ALRE 01

Chapter : 1

After finishing the morning meeting, Jaewon returned to his office and stared blankly at the schedule his secretary had left on the desk.

He should’ve been getting up to move to his next appointment, but one particular item on the list stuck out like a splinter, keeping him rooted in place.

11:00–12:00 Tenant meeting at Taejin Officetel
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:30–15:00 Eco-friendly Interior Forum (COEX)
16:00–17:00 Marcel Hotel (Private schedule)
**17:00– ** Business trip to Palace Hotel, Gangwon Province

16:00–17:00 Marcel Hotel (Private schedule).

That “private schedule” at 4 p.m. was a blind date.

An hour at most.
All he had to do was grit his teeth, drink a cup of tea, and be done with it.
The problem was, the one who’d set up the meeting was none other than President Kang Jusik.

“Come on, hyung! It’s President Kang we’re talking about. The girl’s his daughter, right? Then of course you have to go.”

When Jaewon said he wanted to decline, his second brother had looked at him as though he were some ungrateful beast.

“Yeah, hyung! Think how much President Kang’s done for us. Even if the girl’s an orc, you should suck it up and go!”

The youngest, who was obsessed with video games, shot his mouth off since it wasn’t his problem.

Ungrateful brats.

Since their parents had passed away, Jaewon had shielded them from the harsh winds of the world, raising them like flowers in a greenhouse.
And yet, all that effort meant nothing to them now—they just wanted him to hurry up and get it over with.

Sigh…

Jaewon gave a bitter smile and rubbed at the corner of his mouth.
Still, they weren’t entirely wrong.

After all, the one who’d extended a helping hand to three orphans was President Kang Jusik himself.

Jaewon had since built up “Won Interior” and become a self-made businessman, but back then, he’d had nothing—no hope, no direction.
If not for Kang Jusik, “Won Interior” might not even exist today.

Leaning back in his chair, Jaewon recalled the phone call he’d had with the president a few days earlier.

“Isn’t it about time you got married? I happen to know a very nice young woman. Why don’t you meet her?”

“I appreciate the thought, sir, but I’m a bit tied up with work right now…”

“You know my daughter, Young-yi? She’s grown up well—takes after her mother.”

“Sir…”

“Hahaha, don’t feel pressured. Just go have a cup of tea together.”

Even now, Jaewon couldn’t figure out the man’s intentions.
Why his precious daughter, of all people?
She couldn’t be more than twenty-six at most.
What reason could there possibly be to match her with him?
He’d never thought about her that way—and honestly, the idea alone was burdensome.

Sigh.

Jaewon pressed his fingers to his temples and exhaled deeply.

Still, it was a request from the man who’d saved his life.
He could at least show the courtesy of showing up.

Knock, knock.

At the sound of someone knocking, Jaewon looked up toward the door.

“Come in.”

A moment later, his colleague and friend, Director Park Sunho, stepped inside.

“Boss, aren’t you going? You’ve got to meet that tenant in unit 1004.”

Jaewon checked his watch and stood up.

There had been some issues with Taejin Officetel, one of the properties the company had recently purchased.
Apparently, one of the existing tenants—someone from the same industry, rumor had it—had been filing constant complaints.

According to Sunho, the guy was “not your average nutcase.”

“How many units are still occupied?”

“Quite a few, actually. But by next year, most will have moved out.”

Taejin Officetel had three underground floors, twelve above ground, and eighty-eight units in total.

“What’s the longest remaining lease?”

“Unfortunately, unit 1004 tops the list—one year and eight months left.”

The officetel, with its prime location near three subway lines and plenty of nearby amenities, was a rare two-room structure in the area.
Even when the company offered moving support to tenants who wanted to leave early, no one volunteered.

“Do I really have to go myself?”

He wasn’t some kind of problem-solver squad.

“You have to! The tenant literally said he wants to talk to ‘the boss’!”

Sunho, despite his big frame, hopped up like an overexcited kid.

“Are you sure you’re not the one who couldn’t handle him?”

“I’m telling you, no! Still, we can’t let them badmouth the company while they’re living there. We’ve got a reputation to protect…”

A reputation, huh.

Jaewon tucked the Taejin Officetel business card into his pocket and tightened his loosened tie.
Fine. He’d go see what the tenant wanted.

If they’d specifically asked for “the boss,” he might as well show up.
Honestly, it beat going to that blind date—a hundred, no, a thousand times over.

“Our poor boss—busy man. You’ve got COEX this afternoon, then Gangwon tonight for a business trip.”

“Funny way to show sympathy.”

“Ah, I just can’t deal with women.”

“The tenant’s a woman?”

Jaewon, who was just putting on his jacket, looked back.

“Yeah.”

Sunho scratched his head, suddenly looking sheepish.

The guy was built like a mountain, but apparently, a woman tenant had him rattled.

Jaewon sighed quietly.

If only that were the end of it—he still had a blind date before heading off to Gangwon.

“Tell Team Leader Lee Jisoo to prep for the trip and wait for me.”

“Got it.”

Sunho’s relieved expression was almost comical. Jaewon left the office with him.

It was going to be one long, tiring day.

***

Taejin Officetel, Unit 1004

Jaewon left Sunho in the car—his call with a client had dragged on—and went up alone.
He suspected Sunho was deliberately dragging that call out, but whatever. Jaewon just wanted to get this over with.

If he was lucky, maybe the tenant would even say they wanted to move out.

He checked the time before ringing the bell.
Ten minutes before eleven.

She should be home.

He pressed the doorbell.

No answer.

He pressed again.

Still nothing.

Jaewon balled his hand into a fist and knocked twice.

Thud, thud.

“Excuse me, I’m from Taejin Officetel.”

“J-just a moment!”

Finally, a response.

He heard a flurry of movement inside, and then the door opened with a click.

“Come in.”

One of Jaewon’s eyebrows shot up.

The woman standing there looked like a drowned rat.

Her long, loose hair was dripping wet—she must’ve been in the shower.
Her shirt was buttoned crookedly, one button off, and she looked completely out of sorts.

Jaewon averted his gaze and gave the interior a sharp once-over.

“You’re the new owner, right?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The woman folded her arms and gave him a wary once-over from head to toe.
Her hair clung to her face like seaweed, obscuring her features, but judging by her voice, she seemed to be in her early twenties.

If this was the “crazy tenant” Sunho had mentioned, Jaewon couldn’t say for sure yet—but the air definitely hinted at it.

Still, he couldn’t judge so soon.

“Here, my business card.”

He pulled the card he’d prepared from his jacket pocket and handed it over.

She glanced at it half-heartedly, then put a hand on her hip and sighed deeply.

Jaewon remained at the doorway, watching her.

“Ha, I knew it. I told that old owner a hundred times, and he never listened. So this was his plan—to run away and dump it on someone else.”

She muttered bitterly, probably referring to the previous landlord.

After grumbling for a while, she suddenly looked him straight in the eye.

Her face was half-hidden under wet hair, but her eyes gleamed sharply in the dim light.

“Mr. Landlord,” she said flatly,
“you’ve just stepped in something nasty.”

I’ve what? Stepped in crap?

Jaewon blinked, speechless.

She sighed and crossed her arms again.

“This building’s a total disaster. First off, the hot and cold water won’t balance properly. Then the windows are so drafty you could drive a bull through the gaps, the sink cabinet’s about to collapse, and the walls—don’t even get me started on the soundproofing. You can hear the next-door neighbors breathe.”

The list of complaints went on, seemingly without end.