The Penthouse

Players of Haven Online liked to put it the same way, over and over.

Games like that had turned up often enough back in the old online era, too. A plant that eased your mind just to look at. A bonsai you could watch grow, plain as day, the more love and money you poured into it—and one you could set beside everyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠else's, so strangers would stare at yours and ache with envy. No fretting that it might wither. No watering. Whenever the thought struck, you logged in, enjoyed yourself, and spent. Haven Online was exactly that kind of game.

"This is fun."

Pulling a special option at SS rank only drove the feeling home. I didn't feel the faintest sting over the 6.2 billion won I'd burned on the three-star alone. I'd checked the balance, and the figures hadn't so much as twitched. The ten-billion digit had simply dropped from one to zero. I'd have to pull this stunt at least five billion more times before the account actually hit empty.

"I'm looking forward to it."

While I played Haven, I watched videos of all kinds of rankers. Every clip of a user who'd drawn a 4-Star Class was dazzling, the kind of footage that made you sit up straighter. Unless they'd lucked into those four stars, it meant they had real money—and even if none of them matched me, they were hunting in near-endgame setups. Dungeons other people cleared in parties of four or more, they cleared alone. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by itself was enough to feel a size larger than everyone else. From what I'd heard, I could do the same. A mage. Solo play looked difficult, but once the build was actually in place, no class was easier or more comfortable to hunt alone. I was riding that anticipation, looking up low-level gear setups and how to learn skills, when the doorbell rang.

It was the hotel's general manager. Her smile was beautiful, and I had the distinct impression she must have been genuinely stunning when she was younger. In truth, she didn't look old in the slightest—early thirties, at the outside. The age gap was wide, but every now and then, when she smiled and treated me with that polished kindness, my heart still kicked.

"Would it be all right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if I explained a few things regarding the penthouse?"

"Oh. Yeah, yeah. Come in."

Not long ago we'd agreed to set aside time for a proper briefing, and apparently today was that day. She sat down and walked me through the residence on the tablet she'd brought.

"The floor area is about forty-six hundred square feet, and..."

Photos of the interior and one explanation after another kept it from ever turning dull. The penthouse was larger than this room, and because it occupied the very top floor of the tower, the view looked as if it would sit even higher.

"You would, of course, have access to the same hotel services..."

Honestly, if I could keep those, I didn't much care whether I stayed here or moved there. I'd looked up expensive apartments, but I still wasn't ready to think about cooking my own meals and all the rest of it. Being waited on was easier. Living at the top of a tower more than a hundred stories tall did come with the drawback of a long trip out, but the penthouse didn't share that flaw.

"There is a private elevator, with a dedicated passage you may use directly."

"Oh. So I can go straight down to the first floor?"

"Yes. Security is threefold as well, so you are completely sealed off from the outside."

Coming and going was even easier than from the hotel. There was a private passage from the penthouse onto every floor, she said, so I could reach whichever level I wanted—and only the penthouse's owner could use it.

"I like it."

That was where my mind settled. It felt like a service built to make the tower something only I could use. Something that was mine.

"The property is currently available at 41.9 billion won."

"Wow. That's expensive."

I'd figured the priciest apartments in Seoul topped out around fifteen billion won, and even the apartments in this tower had checked in at about that. The penthouse ran nearly three times higher.

"In truth, even when a penthouse listing exists, not just anyone may purchase it. The price has been set at that level because a penthouse carries advantages the other floors do not."

Honestly, the price wasn't something I needed to lose sleep over. Even setting aside the four hundred ninety quadrillion in virtual currency, my account held close to four trillion won in cash. I was only curious.

"But why me...? I'm just an ordinary guy with a lot of money."

There probably wasn't anyone left in the world as rich as I was, but there would still be plenty of people who could afford a place like this. If some special condition was required, I didn't have a single one. So why?

"I beg your pardon? Are you not the chief executive of Windy Global?"

"..."

What was she talking about now. The Truman Show?

I sat there frozen, and Windy's voice came through.

Ah. That didn't sound like an ordinary business card.

"..."

So that was it. I'd thought as much. The rest of the staff might not have known, but the general manager had never seemed to look at me like some rich fool who'd simply stumbled into money.

"Would you care to think it over, and then let me know?"

"No. I'll buy it right now."

For me, it was good news. A place of my own. It hadn't actually been that grand a dream—if I'd wanted, I never would have had to sell the house before I went into the military. But after a little more than a month here, I thought I could live in a place like this.

"You may move in on any date you wish."

"What about the interior, and things like that..."

"If you tell me what you would like, I can bring in specialist firms and proceed according to your requests, Mr. Siwoo."

"Ah."

I'd figured as much. Even so, the moment it sank in that I had a house of my own and could furnish it however I pleased, my chest fluttered a little.

"Yes. Then I'll leave it to you."

"I will do my utmost. From now on, should you need anything, please contact me."

"Sorry? Why?"

"One of the penthouse's exclusive services is a butler service. I serve as the penthouse's dedicated butler, as well as the hotel's general manager."

"Ah."

They really did have everything. The service, she explained, was billed to the maintenance fees, and whatever I requested would be charged there as well. It wasn't free, but it seemed fine enough. Not that I had anything in particular worth ordering. A butler this pretty, though—and one who radiated older-woman energy so thick you could feel it.

"..."

Her soft smile was beautiful. Perhaps because she expected to be seeing the penthouse's owner often from now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on, it seemed a little more at ease than before.

"I'll be in your care."

"Likewise. I look forward to serving you."

And just like that, I had a house.

The interior work began. Until the place was finished, I decided to stay in the suite. They emptied the penthouse completely and started with a thorough cleaning, restoring it to its original, untouched state.

"It's huge."

It really was. The ceilings were high, and the view opened out with nothing in the way. I'd thought the suite already showed all of Seoul, but this sat higher still—high enough that I felt I could watch the planes go by. I tried, roughly, to think through the layout. At nearly five thousand square feet, I had no sense of what ought to go where. I'd always believed I'd grown up in a fairly large house, but that had only been four rooms, two bathrooms, and a living room and kitchen a little bigger than most. I'd never seen a layout like this. Even so, I wasn't worried.

"Windy."

"Help me with the interior."

Windy was smart. She caught what I wanted at once—the things that would be good to have in a house, the ones already living in my head. The moment I spelled those out in concrete terms, she filled the remaining empty space on her own. The related work would be handled by companies under Windy.

"I'm sorry. You're the chief executive of Windy Global, and yet..."

"Ah. It's fine."

The tower itself was so tall, and the security so tight, that just any contractor couldn't walk in and start work. A handful of firms selected by the tower handled interiors as specialists, and among Windy's affiliates there happened to be a company in that line. They sent over an official request, the tower reviewed it, and permission came through. The interior came together fast.

"Whoa."

The penthouse had already been vast and luxurious simply by existing. I'd thought that filling it in wouldn't change much.

"...This is extraordinary. The Windy name really does stand apart."

Even my butler, Han Hyeyeon, couldn't hide her surprise as she took in the entrance of the finished penthouse.

"What do you think? From a butler's point of view."

"Did an AI truly do this?"

"Yes."

"...I can't help wondering if humans have become unnecessary."

It fit me perfectly. The hotel suite had carried a similar atmosphere, but the penthouse had the luxury and the old-world elegance I actually wanted, melted all the way through it.

"Haaah."

A penthouse bought on impulse. Then the interior. From decision to move-in, exactly three days. The speed was absurd—though for a certain someone out there, those three days may as well have been an eternity.

"Ah. Right."

I'd sunk deep into Haven Online, but I was still a newbie who'd only just started the game. I hurried up a notice.

Comments piled up underneath, but I squeezed my eyes shut and closed the whole thing out.

"No way I'm wasting the first night in a new house."