Episode 15. The Youngest Real Estate Prodigy (3)
“Sein-ssi, how did you get here…?”
Toward a flustered Kang Dae-oh, Choi Sein repeated the exact words she had told him yesterday.
“My monthly rent expired, so I was looking for a new place.”
“Ah, that’s right. That was it, indeed.”
Meanwhile, Min Seung-yeon tilted her head and gave Kang Dae-oh a look, asking him to explain who she was.
“The new part-timer who started working at our shop. Choi Sein-ssi, didn’t I tell you about her once when I was home?”
“Ah, the one who’s full of energy?”
At Min Seung-yeon’s words, Choi Sein curled up the corners of her lips.
“When it comes to raising energy, I am never behind anyone!”
Just as Kang Dae-oh had said, positive energy overflowed.
Choi Sein’s gaze passed Kang Dae-oh and his wife, heading towards Kang Yeyoung, who was in Min Seung-yeon’s arms.
“Yeyoung-ah, hello? Unnie is seeing you for the second time. Do you perhaps remember me?”
By this time, she would usually start to be shy around strangers.
However, Kang Yeyoung, both when she first saw Choi Sein and now, consistently showed a bright smile.
Seeing Kang Yeyoung like this, Choi Sein had thought, ‘She must not be able to distinguish faces yet, huh?’
However, Kang Dae-oh saw it differently.
“Well. It might be that she likes Sein-ssi, so she’s greeting you with such a smiling face.”
“If that’s really the case, I’d be truly happy as Yeyoung’s fan number 1. No, wait. Since the Boss and Madam would be fans number 1 and 2, then I’d be about number 3, right?”
At Choi Sein’s behavior, smoothly sorting out the hierarchy on her own, Kang Dae-oh and his family burst into laughter once.
A sudden meeting is good, but.
The real estate agent who was with Choi Sein cleared his throat, saying ‘Ahem!’ and gave her a look.
“The tenant is waiting, so it would be better to start moving…”
“S-Sorry. Boss. I’ll get going first.”
Kang Dae-oh nodded greatly and, following yesterday, once again wished Choi Sein good luck.
“I hope you can find a good house.”
“You too, Boss! And you too, Madam, and Yeyoung, stay healthy!”
Pat-pat-pat.
Watching Choi Sein return to the real estate agent with quick steps, Kang Dae-oh wore a bitter smile.
“I wonder if she’ll be okay.”
It’s good that Choi Sein is a bright and energetic woman, but.
She is merely a 25-year-old young person who hasn’t properly stepped into society yet.
Amidst rampant jeonse scams and other such things, Kang Dae-oh was secretly worried if Choi Sein would truly be able to find a proper home.
This concern also applied equally to Kang Yeyoung.
Her self-proclaimed role as fan number 3, like fan number 1, brought a bright energy to Kang Yeyoung as well.
Perhaps that’s why.
Tap-tap.
Kang Yeyoung lightly touched her dad while flipping through a few pages of her notebook.
[Help]
[The other person]
“If it’s ‘the other person’… do you mean Sein? Are you saying you want to help Sein?”
Nod-nod.
From their first meeting until today. It seemed that Kang Yeyoung liked Choi Sein’s way of doting on her.
From Kang Dae-oh’s perspective, since Kang Yeyoung wanted to help her, he didn’t particularly dislike it.
On the contrary, it’s good.
If only Choi Sein’s living environment could improve even a little by utilizing Kang Yeyoung’s future real estate knowledge.
Kang Dae-oh also felt his mind would be at ease.
From the beginning of this month until today.
Choi Sein had been struggling alone, going around various real estate agencies to find a room to live with her younger brothers.
To provide her younger brothers with even a slightly more comfortable living environment. The older sister was diligently searching even in the hot weather, sweating profusely today as well.
While doing so, she finally came across a property that looked decent.
“A deposit of 10 million won and monthly rent of about 350,000 won. If you talk to the landlord well, they might even cut 10,000 or 20,000 won off the rent. How does that sound?”
“That much… the conditions are better than I thought.”
Since she had almost no money on hand, saving every penny was Choi Sein’s current situation.
Just as her mind was about to be swayed by the not-so-bad conditions.
Suddenly, her smartphone rang.
The moment she checked the screen, Choi Sein tilted her head.
“Boss?”
“Yes?”
“Oh, no. Just a moment. It might be an urgent call…”
The real estate agent gestured for her to take her time and sent her outside for a moment.
“Hello? Yes, Boss. What’s up? You called… Yes? You’re asking where I am now? This is… What do you mean by ‘don’t sign the room contract and just stay put’…?”
Choi Sein’s mind was confused because of Kang Dae-oh’s hard-to-understand words.
First, she decided to tell Kang Dae-oh where she was currently located.
Then Kang Dae-oh said in a voice that indicated it was good news.
—We happened to be near here. Manager, she says she’s at a place called Tongyeon Villa. Yes. Shall we go right away?
“Go? No way. Are you coming here?”
—Yeah. It only takes 5 minutes, so just wait a bit.
“W-Wait a minute, Boss? Hello?”
Before Choi Sein could ask anything further, the call ended.
A little later.
“Sein-ssi!”
Kang Dae-oh lightly waved his hand towards Choi Sein.
She thought, ‘No way,’ but…
“I never thought you’d actually come…”
“If I didn’t intend to come, I wouldn’t have contacted Sein-ssi in the first place. It’s better not to bring up promises you can’t keep from the beginning.”
Although she had only worked with Kang Dae-oh for a few days, she knew for sure that the owner of the cafe she worked at was not someone who spoke carelessly.
Therefore, she felt deep empathy for Kang Dae-oh saying this.
Leaving Min Seung-yeon and Kang Yeyoung seated at the real estate agency for a moment, Choi Sein posed the question she couldn’t ask during the call to Kang Dae-oh, who had come here alone with his real estate agent.
“But why did you come here? No way, are you also looking at villas in this area, Boss?”
“No, I already signed a contract.”
“What? Already? You said you just started looking for a house today.”
“I had already seen the property a while ago. It was just a matter of coming to see the listing, so the contract itself was quick.”
At Kang Dae-oh’s words, the real estate agent clicked his tongue in admiration and took over the conversation.
“This person, their eye for real estate is no joke. Oh my! They’re a complete expert, an expert!”
“Rather than me being an expert… No. Let’s just say it’s me.”
He almost revealed that it was thanks to his youngest daughter’s guidance without realizing it, but quickly changed his words.
Even if he had actually said it out loud, the real estate agent would likely not have believed him anyway.
Who would believe that a baby who doesn’t even know the meaning of the word ‘sale’ is fully aware of future real estate booms?
Only Kang Dae-oh and Min Seung-yeon would.
That’s why Kang Dae-oh, not Kang Yeyoung, came all the way here to directly help Choi Sein.
“Sein-ssi. I’ve found an additional good property, so how about signing a contract there?”
“You, Boss?”
“Yeah.”
As soon as he heard Kang Dae-oh’s words, the other real estate agent who had introduced the property to her stiffened.
“This person is my client, why suddenly…”
Then the real estate agent who came with Kang Dae-oh cleared his throat loudly and cut her off mid-sentence.
The woman, who belatedly realized the presence of a competing agency’s broker, raised her voice.
“No, Manager Kim! Are you really doing this? There’s no business ethics, no business ethics!”
“Oh, come on! CEO, you also kept snatching clients who came to our office last month and induced them to sign contracts. Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
“A-No, that…”
“And this Tongyeon Villa, it’s on the verge of going into auction, isn’t it? To try and make her sign a contract by lowering the price, pretending it’s a normal property. CEO, you really shouldn’t be doing that.”
“…….”
Choi Sein, who had been listening intently to their conversation, whispered to Kang Dae-oh with a bewildered expression.
“Is that true?”
Kang Dae-oh nodded briefly.
If not for them, it was clear that Choi Sein would have suffered physically and mentally over her housing issues.
Kang Dae-oh warned the real estate agent who had introduced the property to Choi Sein.
“Don’t you dare do such a thing to our part-timer again. As her boss, I will never forgive you.”
Only after saying that one line did he feel relieved.
Following Kang Dae-oh and the real estate agent, Choi Sein arrived at an old apartment building.
“How is it? The area is a bit small and it’s old, but it shouldn’t be a problem for living with your younger brothers for a while.”
However, her expression was full of worry.
“This is an apartment, though. It must be expensive…”
The real estate agent shook his head and said.
“This place is relatively low-priced for its size. Based on the sale price, it’s about 130 million won.”
“I don’t even have 50 million won, let alone 100 million. And what I’m looking for is monthly rent…”
This time, Kang Dae-oh continued.
“Buy this place instead of renting monthly. I’ll help you look into loans. These days, there are many good loan products for first-time homebuyers. The interest rates are also low.”
“Still… I’ve never studied real estate investment or anything like that, so if you suddenly tell me to buy a house, I get scared right away.”
“It’s okay. Trust me, Sein-ssi. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility. I can even write a sworn statement. So, sign the contract and just stay for two months.”
“…….”
Despite this, Choi Sein couldn’t easily make a decision.
That would be natural.
She had been betrayed and abandoned by the parents she trusted.
Would she easily believe the words of the owner of the cafe she works at?
Not a chance.
For her, trusting someone had become an incredibly difficult task.
That’s why Kang Dae-oh wanted to help her even more.
Choi Sein, who always tried to smile brightly in any situation.
This child who proclaimed herself a fan of his youngest daughter.
“It’s okay, Sein-ssi. I will never betray or abandon you.”
This one sentence strongly held Choi Sein’s wavering heart.
After much deliberation.
“Understood, Boss.”
For the first time in her life.
She decided to truly trust someone.
Two months later.
Perhaps because she had various part-time job experiences, Choi Sein was able to adapt to the work at Kang Dae-oh’s cafe faster than anyone else.
“Welcome, customer! I’ll help you with your order! You can see the menu here. Please let me know when you decide!”
Watching her greet customers with a bright smile again today, Kang Dae-oh said jokingly.
“Sein-ssi seems to work better than Seojun.”
Lee Seojun’s bitter smile spread naturally.
“I-I’m also working hard in my own way. More importantly, Boss, you said you were going to drop by the hair salon for a bit. Shouldn’t you be going soon?”
“That’s right. Take good care of the kids and the shop.”
“Yep, understood!”
After seeing Kang Dae-oh off with a salute, Lee Seojun immediately moved towards where Choi Sein was.
“Sein-ssi. You’re working incredibly hard, aren’t you?”
“I have a loan, so I have no choice but to work hard for a while.”
“You mean the house you said you bought, right?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“That’s amazing. You’re younger than me, but you’re a homeowner. Where did you say you bought it?”
“Near Gwanghyeon Intersection.”
“……What?”
For a moment, Lee Seojun tilted his head.
“Are you talking about the 1st-generation new town?”
“Yes, that’s right. A very old apartment.”
“Really? That’s awesome! Sein-ssi, congratulations.”
“Why?”
At the sudden congratulatory words, this time Choi Sein was bewildered.
Lee Seojun told her why he brought this up.
“There, recently, the reconstruction and redevelopment approvals went through, so house prices have risen tremendously, haven’t they? It’s been on the news all day. They say the homeowners there are thrilled as if they hit the lottery.”
“Whaaat…???”
“Sein-ssi, you should treat us today! Tens of millions of won… No, wait. If it keeps rising, couldn’t you earn hundreds of millions?”
At the word ‘hundreds of millions,’ Choi Sein’s mind became complex.
Meanwhile, she checked Kang Dae-oh’s empty spot.
She had not expected the reward for her trust to come in such an abundant way.
