"So, We're Moving?"
"So, we're moving?"
"Yes!"
"Wow! I love it!"
Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction at the younger sisters' reactions. The move was now officially decided! Ignoring Lee Da-bi's protests, Tae-hyun turned to the building manager.
"So, you're saying there are absolutely no other vacant buildings?"
"Ah. Well, there is one..."
"What is it? If there is one, you should have told me. Why did you say there wasn't?"
"No, it's just... that building is a bit..."
"...?"
The manager hesitated. But Tae-hyun was firm.
"Let's go there."
"Pardon? Will that really be alright?"
"You said it's the only place left, right?"
"Yes, that's true, but..."
"Then we have to go there. Besides, it's still an apartment, isn't it?"
"An apartment... yes, technically..."
In any case, Tae-hyun was the landlord. The manager nodded and turned the steering wheel.
"....????"
"??????"
"Um, did we come to the wrong place?"
"Sorry. This was the only place left."
"No, this is definitely not it! This is really, really not it!!"
Only then did Lee Da-bi snap back to her senses and begin to struggle. But Tae-hyun remained unperturbed.
The building standing before them was none other than the Gangnam High Palace.
The most famous ultra-luxury high-rise apartment complex in the country!
The very apartment complex that Kim Tae-san had purchased for investment purposes and then gifted to Tae-hyun!
"Ugh... uaaah..."
Lee Da-bi gasped in horror at the rows of imported luxury cars lined up in the parking lot. The aura of the ultra-rich felt like an impenetrable barrier!
Tae-hyun nudged Da-bi and her sisters forward. Then, he pulled out a keycard and opened the door.
"Go on inside."
"Th-that person is staring at me."
"That's just the security guard..."
"Are we going to get kicked out?"
"You won't get kicked out."
The security guard recognized Tae-hyun's face and bowed deeply. Da-bi flinched at the sight.
"We have to use a card for the elevator too?!"
"The security here is a bit tight... I'll have cards issued for you guys too."
"N-no, maybe we should look for somewhere else..."
"There's nowhere else, so we have no choice."
"Wait a minute... I feel like we're heading to the very top floor... That's just my imagination, right?"
"Ah, it's the penthouse. Sorry. Like I said, there's nothing else left."
"...This is really not right!"
"Hey! Don't just press random buttons!"
The penthouse of the High Palace. An ultra-luxurious apartment spanning over 3,500 square feet!
"Th-there are four bathrooms..."
Leaving the soul-less Lee Da-bi aside, Tae-hyun began to persuade her younger sisters.
"Nice place, right?"
"It's amazing! It feels like a hotel!"
"Not that I've ever been to one!"
"Right? It'd be great to live here with Da-bi, wouldn't it?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"The persuasion is complete, Da-bi. Hey. Snap out of it."
"Huh? Ah, I must be dreaming. Now that I think about it, the idea of Tae-hyun digging into my background and coming to help me is just too absurd..."
"...Putting it like that makes my conscience prick a bit. Anyway, get a grip and unpack. I'll handle the rest."
Fortunately, the distance between the shantytown where Da-bi used to live and the penthouse wasn't that great. There would be no need to worry about the sisters' school transfers or other administrative procedures.
Rumble—
"Huh?"
The sound of someone's stomach growling!
Tae-hyun looked at Lee Da-sol. Da-sol shook her head. Then he looked at Lee Da-saem. Da-saem also shook her head.
Then...
The three of them turned their gaze to Lee Da-bi. Her face was flushed bright red.
"...It's natural to be hungry. After everything that happened today. Just wait a bit. I'll cook something for you."
"What? You know how to cook?"
"Of course. I leveled up my cooking skill in the game, after all."
"..."
"Just kidding, I do know how. I called the manager before we came and told him to stock the fridge, so just wait. I'll make us some food."
"O-oh, no. I can't impose on you to that extent..."
Tae-hyun stared blankly at Da-bi. Realizing the meaning behind his gaze, she shut her mouth.
Stop talking about imposing.
"...It's n-not because of imposing... I'm just so grateful, so I'll do it."
"Well, if that's the reason... then let's do it together."
"Pardon?"
"There's another kitchen. You can cook there."
"...Why on earth are there two kitchens in one house..."
Da-bi stumbled, placing a hand against the wall. Only then did her surroundings truly register. A clean, sophisticated interior that looked straight out of a movie! On top of that, the sheer, staggering scale of the place. She had never once imagined in her life that she would ever step foot in a place like this.
"Ah, you can leave the luggage here. Girls, while your sister and I are cooking, could you help unpack and organize your things?"
"Yes!"
"Where should we put them?"
"Put them wherever you want. It's your place to live now anyway. Here's a card, if you need to us—"
"No, absolutely not!"
Da-bi rushed over in a panic, snatched the card, and shoved it back into Tae-hyun's pocket. She felt like if she just stood by, things would spiral completely out of control.
"Why? They need living expenses too."
"If it weren't for my debts, my monthly income is actually quite decent, so I'm fine! Just letting us borrow this place is more than enough. Ah, how much is the rent here?"
"Huh? Forget it. I'm not doing this to get paid."
"You can't do that! The closer you are, the more meticulous you have to be with money!"
"I said it's fine. Was this place eighty... I can't quite remember."
"Is this place only eight hundred thousand won a month?!"
"I meant eighty billion won for a key-money deposit."
"...Girls! Let's go! This is definitely not the place!"
Tae-hyun grabbed the struggling Da-bi and forced her to sit down. Then, he began to persuade her once more.
"Are you my friend or not?"
"No, Tae-hyun. You can't just view the world in such black-and-white terms..."
"Are you my friend or not?"
"Wow, I didn't realize how frustrating this was when Cain was on the receiving end, but experiencing it myself is incredibly suffocating. What kind of cheap tactic is this...!"
Chop, chop, chop—
The rhythmic, cheerful sound of ingredients being chopped.
The two of them were currently in the same kitchen. Using two separate kitchens didn't happen. Even just one was already more than spacious enough.
"Mmh, looks good. Soybean paste stew is fine with you, right?"
"Anything is fine... More importantly, is this a duplex?"
"Yeah. It's two units combined into one."
No wonder it's so huge!
"...Wait a minute, isn't that illegal?"
"On paper, they're still registered as two separate units, so it's not illegal. Besides, I didn't do it. My dad did."
Tae-hyun smoothly shifted the blame!
"It's all done. Girls! Come and eat!"
"Okay!"
Tae-hyun wore a pleased expression as he watched Da-bi's younger sisters sit at the dining table.
Chomp, chomp—
Watching the sisters wolf down the food, Tae-hyun tilted his head in confusion.
"...Huh? Why aren't you eating the dishes Da-bi made?"
"...W-we'll eat them."
"We're eating them right now!"
Sensing the atmosphere, the two girls hesitantly reached their chopsticks toward the dishes Da-bi had prepared. Flustered, Tae-hyun stopped them.
"No, I'm not forcing you to eat it... I just thought you'd prefer Da-bi's cooking, since you're used to it, over mine..."
With those words, Tae-hyun took a bite of Da-bi's food. The taste was truly...
...Bland!
It was a dish with an extreme lack of ingredients and seasoning! It tasted closer to a strict health food diet or hospital food. A cooking method designed to stretch out the ingredients as long as possible!
"..."
"I-it's fine. It tastes very healthy and wholesome."
"Please don't. That kind of pity hurts even more..."
Da-bi slumped, hanging her head in defeat.
"What on earth happened?!"
"Ah, right. Dad. I forgot to bring the Ferrari back, so please go retrieve it yourself. And..."
Kim Tae-san was about to curse, but stopped himself. If abandoning a Ferrari somewhere was just the beginning, what kind of story was going to follow?
"And what? What is it? Don't leave me hanging and making me anxious, just spit it out!"
"Well... um..."
"Did you kill someone?! I told you! Keep your temper in check!"
"Seriously, what do you take your own son for?"
"You didn't? Thank goodness."
"Anyway, if you were worried to that extent, then what I'm about to say shouldn't shock you too much. You know that High Palace apartment you bought and gave to me a while back?"
"The penthouse and the unit right below it... Yeah, I remember. Why?"
"I'm going to use it."
"No, why? You have plenty of other buildings, so why on earth use such an expensive one!"
"A friend of mine is in a tight spot right now. And I heard all the other buildings are currently occupied by tenants. I can't just kick out people who are living peacefully there. Gasp, Dad, are you that kind of person?"
"This brat..."
Kim Tae-san trailed off. He had been poked right where it hurt. He was the one who always went around saying, 'Treat your tenants well, don't abuse your power.'
"Well, if it's for a friend, I suppose... there's no helping it... It is your building, after all... but do you know how much that place is worth..."
"Dad, you're thinking out loud."
"Shut up, you punk. So, which friend is it? Sang-yoon? Or that friend Cain you hang out with? If it's guys like them, couldn't you just invite them to our house to stay? We have plenty of spare rooms."
"Ah, they have family members staying with them, so our house would be a bit awkward. Plus, having someone like you around the house would probably make them uncomfortable."
"...Fine. I get it. But family members too? What on earth happened? Is it that Cain fellow?"
"No. It's a friend named Lee Da-bi."
"Lee Da-bi... Lee Da-bi... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere... Did you have a friend like that? That's an unusual name for a boy."
"She's a girl."
"...Huh? What? I think I misheard you for a second..."
"And since there's another vacant unit on a different floor of the High Palace, I'm thinking of using it as our team house and headquarters. I think I'll stay there too. I'm a bit worried about Da-bi."
"*Crash, bang, clatter!*"
"Dad? Dad?"
The sound of someone taking a massive spill and rolling around echoed through the phone. Startled, Tae-hyun called out to Kim Tae-san.
"Dad, are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay! Wait, more importantly, how on earth did this..."
Kim Tae-san shook his head.
'It's not April Fool's Day today, is it? No. Is there any reason for this brat to lie to me? None. What in the world... No, wait, if he moves out, Yoon-hee and I can have some sweet, quiet time together, so that's actually great...'
Kim Tae-san briefly lost himself in a daydream.
"Yoon-hee! Tae-hyun is moving out to live on his own!"
"Really? For what reason? Surely you didn't kick him out after a fight, did you?"
"If I were going to do that, I would've done it long ago! Apparently, he's living nearby because he's worried about a girl! A perfectly wholesome reason!"
"...Are you out of your mind?!"
'No!'
Kim Tae-san snapped out of his daydream. A horrific vision of ruin loomed in his future.
"Hey, explain this to me in more detail...!"
"Ah. Sorry. I'm in the middle of eating right now, so I'll call you back later."
"Is that something you should be saying right now?! Wait, are you telling me you're eating dinner with this Lee Da-bi friend right now?"
"Yes, I am. And weren't you the one who told me to observe proper table manners? And not to make useless phone calls..."
"Do you think that rule applies to this situation?!"
"Rules are rules. Anyway, I'll call you when I'm done eating."
"Hey, hey!! Hey!!!!"
Click.
Tae-hyun actually hung up. Left in utter chaos, Kim Tae-san stumbled before picking himself up.
"I-I need to go see for myself. What on earth is going on..."
Heading to the garage, Kim Tae-san realized the Ferrari was missing.
"...Hello, is this a taxi service?"
It seemed he would have to retrieve the Ferrari first before heading over.
"Who is it?"
"Tell them we don't believe in any religion."
"...How could someone like that even get into a place like this?!"
Even Lee Da-bi knew that made no sense. Security guards were stationed at the entrance, and outsiders couldn't even enter without being thoroughly vetted!
"Logical. Then who is it? Oh..."
"Who is it?"
"Dad?"
"Pfft!"
Lee Da-bi spat out a small mouthful of the water she was drinking. Standing behind them with a completely dazed expression was Kim Tae-san.
"She... she really... she's a real, actual girl friend?"
"...Did you think she was an imaginary friend or something?"
Tae-hyun retorted, utterly dumbfounded.