Sweet Home (3)
Park Jihun groaned, rubbing his lower back with a grimace.
“Ugh, my back hurts.”
“Oh come on. The guy who spent all night pounding me into the dirt floor is complaining?”
Shin Jiyeon shook her head in disbelief at his shameless whining. Last night, in the greatest rock-paper-scissors match of their lives over who got the bed, Jihun and Kar had lost and ended up sleeping on the floor. The ground was hard, and Kar’s warm body pressed against him had been… distracting. It should have been impossible to fall asleep in that environment, yet somehow he had.
No matter how much the Alpha Male skill boosted him, three straight days of accumulated fatigue had finally caught up. Jihun had slept like the dead yesterday. And since becoming a hunter had made his body ridiculously tough, he didn’t actually suffer any real back pain from sleeping on the floor. He was just milking it for sympathy.
“I’m definitely sleeping in the bed tonight.”
“Too bad. We’re doing rock-paper-scissors again today.”
“Ugh… I suck at that.”
They both had plenty of money now, so buying another bed seemed like the obvious solution. But the truth was, yesterday they had finished organizing Shin Jiyeon’s current place and decided to find a new house where Jihun, Jiyeon, and all his familiars could live together.
That was why they were currently browsing listings online, looking for properties that met their very specific requirements.
“Since the number of us is only going to keep growing, we should get the biggest place possible, right?”
“Exactly. As big as we can get. Somewhere we can fit a lot of beds.”
“But what if it grows way more later? Are we going to have to buy an entire building?”
“Hmm… that’s a tricky one.”
While chatting, they decided to start by assuming six people—the standard party size for entering gates—and look for a house based on that.
“Bucheon seems like a good area. It’s close to both Seoul and Incheon, and gates pop up there pretty frequently.”
The subway system was excellent and the infrastructure was solid. Those were essential factors when house hunting.
“Then let’s set our budget between one and 1.5 billion won.”
“Sounds good.”
Jihun had 1.5 billion. Jiyeon had saved up 500 million after buying her house and car. Combined, they had two billion won. But factoring in moving costs, furniture, and everything else they’d need to buy, that budget range felt reasonable.
That would leave them without money for a car, but that issue had already been mostly resolved.
“We can just keep using my car for now,” Jiyeon said.
Her car. The five hundred million she had saved was originally meant for upgrading to a nicer vehicle. But now that they had decided to move, there was no urgent need. The current car wasn’t broken; she had simply planned to change it because she didn’t like it anymore. They could push that priority back.
Once her current house sold, they’d get a big chunk of money. They could buy a new car with that.
“With that budget, how far can we go?”
Anyway, the house itself would cost between one and 1.5 billion. Since her current place wouldn’t sell immediately, there was no need to rush. Though of course, the sooner the better.
“Let’s see… Oh, how about this one?”
Jiyeon clicked on a listing that caught her eye. The sale price was 1.1 billion won. It was a brand-new apartment from a fairly prestigious luxury brand, 46 pyeong in size.
“This should be plenty of space for six people.”
It had four bedrooms and more than enough square footage. Definitely enough to comfortably house six.
“Not bad… Should we look at a few more?”
They combed through all the nearby listings. Most were similar. There were larger options, but those tended to be farther from the station or located in areas with weaker infrastructure.
“Since we care more about space to fit everyone than perfect location…”
Jiyeon pointed to a specific district. It was farther from the station and a bit removed from the downtown area, though it did have a nice park nearby.
“This area has cheaper prices for bigger homes.”
It wasn’t brand new—about ten years old—but it had all the latest amenities. And best of all, it was a massive 60 pyeong with five bedrooms.
“Whoa… You can get something like this in an apartment?”
Jihun stared at the floor plan in amazement.
This should definitely work…
Six people… no, if they could make the bathroom situation work, even eight could live here comfortably.
“Let’s go check out the real estate office for this apartment complex.”
“Yes!”
With their destination decided, Jihun gave instructions to the two waiting at home.
“Briana, Kar, don’t go wild while we’re gone. Stay home quietly, okay? I left food out, so just take it out and eat.”
Unfortunately, they had to leave Briana and Kar behind. Unlike their old one-room apartment, this place had proper security. Plus, people now knew they weren’t just random monsters running loose. So it was safe to leave them at home.
“Kiiik.”
“Kyarrrung!”
The two answered energetically to show they understood. Jihun patted their heads like he was praising a good dog.
“Grrrr…”
As expected from the canine family, Kar happily rubbed her head against his hand, thoroughly enjoying the affection.
“Kiiing…”
Briana, on the other hand, shyly lowered her head, embarrassed.
“Haa… haa… C-can I pet them too, just once?”
Having seen their different reactions, Shin Jiyeon’s perverted side flared up. Breathing heavily, she reached out toward them.
But both Kar and Briana skillfully dodged her hand.
“Ugh… I can’t decide whether to be happy they don’t fear me anymore, or sad that they can avoid me so easily now…”
“…Shouldn’t we get going?”
Jihun dragged a whining Jiyeon—who was begging him to order the girls not to dodge her hand—out of the house.
#
They drove to an apartment complex not too far from Jiyeon’s current home. Even though it was a few years old, the building still looked clean and had that new-construction feel. A barrier gate blocked the entrance to the parking lot, and there was a guard post right in front. The security looked pretty solid.
The complex they could see inside had neatly maintained flowerbeds, and all the cars were parked properly in their designated spots. The underground parking entrance in the center of the complex was probably the same.
They stepped into the real estate office located right in front of the apartment complex.
“Hello.”
“Oh, hello there!”
A middle-aged man greeted them warmly as they entered.
“What kind of place are you looking for? Newlyweds?”
Since they’d come to a real estate office, it was obvious they were house hunting. And seeing a young man and woman together, he probably assumed they were looking for a home to start their married life.
“Um, yeah, something like that…”
It was a little embarrassing, but saying no and explaining everything would be more of a hassle, so Jihun just went along with it.
Hearing his answer, Shin Jiyeon’s face turned bright red.
“N-newlyweds…!”
She covered her mouth in shock, eyes wide.
“Well, yeah, it’s pretty close to that. But it’s a bit more spe—mmph.”
When Jiyeon excitedly tried to say something, Jihun quickly covered her mouth.
“Haha, no, that’s not it.”
He figured if he mentioned anything about monsters, the seller might get reluctant to sell. I don’t think he knows I’m a Tamer Hunter. No need to bring it up. Even if the taming skill is famous, people might still freak out if they hear monsters will be living in the apartment complex.
Of course rumors would spread eventually, but he didn’t want anyone trying to sabotage the purchase before they even bought the place.
“We saw a listing online. The 60-pyeong one that’s been fully renovated.”
“Ah, you saw it on the real estate app! Yes, yes, please have a seat. Wow, you’re going for a really spacious place. So your budget is around one billion won?”
“Yes. We can go a bit higher if needed…”
Jihun and the agent exchanged conversation smoothly. Having experience negotiating with real estate agents while looking for rental rooms in the past, Jihun handled it better than expected. For the parts he wasn’t sure about regarding buying a property, he asked Jiyeon, who had actual buying experience.
“Then shall we go take a look at the properties in person? With your budget, I think you’ll be able to find something quickly.”
“Alright.”
They followed the agent and viewed several units in the complex that matched their criteria. There were three listings. Since they were all in the same building, the differences came down to building number, floor level, and the extent of renovations and interior work.
We’re planning to rip out and redo the interior anyway…
Since they intended to completely remodel it to their tastes and would be staying at Jiyeon’s current house for another couple months during construction, interior condition didn’t matter. That left building number and floor level.
The one I liked most was this.
“We’d like to see 802 in Building 103.”
“Of course, of course. Let me call the seller…”
After some back and forth, they met the seller, drew up the sales contract, transferred the down payment through the bank, and handled all the necessary paperwork. By the time they finished, the sun was already beginning to set.
“Wow, Sunbae. You’re really good at this.”
“Well… I’ve had to find my own place to live since I was twenty. I’ve got some experience with real estate offices. First time buying, though.”
Still, it was good that Jiyeon had buying experience and could catch the parts he missed.
A huge house. A home where he would live with Shin Jiyeon and all his familiars.
…It’s going to be noisy as hell.
His own house. Housemates to share it with. Jihun had never really had a ‘family’ living together under one roof before. For some reason, that fact hit him harder than expected.
“Sunbae?”
“Hm?”
When Jiyeon called him, he turned to meet her eyes. She smiled brightly, her eyes curving into crescents.
“Please take good care of me from now on, Master Sunbae.”
The moment he saw that beaming smile, Jihun thought he wanted to marry her right then and there so he could ravish her every single day. Of course, he was already doing that every day even without being married.