Chapter 12
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Rooftop Barbecue and the Building Deal
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Jin-seong giggled as he spoke to me.
"That's clothes I wore back in middle school."
Ah, so that's what it was?
"I shot up so fast I barely got to wear it a few times. Mom said she splurged on it."
Bean sprout much? Why couldn't I grow like that?
"Mom didn't skimp because she was saving it for you, hyung. As long as it fits great! Haha!"
If he's happy, I'm happy, and Mom's happy—perfect.
"Let's go together sometime."
"Sure! Mom's been wanting to see you too."
But today? Beef party courtesy of Jin-seong!
Beef!
"Huh? Ye-jin-ssi?"
"Usually... it's Ye-jin-ssi, right?"
Ahem. In ten years, -nim is all the rage. Sigh, gotta adapt to the MZ crowd these days?
"Want some? Jin-seong brought beef from home."
"...Beef..."
Her eyes wavered. Even this ice queen melts for beef, huh?
Gas burner and grill plate—good to go.
"Ta-da!"
Jin-seong predictably pulled out a bottle of soju.
"...That's it? For three people...?"
Ye-jin furrowed her brow and headed downstairs. She returned with four bottles of soju wedged between her fingers—two per hand.
No time for a convenience store run... Was she hoarding them like acorns?
"Uh, if the landlady catches us, we're toast."
Jin-seong said gravely, but Ye-jin shook her head.
"She won't come. Lately, she only swings by briefly at dawn."
Normally, that'd be a dead giveaway for a surprise appearance, but knowing why she couldn't come made my chest tighten.
"Just clean up properly."
As she spoke, she cracked open the soju first. Jin-seong and I just shrugged.
Wow... Had it really been ten years since I last grilled beef? Even before the confinement, beef had been a rare treat.
"...Drink slowly!"
Jin-seong called out as she knocked back three shots in a row.
"Phew... What should I do? Hyun-woo-ssi, does gaming help you unwind?"
Ah... damn it... I told you, no.
"Eat. Quick!"
Jin-seong grabbed the tongs and shoved the first piece of meat into her mouth.
"You're a good guy, Jin-seong-ssi."
Why're you only talking to him?
"My mentor told me. Be happy. Do what you want to do. Not in so many words, but I can feel it."
Cult or something?
"It's delicious."
"Of course! Mom always gets the premium stuff! Oh, right—how old are you?"
"Twenty-three."
"Oh! Same age? I figured you were way older. Awesome! Can I drop the honorifics?"
"......"
I was shocked too. With how she carried herself, I'd assumed late twenties easy...
"Hyung's twenty-four. Must be fate—let's be buddies! Haha!"
Twenty-four? No way...
She shot me a look loaded with that exact vibe.
"Honorifics okay to drop?"
"Go ahead..."
"Why so complicated? You've looked half-dead this whole time."
"Kinda. My heart gets it, but my head doesn't."
"......"
"......"
Unsure how to respond, we all turned to peer over the railing as awkwardness hung in the air.
Jin-seong piped up, trying to shift the mood.
"Ah, right! Hyung, I'll handle it!"
"Huh?"
"That thing! Your bodyguard!"
"Ah! Really?"
"Yeah! This is my patrol zone anyway, so I know everyone who comes and goes. No one's slipping past me, hehe."
"Thanks. I'll bump up your pay later!"
"Psh, what money you got, hyung? A million's too much already. Hundred thou's plenty. For groceries."
You... When I make it big, you're getting a fat bonus!
"......"
What the hell were we doing? Sounded like game chat. Ye-jin grabbed the tongs, eyeing us like we'd lost it.
The wind was still chilly, but with soju flowing and plenty of beef, could it get any better?
Then something no one saw coming happened.
"...Gasp..."
Jin-seong spotted it first.
"Ah, landlady!"
The Saintly Lady had arrived. Called it—total appearance flag!
"Having a blast, huh? Still brisk out, and you're grilling beef outdoors."
I braced for thunder, but she approached laughing hoho! and plopped down on the mat. Jin-seong slyly offered her a glass, but I blocked it.
"Youth really is something, isn't it?"
Even the ice witch couldn't meet her eyes right then. What a force of nature!
Something nagged at me.
"...By any chance...?"
"Yep. Can't put it off any longer."
Floors one through three—twenty-eight rooms full, storage aside.
Nothing cheaper around here, which was why I'd moved in.
But today was doomsday for those twenty-eight tenants.
"What? What's going on?"
Jin-seong asked, while Ye-jin sensed trouble and went wide-eyed.
"Uh... how much for this building?"
I was dead serious. Prime "real talk" time!
"...Huh? What'd you say?"
The Saintly Lady looked stunned. Only natural. A building parasite like me overstepping with the creator above all creators.
"Just curious."
Ten years of nothing but writing—still awkward as hell at this stuff.
"Why? Cheap enough to buy?"
"......"
"Listed it today, but no takers. Who's running goshiwons these days? Probably stay rented till demolition. Great view, though. Whole Seoul skyline, even a glimpse of the Han River way out there. Han River view, sorta."
Ye-jin had polished off the soju. I was stone sober.
"Listed price?"
"Seven hundred million. Cheap for the neighborhood. Big lot too. Parking lot's empty 'cause no cars."
"......"
"......"
Seven hundred million was astronomical for twenty-somethings.
Hmm.
Seven hundred mil.
That's when Ye-jin chimed in.
"With a mortgage, you'd need about two hundred twenty million down?"
"Right. Smart cookie."
Huh? Yeah? Two twenty?
"Hohoho! Interested? If 303 girl wants it, six hundred mil. No real use for it anymore anyway."
Jin-seong grabbed her hand.
"Then give it free!"
"As if. I've got family left too."
She flicked his forehead—thwack!—but laughed all the while.
"Managing a place like this ain't easy. Looks simple, but once you hit my age, stuff starts breaking everywhere."
Her face darkened sharply. Was she ill?
"Then head in after some fun."
As she stood, I spoke up.
"Five hundred fifty."
"...What?"
"For five fifty, how much do I need upfront?"
Ye-jin answered from the side.
"About one fifty... Taxes and fees, say one eighty?"
Civil service prep really sharpened her math.
"Single fella... buying a house?"
"Nah."
"Savings?"
"Hundred thou."
"Don't mess with adults."
She laughed like she'd seen every nutjob out there, and I pressed on.
"None now, but give me three months. I'll buy. Five fifty."
Seven hundred? Maybe not. But five fifty? Doable. Just need one eighty.
Coins'll sit tight another three years anyway.
She eyed me steadily, seeing I meant it.
"No deposit?"
"Next month fifteenth."
"That's barely two weeks."
"That's fine."
It was. Time was on my side.
The Saintly Lady headed down, half-doubting. She'd promised no evictions until the fifteenth.
Trust like that was huge. One condition: no forcing out current residents. I had no plans to anyway.
"Hyung, you got the cash?"
"Gonna make it."
"Starting now?"
"Somehow."
Ye-jin shot me a look like I'd lost my mind—Why live here if you had that kinda money?
"Isn't that too reckless?"
Jin-seong chimed in too.
"Hyung, game items sell for billions or whatever?"
No, you idiots!
"I can do it."
Haggled seven hundred down to five fifty. In Seoul? Unheard of for this building. Her special circumstances helped, but I loved the spot.
Perfect for plotting.
I'd sketched some plans over the past month. And for that, I needed a base. Not just for me—for a group.
"Ah, but can it double as an office?"
"Should be fine."
Ye-jin eyed me skeptically but answered.
"You know your stuff."
"Mom's in real estate."
"Ah..."
Life has those perfect-timing moments. We call 'em opportunities.
"Then, Ye-jin, help me out? I'll knock off your rent."
"Not your building yet."
"Haha! So what? You know Chungkukma?"
"Huh?"
"Unyielding heart's the key."
Kaboom!
Ye-jin's face went sheet-white.
Why's she like that?
Back in my room.
Committing to buy sharpened my next steps.
Might be vague, but before the Team Leader locked up writers, I wanted to pull in folks I knew.
For that, I needed something to offer, right?
Publisher? Management? Just a writers' office...?
Got nothing now, so why would they trust me?
Not the full fix.
He'd swap in someone else for Number 7 if she wasn't the one I sought.
Ultimately, I had to hunt him down and end it to stop this nightmare.
But I'll do what I can.
Sticking in this industry lets me track trends. Plus, I know what those writers penned. Once their stuff starts uploading, I can trace him.
Need a crew. Safe haven too.
Jin-seong's great, but full social safety net required.
He'd only snatched pre-fame writers. Types who vanish and no one bats an eye.
Hah, talent meritocracy alright.
Can't sell? Gone, forgotten. Writers are homebodies anyway, and who brags about genre novels publicly? Makes it easier.
First, buy this place. Property doesn't vanish.
Then earn cash for phase two.
Just hold out a few months. Few months, that's it.
Survived ten years—can't hack three to become owner?
April 15th.
Eighty-seven million, three hundred eighty-one thousand, nine hundred twenty-two won from March settlements, plus three mil deposit from my old place.
Ninety mil wired to the Saintly Lady. Leftover three-eighty'd last me a month.
Jin-seong's jaw hit the floor.
"After this, realtor and bank handle it,"
she said. She nodded vigorously at my words, face screaming she never thought it'd actually happen.
Ye-jin was even more floored.
"Wh-what?!"
She practically leaped back. Jin-seong smirked like her reaction was overkill.
"He's a writer, my hyung. Hits like Kunlun Return and Infinite Reincarnation, right? Didn't realize it paid this well."
What the...?
"Ku-Kunlun Return, Infinite Reincarnation?"
She caught that quick.
"Why so shocked? Snot's dripping."
Jin-seong handed her tissue, but she just stared at me blankly.
"Single guy... you're a writer?"
"Not exactly. Just fun novels."
"Not a gamer?"
"Haven't touched games since moving here."
"Those 'nightly gaming sessions' were writing every night?"
"Who even said that?"
"Everyone's my eyes and ears. They all said it, so I believed 'em."
The Saintly Lady beamed and clasped my hand.
"Knew you had something special from day one. My instincts never fail."
...Weren't you doubting me like two seconds ago?
Crash!
Pots tumbled from the kitchenette shelf, rolling across the floor. Ye-jin had backed away like she'd seen a ghost and bumped into them.
"......"
"......"
So... why's she freaking out like that?