Chapter 122: Baishi Mall

Squeezed between conventional stores, at the precise center of the Recreation Sector was a crimson pagoda with golden accents, its tiered roofs gently sloping upwards. Delicate in size yet striking in appearance and drawing a long, winding line of eager people, excitement and anticipation shimmering in their eyes as they waited.

“Err…how are we supposed to get in?” William asked. “This is an insane line-up.”

There must have been a hundred or so people waiting to go inside the tiered tower. Surprisingly, the line was rather straight. No pushing or shoving. Sun-young spotted men in martial arts garbs acting as supervisors. What guild were they a part of, she wondered.

“Also, are you sure this is the mall?” William pressed. “I thought it would be…bigger.”

Sun-young agreed. Pagodas were supposed to be Buddhist Temples, not malls.

“You’ll see.” David winked. He and Aisha went ahead, clearly having done this before. The line disturbed the road of the Bazaar. The complaints and grumbles of the passing stores were evident.

At the front, there were five separate entrances. Each was monitored by, again, martial artists from the East. Four of the entrances were used: two for people to come in and two for people to come out. That was when the reason for the line-up was made clear: every customer had to pay a fee.

’No wonder,’ Sun-young thought to herself.

There was one entrance, at the most right, that was guarded by a single martial artist. No desk for the payment necessary. Aisha went ahead and approached him.

“Wait, are we skipping the line?” William asked in a low whisper.

“Yep.” David pushed his glasses up, smiling. “We have VIP tickets!”

Even Kazi was surprised. “How did you manage to snag those?”

“We’ve all been working normal jobs here at the Merchant Sector. Me, for example, I’ve been working at this radio factory. Elena works at a bakery, and Aisha, well, she was the one that got the VIP pass. I think she got it from her co-worker. I’m not too sure of the details though.”

“Not sure?” Kazi gave him a skeptical look. “I heard about these things. They cost about a hundred thousand points up front and a hundred thousand a month.”

Sun-young blinked thrice. ’That much!? Just for a mall?’

“Wait…seriously!?” David put a hand to his mouth, his jaw dropped. “I didn’t…Aisha told she got it from work!”

Whatever concerns that might have arisen were squashed by the guard’s remark.

“Go in.”

Glances were exchanged, then a shrug. If they were in, then they were in.

Everyone but Kazi followed that line of thought. He specifically stopped to stare at the guard. Long red-hair, beautiful garbs, and a hard scowl with a scar down his lip, approaching him for anything but business was stupid. Kazi didn’t seem to fear stupidity.

“Hey, I know you—”

“Yes, I’m the guy who lost to the Kangxi Emperor. Move along before I hit you.”

His red eyes were terrifying, glowering with dark swirls of energy. All of a sudden, Sun-young was reminded of the Marshals back at the Jacques Sanctum.

“Okay!” Kazi wore a teasing smile. “Those are your fangirls, huh?”

’Fangirls?’ Sun-young looked back and blinked. He was right, there was a group of pretty young ladies. She hadn’t noticed. ’Is this guy a big deal?’

His long red hair, so smooth and long that even Sun-young came to be envious of it, was accompanied by a feral expression. “Like I said, move along before I hit you.”

“Sure, sure.” Laughing, Kazi joined them again. Without thinking, Sun-young exhaled.

’Whoever that guy he is, he might be as strong as Marshal Margaret.’

Inside, the air shifted. There were five magical portals: four for ordinary people, hence the line-up, and one for VIPs, signalled by the golden colour and the intricate Chinese imagery surrounding it.

Another guard stood by. Aisha flashed him a golden card and off they went. She went through the portal and blinked. All of a sudden, she was in the middle of a modern day shopping center. The portal behind her disappeared shortly after.

Sun-young’s expectations were high. As a city girl, she was not easy to impress, yet Baishi Mall met every single one of her expectations. Her life in the Heavenly Games had been devoid of technology; and while the Baishi Mall was not that, it did give the rushed, urban feel that Seoul poured out with its beating metropolitan heart. The ceiling was a night sky of twinkling stars. Blue, gold, and white stars that gave everything light, as well as floating chandeliers that drifted and pulsed.

The two floors were linked by long fleets of stairs. The bustling ground floor houses a myriad of shops, each with its unique cultural offerings—textiles from India, ceramics from Morocco, 1970s gadgets from Japan, and handcrafted jewellery from Peru. The quality of stuff was a big leap from what was normally offered at the Merchant Sector.

At the upper level were more stores. However, their group chose to enter the food court. Their steps were done on polished grey concrete and the shape of the mall was in a large arch. Colours shifted upon each section and cultural zone. Somehow, it managed an urban feel without compromising the mystical side.

“There’s a famous sushi place here,” said David. “Want to check it out?”

“Yes,” Sun-young replied in a heartbeat while Aisha said, “No.”

“I…kinda wanna check the tech stuff downstairs,” William admitted. “It seems so retro.”

As always, it was Kazi that came up with the solution. “Let’s split up and reconvene in two hours here. We’ll probably build-up an appetite after all the walking. This place is huge.”

“Um, Kazi,” Elena called out, hesitant, “you are paying for everything, right?”

’Wait, what?’

Kazi wore a big grin. “I’m giving each of you a million points. Go crazy.”

[ Transfer details:

—> 1,000,000 PP ]

Sun-young was flabbergasted. A million points, just like that? She had over three million points now!

If Sun-young wasn’t able to resist, then William definitely couldn’t. “Woah! Okay, I’m accepting! Thank you, Kazi!”

“Thank you!”

“Thanks!”

“Thank you.”

Quiet, loud, giggly, or absolutely ecstatic, everybody gave their thanks before branching off. Everyone except Sun-young.

“Something wrong?” Kazi tilted his head, smiling. He knew what she was about to say.

“You’re too nice,” Sun-young said.

“Am I?” Sometimes, when he spoke, when he looked at her, it was like he was looking at a destination far beyond. “People should never have to hold back on their happiness.”

“And you?”

“I’m happy just to see you happy.”

Sun-young was silent. “Thank you, then.”

She gave him a nod, then went off to eat some sushi. To her surprise, someone familiar was already in-line, Marta. Neither of them spoke or glanced at each other. Marta looked straight-ahead, pretending not to notice when she probably did. With Kazi or anyone else, it was plain awkward.

Sun-young lowered her gaze. She was bad at conversation. Always was, always would be.

’But she saved my life.’

For that, she had to push through.

“Hey, Marta,” Sun-young greeted after a full minute. It was much too late but whatever. She kept pushing. “You like sushi?”

“Oh, um.” Marta laughed and looked at her. Yeah, they were doing this. “I’ve never tried it and it sounds good.”

“Mm.”

An awkward silence. Great. With the customer, coins were handed in order to pay.

“I…” Sun-young drew in a deep breath. It was now or never. Either she did this at a line-up at a sushi place or she would never speak her mind. “I want to thank you again for saving me.”

“That’s what teammates are for, right?”

Teammates, not friends.

“I’ve…” Was she really doing this? Yes. Yes, because otherwise, why did she speak in the first place? “…never really had friends. All I did was study and study in my old life. Then I came here and instead of studying I was fighting and training. I thought that was all that mattered and I…” God, this was embarrassing to say. “…might have distanced myself from you because I thought you weren’t enough. I was wrong. You were.”

“Oh. Ohh.” Marta was genuinely touched, eyes slightly up and a smile creeping up, her cheeks reddening. “Um…thank you. I appreciate it a lot.” A long, long pause. “Do you, um, want to hang out sometime? You like going to cafes, right?”

“I do,” Sun-young mumbled out. It was that obvious, huh?

Cafés were her safe havens. Quiet and fresh with every sweet and drink she desired. The best place to study without feeling lonely.

Marta smiled. “I think I saw a place then—”

“Next please!”

The two of them jolted. The sushi chef had been waiting patiently for her next set of customers—Sun-young and Marta.

“O-oh, sorry!” Marta sent an apologetic look and hurried over to the front.

Calm on the outside and embarrassed on the inside, Sun-young joined her and suggested, “Before a café, let’s get some sushi.”

“Haha, yeah. I want to try out the one with sashimi.”

“…sashimi is overrated.”

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