Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: An Enjoyable Day
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Oh my, you don't need to give us that much money~ We were planning to move to a neighborhood near our son anyway. Thanks to you, we get to leave early, which is great.]
"No, no. Even so, you're leaving a perfectly nice home where you're living comfortably because of me..."
[We said it's fine! We'll just take the moving and cleaning costs. You're doing this because our daughter-in-law is pretty, so don't keep trying to give us more. Got it?]
The call with the elderly couple who had lived on the 10th floor ended just like that.
They insisted I didn't need to pay an extra 500 million won, just the moving costs, so in the end, the only money I actually spent was the purchase price of the apartment.
"I'm really so sorry..."
A wave of guilt filled my chest.
But at the same time, a sigh of relief escaped my lips.
"I did call out a pretty hefty amount..."
I must have gotten too excited thinking about revenge, and my head wasn't working right.
Otherwise, who would throw away 500 million won like it was trash?
"And I made such a firm resolution."
I sat in the egg chair, scratching my head.
On the way back earlier, I'd bought some coffee, and as I sipped it while gazing out the window, I suddenly started pondering what to do with this place.
"...Suddenly, I own two houses."
Both in the same building, same line: 8th and 10th floors.
Anyone could see it looked like I was viciously targeting the 9th floor.
I chuckled to myself imagining all the ways I could harass the 9th floor sandwiched between them, then stood up.
'Then the 10th floor makes the most sense to use as my home.'
The furniture I'd placed here could just be taken up via the elevator anyway.
Everything except the bed and bookshelf could be carried as-is.
So, call a moving company, haul out the stuff here.
Buy all new appliances and move everything in one go.
'They said preparing to move would take some time... So I should stock up on appliances in the meantime.'
I immediately sat down at the computer.
I opened the Excel sheet I'd been organizing yesterday and started listing products and prices one by one.
— Thud thud
"...Just wait a bit."
Now that I had some leeway, I wasn't as angry as before.
It was just ridiculous.
Thinking I'd stay in the previously contracted studio until moving day, I grabbed my sleeping bag and headed out.
At least it wouldn't be this noisy there.
'Plus, there's ice cream.'
On the way, I should buy a laptop too.
You need a computer, after all.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ For a few days, I survived on frozen dumplings and ice cream while buying electronics on my laptop.
Of course, it wasn't just dumplings; I ordered delivery food pretty often too.
And on the way out, I canceled the studio lease, paying the penalty fee.
The landlord didn't seem to care much, as expected.
When I said I'd pay the penalty to terminate, they just replied "fine" and that was it.
'As long as there's money, it's all good, huh.'
I shook my head slightly at the typical landlord attitude as I left the building.
It had been my home for years, but nothing was left behind.
I'd thrown out all my stuff long ago, and even cleared out the ice cream from the fridge.
All I held was a single bag of ice cream.
A small laugh slipped out.
"Let's go."
I chuckled softly, then pulled out one ice cream from between the ice packs and popped it in my mouth.
I lightly crunched the hard chocolate shell, and the strawberry ice cream inside melted sweetly on my tongue.
The sweet and tangy flavor lifted my spirits a bit.
Today was moving day once again.
The day all the major appliances like the fridge, washer, dryer, and TV I'd ordered from the studio would arrive at the house.
First, move all the expensive new appliances, then bring up all my furniture from the 8th floor.
I bought all the appliances from the same company so they could be delivered together.
Since I was getting multiple items, they gave me a sale, so I carefully picked and chose. All of them were cutting-edge with that IoT tech or whatever.
Being able to turn the AC or TV on and off from outside the house—what an amazing system.
'Honestly, probably won't use much besides the AC.'
I parked my compact car in the lot and got out.
Then took the elevator to the ground floor.
As I walked to our building's entrance, the trucks and a cherry picker were already waiting.
"They brought a ton."
There were quite a few staff members.
Makes sense with so much to install.
Seeing the workers and the appliances in the trucks made the money I'd spent feel real again.
You really have to be careful buying online.
Money flies out in an instant.
'If I hadn't organized it in Excel first, I'd have spent even more.'
I compared prices, specs.
Even thought about my home's interior while choosing carefully.
I'd learned the hard way at the department store: nothing's more dangerous than impulse buying.
No matter how rich you are, spending money wisely is key.
You can earn time with money, but not buy time with money.
'That sounds kinda cool.'
I turned on my phone and jotted it down in my notes right away.
As soon as I finished, perfect timing—a call came in.
Seeing a worker up front on his phone, it was probably him calling.
I picked up and said I was right there.
Arriving at the big truck, people stared at me blankly for a moment.
I tilted my head, and they finally spoke.
"Ah, you're Ms. Choi Yeon-bi, right?"
"Yes."
"1102 building, 1003, correct?"
"Yes."
"Could you quickly confirm these are the items you ordered for delivery today?"
The worker handed me a document as he spoke.
I read through the list, checking if everything had arrived.
'Fridge, washer, dryer, dishwasher, AC, TV...'
Hm. All there.
"Yes, everything's here."
"Alright, we'll start right away. Go up and decide where to place everything. Prep to bring up the items!"
With that, I left while watching them secure the cherry picker to the ground.
I rode the elevator up to the 10th floor with a worker.
Opening the door, it was spotlessly clean.
'They even did the move-in cleaning before leaving.'
That must have been what they meant by asking for cleaning costs.
Grateful, I looked around the pristine space.
Nothing like when I moved into the 8th floor.
'Move-in cleaning is a must, huh.'
I hadn't known since I'd only lived in studios.
Usually, studio tenants clean themselves after moving in.
I felt a bit bad for overburdening the robot vacuum.
But what can you do?
Got to follow the Three Laws of Robotics.
As I spaced out, the worker who'd come up with me flung open the living room window.
A short while later, the ladder hooked into place with a clunk.
'Everything can come in this way, right?'
I watched worriedly by myself.
Soon enough, proving my worries unfounded, the appliances started coming up leisurely one by one.
Inevitably, thudding sounds echoed.
The noises of furniture being placed reverberated through the empty house.
'Bet it's ringing through to the downstairs neighbors too.'
I smirked inwardly while watching the spectacle, and sure enough.
'Here it comes.'
The doorbell started flashing.
Looks like the downstairs folks weren't much better.
The thought had barely crossed my mind when they came up.
Heart pounding, I turned on the intercom.
It was the guy I'd seen before on camera.
I knew who he was but pretended not to.
"Who is it?"
He tilted his head at my voice.
Seemed he didn't quite remember who I was.
[It's your downstairs neighbor. It's been so noisy since morning. Could you keep it down a bit?]
His voice echoed through the house via the intercom.
The workers hunched a little, glancing at me nervously, but I smiled and shook my head that it was fine.
"Aren't you being a bit too sensitive?"
The workers looked flustered, as did the guy at the door.
[Huh?]
But I had no intention of stopping.
Time to give back exactly what he'd dished out.
"Come on, moving day's bound to be a little noisy. Why make such a fuss over that?"
He looked shocked at first, then his eyes widened as realization hit.
[Ah...!!]
"What a funny guy."
With that, I turned off the intercom.
Felt so damn good.
The workers stared at me in bewilderment.
I get it. Who picks a fight with the downstairs neighbor right after moving in?
So I told them not to worry, explaining lightly.
"I used to live on the 8th floor, but the 9th floor was so noisy I moved here. So don't mind it."
But the workers looked even more confused after hearing that.
'Shouldn't have said anything.'
Maybe it would've been better to just come off as rude.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A few days passed after the move.
All my stuff from the 8th floor had been brought up to the 10th.
Plus all the new appliances—I was definitely living more luxuriously now.
— Beep beep beep beep
The 6:30 alarm I'd set went off.
"Mm..."
I stretched, then thudded to my feet on my heels.
Rubbing my half-asleep eyes, I thudded my way to the kitchen.
I inserted a capsule into the new coffee machine on the island counter.
Warm coffee poured out with a whir.
I poured it into the expensive cup I'd bought at the department store and strode energetically to the egg chair in the living room.
"Nice weather..."
Not a cloud in sight.
Another day begins like this.
As I thought that and took a sip, a vibration like someone pounding the ceiling came from downstairs.
'Forgot to bring bread.'
I got up again, stomped over, and fetched the bread.
Enjoying a leisurely breakfast like that, my phone suddenly rang.
It was the management office.
I hesitated a moment before answering.
"Hello."
[Hello, this is the management office. It's about the noise complaint we mentioned before...]
"Ah, yes. I'm being careful, but the downstairs neighbors seem a bit sensitive. I even put down rugs."
[......Understood. Please be cautious. When we get complaints from below, we have to pass them on.]
It bothered me that innocent people were getting caught up.
Why were the downstairs folks so rude?
I hung up, thinking I should send some treats to the management office later.
A lively day.
An enjoyable day.
How long would this last?
Until the downstairs neighbors moved out, probably?
I giggled to myself and slurped down the rest of my coffee.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Starting cleaning.] [Starting wash.] The house filled with the dry, emotionless female voice.
And
— Beep beep beep beep
The dumb robot vacuum's noises.
"Why are you tipped over again?"
I was starting to understand why the one at the store looked so battered.
They said it avoids drops with sensors, but it's awfully stupid.
My home was almost fully automated, but perfect automation was still a ways off, it seemed.
Not just the robot vacuum—even the dishwasher required me to wash the plates first.
Housework was easier than before, sure.
But in the end, people still had to do it.
Same with floor cleaning.
This robot seemed to clean well, but something felt... off.
You'd miss it if it were gone, but you couldn't entrust everything to it either—that ambiguous feeling.
So I ran the cordless vacuum over everything daily myself.
Today, as I went to do that, I suddenly felt too lazy and plopped onto the sofa.
"......Maybe I should hire someone after all."
After a moment's thought, I opened the site I'd seen before.
"Let's see... Housekeeping services..."
I needed someone to clean for me.
I was too lazy to handle this big house alone.
Plus, the other rooms were empty now, but I'd fill them up eventually, and I couldn't manage alone then.
So, better hire ahead of time.
Than scrambling last-minute.
"Twice a week... Cleaning and laundry... Just check all the boxes."
I applied like that, and a few days later.
"Hello."
A woman who looked far too young to be a housekeeping helper came to the house.