A New Life in a New House

A new life had begun in a new house—a three-story place up on the hill, with a wide yard and a swimming pool of its own. The first floor alone held four rooms, and the second and third floors held still more.

Plenty to buy today, too.

The house was enormous. With no furniture in it, vast tipped over into bleak. Today he had to go out and buy enough to fill the place, but there was something to do first: meetings with a professional cleaning contractor and a housekeeping agency. They were due at the house any minute.

"Good day, sir. Thank you so much for choosing our company."

The cleaning service arrived first. Its owner wore a kindly smile, the sort of face that inspired trust on sight.

"Just to confirm the terms. The rate is fifteen thousand won per pyeong. For the pool or the roof, however, there are additional charges..."

"The cost doesn't matter. Just clean it carefully, and clean it properly."

"Yes. Please ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leave it to us. I don't mean to boast, but our company always keeps a review rating of 4.8 or higher."

At Kim Taeyoung's firm answer, the owner of the cleaning service broke into a grin. The first floor alone ran past seventy pyeong—more than two thousand square feet. Add the second and third floors, the pool, and the roof, and a single day's take would clear ten million won.

He swept inside with his crew to look the house over. In the meantime the owner of the housekeeping agency, who had been waiting off to the side, stepped forward. His face was the exact opposite of the cleaning boss's. It was not a face that inspired trust.

"Aigoo, sir. What a fine, handsome house. If I ever got to live somewhere like this, I'd have nothing left to wish for."

He came up wearing a smile.

"The furniture isn't in yet, so there's nowhere to sit."

"Haha. Every new house is like that. I like standing. Allow me to explain our company's advantages."

The housekeeping boss launched into a glittering pitch about his own firm. Listen to him and you'd think it was the most successful mobile housekeeping service on earth. Trust was hard to come by. Still, the one actually doing the work would be whoever they sent out, not this man, so it hardly mattered.

"Then I'll leave the hiring to you. Send me your hardest worker—someone meticulous."

"Yes, understood. I'll send the most experienced of the ladies at our agency. Thank you."

A visiting housekeeper ran fifteen thousand won an hour. Add work beyond cleaning, like cooking, and the hourly rate climbed. On top of that he had to pay the agency a separate annual fee of two hundred thousand won.

Kim Taeyoung, with hundreds of billions of won in hand, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠signed without a second thought and transferred the fee. The smooth deal put a bright smile on the owner's face—the most genuine expression Taeyoung had seen all day.

"Sir, I'll be on my way. And when should I tell the housekeeper to start?"

"Have her come in tomorrow."

"Yes. Understood."

The housekeeping boss left, and the cleaning company got to work. Kim Taeyoung made the rounds of the shops for furniture and appliances. The world, he was learning as he went, contained a ridiculous number of brands.

Even so, it saved him time and stamina compared with house-hunting. The realtor, having pocketed a fat commission, had handed over every floor plan marked with the house's measurements, and from those the furniture specialists and the electronics showrooms could recommend ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what would fit. Kim Taeyoung only had to sit, scan the lists, pick what he liked, and walk the floor to confirm.

He covered a lot of shops that way and secured every piece he needed. Price was irrelevant. Faced with Kim Taeyoung's determination to throw money around, the staff at the furniture brands and the electronics brands delivered service at the absolute limit: same-day purchase, same-day delivery, same-day installation. They tore up the installers' schedules and spent the entire day working for him alone.

"Thanks for the hard work. I've sent the money. Please check."

"Thank you, sir. Next time you need a deep clean, please do use our company."

Six in the evening. The furniture, the appliances, and the move-in cleaning were all finished. They had cleaned from morning until night, and the cleaning boss's face was still bright—record sales will do that. He and the installers all departed.

"Time to eat."

Left alone in the house, Kim Taeyoung decided to fill his stomach first. In the old days he would have fretted over what to eat. Now he had a companion for eating alone. He pulled out a meal plan—the one Heo Myangmyang had sent him.

Pumpkin jeon and acorn-jelly bibimbap today.

He opened a delivery app at once and searched for pumpkin jeon, those savory Korean pancakes. Several shops came up. A delivery amateur would have tapped the one at the top, but Kim Taeyoung, a veteran of the apps, checked them one by one.

First, the Information and Origin tab: the business registration. If the trade name on the app didn't match the name on the registration, the shop was out. A mismatch could mean a delivery-only kitchen. Delivery-only wasn't bad in itself, but plenty of those places were poor on hygiene, cleanliness, and taste.

Next came the reviews—not the high scores, the low ones. No shop was perfect. A place thick with low ratings and complaints, though, had to be filtered out; the odds were high the food was bad. Only after that careful sifting did he place the order.

The moment he entered Heo Myangmyang's room, the viewers welcomed him. It was the complete opposite of the hostility at the start. Her core fans had gotten a taste of money. When Coin God spent, Heo Myangmyang had no choice but to react, and her reactions were cute. Once they understood they could feast, free of charge, on that adorable childlike performance, there was no going back.

"CoinGodGodGod! Welcome! Today's pumpkin jeon. Jihye, say hi. He's the chairman of our room."

Heo Myangmyang greeted him warmly too. She was just as deep in Coin God's patronage. It was a little embarrassing, but a single reaction could earn her six hundred thousand won. These days she grew faintly anxious whenever Coin God failed to show up on the broadcast.

Today, though, there was someone else beside her. Tall, next to Heo Myangmyang. A solid build that showed even through her clothes. Sharp features that suited handsome better than pretty, and a short bob.

It was Song Jihye, the younger sister she lived with, and a fitness YouTuber. With a hundred and thirty thousand subscribers, she used her own name as the channel name. Kim Taeyoung was seeing her for the first time, though she had popped up now and then on Heo Myangmyang's streams. The format was simple: Heo Myangmyang cooked, and Song Jihye tasted and reacted.

"Okay, unni. Hello. I'm Song Jihye—Minji unni's close little sister, and I work as a fitness YouTuber."

"Chairman Coin God, isn't our Jihye the coolest? She's insanely strong! She used to compete in judo, so she can fight like crazy too."

Hands on her hips, Heo Myangmyang let out a proud little ahem and showed Song Jihye off. It was an adorable bit of business, perfectly matched to the little-girl look. Song Jihye watched her with a happy smile, the face of someone who wanted to pull her into a hug that very second.

And the Moon Balloons Kim Taeyoung had sent a minute earlier arrived late. Ten thousand on entry, again today. Everyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the room knew his pattern: ten thousand when he came in, and ten thousand again and again after the meal, whenever he called for a reaction. Knowing didn't make the money any less sweet.

"Kyaaa! Chairman Coin God! Thank you so much for the ten thousand! Jihye! Hurry up and say hello!"

"Yeah, unni."

Heo Myangmyang bowed and bowed, pouring out her thanks. Song Jihye, who had been staring helplessly because it was too cute, lowered her head and thanked him as well, just as she'd been told. You could almost see how the two of them had come to be.

"Ah... the cooking's pretty much already finished..."

Kim Taeyoung had come far too late today. Her broadcast ran from five-thirty to seven in the evening, and today's dishes were simple enough that she'd finished them in thirty minutes. All that was left was to eat.

She wanted to accommodate Coin God, both whale and chairman of the room. But rearranging the whole broadcast around a single person felt like slighting the other viewers. She didn't know what to do.

Coin God wiped her dilemma away, slamming the money down first with magnificent bluntness.

Fortunately the other viewers had no complaints. If anything, they were delighted they would get to see her reaction. Heo Myangmyang stood and got ready to dance. It had already been a week since Coin God started dropping into the broadcast, and in that time the reaction segments had come a long way. She worked the computer and put on the jingle-jangle children's song.

Everyone lost their minds over how cute Heo Myangmyang's reaction was. Song Jihye, watching it from right beside her, was no different.

"Hehe..."

That handsome face went soft and foolish. She couldn't keep the corners of her mouth still. Then a single chat came up.

It was Coin God. When the reaction ended, Heo Myangmyang answered him.

"Ah, because this is my broadcast. And Jihye... well, she's a fitness YouTuber, so cool suits her better than cute."

Heo Myangmyang was trying desperately to protect her little sister. On the other side of the screen, Kim Taeyoung let out a snort. That wouldn't do. Every BJ had an obligation to react. She'd come on the broadcast, and now she couldn't react because she was a fitness YouTuber? Then she shouldn't have come on at all.