately, probably not.
For Kang Ha-min, those words were also his own farewell to the past.
He had taken enough revenge.
In Do Baek-ho's life, Kang Ha-min was no longer someone he could casually look down on.
For Kang Ha-min, that was enough.
After that, Do Baek-ho left while carrying his shopping bags, unable to say anything.
Neither of them suggested having a meal together.
Their relationship had never been anything more than that.
Until.
BEEEEEEEEEEP!
The emergency alert sound from every phone suddenly exploded throughout the department store.
