Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It seems like again

One hour passed quickly. It was a really short time.

Seo I-hyeon checked his smartphone. A deposit notification had just come.

300,000 won. Depositing right as soon as the time ended, they are decent guys.

Jeong Sang-cheol grinned while looking at Seo I-hyeon checking the deposit.

"It's okay, right? Other than it being once a month, there are no drawbacks, right?"

Seo I-hyeon couldn't help but nod in agreement. Really, at this level, it would be fine to do it every day.

If there was one problem, it was that he didn't know what the Myeongjin Pharmaceutical guys wanted or what they were aiming for.

'Well, that has nothing to do with me. If the signs are strange, I just don't come.'

Myeongjin Pharmaceutical probably didn't harm those who didn't come. The number was not small, and if they had done anything, it couldn't be this quiet.

Seo I-hyeon decided to search at home just in case and relaxed his mind.

As he confirmed the deposit like that, someone entered the waiting room. A woman neatly dressed in a suit.

Jeong Sang-cheol whispered to Seo I-hyeon.

"It's the team leader. She said she oversees this work."

The woman glanced around the waiting room and said.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Today's work is over. I hope to see everyone again next time. You can go back now."

As those words ended, everyone poured outside.

Seo I-hyeon and Jeong Sang-cheol also didn't hesitate and quickly went out swept along.

Like that, until they took the elevator, arrived on the 1st floor, and left the building, no one said a word.

Seo I-hyeon felt that this scene itself was a bit strange. The sense of incongruity was no joke.

'It seems like some kind of compulsion was imposed.'

Maybe the woman called team leader earlier had done something. Being dull in senses was a bit inconvenient at times like this. Because he couldn't know at all what was attempted.

As soon as they left the building, Jeong Sang-cheol opened his mouth.

"Hyung-nim, earlier the team leader, doesn't she feel a bit chilly? Is it because she's a cold beauty?"

Jeong Sang-cheol definitely has good senses. But expressing it outwardly like that is not good.

Seo I-hyeon thought for a moment and decided to meddle just once.

"It's better not to say things like that carelessly."

"Yes?"

"Just do the side gig and take the money. Swallow related words only inwardly."

Jeong Sang-cheol looked at Seo I-hyeon and opened his eyes round.

Seo I-hyeon continued speaking while looking only ahead and walking.

"You know too, that place, that it's not ordinary, right?"

Jeong Sang-cheol swallowed dryly.

Honestly, there was no way not to know. The clinical test Myeongjin Pharmaceutical is doing is absolutely not ordinary.

What clinical test in the world ignores the participants' physical information? They don't even do tests before and after taking the medicine. They don't even try to find out how it is after time passes after taking the medicine.

All they do is give the medicine, make them take it, manage them waiting for one hour, and make them go back.

When they come next time, they do ask about symptoms, but in Jeong Sang-cheol's feeling, they don't regard that as very important either, and it was nothing more than a question like a greeting.

Even so, they pay a full 300,000 won as side gig pay. Exactly on time.

Anyone who has done various side gigs would know how nonsense this is.

"You seem to know. So be careful."

"Is just being careful with words enough?"

"There's nothing else we can do besides that. Are you going to quit the side gig?"

Jeong Sang-cheol shook his head vigorously.

"How can I quit this."

"Exactly."

Jeong Sang-cheol answered while nodding.

"Yes. I'll be careful."

After that, Jeong Sang-cheol who had been walking without speaking sneakily glanced at Seo I-hyeon walking side by side beside him.

"Hyung-nim, may I ask what hyung-nim does?"

Until now he had just thought of him as taciturn, not getting along well with people, and strong. But today he felt a somewhat strange feeling.

"What do I do. A student on leave earning tuition with day labor."

"... I see."

Seo I-hyeon said it sincerely, but Jeong Sang-cheol didn't believe it at all.

Of course, whether he believed it or not, Seo I-hyeon didn't care at all.

These days money was gathering little by little, so Seo I-hyeon was considering whether to return to school once he finished adapting to the world.

Wouldn't properly graduating increase the options later.

"So, where are we going to eat?"

At Seo I-hyeon's question, Jeong Sang-cheol snapped to his senses and smiled awkwardly.

"Ah, I know a place nearby that properly makes gukbap. Let's go there."

"Gukbap, good."

* * *

Peaceful days continued for a while.

As expected, that time was just temporary bad luck.

Seo I-hyeon thought that and moved his steps.

On the day of the Myeongjin Pharmaceutical clinical test side gig, when they ate gukbap for lunch and drank soju, fortunately nothing happened.

In fact, that is normal.

The incident last time when eating samgyeopsal was so shocking that something like PTSD came. It still bothers him.

It's already been a week since doing the clinical test side gig.

Today too, he was on his way because he said there was a pretty good side gig.

Since that day, he had definitely gotten a bit closer to Jeong Sang-cheol. And he was reaping the benefits of getting closer.

Jeong Sang-cheol had wider feet than expected, and he picked up a lot of information from here and there.

One of them was exactly this kind of special job.

Jeong Sang-cheol usually went around doing day labor, but through his unique sociability and wide feet, he often found various jobs.

In the past he did that alone, but now he shares it with Seo I-hyeon.

The work they decided to do today was really peculiar. To the point that he couldn't understand why they were doing something like this.

Walking like that, before he knew it he arrived at the subway station. Jeong Sang-cheol standing at the station entrance was also visible.

As soon as Jeong Sang-cheol saw Seo I-hyeon, he bowed his waist deeply.

"You've come, hyung-nim!"

Seo I-hyeon roughly nodded. Greeting like that draws the surrounding gazes a lot.

Of course, Seo I-hyeon didn't care about such trivial things.

"I'm not late, right?"

"Yes. There's still plenty of time. Breakfast?"

"Not yet."

"I knew it, so I prepared like this."

Jeong Sang-cheol took out two rolls of kimbap from the bag he had slung over his shoulder.

"Eat while we go."

The two went down the subway stairs while eating kimbap.

"It's delicious."

Seo I-hyeon admired while eating the kimbap. Considerable skill. Usually kimbap tastes more or less the same. If the ingredients going in are very peculiar it would be a bit different, but Jeong Sang-cheol's kimbap looked ordinary on the outside.

Even so, the taste was considerable.

Jeong Sang-cheol grinned.

"I'm confident in kimbap. There are three secrets in this."

He didn't say what those secrets were.

Well, Seo I-hyeon didn't particularly want to know what the secrets were either.

The two took the subway, moved for about 30 minutes, got off and went outside. And after walking another 20 minutes or so, they arrived at the destination.

"This seems to be the place?"

The place the two came to was a considerably high building. Even roughly looking, it seemed to be about 30 stories high. At the top of the building, the company name Etherix was attached in three-dimensional metal letters.

Jeong Sang-cheol also came through introduction, so today was the first time.

They said if it went well it could be done continuously, so the first day was important.

"Hyung-nim, let's do well. This kind of work is really rare."

"As long as the compensation is paid accurately, it would be."

"Eh, would they withhold payment? And the hyung-nim who introduced here said it was okay, so probably that won't happen."

It was natural for Seo I-hyeon to say such things. Because today's daily wage was a full 2 million won.

The working time wasn't long either. It wasn't like Myeongjin Pharmaceutical where they just rested for one hour and received money, but still it was only three hours.

The work was manual charging.

So how could one not be suspicious.

If you do manual charging for three hours, they give 2 million won? Who would obediently believe those words.

But there was actually a person who received that money, and they even received an introduction like this.

"And since it's worth giving, they're giving it, right? There must be a reason we don't know?"

It makes sense, but that's why it's a bit uneasy.

'Surely this isn't a place we shouldn't get involved with either?'

When uneasiness was slowly seeping into Seo I-hyeon's heart, someone came out of the building.

Jeong Sang-cheol saw him and bowed his head with a welcoming expression.

"Hyung-nim, hello."

"Oh, yeah. Sang-cheol came. This is the person who came with you?"

Seo I-hyeon stepped forward.

"Yes. I'm Seo I-hyeon."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Guk-yeon. First, let's go in."

Kim Guk-yeon took Seo I-hyeon and Jeong Sang-cheol into the building.

In the 1st floor lobby, there were tons of people who would work today.

'Quite a lot?'

There were more people than at Myeongjin Pharmaceutical. At least twice as many, it seemed.

Giving 2 million won as daily wage to all of these? Is money rotting?

No way. So they're doing it because they can still make enough profit even after giving 2 million won.

Kim Guk-yeon who stopped at a suitable place turned to Seo I-hyeon and Jeong Sang-cheol and said.

"Since I told you in advance, you know, but the work you'll do today is manual charging. It's not difficult, but it takes some strength. When you go to the workplace, there's a string with a handle, and you just pull that."

Seo I-hyeon and Jeong Sang-cheol listened to the explanation focused.

"When you pull, the string stretches out and rotates the internal device so the generator turns. When you release the strength, the string is pulled back in and returns to the original position. You just repeat that."

Jeong Sang-cheol said with a slightly surprised expression.

"You do that for three hours? Without resting?"

Kim Guk-yeon chuckled with an expression as if that couldn't be.

"How could a person do that. You do it moderately and rest. And although they say three hours, you just need to fill the target number. You can finish earlier or later. It takes an average of three hours."

"Ah, so that's why you said three hours."

Kim Guk-yeon nodded and opened his mouth.

"Without delaying, let's start right away. Seo I-hyeon-ssi is fine too, right?"

"Yes."

When Seo I-hyeon answered, Kim Guk-yeon turned his body and gestured with his chin as if to follow.

"Come this way. First we need to record personal information."

* * *

After recording personal information and account number etc., the place the two went was a fairly large space.

In the middle, several long mechanical devices were placed, and on those mechanical devices, black long strings attached at regular intervals were visible. At the end of the strings, ring-shaped handles were attached.

Since there are ten strings on each side of one machine, twenty people can attach.

Kim Guk-yeon took Seo I-hyeon and Jeong Sang-cheol to the very end. And looking at Jeong Sang-cheol, he said.

"You see the gauge above the string? Every time you pull the string, that rises little by little, and when it's full to the end, the color changes so you can know right away."

When Seo I-hyeon checked, the gauge was transparent, and a red line was visible at the end. Probably that red line is the shape that fills up.

"Alright, let's start quickly. Working and resting are free, so regulate well on your own."

Kim Guk-yeon said that and pulled the string with strength. Jeong Sang-cheol who watched that also started work.

Seo I-hyeon carefully examined the machine, gauge, string, and handle, then slowly grasped the handle attached to the string.

'Pulling this charges it, right? Is there a battery inside that machine?'

Seo I-hyeon tilted his head. But what meaning does this have at all?

Anyway, to receive money, he has to do the work. Seo I-hyeon pulled the string very slowly.

The slack string became taut, and when he pulled the string a little, no, to a degree embarrassing to call little, just a tiny bit, Seo I-hyeon's expression hardened completely.

Pung!

A small explosion sound came from the machine, and white smoke rose in wisps.

'Fuck?'

Seo I-hyeon cursed inwardly. When he pulled just a tiny bit just now, a tiny bit of mana inside his body flowed out.

Seo I-hyeon is extremely dull to external mana, but regarding internal mana, he is absolutely not.

As much as the outside is dull, the inside is extremely sensitive.

This machine was a device that absorbs the mana of the person holding the handle every time the string is pulled.

It is a manual charging device, but not charging electricity, but a device charging mana.

It seems he got involved again.

© Kim Kang-hyeon #12i09