Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: A Small Misunderstanding
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This studio apartment had nothing in it except for the bed and wardrobe that came with the place.
The fridge, microwave, and washing machine didn't count—honestly, it'd be harder to find a place without those.
Anyway, there was the mattress that had sunk in deep, like some heavy person had been lying on it for ages.
And the old wardrobe with a design straight out of grandma's house.
It was so ancient that the door creaked every time you opened it—that was standard.
Pull out a drawer wrong, and it made a scary thud before crashing to the floor.
These beat-up things were basic fixtures, so you had to leave them be.
'Mess with them by accident, and it'll come out of my deposit.'
I had plenty of experience living alone.
Screw up and break one of these old pieces of furniture, and it was on you to replace it.
Kind of like that company equipment everyone shared—if it broke while you were using it, you had to buy a new one.
Even if you upgraded it to something nicer, some landlords would throw a fit about special clauses and changing things without permission...
So the smart move was to film every single provided item when you first moved in, documenting every flaw perfectly.
'The money they nickel-and-dime you for isn't chump change.'
At least 50,000 won at minimum. Sometimes they'd hit you with ridiculous claims for over 300,000 won just for a door lock.
These days, that kind of money was like dropping 500 won on the street—pocket change.
But it still pissed me off.
"Not a penny."
Muttering my little vow, I carefully pulled out all the clothes from the wardrobe.
All my clothes, but honestly, there wasn't much.
"......Did I really have so few clothes?"
A few outfits I rotated for work, a handful of shirts for meeting friends.
Pants all looked the same, socks just black and gray.
Nothing worth keeping made it easy, in a way.
Though it left a slightly bitter taste too. Whatever—comfort now mattered more.
"The crew's coming soon... better sort the clothes at least."
Truth be told, there wasn't a ton to toss.
If I were still Choi Min-hoo, I could've handled this in a day.
But as Choi Yeon-bi now, I couldn't even fathom sorting it all.
I could barely lift the chair I'd bought myself.
A chair was tough enough, but then there was the topper on the mattress to ditch, blankets, dishes, the rack I'd made next to the wardrobe, drying rack, folding desk, winter clothes and spare blankets in storage, towels, and so on.
No way I could do it alone.
"Money to buy it, money to toss it."
I let out a short sigh and roughly stuffed clothes into a nearby clear bag.
Clear even a little, and it'd end faster.
About halfway through the clothes, someone knocked on the door.
"Coming!"
I glanced at the clock as I answered.
Ten minutes early—earlier than my booking.
Good pick on the company, I thought, swinging the door wide.
At the front was a friendly-smiling middle-aged guy.
Behind him, two women and one man stood with tired eyes.
Made sense—it wasn't even 8 yet.
"Hello."
"Hello! Are you Ms. Choi Yeon-bi, the one booked for today?"
The guy spoke with a warm smile. Probably the boss.
His energy was infectious, brightening your mood.
"Yes. I want everything in this room tossed."
"Let me see... Anything we shouldn't touch?"
He glanced around the place as he asked.
"The bed, mattress, and wardrobe are fixtures—don't touch those... Fridge and microwave too. Oh, and leave the desk, computer monitor, keyboard, mouse, and tower."
The guy who'd been eyeing the room nodded lightly and looked at me.
"So, everything else goes?"
"Yes. Just toss it all."
"You want us to... just throw all this away?"
As I talked with the boss, one of the women standing quietly behind gasped in surprise and stared at me.
I gave her a blank look.
Did she want reasons for tossing stuff?
I got it, sure.
To outsiders, it all looked perfectly fine—your standard bachelor pad.
A sudden request to dump everything might seem weird.
But prying like that was nosy.
The boss seemed to agree, turning to her with a slightly sterner face.
"So-jin, cut the chit-chat and grab three more waste bags from the van. Yeon-seo, bag up the kitchen stuff. Tae-beom, start in the bathroom and work your way to the living room."
"Got it~"
"Bathroom again?"
"Yeon-seo did it last time. Your turn."
The crew filed in, divvying up sections like pros.
Seeing strangers invade my space felt awkward, so I stared blankly at the three.
'Gonna have boxes piled up at the new place again.'
I'll note on deliveries not to block the door, I thought, watching them hustle. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Lee So-jin stepped out of the car after getting an earful from her dad.
She knew her comment had been nosy.
But it still didn't sit right.
'Moving? But if it's a move, people usually pack their stuff—not toss it.'
And that customer's eyes had looked a bit sad.
Like they held the resolve to erase everything.
'She's not... preparing to die or something, is she?'
She'd heard stories like that before.
People nearing death wanted to wipe away their traces.
They'd cut all ties, clear out their belongings, vanish alone somewhere, and pass quietly.
'......Great, now my morning's ruined.'
So-jin's mind was a mess.
She couldn't voice thoughts like that, so she grabbed bags silently and headed back.
Some items were already bagged—clothes and blankets in waste sacks.
'......Men's clothes?'
Peeking in, it was unmistakably men's underwear and shirts.
Seeing that, So-jin looked up at the customer.
'She's a woman.'
A stunningly beautiful one at that.
Prettier than singers or actresses on TV.
Those needed full makeup and edits to look that good—this woman outshone them bare-faced.
Training pants, no makeup.
'......This is weird.'
So-jin's gut was screaming.
This woman was hiding something.
"If you're here, hustle and help. Keep slacking, and I'll halve your pay."
Shaking her head at the Director's words, she scurried inside.
Handed him the bags and scanned the odd room.
"Bathroom's done."
"Yeah, gimme a bag."
Everyone but her was clearing casually.
Which made it weirder.
'This... is clearly a guy's room.'
Reasons she'd pegged it as a man's space.
No cosmetics.
No women's clothes. Not even underwear.
And the bathroom bag had zero pads, cleansing foam, cleansing oil—basics for any woman.
'......Boyfriend's place? Lover's?'
Plausible enough.
Moving in together, so clearing out his stuff.
He'd told her what to keep and toss.
'Making me overthink.'
So-jin shook her head and focused on cleanup. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Dad."
"Yeah?"
"Didn't you feel anything off?"
In the car back to the office.
The Director glanced at So-jin in the rearview.
Her face was serious.
Loaded with thoughts.
"Why?"
"It's weird. She's a woman, but no women's stuff at all—just guy's things. And she wants it all tossed."
"You felt it too, sis? I was surprised too—no makeup anywhere while sorting."
Yeon-seo chimed in agreement.
Tae-beom just stared out the window silently.
"......Yeah, it was odd."
"Right?"
So-jin leaned forward, gripping the seat at Dad's words.
He dropped another story.
"You know, back when I started cleaning, gangsters once had me clear a place after drowning someone who lived there."
"What?"
"Didn't know at the time—saw it on the news later. Closed up shop the next day and took days off."
So-jin clamped her mouth shut.
Yeon-seo's eyes trembled faintly.
"That room wasn't like that, obviously. But you get why I'm telling you this?"
"......"
"Don't overthink. Don't get nosy. We're just paid to haul junk. Got it?"
Yeon-seo and So-jin fell silent.
In the heavy mood, only Tae-beom thought to himself.
'She was really pretty though......'
Picturing Yeon-bi.