A Hidden Light Behind the Wall
On the subway, on his way to the company.
It was a route he had taken countless times over the years, yet today it felt strangely unfamiliar.
People said the age of the lifelong job was over, but even so, he had still thought he would work there for at least ten years.
And yet here he was, leaving his job this quickly.
He suddenly remembered the nervousness of coming in for his first interview, the happiness of receiving the acceptance message.
Mrs. Gong had been so pleased.
It was pointless sentimentality.
To shake off the thoughts, he opened the Relic Gallery and checked to see whether any new items had been posted.
Just then, he felt a sidelong glance from across the aisle.
It was no illusion.
Several college-aged women were whispering among themselves.
Could it be because of the photo that had gone up in the article?
He had received a commendation, appeared on terrestrial television, and become a familiar face; it made sense that people might recognize him.
It had happened a few times already, so he did not pay it much mind.
Then one of the women gathered her courage and came over.
"Um... are you, by any chance, appraiser Kim Si-woo?"
He could understand being recognized, but to think she would actually speak to him.
"Yes, that's right."
"Wow... amazing!"
The young woman waved her friends over.
"Guys! I told you I was right, didn't I?"
Her friends came swarming over in a rush.
He had had people recognize his face and greet him before, but never had anyone approached him this directly, so he was a little flustered.
"Wow! I watched your interview about the independence movement relic discovery. And the one about the Gato Kiyomasa sword too."
"Wow, I just read the article!"
"Sorry, but could we take a photo together? I'd like to post it on Stargram."
"Ah, yes. That's fine."
It was not as if a few more circulated photos of his face would matter now.
In fact, since this was the first time something like this had happened, he agreed readily to the photos.
Only after he had taken the pictures did the women thank him and return to their seats.
The other passengers in the subway were also staring at him with curious expressions, wondering what the commotion was about.
First time anyone's ever asked to take a photo with me.
Well, what were the odds it would happen again?
* * *
Before long, he arrived at the company.
When he reached the Audit Office, an employee checked his documents and asked, "You are Kim Si-woo, correct?"
"Yes."
"You're processing your resignation while on leave, right? Please wait a moment. The team leader would like to see you personally."
A little later, the head of the audit team came out of the office.
"Kim Si-woo, it's been a while."
"Good afternoon."
The audit team leader kindly guided him into the inner office.
Once the door was closed and he had taken a seat, the man spoke.
"First, I should thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to root out corruption inside the company."
"Not at all."
"The Kang Gwa-jang case. We were able to wrap it up smoothly because of your help. The recordings you provided made the investigation much easier."
The audit team leader spread out several documents.
"All three recordings became decisive evidence. Especially the section where he mentioned the specific amount during the call with the company representative."
"I'm glad I could help."
"At first, there was movement on the company's side to settle it quickly through internal discipline. A few months' pay cut, a warning, that sort of thing. Above Kang Gwa-jang there was a chain running through the deputy manager, the department head, and even up to executives."
So that was it. It had not been as if that bastard Kang Gwa-jang had acted entirely on his own.
In fact, the moment he learned that Si-woo intended to report the kickback issue to the Audit Office, he had already rushed off to inform his superiors.
"But once you became known to the press, the situation changed. Discovery of an independence movement relic, a commendation on broadcast television. From the company's perspective, it became impossible to brush it off."
"So what happened?"
"The Audit Office carried out a full-scale investigation, and based on the evidence we secured, we filed a criminal complaint with the police. During the investigation, Kang Gwa-jang's bank records, transaction history with the company, everything came to light."
The audit team leader showed him a few records.
"In the end, it was confirmed that over the past two years, Kang Gwa-jang received kickbacks from a total of five companies. The amount alone was close to one billion won. And..."
The audit team leader let out a sigh.
"An additional sexual harassment case surfaced during the investigation. It was something he did to a new female employee last year. The victim testified during this process, and we secured evidence as well."
To think he had committed something like that without the slightest fear in this day and age.
He was completely out of his mind.
Working under a man like that had made company life hell.
"There was even something like that?"
"Yes. He denied it to the end, but the evidence was too clear. In the end, through the legal team, we filed charges for breach of trust in the course of business, embezzlement, and sexual harassment, and the company convened a disciplinary committee and dismissed him immediately."
The audit team leader looked at Si-woo.
"To be honest, if you had been just an ordinary office worker, this never would have gone this far. It would have been quietly handled inside the company and ended there."
"I see."
"In a way, it's ironic. The whistleblower became famous and ended up protecting himself."
The audit team leader put the documents away and stood, bowing his head.
"Thank you again. Because of you, we were able to cleanse the company of its corruption. You've worked hard until now. Just sign here on this document."
As Si-woo took the papers and signed them, the audit team leader spoke as though he'd just remembered something.
"Oh, and your severance pay will be processed normally next week."
"You've all worked hard. Thank you."
"I hope nothing but good things come your way from here on."
When he stepped out of the company building, a clear sky without a single cloud stretched overhead.
A cool wind brushed past him.
Last time, when he had walked out of the company, he had felt lost, unable to imagine how he would live from that point on. But now it was different.
Office worker Kim Si-woo was over as of today.
* * *
The first thing he did after leaving the company was start looking for a house.
Between the money he had saved while working, what he had earned after the leave, and his severance pay, he had a little over 800 million won.
Then, within three months, another 1.5 billion won would come in as brokerage fees from the sale of Hyewon's Shin Yun-bok work.
Of course, taxes had to be taken out.
He would have to ask to know the exact amount, but based on what he found online, it looked like roughly 300 million won would go out in taxes.
Then my take-home from 1.5 billion would be about 1.2 billion.
That brought him to a total of 2 billion won.
He could not spend every last bit of it on a house.
He could borrow money and buy a more expensive place, of course.
But then he would have monthly interest to pay, and less spare capital for artifact trading.
Expensive relics like Hyewon Shin Yun-bok's work were difficult for him to buy directly.
But relatively inexpensive relics, he could buy and then sell directly through the gallery.
He needed liquid funds.
Use about 1 billion on the house, and keep the remaining 1 billion as artifact-trading capital.
Gangnam was too expensive, but if he went too far out on the edge of the city, that would be inconvenient too.
Somewhere with good access and decent amenities.
Si-woo searched listings in Mapo-gu, Yongsan-gu, and Seongdong-gu.
Yeonnam-dong might be good.
It was near Hongdae, so accessibility was solid, and it was also a neighborhood that had been rising lately.
He took the subway to Yeonnam-dong.
After getting off at Yeonnam Station, he began walking through the alleys.
It was a neighborhood with a good balance of quiet, stylish cafes and restaurants.
He liked the atmosphere.
As he walked down the alley, a sign for a real estate office came into view.
A clean-looking office called "Premium Realty."
Si-woo went inside.
Dong.
The sensor chimed as the door opened.
"Welcome!"
A man in his late thirties wearing glasses stood from his seat and greeted him warmly.
"Hello. Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable."
As he sat down, he looked around.
Various property listings were posted on the walls, and on the desk sat a nameplate reading, "Licensed Realtor Kim Dae-hyun."
"Are you here to look at listings?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. What kind of place are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for a house around here."
"Are you planning to buy?"
"I'd just like to look around for now."
"Ah, so you're checking things out in advance. Then you can take your time and look at several places."
Kim Dae-hyun sat down in front of the computer.
"What sort of budget are you thinking about?"
"Around 1 billion won."
"1 billion, huh..."
Kim Dae-hyun muttered to himself and clicked the mouse.
"There aren't many good listings in the 1 billion range. You usually need at least 1 to 1.5 billion to find something worth buying. Are you looking for a villa? Or a detached house?"
"Either is fine. For now, I'd prefer somewhere quiet."
"Yes. Just a moment."
After scanning the screen, Kim Dae-hyun said, "Recently remodeled villas or houses usually go for around 1.3 to 1.5 billion... so the options under 1 billion are a bit limited."
The neighborhood atmosphere was nice, so he had wanted to take a look, but the prices were too high.
Should he look at a lease instead?
That might not be a bad choice either.
It would free up liquid capital.
Then, while going through the listings, Kim Dae-hyun hesitantly spoke up.
"There is one cheaper listing. Would you like to see it?"
"A cheap listing?"
"It's a detached house about a three-minute walk from here. But..."
Kim Dae-hyun trailed off.
"Is there some problem with it?"
"It's a two-story detached house, about 530 square meters in size, built in 1985."
"So it's forty years old."
"Yes. So to be blunt, you should think of it as buying the land rather than the house."
"You mean it would need to be rebuilt?"
"Exactly. It's in such bad shape that remodeling wouldn't be enough. There are probably structural problems from the frame up. You'd have to tear it down and build it new."
"How much is it?"
"720 million won."
It was definitely cheap compared to the others.
Still, he could not ignore the cost of demolishing the building and rebuilding it.
Even so, it was an extremely low price for the area.
"That's incredibly cheap."
"It is. Usually, even land alone at this size would have to be at least 800 million, but this one is a foreclosure property."
"Foreclosure?"
"Yes. It originally went up for court auction, but it was passed over three times. So the bank canceled the auction and put it out as a regular urgent sale."
"I see."
"Looks like the bank wants to clear it out quickly. That's why they cut the price so much."
His interest was piqued.
"Could I go see it?"
"You should think it through carefully. There has to be a reason it was passed over. Since it's a forty-year-old building, you're effectively just buying the land, right? The structure has to be demolished, so you should budget at least 100 million won just for demolition, and after that there's no telling how much rebuilding will cost."
"But is the owner definitely the bank?"
"The bank holds the security interest, and the original owner has already relinquished ownership because of debt. Right now the bank has the authority to dispose of it."
"If I buy it, the ownership will transfer cleanly, right?"
"Of course. Since the bank is handling it, the title situation is completely clean. The mortgage and everything else will be removed before transfer."
Kim Dae-hyun asked cautiously, "Would you like to go see it? Honestly, the building itself is in pretty bad shape. Think of it as checking the land location and size."
There was no harm in looking.
There would be more options later, once more money came in.
"All right. I'll take a look."
"Then let's go now."
Since the house was nearby, they walked through the alley together.
"Nice weather today."
"It is. The neighborhood isn't noisy either, and the atmosphere is good."
"A lot of people are moving into this area these days. The land value could go up even more. Land like this isn't easy to find."
After a few minutes of walking, an old building appeared in a quiet alley.
"Here it is."
A two-story detached house.
The exterior was clearly old.
The gray paint had peeled away in several places, and a few of the exterior tiles were cracked.
"As you can see, the building is completely worn out, right? You're going to tear it down anyway, so you don't need to worry about the structure."
The location was not bad.
A quiet alley, a peaceful atmosphere.
He liked it immediately.
"Shall we go inside?"
When they opened the gate and stepped in, there was a wide yard.
Weeds had grown wild, and here and there, trash dumped by someone had been left behind.
"Ahem. As you can see, there is a yard, the station is close, and all the conveniences are nearby."
Kim Dae-hyun took out the front door key.
Creak.
The rusted door opened with a groan.
As they stepped inside, a stale smell hit his nose.
The musty odor of an old house mixed with the scent of dust.
"Haha... It smells a bit, doesn't it? It had been empty for more than two years while the foreclosure process was going on."
Kim Dae-hyun laughed awkwardly.
The living room was spacious.
But the wallpaper had yellowed, and traces of mold could be seen in several places.
There were water stains on the ceiling, and even the vinyl flooring had started to lift.
"It's a big living room, isn't it? About 82 square meters. Tear this down and build something new, and it could become a really great house. Honest to God, if I had the money, I'd want to buy it myself."
Kim Dae-hyun said this while opening the window.
"I'll air it out a bit."
When sunlight poured in, dust danced in the air.
Through the window, the alleyways of Yeonnam-dong came into view.
A quiet, tranquil atmosphere.
He could barely hear any car noise.
He looked out the window.
The location really is good.
He liked it.
If he built it properly from the ground up, it could become a very good house.
"Do you want to see the kitchen and bathroom too? Well, the condition is about the same..."
"I'll take a look at everything first."
The kitchen sink was rusted, the gas range was an old model, and mold had grown in the spot where the refrigerator once stood.
"Well, you can tell without me saying it."
When he opened the bathroom on the first floor, the condition was severe.
There was definitely a reason this place had been passed over despite such a good location.
"Shall we go upstairs too?"
"Yes."
As they climbed the stairs, they creaked.
"Careful on the stairs. They're a bit noisy."
There were two rooms on the second floor.
"This is the larger room. The natural light is good. It's south-facing. If you tear this down and build again, I think you could design it to keep this orientation."
The instant he stepped into the room, Si-woo's gaze fixed on one spot.
That is...?
The wall beside the built-in wardrobe.
Inside the wall, a pure white light was leaking through.
His heart began to pound.
As he took one step after another toward it, the light grew stronger.
No way...
He moved toward it calmly.
A radiance was pouring from within the wall.
It was bright enough to hurt his eyes.
There's a relic inside the wall!