By Zephyria Choi Gyeoul changed into comfortable training clothes. Today’s presentation ended successfully. It was a natural result since I was confident in the project myself. I didn’t bother being humble in the face of such things. No matter how virtuous humility might be, what could I do when I had produced results that were flawless no matter where they were presented?
Buzz. A vibration sound was heard. I picked up the phone that was on the table. There were so many people who might call that it was hard to guess.
[Sparkling Real Estate Agent]
Ah, right.
I had left a message a little while ago because there was a good property. I answered the phone without hesitation. After all, I didn’t have any appointments scheduled right now, and Yi-tae would be late. The thought suddenly occurred to me that I wanted to go see it right away.
“Yes, hello.”
“Hello. This is Sparkling Real Estate. Are you Choi Gyeoul, who wanted to see the officetel?”
“That’s right. What can I do for you?”
“The owner said you can visit anytime, so I’m calling to ask when you’d like to schedule an appointment.”
“Then, is today possible?”
“Yes. I have the house’s password. Uh… after 7 PM would be fine. Since it’s empty now, it’s possible until late.”
I checked the time. It was past 6:40 PM. It seemed like I could prepare leisurely. I could quickly prepare dinner. I had made plenty of side dishes, too. Quite a long time had passed since I had become accustomed to eating dinner alone. Yi-tae always came home late, and I always came home early.
“Ah, that’s good. Is 8 PM okay?”
“Yes. Then, I’ll see you in front of the real estate office at 8 PM.”
“Yes, goodbye.”
I hung up the phone. I roughly scooped some rice and took out side dishes to set a simple table. I savored each of the delicious side dishes and put the empty dishes in the sink. It would be okay to clean them up after I got back. The officetel was near the company, so it would take time to get there. Considering the traffic during rush hour, I didn’t have any extra time to spare.
I put on my padding jacket and looked around the empty house.
Yi-tae, who came home, wouldn’t bother looking for me if I wasn’t home. He wouldn’t even wonder. It was time to stop informing him of my whereabouts. Being considerate of someone who wouldn’t wait was a waste. I didn’t hesitate for long and put on my shoes.
And I left the house without hesitation.
∗ ∗ ∗
“The house is quite nice, isn’t it?”
“I haven’t even gone inside yet.”
I said to the excited real estate agent standing in front of the door. He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Even the door here looks handsome, doesn’t it?”
“……Yes?”
“Just by looking around, you can get an estimate!”
“Wouldn’t it come out after seeing it first?”
As soon as the real estate agent opened the front door, he clapped his hands once and said in a folksy way. He was very confident. I hadn’t even properly checked the inside yet, what was he talking about? Was this my first time seeing a house?
I had been living on my own for 11 years already. The most important thing was humidity. Cockroaches and twenty-legged bugs that moved their limbs freely, giant palm-sized spiders, and strange bugs waving their antennae. After experiencing all kinds of bugs, I checked the condition of the wallpaper first. If I saw it bubbling with moisture, it was immediately disqualified. There was no need to consider it further. And under the sink or in the drain was also important. That was the true den of evil.
First of all, there were no restaurants on the lower floor. The wallpaper was very clean. There were no traces of bugs, and… the humidity seemed okay. When I turned on both the sink and the bathroom water, the water pressure didn’t change. I saw when I came in that the next-door neighbor seemed to be an office worker, so they wouldn’t be bad as neighbors. The inside of the refrigerator was clean. There was no hair blocking the drain.
“You really don’t see properties like this often. It’s so clean. This condition at this price? It’s really all said and done. And it’s south-facing, so the sunlight comes in amazingly well. Right?”
“It’s night now, so I can’t see the amazing sunlight. What a shame, what a shame.”
“Right? That’s the pride of this house. It’s a pity. You’d really fall in love with it if you saw it!”
I replied vaguely to the real estate agent’s words and carefully examined the rest of the place. Even if it looked good to the eye, the actual defects were another matter. Of course, from what I had just looked at, it seemed to be worth the price. But that remained to be seen. This was only the first house. Originally, you had to carefully sell your feet to contract a real estate deal.
For now, I should consider this place too. The fact that the previous tenant had left and it had been vacant for some time meant that the price was high. It would be a shame if it went out in the meantime. There were many houses with this condition at this price if you looked hard enough. It’s just that it’s not good for the price because I’m trying to find one near the company.
Maybe it’s because I didn’t see the bragging points. It feels a bit expensive.”
“You’re saying something you don’t know. If this wasn’t an urgent sale, I would have to receive 1.5 times more at this price. Do you know?”
“I’ll think about it a little more for now. Please contact me again if another house comes out with similar conditions. CEO, your eye for seeing is excellent.”
“……Or would you like to see one more? This is a hot property that hasn’t been uploaded yet.”
I opened my phone and checked the time. There was no separate contact from Yi-tae. It was already almost 10 o’clock. I guess he’s not planning on coming home today either.
I put my phone in my pocket and nodded. Anyway, it was important to look at many properties. I hadn’t grasped the market price well since it had been a while since I had seen them. I had to check the properties of several real estate agents, but there weren’t many places that would show them to me at this hour.
∗ ∗ ∗
The second house was also very close to the company. It was located less than 5 minutes away on foot. Of course, the price was more expensive, though. It was because it was closer to the station. There didn’t seem to be any noticeable defects here either. Except for the fact that there was a restaurant on the first floor of the building right next door. In fact, that was the biggest problem.
Certainly, after checking the second house, it was clear that the first house was quite a good property. Showing me this house was definitely a choice with the real estate agent’s intention. To raise the merits of the first house.
“I’ll look around a little more and contact you.”
“Ehey, I can’t take responsibility if this house goes out to someone else while you’re doing that?”
“Yes. Then it must not be fate. What a shame!”
“……When I put my hand on my chest, made a sincere face, and sighed, the man looked at me with the eyes of someone looking at a crazy weirdo. I returned to a calm state and continued speaking.
“Please leave me a text message if there are other properties with similar conditions.”
“Ah… Yes.”
The real estate agent with a sullen expression nodded roughly. He didn’t seem to think it would be sold right away. It would be strange if it was sold. No matter how much money I have right now to contract this house. What kind of idiot would decide after looking at only two houses? It’s not that urgent.
I parted ways with the real estate agent.
Showing me the house until this late, he’s really full of passion. I sent respect to his enthusiasm. It was a time when I would have already fallen asleep on a normal day. I looked down at the old watch on my wrist and yawned. Tears welled up in my eyes. As expected, there was no contact from Yi-tae. There was no disappointment because there was no expectation. It was so natural now that it didn’t matter.
I listened to music from a rock band and drove for a full 50 minutes to arrive home. As expected, it was right to find a house near the company. I decided to consider Yi-tae’s workplace, but I didn’t think about the fact that my commute would be longer at that time. What is love all about.
I looked at the watch and it was already close to midnight. No wonder my eyes were getting blurry. I wanted to leave the house before the 7th anniversary, so I would have to continue this life for the time being. I’m getting old these days and don’t have any stamina. I swung my arms around and got out of the car.
I was almost closing my eyes while waiting for the elevator. Living a life with a consistent pattern, once it gets messed up like this, the fatigue felt doubled. I barely opened my eyes and checked my phone. There was still no contact from Yi-tae. Disappointment washed over me. No, wait. We’re going to break up, so why am I disappointed? I’m crazy, Choi Gyeoul.
My eyes became clear. I urged myself. Expectation is for stupid people. What more can I expect from someone who is already cheating? I got off the elevator and opened the door. I opened the door and looked straight ahead at the shoes placed in the shoe rack. They were Yi-tae’s shoes.
“What. He’s home?”
To think it would be this quiet even though he was home. I thought there was no one here. Was he already sleeping, or did he not feel the need to come out to greet me? Maybe it was both.
I neatly took off my shoes and came into the house. The floor was cool, as if the boiler wasn’t running. Now that I looked at it objectively, there were so many parts where Yi-tae and I didn’t match.
I opened the closed door.
The fluorescent light in the living room poured in through the dark darkness. The light illuminated the bed, revealing its shape. Yi-tae had his hands neatly gathered and his eyes closed. His chest moved slowly up and down. He’s not asleep yet. It’s obvious that he’s pretending to sleep. How can he be so bad at acting? Sigh.
‘It’s rather fortunate. I don’t have anything to say anyway.’
I wasn’t so clueless as to talk to someone who was closing their eyes because they didn’t want to talk. I took out the humidifier container, grabbed my pajamas, and came outside. I turned up the boiler as I pleased and changed into my pajamas. I washed the container, filled it with water, and brushed my teeth. I washed my face thoroughly and patted lotion on my face, and the water was overflowing. I lightly lifted the quite heavy water container with one hand and turned off all the lights illuminating the house.
When I opened the door again, Yi-tae, who had opened his eyes and was looking at me, was sitting leaning against the bed.
I pretended not to see him, came into the room, and attached the container to the humidifier. White steam rose densely. As expected, it was worth the money I spent on it. I already felt the tip of my nose getting moist. I still felt a stinging gaze from behind, but it wasn’t particularly burdensome. Rather, I felt like I was receiving a spotlight.
Am I… an attention seeker?
How should I turn to look cool? I have to turn seriously since I’m old. I turned my body with a blunt face. Like a movie actor. Being serious was important. I made eye contact with Yi-tae. Yi-tae’s black eyes shone more deeply in the darkness.