Chapter 73
Office.
I pop a chocolate into my mouth while looking at my phone. I'm watching Kim Yang's vlog, the one she shot last time in collaboration with a tailor shop.
[The boss comes to work and drinks alone]
I heard they were adding subtitles, but seeing it like this, they definitely have good taste.
It's not just subtitles, either—there's cut editing and lively BGM, too.
Kim Yang is surprisingly good at this sort of thing.
The video is about ten minutes long.
At the end, it shows Meracle's changed interior and finishes with me in a suit.
Like a before-and-after.
While I was giggling at the comments saying the boss was handsome.
A vacuum cleaner bumps my calf from the side.
“Move your leg.”
“Ah, yes.”
It was Renea, cleaning comfortably with a cordless vacuum.
She takes a long time cleaning. It's like she keeps going back over the same spot.
As I stare at her, Renea meets my gaze without looking away. She really seems to be getting used to life on the third floor.
Especially since she never backs down.
Ding!
- Raychen: Boss, a customer has entered Consultation Room 1.
- Kim Jo-seon: Got it.
Just then, Raychen contacted me from the lobby over chat.
“Ahem! Then I'd better get back to work.”
“……”
The back of my head tingles.
Before leaving the office, I turn my head slightly and add one more thing.
“Please empty the trash can over there, too.”
“Eeeek!”
I head to Consultation Room 1, dodging Renea's shrieking.
The consultation rooms have glass walls, so sound doesn't carry, but they're visible from the outside.
In Consultation Room 2, Kim Yang was already consulting with another female client.
'The promotion is working. Customers have definitely increased.'
It wasn't just the number of customers that had gone up.
After changing the interior, our customer acquisition rate went up more than expected.
It was proof of just how little confidence the old interior had inspired in our customers.
When I went in, a nervous-looking man was sitting there. I put on my business smile to loosen up the mood.
“Hello. You're Mr. Shin Hoyoon, correct?”
“Y-yes... that's right.”
His voice carried a faint note of disappointment.
I'm used to it.
Lately, most of the men who come here are hoping to see Kim Yang because of the vlog, and Raychen, being quite perceptive, has a good nose for that sort of thing.
For this kind of customer, I naturally steer things so I can handle the consultation myself.
The customer's personal details, written down in the lobby, have been sent to the tablet.
It doesn't do anything else, so I bought a cheap Chinese-made tablet just for checking documents.
“Mr. Shin Hoyoon, you're still a college student, yet you've already come to a matchmaking agency?”
“Ah... yes.”
He must have some other motive.
I know.
But this is a business, too.
Because of Kim Yang's social media, we unexpectedly ended up with unwitting customers.
Raychen brings them to me.
And then it's my job to turn them into real customers.
“Since you're still young, you might have financial difficulties right away, but your rating can still come out fairly high.”
“...Really?”
“Yes, yes. I can't confirm it yet, but your expected grade is C for now.”
“Isn't C grade just average?”
“That's right. Would you like to take a look at this?”
I naturally flick through photos of the most promising prospects among the C-grade client list.
Mr. Shin Hoyoon's eyes go wide at the unexpectedly good-looking faces.
This is why it's easy to hook young guys. If they're pretty, it's a yes.
They don't even bother thinking about why they were rated C in the first place.
“Th-these people are C grade?”
“Yes, that's right. A matchmaking agency doesn't judge just 'looks'—it evaluates everything comprehensively.”
I can hear you swallowing, you brat.
“For now, let's start with a consultation. The Basic membership gives you five matches for one million won a month, and there's also an unlimited matching option as an add-on, but the downside is that you can't choose your prospects—”
* * *
“Ugh, my shoulders.”
After organizing today's list of sign-ups, I stretch.
Before I know it, it's quitting time.
Raychen, who has finished tidying the lobby, comes in and bows politely.
“Boss, I'll be heading out now.”
“Raychen, do you have some time today? You came all this way, so we should at least throw you a welcome party, don't you think?”
Come to think of it, I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't even been able to give anyone a proper welcome party.
“How about it, everyone? Are you free tonight?”
“I-I’m in favor.”
Kim Yang, who had been looking at a laptop, also nods at my question.
But Raychen shakes his head.
“Thank you, but I have prior plans.”
“Tomorrow?”
“I have prior plans.”
“The day after tomorrow?”
“I have prior plans.”
“Then give Danjeong my regards.”
“Yes, understood.”
They're so lovey-dovey it practically drips honey.
“Tch, then it's a tie, so I guess it's a no-go. Next time—”
“I, too, am in favor! I want sushi!”
Renea raises her hand with a bright smile.
I replied matter-of-factly.
“Only 'employees' get a vote.”
“……”
“Then I'll be heading out now.”
As soon as Raychen goes outside, Renea rushes at me and starts pattering my back with her tiny fists.
“I want you to make me a full-time employee too! Come to think of it, I never got a welcome party either!”
Who throws a welcome party for a part-timer?
She's hitting me like I'm getting a massage, but then I realize I'm at the age where I should be the one giving massages.
“Boss, c-come here.”
“What is it?”
I wheel over to Kim Yang's side in my chair. Since we were both handling customer consultations, we were seated side by side.
We need to talk about consultations and share information, after all.
“T-this guy.”
“Hmm... Solodel, a mercenary from Razesta on Layer 4?”
Mercenaries on Layer 4 are similar in nature to hunters on Layer 3—they fight with their lives on the line, but make a lot of money.
That's why they're among the trickier types to grade at a matchmaking agency.
“Hmm, he's thirty-five. If he's been a mercenary this long, he's a veteran. He'll know how to take care of himself, so estimate his annual income and then set his asset grade a bit lower than that.”
“Y-yes!”
Kim Yang types as I say. I'm watching with satisfaction, feeling like I'm training a disciple—
“...What's that?”
My eyes are drawn to the religion section.
“The Yeoeum Association? What the heck is that?”
Since the fourth floor has no gods, a lot of people have unusual religions.
It's not that they believe in an actual god; it's more of a mindset. Put more lightly, it's basically a personal motto.
“W-when I asked, they said it was a group for people who miss someone.”
“A group for people who miss someone?”
Is it like shamanism or something?
There's something a little off about it.
For reference, religion is also a pretty important factor. Matches often fall through depending on a spouse's religion.
“Don't set this person up for a match yet. I'll call them separately tomorrow and ask a few more questions.”
“Ah, got it.”
The moment Kim Yang moves the person into a separate folder, Renea's ears perk up.
“Someone's come to the lobby?”
“A customer? We're closed for the day.”
With a sigh, I check the CCTV, and there in the second-floor lobby was Beloa, of all people.
“Mr. Beloa?”
Why isn't Beloa in the library and still outside?
And beside him was Ophelia, who was apparently a fellow member from the Abyss Research Society.
“What is it? Anyway, everyone, get ready to clock out.”
“Boss! Welcome party! I said I want my welcome party!”
“Ugh! Fine! Let's eat something tonight. Okay?”
“Yay!”
After roughly calming Renea down, I put on my suit and head down to the lobby.
As I come down the stairs, Ophelia whistles.
“Whew, what is this place? Is it okay to change this much in just a few days?”
“I spent a bit of money.”
“You've changed a lot too, Boss. You should've been wearing a suit like that ages ago.”
Kim Yang definitely has a good eye.
Everyone says the same thing whenever they see me in a suit these days.
“Ahem.”
As I puff out my chest in satisfaction, Beloa, clutching a book tightly, cautiously speaks up.
“Boss... I heard Mr. Raychen was here.”
“Huh? Ah, he's already left for the day.”
“Ah...”
Seeing Beloa look disappointed, I add awkwardly.
“He's in a relationship right now. If you were interested in Raychen, then—”
“No... it's not that.”
Wow, that's firm.
Then why did you come looking for him?
Wondering what their intention was, I look at the two of them, and Ophelia thinks for a moment before letting out a sigh and speaking honestly.
“Boss, do you know something called the Yeoeum Association?”
“The Yeoeum Association? Uh... actually, one of our clients happens to belong to it, so I was planning to look into it.”
The expressions of the two people listening darken sharply.
Ophelia, pressing a hand to her head as if she had a headache, said with a dark expression.
“The Yeoeum Association. It's a religious group created by one of our fellow members.”
* * *
Layer 4, the continent of Razesta.
Atop an altar built from stacked bricks.
A radio sat all alone.
Aranchino was pounding the floor nonstop with his staff.
Beside him, a camera streaming live in real time was mounted on a stand.
A middle-aged woman stepped up to the radio, sobbing, and placed her dead son's bag in front of it.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
As Aranchino repeatedly struck the floor and mana seeped into the radio—
- Stop!
A young man's voice came clearly through the radio's crackling static.
The moment she heard it, the woman forgot even to breathe and cried out in a panic.
“Huh!? Y-you? Is it you?! M-my son! Romeron! Mom is here!”
- It hurts! It hurts, I said! Stop it! Pleeease!
“Romeron! My child! Romerooon!”
- Please stoppp! It huuurts!
“Romerooon!”
A radio is a one-way communication device.
Of course, there was no way the young man named Romeron could hear her.
And yet the mother still shouted.
Because if she didn't, she couldn't bear the heart-wrenching pain.
- Somebody please save me! Pleeease! Mommm! Daaaad!
“K-kkhuh! Romerooon! Ro, Romeroon!”
In the end, the mother fainted after pounding the floor. The other Yeoeum Association believers carefully carried her away.
Aranchino, who had been pounding the floor with his staff, turns toward the camera.
“D-did you see that, everyone!? Our Yeoeum Association can hear the voices of the dead! And I, a necromancer, have discovered that the souls of the dead do not simply wander aimlessly!”
Aranchino couldn't see the chat window during the broadcast, but a heated debate was raging.
It's a scam, it's deception.
I experienced it myself. The Yeoeum Association is real, and so on.
Except for the Old Murim.
From Layer 3 Earth to Layer 4's continent of Razesta and even Layer 6's Cyber City.
This video, streamed to every floor, was being watched by far more people than expected.
That was how bizarre the Yeoeum Association's actions over the past few days had been, and why anyone would be tempted to listen.
You can hear the voices of the dead.
We have learned the truth of the afterlife.
The Yeoeum Association was now claiming that the things humans imagine at least once in their lives were real.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
What shone in Aranchino's eyes as he kept pounding the floor with his staff was conviction.
“Do you doubt us? Then come! The Yeoeum Association welcomes anyone! T-test us! See for yourselves! Y-you can do whatever you like! We are confident! And we're the real thing!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Aranchino pounding the floor like that was to divert his tic tendencies elsewhere as much as possible.
Many people are watching.
For the sake of the world.
For the dead.
For the mother who had just fainted after hearing her dead son suffer.
He couldn't show a broken side of himself.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Our Yeoeum Association has confirmed this through hundreds of tests! We know where the dead are trapped, trembling in such pain!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
This is for the greater good.
The dead must be set free. We can't leave the departed to suffer.
“In Layer 1! In that place called the Abyss—! Demons are playing with the souls of the dead! Everyone! I, the mage Aranchino, stake my mana, my life, and my name on this and declare it with certainty!”
And so Aranchino makes his declaration.
“It's time to start an inter-floor war! We must go and deliver fiery judgment to those wicked demons holding our dead hostage!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
“The dead are crying out for us to save them! Our family, friends, and lovers weeping in that cold abyss—we must bring them back!”
The story continues off the page
Floaties for Everyone
Swim lesson at the water park, and she's demonstrating on you