Chapter 6. Who's the Sucker? (1)
After leaving the bank, I headed straight for Mullae-dong.
Old factories stood side by side with brand-new apartment buildings, creating a strange landscape where the past and present mixed together.
I crossed through those alleys and opened the door to Daebak Realty, the real estate agency I had already chosen in advance.
An old man was sitting inside, watching TV while drinking instant coffee.
People called him the ghost of Mullae-dong real estate.
He gave me a lazy glance before turning his attention back to the TV.
“We don't deal with studio apartments. Try the place next door.”
He was kicking me out before I'd even introduced myself.
Maybe he had a supernatural eye for land, but when it came to judging people, he seemed worse than the dog next door.
Whatever.
I ignored him, walked over to the sofa, sat right in the middle, and crossed my legs.
“I'm not looking for a studio apartment. I'm here to buy a building.”
“...A building?”
The old man snorted and played with the remote.
“You have the money? Properties around here start at one or two billion won.”
“I'm not talking about something that small. The old Daeyoung Precision site. That's on the market, isn't it? Looks like they listed it exclusively with this agency.”
The moment I mentioned the exact company name, the old man's white eyebrows twitched.
He still clearly didn't believe me.
“That place won't sell for less than fifty million won per pyeong. You know that, right?”
Fifty million won per pyeong.
At 250 pyeong, that was 12.5 billion won.
I'd have to pour almost all my lottery winnings into it.
But I had absolutely no intention of doing that.
I had personally analyzed this land three years ago as a potential site for Seongun Group's fashion outlet.
Another building owner had interfered, so the company eventually chose somewhere else.
But at one point, the asking price had already dropped as low as eight billion won.
“Sir, you don't even offer a customer a glass of water?”
I stared directly at the grumpy old man and deliberately put on the most arrogant expression I could manage.
This was a battle of nerves.
My confident attitude made him flinch.
“These days, everything's self-service...”
The real estate owner had picked a fight he couldn't win.
A thirsty person couldn't talk.
And the person desperate to hear something wasn't me.
It was him.
“I have plenty to say, but my throat's too dry.”
“Ugh...”
The old man pursed his lips, then slowly got up and headed toward the refrigerator.
“What is this?”
“Cassia seed tea. Why? Can't drink anything unless it's bottled water?”
“Of course I can. Give it here. I'll pour it myself.”
I deliberately acted even more relaxed as I poured some into a paper cup.
“Ahem. Now tell me. Have you looked into loans?”
“No. If the property checks out, I can buy it without a loan. If you don't believe me, I can show you my bank account.”
Had he learned mind reading?
The old man stared into my eyes for a long moment before answering.
“I'll believe you have money after the brokerage fee lands in my account. Until then, I won't believe anything I see.”
He said that, but his eyes were fixed on my hands.
“Really? Then let's speed things up. No point wasting each other's time.”
I opened my banking app, displayed my balance, and placed the phone where he could clearly see it.
Didn't believe anything he saw?
Then why were his pupils suddenly getting bigger?
The expression that had treated me like some random salesman disappeared instantly.
Now there was nothing but greed on his face.
Aside from his reputation for understanding land, there was absolutely nothing I liked about this man.
“Ahem... How may I help you, sir?”
I hadn't even been trying to make him speak politely.
Apparently, cash really did have power.
“I want to meet the owner of the Daeyoung Precision building. If there are no problems, I'll sign the contract today.”
“Right away? Have you inspected the building carefully?”
“I've been interested in it for a long time. Why? Is there a problem with the building?”
“...N-No. Of course not! I've worked in this neighborhood for years. Hahaha. Just wait a moment. The owner lives nearby, so he'll be here quickly.”
“Really? Then while I'm waiting, I'll look over the documents related to the Daeyoung Precision property. You have them ready, right?”
“Of course. I may be old, but I handle my work properly. Hahaha.”
He was laughing out loud now.
He pulled a thick file from a shelf and handed it to me before slipping out through the back door.
Apparently, he wanted to discuss something where I couldn't hear him.
Maybe he was already celebrating because a young, rich sucker had walked in.
Don't drink the kimchi soup too quickly, old man.
You could choke on it.
Once the fox-like old man disappeared, I turned my attention to the table.
Property registration certificate.
Building register.
Land register.
Cadastral map.
I looked over the thick stack of documents he had given me and opened the diary app.
Let's see what happens.
Time to taste some future misery.
Holding the papers in my hands, I stared at them and wrote a fake diary entry.
[Monday, March 9.
I bought the Daeyoung Precision building.
I paid the full 12.5 billion won the owner asked for.
It took every won I had, but I don't regret it at all.
The Daeyoung Precision site will definitely become a golden piece of land that completely changes my life.]
Even I thought it made me sound like a complete sucker.
About five seconds passed after I saved it.
My smartphone suddenly vibrated several times in a row.
Three diary entries had appeared.
I started with the nearest date among the red entries.
[Friday, May 15.
I'm screwed.
Completely screwed.
The demolition work had barely begun when the excavator operator started shouting.
Black waste oil suddenly sprayed out like a fountain.
There was a buried waste-oil storage tank underground...]
My suspicion became certainty.
There was something that had bothered me when I inspected the factory.
Despite the building being abandoned for a long time, the soil around the factory was strangely clean.
Not a single weed had grown.
The second diary entry was dated one week later.
[Friday, May 22.
Ha... I'm seriously ruined.
The district office issued a stop-work order.
Five hundred million won just to clean the contaminated soil?
And now the retaining wall might collapse because of ground subsidence.
Those damned old bastards...]
What an incredible little monster this app was.
The corners of my mouth twitched as I opened the third entry.
This was the final weapon that would crush the price.
[August 1.
I'm ruined.
Completely ruined.
A lawsuit? What a joke.
The owner already fled to the United States.
My lawyer says I should give up.
I bought 12.5 billion won worth of garbage.
Why the hell did I do something this insane?
I've never seen a bigger sucker than myself.
I wonder how cold the Han River is...]
Sorry, future me.
You didn't really make that mistake.
I deliberately created it for a test.
I deleted the fake diary entry.
The future records disappeared along with it.
But the despair of my future self still lingered in my mind.
Just remembering it made me grind my teeth hard enough to need implants.
The man was known as the ghost of Mullae-dong real estate.
And he didn't know about this?
On top of that, the building owner was already preparing to run off to the United States?
There was no way I could behave like a gentleman after learning something like this.
At that same time, inside Seongun Group's Commercial District Analysis Team.
Deputy Manager Kim Seokhun, who had been fuming all day, called Assistant Manager Park Jongil over.
“Hey! Assistant Manager Park!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Where's Manager Kang?”
“I don't know. Other than a short call saying he was going to the bank, I haven't heard anything.”
“Nothing else?”
“No.”
“Ha... That bastard. Even if he's on leave, how can he ignore calls from the company?”
Park Jongil lowered his head even though he hadn't done anything wrong, taking the blame in Jinhyeok's place.
“Did he say anything about winning the lottery?”
“The lottery? ...Ah, no, sir. Hahaha. Nothing like that.”
“Of course not. A guy with no luck like him would never get that kind of fortune.”
Seokhun kept probing Jongil throughout the day.
He had no choice.
If Jinhyeok's crazy message was actually true, Seokhun felt like he might lose his own mind.
“Then what is it? A guy who can't even get married because he's helping repay his father's debt, living in a rooftop room... Why would he need to go to the bank? Did he become unable to pay rent? Another loan?”
As he imagined the worst possible situation for Jinhyeok, Seokhun's expression actually became brighter.
Jongil lowered his head as he watched him.
“No, I don't think it's anything like that...”
“What do you mean, it's not? That's probably why he isn't answering the phone. He's embarrassed.”
Kim Seokhun's voice was filled with certainty.
So he's completely broke this time, huh?
Thinking about it that way, Seokhun began to understand why Jinhyeok had made such a fuss over 5,000 won and why his mental state had seemed to collapse after the pay cut.
Jongil scratched his head as he watched Seokhun's smug smile.
He didn't think Kim Seokhun was right.
Even if Jinhyeok hadn't won the lottery, his voice had sounded extremely cheerful, like someone who was excited about something.
Unlike Park Jongil, Seokhun was completely satisfied with the conclusion he had created for himself.
He leaned back in his chair and chuckled.
“Hehehe. Now I finally understand why he made such a scene. Hehehehe.”
After laughing for a while, Seokhun looked up at Jongil.
“Forget that for now. You know the Mullae-dong commercial district analysis report, right? The one Manager Kang wrote.”
“What? Mullae-dong?”
“Yeah. The documents from when we were selecting the site for the fashion outlet about three years ago. Find them on the server and email them to me.”
Not long ago, Seokhun had received a new task from the head of the Integrated Development Division.
Find a site in Mullae-dong 3-ga for an enormous mixed-use shopping mall.
It was a ridiculous request.
The area's transportation wasn't particularly convenient, and it didn't have a strong consumer base.
More importantly, Mullae-dong 3-ga was filled with metalworking shops.
There wasn't even a suitable piece of land.
But the person who had given the order was known as one of the founding contributors of Seongun Group.
When Director Baek Kangjin arrived at Seongun Development one year ago instead of becoming president, some people had whispered that it was practically a demotion.
Even so, he was still one of the people closest to power.
His first moves after taking the position made that obvious.
The timing had been far too perfect to call coincidence.
Only one day after Baek Kangjin arrived at Seongun Development, the president's embezzlement was exposed.
A year had passed since then.
The president position remained empty.
There were countless rumors about why.
The most believable one was that people were afraid of Baek Kangjin.
Nobody wanted to sit above him.
And that wasn't all.
Saying the company needed innovation, the director transferred all four team leaders to other affiliates.
Because of that, none of the four teams under the Integrated Development Division had a department head.
Seokhun had to look good in front of him.
It wasn't just about his upcoming promotion to department head.
Considering the director's age, he probably had five years left at most.
If Seokhun endured those five years while giving the man everything he wanted, he might even inherit his position someday.
Seokhun couldn't simply submit a report declaring the area unsuitable.
So he opened the analysis Jinhyeok had prepared three years earlier.
It had been written for selecting a fashion outlet site.
Inside were clear reasons the area was unsuitable, along with possible solutions.
He may not listen to orders, but he's damn good at analysis. This should be enough.
Even after three years, the report was flawless.
There was almost nothing to criticize.
Seokhun smiled in satisfaction and began typing.
He changed the words "fashion outlet" to "mixed-use shopping mall."
Then he replaced the author's name with his own.
He didn't feel guilty.
It wasn't the first time.
A subordinate's achievements belonged to the team leader anyway.
That was how Seokhun had always lived.
Screech!
An old Equus stopped in front of the real estate office.
A white-haired gentleman stepped out.
The real estate owner practically ran barefoot to drag him inside.
Now that I knew the truth, the old broker was irritating beyond belief.
“Sir! This is the buyer.”
The elderly gentleman examined me with strict eyes.
“That young fellow? He's buying my land?”
I looked up at him with a slightly cold expression.
I knew his situation well.
He planned to sell the land and flee to the United States.
He needed to get rid of this troublesome property as quickly as possible.
So this expression of someone who had nothing to lose was just an act designed to squeeze a little more money out of me.
“There's no need to test me. Let's get straight to the point. I'm a busy person.”
My answer showed no hesitation.
The old man's eyebrow twitched.
“12.5 billion won. I won't reduce it by even ten won.”
His voice was firm.
Did I really look like a sucker?
I calmly drank my cassia seed tea and asked,
“Sir, why don't you sit down first?”
“Why? More expensive than you expected? That's the market price around here! If you're not buying, stop wasting my time! There are people lined up to buy it. I can't stand young people acting arrogant just because they touched a little money. Are you buying or not?”
I almost laughed from disbelief.
People were lined up to buy it?
Then sell it to them.
He was confidently using a lie that wouldn't even fool an elementary school student.
All right.
Time to begin.
I loaded my mind with the future information from the diary app and the professional knowledge I had gained at Seongun.
“12.5 billion won... It must be an incredible location.”
“Of course! I've run a factory there for fifty years. The structure is strong, and it's on a four-way intersection. It's the best location you could ask for!”
“A prime location...”
I gave a bitter smile and tapped the cadastral map on the table with my finger.
“Sir, you must be a messy eater.”
“What? What nonsense are you suddenly...?”
“You spilled quite a lot of the oil you've been living on for fifty years. So much that the ground underneath the property is soaked in it.”
The old man's long white eyebrows twitched again.
Don't be too surprised.
The negotiation was only beginning.
