Chapter 2: The owner of a building.

The ride back to the city was a relatively short one. I managed to catch a little shut-eye before the bus dropped us off in the city proper. It was quite late in the afternoon. The sun was still shining brightly above our heads, albeit with a slight orange glow.

Cracking my neck, I took a good look at my surroundings. We were in some kind of commercial district with wide streets the width of four cars put side by side, surrounded by concrete skyscrapers displaying different ads on billboards. I noted that besides the skyscrapers, the smaller buildings around were some local businesses like a flight agency, a massage parlor, an electronic store, a clothing shop, and many others.

Around us, the crowd was bustling with activity, going back and forth from buildings to side streets.

A small smile found its way across my face.

“Great sight right? After so long without contact with the outside world, the sight of the city center is quite nostalgic. ” Jinsung commented beside me. I nodded, humming in acknowledgment at his words, being a little distracted by what I was seeing.

I couldn’t help but remark that most of the young women I could see walking across the street were supernaturally gorgeous with well-endowed figures. Even if they didn’t have a perfect supermodel asymmetric visage, they still have a body with good proportions in terms of bust, waist, and hips ratio.

And hot damn! Some of them were walking around in broad daylight wearing really revealing one piece dresses. I was without a doubt in a pornhwa.

“You’re going to be alright on your own? You can just spend the night at my home, we have an unused guest room.’’ Jinsung proposed, bringing back a subject that we already talked about before. I politely declined his offer. “It’s fine, I already paid a downpayment on my housing, I’m supposed to meet my landlord today to finalize everything.”

Jinsung visibly deflated at my refusal but then quickly threw his arm on my shoulder, “You punk! You should just accept your hyung generosity, I swear you’re as stubborn as a pack mule, tch… fine but don’t hesitate to ask for my help if you face some difficulties.’’

“Will do.” I promise, “And thanks again for everything Jinsung.” Jinsung grins, waving my thanks. “You’re my brother from another Mom, it’s cute how easily you get embarrassed.”

On this note, we said our farewells, with me leaving first but not before promising Jinsung to inform him once I reached home. I entered on google maps the address my landlord provided me with. It was a solid 45 minutes by metro from my position. Trailing my luggage with me, I made my way through the busy streets of the city in the direction of Chuncheon station, the apartment seemingly being in the suburban area.

The city of Chuncheon, capital of Gangwon province. I half-expected to find myself in Seoul the first time I tried searching for where I was. After all, the plot of manhwas in most of the stories I read happened in Seoul. So imagine my surprise when I found out I wasn’t, in fact in Seoul, but instead in another province altogether. A province I didn’t know existed altogether before doing my research.

It’s not a surprise to say I’d never heard of this city in my life before learning that I (in this new life) was a native of this city. Till now, once again my lack of memories pertaining to this body is actively fucking me over. I have a lot of research to do in various subjects because of it, from the history of this country to its customs, and culture.

That's what fucking annoying with my situation. The sheer number of unknowns.

From the information I found by skimming my text message, photo, and social media, I managed to deduce a few things.

One, when I was sixteen, both my parents died in a car accident. My uncle, supposedly from my father's side was the only remaining relative left I have. So he took me in.

I only have my uncle’s contact info registered as ‘Uncle Shin’. Nothing more, no first name to go along with his surname, nor an address or pictures.

Two, I supposedly have an inheritance left behind by my parents. I was supposed to touch it once I reached my majority. ‘My’ uncle forced me to give it up, before enlisting me for mandatory military service. It’s explicitly mentioned two times in the conversation text we have. I saved those messages on my internet drive.

Three, along with my uncle, I have two cousins, one girl, younger than me, and a boy the same age as me. The boy was aggressive and possibly bullied me physically, and the girl contented herself with dumping most of her chores on me. I don’t have a name to go along with either of them, just a picture of the girl.

And lastly, I only have 13 contacts registered on my phone as ‘Anorexic snake-eyes, ‘Asshole’, ‘Baek Jinsung’, ‘Bastard’, ‘Bitch 1’, ‘Bitch 2’, ‘Dad’, ‘Fat pig’, ‘Kim Hajin’, ‘Lazy bitch’, ‘Mom’, ‘Uncle Shin’. ‘Asshole’ is my male cousin, ‘Lazy bitch’ is my female one, ‘Bastard’, ‘Bitch 1 & 2’, ‘Fat pig’, and ‘anorexic snake-eyes are supposedly my high school bullies. ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’ are self-explanatory.

Thirteen contacts… Two of them are of my deceased parents… the other two are the only ones properly named… This is depressing.

If you think that with as many clues as that, I would be able to tell you which one, of the thousands of pornhwas I’m in. You’re deluded. I didn’t start reading pornhwas for its fucking plot. I don’t even remember the name of any pornhwas’s characters.

I have a lot on my plate. Hopefully, time should be on my side. Most if not all revenge pornhwa truly starts once the main character magically without going into too many details gains fuck-you money. Usually, they’re some C.E.O of their own company. Possibly in their late twenties, or early thirties. I’m only 19 soon to be 20 on the 30th of October.

Hopefully, I’ll have enough time to prepare myself and uncover this whole mess.

---

Navigating through Chuncheon’s underground line to find the metro supposed to take me to the suburban area was a challenge. I had to ask pedestrians multiple times for directions, but in the end, I managed to take the correct metro.

Departing from the station, I found myself walking along the sidewalk of a narrow street, dotted on either side by two-story houses and stands. The further I distanced myself from the station the more obvious it became apparent how much quieter the area was compared to the city center.

I kept walking until finally, I stopped in front of a nondescript gray two-story building. Atop the building, a sign marked ‘Residence Park’ was proudly displayed. I texted my landlord to let her know that I was there. Meanwhile, I busied myself by texting Jinsung, letting him know first that I’d arrived safely at my destination.

The chime of a notification text alerted me of her reply, and not long after, coming out of the building, was my landlord.
……..

……

… I don’t know why I’m even surprised at this point. I should’ve seen it coming. Because coming out of the building and walking towards me was a very sexy mature woman. She had vibrant khaki hair tied in a long ponytail, two wavy bangs reaching her neck framing a cute round face. She was dressed in a scandalous form-fitting semi-transparent light-blue gown, and a dark blue duster shirt rested on her shoulders.

“Hello, are you perhaps Jeon Shihyun-nim?” asked the scantily dressed assuredly-at-this-point landlady.

Her question brought me out of my small stupor, I bowed my waist in greeting “Yes! I’m Jeon Shihyun, nice to meet you.” The landlady greeted back, “Nice to meet you too, Jeon Shihyun-nim, I’m Park Seonha, the owner of this building”.

“Please, Park Seonha-nim, you can drop the honorifics and talk more casually with me, it’s a little awkward for me to be addressed like that by my elder.” I politely requested as per societal convention.

At my attitude, Park Seonha warmly smiles. “How considerate of you, in this case, I’ll talk a little less formally with you, please you call me Seonha-ajumma. I hope we'll have an amicable relationship.”

“Please, take care of me Seonha-ajumma.” With another bow, I shook her offered hand. Idly, I noticed a lack of an engagement ring on her hands. It was interesting.

Park Seonha took me inside the building, surprisingly the interior of the building was quite spacious. To my left, there was a set of five mailboxes, each with a number and letter inscribed. Further ahead, I could see a set of stairs leading to the second floor and to the right, two doors which I guess opened onto a room or piece.

“The building isn’t so big, the first door on the right is the laundry room, there’s a washing machine and a dryer. I’ll show you later how to operate both.” Park Seonha pointed out. In my head, a popular scenario in a porno featuring a stuck step-sister and a washing machine played itself. I’m sure that I saw it in at least one pornhwa too. “It also serves as a storage room.’’ She added.

I nodded, not giving her an inkling of what I was thinking, before inquiring about the second door, “What about the other door?”

“It’s my room, I lived on the first floor with my little sister, she's a student at Chuncheon University, around the same age as you now that I think about it.” Park Seonha offhandedly retorts while putting her finger in front of her lips in a cute gesture.

“Well, that's all for the first floor, the second floor is where your room is, follow me.” Park Seonha took the stairs and led the way to the second floor. I followed closely behind, bewildered by the hypnotic sway of her hips. I wondered if I had to chalk it under porn logic or if it was a deliberate gesture on her part. I didn’t know her well enough to say. But from our entire exchange so far, I was leaning toward the former.

Upon climbing the stairs, Park Seonha stopped in front of a door, she took out a set of keys and opened the door. Stepping out of the way, she beckoned for me to enter. I took her cue and stepped into the room.

I was in a living room, and right ahead of me, I could see four metallic chairs around a small rectangular wooden table.

“This is the common space, you share a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and fridge with your roommate.” Park Seonha opened the door to the right of the entrance. Inside, the bathroom ground was adorned with white tiles, on one side there was a small bathing cubicle with a transparent panel and a WC, on the other side, I spotted the washbasin.

Park Seonha then proceeded to show me the rest of the accommodation, from the fridge to the microwave to surprisingly the dishwasher. Then, she stopped in front of a door.

“For your first night, you’re alone, your roommate, Kim Suho is at sky resort. I’ll let you install yourself, you must be tired seeing that you come straight out of the military. If you haven’t had dinner yet, I have some dinner’s rest if it’s alright with you.”

Euh, how did she— Ah right. I’m still in my military attire.

“Thank you very much for your consideration ajumma, I apologize in advance for imposing myself.” I readily accept her offer. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing. Besides, it’s me that should be thanking you for your service to our country.’’

“Then, don’t mind my lack of manners, ajumma.” I smile charmingly at her response. Park Seonha beams beautifully at my easy acceptance. I can guess that habitually, most people, especially young men, when invited by a stranger, more so one that is technically higher than you in social standing tend to decline out of courtesy; and she then has to force the issue. Having to do a tiring dance of proposing, declining, then insisting, back and forth in order for you to accept her genuine invitation.

I think it’s not just a Korean thing, but rather an Asian guest custom(?).

“Perfect! When you’re good, just come knock on my door, I’ll reheat your dish and prepare it in a container” Park Seonha clapped her hands and left.

Euh…

Seems like I may have misunderstood her intentions. Watching her leave, I shook my head.

Right, it makes sense. We literally know each other and have been interacting for less than 10 minutes. Would have been weird if she let a perfect stranger in her apartment, nice or not.

Twisting the handle, I tried to open the door before realizing that the door was locked. She forgot to give me the keys. Just as I had that thought, Park Seonha hurriedly ran toward me. “Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry, Iforgottogiveyouyourkeys!” She rattled on in rapid succession while frantically bowing her head, doing physically impossible things to her chest.

I held back the smirk of amusement that threatened to show on my face. “It’s alright, I forgot to ask you for the key myself.”

“Still, I’m really sorry about it, I can be forgetful, it must have been awkward for you.” It was not. “Really ajumma, it's an honest mistake hahaha.” I forcefully laugh.

After a lot of reassurance and coaxing on my part, I managed to convince her that I was in fact, alright with her minor honest mistake and that it didn’t change the reliable and competent impression that she made on me.

She left once she made sure everything was alright with me.

Alone, I sighed and threw myself on the bed, toes dangling slightly on the edge. I quickly ran over the list of things I needed to take care of in the coming weeks.

First off, finding a job. My savings, if I could even call it that, won’t last me long even if I decided to live frugally. Which I won’t. I already made a great compromise with myself when I took a shared flat. Going from having my own apartment before to sharing one is annoying.

But it’s what it is. I can’t afford the price for a single apartment, the downpayment alone is enormous, at least ₩1 000 000. So yes, finding a job is a must in the order of business.

Secondly, studying and preparing myself for Chuncheon’s college entrance exam. I’ve already quickly researched the price for a semester at Chuncheon's National University of Education, between ₩1 200 000 and ₩2 500 000 the semester. It’s in my price range. Five months before the entrance exam. Hard but doable.

For a time I was debating with myself if I truly needed to go to a college, again. Unfortunately, doing a higher education was taken seriously in South Korea’s society. From my experience reading countless webtoons and manhwas, I knew that things like graduating from great schools or having a degree were highly regarded. My research on the subject only reinforced this point.

I’ll be looked down upon by the vast majority of society if I don’t have a diploma or don't pursue a higher education.

They should add a tag that says ‘Social position-based society’ on their Wikipedia page.

Besides, College is when and where the plot of most pornhwas takes place.

So, College it is.

And lastly… I need to find a hack or a quick-get-rich scheme. I have no desire to continue working a normal job. Fuck that. I’m in another world. I can think of two or three ideas to exploit in order to get rich. Everything else is just an urgent matter that needs to be dealt with. Stop gaps measures at most. No. I’m in fucking porn world. I’ll take advantage of that.

Channeling my shonen spirit, I took a deep breath before breathing out. Alright, Ikuzo!

Getting up off my bed, I started to undress. I pulled out of my luggage a towel, tied it on my waist, then left my room for the bathroom.

There’s a lot to do.

But so little time.

I will take care of these issues, one at a time if I have to.