Seoul Station’s Necromancer Chapter 24:
Chapter 24 – Looking For a House
Woojin arrived at Sadang at around 11 o’clock . He called his mother to see when she could get off .
“Yes, mother . I’ll see you later . ”
After ending the phone call, Woojin looked at Sunggoo .
“We have nothing to do until 3 o’clock . Do you want to go eat something?”
“I’ll be honored . Hyung-nim . ”
“Dude . Stop over doing it . ”
“Heh heh, I really am honored . Where should I take you?”
“Mmmm . How about a taste makes me feel like I’ve returned to earth?”
“…… . ”
He was in trouble . He couldn’t think of any witty words he could reply back with . Before the silence lingered, Sunggoo was barely able to give an answer .
“Hahaha . Should I take you to an organic Korean restaurant? There is a place I know . ”
“Mmm . Let’s go there . ”
Woojin looked out the window, and he pointed at a specific location . Sunggoo rubbed his eyes when he saw it .
“Over there?”
“Yeah . ”
[Kimbab World]
Sunggoo berated himself inside .
‘Now that I’ve touched some money I became wasteful . Hyung-nim is still frugal . ’
Woojin and Sunggoo ordered what they wanted to eat after they parked in front of the Kimbab World . Woojin ordered tuna kimbab(TLN: canned tuna) and Ramen . He had a very blissful expression on his face as he savored the food .
‘This . This is it . ’
He thought about his old memories, and his 3rd year in high school .
This is what he had tasted at that time . The 20 years as a necromancer was bypassed, and he felt like the 3rd year high school student from earth .
“Hoo-roop . (TLN: noodle slurping sfx) Hyung-nim . Which Dungeon should I look up next?”
“Mmm . Is there something like a monster catalogue out there? It would be better if there was a list where the 1 star and 2 star monsters are ordered by their level . ”
“Of course, it exists . ”
“Let’s decided after I see that . ”
“Yes, sir . I’ll show it to you at the cafe after I organize the information . ”
Woojin and Sunggoo headed towards Angel Angel, and they ordered some coffee . Sunggoo glanced at Woojin before he spoke to the barista .
“Is there anything on the menu that represents the earth’s taste? Is there something that’ll make one feel such a sensation??”
At Sunggoo’s question, the barista frowned as if he saw someone with a couple screws loose . Sunggoo turned to look at Woojin, and even Woojin was looking at him strangely .
“You have a weird taste . I want a Cafe Mocha . ”
“…… . ”
After Woojin said those words, he went to take a seat . Sunggoo’s face turned red .
“I would like an Americano and a Cafe Mocha . ”
“Yes . That would be $10 . ”
Sunggoo brought a vibrating coaster and he took a seat . Woojin slyly asked a question .
“The coffee price these days is nothing to scoff at . ”
“It’s almost priced the same as lunch . ”
Woojin looked around the cafe’s interior . When he came here previously, he had left without ordering anything . He was surprised when the coffee was more expensive than he thought it would be .
Soup and rice is $6 . The price was almost the same as a coffee… .
It wasn’t as if there weren’t a lot of people here . This large cafe was half full . Woojin indirectly asked a question .
“How much would it cost to set up a store like this?”
“A cafe? I’m not sure . It should be around 1 million dollars?”
He didn’t know how much the rent was, but this cafe was 3 story high . It was a large cafe . Sunggoo was in the dark about such matters, so he guessed at the answer .
‘It would be great if I could set one up for mother . ’
The coffee price was expensive, so he thought the business will do well . It looked to be less arduous than working at a restaurant . He made $300,000 today . He could make 1 million dollars if he worked hard for 3 days .
Woojin thought about it in a relaxed manner . If he purchase a house, then he didn’t have anything else he wanted . He’ll continue to attack the Dungeon to level up, and the money would gather by itself .
The money itself was trivial . He just wondered if he should set up a store like this, so his mother could have something to occupy her time in relative comfort .
Pew pew, Pyo-ro-ro-rong . .
Woojin sipped the sweet Cafe Mocha, and he focused on his phone game . While he was occupied, Suggoo brought up some data on his tablet PC .
“Hyung-nim . I have it here . ”
“Let me see . How do I turn the page on this?”
“It’s the same as a smart phone, hyung-nim . ”
Woojin dragged the window to the top of the screen, then he looked at the monster catalogue .
The Rakwis from the 3 star Dungeon and the monsters like Goblin and Kobold from the 2 star Dungeons were also classified by the number of stars .
Monsters with 1~3 stars were classified as low ranked monsters . The monsters were classified as high ranked starting from 4 stars .
The most basic 4 star monster was a troll . Its movement was quick, and it had enough intelligence to use tools . Moreover, they had an abnormal regeneration ability . Still, they weren’t that hard to deal with .
“I heard the 4 star Dungeons and above looks a little bit different . Of course, I’ve personally never been to one . ”
The 3 star Dungeon kept the original appearance of a subway station . However, the 4 star Dungeons were basically like stepping into a different world . The entrance just acted as a gate .
“Well, I’ll know once I enter one . ”
Woojin eyed all the 4 star level monsters . Then he weighed it against his own level .
‘It’ll be possible if they are at that level . ’
There were easy monsters to deal with, but there were also difficult ones too . However, he felt like he would be able to take on monsters as high as 4 stars .
If he wanted to level up, it would probably be better for him to attempt the higher ranked Dungeons early on rather than going for the low ranked Dungeons .
“So who assigns the stars?”
“It is a measured value . ”
“What is being measured?”
“The Dungeon Energy . ”
“There is such a thing?”
“Yes . Every time a Dungeon is reset, the Dungeon Energy can be measured . Teams read these estimated report to decided if they should attempt a Dungeon or not . ”
Woojin nodded his head . The stars weren’t really assigned to the monsters . It was the grade for the Dungeons . The monsters were categorized depending on which ranked Dungeons they spawn the most at .
This is why it wasn’t strange to see a 3 star monster, a Hobgoblin, in the 2 star Dungeon .
“First, I want to see and experience it . Find out more about the 4 star Dungeons . ”
“We don’t have to line up starting from the 4 star Dungeons . We can make an appointment . I’ll look up if there are any empty spots in the schedules . ”
Woojin learned that the 4 star Dungeons and above were Field type Dungeons . Woojin spent the remaining time listening to Sunggoo’s various explanations .
Woojin and Sunggoo exited the cafe when the appointed time arrived .
“Hyung-nim . I could take care of these small matters for you . ”
“No . My mother has to live in the house, so she should see it . ”
“Yes, hyung-nim . If you need anything, please give me a call . ”
He gave a respectful bow . Woojin nodded his head as he saw Sunggoo walk away .
“I’ve earned a pretty good servant . ”
Sunggoo sometimes over did things, but he really liked the affable Sunggoo . He headed towards Soongmi’s restaurant with light steps .
Soongmi was sitting on the counter, and she was immersed in her hand phone game . Even though she was in the midst of setting a high score, she threw her phone down as she suddenly stood up .
“Uh-muh, Oppa . You came? Did you eat?”
“Yeah . I ate . . ”
“Do you want some coffee?”
“No . I’m heading back out immediately . Where is my mother?”
“Wait a moment . I’ll call for her . ”
Soongmi headed inside the kitchen, and she saw Lee-soogyong and the other kitchen ladies busily working since it was lunch time . She was taking care of a stack of dirty dishes .
“Un-muh . Mother . Elder brother Woojin is here . Please hurry up and come out . ” (TLN: Lost in translation . But Soongmi is speaking to Woojin’s mom as if she is her mother-in-law)
“O . . ok . Ms . Soongmi . Let me finish this up . ”
At Lee-soogyong’s awkward exchange, her fellow kitchen ladies made a big fuss about it .
“Ah-whew . Mrs . Lee must be very happy . Your son is making so much money that you are going to look for a house . ”
“The way he is making money is like that yankee gentleman, Neil Gates . ” (TLN: lol)
“Aigo . That’s right . I’ve heard about him too . His name was Neil or something . I’ve heard he makes a lot of money . Your Wooojin is like him . ”
“That’s right . I’m so jealous . If my son was like Woojin, I would have immediately quit this job . ”
“Go . Hurry up and go . Your son is waiting for you . ”
“I still have to do my share before going . ”
At her fellow kitchen ladies’ complements, Lee-joonhyung finished washing the dishes with an shy smile on her face . Since she gained a dependable son, the restaurant work didn’t feel arduous anymore .
“She’ll come out after she finishes what she is doing . Oppa should sit here . It won’t be too long . ”
“Ok . ”
Soongmi pulled a chair towards him, and he sat . When he saw Soongmi sit across from him, he asked her a question .
“What are you doing?”
“Heh heh, I’m looking at Oppa’s face . ”
“Uh-ooh . I feel a bit uncomfortable when something ugly looks at me . ”
Soongmi’s face remained gentle even when she heard Woojin’s straightforward comment .
“Oh my . You are still so forceful . ”
“Uh-whew . Go make me a cup of cofee . ”
“Yes, oppa . If oppa feels uncomfortable then I’ll look at oppa sparingly . ”
Now he remembered . He remembered the memories where Soongmi had clung onto him even though he said he didn’t like her . While Woojin was drinking the mixed coffee Soongmi made, his mother came out .
“You are here, son?”
Behind Mrs . Lee-soogyong, the other kitchen ladies followed her out . They acted as if they had come to look at someone else’s precious son . Their gazes made Woojin feel uncomfortable, so he let out a fake cough .
“Huhm . Let’s go . ”
“Ok . Why are we going to go look at houses when he don’t have any money?”
With a quiet anticipation, his mother asked the question . Woojin suppress a bitter laugh as he looked at his mother with teary eyes . Well, he guessed it would be ok to go along with this .
“What do you mean we don’t have any money . This was deposited today . ”
Woojin showed her the figure on his smart phone . Even though she was secretly filled with anticipation, Lee-soogyong was surprised . When he said he wanted to move to a different house, she thought he had obtained around $5,000 .
“Th…th…three hundred thousand dollars?”
At Lee-soogyong’s stuttered words, Soongmi’s eyes turned round, and she also checked the figure . She hadn’t read it wrong .
“Ooh-wah . Jackpot . It’s $380,000! The Roused are the best!”
The Roused made a lot of money . They had heard about how much money the Roused made, but they couldn’t help but be surprised when they saw it with their own eyes . Woojin’s mother, Lee-soogyong, was so surprised that she became tongue-tied .
“Ah-yooh . Mrs . Lee has an excellent son . In a single day, he was able to make couple hundred thousand . ”
“Haigo . Who cares about that Neil or whatever . Eeeeng . She won’t even have to envy Mahnsook . ”
“Who the heck is Mahnsook?”
“Ah, you know about them . The person who sells gas at the snobby large neighborhood
“Eeeng . I heard about him . Ms Kim is so knowledgeable . ”
“Ho **** ho . Mrs . Lee has been holding back until now! You said he had come back after playing some game, and you were worried about him . ”
“Quitting your job is the least you can do . You could open up your own restaurant . ”
“If Mrs . Lee opens up a restaurant, then you can count on me . I’ll go there to work for you . ”
Lee-soogyong came to her senses when she heard her fellow employees prattle on .
“W…Woojin?”
“Let’s go see some houses?”
Woojin laughed when he looked at her .
*
Woojin escorted his mother to look around several houses as a real estate agent guided them . His mother’s had a blissful expression on her face as if she was in a dream, and she liked every house we went to .
There were too many houses she liked, so she was having a hard time choosing one . These houses were much better than the one room, and they were even better than the house they had lived in before his disappearance .
At the time, they wouldn’t have been able to buy houses like these with just $300,000 .
As they were choosing a house, they came across a problem from an unexpected place .
“Hoong . I don’t like this house . ”
The kindergarten had ended, so Sooah had come to join in their search for a house . However, she acted like a petulant kid as she threw a tantrum at every house they visited .
“Why don’t you like this house, Sooah?”
“We can’t have a dog in this house . Mom promised me . If we move to a new house, she’ll let me have a dog . ”
“Uh-muh . This kid . ”
About a half a year ago, Sooah wanted a dog . However, their residence was too small to have a doge, so Lee-soogyong had promised she would get Sooah one the next time they moved .
A long time had passed yet Sooah remembered it . When she looked at Sooah, she had on an obstinate face .
Woojin thought Sooah’s antics were cute, so he let out a delighted laugh . Then he spoke to the real estate agent .
“I guess an apartment is out of the question . Can we only look at the houses?”
“Of course . However, the price is a little…Hahah . ”
“Well, let’s see it first . ”
Amongst the couple houses on the market, they were able to find a house where everyone liked it .
“Oh wow! This house is great”
Sooah jumped around in joy . It was a 2 story house with a small backyard . After the Sadahng station’s Dungeon Break, a new rural housing development had formed on the newly available land .
When the monsters rampaged, many apartments had collapsed . So it was common place to prefer a single home near the stations .
“I’ll buy this house . ”
Woojin made a straightforward decision, but the real estate agent had a difficult expression on his face .
“This house was put on the market for a quick sale, so it is priced below the market price . However, it still costs $603,000 . The price difference between what you had specified is quite large…… . ”
“It’s ok . I’ll sign the contract . ”
“Then let us return to the office . ”
The real estate agent called the owner, so they would be able to meet each other at the the office . Woojin gave a call to Sunggoo .
“Hey, Sunggoo . I’m trying to buy a house, but I’m a little bit short . Lend me some money . ”
[…… . ]
The worst sin is taking back something after you gave it to the other person… . .
[Well, hyung-nim . I was about to buy something, and I’m about to sign a contract…… . ]
“Does that mean you don’t want to lend me the money?”
[No . It would be my honor to be able to lend my money to hyung-nim . ]
Woojin smirked .
“When we complete the next Dungeon, I’ll pay it back with interest . ”
[Thank you . Hyung-nim . ]
He was able to solve the problem of the money shortage cleanly . Woojin headed towards the real agent’s office .