After going back into the office, I told the man the place was in the building across the street and guided him over. We got into the elevator and pressed the sixth floor.
“The building looks pretty new. Is the landlord a good person?”
“Yes. He’ll probably treat you well, at least.”
“By the way… haven’t we met somewhere before?”
“Me? I’m not sure…….”
I briefly tried to recall the past, but the man only smiled.
Ding—.
We arrived at the sixth floor. It looked like the space had originally been divided into two offices, with separate doors. Both sides were locked, and just as I was about to contact Juni, he came down through the emergency stairs.
“This is the person looking for a studio.”
“Yes. This way.”
The atmosphere felt strange, but I could tell—the man I brought didn’t look at Juni in an ordinary way either.
It was their first time meeting today as client and landlord, yet the mood was so friendly it felt like I wasn’t even needed. Juni even said they could remove the partitioned doors and use the space freely, and generously offered to extend the lease period however they wanted.
I wanted to step in and mediate, but every time I tried to say something, either the client asked first or Juni handled it himself. Standing in the middle started to feel pointless, so I just lingered near the entrance.
If you’re going to laugh and chat like that, let’s just go write the contract already.
I just wanted to finish the paperwork and get my commission. I didn’t want to stand there being treated like a ghost between the two of them. So I pretended to read the flyers stuck on the door, deciding what to eat for lunch.
“Let’s go with this place.”
Yeah, you sure took your time saying that.
“Really? Then let’s head down and write the contract.”
“Let’s go.”
At some point, the client had even started lightly touching Juni’s arm, looking like an inseparable friend. The three of us got into the elevator together—I was squished into the back corner while the two of them stood at the front, chatting and smiling at each other.
Same height, both well-built. Good-looking guys really did flock together—it felt like they lived in a completely different world. They got off first, and I stepped out a beat late, nearly getting caught in the closing doors.
Even while I was almost risking my life, the two of them were already far ahead, striding away on their long legs. I hurried after them, unlocked the office, and went inside.
“Hmm. It definitely smells nicer with the diffuser.”
Sitting on the sofa, Juni looked around. When he noticed the large-capacity diffuser, he smirked like he’d expected it.
But no matter how much I smelled it, it wasn’t the scent of the diffuser I’d bought before. I wanted to correct him—it wasn’t the diffuser, it was the client’s perfume sitting right next to him. It felt unfair that he assumed such a strong scent came from that bottle alone.
“Here, please check the contract.”
I hurriedly prepared the documents and placed them on the table in front of them. These days, contracts were mostly done with signatures anyway. As they took out their IDs, I saw the new tenant’s age—28. The same as me.
“You look young. Is it okay if I just call you by your name?”
“Honestly, I’m not into calling people hyung either. Just speak comfortably. I’m Juni.”
Somehow they’d already dropped formal speech. They didn’t look like landlord and tenant anymore—more like close friends. No… honestly, more like lovers. The way they subtly touched each other’s bodies was… a bit…
Well, as long as I get my commission, my job’s done.
Still, since I’d closed a deal today, I felt excited thinking about ordering a Chinese set meal and sharing it with the hardware shop owner next door.
“Let’s go get lunch.”
“Sure. Boss, you should come with us too.”
“Me too?”
If the two of them were getting along, that was enough—I didn’t see the point in wedging myself between them, so I waved my hands, declining. But the client hooked his arm around mine anyway. Free food sounded nice, but I hated being stuck between them. It was a bit early for lunch, yet since I’d skipped breakfast, I was tempted.
“Yoo Du. Where’s a good brunch place around here?”
“……Wouldn’t Seomun Jun know better than me? I’ve only had this office for three months.”
“You’re in real estate and don’t know?”
What, did working in real estate mean I had to know every local restaurant too? First asking me to track someone by phone number, now expecting me to know the neighborhood better than a lifelong local.
“Juni, seriously.”
The client tried to hold back a laugh while asking. And I remembered his name from the contract earlier.
Namgung Bin.
Just like Seomun Jun, he had a two-syllable surname. Truly birds of a feather. I took out a business card and handed one to Bin.
“Juni, why do you call the boss here ‘Yoo Du’ instead of his full name?”
Sitting beside him, Bin asked that, and Juni leaned close to his ear and whispered something. I could more or less guess what he said—something sexual.
Bin let out a small laugh, trying to hide it. Juni glanced at me, noticing my discomfort, and then grinned even more slyly.
Why stop there? Just call me “Nipple” outright.
Back in school, my friends teased me endlessly because of my name. I’d seriously considered changing it, but my late grandfather had gone to a naming house to pick it, so I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It felt like I’d be disrespecting his effort. I’d already endured all that teasing during my school days, so it didn’t really bother me anymore.
Yeah. They’re just immature idiots.
“Anyway, I’ll pass. You two go ahead and eat. I need to step out for a bit.”
“Then should we just order at my place?”
“At your place? Are you serious?”
Bin and Juni stared at each other intensely. It wasn’t that I had prejudice against gay people, but… when anyone flirted that openly, even straight couples looked cringeworthy. I just wanted them out of my office.
“Well then, enjoy your meal.”
I hurriedly pretended to tidy something up and tried to leave. The two of them whispered to each other and stood up as well, then naturally disappeared toward the building across the street.
Ah. Isn’t this actually good news?
Suddenly it occurred to me—if someone was keeping Juni’s attention, maybe he’d stop caring about tracking down my in-game self. It was a little disappointing that I might not get those three-million-won items, but everything came with a price. Quietly making a modest living like this was the wiser choice.
“Take care, ShutUp.”
Muttering that, I headed into the hardware store next door.
“Boss, you haven’t had lunch yet, right?”
“Oh, you’re here?”
Usually, first-floor spaces were too expensive in lease premium to run a hardware shop. But this owner seemed to have a personal connection with the landlord of this building, since he’d kept the old rent for years. In return, whenever the building needed small repairs, he handled them for free.
Today he was fixing some kind of air purifier. When I asked about it, he said the nearby senior center had brought it in and he’d fix what he could before returning it.
“Boss, come eat a sweet-and-sour pork set with me at my office.”
“Looks like you closed a deal?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
The hardware shop owner put down his tools, apparently tired, and followed me out. But in front of the shop, a female customer was looking through the items laid out.
“Are you looking for something?”
“Ah, my sink’s been leaking slowly. Even when I tighten it, it still drips.”
The owner, who had followed me out, listened to our conversation and brought out a rubber packing from somewhere. He explained where to insert it, but the customer tilted her head, still confused.
“Ah! Aren’t you from the shop next door?”
Her face looked oddly familiar. I felt like I’d seen her recently… and then it clicked.
“Are you the owner of the clothing shop next door?”
“Oh my, yes.”
I remembered seeing her once or twice while going to the fast-food place. As we talked, the hardware shop owner, who’d been quietly holding the rubber packing, said, “Hmm……” and started speaking.
“If it’s right next door, maybe I should come take a look myself.”
“That would be amazing. I’ll buy lunch then.”
I told her we’d already ordered and asked if she wanted to join us at the real estate office next door.
The three of us walked over to the clothing shop. The sink problem turned out to be something very simple to fix, though for someone who didn’t know, it would’ve been stressful.
After finishing the repair faster than expected, we moved back to my office for lunch. The Chinese food had arrived just in time, and as we opened the containers, we started chatting about this and that.
“Seriously, these days everyone buys online. I’m honestly thinking of closing the ground-floor shop and just running an online store.”
“Real estate’s the same. Lots of people do direct deals online now…….”
“You two have it better. I get more people asking me to fix stuff than actual hardware customers. Today someone even brought me an air purifier or something.”
That was the nice thing about knowing neighboring shop owners—it made things easier. Over lunch, we shared each other’s struggles. Someone said it was a shame it wasn’t evening, or we could’ve ordered some strong Chinese liquor too. We ended up agreeing to grab drinks together next time.
“But isn’t the landlord across the street seriously annoying?”
Hyesun, the clothing shop owner, said exactly what I’d been thinking. I could understand why I felt that way since he always parked in front of my office, but I couldn’t figure out why she thought so, so I asked.
“One time I was cleaning my shop window and a sports car stopped in front of the real estate office. The guy getting out looked really handsome, so I just glanced over. But the moment he got out, he started picking a fight, asking what I was staring at. I mean, all I did was look, and he totally humiliated me.”
“His personality’s something else. He’s always been like that.”
“Tsk tsk.”
Since I knew better than anyone what he was like, I grabbed a fried dumpling and bit into it roughly. The hardware shop owner, who’d probably experienced even more, just sighed.
It felt strangely satisfying to gossip about someone for once. I almost wanted to close the office and order that chinese liquor right then. Maybe Hyesun’s elegant image had just been a first impression—once she got talking, the conversation flowed easily even if I just nodded along.
Even after finishing his food, the hardware shop owner stayed seated, arms crossed, chuckling to himself. Our lunch finally ended well past one o’clock. The senior center called midway, nagging about whether the repair was done yet, and the owner grumbled as he stood up.
“Next time, I’ll treat. Thanks for the meal.”
“I should get going too. I have to pack some orders for delivery.”
“Okay. See you next time.”
Even after they left, I kept the door wide open instead of closing it. I wanted to air the place out. Maybe because someone had said the office smelled yesterday, I found myself paying extra attention to it.
