#205

Lee Seon-jae arranged for three Ghost vehicles and two Ghost phones before heading to the location to receive the VIP. A place where he wouldn’t be disturbed by anyone and where disposal was possible. An office building he had purchased three years ago.

It was an ordinary building to anyone who looked at it, with a decent exterior that wouldn’t make anyone think it was a place where such things could happen.

The building’s name was Sojak. Work. It was a very direct naming, as it was a work that Seon-jae had put his heart and soul into.

Sojak was an office building with four basement floors and fifteen above-ground floors, equipped with a pleasant interior and state-of-the-art systems.

The owner of the building was a Japanese man in his sixties named Yoshida. He owned two office buildings of similar size to Sojak and one commercial building. He visited Korea once a year, so he entrusted the building’s lease to a professional leasing company, and other matters such as rent settlement, lease agreements, and tax issues were handled through a dedicated lawyer and tax accountant. Lee Seon-jae was Chairman Yoshida’s agent.

Of course, all of this information was fake. The Japanese man’s identity and the company he owned were all ghosts. Lee Seon-jae was the only one who knew that. Because Lee Seon-jae had created it.

There were no legal problems at all. It was a system that Seon-jae himself had put his heart and soul into, and it was a service specially provided only to VVIPs, and there had never been a problem.

For the VVIPs, the most common ghosts were Korean-Americans, followed by Korean-Japanese. In other words, if they had children in the United States, they would use Korean-Americans, and if they had children in Japan, they would use Korean-Japanese. Or they could choose the country they admired. Whatever the case, the United States and Japan were always included.

The reason Seon-jae specifically used a Japanese person as a ghost was because it was much more convenient. Unlike Korea, Japan does not require fingerprints from all citizens, so it was very easy to obtain and eliminate plausible identities with the right amount of money.

As he entered the building lobby, two uniformed guards were sitting at the information desk in front.

Behind the guards, a large sign reading “Sojak” was visible, and above it was a large sign listing the names of the companies currently occupying the building by floor.

On the information desk, there were two computer monitors and two CCTV monitors that the guards used, side by side.

Mr. Kim, who held the title of head of security, and Mr. Lee, who was on duty, recognized Seon-jae and quickly stood up to greet him.

“It’s been a while, Manager.”

Mr. Kim greeted Seon-jae with his unique mechanical attitude.

“Hello, Chief. How have you been? Mr. Lee, you look good too. Are you dating someone?”

Mr. Lee blushed at Seon-jae’s joke. It seemed to be true, even though it was just a joke.

“You look healthy too, Manager.”

Mr. Lee mainly exchanged words with Seon-jae instead of Mr. Kim, who didn’t talk much.

“Chief, can I talk to you for a moment?”

After exchanging greetings, Seon-jae nodded towards Mr. Kim.

“Of course. Please come inside.”

Mr. Kim asked Mr. Lee to take care of the information desk and led Seon-jae to the security office.

The security office was kept very clean for a place used by three men. There was no bachelor smell either. The fairly spacious interior had everything, including desks, bookshelves, cabinets, a three-seater sofa, a TV, and an audio cassette player, as well as a small kitchenette equipped with a sink and gas stove. Furthest from the door, in a place covered by a curtain, there were two beds for overnight duty.

Seon-jae looked around the security office and then went to the sofa and sat facing Mr. Kim.

Mr. Kim was a man in his mid-40s with short, grizzled hair and a rather bland impression. He resided in the building. In other words, he was using one of the offices on the first floor as a home. His security uniform always had knife-like creases, and his posture was straight and upright. Despite resolving his food, clothing, and shelter here, his physique was solid. It seemed that he did not take Seon-jae’s advice lightly and did not neglect exercise.

The other guards besides Mr. Kim were residing in the residences that Seon-jae had prepared. They were called Mr. Lee and Mr. Park, but of course, those were not their real surnames. All three had gone bankrupt and divorced during the IMF crisis, and had run away from debt collectors and fallen into homelessness. They also had a history of attempted suicide and had their resident registration cancelled.

It was Seon-jae who had saved those who wanted to live but couldn’t, and who didn’t have the courage to really die. It wasn’t exactly done out of good intentions, but out of necessity, but they were still maintaining a close relationship.

The three guards worked in shifts of 8 hours, 24 hours a day. Like any other office worker, they were given vacations and monthly leave, but only Mr. Kim came to work 365 days a year, without missing a single day. That was the only contractual condition that Mr. Kim had requested from Seon-jae.

“How many residents are there currently?”

Seon-jae asked.

“994 people.”

“It’s increased.”

“Yes. A telemarketing company moved in at the end of May. On the 13th floor.”

If it was at the end of May, it was natural that Seon-jae wouldn’t know. He was too busy killing time in the Safe house to have time to check.

Seon-jae asked if there had been any difficulties during that time, or if there had been any suspicious visitors, and Mr. Kim confidently replied that there had been no such incidents.

“Would you like me to show you the log?”

“No. It’s okay. I prefer to hear it in person.”

Mr. Kim wrote a log every day, and it was so detailed that it made the reader’s mind dizzy. That’s why Seon-jae preferred to ask Mr. Kim directly.

After talking about how the company was doing for more than 10 minutes, he got up from his seat.

“The guest will arrive as early as today, or at the latest tomorrow.”

Seon-jae said.

“How many people will be coming?”

“For now, one person, but another one may come later.”

“Yes. I understand.”

The conversation ended there.

It was comfortable because they didn’t need a separate explanation.

Seon-jae and Mr. Kim, who came out of the security office, naturally headed to the office where they would receive the guest. That office had a private elevator, so they didn’t share the elevator with other people. Many people mistakenly came to the freight elevator and went back because it didn’t work. So, in front of the private elevator, there was a large sign that read, “For emergency use. Please contact the manager.”

As soon as they got off the private elevator, the signs and stickers that read ‘World Trading’ on the entire wall and glass door caught their eyes. He wondered if it was necessary to put it up so ostentatiously, but it was an inevitable choice because he had copied the investment company that was located on the top floor.

“Let’s change those when the work is done. To Daeyoung Trading.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Mr. Kim wrote it down in his notebook and then put the card key around his neck on the entrance. Then, with a click, the door opened. On the right was a small information desk, and in the long lobby, there was a red carpet embroidered with ‘World Trading’ in English. Near the window, there was also a three-seater sofa and a table for guests.

“This carpet too.”

He passed through the lobby and stood in front of the automatic door, but the door did not open. When Mr. Kim put his card key on the employee attendance system, the automatic door finally opened, revealing twenty-two desks and dozens of monitors. On the left wall, there were six wall clocks indicating the time in major cities around the world, two large whiteboards with the current status of performance and the stock market, and cabinets.

The heat coming from the computers gave the impression that someone had been working there until just a moment ago. But in reality, there was not a single employee working there. Here, these computers were running automatically 24 hours a day, performing the tasks that Seon-jae had entrusted to them.

If there was a breakdown, an alarm went to the company that managed the computers, and Mr. Kim would bring the broken computer down to the machine room himself, and then it would be repaired. After confirming that it was working properly, Mr. Kim brought the computer back to its place.

The system was fully automatic, but it would not work perfectly without someone like Mr. Kim. Seon-jae always thought that no matter how advanced technology became, the world would never be able to move fully automatically while looking at Mr. Kim.

“What time did you say the cleaning was done?”

“From 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. They empty the trash cans and clean the hallways, floors, and restrooms on all floors, starting from the top floor.”

“Is the cleaning company the one you used before?”

“No. It’s been changed since July.”

“Is that so?”

Seon-jae passed through the office and opened the door to the executive office, saying, “Exclude this place from cleaning from tomorrow.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Mr. Kim answered immediately and wrote it down.

The executive office was pleasant. The furniture and sofa were luxurious but not excessive, and the wallpaper and carpet on the floor were beige, which gave a sense of stability. It was far from Seon-jae’s taste, but it was at least a space that most people would feel comfortable in.

Who would imagine that this cozy executive office was an intermediate zone leading to hell?

“Oh, why is this so stiff?”

Perhaps because it had been a while, the wall did not move.

Then Mr. Kim, who had designed this door himself, came forward to demonstrate.

“You shouldn’t just push it; you have to move it using the recoil like this.”

Mr. Kim, who was smaller than Seon-jae, pushed the wall without any effort.

Seon-jae tested the movement of pushing the wall several times according to Mr. Kim’s advice. As Mr. Kim said, it was not about pushing with force, but about slightly changing the angle. The recoil was a bonus. Then the wall was pushed into the next room. It wasn’t instantaneous, but it was enough for the person being subjected to it to feel fear.

Because everything visible was black.

The Black room was not cleaned, so dust had settled, and it flew up every time it moved. There was no separate window, so the air was stuffy. It was literally a secret room.

“I need to clean it. I need to turn on the air purifier too.”

“Yes. I’ll do it right away.”

“Is the soundproofing reliable?”

Seon-jae asked, tapping the wall.

The sound-absorbing material was thickly padded on the floor, walls, and ceiling, so Seon-jae’s voice sounded muffled.

“Yes. Nothing has changed since you checked it, Manager.”

“Does the water drain well?”

He opened the bathroom door and checked the inside. The bathroom was also full of dust. If he flushed the water as it was, the drain would be clogged with dust.

“I’ll take care of that for sure too.”

“Is the telemarketing company right below here?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“What time are their working hours?”

“Officially, it’s until 7 p.m., but they often work overtime.”

“They must have a lot of work.”

Seon-jae stomped his feet on the floor. Because the sound-absorbing material was applied before the tile work, the sound did not echo at all.

“Put some plastic down too. All the way to the bathtub.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Is there enough water?”

“Of course. It’s always filled.”

“Okay. Good job.”

Seon-jae coughed because of the dust and left the Black room.

He had created this place first after purchasing this building, but this was the first time he was actually using it.

“Chief, when I leave, please check the soundproofing again. Try jumping too.”

He had run enough simulations to supplement the lacking parts, so there shouldn’t be any major problems. Still, he had to check, and check again.

Wouldn’t it be a nuisance if a scream was heard by a hard-working worker?

“Can I park on the second basement floor?”

Seon-jae asked this last question before leaving the building.

“Yes. You can park in the area marked in yellow on the second basement floor. It’s usually used by outside visitors.”

“Understood. I’ll contact you beforehand before coming. Please take care of me until then.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Mr. Kim answered reliably and escorted him to the door.

Seon-jae exited the building and scanned its exterior. It was an ordinary office building that neither detracted from the harmony of the surrounding buildings nor gave off any sense of incongruity. And 994 workers were working inside.

Seon-jae grinned.

Soon, someone will die in there. Without a trace.