I was holding onto Yoon Bora’s hand, taking in the interior of the building.
“Wow…”
Jinhyang’s building could truly be called a miniature city. It had everything: shopping malls, restaurants, hospitals, and movie theaters. It was at a level where nothing seemed to be missing.
“Is this really a private building?”
Even for a Hunter, could one amass this much wealth? The scale was beyond anything I could imagine.
“Seriously… huh?”
As I looked around, I noticed something odd. Aside from a few administrators, there was no one else in the building.
“But why aren’t there any people here?”
“It’s a legal holiday.”
“Oh, I see.”
I had even forgotten when holidays were. For me, every day was a holiday. Feeling a bit awkward, I scratched the back of my head.
“But why are you showing me around?”
Jinhyang didn’t seem like the type to show off his wealth. There must be a purpose to this tour.
I turned my head to look at Jinhyang. At the same time, Jinhyang looked down at me.
His condescending gaze was intimidating, but I had no choice but to ask.
“By the way, why are we walking around here?”
“I’m training you.”
“Training? What kind of training?”
Is it training so I don’t get lost? The building is vast, but not to the extent where I would get lost. I couldn’t help but feel he was underestimating me.
“From now on, you’ll be the building manager.”
“Huh?”
A building manager? Me? Why? Wasn’t this just a one-month job? Why would I need to manage a building? Managing a building of this size would require considerable expertise, and it didn’t seem like something an inexperienced person like me could handle.
“Building manager?”
“Yes. I originally intended to have you do something else, but I changed my mind.”
“What was it?”
“I was going to use you as a porter, but with your current state, you’d probably break your back just from carrying heavy loads. On the day you encounter monsters, you’d meet a tragic end.”
Indeed. If I had to carry heavy loads with this body, my back would surely snap. Encountering a monster would likely result in my untimely death. Jinhyang had enough reason to abruptly change his plans.
“Still, going from a porter to a manager… it’s like a slave becoming a noble.”
Though it’s just a one-month trial period, it’s quite a shift.
“So what exactly will I be doing?”
“You’ll handle everything that needs to be done. Check on ongoing construction or new tenants, make sure everything is in order, and if there are any troublemakers, you’ll need to evict them.”
Q…
It was indeed the kind of work expected from a building manager. It was also work far beyond my current capabilities. The sophisticated skills Jinhyang was talking about were skills I lacked.
“Do you think you can handle it?”
“No.”
“Is it better for you to just stay here and die?”
“…I’ll do my best to manage somehow.”
Jinhyang nodded in apparent satisfaction with my answer. Truly, she was a crazy and ill-tempered woman.
“Sigh.”
I sighed inwardly. I wasn’t sure how I’d manage, but I hoped I could endure it for a month. Surely, I could make it work.
“By the way, the transportation costs are a problem.”
It took an hour and a half by Yoon Bora’s car to get from my home to Jinhyang’s building. However, Yoon Bora couldn’t drive me every day.
The immediate issue was getting home today.
“How much is transportation these days? Maybe around five thousand won round trip?”
That amounts to one hundred and fifty thousand won in a month. It’s nearly equivalent to my food expenses.
“One hundred and fifty thousand won is quite a lot.”
Expenses inevitably arise with external activities. I had forgotten about that.
“Excuse me…”
“What?”
Could you possibly cover just the transportation costs? I wanted to ask, but I kept my mouth shut. There was no way someone as temperamental as Jinhyang would give me money.
“Ugh.”
“What’s wrong? Why are you sighing?”
“Nothing.”
My hard-earned money. Why do people have to write hateful comments? Still, it’s cheaper than paying a settlement fee. I had no choice but to endure.
As expected.
There was something going on between Harang and Jinhyang.
Yoon Bora had come to this conclusion.
“A porter, huh.”
Porter was a slang term used among hunters. The proper term was “supporter.” In the world of hunters, a supporter was similar to a sports coach or director. Especially if the supporter was someone like Jinhyang. Just the reputation of being Jinhyang’s supporter would get you top-notch treatment in the industry.
The real issue was how someone managed to secure the position of Jinhyang’s supporter.
“The hateful comments were just an excuse.”
The comments were just a pretext to lure Harang. There was something fundamentally more significant.
“What could it be?”
Yoon Bora looked down at Harang. Harang’s expression of disgust didn’t seem too favorable.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, um…”
Harang mumbled and fidgeted with his lips. However, he shook his head without saying anything.
“What’s troubling him?”
It likely wasn’t about the job itself. Managing Jinhyang’s building was a tougher position than working for a large corporation. What could Harang possibly be unhappy about?
Yoon Bora thought for a moment and came up with a hypothesis. It might be related to money. After all, Harang’s worries so far had been financial. Perhaps he was concerned about working a whole month without pay.
“Your sister will pay you a salary.”
A considerable amount, at that. Jinhyang wasn’t the kind of person to treat someone like a slave.
“Don’t worry too much…!”
“Don’t worry too much. Your sister will pay you a salary.”
Yoon Bora almost blurted out this reassurance but swallowed it instead. This might be a prime opportunity to monopolize the girl.
“Is it because of the money?”
“Ah, yes. I don’t even have money for transportation right now…”
Transportation costs. Of course, you would need that to get home right away.
“Besides money, isn’t it tough commuting three hours daily?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Alright. This was a compromise we had to make.
Yoon Bora smiled brightly.
“How about staying at my place and commuting from there?”
“My, my place?”
“Yes!”
It was a mutually satisfying solution.
It was truly an irresistible offer.
In front of Yoon Bora’s house, I couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you said you live with your sister. Isn’t it a bit risky for a man to stay over…?”
“No, it’s not risky at all.”
Yoon Bora’s voice was firm.
Sure, I’m in this state, so it probably isn’t dangerous. Honestly, if something were to happen, I’d be the one at risk. It would be hard to find a weaker adult than me at the moment.
“Ugh.”
Well, that’s that. Being threatening isn’t a good thing anyway. Even when I was a man, I wasn’t particularly intimidating.
So, with that as my consolation, I followed Yoon Bora into the house.
“Wow.”
The walls were adorned with paintings and sculptures whose meanings were unclear. Even though I had only entered the entryway, it was this luxurious. I wondered if it was even okay for someone like me to set foot here.
I thought I had developed some immunity after seeing Jinhyang’s wealth, but clearly not.
It was like the first time I visited New York. My eyes were wide with wonder as I looked around, and from a distance, someone was slowly approaching.
I didn’t expect to use the term “far” inside a house, but it was indeed a considerable distance.
“Did you come?”
A woman who looked like a replica of Yoon Bora approached, rubbing her belly in her underwear.
“Ugh.”
It was rather embarrassing to see a grown woman in such a state. I turned my gaze away.
“Why didn’t you answer the phone? Did you just wake up?”
“Yeah, I stayed up late for the broadcast.”
“I see… but Bora, put on some clothes. We have a guest.”
“Oh?”
I felt the twin’s gazes on me. Although I couldn’t look at them directly.
“What kind of creature is this…?”
Yoon Bora chuckled slightly in response to Bora’s question.
“A creature, huh.”
It seemed like they didn’t even want to consider me as a person.
Considering the 150,000 won transportation cost, it was a bargain, but…
“Being treated like a pet is better than spending money.”
After all, both the job as a building manager and living here were just things I had to endure for a month. I steeled myself and clenched my fists.
“Oops.”
Suddenly, Yoon Bora pushed her hand into my armpit.
“Ah!”
I was a bit surprised and grabbed Yoon Bora’s arm, but—
Whoosh~! She easily lifted me up.
My legs dangled in the air.
Even though I had shrunk, it was astonishing how easily she could lift me. Yoon Bora clearly wasn’t an ordinary person either.
“Who is this baby?”
“…I’m not a baby.”
A baby, huh?
I looked over at Yoon Bora. Please, say something to stop her. Thankfully, Yoon Bora was a considerate woman with a good sense of boundaries.
“Bora, he’s older than us.”
“Huh?”
Yoon Bora’s eyes widened in disbelief, unable to accept that I was older than her.
Of course, I understood. If someone told me that a girl who looked like this was an adult, I wouldn’t believe it either. But that was beside the point.
I had to speak up.
“Um, please put me down.”
“Oh, okay.”
Yoon Bora carefully set me down, looking a bit disappointed.
“Just to make sure, is it okay if I call you ‘sister’?”
“…”
Do as you please.
Sometimes, giving up was the easier option.
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