WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk ◈
Chapter 66: Boksun
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Let’s see.
Twelve hours to get in, then Sunming beat the hell out of me and I was out cold for a full day.
Fourteen hours searching for the treasure, then another six hours just getting back out.
So I had rotted in the sewers for almost two whole days.
When we finally escaped, my first reaction was:
“Fuuuck! Boksun, breathe! Breathe!”
“Fwah! This is wonderful! The air does not smell strange!”
The air of Necropolis, which put Delhi, India to shame, filled my lungs like I had entered a pristine Finnish forest.
And there was the prize from this treasure hunt, the butterfly-shaped hair ornament in my hand.
Dopamine was flooding through me, so I did not even have time to feel tired.
This was no time to hold back!
“Bring me booze and women at once!!!”
“It is time to feast!!!”
Boksun and I ran to Hongshen Market in the highest spirits either of us had ever been in.
The money we had on hand?
Spend every last bit!
We had worked ourselves to the bone for a week. We could eat, drink, and have fun for one day!
That was why we did all this, wasn’t it?!
“Take an order!!!”
“Welcome!”
The first place we rushed to was a skewer stall.
It seemed to use somewhat decent meat, but the prices had always been too high for me to even look at it.
“Give me every skewer here that’s in the best condition. And pack up ten bottles of baijiu.”
“Master, this concubine does not enjoy baijiu. Order beer.”
“Hey! Beer on a day like this? Beer is for women.”
“This concubine is a woman.”
“Hmm, convincing. Add ten bottles of beer too.”
We bought a huge pile of skewers, baijiu, and beer.
“I’ll pay. Can I drink with that young lady too... Urk!”
“Where do you think you’re looking? Want to die?”
“You lowly thing! Where do you think you’re looking?”
As usual, I crushed the nose of some creep who tried to approach a woman.
“Boksun! Pick out some rice cakes!”
“Shopkeeper! Two hundred mochi! Give this concubine two hundred!”
“Give us twenty.”
“Why?!”
We also bought plenty of glutinous rice cakes for Boksun at a rice-cake shop on the way home.
With both hands full of spoils, we entered our rented room.
“Hey, use as much hot water as you want today.”
“Is that allowed?! May I boil two tubs?!”
“It’s a good day! Boil two tubs! Take a nice, hot shower!”
“Wonderful! Master!”
“Want to shower together?!”
“...N-no, I do not.”
“What a shame.”
We boiled the water until it was steaming and scrubbed ourselves squeaky clean.
It was an unprecedented luxury since coming to Necropolis.
After showering, we sat on the floor and laid out the feast.
Mystery-meat skewers.
Bright-red hot pot that would burn a hole through your stomach the moment you drank the broth.
A mountain of mochi and bottles of alcohol beside it.
Honestly, it fell far short of what I used to get from Brother Yiming, and the prices were as ridiculous as the street shops in Myeongdong, but...
“What do you think?”
“A-a magnificent feast...”
“Right?”
I could tell just by looking at Boksun.
She was drooling like a puppy being told to wait in front of a food bowl.
“You’ve worked hard, Boksun.”
“Master has worked hard as well.”
Glug glug glug glug.
We poured alcohol into the cups we had each brought.
Beer and baijiu were different, but a toast was a toast!
Clink!
“Cheers!”
“Kanpai!”
We clinked glasses and threw them back.
Liquor burned hotly down my throat.
An artificial pineapple scent lingered at the tip of my nose alongside the smell of acetone.
I had picked out the best stuff they had, but it was still cheap Erguotou.
If a Korean Chinese joint had delivered liquor like this, I would have made the nine o’clock news as an arsonist.
“Ahh... So good!”
“Kaah...!”
But that did not matter right now!
Fine brandy after cutting your losses tasted like shit, while soju after a long-shot bet paid off tasted like nectar from heaven.
“Ahh, it goes right into my bones!”
I grabbed a skewer and chewed away.
Overpowering seasoning slathered on to hide the gamey smell, artificial charcoal flavor.
Then I washed down that unpleasant aftertaste with cheap Erguotou...
“Ahh! This is the good life in Necropolis, fuck yeah!”
Perhaps she had not lied about liking alcohol. Boksun boldly downed her beer in one go too.
She stuffed mochi into her mouth and chewed.
“Ooh... It tastes so moving...”
Tears welled at the corners of her tightly closed eyes.
Something soft liking something soft made her twice as soft!
“Want to play a drinking game?”
“Hm? A drinking game? Ah, that thing? Very well! A drinking party requires entertainment!”
Drinking without anything else would get boring, so I taught her some drinking games too.
“Cedric’s favorite Random Game! Random Game! Game start! Apartment, apartment, apartment, apartment. What floor do you live on?”
“...Hm?”
“What are you doing? Put your hand here!”
“L-like this?”
“Third floor! First floor! Second floor! Third floor! Boksun, you’re it!”
“I do not understand! What just happened?!”
“You learn drinking games while drinking! Drink, drink!”
“Oho! This concubine won, so this concubine drinks?!”
It was the Apartment Game that had recently become popular.
“Fold if you’re a woman.”
“Urk, fold if you have a shitty personality! What is this? Why are you not folding?”
“Nope. I have a fucking great personality.”
“What about Master is good-natured?!”
“If I had a bad personality, you would have been kicked out already. Am I wrong?”
“Urk...”
“My turn, right? Fold if you eat more than your master.”
“Ugh... D-does this concubine eat more?”
“Put your hand on your conscience and think about it.”
“Uuugh!”
“If all your fingers are folded, drink.”
“Ahh... This is infuriating!”
The Sohn Byung-ho Game.
“Kyahaha! At last! At last! This concubine is king! Master! Strip naked at once, dance, and entertain me.”
“A dynastic revolution...!!!!”
“...What is that?”
“Ah, when a ruler loses virtue and torments the people, Heaven takes away their authority and gives it to someone virtuous. Jin Boksun, you are no longer king. From now on, I shall stand above Heaven.”
“Stop making strange excuses, human! This concubine even wore a bunny-girl outfit and acted cute!”
Then there was the King Game.
Drinking games naturally sped up the pace of drinking.
And since there were only two of us playing, we both got tipsy in no time.
Empty bottles and discarded skewers littered the cramped floor.
I sat half-reclined against the bed, while Boksun leaned her head against my shoulder, swaying.
“Maaaster... Is apple mango bingsu really that delicious?”
“I told you it is, idiot. When I get to Eden, I’ll definitely let you try it.”
“Is it more delicious than glutinous rice cakes?”
“Ha, fuck. That pisses me off. Don’t compare them. Apple mango bingsu has the dreams of the bourgeoisie in it.”
It had been a long time since I drank enough for my heart to pound.
Every day had been filled with relentless tension.
I had lived with the urgency that my ass would burn if I wasted even a single day.
Of course, I was not completely at ease even now.
“...”
I took out the butterfly-shaped hair ornament I had received from the True Progenitor.
It was not very large.
Perhaps half the size of my palm?
It had been delicately crafted from pure platinum. Gems of every color had been set into the wings of the butterfly spread wide, like stained glass in a chapel.
Every time I shifted the angle, dazzling radiance poured out brightly enough to hurt my eyes.
Where should I sell this?
I did not think it would be worth too little, but...
Selling something worth enough to easily buy an apartment in Gangnam was a separate problem in this dump.
Should I ask Brother Yiming after all?
That would have been fine for ordinary stolen goods, but this was something the True Progenitor had given me.
What if it caused trouble?
“Master.”
“Yeah?”
Boksun, who had been mumbling with her head against my shoulder, suddenly poked her head forward.
“Was that hair ornament not originally this concubine’s?”
“So?”
Boksun turned her back to me and awkwardly gathered up her hair.
“What are you doing? Try adorning this concubine. Butterflies are meant to rest on flowers.”
Perhaps because she was completely drunk, her slender, deer-like neck and the tips of her ears were flushed red.
“Well, look at you.”
She was terrible at putting her hair up.
“Come here. Who does their hair like that?”
“Ah! Ah! It hurts!”
“Stay still. You messed it all up yourself.”
There was no comb, so I roughly ran my fingers through her hair.
I curled it up into a neat bun, then secured it with the hair ornament.
“It doesn’t stay well without pins. Hey, don’t move around too much. It’ll come loose.”
Once I had it more or less done, I brought over the small mirror from the bathroom and showed her.
“Wow...”
Boksun let out a tiny gasp and turned this way and that, looking at herself in the mirror.
Her eyes, hazy with alcohol a moment ago, sparkled brightly.
Come to think of it, this was probably the first time she had ever done something like this herself.
It made sense that she was awkward with her hair.
“H-how is it? Is it pretty?”
“Even if you like it, I’m selling it.”
“Who said anything! This concubine knows that!”
There she went sulking again, showing me the back of her head.
I could see one of her puffed-up cheeks.
Hmm...
Well, it was a special day.
“Hey, Boksun.”
“...Do not talk to this concubine.”
“Come here for a second.”
Creak.
I turned off the room light and forced open the stiff window.
“It is freezing. Why are you opening the window? Why are you turning off the light too?”
Boksun grumbled as she sidled up beside me.
Our rented room was only on the second floor, but it was on high ground for this sector, so we could still see the sky fairly well.
“Want to look over there?”
I pointed toward the night sky, full of green smog.
“What is there?”
“You can’t see it? You can’t see that?”
“Stop teasing this concubine!”
“You really can’t see it?”
“This is your final warning. If you treat this concubine like a fool, you shall be punished. Do you understand?!”
I had originally meant to watch this with Mama Ceres at Haeng House.
But it was a good day, so why not?
======
「Sudden Festival」
- Grade: C
- Description: An unexpected festival that captures everyone’s attention.
- Effect: A grand and brilliant fireworks display will take place for three minutes in the sky you designate.
- Note: Single-use. Very pretty.
======
Fweee.
A trail of white light shot through the murky night sky like a comet.
“Hm? What is tha...”
The moment Boksun tilted her head with wide eyes, the most beautiful fireworks bloomed above the filthiest city.
Bababababak!
A thunderous barrage of fireworks followed half a beat later.
Golden sparks descended in dancing waves like a meteor shower.
Boom! Boom! Bang!
Fireworks in every color blossomed like flowers in a greenhouse.
“Ah...”
Red and blue light fell across Boksun’s pale cheeks as she stared with her mouth slightly open.
Whenever a firework burst, her lifted lashes trembled.
Pedestrians stopped in the street.
Windows that normally had thick curtains drawn over them slid open.
Even merchants who sold goods to ill-tempered residents paused to straighten their backs and look up at the sky.
“What do you think?”
Three minutes was very short.
The room, with its lights off, sank back into darkness.
The wind coming through the window carried the lingering scent of gunpowder.
Still, were those not the most beautiful three minutes in the history of C Sector?
“Master did that...?”
“Yeah. So? Isn’t it awesome?”
I curled my lips with a suitably smug grin.
Instead of answering immediately, Boksun looked up at the night sky.
“...”
Then Shion turned to face me.
“It was the most amazing sight this concubine has ever seen.”
She bared her cute little fangs and giggled.
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Footnotes:
Apartment Game is a Korean drinking game where players stack their hands and count through “floors” until someone lands on the chosen number. Sohn Byung-ho Game has players fold a finger whenever a statement applies to them.
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