Chapter 7

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: A Peculiar Annoyance
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The convenience store was the only modern building in the area. It was a prefabricated structure, but as the sole building standing tall on the main road, it looked decent enough.

Taeseo, sitting at a parasol table out front, scanned the building before turning to his secretary.

“That’s the place.”

“Yes.”

“This should be within two kilometers of the site, right?”

“Here?”

The secretary pointed toward the text on the convenience store's glass door, his voice tinged with doubt.

A smile spread across the secretary’s face as he read the words [Studio for Rent, 2nd Floor]. He looked relieved, glad he wouldn’t have to struggle to meet his demanding boss’s needs.

“Yes. This should be well within a one-kilometer radius.”

“That’s right. It took us just over ten minutes to drive here,” the driver chimed in.

From where Taeseo sat, it also seemed to be about a kilometer in a straight line from the construction site.

“Go find out the owner’s contact information.”

The moment Taeseo finished speaking, the secretary darted inside the convenience store.

The bell on the door jingled again.

Before the glass door had even closed, a clear, sweet voice reached his ears, saying, “Welcome.” His gaze was involuntarily drawn to the woman behind the glass.

* * *

“Let me show you the room first. Would you follow me this way?”

The woman who had been at the convenience store counter was the one showing Taeseo the second-floor studio. She was the owner’s representative—no, his granddaughter, she had said.

Normally, Taeseo would have had his people handle something as trivial as a room viewing, but this time, he followed the woman himself to inspect the place.

Since nothing in this town seemed up to par, he had to check his own accommodations personally. It was a case of the one in need having to dig the well himself.

“There are three studios on the second floor.”

As they reached the second floor, a straight hallway stretched out before them, lined with three identical gray doors.

“In my opinion, this end unit is the best of the three.”

The woman opened the door on the far right. A room smaller than the bathroom at the Namgyeong main estate was revealed.

“The reason I recommend this one is because it’s a corner unit, so unlike the others, it has two windows.”

Perhaps because tenants were a rare sight, the woman explained the room with a friendlier expression than she’d had at the convenience store.

“There’s one south-facing window and another west-facing one, so if you open them both, you’ll get a nice cross-breeze and good ventilation.”

Taeseo, looking displeased, gestured toward the room on the opposite side.

“What about the end unit over there, not this one?”

“That one?”

“Yeah. If this side faces west, that one must face east. The sunlight should be better over there.”

In truth, his reason had less to do with the sun and more to do with the parasol and table situated right below this room’s window. It seemed the local loafers he’d seen earlier used this convenience store as their personal hangout.

What else was there for the people in this town to do, having sold all their farmland to Namgyeong Group?

It was painfully obvious that the young good-for-nothings would come to the convenience store to waste their time. And to kill two birds with one stone, they’d get to see the pretty part-timer’s face. He would bet his right hand that if he left the window of this room open, he’d be subjected to the constant chatter of those loafers.

“Actually…”

The woman hesitated, looking at Taeseo.

“I’m using that end unit.”

“You’re the owner’s granddaughter, aren’t you?”

The question implied, *Why would the owner’s granddaughter live in a studio like this instead of at home?*

The woman seemed to be quick on the uptake, immediately understanding the unspoken part of his clipped sentence.

“It’s more convenient for me to live here since I work the counter at the convenience store.”

The building was just a prefabricated structure that wouldn't appraise for much.

In three years, once the Namgyeong Golf Resort was completed and a new road was built this way, its value would rise due to its roadside location. But for now, the building’s only income was likely from the first-floor convenience store and the rent. It was understandable that she’d stick close to the store.

“Then give me the middle room.”

Once again, the woman didn’t answer right away.

“Well, the thing is, the second floor was originally commercial space that was illegally converted… so the walls are a bit thin.”

Which meant that noise would travel right through them.

“So you’re saying if some weirdo rents the middle room, both you and I will have to put up with the noise?”

When the woman fidgeted without answering, Taeseo sighed.

“In that case.”

If there had been any other option within a two-kilometer radius, he wouldn’t have rented a studio smaller than a bathroom, but as it stood, he had no other choice.

“I’ll rent both the middle room and this one.”

“What?”

“I despise noise. And you should try to be as quiet as possible.”

He was about to add that she shouldn’t get on his nerves, but the woman cut him off.

“Yes!”

Her face instantly brightened, perhaps out of gratitude for a tenant who rented two studios at once.

He had been about to tell her not to be a nuisance, that he would move out if she got on his nerves. But whether it was her smile that silenced him or the fact that her oblivious, bright expression was already grating on him, Taeseo swallowed his words and turned his head away.

* * *

He rented the two studios using Namgyeong’s corporate card. Each room had a two-million-won deposit and a monthly rent of 300,000 won.

He didn’t know how common people lived, but the total came to a four-million-won deposit and 600,000 won a month. Seeing as his secretary didn’t say anything, it seemed he wasn’t being ripped off.

After finalizing the lease, Hyunwoo handed Taeseo another corporate card. This one had a monthly limit of two million won.

Two million won was barely enough to cover Kwon Taeseo’s bar tab for one night, but he was in a position where he had to take what he could get. He accepted the card and entered the studio with his luggage.

In the meantime, the woman had left the convenience store unattended for about ten minutes to give the studio a thorough dusting. The room, which had been vacant since its completion, showed no signs of wear. That, at least, was to his liking.

A three-compartment sink, a bathroom without a tub, a bed, and a built-in closet—the space was so small that the expression “the size of my palm” felt apt.

The only consolation, if one could call it that, was that the uniform white-tone interior wasn't an eyesore.

He had never stayed in such a shabby building before, but it was far better than the dusty construction site. He figured he could lie low and endure it here for about three months.

Even in Seoul, Taeseo wasn't the diligent type to show up for work every day.

From the moment he was assigned here, he had no intention of ever setting foot on the construction site. His plan was to solve this property holdout issue, or whatever it was, and get the hell out of this town.

Taeseo entered the room, set his suitcase aside, and lay down on the empty bed, which had no bedding. Next to the suitcase were the items his secretary had left for him.

‘When you go to work, you must wear a work jacket, a hard hat, and work boots. This is the first major construction project in this area in a long time, so the local government officials will be conducting frequent inspections. It seems they’re looking for any excuse to nitpick and extort something. As you know, Manager Kwon, your position is what it is, so I ask for your caution for the time being.’

“Manager, my ass.”

A curse slipped through his teeth as he recalled his secretary’s words. Calling him ‘Manager Kwon’ over and over after he’d been demoted from Managing Director to Manager—what was that if not a deliberate attempt to provoke him?

“First my brother, now my secretary… haa…”

His parents were the type to let him do whatever he wanted, as long as he didn't spectacularly screw up and tarnish the family name or obstruct his eldest brother's path.

Though he had lived a life of delinquency, skirting a dangerous line, Taeseo knew exactly which lines not to cross, and he had never crossed them.

This situation was unexpected, but he figured if he just put on a show of working, someone would eventually call him back to Seoul.

Lying on the bed, Taeseo cradled his head with his arms and gazed out the window. A scene completely different from the city unfolded outside.

Unlike the main house, which overlooked the Han River, the window of this second-floor country home only offered a view looking up at the sky.

The summer days were long. Even as it approached 8 PM, the sky was still red, not yet dark. The loud chirping of cicadas echoed emptily.

He realized he hadn’t had a proper meal all day.

His secretary had said there were no decent restaurants in the area and that he should go to the construction site canteen set up on one side of the site for meals.

The canteen, a temporary diner for the construction workers, was open from 7 AM to 7 PM, serving meals at any time, but he had no desire to go there.

“Ah, fuck, why am I so hungry now of all times…”

He went down to the convenience store to grab a snack, but the shelves were empty.

Just then, the woman emerged from the storage room behind the counter, and their eyes met.

“Is there a restaurant nearby?”

“A restaurant?”

The woman repeated his question, blinking a couple of times. Her gaze was as harmless as a gentle animal's. He was only asking for a place to eat, but her innocent look made him feel like a thug trying to intimidate her.

“A place to eat.”

He furrowed his brow and spoke with more force. The woman, startled, answered quickly.

“Oh, yes, there is. If you head toward town, there’s a place called Seongwoo Baekban. It’s a local diner that many of the townspeople go to.”

Taeseo spun around and left the convenience store.

She had such an innocent face, yet somehow, he felt like he had just fled from her.

He got in his car and drove in the direction she had indicated. Less than five minutes later, a single-story building with a shabby sign that read ‘Seongwoo Baekban’ came into view.

The old sign was so worn that it wouldn’t have been surprising if it fell off at any moment. For Taeseo, whose fastidiousness about cleanliness bordered on extreme, the dilapidated restaurant was far from appealing.

“Ha, this is driving me crazy.”

He was contemplating whether to just starve when a cheerful voice rang out from behind him.

“You here for a meal?”