Platinum Skies (The Manifests Series #2)

{[36]} No Roads Lead To This

May 28, 2023, 8:52pm, Miryang, South Korea.

Sanghoon pulls out a cigarette infront of an open window after another long day in Miryang.

He had just finished setting and arranging the hideout where the team is located---an abandoned complex surrounding various commercial buildings--- and now, he had his time to rest while the team was busy doing their own things.

Sanghoon brings out his lighter next. He tries to light it up, but no spark was generating.

He soon sees a hand holding a lighter reach out to his face. He looks, and sees it was Cat who was offering it to him.

"...Oh, thanks." Sanghoon asked as he takes the lighter and lights up his cigarrette. Cat then leans next to the window that Sanghoon was staying with.

"God, this whole invasion thing isnt funny at all. I miss the times where I just go to different places to offer up my products to a multitude of men. Business is booming, and all is well... Ah. Such a waste..."

"Oh. Wow, so youre a businesswoman. What do you sell?" Sanghoon asked.

"Guns. Lots of them. Whenever one needs a gun, I'm the woman to call. And my job comes loads and loads of thrilling surprises."

"Oh. So youre a licensed arms dealer?" Sanghoon asked.

"Nope." Cat looks at him dead in the eye. "Just an arms dealer. The legal part, not so."

Sanghoon looks at her widen his eyes widened. He then scrunches his eyebrows in confusion.

"...So youre doing illegal stuff and you're just saying this out loud casually?" Sanghoon asked.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, hiding my occupation at this point would be irrelevant, dont you think? People in this apocalypse would look at me and my stash full of weapons and immediately think, "oh, shes probably an illegal arms dealer, we should arrest her!" Would they really have time to call me out like that in a situation like this? And besides... who's going to arrest me? I know for sure you wont. Your line of work does not permit you to arrest people. And even if you had the power to do so, arresting me wouldnt do good for anyone. Ive been helpful for a good while, after all."

Sanghoon chuckles as he takes another hit of his cigarette. "Yeah, it seems so. Illegal as your work may be, its undeniable you have a reliable and vast arsenal of weaponry, and you just somehow be able to add more of it to your inventory. It greatly helped some of my men when they ran out of ammunition or had their guns broken."

"That's what my job is all about. And lucky for all of you, I'm doing it for free. But after all of this madness ends... you'll have to pay me." Cat joked.

"Funny." Sanghoon replied as he continued to smoke. "That will take a while, though. Are you willing to wait?"

"Oh, so youre actually going to pay me. Thats nice. Im counting on it. The payment you owe me is in my audit book, which, by the way, is exact down to the last Korean cent."

"You must love your job to be that detailed down to the miniscule parts." Sanghoon said. "Passionate traits like that are rare these days..."

"Oh, dont get me wrong. I dont love my job." Cat said. "I despise working for someone, and I despise what happens to me while I am at this job. Ive got my finger jammed on a gun I was wielding, barely escaped a non-paying customer, shoot up some bad apples who are threats to my business prospects just to keep me well-fed... the list goes on."

"Then with all the negative factors presented to you, why stay on a thing that doesnt really make you any more safe and happy?"

"Because people wanted me here. Higher-ups, bosses, even those who just casually buys guns for the heck of it. When you're good at something, even if you dont like it, people will push you to do it. Be it through encouragement, praise, or recognition. And of course, the natural response of a human is to pursue that field and take up the challenge, hoping to be recognized, right? Positive reinforcement really works wonders if you want to decieve someone that theyll have a wonderful life in working like that."