Chapter 63

"Welcome, Mr. Cafe Amuse... Owner!"

Seeing this, the newly hired assistant, Jeong-ho Park, ran out. He was a friend with a large build and a down-to-earth personality that I liked.

"Owner, let me carry it. Please give it to me."

It was also the first time I had a younger employee at the Shinchon branch, so it was easy to get along with him.

"No, I'll carry it. Look at your work."

I entered the back room with the box.

As I was tearing open the box with a cutter, Du-oh Pil-soo, who had finished his work, followed me in.

"Owner, what's that?"

"Did you buy new equipment?"

I finished tearing open the box and took out the contents.

Although the parts were not yet assembled, Pil-soo immediately recognized what they were.

"A Dutch coffee maker."

"Oh! Are we going to sell cold brew now?"

I stood up the wooden frame, which looked like an hourglass, on the floor and replied.

"No, we're not going to sell it at the cafe."

"Then what for?"

"To show Mr. Choi the taste of cold brew."

"Ah."

"I'll try it out when I have time, but you two should also try making a cold brew recipe when you have time. I've already ordered the beans suitable for blending."

I pointed to the bags of beans stacked on the opposite side of the back room.

"Ah, you bought these to use here. Great!"

"By the way, how much progress have you made on the new menu I asked you to develop?"

"Hehe, I was just waiting for you, Owner."

Pil-soo, who had his hair neatly swept back, stroked it while answering. Su-jeong also chimed in playfully.

"We were developing a top-notch menu, but we were almost upset because you didn't ask about it."

"Oh, I've been so busy since I came back to Korea. The jet lag was intense."

"Hehe, I was just joking. We finished it yesterday. Do you want to try it now?"

"Great! I was just getting hungry, so this is perfect."

But right then.

"Wait, just a moment."

The phone call I had been waiting for two days finally came.

[Han Gang-hee]

I answered immediately.

[Oh, customer. You've been waiting for my call, haven't you?]

Her tone was confident and relaxed, completely different from when we last met.

"Yes, what's the matter?"

[The perfect house you mentioned, a suitable property has just come up. Do you want to come and see it? I'm showing it to you first, specially.]

I'm in, this is a must-see.

"Yes, I'll come right away. Where should I go?"

[I'll send you the address. You need to come right away. I'll show it to you, but other real estate agents might think differently.]

"Wow... I can't!"

[So, hurry up, but take your time, hehe.]

I ended the call and looked at Pil-soo and Su-jeong. Then I rubbed my hands together and said,

"I'm really sorry."

She told me to take my time and hurry up!

The big spender by the Han River!

"I'll try the new menu later."

I explained the situation to Su-jeong and then rushed out of the cafe.

My heart was pounding.

Right away—Han Gang-hee sent me the address via text.

I got into the Panamera and set the address on the navigation.

Enjoying the Han River view,

As soon as I got out of the car, a cool river breeze hit my face.

'Yeah, this is it! This is the Han River.'

The place I arrived at was an apartment complex located on the north side of the Han River, between Mapo Bridge and Wonhyo Bridge.

I brushed my hair back roughly as it was being blown around and greeted Han Gang-hee, who was approaching.

"Hello! I came quickly, didn't I?"

"Really, you came right away. That's great. Let's go."

Han Gang-hee gestured for me to follow, and I did.

"I've been contacting people for two days to find the perfect house for you. I asked if there were any properties like this, and I said I'd die if I couldn't find one."

"Wow, thank you so much."

"No, it's not even comparable to how grateful you should be. If I hadn't met you the other day, I might have collapsed from frustration."

Han Gang-hee mentioned that she had visited the appraisal office and received a refund from the department store the same day.

I received so many thank-you messages that day.

"And there's something good that came out of it. I became really close with her during this process."

"Your fiancée?"

"Yes, Min-yeong. It became our little secret that no one else knew. We went shopping together, and it felt like having a daughter. I only have three sons, so..."

Han Gang-hee shared various stories, but I found it hard to focus.

It was because of the apartment complex's scenery.

On both sides of the road, huge trees lined up, and small garden trees and flowering trees were neatly arranged everywhere.

'Is this an apartment or a forest?'

With the scent of phytoncides in the gentle river breeze, just walking around made me feel refreshed. Tae-mo Coco also seemed excited, flying around the trees.

'This really feels like a place where people live... '

Compared to my room, which I had to enter through narrow and messy alleys, this was a world apart.

'I want to see the house quickly.'

Even though I was already walking fast, I wanted to walk faster. But then Han Gang-hee said something unexpected.

"Anyway! There are two houses for you to see today."

"Really? Two places?"

"Yes, one house almost perfectly matches the conditions you wanted, and the other... I'll explain on the way. Don't worry, I've carefully selected both."

Oh, two carefully selected options.

Then it's even better.

"Great! Is this the 100% match?"

I pointed to the apartment building right in front of us.

We walked to the end of the complex, and the Han River spread out behind it.

"Yes, that's right. Let's go up."

As we entered, I noticed that the building was a bit old, both inside and out.

I got into the elevator with Han Gang-hee.

I was curious to see which floor she would press, so I watched her fingertips.

She pressed the number 24 without hesitation.

...The top floor, indeed the best!

"This is a top-floor property. The higher the floor, the better for apartments by the Han River, right?"

Han Gang-hee added.

Of course, there was no noise from the road or other floors, and the dust was less as you went higher.

It was just too good.

"The dedicated area is 33 pyeong. Is that the size you wanted?"

"Yes, it's just right."

"Although it's an older building, the previous owner redid the interior, so it's very clean. Isn't that everyone's dream? To live in a house that someone with good taste has already decorated."

"Right? As long as it's not some weird taste."

"I saw it, and it's amazing. You'll see."

The elevator dinged, and Han Gang-hee swiped her card key to open the front door.

"The owner isn't here, so feel free to look around."

As I took off my shoes and looked around the entrance, I could see the good taste in the interior.

It was a modern, warm, and naturalistic Nordic style.

When I opened the inner door and went in,

"Wow... "

The Han River view I had been longing for appeared right in front of me.

It wasn't a partial view where you could only see a fingernail-sized part of the river.

An open window.

The entire view was filled with the Han River.

...My heart swelled.

It felt like meeting an actor I had only seen on screen or seeing a work of art I had only read about in a book at an art gallery.

I walked across the living room as if enchanted.

"Can I open this window?"

"Yes, feel free to open it. It faces south."

I opened the window, and a refreshing river breeze hit my face.

"..."

The view in front of me was exactly what I had imagined.

The river shimmered in the sunlight.

In the middle, Yeouido Island was lush with green trees.

On both sides, the elevated roads and bridges stretched, with cars moving like Lego pieces.

'Is this... mine?'

It would be romantic at night when all the streetlights were on.

Moreover, there was a wow point I hadn't even imagined.

Behind the Han River, the entire view of Yeouido was spread out.

"Wow, you can see all of Yeouido."

"Right?"

The view extended from the 63 Building on the left to the National Assembly on the right.

Then I thought of Mr. Big and New York.

The best place to see Manhattan is New Jersey.

The best place to see the Empire State Building is Rockefeller Tower.

It was the same here.

Even though it wasn't in Yeouido, Yeouido was mine.

"And as you can see, it has a permanent view. It will stay the same until you die, unless there's a war, hehe."

"The view is really amazing."

"But you're not buying a house just for the view, right? Look around more. Check everything out."

"Ah, you're right."

I took out the checklist I had prepared and looked around.

'I did some research beforehand.'

The windows had been replaced with good ones, so the road noise disappeared when I closed them. There was no shaking in the window frames.

Three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

It was a typical 30-pyeong apartment.

The lighting in the living room was excellent, and the water pressure and hot water were good. There were no impurities.

The interior was a bonus.

The surrounding facilities and landscaping were also very good.

I didn't plan to scrutinize things like school districts or price fluctuations.

However.

──Korororo...

Coco was looking up at the wall at the end of the living room, making a sound, so I went over to see.

'What's wrong?'

It was a space created by extending the balcony, but there didn't seem to be any problem when I looked up. The wallpaper was clean, probably because it had been redone...

'Ah, is there condensation here?'

I was about to ask Han Gang-hee, but she was already walking over.

"Oh, you're an expert. Maybe because you're good at appraisals, you're also good at looking at houses. You noticed that even though I didn't say anything."

I laughed awkwardly, and Han Gang-hee asked,

"You must have looked at houses before, right? Where do you live now?"

"I live in a 1.5-room apartment in Shinchon."

"Really? A 1.5-room?"

Han Gang-hee was surprised and asked again.

"But you drive a nice car?"

"I've been living in the same room since college. My financial situation has only improved recently, hahaha."

"Oh, you're a self-made person. That's impressive."

Self-made? It was an embarrassing word, but thinking about it, it wasn't entirely wrong.

I, who had been struggling with rent and loan debts, was now in a position to choose a Han River view.

But hearing that from someone else made it feel different.

It felt like being recognized.

"Thank you for saying that."

"No, a young person who lived in a 1.5-room apartment and now looks for houses like this is definitely self-made. Why are you so embarrassed? My sons are busy spending money."

"Hahaha..."

"I thought you were a rich young man because you drive a nice car, said you were doing an auction in New York, and were looking for a Han River view, oh my."

"No, I just lived a normal life."

"It's really impressive. Not many people who look for houses like this are like you."

Han Gang-hee looked at me with admiration and quickly asked,

"Are you now saving money to buy your first house?"

"Exactly."

"Then I have to do even better. I find it most rewarding to help people like you who work so hard buy their first house."

Han Gang-hee came closer and pointed to the ceiling.

"Look here. I remember this house had condensation, which is common in Han River-side apartments."

Ah, it was condensation.

Indeed, our Coco!

"This time, they did waterproofing during the new interior, but I don't know how it will be in the winter."

"Hmm."

Well, it was a problem I had somewhat expected.

If there are advantages, there are also disadvantages.

But I still need to take care of it.

"Then I should ask the current owner and try to negotiate the price down."

"Yes, you should talk to them."

Han Gang-hee lowered her voice and added,

"It's a quick sale, so the price is really good."

"How much?"

"This building usually trades between 1.9 billion and 2 billion won, but this one is 1.8 billion, 1.8 billion."

"Oh, 1.8 billion... "

"It seems the owner suddenly quit their job and is moving to Jeju Island. Is the price okay? It might go even lower."

"Yes, it's fine."

"Then look around more, hehe. We have about 10 more minutes."

Han Gang-hee stepped aside, and I turned my gaze back to the Han River.

1.8 billion.

People are really funny.

It was a price I couldn't even dream of before.

Now I was thinking, '1.8 billion isn't bad, is it? It's cheaper than I thought.'

But humans are adaptable, so I need to adapt too.

'With 8.9 billion... '

After selling the white porcelain, my balance was 8.9 billion after paying Kim Gyu-tae's fee and capital gains tax.

Thanks to Mr. Big's quick lump-sum payment.

The capital gains tax on art was also great.

They recognized 90% of the necessary expenses, and a 20% tax rate on other income applied regardless of the sale price, so the tax on an 8.3 billion won artwork was only 160 million won.

'The lawyer said art investment is a tax haven.'

No acquisition tax, no holding tax.

Low capital gains tax.

I remembered that wealthy families and corporate clients often sought it for these reasons.

'Should I explore the art market more?'

There were really so many things I wanted to do and could do.

But if I'm going to buy a house and do other things, I definitely need an office.

I called out to Han Gang-hee.

"Owner."

"Yes, do you have any questions?"

"I was wondering if you could help me find an office after I buy a house. In Mapo-gu."

But as soon as I mentioned the office, a semi-transparent string of text appeared and disappeared in my field of vision.

'...What is that?'

It was so fast I couldn't even read what it said.

Since it was the first time I experienced this, I thought it was strange, but Han Gang-hee answered with a smile.

"Of course! For a hardworking young man like you, I should find a great place."

"Hahaha, thank you."

"But what do you think of this house? Do you like it?"

I looked around the house again.

Tae-mo Coco was also flying around the walls, seemingly satisfied.

"Yes, it seems like a good place to live alone. It meets all the conditions I mentioned. I really like it."

"That's a relief, hehe. But customer."

Han Gang-hee's eyes and voice changed.

It was the confidence of a seasoned professional in their field.

"Make your decision after seeing the second property."

Ah, the second candidate.

I was already curious, so I asked Han Gang-hee.

"You said this one perfectly matches the conditions I wanted. Why are you recommending the other one?"

Han Gang-hee smiled and answered.

"I've been in this business for a long time. I've learned something. People don't seem to know exactly what they want."

It was something I often heard in marketing classes.

Consumers don't know their needs.

"You might be the same... especially if you've been living in a studio. Even if you think this is enough and it's great, I think there's a better fit for you. That's why I'm recommending it."

Hmm, is that so?

It could be. My standards might be too low.

"Isn't it better to do some legwork before buying, rather than regretting it afterward?"

"That's true."

"Of course, it doesn't match the conditions we discussed. It's larger and slightly over budget."

The budget I told Han Gang-hee was 4 billion won.

'Over 4 billion.'

Emotionally, it's a stretch.

But realistically, it's a possible amount.

As I was thinking, Han Gang-hee said urgently,

"Customer, are you misunderstanding? I'll receive the same commission here. I'm not doing this for my own benefit, really."

"No, that's not what I was thinking."

"That place rarely has properties for sale. You can't buy it even if you bring a lot of money. But right after I contacted you today, a property came up out of nowhere."

Han Gang-hee looked up at the ceiling and folded her fingers one by one. Then she said,

"So... it's a property that hasn't been on the market for 8 months, exactly 8 months in the entire complex."

I want this place.

Seongsu-dong.

If you were to name the hottest spot in Seoul recently, this place wouldn't be left out.

It all started with Seoul Forest.

The urban green space, modeled after New York's Central Park, has now become a landmark representing Seongsu.