"You’ve been selected for a free dormitory. Congratulations, and thank you for choosing us, Cheon Yoona."
Cheon Yoona rolled her eyes. She was sitting at the admission desk, and behind her stood a boy she barely knew, holding her huge suitcase over his shoulder with a strangely satisfied smile on his face, as if carrying it for her was some kind of achievement.
"I don’t want it."
"B-but, Student Cheon..."
"I don’t care about free stuff... Come on, doggy, follow me. I have somewhere to be."
Cheon Yoona stood up, grabbed the papers from the table, and slapped them against the chest of the boy carrying her suitcase. He eagerly caught them with his free hand. Yoona had an aunt living in Seoul, and she had already decided to stay with her, so she had no need for some pathetic dormitory.
....
"Hello, I was looking for accommodation."
Suho pushed open the rusty steel gate of a small real-estate office. The old hinges let out a sharp creak as the gate dragged slightly across the concrete floor. A faded sign hung above the entrance, its letters already peeling from age. Compared to the other offices he had visited, this place looked like it had been forgotten for years.
This was already the fourth real-estate office Suho had visited. The previous three had told him that almost all of their student rooms were already taken and eventually referred him here. Apparently, several offices in the area divided the cheaper student listings between themselves, with each agency handling a certain number of properties. Since this place looked far less popular than the others, Suho figured there was a good chance it still had some cheap rooms left that nobody else had claimed.
"Hey there, young man!! Come on in!!"
An enthusiastic voice welcomed him. Suho looked around and realized the office was even smaller than it had seemed from outside. It was basically a single cramped room with one desk, a few old chairs, and property papers covering the walls. There was only one employee inside, a rather fat middle-aged man who was smiling brightly at him. Suho smiled back slightly. This was the first person today who had actually smiled after seeing him without immediately judging his clothes or looking down on him.
"What are you looking for? A room, right? I bet you’re looking for a room. I still have a few available."
"Well, yes. I’m looking for a room. I’d like somewhere clean and hygienic."
"You came to the right place! Why don’t you sit down first? Tell me what you’re looking for, and once we find something you like, I’ll personally take you there and show you around."
Suho nodded and finally pulled out a rusty chair. He had to tug at it several times because it seemed almost stuck to the floor, and after dusting it off with his hands, he sat down. Taking a deep breath, Suho felt like he was finally sitting in front of someone who wasn’t judging him, so he decided to overlook the fact that the man was casually eating from a huge bucket with ’KFC’ written across it.
Suho had never actually eaten at KFC before, but he had seen the name enough times on signs and advertisements to recognize it. Judging by the size of the bucket, he assumed it was probably meant for an entire family.
"So, tell me, are you a party guy?"
"Party guy? What does that mean?"
"I mean, do you like partying, dancing, clubbing, drinking?"
"No, certainly not."
"Understood. You see, most of the cheaper accommodations I have are around two bars. There’s loud music, drunk students around your age, and people coming and going all night. Some students actually pay me more for places like that, but I can already tell you’re not that kind of guy. So, tell me your budget."
Suho thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure what kind of budget he should have. He definitely had money now, but figuring out how to spend it was far more difficult than he had expected. If he kept making careless decisions, he could burn through everything he had surprisingly fast.
Suho saw the agent push a few papers toward him while still eating. He picked them up and realized they were a small catalogue showing rooms between ₩300,000 and ₩500,000 a month. Each listing had several pictures of the room, the building, and the area around it.
The rooms themselves looked small but usable, while many of the outside pictures showed bright bar signs, groups of students standing around, narrow streets packed with people, and places that already looked noisy even during the day.
"These are the usual rates for the cheapest places I was telling you about."
"Yeah, I don’t like people smoking cigarettes in front of my building. I have a little sister who will visit me, so..."
"I understand. Then you need something quieter and more secure. Maybe a newer apartment building with a gated entrance, CCTV around the entrance and parking area, keypad access, and proper security so random people can’t just walk inside. Nakseongdae would suit you better. It’s still in Gwanak-gu and not far from here, just on the other side of the SNU area."
"Oh? Tell me more."
Suho was interested, as long as he could fit it into his budget. If Mina ever stayed with him for a few days while Aunt Eunji and Uncle Gunwo went on vacation or simply wanted some time alone, then she would need every bit of protection he could give her.
"Hmm... I have three listed places there. One is a four-bedroom apartment, but that might be too chaotic for you since three of the people living there are in a band. You know what? Instead of explaining everything here, let me take you there directly. If you like any of the places, you can move in today since they’re all fully furnished."
With that said, the white KFC bucket he had been eating from was finally empty. He casually tossed it across the room, grabbed his car keys, and smiled at Suho. Suho smiled back and stood up. He was a Master Rod Fighter, which was the only reason he was willing to get into a random man’s car like this. Otherwise, he would’ve avoided the man at all costs.
"Don’t worry, I’m a licensed real-estate agent. Everyone around here knows me. My name is Jihwan."
"I’m not worried."