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# Chapter 4
The faint sunlight streaming through the gap in the window stretched across the vinyl flooring.
Kim Mingwan slowly opened his eyes. The heavy fatigue pressing down on the back of his neck felt different from usual. The loud alarm that always made his heart sink had not gone off either.
After shifting around beneath the blanket, he reached toward the bedside and picked up his smartphone. The large numbers displayed in the center of the screen showed that it was 10:15 a.m.
He had fallen asleep around eleven the previous night, which meant he had slept for a full eleven hours. When he had been working at the company, he had considered himself lucky if he managed to get six hours of sleep.
When he swiped across the lock screen, an empty notification panel appeared. There were no irritable work instructions from Division Head Noh Jaehun, no emails requesting revisions from the review team, and no messages pressuring him about field inspection schedules. It was all thanks to the fact that he had blocked notifications from every company-related app and contact the previous day.
"It's quiet."
Mingwan muttered briefly and got out of bed. Not a single space on his schedule for the day was filled. Now that the compulsion to wash up and rush outside immediately had disappeared, his body actually felt lighter.
He opened his wardrobe. He gathered the gray suits and ties hanging in one corner and pushed them deep into the back of the wardrobe. He probably wouldn't have to wear those suffocating clothes for a while.
Instead, Mingwan took out a comfortable pair of cotton pants and a T-shirt. Then he folded up the blanket spread across the floor and put it into the washing machine.
When he opened the small window of his semi-basement studio apartment wide, cool, fresh air flowed inside. He rinsed a wet mop and began wiping the floor. He cleaned away the dust piled up in the corners, removed the water stains around the sink, and neatly organized the desk.
After he finished cleaning, the room was still small, but it felt much more comfortable. Once he took the blanket from the washing machine, its scent of fabric softener filling the air, and hung it on the drying rack, the place finally looked like a proper home.
Mingwan filled the electric kettle with water and made himself a warm cup of tea. Sitting in the middle of the room, he held the steaming teacup in his hands. Simply spending the morning drinking tea and watching people pass by outside the window felt worthwhile.
By the time lunch had long since passed, Mingwan took only his wallet and stepped outside. He deliberately left his smartphone facedown on the desk.
After leaving the neighborhood alley and walking for about ten minutes, he spotted a local bathhouse with an old, weathered sign. The bathhouse was quiet during the weekday afternoon.
After putting his clothes into a locker, Mingwan entered the bathing area and lowered himself into the steaming hot water.
"Ahh."
As the hot water rose to his chin, a groan escaped him involuntarily. It felt as though the muscles in his shoulders and neck, which had been knotted like boulders, were slowly melting beneath the intense heat.
After leaving the bath, he sat down on a barber's chair in one corner.
"How would you like it cut?"
"Just make it neat and short."
The buzzing sound of the clippers lingered around his ears. His overgrown hair fell to the floor in clumps. His face in the mirror looked much fresher than it had the day before. After finishing with a clean shave, Mingwan lay down on an old leather sofa in one corner of the lounge.
The moment he closed his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.
It was a perfect, peaceful nap, with no one to wake him and no approval documents waiting to be checked. After sleeping soundly for about an hour, he got up and bought a cold drink from the vending machine, gulping it down in one go.
When he opened the bathhouse door and stepped outside, the sun was already beginning to sink.
Mingwan did not head straight home. Instead, he changed direction toward the riverside walking path. Holding a warm canned coffee he had bought from a convenience store, he walked slowly.
The river breeze was rather chilly, but refreshing. People running with earphones in their ears, couples pushing strollers, and migratory birds gliding just above the surface of the water filled his view.
There was no need to count his steps, nor was there any rule stating what time he had to return home. He walked wherever his feet took him, and whenever his legs began to hurt, he sat on an empty bench and gazed at the river. It felt as though the complicated numbers and regulations filling his head were being washed away by the flowing water.
By the time the sun had completely set and the surroundings had grown dark, Mingwan arrived in front of the old multi-family house where his parents lived.
As soon as he entered the door lock password and opened the front door, a savory smell wafted toward him.
"You're here."
His father, Kim Yongcheol, who had been sitting in the living room watching television, turned his head while pretending to be indifferent. In the kitchen, his mother, Park Seonja, turned off the gas stove and hurried over.
"Oh, our son is here. Why does your face look so thin? Go wash up quickly. Let's eat."
A steaming beef hot pot and a golden-brown grilled fish had been placed on the dining table. As soon as the three of them sat around the table, his mother placed a large piece of meat on Mingwan's rice bowl.
"Eat plenty. Do you know how shocked your father and I were after you hung up the phone yesterday?"
Mingwan put the meat into his mouth and slowly chewed and swallowed it. As the hot broth slid down his throat, he felt comforted and satisfied.
"There was no need to be shocked. I wasn't disciplined or fired. I left after properly settling everything on my own terms."
"Did that division head or whatever his title is start harassing you again?"
His father asked as he put his chopsticks down with a sharp tap. It seemed he was not entirely unaware of the difficulties Mingwan had experienced at the company.
"He wasn't exactly harassing me. He gave me illegal instructions that I couldn't accept, so I refused. I handed in my resignation because I didn't want to argue with him over it."
Mingwan did not bother to beat around the bush. He calmly explained how Noh Jaehun had attempted to manipulate the appraisal report, how he had left a statement of disagreement, and how he had preserved the system records.
"In the end, I didn't cause any damage to the company, and nothing problematic was left on my record. My resignation process was also completed normally."
His father, who had been listening quietly, stroked his chin.
"You did the right thing. Wrong is wrong. It's better that you left rather than suffering because someone forced you to take the blame. Anyway, did you manage to save some money?"
"When I added the severance pay that came in yesterday to the savings I'd accumulated, it came to around eighty million won. I don't have any debts, either, so I won't be struggling to cover my living expenses right away."
"Eighty million. That's not a small amount."
"Yes. So neither of you needs to worry about me for the time being."
At Mingwan's firm yet calm response, his mother also looked considerably relieved.
"Good. Don't rush to submit applications somewhere else right away. You've done nothing but work without even getting proper rest. Eat well, get plenty of sleep, and take your time finding your next job."
"Understood. I'll come by often and eat your food, so don't get too annoyed with me."
"Annoyed? I'll grill meat for you every time you come, so come every day."
There were no excuses or pressure in the conversation passing around the dining table. Once his father confirmed that Mingwan did not have to worry about living expenses, he stopped urging him to find another job. His mother simply wanted her son to eat properly.
Mingwan remained at the table with a peaceful heart until the hot pot was completely emptied.
When the meal was over and he was about to get up, his mother handed him a black plastic bag containing three or four containers of side dishes she had prepared in advance.
"Put them in your refrigerator, and don't skip any meals. Got it?"
"I'll enjoy them. Dad, get some rest, too. I'm leaving."
"All right. Be careful on your way home."
Mingwan left his parents' house with both hands full, his steps as light as the evening air.
After returning to his studio apartment, Mingwan neatly arranged the containers of side dishes in the refrigerator, fitting them into the shelves.
After taking a shower, he spread the soft, freshly dried blanket he had hung out earlier across the floor. The faint scent of fabric softener tickled his nose.
He glanced at his smartphone out of habit and let out a small laugh. His work notifications were still turned off, and he had not even set an alarm to wake him up the next morning.
He gently rolled his neck and shoulders. That was the result of spending an entire day without answering a single phone call or writing even one line of a report. The chronic muscle pain he had been carrying around constantly had disappeared as if it had never existed.
Lying facedown on the blanket, Mingwan took out a small notebook and a pen. It was time to organize his thoughts.
The minimum tasks he needed to complete tomorrow.
"Morning. Check for replies from the three real estate-related trust companies and asset management firms where I had submitted résumés before resigning."
He did not have high expectations. If the influence of Taesung Appraisal Corporation reached those companies, there was a high chance his applications would be rejected at the document screening stage. However, checking the market's response was an essential step.
"Afternoon. Select at least three abandoned land properties and conduct site inspections."
The tip of his pen moved across the paper with a soft scratching sound.
Eighty million won.
It was not a small amount of money, but it was far from sufficient seed capital to start something in the real estate market. Proper commercial buildings or apartments in Seoul and the metropolitan area were out of the question, while land with development potential was already being sold for several million won per pyeong.
In the end, the only land he could target was property that everyone else ignored.
Landlocked plots where construction permits could not be obtained because there was no road access.
Abandoned orchards that had been neglected for decades, with trash scattered everywhere.
Mountainous land with complicated ownership rights that had repeatedly failed to sell even at auction.
Land riddled with defects that ordinary investors would never even consider. But Mingwan could see what lay beyond those defects.
The ability to distinguish between the figures written on documents and the reality of the site.
Hidden value that could surge once bottlenecks caused by regulations were resolved.
Beside the criteria he would apply when searching for properties again tomorrow, he added a few brief notes.
[Candidate 1. A property where the boundaries and terrain do not match.]
[Candidate 2. A property where road and waterway conditions have not been reflected in its value.]
[Candidate 3. A property with the potential to be combined with an adjacent parcel.]
The answer lies at the site.
It was a truth engraved into his bones after working as a certified appraiser for nine years. No matter how worthless a piece of land appeared on paper, clues to a solution could often be found by seeing it with his own eyes and stepping onto it himself.
"I'll know once I go there."
Mingwan closed the notebook and stood up.
When he turned off the light, the room sank into darkness. Only the streetlamp outside the window cast a soft glow across the floor.
He slipped beneath the blanket and comfortably closed his eyes. Tomorrow, too, he would wake up without an alarm, at whatever time his body wanted.