CH 230

We had breakfast with brunch prepared by Athena in the widest and spacious drawing room, and then Chloe told us how to get to the American Red Market.

“Only four blocks west, you will see a closed subway entrance in the corner of the alley.”

“Then it’s blocked, isn’t it?”

“It’s blocked, but if you look closely, the stairs leading down to the underground are hidden under the vinyl. We’ve taken appropriate measures to keep it out of the public’s sight.”

“That should be enough for us to find.”

“Right. It’s easier when you actually go there. When you enter the subway, there will be a red sign. The wall just below that is the entrance to the Red Market.”

“Thank you for the explanation.”

“Everyone, please be careful.”

Chloe, waving her hand slowly, immediately left the drawing room. After greeting Chloe, I looked back.

‘Then we have to go to the Red Market…’

Cheon Sa-yeon, Woo Seo-hyuk, and Ha Tae-heon worked on a tablet PC in their spare time. Park Geon-ho was sitting on the sofa almost as if lying down and looking at his phone. Min Ah-rin was eating cookies while holding Fox and Kwon Jeong-han drinking his tea from the opposite side. Lastly, even Kim Woo-jin pushed a plate with a piece of cake.

I let out a sigh, examining the faces of the people one by one.

“Shouldn’t you cover your face while going out?”

Cheon Sa-yeon raised his head at my words.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to hide your appearance by covering it up.”

“That’s… that’s true.”

I looked at Cheon Sa-yeon’s face, which was shining particularly bright today, and sighed once more. It was the same for everyone, not just Cheon Sa-yeon.

What’s the point of wearing sunglasses or a mask on that face? Besides, all of them were tall, so if they covered up clumsily, people would only be more focused.

“Hm… do you have any changing items left, Master?”

“I have considered it. But nothing was put up for auction.”

Park Geon-ho, who had been thinking for a while, asked a question and Woo Seo-hyuk answered instead. It seemed that Cheon Sa-yeon and Woo Seo-hyuk were already thinking about it.

“What should we do? Shall we only go to people whose faces are not known like the last club?”

“No.”

Cheon Sa-yeon shook his head at Min Ah-rin’s words and got up.

“As long as Lee Soo-jin has been on our side, the Praus Cult will already know that information related to America has leaked out. In such a situation, dividing the team would only increase the risk.”

“I think the same. Since we all came to America together, it would be better not to disperse as much as possible.”

Agreeing with Cheon Sa-yeon’s opinion, I shook my head vigorously. If there was a way to go to the Red Market without being noticed…

“We’re going into the air.”

This was all I could think. Everyone who heard the proposal turned to me.

“Let’s hold hands and fly high in the sky.”

“Romantic.”

“…I’m not joking.”

That sounded a bit strange, but… anyway, that was the best for now. Ha Tae-heon, who shut down the tablet PC, turned to me.

“There are quite a few people, can you withstand it?”

“It’s not that far, four blocks are good enough.”

It seemed to me that this wasn’t a bad plan, but somehow the atmosphere in the drawing-room was very bad. Even Min Ah-rin blinked her eyes but didn’t respond. I was losing my confidence.

“Is it that bad…?”

When I touched the nape of my neck awkwardly, Woo Seo-hyuk replied with an uncomfortable look.

“No. The opinion itself is very good. It’s just…”

Instead of Woo Seo-hyuk, who ended his speech cluelessly, Park Geon-ho opened his mouth.

“We’re doing this because we’re worried, Han Yi-gyeol.”

Worried? Hm… indeed. It was okay because I had wind ability, but other people might be a little scared. We had to fly pretty high so that the public didn’t see us.

Now I understood why everyone reacted like this. I smiled softly and told everyone.

“Don’t worry. Will I ever drop you guys? Right now, my body is in good shape, so my ability is stable. So, let’s go according to my plan.”

“Yi-gyeol-ssi…”

“We’re not worried about that… no, okay.”

“……?”

Park Geon-ho, who was about to explain something, waved his hand. What the hell.

* * *

We climbed into the sky holding each other’s hands and flew straight west. Fortunately, the subway entrance that Chloe was talking about could be seen at a glance even from a high place.

‘Is all of this a trick?’

There were various pieces of hardware and large vinyls all over the place as if the construction had stopped in the middle. After making sure there was no one around, we came down.

As soon as our feet touched the ground, everyone except Kim Woo-jin and Min Ah-rin, who were holding my hands, let go their hands on each other’s hands with displeased expressions. They didn’t really get close in this way, these people…

“Let’s go in.”

As explained, the messy vinyl covering the entrance was removed to reveal a dark staircase going down to the underground.

“Umm, it’s very dark…”

Min Ah-rin, who looked inside the subway next to me, murmured in a slightly worried voice.

It didn’t matter how much we could see in the dark, but people with non-aggressive abilities like Min Ah-rin were the same as ordinary people, so it would be uneasy to go in like this.

“You might fall, so I’ll hold your hand.”

“Ah, good! Thank you.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, Park Geon-ho, and Kim Woo-jin, who were quietly listening to me and Min Ah-rin’s conversation, opened their mouths in turn.

“Then me too.”

“Me too.”

“Me, me too…”

“……”

You didn’t need it because you could see well anyway.

“Let’s stop joking around and go in. Master Cheon Sa-yeon, please take the lead.”

“For putting me at the forefront in such a dangerous place…”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Next is Ha Tae-heon-ssi.”

Starting with Cheon Sa-yeon, I put Ha Tae-heon, Park Geon-ho, Woo Seo-hyuk, and Kim Woo-jin into the underground one after another, and the last, I held Min Ah-rin’s hand and looked back at Kwon Jeong-han.

“What are you doing?”

“Yes?”

“Hold hands. We should go too.”

Kwon Jeong-han, who was flustered for a moment as I held out my empty hand, carefully grabbed my hand.

It was fortunate that there were only two non-combat abilities, Min Ah-rin and Kwon Jeong-han. If there was one more, I would have had to ask someone else, but how could I trust and leave them to those who hated each other for holding hands while flying here?

‘Ha Tae-heon and Woo Seo-hyuk are mature, so I thought it would be okay…’

We went down the stairs one by one and looked back. Kwon Jeong-han, who was following me down the stairs while holding my hand, had a somewhat complicated expression on his face.

When we reached the end of the stairs safely, a wide hallway appeared. The hallway, where dim lights were illuminating everywhere, was eerie as if something was about to pop out at any moment.

I looked around calmly and soon found a red sign with nothing written on it. Min Ah-rin, who found the sign just like me, tilted her head in bewilderment.

“It’s a lot easier to find than I expected.”

“Anyone who doesn’t know there’s a red market here won’t know what it is just by looking at the sign.”

“Oh, I see.”

Just like when I went to a Korean Red Market, the wall shook like water and swallowed my hand when I reached out to the wall. Without stopping in that state, I pushed all of my body into it. The dark space was turned upside down in an instant and the scenery inside the Red Market unfolded before my eyes.

Unlike the red market in Korea, which had a traditional oriental atmosphere, the red market in America was more urban and various mechanical devices were installed.

“Fox, hide with invisibility.”

Piiik!

It was better to hide Fox with invisibility just in case. At my words, Fox let out a bright cry and disappeared.

“Oh, it’s my first time to visit the American Red Market but it’s pretty big.”

Min Ah-rin asked Park Geon-ho, who followed and came inside.

“Oh, didn’t Team Leader say that you came from America?”

“That’s true, but I never came to the Red Market.”

Did you say that Park Geon-ho lived in America? So, it was why he always said good morning or something like that.

“Let’s take a look around first.”

As we entered the red market in earnest, people around us began to look at us. Still, they were all talented people and it was an unofficial place, so they only gave us a little glance, but didn’t show excessive interest. It was fortunate.

Min Ah-rin, who was visiting the red market itself for the first time, looked around with a flushed face.

“Jeong-han-ssi, doesn’t this look very much like an octopus? But it’s a monster.”

“How fascinating.”

Min Ah-rin, who found a squid-shaped monster that was in a long container and moving limply, chatted with Kwon Jeong-han with twinkle eyes.

Kim Woo-jin also stood firm next to me without saying anything, but looking at his head turning around, it seemed inevitable that his gaze would be drawn to it.

Each booth on either side of the road had different items and monsters, so it was the best sight for Min Ah-rin, Kwon Jeong-han, and Kim Woo-jin, who came here for the first time.

“Yi-gyeol-ssi, Yi-gyeol-ssi. Look at this.”

That was when we walked around for about 30 minutes. Min Ah-rin grabbed my arm and pointed a finger at the items displayed in the booth.

“Isn’t it so pretty?”

It was a brooch studded with pale scarlet jewels. It seemed to be an ordinary accessory as I didn’t feel any energy.

‘Do you want one?’

If this was much, it would be okay to buy it to commemorate her visit to the Red Market. Min Ah-rin came all the way here for me.

“I’ll buy it for you, Min Ah-rin-ssi.”

“Waa, really? I will keep it for the rest of my life!”

For the rest of my life… I took out the wallet that I had in my art inventory and Park Geon-ho, who was watching us quietly from behind, asked as if he was genuinely curious.

“By the way, Han Yi-gyeol, this is America. Didn’t you do something like a currency exchange?”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, I didn’t change the money. If I had come to America by plane, I would have exchanged money at the airport, but I didn’t have the opportunity to do so because we used space-moving.

Park Geon-ho, Cheon Sa-yeon, and Kwon Jeong-han, who saw me stiffened with my wallet, started to giggle and laugh. These guys… they didn’t even exchange.

“Here it is.”

Woo Seo-hyuk, who stood back and watched what we were doing, eventually paid the price of the brooch on my behalf. As expected from Woo Seo-hyuk. He had exchanged the money in advance and was well prepared.

Min Ah-rin said in a bright voice to me as I closed my wallet with an awkward smile.

“Thank you so much, Yi-gyeol-ssi!”

“Yes, well… I didn’t buy it…”

I slipped to Woo Seo-hyuk and whispered in a low voice.

“I’ll pay you back later, Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi.”

“…it’s okay.”

“Kuk… pfft…”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who heard it next to Woo Seo-hyuk, covered his mouth with his hand and started laughing again. Annoying jerk…