Chapter 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Happiness Apartment
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Don't trust black-haired beasts, they say.
The words of the ancient sage were spot-on, not a single one off the mark.
I'd gone out of my way to show some compassion, and what did I get in return? Invasion of portrait rights, personal information leaks, and labor environment violations.
I gritted my teeth and scrolled through the video that had climbed the ranks.
Now that I looked closer, that couple must've been YouTubers.
Channel name: Yoru and Doro. Subscriber count... 120,000? Bigger than I thought.
Then again, for views, they'd do anything, those shameless freaks.
If they couldn't even gather this many subs with their vile hearts, it'd be a waste.
I reported the channel, smashed dislikes on their recent videos, then checked the content.
The video captured every bit of the nonsense that couple and I had pulled.
Though the footage itself wasn't anything special.
Me trying to stop that couple, and them throwing a fit like lunatics.
Watching it made my face heat up a bit, but that was it.
'But why is this popularity rank 4?'
Maybe I was a worldwide cyber laughingstock. A meme, perhaps.
I checked the comments to see.
But the comments were subtly different from what I'd imagined.
Look at that apartment. That's real hell.
It's always brutal no matter when I see it. Looks even weirder than photos from other spots.
Why's the sky so red? Did a volcano erupt or something?
It's that constellation there. They say it's fully otherworldized.
Are these idiots crazy? Don't they know that's a quarantine zone?
Do you think YoruDoro are empty-headed clowns? They're with the Court Jester constellation, so they got permission from their patron, obviously.
Don't you know the Jester doesn't stop them even if they clone-suicide for views? Permission my ass. Reported to the Pollution Investigation Bureau.
Yeah, content creation gives them exemption privileges. GTFO.
Holy shit, look at the gatekeeper. What the hell is that?
Looks like they pulled a Kamen Rider out of a hell volcano crater.
Fr, the chest and waist lines are killer.
You crazy bastard, horning out in this situation?
If a girl like that existed, I'd nut on the spot, guaranteed.
Agreed.
But fr, doesn't the body look insane? Kinda gives evil organization exec vibes...
......???
What the hell is this?
I couldn't understand a single thing!
'Fuck, does contracting a constellation give YouTubers exemption privileges? What's a gatekeeper? The security guard? That was me, right?'
Had I somehow become a woman with killer chest and waist lines but a face you couldn't look at?
"Hoo."
Of course not.
I knew it.
We were seeing completely different things.
Living in this world had taught me that. I couldn't properly see constellations' forms in reality or even in videos.
TV, internet clips, even expensive movies—I hadn't been able to watch them properly in ages.
The last action flick I'd seen? Two hours of middle-aged dudes flailing limbs.
'Fuck, IMAX tickets were goddamn expensive.'
Wasted money. Anyway, whatever with my cash burn—the point was, this video of three adults bumbling around looked totally different to others...
I scrolled through the comments for a while before closing YouTube.
"...Enough."
I'd once tried figuring out how others saw things differently via comments or posts.
Not anymore.
What they saw, how they took it—I could never understand.
Checking more comments was a waste of time.
Better to job hunt for full-time gigs.
Of course, something nagged at me.
'Guess it's more famous than I thought.'
I didn't know, but Happiness Apartment seemed pretty well-known.
Half the comments were about the video, the other half focused on the place itself.
'Can't just let this slide.'
Searching your workplace rep is an irresistible temptation for any normal person.
I was about to Google Happiness Apartment when—
Bzzz.
[Ro Boss: What are you up to right now?]
A text from Ro Boss, with vibration.
What's up?
We'd exchanged numbers before, but this was the first outside hours.
Couldn't ignore it.
I paused searching and replied right away.
[Kang Han-sik: Thinking of you, Boss.]
[...Opponent typing...]
[-]
[...Opponent typing...]
[-]
[Ro Boss: Don't joke around.]
It wasn't really a joke—I'd just been about to investigate the workplace.
But I didn't say that.
Ro Boss seemed a bit naive, fun to tease, but she was still my boss.
[Kang Han-sik: Lol, just on my phone. What's up suddenly?]
[Ro Boss: No, just wondering if you saw this.]
[Link]
Coincidentally, the link was the exact video I'd been watching.
'Aha.'
That's why she messaged—she'd seen it too.
Makes sense; holed up all day, she'd catch everything.
I answered honestly.
[Kang Han-sik: Yeah, saw it.]
[...Opponent typing...]
[Ro Boss: Um, are you thinking of quitting?]
What?
I freaked at the sudden resignation nudge and typed back.
[Kang Han-sik: No. No plans like that.]
[Ro Boss: Really?]
[Kang Han-sik: Yes.]
Obviously.
Whatever others said, Happiness Apartment was a honey pot part-time gig for me.
Barring that first-day incident, nothing major; workload minimal, commute easy, boss pretty and nice.
[Kang Han-sik: If anything, I'm nervous about getting fired.]
Reply came instantly.
[Ro Boss: Whew, glad ⸜(^ ᵕ ^)⸝♡]
[Ro Boss: Life's been so much easier since you came. Staying awake during the day was torture before.]
[Ro Boss: Pay enough? I can give more if it's money.]
[Ro Boss: Or anything else you want? I'll match conditions as best I can.]
Her reaction's a bit over the top.
Chats piled up fast.
Honestly, burdensome.
But I got it.
Happiness Apartment was a black-hole job, and now web drama too.
Newbie quitting days in? She'd have no comeback.
From what I'd seen of her personality, rehiring sounded worse than death.
With that, I replied.
[Kang Han-sik: I'm good.]
[Ro Boss: Really?]
[Kang Han-sik: Yes. Current terms are plenty. Overkill even.]
Sure, she'd probably give if I asked, but squeezing rewards from weakness ain't human.
'What am I, some refreshingly righteous webnovel protag?'
Better rack up goodwill points now.
Kang Han-sik, the man with character, no patron needed.
[Ro Boss: (๑ᵔᗜᵔ๑)]
Sure enough, a bright emoticon—my reply pleased her.
And it didn't stop there.
[Ro Boss: Still, raising hourly to 30,000?]
[Kang Han-sik: Pardon?]
[Ro Boss: Feels too low no matter how I think. 30,000 okay?]
What.
30,000!
She said 30,000!
Double the original!
6-hour shifts: 180,000 a day!
6 days a week, no Sundays: monthly pay...
'Damn! How loaded is she...!'
Withdrawing support for Ro Boss now.
Now one with Ro Boss.
'Wait, 'one' sounds weird.'
Anyway, I bowed deeply toward her location.
[Kang Han-sik: Eternal loyalty.]
[Ro Boss: Haha]
Obviously—rejecting's idiotic.
Squeezing gain from weakness ain't human, but accepting boss's kindness is subordinate duty.
'This is it.'
Moral superiority and profit both: that's me.
While pondering canceling the dislike terror on those Yoru Doro shits due to unexpected windfall—
Ring ring.
Phone call this time.
[Caller: Boss]
Original Boss.
Familiar voice right away.
"Yeah, Han-sik!"
"Yes, So Boss."
"What? So Boss? What's that sudden?"
"Well, two bosses now, easier to distinguish. Hers is unique, so Ro Boss; you're Sauce Ne boss, so So Boss."
"What? Haha, Han-sik, sometimes I think you're a total psycho."
But why curse first thing...
I chided the chuckling So Boss.
"Anything I've done psycho that you helped with?"
"Raised your pay."
True.
Too logically sound to argue.
"Fair. Anyway, what's up?"
"Seen YouTube? You're in a video."
"You too? Damn, everyone's seen it."
"Rank 4 popularity, makes sense. Anyway, about that."
"If check-in, we're good. Already talked with Ro Boss."
Beyond check-in: stacked cash rewards and intimacy.
She gifts cheap bling rings at 500 won each, I'd recite vows.
'I've awaited a boss like you my whole life.'
But So Boss's call wasn't chit-chat.
"Nah. Someone wants to meet you."
"Pardon? Who?"
"You know the Ant Faction fighters? Suit muscleheads."
"Yes."
What were they...
Hunters with Amazon Queen Hippolyte as patron.
"They want to see me? Why?"
"Why else? Got a job for you."
"Job?"
Them?
For me?
I furrowed brows.
"Not getting it. What can I do for them?"
They looked mighty; unlikely business with me.
But reply differed.
"Obviously. How many can stroll Happiness Apartment unscathed?"
"......"
Dunno.
Until yesterday, it was just an old complex to me.
'Out of 8.1 billion worldwide, maybe 7.8 billion toddlers?'
Thought flashed, but circumstances suggested the world's fine; I wasn't.
"Pollution resistance... or nah, you might not get it. Anyway, asked for sane kid intro. Showed your vid; wanna meet in person? Up for it?"
Otherwise, no reason to meet over one YouTube clip.
I pondered So Boss's words.
Using his connections for full-time was a recent fantasy, but actual intro? Unexpected.
Unlike days ago, not keen now.
'Hunters sounds nice.'
Muscleheads I'd seen were just thugs.
Meeting them? No fun likely.
'If recent, maybe.'
Now I had 30k hourly gig.
Balance comfy; why risk shady folks?
Decision made.
"Nah, pass."
"Huh? No?"
"Yeah, don't vibe with them. Dunno the request, but they're pure brawlers; I'm brains type."
"Heh, brains my ass. Rejecting? Surprising. Don't you need cash?"
"Do, but Ro Boss upped hourly hard."
"Ah, she's worth it. Fine, tell 'em. One job, two big ones handed over. No need? Oh well."
Eh.
Hold up.
Heard a word never in daily life.
I grabbed So Boss before hang-up.
"Wait. Two big ones?"
"Yeah."
"...No way 20 million? They pay 20 mil for one job?"
Changes everything.
Even me, snagging 500k monthly off one boss, can't ignore that.
'20 mil's basically world-changing.'
But So Boss laughed like absurd.
"What nonsense."
See, at most 2 mil...
"200 million."
......
I didn't joke or scream at So Boss's tale.
"When and where?"
Too big for bullshit.