Chapter 31:Money and Talent Pour In

 Chapter 31: Daily Quest (1)

First, he needed to figure out the drone’s exact location. He looked up carefully, but couldn’t see anything that looked like a drone.

“Where is it? I can’t see it properly.”

“Over theeere!”

The child pointed, and Ryu Seong stared intently in that direction.

A little more carefully.

Tilting his head at different angles.

“Ahh, that one?”

“Yes!”

Only then could he faintly make out the drone caught on a fairly high tree branch. The leaves had been blocking his view, making it hard to spot.

Just in case, he borrowed a device from the kids and tried operating it.

*Click, clack.*

The drone didn’t budge.

“Hmm.”

It looked like he’d have to climb the tree.

It would be tough, but it seemed possible.

“Hyung, please get it down for us~”

“Okay, don’t worry.”

Since the time limit wasn’t very generous, he needed to hurry.

Let’s give it a try.

He grabbed the tree trunk and applied a bit of strength to his arms. Surprisingly, his body felt light.

*Oh, this might work.*

He decided to climb a little higher.

“Hup!”

He wasn’t at monkey level, but he was still quite nimble. That was when the first obstacle appeared. The trunk began to split and grow thinner. He stretched his leg up high and wedged his foot into the gap where the trunk split.

“Whew.”

Using all the strength in his body, he pulled himself up and settled onto the three-pronged section. So far, it wasn’t too difficult. But the drone was still much higher up.

Wait…?

By now, the trunk had become so thin that stepping on it wrong might cause it to break.

“Tsk.”

With no other choice, he climbed back down to the ground.

“Sorry, kids. Wait just a moment. I’ll definitely get it down for you.”

“Okay!”

He glanced around and spotted a stick of decent size near the edge of the playground.

“Will this work?”

He picked up the stick.

He planned to use it to knock the branch where the drone was stuck.

“Huh? Over there…”

At that moment, a familiar-looking woman approached.

“Is it you?”

“Ah…!”

“Thank you so much! Really! Thanks to the sponsorship you gave me last time, I was able to sign with a good company.”

“Ah, yes. I saw the article.”

It was the busking singer who had sung so captivatingly.

Seeing her in person like this felt strange.

“Really? I never imagined I’d run into you around here. Actually, I wanted to meet you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. The money you gave me was so much… I thought I should return it.”

“It was because I liked your singing. That’s all.”

Ryu Seong’s answer made her pause for a moment in thought before she held out her smartphone.

“Um… would you mind giving me your number?”

“Huh?”

“It’s not for anything weird. I just feel like I should repay the favor. Since you said you won’t take the money back, I want to repay you several times over once I succeed later.”

This was his first time experiencing something like this, so he wasn’t sure how to respond.

[Hurry up.]

[There isn’t much time left.]

The hologram that appeared brought him back to his senses.

It seemed better to quickly give her his number and get back to the task.

“Go ahead.”

“Here!”

He entered his number and handed the phone back.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

He hurriedly returned to the children.

The singer, seemingly curious, followed after him, but he ignored her.

“Alright, let’s try again.”

“Yes!”

He picked up the stick from the ground, but it was shorter than he thought. There was no way it could reach from here, so he decided to climb the tree partway and then use the stick. Since it would be too much for the kids to handle, he approached the busking singer who had followed.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“If I ask, could you hand me that stick?”

“Ah, yes! Of course!”

He left the stick with her and climbed the tree. When he reached the middle, he looked down and stretched out his hand.

“Give it to me now.”

“Here!”

He took the stick she handed up. Since he had climbed quite high, the stick could just barely reach the drone.

“Woooah!”

“It reached!”

“Wow…!”

The children cheered, and even the singer who was watching let out a gasp of admiration.

*Got it…!*

With a satisfied smile, he swung the stick at the drone.

[Time limit has expired.]

[As penalty, bird droppings will fall.]

Right at that moment, a bird sitting on the branch above Ryu Seong let out a big white splat.

*Plop.*

There was no way to dodge it. The bird poop landed squarely on his forehead.

*

Even though the quest had failed.

“Hyung, thank you so much!”

“You’re the best!”

“Yeah, just be careful from now on.”

“Yep!”

The drone rescue was successful. It was a bit disappointing not to receive the reward, but he wasn’t the type to dwell too much on things that had already passed.

“You’re really kind.”

“Ah, well… it’s nothing.”

The busking singer took out a wet wipe from her bag and handed it to him.

“Here, use this to wipe it off.”

“Thank you.”

He wiped the remaining traces of bird droppings from his forehead with the wet wipe. He carefully folded it and was about to put it in his pocket when she extended her hand.

“Now that I think about it, I still don’t know your name. I’m Yeon Ji-eun.”

“Ah, yes. I’m Ryu Seong.”

He introduced himself somewhat awkwardly and shook her hand.

“Today was really fun. I have to go to practice now. I’ll definitely contact you next time!”

“Sure, take care.”

She coolly left the area.

Ryu Seong also preferred being alone.

As he was about to head back home, his throat felt dry from all the moving around. He spotted a convenience store on the way and opened the door to enter.

“W-welcome!”

For some reason, the part-timer’s face looked deathly pale.

Did something happen?

He casually walked past her and first picked out a drink. As he headed to the counter, the part-timer who had been holding her position had an even worse expression. Her face had gone beyond pale — it was now a sickly dark color, as if she might collapse at any moment.

“Excuse me, are you okay?”

“I-I’m sorry! Please watch the store for just a moment!”

“Huh…?”

The part-timer hurriedly ran off somewhere.

[Quest Activated!]

[Sometimes, there are flows that simply cannot be endured.]

[The convenience store part-timer, who had been feeling unwell since morning, finally had an accident. She tried to hold it together when customers came, but she had reached a state beyond human endurance. Take over the store in place of the part-timer who has given in to her physiological urges.]

[Remaining Time: None]

[Success Reward: Random Card, Good Deed Points.]

It seemed like today was a day when his luck was exploding.

Another quest.

Of course, the situation was a bit awkward.

“This is the first time there’s no time limit.”

It looked like all he had to do was watch the store until the part-timer returned. He went behind the counter and waited. While standing there blankly, the door opened and a customer walked in. The customer looked around the store, picked up an item, and brought it to the counter.

*Beep.*

Thanks to his past part-time experience, handling the checkout was no problem.

“That’ll be 3,800 won.”

“Here you go.”

“Would you like a bag?”

“No, it’s fine.”

After two more customers had come and gone,

*Creak.*

The part-timer emerged from the back door of the store.

Her face was bright red.

“Ah, th-thank you…”

“You’re back.”

“Yes, I’m so sorry!”

“It happens. But are you feeling sick or anything?”

“Huh?”

“Your face is really red.”

“Ah, no! I’m fine!”

“Okay, then… could you take over the register for now?”

“Yes, yes!”

The moment she scanned the barcode of the sports drink, the quest was completed.

[You have acquired a Low-grade Random Card.]

[You have gained 1 Good Deed Point.]

A card and 1 point.

Each one was precious, so he couldn’t have been happier.

Nice.

He planned to hold onto this card for a while.

He would collect them first before opening.

He intended to gather at least three or more.

“H-here you go.”

“Have a good day.”

“Y-yes… Please come again.”

“Sure, I’ll drop by often.”

Ryu Seong greeted the part-timer, whose neck had also turned red, and left the convenience store.

On the way home,

He couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

*

Finally, the day had come when the pet quest would end.

He wondered when it would be completed.

The quest had been received roughly a little after lunchtime that day. He couldn’t just wait around aimlessly until then, so he went about his daily routine today as well. After eating breakfast and studying the stock market, when his body started feeling stiff, he headed to the gym.

“Lucky, I’m going to work out.”

He noticed Lucky watching him off.

*Too cute for my own good.*

He spent about five minutes petting Lucky before putting on his shoes.

“I’m heading out, Mom.”

“You’re still here?”

“I’m leaving now.”

As he said that, he glanced at Lucky again.

The little one was sitting adorably, staring up at him with big eyes as if begging him not to go. It made his heart tighten.

“I still have to go. Wait just a little, okay?”

*Meow.*

Every time he left Lucky behind, his steps felt incredibly heavy.

Still, he endured it and opened the front door.

“Whew.”

He finally left the house and headed to the gym.

He planned to take it easy.

Since he was still a beginner at the gym (a “hellin”), he was currently doing 10 minutes of stretching, 30 minutes of cardio, and about 30 minutes of strength training.

Today’s goal was lower body.

“Ouch…!”

At that moment, a bicycle coming from the opposite side hit a bump and wobbled before crashing to the ground.

*Huh? That kid…*

The memory was still vivid. It was the same kid who had hit him with the bicycle and triggered the penalty. Ryu Seong had been so startled that day that he rolled around on the ground for a long time.

Startled, he ran over.

From a distance it hadn’t looked too serious, but the closer he got, the worse it appeared.

“Ugh… ughhh…!”

One of the child’s legs had gotten caught badly in the bicycle chain. The chain had twisted and was digging into his shin, scraping the skin.

[Quest Activated!]

[Bicycle…]

He didn’t even have time to read the full quest description.

He urgently checked on the child.

“Are you okay?”

“It hurts…”

“Stay still. I’ll get the chain off first.”

He turned the pedal very gently in the opposite direction to loosen the chain, but because it was tangled, it wouldn’t come off easily. He used his palm to block the chain from digging deeper into the boy’s calf and carefully worked to untangle the chain from the rear wheel. His efforts paid off — one section of the chain finally loosened. After that, it became much easier.

“Whew, it’s off.”

The tangled chain was completely removed, but it wasn’t over yet.

“You’re bleeding quite a lot.”

“Ugh…”

“Let’s go to the hospital first.”

There was an orthopedic clinic in the building right ahead, so he took the child there. He wondered what to do with the bicycle, but fortunately, a nearby auntie who had been watching offered to help.

“Ugh…”

“Oh dear, it must hurt so much.”

Blood dripped onto the floor every time the child moved, but it wasn’t deep enough to show bone.

It probably wasn’t a serious injury.

They quickly registered at the orthopedic clinic and Ryu Seong called the child’s parents.

( I-I’ll come right away! But I’m at work right now, so it’ll take about 30 minutes…)

“I’ll stay with him.”

(Thank you so much, really!)

After ending the call, the examination began.

“There’s no damage to the bone. There are quite a few scrapes, but most are superficial. They aren’t deep enough to need stitches. We’ll just disinfect the wounds and keep an eye on them.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Then I’ll start disinfecting now.”

“Okay.”

After the treatment was finished, Ryu Seong paid the bill.

[Quest Cleared!]

[Calculating rewards…]

[Calculation complete.]

[Low-grade Random Card has been issued.]

[You have gained 1 Good Deed Point.]

The quest rewards arrived.

He didn’t want to think about them right now.

He turned his attention to the child and spoke gently.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, I’m okay. More importantly… thank you.”

Even with his injured leg, the boy stood up and bowed politely.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. By the way, do you remember bumping into me before?”

“Yes.”

“Looks like we’re connected by fate. How old are you?”

“I’m 8.”

“I see. Well, getting hurt is part of growing up, you know.”

The boy scratched his head shyly.

Time passed quickly.

Between the waiting time and treatment, the 30 minutes flew by. The child’s mother arrived just in time. When she saw the wounds, she immediately started scolding him.

“You should’ve been more careful…!”

“I’m sorry.”

She let out a deep sigh, but it was filled with affection. After watching for a moment, the mother turned to Ryu Seong and bowed deeply, almost excessively.

“Thank you so much, really.”

“It’s no problem.”

“I heard you even paid for the treatment? How much was it? I’ll pay you back.”

“I wanted to help, that’s all.”

“Still…”

“It’s really okay.”

Ryu Seong kept refusing and quickly left the clinic. He had already paid and cleared the quest — he didn’t know what might happen if he suddenly received the money back. Besides, he had no desire to take back money he had given out of goodwill.

“Mister! Thank you!”

“I’m not a mister.”

The boy quickly corrected himself.

“Hyung, thank you!”

Hearing the child shout from afar, Ryu Seong let out a small laugh, waved back, and headed to his original destination — the gym. He went into the changing room, put on his workout clothes, and did some stretching. Then he hopped on the treadmill to sweat heavily before properly destroying his lower body with strength training.

“Ughhh!”

Only when his thighs were shaking and he couldn’t put in any more strength did he stop exercising and head to the shower room.

“Ugh, I’m gonna die tomorrow.”

He turned the water on full blast.

*Shaaaaaaa.*

As the lukewarm water hit his body, sweat and fatigue washed away.

This feeling.

This sensation.

The moment when all the stress melted away.

“Haaaa…”

Right now, he still liked the finishing shower much more than the actual workout.

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