Chapter 19: Instructions for Expired Care

7:50 AM, the next morning.
The glass door of the Seongsu-dong real estate office reflected Kang Jae-hoon’s crooked tie.
"Hyung, this tie..."
Kim Dae-won, a toothpick dangling from his mouth, replied, "What’s wrong with it? This is the trophy I won after bargaining for half an hour in Myeong-dong last night!"
Kang Jae-hoon stared at the logo on the tie, where the original "LV" had been washed away to look like "IU," his mouth twitching.
"Let me demonstrate for you, watch closely—"
Kim Dae-won suddenly straightened his posture, his leather shoes clicking against the floor tiles like he was crushing a cigarette butt. He held his right hand up to his ear as if holding a phone.
"Aigoo, President Kim! The penthouse in Hannam-dong you wanted? Keeping it until the end of the month is absolutely no problem! What? Paying in full? I’ll go break the original owner’s legs right now!"
Kang Jae-hoon: "..."
"Did you learn it? If you did, get inside!"
As the glass door pushed open, the bell chimed a crisp "ding-dong."
The bald manager, holding a coffee cup, glared over.
"Are you two putting on a skit in front of my shop this early in the morning?"
Kang Jae-hoon bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
"Hello, Manager-nim. I’m Kang Jae-hoon, here for the interview!"
The manager eyed his inverted-triangle shoulder line.
"Kang Jae-hoon... Are you Park Seong-ho’s cousin?"
"Yes!"
The manager immediately tossed him a manual and an employment form.
"Go to the back, fill out the form, and read the manual. After the morning meeting, I’ll find someone to show you the ropes."
"Yes."
A moment later, after filling in his information, Kang Jae-hoon opened the manual:
Rule 1: Automatically add a 20% service fee when quoting prices to international students from China.
Rule 2: Quote deposits for Japanese clients at 70%, and require three months' rent in advance for Southeast Asian clients.
Rule 3: All semi-basements are to be referred to as "semi-duplexes," and water leaks must be explained as "optimal humidity for the Gangnam district."
Rule 4: On page eight of the contract, use 8-point font to state "The landlord has the right to raise rent at any time," and charge a 200% penalty for contract breaches.
...
The morning meeting for the real estate agency was shockingly simple.
The manager used a marker to draw today's goals on the whiteboard:
1. Each person to conduct three client viewings.
2. Retrieve keys for three new listings.
3. Secure two signed contracts, aiming for three.
Kang Jae-hoon’s mentor was Kim Seong-beom—a 37-year-old gold-medal broker whose suit was always two sizes too big and whose hair gel could glue the Han River Bridge together.
The man took Kang Jae-hoon’s employment form and scanned it.
"Graduated from Seoul Institute of the Arts and now selling houses?"
"It’s because of my passion!"
"..."
Kim Seong-beom gave him a look like he was staring at an idiot.
"Can you drive?"
"Yes."
Park Jeong-woo tossed him a set of keys. "Go fill the tank first."
Kang Jae-hoon stared at the "Hyundai Grandeur" emblem on the trunk, silently swallowing his protest about being a chauffeur on his first day of internship.

After returning from the gas station, Park Jeong-hwan tucked his ballpoint pen into his suit pocket, grabbed a key ring, and headed out.
"Follow me. I’ll show you a good listing."
Forty minutes later.
Kang Jae-hoon covered his nose and mouth as he pushed open an iron door that reeked of mold.
"Sunbae, this semi-basement doesn't even have an exhaust fan..."
Kim Seong-beom pulled out a perfume bottle and sprayed it wildly into the air.
"This is called 'retro industrial style.' Don't you understand that it's a selling point to hike the deposit by 20%?"
"But the water leaking from the ceiling..."
"It's a natural humidifier for the Gangnam district! Haven't you seen the news about how wealthy wives hire people to splash water in their homes?"
"..."
Kang Jae-hoon’s pen hovered over the "Advantages" column of the listing sheet for a long time before he finally wrote:
[A site of great Feng Shui (It literally blows wind and leaks water!)]
At 2:00 PM, the first group of clients arrived.
"Annyeonghaseyo—"
As soon as the female student with a Northeast Chinese accent spoke, Kim Seong-beom’s leather shoe tip jabbed hard into Kang Jae-hoon’s ankle.
"Ms. Jeon, right?"
Kang Jae-hoon gritted his teeth and handed over a tampered-with subway map.
"This apartment is only a five-minute walk to Kyung Hee University!"
"But the map shows..."
"That’s for people who drive. We can take a shortcut through the church cemetery and save another two minutes!"
Kim Seong-beom suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed onto the sofa.
"So many people are fighting to book this place; I didn't even have time to take my high blood pressure medication before rushing over..."
The girl hurriedly bowed. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine once the deposit is paid!"
Kang Jae-hoon stared at Kim Seong-beom’s twitching eyelid, finally understanding why he kept emergency heart medication in his pocket.
After signing the contract and seeing the client off, Kim Seong-beom flicked the banknotes.
"Girls from China who come here to chase celebrities are the easiest to fool. Raise the next quote by another 30%."
The glass door reflected the girl’s silhouette as she skipped away. Kang Jae-hoon clicked his pen repeatedly.
"She probably had to scrape that deposit together for half a year."
"So what?"
Kim Seong-beom pulled out two banknotes and slapped them onto his chest.
"Your commission is enough to buy a new pair of leather shoes. Want to grab a drink tonight? Consider it an internship celebration."
"No, Sunbae. I plan to keep practicing the sales pitches."
"Damn it, that work ethic is exactly like me back in the day..."
That night.
Kim Dae-won squatted by the curb, listening to Kang Jae-hoon pour out his frustrations.
"Why don't you tell Director Han that you can't play the role?"
"No!"
Kang Jae-hoon crumpled the hem of his suit.
"Hwang Jung-min said that an actor must be able to crawl into the skin of the character..."
"Even if the skin reeks?"
"..."
Under the cold fluorescent light of the convenience store, Kang Jae-hoon stared blankly at his last tuna rice ball.

"Customer-nim, would you like it heated?"
"Thank you, no need."
As his coins rolled into the slot, he caught a glimpse of a calico cat curled up in a cardboard box outside the glass door.
Kang Jae-hoon used the commission from the apartment he rented to the student from Northeast China to buy five cans of cat food.
He squatted by the green belt and pried open an aluminum lid; the calico cat’s tail brushed against the back of his hand.
Lee Sung-kyung sat cross-legged on a yoga mat, munching on an apple. She didn't look up when she heard the door lock turn.
"I had someone fix the water heater in the bathroom."
"Mm."
Kang Jae-hoon placed the rice ball on the top shelf of the refrigerator, the plastic packaging crinkling in the silence.
Lee Sung-kyung’s rhythm of biting into the apple slowed for a beat.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"You've got cat hair on your pant leg."
Kang Jae-hoon stopped the motion of brushing off his pants and pulled a lint roller from under the coffee table, silently rolling it over his legs.
"How is the... real estate internship?"
"I met a student from China today."
Kang Jae-hoon’s movements slowed slightly.
"The house I recommended to her requires walking through a church cemetery to get to school."
"Did you tell her the truth?"
"My mentor used emergency heart meds to trick her into signing the contract."
"..."
Lee Sung-kyung suddenly stood up, opened the fridge, took out a bag of ready-to-eat chicken breast, and walked into the kitchen.
A moment later, she brought a plate over and set it in front of Kang Jae-hoon.
"It tastes bad. Feed it to the cat."
Kang Jae-hoon stared at the neatly sliced pieces of chicken breast and suddenly laughed.
"Sung-kyung, your way of comforting people is so awkward."
"Who's comforting you?"
Lee Sung-kyung rolled up her yoga mat. "I'm just getting rid of expired food."
Kang Jae-hoon touched the warm plate, remained silent for a moment, and said softly, "Thank you."
"If you want to thank me, scrub the grout in the bathroom tiles clean."
After rolling the yoga mat into its storage bag, Lee Sung-kyung turned and headed toward the bedroom.
When the door was halfway closed, it bounced back open, and she poked her head out.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
Kang Jae-hoon turned.
"That real estate agent suit..."
"It suits you well."
As the door lock clicked shut, Kang Jae-hoon touched the back of his neck.
The calico cat meowed downstairs, and the moonlight made the uneaten chicken breast shine.