▶ Chapter 38. A Fragile Ordinary Person (2)
Oh.
Even the entrance looked incredibly luxurious.
I tried not to show it, but I began looking around like a country mouse visiting Seoul for the first time.
The basement floor contained several restaurants and a huge supermarket.
Those prices?!
Maybe because everything was at least eco-friendly or organic, the prices were quite high.
But compared to what came later, those prices were nothing.
The cosmetics section on the first floor was filled entirely with luxury brands.
Even a quick glance showed prices that made my head spin.
And it was not only the basement and first floor.
I looked around up to the seventh floor.
Everything was like that.
This place really is luxurious.
It was the most expensive department store in Korea, so I supposed that made sense.
I used the connecting passage to enter the neighboring building, which sold only hunter items.
Four handsome and beautiful security guards in perfectly fitted suits stood in front of the main entrance.
They’re hunters.
Their ranks and levels were not particularly high, but they were physical-type hunters.
They were fairly skilled.
They were also thoroughly equipped with various items, including protective equipment.
It was probably a precaution against criminals trying to steal the items sold inside.
“Welcome, customer. Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes. Here.”
I showed the reservation screen from the app.
The security guards checked both the screen and my identification.
Then they placed a bracelet printed with a barcode around my left wrist.
Only after that was I allowed inside.
An employee in the glamorous lobby approached me, smiled kindly, greeted me, then checked the barcode.
“Would you please wait for a moment? Your guide will arrive shortly.”
“Yes.”
The employee brought me the drink I requested, then stepped away.
The service really is good.
Of course it was.
For an ordinary person to visit this place, they had to prepay an incredible one million won through the app.
It acted like store credit and was deducted from anything purchased, but it was still a huge amount of money that most people could not easily spend.
There was also a three-hour time limit.
Hunters apparently don’t have that limit, and they don’t have to pay an entrance fee either.
I was SSS-rank, but naturally I could not reveal that.
So I quietly paid and made a reservation like an ordinary person.
What a waste of money....
Just as I thought that, a handsome middle-aged guide wearing an elegant suit appeared.
Another rule of this place was that first-time visitors had to be accompanied by a guide.
“Hello, Customer Kim Suyeon. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes, hello.”
“May I ask whether you are a hunter?”
Thanks to Han Dongju warning me beforehand, I did not flinch at the question.
He had told me it was part of the normal procedure.
“No. I’m an ordinary person.”
The guide smiled extremely politely.
“Is there a particular product you are looking for?”
According to Han Dongju, the employees here used such extreme honorific language toward customers that they almost destroyed Korean grammar.
Apparently, some hunters used to punch employees otherwise.
Why did I say “used to”?
Hunter Han Junggeun once destroyed a trashy hunter who beat an employee because the employee didn’t bow deeply enough, right?
It was one of the most famous videos on YouTube.
After that incident, hunters visiting this place stopped using physical violence.
However, plenty of them still behaved terribly in other ways.
Because of that, the employees here always acted extremely submissively.
I feel kind of bad for them.
As a former office worker, I could not help thinking that.
This man was probably more than twice my age too.
I smiled kindly and spoke gently.
“There isn’t any particular product I’m looking for. I’d like to look around the entire place as market research. I’m considering starting a business related to this industry.”
It was the explanation I had prepared beforehand to match my current official status as unemployed.
I doubted the National Tax Service would investigate me this deeply, but there was no harm in being careful.
“Then while we look around, may I explain any products that catch your interest?”
“Yes. Please do.”
The guide respectfully began showing me around.
The closest area was the accessories section.
Necklaces, rings, bracelets, anklets, and countless other accessories were displayed separately by type.
Just as I had seen on YouTube yesterday, every single item was carefully protected inside a transparent, round case.
Those cases were items too.
They were designed to prevent accidents like theft.
Still, if a B-rank or stronger hunter seriously wanted to rob this place, they could probably clean it out without leaving a trace.
I slowly walked around and looked at the accessories.
They were all unbelievably beautiful.
But I did not want to buy any.
According to the descriptions, most had protection functions or temperature-control functions, but their effects were not as impressive as I expected.
