“This way.”
After walking a short distance while exchanging light conversation with her, we arrived in front of the building that had a unit available.
However… while the exterior looked decent enough, the interior clearly showed signs of wear. Honestly, it wasn’t great, but it didn’t feel right to say that outright.
Even if a place isn’t that good to begin with, you’re supposed to fluff it up a bit and highlight only the advantages—but the first thing I saw upon entering was a dead spider. As I recoiled in horror, she stepped in and removed it for me instead. The sunlight barely came in, and aside from the full-option amenities, everything else was underwhelming. Apparently she felt the same, because after giving it a half-hearted glance, she said she’d seen enough and stepped outside first.
“Sir. Um, does that building over there have any available units?”
We were walking side by side on the way back when she suddenly pointed toward a certain building.
At a glance, it was clearly a newly built officetel.
And I knew that building well.
Back then, at a real estate gathering, I’d heard that some fresh-faced kid owned an entire officetel building, and I’d made a mental note to look into it. That was the one. The problem was, I had no idea how many units were still vacant. There had been steady transactions, but whether there was a management office handling it, I didn’t know. It didn’t show up on the usual information networks.
“Hmm… I think I’d have to check on that one.”
“I know someone who lives there, and they said the owner’s pretty cool and nice. So I was wondering if there weren’t any available units.”
“The owner’s cool?”
Cool? More like cold and frosty. If that was what people meant by cool, everyone would’ve frozen to death by now.
Then again, maybe he treated paying tenants well. From the way she spoke, it seemed she’d even been inside and was gazing at the officetel with regret. For now, I handed her my business card and told her I’d look into it and get back to her. Then I saw her off.
As I was standing in front of the office door waving goodbye, I spotted Juni just as he was opening his car door to get in. She, too, paused and stared back and forth between him and the car.
“E-Excuse me!”
At my urgent call, Juni straightened up from where he had been about to get into the car.
“Juni! Could we talk for a moment…?”
Instead of his usual hoodie and tracksuit, he was wearing a jacket and looked neatly dressed. Without a word, Juni shut the car door with a thud! and walked toward me. The woody scent I’d caught inside his car earlier wafted toward me again. I led him into the office and sat primly across from him.
“What.”
The moment he dropped onto the sofa, he asked for the point. I was about to offer him a drink but decided to get straight to it instead.
“Um… that officetel building at the intersection—it’s yours too, right?”
“And?”
“If you have any vacant units, how about renting them out monthly? I have a client who’s looking.”
“Woman or man?”
“Pardon?”
He seemed to be asking whether the person looking for a place was female or male. Most landlords preferred women, citing that they decorated nicely and kept things clean.
“She’s a woman.”
“Pass.”
So I answered confidently that she was a woman, but he replied curtly and coldly stood up.
“Huh? Why?”
I was dumbfounded. Normally, you’d ask when they could move in, how much the deposit and rent would be, whether they had pets—that sort of thing. But this guy asked the gender and, upon hearing “woman,” rejected it on the spot.
“Why are you saying pass…?”
“My call.”
Ah… right. This was the kind of guy he was.
Feeling a strange sense of stubbornness rise up in me, I asked if that meant I could show it to male clients instead. He cut me off cleanly with this:
“Twenties to thirties. I don’t want anyone older than that. And if they’re not decent-looking, I don’t want them.”
“What does that have to do with monthly rent…?”
“I just don’t want to deal with other types.”
“This isn’t normal… I’m confused.”
After checking his wristwatch, Juni seemed to decide the conversation was over and got up from the sofa.
As the sound of his jacket brushing against the leather sofa reached my ears, I stood up as well, my mind in complete chaos. Following him toward the door, I rapidly fired off questions—“So men in their twenties or thirties are okay?”, “Which floors are vacant?”, “Can they view the units anytime?”
He flung open the office door, then turned around and pointed at my mouth.
“Hey. Big Mouth. One at a time. Ask one at a time.”
Big Mouth?
At a moment when I should’ve been offended, my thoughts overlapped with something else, and I just stared blankly. The reason that word stuck with me was because I’d saved ShutUp’s number under [Big Mouth].
When I didn’t respond, he crossed his arms and answered in short, clipped replies before turning and leaving. Afraid I’d forget, I hurried over to the PC and typed out a memo.
[Unit 401, 508… 1302 vacant, password. Both 0223… Entrance door is…]
That was as far as I got. I could just ask about the entrance again later. Or check with the security office. Still, I felt good about having a new listing. Regardless, even judging by the exterior alone, the building looked excellent.
But separate from that, something tugged at the back of my head. It was sending some kind of strong signal. Like I was missing something important. After pondering for a moment, I smacked my palm against my hand.
“Ah, right! That bastard switched to informal speech with me during our conversation!”
I’d overlooked it because there hadn’t been time to feel offended. Yes, that must’ve been why I felt uneasy.
Once Juni’s car disappeared, the front of the office felt wide open. I could see passersby more clearly. Maybe that was why another walk-in customer came in, and I managed to close the contract on the studio apartment that the earlier female client had disliked—spider and all.
***
“Ah, I wish every day were like today.”
In the evening, feeling it had been a rewarding day, I boarded the bus home. As luck would have it, a seat opened up. Humming quietly to myself, I gazed out the window. Then my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a message from ShutUp.
[When are you coming? My gauge is full]
Gasp! What should I do?
Two bus stops passed while I agonized over how to reply.
“Ah, what should I say?”
If I hadn’t received the Relax skill, I could’ve just brazened it out. But after receiving such an expensive item, it was practically betrayal. On top of that, I’d left yesterday without even linking, so ShutUp’s PG must’ve piled up quite a bit.
In the end, I decided I had no choice but to lie.
[Sorry. I got off work late, so I can’t log in]
The moment I sent it, a reply came back instantly.
[Call me when you’re done]
I’d thought he’d let it slide, but ShutUp clung on persistently.
“Men who are too clingy aren’t popular. He has no idea.”
I muttered while staring at my phone, when I felt someone’s gaze on me. I glanced sideways and saw an elderly man staring down at me with flat, flounder-like eyes.
“Sir, please take this seat.”
It wasn’t a priority seat, but once our eyes met, it was hard to ignore him. The old man sat down as if it were only natural and cleared his throat. Looking behind him, I saw that the bus was already full. Since I only had a few stops left anyway, I just stood in front of him.
Then my phone vibrated again. I thought it was another message and left it alone, but when it kept buzzing, I realized it must be a call. It was my stop, so I ignored it and got off the bus. Only then did the phone go silent.
[Big Mouth] Missed Call
Sure enough, under missed calls, it said [Big Mouth]. I wondered what lie I should tell, then decided I’d just shut my eyes and ignore it.
It’s not like I could spend 100,000 won on a paid item just to satisfy ShutUp’s Big Mouth. PG would decrease somewhat after a few hours anyway. I should probably suggest he take a break from hunting.
But there was something this newbie, who had just started Blood Planet, didn’t know…
In Blood Planet, where PK ran rampant, abilities weren’t used solely for monster hunting. If someone nearby picked a fight, you had to respond. And if your PG or GG was depleted during PK and you entered Faint Mode, the user would be forcibly logged out—but the character would remain behind and get ganged up on.
And that leisurely, fulfilling evening.
I had no idea something would explode.
***
As soon as I got home, I showered and was lazily watching TV. I was considering renting a movie for once and had just picked up the remote when the phone beside me rang.
It was a call from Han-woo.
“Yeah. What’s up?”
I answered while staring at the TV screen, browsing newly released movies. A large batch of highly rated films had just been updated. Oh, that looks good, I thought, choosing one and about to press the payment button when Han-woo mentioned ShutUp.
I’d been half-listening until I went, “What?” and asked him to repeat it.
[No, ShutUp got into it with some ranked player! But hey, did you play the game at dawn today?]
“…At dawn?”
A chill ran down my spine. The only thing I’d done at dawn was get carried by some weirdo and link with him…
[Since it’s S-rankers doing PK, people are going crazy saying let’s go watch. Hey, but why is your name popping up in global shout and everyone’s snickering?]
“Ah, fuck. Shit!”
[Don’t tell me you linked with someone else too? I think ShutUp’s seriously pissed because of that.]
Han-woo said he was going to watch and hung up. Sure enough, messages from ShutUp began pouring in.
[Get in here now ― 19:31]
[Come in before I leak your number as a guy who only links with men ― 19:32]
I whipped my head toward the ceiling as if someone had installed a camera in my house. Of course that wasn’t it… He must’ve talked everything over with Moment.
[10 minutes ― 19:33]
If the number I’d messaged ShutUp from had been my real estate business line, I could’ve told him to leak it and simply gotten a new one. But the number I’d used with him was my personal one.
I don’t know why I lost my mind back then and added ShutUp using my personal number. If I changed it, I’d have to update my bank information and notify my mom and acquaintances—it would be a mess. Stupidly, I’d been messaging him with my usual number… I raked a hand through my hair, then calmly sent a reply.
[I fainted so I can’t log in ㅠ ― 19:36]
[6 minutes ― 19:37]
“Ah! What the hell am I supposed to do?!”
I have real-life friends on Blood Planet. Maybe even relatives or acquaintances. I’ve used this number for over ten years. I had to stop my personal number from being exposed.
So I had no choice but to buy the 100,000-won paid item and log in. As I pressed the payment button, I hesitated so much that one second felt like a full minute.
[Buying the paid item right now, wait ― 19:41]
[1 minute ― 19:42]
The moment I purchased the paid item, I used it from the character login screen. Instantly, the remaining wait time was wiped clean, and the login button became active.
