A man’s scream erupts once more.
Immediately after the scream, dust scattered from the broken wall of the house.
“Oh my, the monster is really putting up a fight.”
Like a thug from a 90s movie, he squatted down, tapping his shoulder with a cane instead of a bat, reciting monotonously.
The landlord’s lips trembled as if he was trying to say something.
It was evident that he knew what would happen if this continued; his shaking eyes and lost fingers made that clear.
According to the information Senior Jiun managed to gather, the man seemed to have funneled money somewhere.
It didn’t seem like he would easily be persuaded to return the money just by talking, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere.
“Boss? Let’s not make this difficult; I know everything you’ve hidden.”
He spoke in a tone and with an expression that suggested he found everything tiresome, scratching the back of his head.
As he pushed for answers about the hidden assets, the man became visibly flustered, fidgeting and darting anxious glances.
And then came the final ultimatum.
“Are you going to return the money nicely… or should I really cut you open right here? Choose.”
The man’s gaze shook even more.
Having tracked him down after the house had gone to auction, the mad girl before him had smashed the door like crumpling tissue paper and broke through the wall.
This magical girl stood right before him.
Thinking he might end up inhaling his last breath if he said the wrong thing, the man’s complexion turned pale.
“Okay, okay, I understand… so just calm down, alright?”
“You’re the one who’s making it impossible to calm down!”
With a shout, he kicked at the wall again, which had already caved inward, causing dust and debris to rise.
Someone who loses money sees nothing but that loss, whether they are looking at a man or a woman.
Losing money through voluntary gambling drives one mad; losing it through fraud?
It was a miracle he hadn’t split the landlord’s head in half like a watermelon.
“Where are you hiding it?”
“Well, it’s… I can’t give you cash right now…”
“What?”
The man muttered, looking nervous.
Assuming he was about to spout more nonsense, I created an even more tense atmosphere with an authoritative interjection.
He cowered with his arms wrapped around himself, not being able to look me in the eye while still mumbling.
“Calm down, calm down, and you have to listen to what people say to the end…”
The man’s demeanor grew more deferential.
The middle-aged man inserted his nails into the gap between the wallpaper and lifted the flooring to reveal cement underneath.
Upon closer inspection, there were subtle cracks even on the lifted cement floor.
The man fetched a flathead screwdriver from somewhere and inserted its tip into the crack, pulling out a small piece of cement.
After that, a groove that looked deep enough for a finger to fit was revealed.
There was a basement beneath the house, resembling a nuclear bunker straight out of a game.
“Ugh.”
Pathetically, the man couldn’t open the entrance by himself.
“Just, just help me a bit…”
“Ugh.”
With a sigh, I bent down and removed the entrance with one hand as the man struggled with both of his.
The inside of the cement lid wasn’t too wide or thick.
Following behind the man, who descended first down the pre-placed metal ladder, I stepped into the basement.
In the center of the basement, something was covered with a waterproof tarp.
When the man removed it, I saw gold bars piled up, the kind one would expect to see in a crime movie.
I had often seen them in games or movies, but this was my first time seeing them in real life.
Moreover, I never imagined I would see such gold bars in this manner.
The man, as if making a significant decision, gulped hard and spoke with difficulty.
“Let’s just take three of the big ones…”
“Just three?”
“J-Just three! Do you know how much gold is worth these days…?”
Faced with the man’s flabbergasted response, I considered if that was indeed an acceptable amount and pulled out my smartphone to check the current gold price, which I hadn’t paid much attention to.
105,000 won per gram; assuming he meant one kilogram for each big piece…
‘100 million…?’
This gold bar, as thin as a smartphone, was worth 100 million.
In an instant, my thoughts froze at the shocking amount that had escaped realistic expectations.
And if he said three of them, that would be double the deposit I had paid.
Chastising myself for calling that amount “just,” I clutched the gold bars tightly, now nestled between my fingers.
For a moment I was lost in thought.
I recalled that various gems come with certificates and demanded that he hand those over.
“Certificate.”
“Ah, of course, I’ll give it to you.”
Thus, along with three 1 kg gold bars, I received three certificates matching the engraved serial numbers.
Since I had gotten my money back, there was no reason to linger around.
While flying back through the sky, I took out my phone to make a call.
The man probably thought that with his payout, everything was wrapped up, but it was far from over.
“Hey, Mary. What’s the status?”
“I think we should report it quickly. This idiot hid gold bars in his own house.”
“I knew there was something up… got it.”
The call hurriedly ended, and returning home, I held tightly onto 300 million won worth of gold and certificates.
A person who swindles others must be prepared to be swindled in return.
Thanks to Senior Jiun’s connections, the landlord’s hidden property was discovered and recovered.
Naturally, the office-style apartment that had gone into auction was also canceled, as it was judged that “the landlord would be able to pay.”
It seemed like in South Korea, they excelled in collecting taxes; everything had been raked in clean.
Receiving money back is notoriously difficult, though.
“So, what are we going to do with this?”
“Well, that’s a good question.”
“Gold!”
We all gathered around in the room, with the three gold bars resting on the floor.
Ignoring Shiyeon, who looked happy just to see pretty gold, everyone else was at a loss, with 3 kg of gold in front of us.
Honestly, it wasn’t a sum of money one could treat lightly, thinking, “Wow, that’s 300 million.”
After all, I had certificates and serial numbers for the gold bars.
Because they were tangible assets, careful handling was required.
Actively selling the gold bars back to a bank would directly prove the link between the buyers and the bars.
I had brought them back blinded by the sum, but I never anticipated there would be issues like this.
“Is this really gold?”
“Yeah, each of them is worth 100 million.”
Shiyeon, her eyes sparkling at the glimmering gold, pointed at a gold bar and asked for confirmation.
I wondered how she knew this was gold, though Shiyeon seemed to acquire knowledge each day.
Nodding, I nonchalantly repeated the value.
“Wow! So expensive!”
“Yeah, it’s really expensive.”
Maybe that’s why Shiyeon seemed startled, suddenly comprehending the ‘huge value’ without needing a food analogy.
In fourth grade math, she was beginning to grasp large number concepts.
With this gold the size of a smartphone, you could have chicken every day for ten years without worry.
While disposing of gold bars was a challenge, there was one more piece of pleasing news.
“Are you planning to leave right after the lease period ends?”
“Yeah. I’ll aggravate that bastard one more time for the deposit.”
When I mentioned getting the deposit back, what did I mean?
“The landlord must’ve been quite confused, thinking you were some kind of tenant.”
“Yeah, I realized that after I got here…”
That was right.
The three 1 kg gold bars I had received instead of the actual deposit.
From the landlord’s perspective, it was like he handed over the deposit he had been swindled.
How was he supposed to know which tenant of an office-style apartment or villa took home the gold bars?
Ultimately, the landlord should be left thinking he lost the three gold bars and would have to return the deposit of 150 million won to me when the lease expired.
“Wow, you made 300 million in one outing?”
“Seems that way.”
Reflecting on Senior Jiun’s comment, this outing yielded an outrageous profit.
With the shining gold bars in front of her, Senior Jiun crossed her arms and tilted her head, asking curiously.
“But isn’t this a bit close to a crime?”
“Oh please… don’t say something that would disappoint the listener. It’s the landlord who happily transferred it after I banished the monster that appeared in his home.”
“Is that… so?”
Caught off guard by my brilliant argument, Senior Jiun let out a bemused sound of slight understanding.
In reality, everything was criminal.
Fabricated monster alarms, breaking and entering, intimidation, and special theft… among other things.
When you think about it, nothing was innocent, but because we were the ones being victimized, it felt comforting.
Moreover, with Senior Jiun, who provided the fake monster alerts, and the person in charge, they were accomplices too.
As long as a few others who had cooperated and the three of us here kept their mouths shut, everything would be perfect.
Let’s just call it justice being served.
“Well, first, I need to find those who will buy this.”
“Okay, I’ll count on you.”
In the brief silence that followed, Senior Jiun took out her smartphone to find various contacts.
Without even being asked, she was naturally laundering money like it was second nature.
Isn’t this a matter of talent?
