After bringing the plaque back, Park Tae-hyun planned to nail it on both sides. He didn't care which one was on the left or the right.

  The neighbor next door, Baek Cheong-won, was very enthusiastic.

  He was squatting at the door, peeling garlic. When he saw Park Tae-hyun preparing to hang the plaque, he directly took out a hammer and nails from his house.

  Park Tae-hyun said thank you and picked up the hammer. It felt a bit greasy and heavy in his hand. Enduring some discomfort, he still nailed the two plaques on.

  Then,

  the two of them took a few steps back together, looking at the plaque, the door, and the bookstore.

  Park Tae-hyun handed Baek Cheong-won a cigarette as a thank you, and Baek Cheong-won lit it for Park Tae-hyun.

  They blew out smoke rings together.

  Perfect sync.

  "You got the artistic conception, right?" Park Tae-hyun said. This was a standard self-praise.

  "You're still too literary. Your store will still lose money," Baek Cheong-won's comment was blunt.

  "Why?"

  "There are too many stories in this world, and all kinds of bizarre things happen every day, but there are not many truly interesting things.

  Some things are meaningless to talk about.

  Some things cannot be spoken at all.

  Some things will not be listened to unless you change them.

  There are some things that I dare not listen to unless I change them."

  Park Tae-hyun looked at Baek Cheong-won for a long time.

  Baek Cheong-won lowered his head slightly, blushing.

  He was a man with a charming manner, naturally attractive, and at this moment, he was even more gorgeous.

  Seeing that Park Tae-hyun didn't say anything, Baek Cheong-won continued:

  "For example, how could mountain spirits, fox fairies, and ghosts exist in the real world?" Baek Cheong-won yawned. "How can the truth of using fake things to illustrate the truth be true?"

  Park Tae-hyun continued to look at Baek Cheong-won without saying anything.

  Baek Cheong-won felt his scalp tingling under the gaze.

  But Park Tae-hyun continued to look at him.

  Finally, Baek Cheong-won waved his hand and said he was going back to make the soup base. As he walked back to the noodle shop, he felt like a thorn in his side because, just now, it felt as though Park Tae-hyun wasn't looking at him.

  But watching a joke.

  Park Tae-hyun ignored Baek Cheong-won. Since they were neighbors, they should just keep to themselves. They were not in competition anyway. The most important thing was that Park Tae-hyun didn't have the money to change shops.

  In the afternoon, Park Tae-hyun sorted out most of the textbooks and tutorial books in the bookstore and sold them to the junk collector at the price of waste paper.

  He went to the supermarket and bought ten small plastic chairs, and the remaining bookshelves were filled with books that Park Tae-hyun found interesting.

  At present, it is more of a cultural and entertainment center for the elderly than a bookstore.

  Park Tae-hyun stretched lazily. He wasn't very good at doing business. Right now, he was just messing around. Anyway, when Kim Min-woo was around, he was constantly in debt, so he didn't feel any pressure.

  Coming to the second floor, Park Tae-hyun turned on the freezer, set the temperature, smoked a cigarette outside, waited for a while, then reached into the freezer and touched it.

  The temperature was about right, so Park Tae-hyun lay down.

  The freezer that cost over 10,000 won certainly had many functions, such as a timing design, which served as an alarm clock for Park Tae-hyun.

  He closed the freezer.

  Park Tae-hyun placed his hands on his lower abdomen and lay straight.

  Stolen story; please report.

  It seems that

  he passed away peacefully.

  Late at night,

  A red car was parked on the side of the road in front of the bookstore. The street was a bit empty. On the other side of the store, only the noodle shop and the bookstore next to it still had their lights on.

  A well-dressed girl was sitting in the car, wearing a black down jacket and long hair. She looked cute and delicate.

  "Jin Soo, you bastard, I've been preparing for three days, and today you told me that you were on a business trip. Go to hell, get out!"

  The girl hung up the phone and sat in the driver's seat, sulking.

  The Corgi in the passenger seat jumped onto the girl's legs. Its fur was flowing and shiny, and it was obvious that it was of good breed and had been raised with great care.

  "Good boy, luckily you're here with me."

  The girl lit a cigarette, stretched out her hand to shake off the ash, looked outside, and saw the bookstore.

  'Kim's Bookstore?', she read.

  The key point was that through the glass window, she could see that the furnishings inside were a little unusual. There were not many bookshelves, but instead, many plastic benches.

  After getting out of the car, the girl walked toward the bookstore holding the Corgi. She didn't want to drive around aimlessly alone on this Valentine's Day night. She wanted to find a quiet place to sit down.

  The door of the bookstore was not closed, and the warmth from the air conditioning inside could be felt as she walked in.

  The girl, walking her dog, picked up a magazine at random from the bookshelf and then sat down on a plastic chair.

  She let the Corgi go, and the little guy began to "explore" the store.

  After flipping through a magazine, the girl stretched lightly, felt a little dry in her mouth, and shouted:

  "Hey, are you there? Do you have tea or coffee?"

  The girl stood up, put the magazine back, and picked up an illustrated version of *The Cloud Dream of the Nine*. When she sat down again, she couldn't help but shout:

  "Oye, are you dead in the middle of the night? How can you open a shop like this?"

  There was a small sign hanging on the glass door of the bookstore that said "Open, Welcome to Kim's." The door was open and the heating was on, so it must still be open for business.

  If the girl were less polite or more curious at this moment and took the initiative to go upstairs to take a look, she might admire her own "prophecy."

  There was indeed an ice coffin in the low space on the second floor.

  The Owner was lying inside, looking like a dead person.

  No, The Owner is a dead man.

  Of course, the girl might be scared to death before she had time to admire him.

  A normal person enters a store late at night and finds the owner lying in a frozen coffin. Isn't that scary?

  The girl lit another cigarette, became a little impatient, and took out her phone to start playing.

  At this time, footsteps were heard from the stairs. Park Tae-hyun didn't wake up because of the girl's shouting; he woke up naturally.

  As soon as he went downstairs, Park Tae-hyun saw a small yellow figure jumping onto his legs, asking for a hug.

  Park Tae-hyun smiled, bent down, and held the Corgi in his arms. The little guy wasn't shy and seemed familiar with everyone.

  Then, Park Tae-hyun noticed the woman sitting in the store,

  oh,

  the first customer upon opening.

  But it wasn't as exciting as expected, because Park Tae-hyun had just changed the bookstore sign and cleaned up the furnishings inside.

  But he hadn't thought about it yet,

  How to make money below.

  "Welcome to Kim's Bookstore~", Park Tae-hyun said in a prideful manner.

  "Hyung-nim, do you have coffee here?"

  The girl asked.

  Park Tae-hyun pointed to a water dispenser in the corner, where there were disposable paper cups.

  The girl felt a little helpless but still stood up, poured herself a glass of water, and then sat back on her plastic chair.

  One host and one guest looked at each other in silence.

  After about half an hour of silence, the girl started browsing Weibo and watching videos. One video was boisterous:

  "Don't miss out on those who have passed by!

  The ghost money blessed by me, an old Taoist priest, is in limited supply!

  You can take it out and use it when you go to hell after burning it, and you can also earn some interest.

  You can also roast it and send it to your relatives below. It's quick and convenient, fair to all. The ghosts won't bother you!"

  The girl laughed after watching the video. People usually want to share funny things when they encounter them. She looked up at the Owner sitting behind the counter and said:

  "Hyung-nim, have you seen this video? This veteran live streamer is quite famous. He's almost become an internet celebrity."

  "Oh, live broadcast?" Park Tae-hyun was a little confused. He took out his phone. There were many live broadcast apps on Kim Min-woo's phone. It seemed this guy was really bored on weekdays.

  "Well, search his ID. It's funny. He seems to have opened a Shaman store in Seoul, but he hasn't live-streamed for a long time."

  Park Tae-hyun opened the app and began searching for the old Shaman's ID as the girl suggested, finding a live broadcast room—the host wasn't home.

  But fortunately, replay videos were available, and Park Tae-hyun randomly clicked on a video from a month ago.

  In the video, the Shaman fixed his phone in position, and a man was boxing. His style was impressive, clearly the work of a martial artist. In the corner of the screen, a young man sat with a smile, eyes narrowed, as if watching a monkey show.

  Park Tae-hyun nonchalantly rewound the video, and a man appeared on the screen, sitting behind the counter, holding a spoon as if sipping porridge.

  The old Shaman droned on in the main video, promoting his Taobao-sold ghost money, but Park Tae-hyun's gaze lingered on the man in the corner.

  He frowned, he suffered, he was in pain, he rejected. A mouthful of porridge, He struggled to swallow. Then another bite. It felt like torture.

  Park Tae-hyun took a deep breath, seemingly infected by the man's plight in the video.

  Having a meal was indeed not an easy feat.

  He didn't know the man's identity, but he felt an inexplicable interest. Could he be anorexic? Or suffering from a gastrointestinal illness?

  After the video ended, Park Tae-hyun opened the page and, out of curiosity, messaged the shaman using Kim Min-woo's account:

  "Who is the man sitting in the back, sipping porridge, in the video?"

  "Hey, I'm leaving now. How much?"

  The girl stood up, stretching.

  "If I tell people today, they'll think I'm a fool. I sat in a bookstore reading 'The Cloud Dream of the Nine' for so long on Christmas."

  "Pay as you wish," Park Tae-hyun said.

  The girl had merely read a book and poured herself a glass of purified water.

  She glanced at Park Tae-hyun, then left a 1,000 won bill on her chair, held her Corgi, and walked out of the bookstore.

  Park Tae-hyun stood up, pocketed the money, and flicked it in his hand.

  A crisp sound, one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.

  When he returned to the counter, Park Tae-hyun noticed his phone had lit up.

  He checked and found a reply from the Shaman: "Who? There is No One!"