Chapter 14

Let’s have a housewarming today

“Come this way.”

The employee left the window and headed toward the other side of the hallway.

I hurried to follow, only to find that Doa had already covered her face with a hat and mask she had gotten from who knew where.

‘Wow... One mask covers half her face.’

I had heard that celebrities with small faces looked like that with just a mask on.

Seeing it right in front of me felt completely different.

Normally I had just thought she was pretty, but seeing her covered up like that made me realize all over again just how small Doa’s face was.

“Doa. Are you coming with me too?”

“You’re going to leave me behind and go alone? You want me to go out through there?”

Doa pointed outside the window.

Among the signs with my face plastered on them, papers with Doa’s name written on them had started appearing one by one too.

If she went out through that crowd now, it really did seem like the fans would rush her before the reporters did.

“N-No. Of course not. I was planning to go with you from the start.”

“Hmmm... I’ll let it slide this time. Let’s go.”

We took the staff-only elevator down to the basement, where a long passage with scattered lights turned off came into view.

Following the employee’s guidance, we passed storage rooms and machine rooms, and after walking for quite a while, reached the underground parking lot on the opposite side of the building.

A black van was waiting there for us with the engine already running.

“Hunter Baek Seorin prepared this in advance before the press release went out. For the time being, when you visit the Association, you can use this route.”

From the outside, she seemed impatient and like the type to swing her sword at the slightest thing, but surprisingly, she showed quite a bit of thoughtfulness in details like this.

Come to think of it, even setting up a separate route in advance so I wouldn’t run into reporters showed that she was rather meticulous when it came to looking after people.

I thanked the employee. Then I climbed into the back seat with Doa.

Even as the car left the underground parking lot, the commotion coming from the front entrance showed no sign of dying down.

“Don’t those people have jobs?”

“Exactly. It’s not even the weekend. It’s a weekday.”

Surely they wouldn’t still be there tomorrow.

I had to come back to the Association for training tomorrow too.

Just as my mood started to sour at the thought of seeing that scene again, my phone gave a short vibration.

[Hunter Activity Settlement Payment Has Been Deposited.]

“Oh!! It’s here!”

When I tapped the notification, even my bank balance had changed.

After taxes and various deductions had already been taken out, a little over 380 million won had been deposited.

The money I had only seen on yesterday’s settlement statement was really sitting in my bank account.

‘It came in this fast.’

No matter how many times I checked, the 300 million-plus won in my account remained there.

With this much, couldn’t I at least buy one house?

I wasn’t particularly greedy.

Two or three rooms, a decent living room, and a view of the Han River outside the window would be enough.

‘Right. I’m a Hunter now, so if I’m buying a place anyway, I should live somewhere with a view of the Han River.’

Either way, it was finally time to say goodbye to the single semi-basement room that always smelled of mold.

I happily opened a real estate app, and Doa, sitting beside me, quietly leaned over and looked at the screen before I knew it.

“Are you looking for a house?”

“Yeah. The money just came in too. I’m thinking I might as well just get one right away.”

“Where are you thinking of moving?”

“Somewhere with a view of the Han River.”

“Oh? Really?”

Doa’s eyes widened slightly, and she quickly looked interested.

“Then can I come look with you?”

“You want to come along while I look at houses?”

“Yes. I think it would be fun to look around together. And having two people look is better than looking alone.”

Well. She wasn’t wrong.

Having even one more person there meant I could hear another opinion, so it would probably be better.

“Then let’s go together.”

“Great.”

Doa leaned toward me as though she had been waiting for that.

“Where should we go?”

“Hold on. Let me call first.”

I scrolled a little farther down the real estate app and called the agency listed at the very top of the search results.

_________

“Welcome. You’re the person who called earlier, right?”

“Yes. I called because I wanted to see some homes with a view of the Han River.”

The realtor came all the way outside to greet us, then led us to seats inside.

After bringing out tea and fruit, she opened a thick binder containing only homes with especially good views of the Han River.

Even when Doa took off her hat and mask, the realtor showed no particular reaction.

The news of her return had only just been announced today, and the articles had only used photos from five years ago, so it was natural that she wouldn’t recognize her.

Instead, just because a young man and woman had come to look at homes together, she made her own assumption about our relationship.

“Are the two of you looking for a newlywed home to live in together?”

“What?”

The realtor looked back and forth between Doa and me with a friendly smile.

“You two suit each other so well. And your wife is truly beautiful.”

Doa’s face turned red in an instant.

Normally, she would have immediately denied it. But for some reason, she only fiddled with her teacup and didn’t say anything.

“Ah. That’s not it.”

With no other choice, I corrected the misunderstanding first.

“We’re just acquaintances. Acquaintances.”

“Really? Ahh. My apologies.”

The realtor immediately apologized.

Me, the lover of an S-rank Hunter?

If I corrected it even a little too late and Doa got offended, it could turn into a needless disaster.

That was what I thought.

But when I looked beside me, Doa was glaring at me with her cheeks puffed out.

“Huuuu...”

She even made a strange sound.

At a glance, she clearly looked unhappy.

“... Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“Hmph. No! Hunter Yoon Jaemin.”

Doa sharply turned her head away.

I had properly cleared up the misunderstanding, so I had no idea why she was acting like that.

It felt awkward to keep asking in front of the realtor. So I turned my attention to the list of properties in front of me.

“Are you mainly interested in new construction?”

“A new place would be better. And I’d like it to be on a high floor.”

“Oh my. You’re very lucky today. A property that fits those conditions perfectly just came on the market today.”

After about a ten-minute drive, we arrived at a gleaming high-rise apartment building that stood out even from a distance.

The moment I stepped inside the unit, my mouth fell open before I knew it.

The entryway alone looked bigger than the semi-basement room I had been living in, and beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows filling one side of the living room, the Han River stretched wide and open.

Even the buildings across the river were visible without obstruction.

‘This is it.’

I was already picturing where to put the furniture.

The sofa would go by the window, and one spare room would be perfect as a workout room.

Now that I had money, I could just buy exercise equipment one piece at a time.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. This is better than I expected.”

I had heard somewhere that if you looked too pleased, it became harder to negotiate the price.

Pretending to be indifferent, I looked around the living room again.

“How much is it?”

“The current asking price is 14.5 billion won. Among units in this building with the same floor plan, it’s priced very well.”

“... How much?”

“14.5 billion won. Ah, of course, that’s just the asking price. I think if I speak with the owner separately, we could probably negotiate it down by one or two hundred million.”

I had heard that the deposit for a normal purchase contract was around 10 percent of the sale price, so for 14.5 billion won, the deposit alone would be 1.45 billion.

‘...’

Even if I emptied my entire bank account, I couldn’t cover even half the deposit.

“I don’t think it was this bad five years ago...”

Even Doa’s mouth opened slightly.

“Oh, Seoul housing prices are even crazier these days. Especially apartments like this with permanent Han River views. Even people with money can’t find listings because there simply aren’t any.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Of course. I’m only showing you this one specially because you’re Hunters. This isn’t a property we show just anyone.”

The realtor went on to explain various reasons why Seoul housing prices had risen this much lately.

In short, it all came down to safety.

Apparently, when gates first appeared, many people believed densely populated major cities would be the most dangerous places.

But when things actually played out, it was the exact opposite.

Gates appeared indiscriminately, whether in the mountains or in the middle of a city.

If they could appear anywhere anyway, then places where they could be discovered quickly and Hunters could be deployed immediately were far safer.

Seoul in particular was different in response speed because Association headquarters and major guilds were concentrated there.

Even the smallest abnormal sign was reported quickly, and even if a high-rank gate appeared, nearby Hunters could be deployed fast.

By contrast, sparsely populated regions were slower even to discover them.

Apparently there had been quite a few cases where gates rampaged before support personnel even arrived.

As incidents like that repeated, people began flocking into major cities instead, and around the Han River in particular, where transportation and defensive infrastructure were well developed and high-rank Hunters tended to live, a so-called ‘safety premium’ had even been added.

‘Even so, 14.5 billion won is too much.’

I pulled my eyes away from the living room and subtly changed the subject.

“Th-Then could we see somewhere a little cheaper?”

“Of course. Around what budget are you considering?”

“Let’s look at some other places first and decide.”

Still smiling brightly, the realtor guided us to the next property.

The second apartment was more than twenty years old, but you could technically see the Han River between the living room windows.

To be precise, she said the thin blue strip wedged between two buildings across the way was the Han River.

“This one is 6.8 billion.”

“... Is there somewhere a little cheaper?”

At the third place, the Han River wasn’t visible at all.

The realtor said that if you pressed yourself right up against the edge of the bedroom window and turned your head to the right, then on a clear day you could see the tops of buildings across the river.

...Calling that a Han River view felt a little shameless.

“3.47 billion won.”

“Let’s look somewhere else too.”

On the way to the fourth property, the realtor became noticeably less talkative.

Even the respectful ‘Hunter’ she had been attaching to every sentence at first had disappeared at some point.

“Um. Customer. Sorry for asking so late, but exactly what is your budget?”

Doa pretended to look out the window while covering her mouth.

I could see her shoulders reflected in the glass shaking slightly.

“I have about 380 million won in cash.”

“What about a loan?”

“I’d have to borrow as much as I can.”

“May I ask how much income you make from Hunter activities?”

“I only registered yesterday, so I’m not sure whether there’s anything officially recorded yet.”

“...”

My eyes met the realtor’s through the rearview mirror.

The eyes that had been curved in a friendly smile until moments ago had become perfectly straight.

“Then I don’t think you’ll qualify for a very large loan either...”

“Still, I’m a Hunter. Wouldn’t that help somehow?”

“It used to, I think, but with housing prices being such a mess lately, the rules have gotten pretty strict. Probably not.”

The realtor quietly moved the Han River area property binder from the passenger seat to the side.

“Would you consider renting instead of buying?”

“... Yes. Please.”

As soon as I answered, the realtor turned the steering wheel.

The final place we saw was an old villa in a residential neighborhood more than thirty minutes by car from the Han River. A three-story building with no elevator.

We climbed to the top, the third floor, but when the window opened, instead of the Han River, all I could see was the wall of the villa across the way.

‘Hmm...’

Maybe seeing expensive homes immediately beforehand had raised my standards too much.

For a moment, I thought about the semi-basement single room I currently lived in.

A room steeped in the damp smell of mold, where even the window frame became wet whenever it rained.

It was gloomy even during the day unless I turned on the lights, and when I opened the window, all I could see were people’s ankles passing by.

‘...Looking at it again, this place is a goddess.’

At least this place had two bedrooms, and the living room was much bigger than where I lived now.

The wallpaper and flooring had been redone, so there wasn’t even a trace of mold.

On top of that, it was fully furnished with a refrigerator, washing machine, and bed, so once the contract was finished, I could move in and start living here today.

“The deposit is 50 million won, and the monthly rent is 1.4 million.”

Compared to those insane Han River-view apartments, the price was extremely reasonable.

“Oppa. This place is nice.”

“Right?”

“You can’t see the Han River, though.”

“If I want to see the Han River, I can just go there in person.”

The station was only a five-minute walk away too.

By subway, I could reach the Han River in about thirty minutes.

At that point, strictly speaking, it was practically within the Han River living zone.

‘There’s no need to tie up all my assets buying some mediocre place.’

Thinking about it, this was actually much more reasonable.

My newly issued Hunter ID ink had barely even dried yet anyway.

If I earned money like this just a few more times, eventually I really could buy a home overlooking the Han River.

Until then, thinking of this as just a temporary rental was perfectly fine.

“I’ll take it.”

As soon as I said that, a smile finally returned to the realtor’s lips after having been stiff for so long.

___________

After finishing the contract, I rolled the key I had received around in my palm.

That very morning, I had been thinking about buying an apartment with a view of the Han River, and just a few hours later, I was holding a monthly rental contract for a villa.

Still, it was much better than the place I had been living in, and if I thought of it as somewhere to stay only until I saved more money, it wasn’t such a bad choice.

“Congratulations on finding a good place, oppa.”

“Thanks.”

“Next time, make sure you move somewhere with a view of the Han River.”

“... I definitely will.”

“Pfft! Th-Then I’ll head back!”

Doa finally failed to hold back her laughter, pressed her lips together tightly, and returned to the hospital where her father was.

“...”

And just like that, I was left alone in my new home.

“I’ll move my stuff over slowly.”

There was still some time left on the lease for my old place anyway.

I could just bring things over one at a time.

I threw myself onto the bed that came with the unit.

About two hours after I dozed off for a while.

My phone began ringing repeatedly.

[Seorin noona: I heard you bought a house?]

Apparently the news had reached her in that short time.

I was about to correct her and say it was a rental, but another message appeared first.

[Seorin noona: Then let’s have a housewarming today]

Today?

It was a place I could move into immediately.

But who had a housewarming on the very day they signed the contract?

The refrigerator was empty, and I hadn’t even touched the belongings still sitting in my old place.

I should just refuse.

Just as I was about to send a reply, a new alert arrived.

[Seorin noona created a group chat.]

[Chatroom name: Housewarming]

[Seorin noona: I invited Doa too]

[Doa: I’ll go too!]

[Doa: Unni says she’ll do the grocery shopping]

[Seorin noona: Send the address]

[Doa: I know it]

[Doa: Let’s go together, unni]

[Seorin noona: (Emoticon of a bear with a scar over one eye nodding)]

...There was never a choice in the first place.