Everyday Life 2 (3)

Choi Hyeonsook immediately looked into that apartment.

She learned a few things, then casually let the rumor slip during a residents' wives gathering.

"I happened to hear something going around. Apparently, the man who lives there stabbed his old business partner in the back."

"My, really?"

"Yes. They were hometown juniors, I heard, but it sounds like he forced the other man out and took his shares by force. And then he brought in an executive from a major conglomerate to grow the business, so there must’ve been some kind of under-the-table deal involved, don’t you think? From the looks of it, he’s got real business instincts."

Once a bad rumor got started, it swelled almost instantly and spread through the entire complex.

"How could someone do that?"

"That’s too much. Business is important and all, but to betray a hometown junior who trusted you..."

"The last time I saw him, he seemed so nice. Like he wouldn't be able to say a bad word about anyone."

"This is why you can’t judge people by their faces alone."

"Come to think of it! I wondered how a subcontractor with just one factory managed to get so big..."

"If he even kicked out his business partner, there’s probably something else hidden underneath."

People envied the rich, but they also resented them.

And if that rich person had once stood on roughly the same level as them, only to suddenly get rich, the feeling was even stronger.

Watching it all unfold, Choi Hyeonsook smiled to herself.

I’m going to make sure they can’t lift their heads in this neighborhood.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

After hearing Sena out, I thought about it carefully.

If a bad rumor spread, living in the neighborhood would become difficult.

That said, going over there to confront them would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probably do little good. They’d just deny it. At times like this, you had to respond calmly and intelligently.

My opponent was both the residents' association president and the apartment’s representative.

Maybe that didn’t sound like much, but in a large apartment complex, the resident representative wielded serious power.

Songdo Lumian Parkview was a huge complex with 2,200 households.

If you estimated the monthly maintenance fee at 150,000 won per household, that meant more than 300 million won was collected every month. In a year, that came to over 3 billion won in money being managed and spent.

I first looked into what she was trying to push through.

Her plan was to install a smart security system and cut twenty percent of the guards.

Not just cameras for the complex, but additional security gates, an entry-and-exit vehicle management system, a comprehensive security network, and more.

The exact project cost wasn’t clear yet, but once facility management fees were included, it would easily exceed 1 billion won.

The resident representative couldn’t decide something like that on her own; she needed approval from eighty percent of the residents. But how many people really paid attention to apartment matters?

Usually, if the resident representative said something was for the good of the complex, most people would just think, Well, I guess so, and go along with it.

"And her husband’s a National Assemblyman."

His name was Gi Donguk.

He had won three straight terms in that district.

He belonged to the Woori Kookmin Party and was a prototypical pro-administration lawmaker.

"Wait. Come to think of it..."

In my first life, after Im Changsik became president, Gi Donguk was appointed Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport during the second cabinet.

But then some family-related corruption came out during the confirmation hearing, and he fell from grace... except he didn’t, not really. He was still appointed, though he got absolutely shredded in public at the time.

The scandal from back then seemed related to what was happening now.

For the moment, I called Heo Min-woong.

"Yes. More importantly, could you look into a company for me?"

"It’s called Yuwon Security. It’s an apartment security company."

"It’s nothing major, but..."

After I explained the situation in broad strokes, he said in an angry voice, "What? Is that true? All right. I’ll dig into this thoroughly."

After hanging up, I thought it over.

That side, at least, was handled.

But what was I supposed to do about the rumor that had already spread?

Even if I crushed the person behind it, I couldn’t gather the rumor back up once it was out in the open.

Would people really change their minds if I grabbed them one by one and explained that it wasn’t true?

After thinking for a moment, I called Min Ah-reum.

"Do you have a minute to talk?"

"Let me explain the situation first..."

I told her the gist of it.

"That’s why I’m asking—what do you think I should do?"

"Then what?"

I thought I understood what she meant.

In other words, if I overwhelmed them with sheer money, the rumor would disappear on its own?

"Could you help me with that?"

She understood immediately, even though I hadn’t said what I wanted help with.

"Yes. I’ll head over right away."

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

The apartment wives' association meeting was held at Kwon Mija’s house.

"Your place is nice. This is my first time here, and the layout’s a little different from ours."

At Choi Hyeonsook’s words, the other ladies chimed in.

"Still, isn't your house a bit bigger, Madam?"

"And you bought a new sofa from a luxury brand, too."

As befitted a penthouse, the place was spacious and immaculate. The materials were top of the line as well.

Still, some of the furniture looked old. Probably things she’d brought over from her previous home instead of throwing them out.

She sneered inwardly.

You can always tell a nouveau riche.

One lady pointed at the painting hanging in the living room and asked, "What’s that picture?"

Kwon Mija said, "My son bought it in the U.S. before. I was told it was painted by a famous artist."

"Really?"

"It looks like something a kid scribbled."

The artist who made that painting was Banksy, known as one of modern art’s great names.

It was worth over a million dollars, but unfortunately, there wasn’t a single person in that room who could recognize that.

What is that? A Banksy imitation?

Choi Hyeonsook had at least guessed at that much, but even she didn’t think it was genuine.

Before long, everyone had arrived.

There were twelve people in all.

They sat around the living room, and Kwon Mija brought out tea and snacks.

Choi Hyeonsook looked over the group and said, "First, let’s give a round of applause to Sena’s mother for offering her home as today’s meeting place."

Everyone applauded, and Kwon Mija awkwardly bowed her head.

"It’s nothing. I haven’t prepared much, but please make yourselves comfortable."

She knew very well what rumor was spreading through the apartment. Even the ladies who had usually been close to her seemed to be avoiding her a little now.

I need to clear up this misunderstanding somehow.

That was why she hadn’t been able to refuse this gathering.

Choi Hyeonsook continued, "We gathered today because I felt there may not have been enough explanation last time about the smart security system. As you know, our apartment is the wealthiest in this neighborhood, and there have already been several thefts here before. But the guards didn’t respond properly. Money is money, but what matters most is the safety of our residents, isn’t that right? What if a criminal broke into a house with children inside? And if rumors like that spread, property values would drop too."

Everyone nodded in agreement and echoed her.

"Of course. You're absolutely right, Madam."

"A thief... just thinking about it is scary."

"I saw on the news recently that a criminal who broke into an apartment killed a resident."

"I have two daughters at home, so I’m even more worried."

Choi Hyeonsook went on, "So, after all, the residents themselves reached an agreement ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to introduce the smart security system. As you can see, eighty-three percent have already approved it. The rest aren’t objecting; they just haven’t given consent yet because we haven’t been able to reach the owners."

Following her instructions, the guards went door to door through each household and asked residents to sign the document authorizing the dismissal of themselves and their coworkers.

If the paper had clearly said firing twenty percent of the guards, many residents would have objected.

But since it only said install smart security system, most of them signed without thinking twice.

Choi Hyeonsook looked at Kwon Mija and asked, "Are you still opposed to this, Sena’s mother?"

"Excuse me?"

"Please, speak freely."

She intended to make it crystal clear, in front of all these people, who held the upper hand.

People couldn’t stand isolation. And once someone extended a warm hand after that, they would begin to trust and follow them.

Everyone stared straight at Kwon Mija.

Since the residents were all in favor, she didn’t really have any grounds to object. Even if she did, it would be useless.

Kwon Mija couldn’t bear the pressure and finally opened her mouth.

"I, I..."

Just then.

The sound of a password being entered rang out. All eyes in the living room turned at once toward the door.

The person who opened the front door was a young man in his mid-to-late twenties.

"Mom! I’m home."

Kwon Mija blinked in surprise. "Son! What are you doing here without calling?"

"I had something to do nearby, so I stopped by for a bit. But what’s going on? Are these your friends?"

"Yes. They’re the ladies from our apartment association. Say hello."

At that, Han Miru bowed politely.

"Hello. My name is Han Miru."

Choi Hyeonsook said, "So you're her son."

"Yes. He's our eldest. He was away on a business trip for a while, but he came back recently."

Kwon Mija asked her son, "But what are those in your hands?"

He was carrying more than a dozen shopping bags in both hands.

"Ah! Your birthday’s coming up, right? So I bought some things."

"Huh?"

Kwon Mija was thrown into confusion.

No, my birthday’s still a long way off.

Besides, her son wasn’t the sort to bring gifts; if anything, he would just hand her money and call it a day.

Han Miru deliberately set the shopping bags down in front of her.

"But why did you buy so much?"

"I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just bought everything."

The logos on the bags were enough to spark everyone’s curiosity.

One of the ladies cautiously asked first, "What is it?"

"Go ahead and open it."

"Ah, yes."

At the urging of the wives, she took out the contents of the shopping bags. When she peeled away the cloth wrapping, a leather handbag emerged.

At that sight, the wives collectively gasped.

"Oh my! Isn’t that a Birkin?"

"Wait. There’s a Kelly bag here too."

"That’s a Chanel long coat and shoes."

"That’s a Cartier jewelry set. It’s gorgeous!"

They all widened their eyes in amazement as they looked over the Hermès bags, Chanel coat and shoes, and jewelry from Cartier and Tiffany & Co. spilling out of the shopping bags.

In truth, the most ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shocked person of all was Kwon Mija herself.

She pointed at the luxury bags and asked her son, "How much did all this cost?"

"Not that expensive. It was a limited edition, so maybe around 40 million?"

"W-what? Th-then what about this necklace and these earrings?"

"Hmm. I just bought what the clerk recommended, so I’m not sure. How much were they? Ah! Here’s the receipt."

Everyone’s eyes went wide as they looked at the receipt. The price printed there was in the hundred-millions.

When they saw it, all of them lost their words.

He spent 100 million won on just a jewelry set?

Is that even real?

I thought the husband just made good money, but the son must earn even more.

I thought they were just a new-rich family...

They were an absolutely insane new-rich family!

No matter how much money a family had, who spent hundreds of millions on a single shopping trip?

They’d all been quietly envying and resenting her, but after watching the money being spent right in front of them, this was no longer the sort of thing that could be met with simple jealousy.

Choi Hyeonsook was just as stunned.

How much is all this?

Everything here added up to several hundred million ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠won.

On top of that, there were several items that would be hard to buy even with money.

She was the wife of a wealthy family too, but she had never once gone on a shopping spree like this. It was enough to make her feel small for no good reason.

But that still wasn’t the end of it.

"Here you go, Mom."

"What now?"

"A golf club membership."

"Hm? I already bought you one last time."

"That was for Dream World GC. I heard a new one called Jack Island GC just opened in Yeongjongdo, so I bought that one too. Oh, and this is a membership for JR Blackwood Hotel. Take the neighborhood ladies there sometimes and enjoy a nice meal."

"..."

Both the golf club membership and the hotel membership were worth more than 100 million won each. Yet he was handing them over to his mother as casually as if they were department store gift certificates.

Our son can’t even get a job after turning thirty.

And he doesn’t buy his mother gifts—he just asks for allowance every month.

When am I ever going to wear jewelry like that?

We’ve got a reunion next week. Could I ask to borrow that bag for just one day?

After a moment, the wives finally came to their senses and started speaking one by one.

"Madam, I’m so jealous."

"Your son is such a good son."

"You’ve got a wonderful boy. Handsome, too, and so impressive."

The hostile atmosphere from a moment ago melted away like snow, and everyone wore faces full of envy and admiration.