Chapter 47
Chapter 47: Hot and busy summer ##
Taesoo waved his hands as if it were nothing and Joonbum stared at him with an astonished expression. Taesoo drank the liquor he was holding.
“There isn’t too much though. And it’s not that cheap if you think about it. The gun price has dropped a lot nowadays. Even the AR-15 costs only about 400 US dollars so 20 thousand per piece isn’t that cheap. People still buy it anyway.”
‘Who else buys these types of guns?’
Joonbum shook his head at Taesoo’s words.
“There are more who purchase these other than myself?”
Taesoo licked his lips and started explaining.
“Do you think you’re the only one buying such goods? Those upper-class people stock all kinds of firearms in their backyards. There are a lot of people buying guns and there are even more people selling them.”
“Really?”
Joonbum was surprised.
“Yes. Those people even have heavy machine guns in their private shooting ranges. It’s all for show. They can get anything they want anyway. Some also get drugs and all that too. A lot have been smuggled here by American soldiers. Didn’t expect that, did you?”
“But if they get caught…” Joonbum mumbled as Taesoo seemed to be more confused by his words.
“What do you mean? Those people never get caught. They just send some other people to take the sentence in their place. None of it is done under their own name anyway, and they pay a lot for it. Can you imagine how much profit can be made?”
Joonbum felt disturbed at such a truth.
“Then why do you conduct business with me?”
Taesoo grinned as he saw Joonbum becoming uncomfortable.
“Haha, Mr. Jang, you’re so naïve. They don’t deal with low-life peddlers like me. It’s a different world. Mafia gangs are involved too. You can’t just poke around without getting killed.”
‘Mafia?’
Joonbum frowned. He understood, but it still was not a good feeling to know such dark truths. Taesoo seemed to be drunk from the liquor as his face flushed red.
“We’re safe with each other.”
“Safe?”
“We both know what we’re up to. Wouldn’t both of us be wary of getting caught? I don’t have to worry about you making trouble with all those firearms and you can be worry-free with me too. I know you make deals with me because you can trust that I won’t cause much trouble.”
“So you did know.”
“Of course. We’re in the same boat.”
Both of them fell silent.
‘I guess I wasn’t the smartest one.’
Joonbum grew embarrassed at the thought. Taesoo definitely had more life experiences than him.
“Okay, let’s finish the deal. Send me the money.”
“Sure. But don’t you think I have to change the cover out?”
Joonbum pointed at the top of the Humvee where it was covered with a machine gun and a defensive shield. Taesoo cackled teasingly.
“Hehe. You don’t want the Browning? Or mines? You know, those things that blow up. I can get you leftover covers, but you need to pay more.”
Taesoo became more talkative as he became drunk.
‘He’s going nuts. Isn’t the Browning a heavy machine gun?’ Joonbum thought as he remembered Taesoo said ‘anything’ before.
‘Maybe I’m the one who’s being used.’
He did become more talkative, but he still seemed to be clear about what he was doing.
“I’ll grab a taxi. We’ll meet again in two days.”
“Are you sure you can give it to me this cheap?”
“Of course! I’m your fan too. I wish I could go to a place like that. It’s a dream! The price… consider it a favor. Haha.”
Taesoo disappeared into the darkness as he waved.
“A fan, huh?”
Joonbum sighed deeply.
‘What a day.’
He shook his head and hopped on the Humvee to start it up.
“It’s been done already.”
The Humvee came to life, letting out a loud roar. Its roughness gave it a sense of masculinity.
“It’s crazy.”
Joonbum gasped. It was an amazing piece of machinery.
“Let’s go!”
He put down his foot down on the accelerator to return to his store.
“Oh!”
Chickens in various colors roamed the area freely.
“They’re so small. So cute!”
“So these are chickens? They’re much different from our chickens.”
“I think they’re babies.”
The kids were surprised at the sight of chickens as Joonbum watched them.
‘Those aren’t babies…’
The chickens he brought from Earth were much smaller than the ones that existed in the other world, which were called the ‘Kuku’. Fully grown Kukus were over four feet tall. They had thick legs and claws that were used to catch bugs as big as human fists.
‘But they can’t fly.’
Joonbum grinned at the sight of a Kuku. Its heavy body prevented it from flying. He turned to watch the chickens he had brought here.
‘Are they not scared?’
The chickens started to gather around the bottom of a big Kuku, trying to feed on the big earthworm-like creature that the Kuku had caught.
‘I guess it’s not as scary as it looks.’
The Kuku retreated as the chickens screamed at it angrily and dived at the worm. Sunsook prepared the chickens as Joonbum was brought in the Humvee and other supplies. There were thirty chickens total actively hunting for food. They hunted down any small to big bugs around the bushes that had grown inside the fortress.
‘I guess they don’t need to be fed here.’
There was an abundant food source for those chickens, ranging from big earthworms to fist-sized bugs. The chickens roamed the fortress in search of them. Sunsook once asked Doral about how they fed the Kukus, but he replied with the fact that they didn’t bother feeding them.
Then there were the sheep. There were ten mountain sheep with long horns called Raygal. Those were brought by the Ainos. They provided clean milk that did not need filtering and they also did not need to be fed due to the abundance of grass in the area.
‘I heard Australia raises livestock without feeding them.’
Joonbum thought about those countries with the vast amount of plains. It was not something that was possible in Korea where half of the country was covered in mountain ranges.
“So cute! Fluffy!”
“FLUFFY!!”
What caught the kids’ attention was the different sheep between the Raygals. It was the regular sheep which could be easily found on Earth and be raised for its cotton.
“They’re nice!”
“WOW!”
“Oh, so cool!”
Some of older kids dived in between the Raygals to bring out the sheep for the younger ones to observe more closely. The sheep were trimmed and washed before they were brought here, so they looked more charming. The kids seemed to be so happy at sight of the never-before-seen animals.
“Joonbum, the cage is finished!”
Doral came to him with a belt full of tools.
“Here you go.”
He handed over a towel drenched in cold water, which Doral took and wiped his face. Joonbum took out cold orange juice while he was at it.