Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Great but Light and Frivolous First Step
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"No, what are you talking about right now? We need to do some research first, decide where to go, and then head out."
"I don't know anything about real estate?"
Sangjin sighed as he looked at his brother blinking innocently with wide eyes.
But Woojin was unfazed.
"What can I do if I'm computer illiterate? You do it then."
Sangjin nodded readily.
"Got it. Let me take a look."
As Sangjin sat down at his laptop, Woojin suddenly remembered something and scooted over.
"Oh, right. You haven't enhanced your computer yet, have you? Here, let me enhance it for you."
"Oh? Computer enhancement? You're not gonna hog that good stuff all to yourself?"
But Woojin scratched his head and said,
"I did enhance it, but nothing really changed, so I forgot about it."
"No way. What skill does it have?"
"Information Processing."
"Ooh... sounds promising?"
These days, computers could handle all sorts of tasks, but originally, they were made for complex calculations and processing information that humans struggled with.
Woojin's hand and Sangjin's laptop glowed as the enhancement completed.
"Done. Information Processing Level 4."
Sangjin got a little excited.
"Before we look for real estate, can I test what got better...?"
Woojin shrugged.
"Go ahead. I couldn't tell any difference before or after."
"Bro, what do you even use the computer for?"
"Watching NewTube and checking our sales site..."
"No wonder there's no difference. A laptop isn't just a NewTube player, you idiot..."
The laptop his brother had worked so hard to buy for him was a compromise at just over a million won.
Anyone who's bought a laptop knows: one in the low million-won range is barely mid-tier.
With some costing over ten million, you needed at least three million to call it high-spec.
As a college student, Sangjin used a lot of programs.
His brother had scrimped and saved to send him to school, and there were so many things he wanted to study.
From light Excel and PowerPoint for assignments, to graphic programs like Photoshop and Illustrator for liberal arts classes, and lately he'd gotten into programming and AI, using Java and Python too.
Lately, he'd felt the specs falling short when juggling a dozen browser tabs and multiple tasks at once.
Still, Sangjin loved this laptop.
It was a gift from his brother.
Even when it became a useless hunk of junk years from now, he'd treasure it forever.
Sangjin fired up dozens of programs and browser tabs on the enhanced laptop at once.
Improved information processing? He took that to mean better performance, so he ran this test.
And then—
Pababababat—!
Sangjin's eyes widened.
"Holy shit!!"
The laptop launched every program in a flash, without a single stutter.
"Insane! This is insane!"
"Really? I didn't notice much..."
"Dude! This is nuts! We're saving at least a few million won here!"
"R-Really...?"
Sangjin got greedy.
"Do it more! Enhance it more! You don't need mana for anything else today anyway!"
Woojin had no choice but to give in to his brother's manic enthusiasm.
Two slips later, it reached final +7.
A laptop with 'Information Processing Lv. 8' was complete.
"No more mana. That's it. Damn, mana depletion's making me all drowsy."
Sangjin hoisted his laptop triumphantly and grinned.
"Muahahaha! +7 laptop! The best. Absolutely the best."
Woojin chuckled at his ecstatic brother, then slowly drifted off to sleep.
***
The next day.
Woojin took the bus to the neighborhood where he'd meet Sangjin at the real estate office.
Sangjin had gone to school early that morning.
Instead, after Woojin passed out from mana depletion last night, Sangjin had scoured the internet, found places, and even made reservations.
Taking the bus was a smart choice.
Mid-afternoon on a weekday, no traffic, so he arrived sooner than expected.
'Yeah, even with plenty of money, taxis are overkill.'
Saving cash and arriving just as fast!
A small thing, but it put Woojin in a good mood.
It was almost time for Sangjin, done with school, to arrive.
They planned to meet, grab lunch, and then look around.
Woojin snagged a spot at a nearby gukbap joint and texted Sangjin to decide on the menu.
– Hey you punk, how long? I'm at the restaurant. What do you want?
– 10 mins. Sundae gukbap for me.
– OK
After the quick texts, Woojin ordered two bowls of sundae gukbap.
A moment later, Sangjin arrived, and right on cue, the steaming bowls were served to Woojin's table.
"Nice... timing's perfect, bro. You think this neighborhood's good for an office?"
Sangjin said as he rubbed his hands and sat down.
"Ugh... weather's gotten chilly. Great menu choice. Yeah, I skimmed online. There's a knowledge industry center nearby? It's only about 15 minutes by bus from home."
Woojin took a spoonful of sundae gukbap and asked Sangjin.
"Slurp, oh, the broth's good. Knowledge industry center? What's that?"
"They say this place is a hidden gem. Knowledge industry center? It's for small businesses like ours. Used to be called apartment factories?"
"Oh, perfect for us."
Sangjin dumped shrimp sauce and red pepper paste into his sundae gukbap without even tasting it first.
"Hey hey! Don't dump it all in like that, it'll be too salty! And taste the plain broth first before adding paste. That's not how you eat gukbap! I tell you every time, and you still do it. Apartment factory? You mean where businesses cram together in one building?"
Sangjin scooped up the bright red broth, then started picking out the sundae onto a side plate.
"Slurp, ahh~ warming up. Whatever, I'll eat how I like. Back when we were broke, I wanted to smack you for dumping pickled radish broth into my seolleongtang... Yeah, that's right. It's new, and maybe the economy sucks, but even with big ads, the occupancy rate's apparently awful?"
Woojin added a bit of shrimp sauce and perilla powder to his bowl, tasted the broth again, and replied.
"Why bring up stuff from ten years ago? Hey, pickled radish broth in seolleongtang is legendary! Eat up and quit whining now. Low occupancy means cheaper prices, right?"
Sangjin nodded, munching sundae dipped in ssamjang.
"Munch munch, that was ten years ago for you, but just last year for me. True, I hated pickled radish broth at first, but it tasted good once I tried it. Yeah, I checked other offices nearby. This one's new but cheap. Why settle for a rundown building at the same price?"
The brothers were somehow chatting about two topics at once.
Woojin grabbed a few pieces of sundae, decided that was enough, and mixed everything into his rice in one go.
"Gukbap's best with everything together. Eating sundae and rice separate? What's the point? So, what's the price there?"
"I don't get how you wolf down that scalding hot stuff. Cool it down, you fire-breather. Remember flipping out about a mouth burn? Deposit 5 million, monthly 500k. Or deposit 10 million for monthly 400k?"
Woojin looked shocked at the surprisingly low price and asked back.
"For real? Why so cheap? It's not even a burden for us."
"Our place is at the edge of Seoul. That's Gyeonggi, so cheaper. Monthly's low, but management fees might be higher. Still a win for us—full facilities including cargo elevators. Better to work comfortably, right?"
Woojin piled on a big chunk of kimchi and shoveled in a huge spoonful.
Best sundae gukbap in ten years. Absolutely delicious.
"Kuhak, munch. Wanna bump up the deposit more?"
"Dunno? That's what I found online, so we'll know more at the real estate."
With enough eaten, Woojin figured it was time for some red pepper paste. He scooped half a spoon onto his rice and gently stirred with chopsticks to blend without clumping.
Sangjin piped up watching him.
"You're really into that gukbap..."
"Hey, might as well enjoy all the flavors. Try it my way sometime. Doesn't it get boring eating it the same?"
Sangjin responded surprisingly positively.
"Sure, next time. We've got time, eat slow. Nothing else to do."
"Kuh... paste adds the kick. Auntie! Some sliced green chilies here! Man, if not for the appointment, I'd have a shot of soju."
Sangjin turned serious at Woojin's words.
"Please, at 25 don't act like some old geezer... You trying to show you're 35 inside? Gukbap and daytime drinks? Ridiculous."
"You drink during class breaks at college, right? That's fine, but gukbap chaser's not? College kids can, but jobless can't? Discrimination?"
His brother's logic was surprisingly tight. Sangjin grumbled without retort.
"That's not old-man-ish, you're the old man..."
"Dude, you think you'll mature at 30? Bullshit. Same as always. I just hide I'm still a kid inside."
How the hell did he roll through that game world to come back so enlightened? Woojin was a mystery to Sangjin.
"Hey, Sangjin. Caring about others' eyes gains you nothing. You know that famous saying? SNS is a waste of life?"
"We need it for ads."
"I know. I tried that Inssa World thing once—super addictive. Once you're in, no escape."
Sangjin snorted at Woojin's words.
"Inssa World? Yeah, you just made an account and lurked for your first love a few times."
"That counts as trying! What more?"
"Never mind......"
Woojin, inhaling the last of his gukbap, suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right? What about staff? Hiring one?"
They'd felt the need for an employee yesterday.
Jo Ayoung's help had slashed their workload massively.
"I thought about it. Better to hire. We've got other stuff to do. Outsourcing packing sounds smart."
"Good, company's growing. You handle hiring. Interview together?"
"No big deal, just check faces."
"Dude, it's a company. Interviews are proper."
"Yes, sir."
The brothers polished off their gukbap and headed to the appointed real estate office.
– Daepak Licensed Real Estate Agency
A plain name, but Woojin liked the word "jackpot."
Feeling a bit chilly, Woojin hurried to the door.
"Hoo... even the name's calling to us. Woosang Company's grand first step starts here."
"That step's pretty light and cheeky."
Sangjin ribbed him once and opened the door.
"Hello, we're the ones who called yesterday about office and house hunting."
A middle-aged man in glasses and a round-faced lady were inside.
The lady, who'd talked to Sangjin, greeted them warmly.
"Oh? Hello! Early birds, huh? Sit here~ Weather's turned cold, hasn't it?"
Woojin thought watching her,
'Whoa, not your average realtor.'
That customer service attitude, relaxed smile, pleasant tone—textbook perfect.
Woojin had experience.
Get hooked by someone like that, and you'd end up buying armfuls of useless supplements you force down out of regret.
In Unriworld, the 'Merchant King' titled sales genius had that same vibe.
That guy had conned him into stamina boosters.
They weren't totally useless, so not quite a scam.
Even his stingy real-world self had opened his wallet. Scary sales skills, and now she was right in front of him.
As they sat on the sofa, she naturally brewed two instant coffees and set them down.
"Hehe, sorry it's just this. So, here for office and house viewing?"