Chapter 24 – Looking For a House

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Woojin arrived at Sadang at around 11 o’clock. He called his mother to see when she could get off.

“Yes, mother. I’ll see you later.”

After ending the phone call, Woojin looked at Sunggoo.

“We have nothing to do until 3 o’clock. Do you want to go eat something?”

“I’ll be honored. Hyung-nim.”

“Dude. Stop over doing it. ”

“Heh heh, I really am honored. Where should I take you?”

“Mmmm. How about a taste makes me feel like I’ve returned to earth?”

“…….”

He was in trouble. He couldn’t think of any witty words he could reply back with. Before the silence lingered, Sunggoo was barely able to give an answer.

“Hahaha. Should I take you to an organic Korean restaurant? There is a place I know.”

“Mmm. Let’s go there.”

Woojin looked out the window, and he pointed at a specific location. Sunggoo rubbed his eyes when he saw it.

“Over there?”

“Yeah.”

[Kimbab World]

Sunggoo berated himself inside.

‘Now that I’ve touched some money I became wasteful. Hyung-nim is still frugal.’

Woojin and Sunggoo ordered what they wanted to eat after they parked in front of the Kimbab World. Woojin ordered tuna kimbab(TLN: canned tuna) and Ramen. He had a very blissful expression on his face as he savored the food.

‘This. This is it.’

He thought about his old memories, and his 3rd year in high school.

This is what he had tasted at that time. The 20 years as a necromancer was bypassed, and he felt like the 3rd year high school student from earth.

“Hoo-roop.(TLN: noodle slurping sfx) Hyung-nim. Which Dungeon should I look up next?”

“Mmm. Is there something like a monster catalogue out there? It would be better if there was a list where the 1 star and 2 star monsters are ordered by their level.”

“Of course, it exists.”

“Let’s decided after I see that.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll show it to you at the cafe after I organize the information.”

Woojin and Sunggoo headed towards Angel Angel, and they ordered some coffee. Sunggoo glanced at Woojin before he spoke to the barista.

“Is there anything on the menu that represents the earth’s taste? Is there something that’ll make one feel such a sensation??”

At Sunggoo’s question, the barista frowned as if he saw someone with a couple screws loose. Sunggoo turned to look at Woojin, and even Woojin was looking at him strangely.

“You have a weird taste. I want a Cafe Mocha.”

“…….”

After Woojin said those words, he went to take a seat. Sunggoo’s face turned red.

“I would like an Americano and a Cafe Mocha.”

“Yes. That would be $10.”

Sunggoo brought a vibrating coaster and he took a seat. Woojin slyly asked a question.

“The coffee price these days is nothing to scoff at.”

“It’s almost priced the same as lunch.”

Woojin looked around the cafe’s interior. When he came here previously, he had left without ordering anything. He was surprised when the coffee was more expensive than he thought it would be.

Soup and rice is $6. The price was almost the same as a coffee….

It wasn’t as if there weren’t a lot of people here. This large cafe was half full. Woojin indirectly asked a question.

“How much would it cost to set up a store like this?”

“A cafe? I’m not sure. It should be around 1 million dollars?”

He didn’t know how much the rent was, but this cafe was 3 story high. It was a large cafe. Sunggoo was in the dark about such matters, so he guessed at the answer.

‘It would be great if I could set one up for mother.’

The coffee price was expensive, so he thought the business will do well. It looked to be less arduous than working at a restaurant. He made $300,000 today. He could make 1 million dollars if he worked hard for 3 days.

Woojin thought about it in a relaxed manner. If he purchase a house, then he didn’t have anything else he wanted. He’ll continue to attack the Dungeon to level up, and the money would gather by itself.

The money itself was trivial. He just wondered if he should set up a store like this, so his mother could have something to occupy her time in relative comfort.

Pew pew, Pyo-ro-ro-rong..

Woojin sipped the sweet Cafe Mocha, and he focused on his phone game. While he was occupied, Suggoo brought up some data on his tablet PC.

“Hyung-nim. I have it here.”

“Let me see. How do I turn the page on this?”

“It’s the same as a smart phone, hyung-nim.”

Woojin dragged the window to the top of the screen, then he looked at the monster catalogue.

The Rakwis from the 3 star Dungeon and the monsters like Goblin and Kobold from the 2 star Dungeons were also classified by the number of stars.

Monsters with 1~3 stars were classified as low ranked monsters. The monsters were classified as high ranked starting from 4 stars.

The most basic 4 star monster was a troll. Its movement was quick, and it had enough intelligence to use tools. Moreover, they had an abnormal regeneration ability. Still, they weren’t that hard to deal with.

“I heard the 4 star Dungeons and above looks a little bit different. Of course, I’ve personally never been to one.”

The 3 star Dungeon kept the original appearance of a subway station. However, the 4 star Dungeons were basically like stepping into a different world. The entrance just acted as a gate.

“Well, I’ll know once I enter one.”

Woojin eyed all the 4 star level monsters. Then he weighed it against his own level.

‘It’ll be possible if they are at that level.’

There were easy monsters to deal with, but there were also difficult ones too . However, he felt like he would be able to take on monsters as high as 4 stars.

If he wanted to level up, it would probably be better for him to attempt the higher ranked Dungeons early on rather than going for the low ranked Dungeons.

“So who assigns the stars?”

“It is a measured value.”

“What is being measured?”

“The Dungeon Energy.”

“There is such a thing?”

“Yes. Every time a Dungeon is reset, the Dungeon Energy can be measured. Teams read these estimated report to decided if they should attempt a Dungeon or not.”

Woojin nodded his head. The stars weren’t really assigned to the monsters. It was the grade for the Dungeons. The monsters were categorized depending on which ranked Dungeons they spawn the most at.

This is why it wasn’t strange to see a 3 star monster, a Hobgoblin, in the 2 star Dungeon.

“First, I want to see and experience it. Find out more about the 4 star Dungeons.”

“We don’t have to line up starting from the 4 star Dungeons. We can make an appointment. I’ll look up if there are any empty spots in the schedules.”

Woojin learned that the 4 star Dungeons and above were Field type Dungeons. Woojin spent the remaining time listening to Sunggoo’s various explanations.

Woojin and Sunggoo exited the cafe when the appointed time arrived.

“Hyung-nim. I could take care of these small matters for you.”

“No. My mother has to live in the house, so she should see it.”

“Yes, hyung-nim. If you need anything, please give me a call.”

He gave a respectful bow. Woojin nodded his head as he saw Sunggoo walk away.

“I’ve earned a pretty good servant.”

Sunggoo sometimes over did things, but he really liked the affable Sunggoo. He headed towards Soongmi’s restaurant with light steps.

Soongmi was sitting on the counter, and she was immersed in her hand phone game. Even though she was in the midst of setting a high score, she threw her phone down as she suddenly stood up.

“Uh-muh, Oppa. You came? Did you eat?”

“Yeah. I ate..”

“Do you want some coffee?”

“No. I’m heading back out immediately. Where is my mother?”

“Wait a moment. I’ll call for her.”

Soongmi headed inside the kitchen, and she saw Lee-soogyong and the other kitchen ladies busily working since it was lunch time. She was taking care of a stack of dirty dishes.

“Un-muh. Mother. Elder brother Woojin is here. Please hurry up and come out.” (TLN: Lost in translation. But Soongmi is speaking to Woojin’s mom as if she is her mother-in-law)

“O..ok. Ms. Soongmi. Let me finish this up.”

At Lee-soogyong’s awkward exchange, her fellow kitchen ladies made a big fuss about it.

“Ah-whew. Mrs. Lee must be very happy. Your son is making so much money that you are going to look for a house.”

“The way he is making money is like that yankee gentleman, Neil Gates.” (TLN: lol)

“Aigo. That’s right. I’ve heard about him too. His name was Neil or something . I’ve heard he makes a lot of money. Your Wooojin is like him.”

“That’s right. I’m so jealous. If my son was like Woojin, I would have immediately quit this job.”

“Go. Hurry up and go. Your son is waiting for you.”

“I still have to do my share before going.”

At her fellow kitchen ladies’ complements, Lee-joonhyung finished washing the dishes with an shy smile on her face. Since she gained a dependable son, the restaurant work didn’t feel arduous anymore.

“She’ll come out after she finishes what she is doing. Oppa should sit here. It won’t be too long.”

“Ok.”

Soongmi pulled a chair towards him, and he sat. When he saw Soongmi sit across from him, he asked her a question.

“What are you doing?”

“Heh heh, I’m looking at Oppa’s face.”

“Uh-ooh. I feel a bit uncomfortable when something ugly looks at me.”

Soongmi’s face remained gentle even when she heard Woojin’s straightforward comment.

“Oh my. You are still so forceful.”

“Uh-whew. Go make me a cup of cofee.”

“Yes, oppa. If oppa feels uncomfortable then I’ll look at oppa sparingly.”

Now he remembered. He remembered the memories where Soongmi had clung onto him even though he said he didn’t like her. While Woojin was drinking the mixed coffee Soongmi made, his mother came out.

“You are here, son?”

Behind Mrs. Lee-soogyong, the other kitchen ladies followed her out. They acted as if they had come to look at someone else’s precious son. Their gazes made Woojin feel uncomfortable, so he let out a fake cough.

“Huhm. Let’s go.”

“Ok. Why are we going to go look at houses when he don’t have any money?”

With a quiet anticipation, his mother asked the question. Woojin suppress a bitter laugh as he looked at his mother with teary eyes. Well, he guessed it would be ok to go along with this.

“What do you mean we don’t have any money. This was deposited today.”

Woojin showed her the figure on his smart phone. Even though she was secretly filled with anticipation, Lee-soogyong was surprised. When he said he wanted to move to a different house, she thought he had obtained around $5,000.

“Th…th…three hundred thousand dollars?”

At Lee-soogyong’s stuttered words, Soongmi’s eyes turned round, and she also checked the figure. She hadn’t read it wrong.

“Ooh-wah. Jackpot. It’s $380,000! The Roused are the best!”

The Roused made a lot of money. They had heard about how much money the Roused made, but they couldn’t help but be surprised when they saw it with their own eyes. Woojin’s mother, Lee-soogyong, was so surprised that she became tongue-tied.

“Ah-yooh. Mrs. Lee has an excellent son. In a single day, he was able to make couple hundred thousand.”

“Haigo. Who cares about that Neil or whatever. Eeeeng. She won’t even have to envy Mahnsook.”

“Who the heck is Mahnsook?”

“Ah, you know about them. The person who sells gas at the snobby large neighborhood

“Eeeng. I heard about him. Ms Kim is so knowledgeable.”

“Ho ho ho. Mrs. Lee has been holding back until now! You said he had come back after playing some game, and you were worried about him.”

“Quitting your job is the least you can do. You could open up your own restaurant.”

“If Mrs. Lee opens up a restaurant, then you can count on me. I’ll go there to work for you.”

Lee-soogyong came to her senses when she heard her fellow employees prattle on.

“W…Woojin?”

“Let’s go see some houses?”

Woojin laughed when he looked at her.

*

Woojin escorted his mother to look around several houses as a real estate agent guided them. His mother’s had a blissful expression on her face as if she was in a dream, and she liked every house we went to.

There were too many houses she liked, so she was having a hard time choosing one. These houses were much better than the one room, and they were even better than the house they had lived in before his disappearance.

At the time, they wouldn’t have been able to buy houses like these with just $300,000.

As they were choosing a house, they came across a problem from an unexpected place.

“Hoong. I don’t like this house.”

The kindergarten had ended, so Sooah had come to join in their search for a house. However, she acted like a petulant kid as she threw a tantrum at every house they visited.

“Why don’t you like this house, Sooah?”

“We can’t have a dog in this house. Mom promised me. If we move to a new house, she’ll let me have a dog.”

“Uh-muh. This kid.”

About a half a year ago, Sooah wanted a dog. However, their residence was too small to have a dog, so Lee-soogyong had promised she would get Sooah one the next time they moved.

A long time had passed yet Sooah remembered it. When she looked at Sooah, she had on an obstinate face.

Woojin thought Sooah’s antics were cute, so he let out a delighted laugh. Then he spoke to the real estate agent.

“I guess an apartment is out of the question. Can we only look at the houses?”

“Of course. However, the price is a little…Hahah.”

“Well, let’s see it first.”

Amongst the couple houses on the market, they were able to find a house where everyone liked it.

“Oh wow! This house is great”

Sooah jumped around in joy. It was a 2 story house with a small backyard. After the Sadahng station’s Dungeon Break, a new rural housing development had formed on the newly available land.

When the monsters rampaged, many apartments had collapsed. So it was common place to prefer a single home near the stations.

“I’ll buy this house.”

Woojin made a straightforward decision, but the real estate agent had a difficult expression on his face.

“This house was put on the market for a quick sale, so it is priced below the market price. However, it still costs $603,000. The price difference between what you had specified is quite large…….”

“It’s ok. I’ll sign the contract.”

“Then let us return to the office.”

The real estate agent called the owner, so they would be able to meet each other at the the office. Woojin gave a call to Sunggoo.

“Hey, Sunggoo. I’m trying to buy a house, but I’m a little bit short. Lend me some money.”

[…….]

The worst sin is taking back something after you gave it to the other person…..

[Well, hyung-nim. I was about to buy something, and I’m about to sign a contract…….]

“Does that mean you don’t want to lend me the money?”

[No. It would be my honor to be able to lend my money to hyung-nim.]

Woojin smirked.

“When we complete the next Dungeon, I’ll pay it back with interest.”

[Thank you. Hyung-nim.]

He was able to solve the problem of the money shortage cleanly. Woojin headed towards the real agent’s office.