It hadn’t even been a full week since Jjapso’s new item was introduced.

“Jurim-ah.”

— “Yes, Chairman Nam? What’s this about, all of a sudden?”

“What, can’t I call unless it’s business?”

— “Well, coming from a busy man like Chairman Nam, that’s usually the case.”

Seated in the back of a black sedan, Chairman Nam grinned as he brought up a screen on the in-car monitor.

“Anyway. I heard the ‘Hyeonak Challenge’ is trending among young people these days, and it made me think of you. Thought I’d give you a call.”

A sigh echoed from the other end of the line.

Jurim would already be well aware of the Hyeonak Challenge.

It had started when a few Hyeonak newbies uploaded a video titled ‘Adorable Hyeonak Recruits’.

A video showing off an item using the cotton candy had gone wildly viral, and soon Jjapso’s items—originally exclusive to Hyeonak—started selling for jaw-dropping prices.

One influencer posted a pop-art style video of herself trapped inside the cotton candy and racked up over 200 million views in a short time. That video sparked a frenzy, and before long, reviewing Jjapso’s items had morphed into the so-called Hyeonak Challenge.

Chairman Nam scrolled up the screen to check the view count.

“Almost at 300 million. The public’s obsession with your guild’s crafter is insane.”

Jjapso’s items—so childlike in concept—had been embraced by young influencers as pop-art and fashion-forward.

Meanwhile, tech YouTubers saw them as cutting-edge magi-tech with new features.

'Jurim really brought in a phenomenal one. The guy’s luck is unreal.'

Until now, non-potion items had been exclusively for Hunters.

People had always doubted whether there was any utility for the general public.

But thanks to Jjapso, interest in mass-market items was surging.

By fusing toys with function, Jjapso had opened an entirely new frontier.

Given how well it aligned with consumer demand, utility was no longer in question. The only thing that mattered now was: who would move fast enough to dominate the mainstream market?

He’d already had preliminary talks with Chairman On. All that remained was Jurim.

Wearing a pleasant smile, Chairman Nam spoke up again.

***

— “Jurim-ah. Want to try opening a pop-up store in my department store?”

It was a lazy afternoon nap hour.

Half-drowsing in a chair with Guru in his arms, Jurim blinked at the unexpected proposal.

“...Excuse me?”

The girl in his arms immediately perked her head up.

Jurim gently bounced her in his lap as if to brush it off.

— “Didn’t you say you were planning to sell those transforming toys anyway? I was thinking we could use that to start mass-marketing your Hunter, Jjapso’s, items. I already spoke with Chairman On. Didn’t he tell you?”

Jjapso! That meant Guru. Her eyes sparkled as she strained to keep listening.

Jurim, completely unfazed by her eavesdropping, continued the call.

“Oh, yes. My father did mention that before. Said Gnovation would launch a general brand for the public.”

At the word ‘father’, Chairman Nam chuckled warmly.

— “Right, that’s the one. By the way, for someone like you, that was a surprisingly cute idea. Is that Jjapso fellow involved somehow? If you’re willing, I’d love to meet them someday.”

“...I’m afraid that’ll be difficult. I’m sorry.”

— “Figured you’d say that. Just how impressive is this person that you’ve got them locked down like this? Anyway, what about the pop-up store? We’re planning to dedicate the entire main event space on the first floor. How many product lines do you have ready to stock right away? Send me some display samples too.”

“Samples, huh...”

— “Yep! Can you even imagine how much we could make if we ride the wave of the magi-tech item boom?”

Jurim pressed the corners of his eyes with a fatigued expression.

He’d never been interested in business.

He only created the magic wand because a certain five-year-old industrial spy really, really wanted to transform.

It wasn’t about profit or scaling some enterprise.

And now, with Jjapso’s fame growing, that was nothing but a headache for him.

So naturally...

“...That might be a bit...”

...he was just about to say it would be difficult—

When the child in his arms quietly wriggled free and slipped to the floor.

Guru began pulling out a mountain of items from her bag, lining them up in a neat little row.

Then, upon meeting Jurim’s eyes, she pretended she hadn’t heard a thing.

She whistled—though she couldn’t actually whistle, so all that came out was a weak fsshh, fsshh sound.

“Ffff— Fffffshhh—”

How could she be this bad at pretending?

The five-year-old in front of him was a walking embodiment of desire—for fame, and especially lately, for money.

He didn’t know what brought this on, but she’d been unusually obsessed with not making enough cash.

She’d been pestering him with questions like “When do I get paid for the stuff I sold?”, “Can I get it sooner?”

He thought he’d been giving her plenty of allowance. But when he brought it up, she’d just shake her head furiously.

In that situation... if he turned it down now, this excited little gremlin, who’d just opened an item stall on the floor, would be devastated.

— “I’m not pushing too hard, am I?”

Sighing, Jurim glanced at Guru pretending not to eavesdrop.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll organize the details you mentioned and pay you a visit.”

— “Oh?”

Chairman Nam, who’d prepared several arguments to sway him, sounded genuinely surprised.

He hadn’t expected Jurim to agree so quickly—but it was good news for her.

— “Then I’ll look forward to it.”

His tone brightened as he continued.

— “Oh, by the way. Did your father tell you about the model?”

“Model?”

— “To promote the department store and the pop-up, we’re planning a big outdoor ad campaign.”

“I see.”

— “We already have someone in mind for the model.”

“...Excuse me?”

Jurim turned his head at the name Chairman Nam gave him.

He locked eyes with Guru—who just tilted her head, utterly unaware.

***

Chapter — Conflict From an Unexpected Direction?

After preschool, Woojoo followed Guru into her room and dropped his backpack in the corner.

Then he asked again:

“Jjapso pop-up store?”

“Yup!”

“And you’re the model?”

“Yup!”

Handpicked by Chairman Nam, happily endorsed by Chairman On—the nepotistic golden-spoon model On Guru nodded energetically.

“It’s gonna be fun!”

And I’ll probably make a ton of money too!

...Not that she said that part out loud.

Determined not to sound like a tasteless little nouveau riche, Guru clasped her hands behind her back and spoke with exaggerated dignity.

“Nyew expewiencesh awe vewy impowtant fow chiwd dewvewopment. Gwuu’sh nawt gonna be afwaid to twy diffewent thingies.”

It was just a line she’d memorized from Kazuki, but Woojoo’s lip twitched at how grown-up she sounded.

“Y-Yeah?”

“Yup.”

'Woojoo thinks Gwuu’sh so coow.'

Guru rubbed her nose like a cool adult.

“So dat’sh why Gwuu said yes to being da modew.”

“I see... A model...”

Then Woojoo, now staring down at the floor, murmured softly:

“...You’ll look pretty.”

“Huh?”

Guru blinked, and Woojoo quickly shook his head like it was nothing. But then, looking like he’d made up his mind, he said seriously:

“I’ll help you practice.”

“Reawwy?”

Guru lit up at his words, and Woojoo flushed red.

“...!”

Watching from above, Mephisto delivered a Mephisto Kick straight to Woojoo’s face.

“PIT!”

“...?!”

“Gah!”

Guru gasped and yanked Mephisto back.

“Shht! Yoo can’t do dat. Mephi, sit ovew dere nicewy.”

“...Pii.”

Sulking, Mephisto plopped onto the bed.

Meanwhile, Woojoo scrambled to open his bag and pulled out a tablet.

“Ahem. Want to look at pictures of real models? Might give you some ideas.”

“Yesh yesh! Gwuu wanna see!”

Guru scooted in close beside him.

Woojoo pushed the tablet toward her side so she could see more easily.

As they flipped through the photos together and tried out different expressions, Guru burst into giggles.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

The grown-ups had said they’d take care of the pop-up logistics, so all she had to do was nail her modeling job...

Then Guru would become rich... and save Oppaw!

'Uhehehe!'

Caught up in the excitement, Guru didn’t notice it at all.

From his perch on the bed, Mephisto was glaring daggers at Woojoo with a terrifying look in his eyes.