It Was Time to Return to Korea
Blank.
At this rate, I could probably fall down a hundred times and still get back up.
That was the thought that came to me as I stared at the endless parade of zeroes displayed on the banking app.
“Sir? Sir?”
“Ah, yes.”
Song Hoon finally dragged himself out of his dazed stupor and looked at the man who had called to him. Michael.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. It still doesn’t feel real.”
“I’d feel the same way if I were you.”
“If you ever plan to do business in the States again, please come see Chicago Royal Law Firm.”
“Of course.”
It had left a good enough impression that it was absolutely worth coming back to.
“And, well, some articles will probably come out about it. Given the size of the amount. I apologize.”
“As long as my face doesn’t leak, I’m fine.”
“That much, at least, won’t be a problem.”
Anything troublesome was the last thing I wanted. People trying to shake money out of me. People trying to guilt me into donations. That whole species of nuisance.
“I handled the money exactly as you requested.”
“Thank you.”
Song Hoon shook Michael’s hand.
“Are you heading back to Korea now?”
“I have to. I’ve been out here quite a while.”
By now, it had been nearly two months since he’d come to the States.
All I’ve really done since coming here is wait for the winnings to come through and have sex.
Until the money actually hit his account, he couldn’t call it his, which left him too tense to do much real sightseeing.
There’ll be more than enough chances later.
Song Hoon snorted as he read the article Kim Nagyeong had sent him.
Because that traveler was him.
“Yeah. No. I actually came here first class too. I’ll probably go back the same way.”
Song Hoon snickered.
After all the numbers had been converted, he was sitting on two trillion and seven hundred billion won.
Now it really was time to go back to Korea.
The house he returned to after so long was thick with dust.
He had been too tired to do anything but collapse into bed the previous night, and now his throat was so dry it felt scratchy.
“Cough—”
He opened the window, let the heat of the midsummer sun wash over him, and breathed in the breeze as if to savor it.
“I need to move. Need to buy this. Buy that.”
Even the dust-choked air felt refreshing.
A hum escaped him before he knew it.
He still hadn’t unpacked the luggage he’d brought back from the States, and he had only recently moved here, yet the apartment felt hollow.
That was because he was planning to move again.
This time, not into a jeonse or a monthly rental.
This would be a place he owned outright.
A house with his name on the deed.
“Ugh. I don’t have time to rest. I don’t have time to rest at all. I don’t think I’ve even shaken off the jet lag yet.”
He yawned again and again, but there was something he had to do first.
“Yes—coming down now.”
The first investment target of Dice Capital Partners: buying a building.
The reason he had chosen a building for his first investment was simple.
Because it looked impressive.
Just imagine it. A building in the middle of Gangnam was his.
How was he supposed to resist that?
“I’m going to get a proper one.”
Koreans cared an awful lot about appearances, didn’t they? A flashy car, nice clothes, all that sort of thing.
By the time he came down in front of the building, a domestic luxury sedan was already waiting with its engine running.
“Are you Mr. Song Hoon of Dice Capital Partners?”
“Yes.”
“A pleasure. I’m Kang Hyeongu, CEO of BJ Real Estate. I came in person to take you there.”
A very sharply dressed man opened the back door for him himself.
By contrast, Song Hoon was just in a T-shirt and jeans.
“If you look through the portfolio placed on the seat, you should get a good sense of the listings.”
Song Hoon got into the back seat and reviewed the prepared portfolio.
There were a little over a dozen folders in total, and the list of buildings matching the conditions he’d mentioned had been neatly laid out.
“I prepared as wide a range as possible. You said this was for investment, but investment can serve different purposes, after all.”
The prices varied too, from 20 billion won up to 150 billion.
“Most of the buildings can be repurposed into whatever business you want after the current leases expire, once the contract is signed.”
There were detailed photos of each building, along with information on what kinds of businesses were currently operating there.
“Let’s start with the first one.”
A building with two basement floors and eight stories above ground.
“It’s a little far from the station and the main road, but the cost performance is excellent. The next building is only about a five-minute walk, so let’s head over there.”
Song Hoon followed the broker from building to building.
Only when they reached the last one did he finally murmur, “Hmm…”
“It was built in 2000, but it was recently remodeled, so it’s very clean. The parking lot is also spacious, all the way down to the fifth basement level, which makes it extremely convenient. And the subway station is directly connected to the entrance, so in terms of location, this is a top-tier listing.”
The price was 95 billion won.
“It was originally listed above 100 billion, but it came out as a quick sale, so it’s being offered much more cheaply than usual. Of all the properties I have, I can confidently say this is the best in every respect. For investment purposes, or for any other purpose, it’s more than worth the money.”
Maybe because Song Hoon showed interest, the broker’s words grew faster and faster.
“Hmm… 95 billion, huh…”
“Of course, I’ll do my best to negotiate it down a little more. It’s probably not the sort of property that moves easily, so there should be room within a permissible range.”
Standing on the rooftop and looking out over a city of office towers where people were reduced to ants and countless cars streamed through the streets, he felt something strange stir in his chest.
“This is good.”
Of all the places he’d seen, this one had the best feel. The best view, too.
“Thank you!”
The broker bowed deeply.
“Then can I contact the person I spoke to before?”
“Yes. You can get in touch with them.”
He had signed an official contract with Hanuri Tax and Accounting, which had even come all the way to the States for him.
Through companies arranged by them, all the work had been handled in tandem. The fees were in the tens or hundreds of millions per job, but...
I’ve got more than enough money for that.
Besides, because this building was a purchase for investment rather than personal use, the tax benefits were excellent as well.
“Uuugh…”
Song Hoon woke up by degrees in bed, grabbed his phone, and checked the messages he’d received overnight one by one.
It’s about time I graduated from this thing.
Among the many messages, he looked over the ones that had come through Z and muttered to himself.
He had gotten everything he could out of Z.
After all, he’d collected a mountain of Sex Points by fucking nearly thirty women.
The biggest harvest among them was, of course, Kim Nagyeong.
Thanks to Nagyeong, he no longer even had to use Z to get introduced to women willing to take his cock.
And today, he planned to upload his final video and announce that he was going dark.
“A stewardess and a foreigner. Damn… that’s an insane combo.”
Even the professions. Even the races. Even the bodies.
Women like that were the sort you’d never see on Z, and just imagining them made his cock twitch.
He got out of bed, stretched, took a shower, and threw on some clothes at random.
“Let’s see… today’s place is a house.”
It had barely been a week since he’d bought the building, and now he was already shopping for a home.
He had a lot to think about.
“A mansion like the chairmen of chaebol families live in? Or a penthouse?”
If privacy was the priority, a mansion would win, but he couldn’t ignore the surrounding infrastructure.
“Still, a penthouse is better.”
If he wanted a higher class and more women to devour, then an apartment—more specifically a penthouse—was the best choice.
Preferably in a place where a lot of celebrities lived.
.
.
.
.
Today’s destination was a licensed real estate office in Cheongdam-dong that supposedly only dealt with VIPs.
Of course, Song Hoon had no personal connections there, so he’d been introduced through the man who had sold him the building yesterday.
“Welcome. This is Arte.”
“I was referred here by CEO Kang Hyeongu.”
Sure enough, since they dealt only with VIPs, everything from the interior design to the staff’s level was luxury incarnate.
“Welcome. I heard from Mr. Kang. My name is Jeong Hye-yeon.”
As she greeted him, her eyes quickly scanned the details of Song Hoon’s appearance.
Not just his looks, but the price of the car he’d arrived in and the brand of his outfit.
And most importantly, things like his watch.
“Yes. He said you’d be able to introduce me to a place that suits my tastes.”
“Of course. It’s expensive enough for that, but we only hold properties with matching value.”
It felt as though she was indirectly asking how high he was willing to go.
“Value. I like that. First of all, a Han River view is a given, right?”
Wasn’t that the dream of everyone?
“It should be private, and the residents’ community facilities should be well developed too.”
Privacy and good community facilities were essential.
“A penthouse would be nice.”
At those words, her eyes gleamed. There weren’t many apartments that met all those conditions, and at the same time, the price of such places started at no less than 10 billion won.
“Oh-ho. You’ve come to the right place. That’s exactly what Arte specializes in. Shall we head out right away?”
Once they were in the Benz and the driver pulled out smoothly into traffic, Jeong Hye-yeon handed him the first file.
“The first place I’m going to show you is The One Cheongdam.”
“This is my best property, so I’m showing it to you first.”
Her face was brimming with confidence. Since it was the best place, was she thinking of showing it first to see whether he could afford it and, if not, move on to something cheaper?
“Mr. Kang told me a bit about you. I’m showing you this because you already have plenty of financial room.”
As he flipped through the pages, the building introduction and the faces of celebrities known to live there came into view.
Oh. Yu Jiyeon.
The face of Yu Jiyeon, said to be the absolute pinnacle of idol visuals in South Korea, was printed there in plain sight.
“It’s been a hot topic lately. They say she bought a luxury apartment in cash.”
“Ah. I think I saw that on the news.”
Even in a photo, her beauty was overwhelming.
“Hmm…”
I wonder what rank Yu Jiyeon would be?