The following weekend, Jung Hee and his family left the house to sell the produce made from their garden to the town of Guanzu. Hyusil borrowed one of the cooperative's old trucks to bring them there. It was one of those old reliable Sungri trucks normally issued to the army, but this one was for civilian use. The Sungri58 was based on the Russian Gaz series of trucks. It may not be the most beautiful truck in the world, but it was solid, and for a Korean family, that is all that matters.

Jung attempted to sweet-talk his parents into letting him drive the truck, and he received a smack in the back of the head for his trouble. Now he is sitting at the back of the truck grumpily as he struggles to make sure the goods are not thrown to the side because they have limited access to ropes to tie the goods down.

Eventually, they arrived at the busy town, and he forgot all about his resentments. His excitement is building since today is the day he can buy something for Eun Mei. God knows he'd been saving for a long time now for this day, and he should have enough to buy her a decent gift for her upcoming birthday a few days from now.

He'd been contemplating whether he should get her a pendant or a bracelet all night. Initially, he intended to get her something more practical, such as shoes, but anything like clothes or shoe wear may be misinterpreted to mean that he is criticizing her fashion sense, which will definitely backfire on him.

The truck stopped in a nearby parking space, and he jumped down easily enough. First things first, he needed to help his parents sell the goods they accumulated that month. Besides, his mom promised to give him extra if they made a nice profit from the sale of the produce.

So he lifted the heavy straw wrappings that held the vegetables and lowered them slowly into the ground. The bag was the special one that held the majority of their samples to be shown to the prospective buyers. Once a price is agreed upon, he will carry the rest still left in the truck. So he accompanied his mom as they walked toward the list of possible buyers one by one, while his dad was left with the truck to guard the goods.

His mom completed their first transaction in less than 15 minutes, and he is already hauling the rest of the items bought from the truck. In a matter of 3 hours, everything sold out, and he beamed when his mom gave him an extra 25,000 Korean Won, which is roughly 21 US dollars. With his savings, he has just about the equivalent of a hundred dollars in his pocket. A small fortune by anyone’s standard.

His parents mentioned that they would be visiting some friends and would be back in an hour or two. He said his goodbyes and almost hop-skiped his way back to the market.

After carefully checking every store, he chose a small gift shop store almost hidden in one corner. Coincidentally, this is the same shop Jung found Eun Mei looking at a long time ago. He rang the bell and entered the shop.

"May I help you, young man?" An old lady with a tight bun on her head asked the moment he entered the door. She was behind the counter and stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, honorable aunty, I'm looking for a gift for a young lady. It's her birthday soon, and I'm looking for a gift worthy of her."

The old woman's lips twitched slightly upward, and she nodded. "There are a few selections you can find on the third row. Feel free to browse around."

Jung nodded, and he did just that.

He explored the tiny shop twice before returning to the third row. He already noticed something, and his eyes kept returning to this simple gold bracelet with a small dolphin in the centerpiece. With his eidetic memory, Jung remembered Eun Mei looking in this direction outside the window, and he was pretty sure that this was the one she was looking at all those years ago. It was simply… her.

He remembered asking Eun Mei If she could go anywhere, where would she want to go the most? She only whispered her answer, and when Jung asked again, she said in an annoyed voice, "Nowhere!"

But Jung's hearing skill was already at level 6 at that point, and he distinctively heard her first answer because of it.

She whispered, “the ocean.”

Jung could understand her desire since they live in the middle of North Korea at the base of the Changbai Mountain range in Chagang. The nearest ocean is several hundred miles to the west of them, which is far from home. Most North Koreans are unable to leave their base province without special permission from the government. So traveling to unique places, such as the beach, is simply out of the question for most locals.

Jung touched the bracelet Eun Mei was looking at a long time ago—the simple silver of a dolphin. "How much is this bracelet?" Jung asked.

The old lady looked at it and said, "83,000 won."

Suddenly a blinking icon can be seen in his peripheral vision. When he concentrated on it, a new blue screen popped up in front of him.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Would you like to activate your skill, "NEGOTIATE?"

Y/N

Jung blinked for a moment. He knew he had already unlocked the skill "negotiate" when his mother got angry with him for overworking. Somehow, he got away from that by bullshitting his way out. Unfortunately, he did it again a week later, and this time he got two smacks in the rump. He sniffled painfully. His main memory of acquiring that skill is always intertwined with that second incident and how painful his bum is from the ass-whooping he received for his carelessness. At the time, he didn't appreciate the new message telling him that he unlocked the skill, "Negotiate," and swiped the message away. He did remember investing at least one skill point to the skill and promptly forgetting all about it. Until now.

He frowned at the memory as he stared at the blue message box in front of him. Shrugging, he clicked Y, and suddenly his entire worldview changed. It was like being fast-forwarded, and everyone was speaking in a fast chipmunk voice, and there was a blue bar that was slowly being filled up with only one word on top:

Negotiating...

The moment it finished, he received a success icon, and everything went back to normal. Jung staggered to one side but promptly righted himself. What the hell was that?!

"Fine! 39,000 Won and that is my final offer!"

Jung just stared at the female vendor for a moment. Slowly, the furious bargaining that happened just moments ago returned to him in full force. But it was rather deemed now since he was spectating the memory as a 3rd person and it was all weird. "Agreed!" he said automatically. What the hell kinda skill was that? That is so surreal.

He fished out the amount, and the old merchant shook her head before wrapping his purchase and accepting his money.

Jung nodded to himself. He remembered that the original price was 83,000KPW, but he was able to reduce that to 39,000. When it was "negotiating," he didn't remember anything. Still, once it finished, the memory of him pleading, cursing, promising, threatening, and even outright charming the vendor came back to him until the actual outcome came to pass. At first, it didn’t make sense to him since, after the fast-forward thingy, he did remember almost everything that happened anyway, so the skill was kind of wonky to him.

Jung was able to save a few coins, though, because of it. And more importantly, he was able to escape the actual grueling exchange altogether. He thought about it for a minute more, then he decided to open his status screen and invest another 2 skill points in this mysterious skill.

Congratulations!

You have upgraded the specialist skill “Negotiate” to level 2.

-You are able to activate the automated “Negotiation Mode,” which gives you a 25% chance of success on top of your base charm. This will also be affected by other various skills and titles.

Current level: 2

Needed skill points to upgrade to the next level: 3

Remaining Skill Points: 2

Jung almost forgot about the skill until today since he wasn't able to use it ever since he unlocked it. He was simply never able to activate it for some reason. He now has the inkling that he needed to actively get the best price possible for any goods, services, or favors if he wanted to get it to work. Now, he resolved to use the skill more frequently.

Jung returned to the truck, which was the rendezvous point that his parents agreed upon before they separated. His dad mentioned something about someone who might be interested in the pigs and went out to meet them. Jung is still admiring his gift when he notices a commotion in the next street. Curious, Jung hid his gift in the back of the truck inside the utility box and wandered over.

His surprise rose when he noticed Kwang in the midst of a group of kids surrounding a store. “Hey! Kwang! What are you doing?”

The big guy turned in surprise and his smile greeted Jung when he noticed him. “Jung! Have you seen the new store? This is so exciting!”

“Huh?”

Kwang grabbed him and bulldozed his way into the crowd until they were in the front. Jung staggered to a halt until he saw the newly installed banner in front of the new stall. “BIKE ALLEY” it said, followed by “Opening Month with 15% discount! Fully Government authorized establishment!”

Jung’s eyes widened at the new store as he silently endured Kwang’s uncontrolled, excited smacking of his back while smiling stupidly next to him. “Isn’t this great? Bikes are awesome! I can’t wait to go and tell my parents about this so they can buy me one!”

The word “buy” popped Jung’s own excitement like a bubble. Only then did he notice other banners like the “Discounted prices.” The most basic one cost about 450,000KPW to 1,250,000KPW (Approximately $450-$1250). He sighed with a sad smile and shook his head.

Jung could not possibly ask his parents to buy him one given the price. They simply don’t have that amount of resources at hand. Now, given time, he could probably save up to buy one himself due to the various jobs he made for himself, but… A million won? His family could use that amount for other things inside the house. He just couldn't possibly spend that amount of money on a bike for himself when there are other things needed in their household. It is simply too much of an investment for fun.

Even so, Jung looked at the cool mountain bike hanging on one side of the store and made a face. He is just so sure that he can finally get Eun Mei’s undivided attention with a ride like that. He chuckled weakly.

Kwang continuously jabbered on right next to him as he unconsciously smacked Jung's shoulder. Then Jung stopped when an idea struck his mind. He noticed a young man, with slightly long hair and probably their own age, drag two black plastic bags into the side alley and the garbage trolley next to it.

“Hey!” Jung called out, and the boy turned to him absently. “Do you work here?” Jung asked.

The boy smirked. “Do I work here? My family own this shit.”

“Oh. Aaah… Do you sell spare parts for your bikes?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Jung asked the price of the major parts of the bike and the boy automatically gave him the price for it. The boy was definitely knowledgeable about bikes so Jung thought he wasn’t lying about the owning part. Eventually, Kwang asks his own questions. Jung has the distinct sense that the boy is humoring them because of Kwang, who is definitely a potential customer. Jung, meanwhile, sighed a long one once again. He was hoping the major parts would cost less, but after a quick computation, the prices of the parts, even just the major ones, would add up to reach the same price range offered. There goes his brilliant plan of building his own bike.

“Now that I have answered all your questions, can you answer one of mine?” the boy said as he flipped his cool hair before looking around. He then produced a cigarette and started to smoke, away from the eyes of anyone inside the store. Jung watched him with amusement. Even before they started asking questions, Jung wanted to know why his hair was too long. North Koreans have 10-12 official haircuts approved by the government, and Jung hee is positively sure that the long stylish but messy hairdo the boy is parading around is not one of them. “You guys look like you are locals. Do you go to the Guanzu people's school by any chance?”

“Yeah? What is it to you?” Kwang asked suspiciously.

“I’m a transfer student from the capital, and I’m just wondering if there are things I need to know about the school before I go in next week.”

Jung reported that the school is normal and even offered to walk him around the school if he wanted to know the place. “Sure, I’ll take you up on that offer. That's mightily kind of you. My name is Cho Garam, by the way.”

He bowed to them, and Jung automatically bowed back, with Kwang slightly late behind him. “Nice to meet you, Garam-ssi. My name is Kim Jung Hee and this big guy is Cao Kwang Ho. We are both 14 and in the 8th grade. I’m sure we will see each other in school,” Jung said, beaming.