Chapter 265

Escaping hell only to find a true hell elsewhere.

Originally, Lloyd didn’t quite believe in such sayings. However, during his days in a South Korean boarding house, after enduring grueling, sweaty labor under the sweltering heat, desperately seeking escape through another part-time job, he genuinely felt the essence of that phrase for the first time. It was indeed his first day working in a mascot costume.

Wearing a fluffy chicken costume on his first day, coinciding with the middle of the summer heat, he had to distribute flyers in front of a newly opened chicken restaurant under the blazing sun. That day, he tasted a real living hell.

“I truly thought I was going to die.”

Compared to the dusty, curse-laden construction site, the initial escape to a new job brought joy. However, that joy and excitement lasted only for the first minute. It was during one of the hottest days of the year, and there he was, walking around the streets in a fluffy chicken costume.

He employed all the charm he could muster, both innate and acquired, to distribute flyers. Only then did he realize the human body could produce such an immense amount of sweat. He discovered how little kids, enchanted by the mascot costume, could seem like demons as they playfully kicked him. Amid all this, he also faced the harsh reality that good looks indeed have their own currency.

“Was it Young-jin hyung? Ah, can’t even forget his name.”

He had worked with a hyung in the mascot job, though they weren’t acquainted before that day. Their relationship lasted only for that single day, but the hyung’s name remained unforgettable due to a particular incident that day.

“Too hot and about to pass out, we decided to grab a can of soda,” he remembered.

The hyung offered to buy it. Desperate for a break, they rushed to the convenience store and bought some ion drinks. Sitting under the convenience store’s parasol, they took off their mascot heads together.

That moment caused a stir.

“As he removed his mascot head, revealing his handsome face drenched in sweat… When he slicked back his damp hair, wiped the sweat off his slightly flushed cheeks, took a swig of his drink, and those moments got noticed by passing schoolgirls, causing quite the commotion…”

That day, the newly opened chicken restaurant hit the jackpot. Furthermore, the hyung became an overnight SNS star known as “the mascot guy from the Hongdae chicken place.” Later, I heard he got scouted by an entertainment agency because of that incident.

“…”

Damn those naturally handsome guys.

Lloyd quickly tucked away the memory back into the folds of his brain and looked up.

The experience from that scorching day at the chicken restaurant, using his past to shape the plan unfolding today right here, had been successful. He had impulsively pressed down on the conch shell, breaking it and revealing Javier’s head in the process, thus exposing his beautiful face to everyone.

As expected, the reaction was fiery.

“After all, that guy managed to get an entry permit to the mermaid kingdom with that face of his.”

His handsome features had already been verified.

And now, he had intentionally staged this reveal. Unlike before, when asking about the orb made Javier shy away, keeping his head down whenever around mermaids, which meant most didn’t get a good look at his face. This time was different.

Javier was entirely defenseless while wearing the conch shell. Suddenly pressing down on it exposed his face in full view, bringing about a dramatically successful sauna opening.

Several mermaids drawn by Javier’s face became the sauna’s first customers. They entered, curious and fascinated, and left completely relaxed and happy.

From that day on, those first customers became ambassadors for the sauna. Day by day, the word spread throughout the mermaid kingdom: “There’s a place where you can simply lie down, and your muscle fatigue and joint pains will disappear. And it’s all for free. Plus, it’s safe.”

The rumor spread far and wide, faster, more detailed, and deeper than expected. And now, six days since the sauna opened,

The place was bustling with life.

Inside, mermaids were everywhere, relaxing, enjoying the heat, flexing their relaxed muscles, or just peacefully sleeping, each indulging in their own way.

But that wasn’t all.

“Hey! I was in line first!”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been here since last night!”

Arguments broke out as too many mermaids flocked in at once, leading to an overflow and entrance cuts due to maximum capacity being reached.

“It’s a massive hit,” Lloyd thought, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

The plan to build a sauna to attract mermaids had been brilliantly successful in its first phase.

Now, it was time for the next step.

Sensing the right moment had come — having introduced all mermaids in the area to a new world of saunas and having turned them into sauna addicts — it was time to implement the next phase of the plan.

After closing for the day,

Lloyd put up a new sign at the entrance.

The next morning dawned.

“What’s this?”

A mermaid grandmother squinted her eyes in disbelief, staring at the sign placed at the entrance of the sauna. The sign read:

[The sauna opening event has ended. From today, free entrance to the sauna is prohibited. For more details, please refer to the information below. Thank you.]

“What does this mean?”

She clenched her fist, a mix of confusion and anticipation bubbling within her.

Was it now necessary to provide something in return for sauna access? Was she required to pay to enjoy the sauna’s relief for her joints and muscles?

“And what exactly do I need to give?”

She had planned to enjoy the sauna even more today, thinking of spending the whole day there from morning till night, fully prepared for an indulgent session.

The unexpected notice, however, threw her off, inducing a sense of unease.

Trying to suppress her confusion, she looked down as instructed.

A flat rock lay nearby, neatly stacked with sheets of seaweed, each rolled up like a scroll.

She picked one up and unfurled it, revealing tiny, detailed writing inside.

“A sauna membership application?”

Her forehead wrinkled even deeper as her eyes quickly scanned the document.

The sauna, now operating on a strict membership basis, required all members to adhere to certain rules, including a set number of hours for daily use and a specific form of payment for services — not in money or goods, but in labor at a location designated by the sauna’s owner, Lloyd Fronderra.

“Labour? I have to work somewhere specified by that land-dwelling human, in exchange for using the sauna?”

Shock and disdain flashed through her eyes.

“How could there be such an outrageous human? What does he take us mermaids for?”

Anger boiled within her, thinking it would have been less insulting if they were asked for pearls or precious shells instead.

To think they had to work in exchange for using the sauna.

“Such an insolent human!”

Indeed, this confirmed her worst views on land-dwellers: always disturbing peace, polluting environments, and leaving chaos in their wake.

Her eyes, filled with righteous indignation, swept over the membership conditions more rigorously.

Membership required not just participation but a commitment to work for half the time spent in the sauna. Failure to fulfill this within 48 hours led to penalties and potential bans from future use.

“Penalties for not paying? Let’s see what those entail.”

Her gaze hardened as she read on about the penalties for not providing the demanded labor: temporary bans leading up to permanent expulsion and a loss of membership for repeated offenses.

Yet, amidst the punitive terms, there was an offer: the first 100 new members to sign up would receive 60 hours of sauna use for free.

Speechless, she processed the implications.

“So, to use the sauna, you work, and if you don’t, you get penalized. Three strikes and you’re banned for life?”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

“What kind of person comes up with this?”

Her disdain for the entire situation manifested physically, her muscular body twitching in suppressed rage.

“Forget it! I’m too disgusted to even consider using such a sauna.”

With a swift motion, she ripped the seaweed application to shreds.

Turning on her heel, her powerful muscles bulging in anger, she left.

Others who came after her reacted similarly.

“No matter how enjoyable the sauna might be… am I supposed to become a laborer for some land-dweller?”

“Really, this is outright disrespect towards us mermaids.”

“Even if he’s a handsome human from land, even if the sauna is comforting… to demand labor instead of pearls as payment? What does he see us as? Cheap laborers to be summoned at will?”

“I’d rather not use the sauna at all.”

“Agreed. We’ve lived just fine without the sauna until now.”

“Exactly. We were doing perfectly well without this newfound ‘luxury.’ Let’s just leave it as a pleasant but brief chapter in our lives.”

Doubts, anger, and resolution spread among the mermaids. Despite the sauna’s allure, the new terms were unacceptable, treating them as mere pawns in the human’s game.

“Let’s just continue living as we have, without this sauna.”

With firm resolve, they walked away, leaving the sauna and its absurd demands behind.

No one signed up for membership.

The sauna, once bustling, fell silent.

The once-popular mud and sea forest saunas, even the exotic beach-themed area, were now deserted, save for drifting deep-sea plankton.

“This looks like a failure, doesn’t it?” Javier couldn’t help but comment, frowning at the empty establishment.

Lloyd, however, shrugged nonchalantly.

“Wait a few days. Things will change.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Just watch.”

Lloyd smiled confidently, certain of his foresight.

The mermaids might have turned away in anger today, but soon, they would come to realize and accept the harsh truth:

They could no longer live without the luxury of the sauna they had so quickly grown accustomed to.