I can’t believe this place is only 28 million won!
‘Wait a minute. No matter how I look at it, isn’t this Namsan Leech’s House?’
Namsan Leech.
Once he latches on, he’ll suck you dry to the last drop—one of the most vicious of the vicious! He’d do anything for money and loved draining bloodstained cash! This guy was a giant in the underground finance world, dominating Itaewon and Yongsan all the way to Seoul Station, and he was the bastard who harmed my master.
He took immense pride in this house.
—Hahaha, the best Jumani in the Republic of Korea assured me. He said this place is where all the money and power of the Republic of Korea will be swept up.
—Most people can’t stand living here and end up dying miserably, but I’m different!
—See? Ever since I moved in, every venture I touch turns to gold!
He’d decked out the house in extravagant fashion.
Especially on weekends, he loved to invite over scores of women and subordinates and throw wild parties. Every time we met, that bastard would openly mock me, saying my house in Sillim-dong was just a collapsing multi-family shack.
‘No matter what, I just have to buy this house.’
‘That bastard managed to live well here, so why can’t I?’
“I want to see this house for myself.”
“There’s no need. Just looking at the business card is enough. It’s exactly as described. No need to waste your precious time going back and forth…….”
The Bokdeokbang uncle, as if he’d been waiting, started laying out the business cards on the table with a neat ‘snap, snap, snap.’
“These days, apartments are the best, you know. Go to sleep, wake up, and the price has shot up! It’s perfect for investment.”
“But I said I like this house.”
“Oh, there’s no point in going there…… Huh!”
The Bokdeokbang uncle stopped in the middle of spreading apartment business cards and flinched.
It was because Kim Secretary was staring coldly at him.
“Let’s get up for a moment.”
“W-why, what’s the matter?”
“It seems you’re not hearing Young Master very well. Perhaps we need to clear out your ears first.”
“Let’s go! I’ll show you right away!”
The Bokdeokbang uncle shot to his feet.
“Shall we take my car?”
The Bokdeokbang uncle’s car was a 1,600cc Cortino.
He’d ferried so many madams around that the back leather seat was smooth and shiny.
On the back shelf, instead of an air freshener, there was an aroma pear, and real estate business cards and a Seoul City map book rolled around in a paper bag.
“……?”
Kim Secretary stretched out his arm, stopping Mother who was about to quietly get into the back seat.
“This way, please.”
It was the latest Benz parked in front of the shop.
Kim Secretary personally opened the back seat door.
“Please get in. I’ll escort you myself.”
The Bokdeokbang uncle opened the passenger side door and muttered admiringly.
“Wow, what a car. The heater’s fantastic, too………….”
Kim Secretary’s eyes flashed, and the Bokdeokbang uncle immediately slammed the door shut.
“Please follow my car closely, okay?”
Honestly, it was more than I expected.
‘The extravagance starts with the stone wall.’
It was stacked tightly with big and small garden stones up to seven meters high.
That kind of work really eats up money.
And the incandescent lamps were prettily installed here and there.
‘The exterior walls use the highest-grade bricks, the European-style balcony is refined. Everything from the roof to the windows is top-tier. Feels just like a European castle.’
I like it.
‘With land prices around here, a luxury house like this for just 28 million won? That’s not just a bargain, that’s a steal.’
The more I looked around, the more satisfied I felt.
‘The pool is built perfectly, all the garden trees and garden stones were picked from only the most expensive stuff. Even if I sold it all, I could make a nice pile of cash.’
Even if I demolished the mansion and sold just the land, I’d get more than 28 million for it.
This is a house you can’t lose money on!
‘Now I see why such a good house is going for such a dirt-cheap price.’
But there was one minor issue.
“Ha, haha. The owner’s been convalescing, so the place hasn’t been managed well recently.”
Who knows how long the garden had gone without care.
Weeds had grown waist-high and withered on the lawn, and even the best pine bonsai planted in the garden was smashed, dead branches drooping.
“Just look at the price! At 28 million, it’s practically a steal. You know how much land costs around here? You couldn’t even get a Gangnam Apartment of the same size for this price.”
Inside the mansion was even worse.
Broken furniture everywhere was coated in dust and cobwebs, and the wooden doors had hinges coming loose, swinging awkwardly.
Whenever the cold winter wind blew, creepy creaking noises came from somewhere.
‘None of that’s really a problem.’
The garden could be tended, the house cleaned, and the things repaired.
“What he’s not telling us is how many people have died in this house.”
Yeah, that’s the real problem.
I looked around curiously at the ghosts lurking about the mansion.
“Young Master, this is the house where seven entrepreneurs, including President Kim of Iseong Trading, President Choi of Daeryuk Machinery, and President Park of Mankook Chemicals, went bankrupt and died.”
So Kim Secretary uncle knew about this too.
“Not to mention political figures—eight Assemblymen, including Assemblyman Kim Cheolho, Lee Taegwang, Yang Hyowon, and Park Inseop, all lost elections and ended up in prison.”
“Khm!”
“Shall I recite the names of the nine legal professionals who died suddenly—found in traffic accidents or as bodies along the Hangang? That’s nine in total.”
“Khmm!”
“Among high-ranking officials in government and business, it’s rumored to be a haunted house. It’s been left abandoned for years.”
I snapped my fingers.
‘Hey, Suhosin.’
Whoosh.
The Grim Reaper rose like smoke.
‘Can you handle the ghosts here?’
[Of course.]
The Grim Reaper glanced around.
When our eyes met, the ghosts shuddered in fear and trembled.
[I could drag these wretches to the afterlife right now――――]
‘Wait! Wait a minute!’
I waved my index finger side to side.
‘That’s after I sign the contract.’
It’s not my house yet, so there’s no reason to put effort into exorcising it.
It’d be a problem if the owner saw this and changed his mind about selling.
“A grim place like this isn’t fit for an esteemed Young Master like yourself.”
“Jeonghyeok.”
Mother leaned towards me and whispered quietly.
“We only have ten million won. I don’t think we can buy this place even if we wanted to.”
The sale price of this house is 28 million won.
All the cash we have right now is just ten million won.
That means we need to come up with the other eighteen million.
‘The ghost problem seems easy enough to solve. All that’s left is the money.’
Of course, there’s a way to solve that, too.
And I have a card up my sleeve.
‘If I go with Kim Secretary uncle later, I should be able to wrap up the money problem cleanly.’
That’s reassuring.
I got lucky.
Who would’ve thought Kim Secretary uncle would come along with us.
Thanks to him, I can handle even a tricky money problem easily.
“Sir, did you change your mind after seeing it in person? No need to be disappointed. We have Gangnam Apartments available!”
The Bokdeokbang uncle seized the opportunity and started pulling out apartment business cards from his paper bag.
“Small units probably don’t suit your taste; you’d want a big one, right? The bigger, the better! That’s the Giant’s Blessing, after all?”
His eagerness to sell the Gangnam Apartment was obvious.
Just then, an excited voice rang out from the garden.
“Hey, did you see this stone wall? Wow, it’s so cool! I love it!”
It was a boy whose voice had just started changing.
It sounded familiar.
‘Was I imagining things?’
“The roof, the balcony, the columns, the exterior walls—it’s all insanely fancy! I swear, if you bring girls here, they’ll all go nuts for it!”
The boy’s laughter echoed all the way over here.
“Wow, there’s even a pool! Great, I’ve decided. This is my birthday present this year! Hey, call Mom and tell her to sign the contract now. Hahaha!”
The voice was getting closer.
“So what if it’s haunted? We’ll just demolish it all and build new! That’s what I call a physical exorcism! What can ghosts do about it? They’ll just have to be forcefully sent on!”
A supremely confident tone.
“The young guest already seems to love this house.”
It’s so cool! It’s got swag! It’s stylish! It’s perfect for hanging out with friends!
“You’re in luck. This listing just hit the market today and you’re the first to see it. I’m sure the owner will change hands today………..huh?”
Creak.
The front door opened.
A middle-aged man, a man in his mid-thirties, and a teenage boy came inside, stopping in their tracks.
A fifteen-year-old punk with a nasty look!
‘Namsan Leech!’
No way, ‘how did I run into that bastard here?’