#17

Now that I have money, I should open a newspaper company headquarters on the streets of the capital. If we open a newspaper branch in the middle of a busy street, passersby would notice it, and we can obviously see a great promotional effect due to that.

I left the house and walked down the streets of the capital so that Claude could have some fun on his own. As I walked around looking for real estate, all I could think about was the first newspaper article that had to be published.

‘It would be great if I could find something exciting.’

In my previous life, I went around looking for spicy and hot articles. Now that I was the president of the newspaper company itself, I understood why I was told so. Why did my employer, who used to be trash in my previous life, ask me to create invigorating articles to be published? It was because mediocre articles didn’t make it good to people. It was all about newspaper sales.

With that in mind, I arrived at the best real estate in the capital.

“What?! The monthly rent for a small office in this area is 10 gold coins?”

My eyes bulged in surprise at such a high monthly rent. The place I was looking for was the 2nd floor, not the 1st floor. It didn’t even matter if it was the 3rd or 4th floor as long as it was a good place. Why was it so expensive?

As I opened my eyes wide without saying anything, the real estate owner clicked his tongue as if thinking of how pathetic I was.

“I mean, hey. Lady, you seem so ignorant about the world. Look carefully, this place is located in the center of the city, that’s why it’s a very good location with a large population. Doesn’t that explain why it’s expensive?”

“Excuse me. I work at a newspaper office, so I don’t need this expensive place.”

‘I earn money through the publication of the book, The Red. No matter how much I think about it, 10 gold coins is too expensive.’ I was depressed and lowered my voice and asked the owner of the real estate.

“Is it possible? Is there a cheaper place? I hope it’s still in the capital city.”

However, the realtor stuck to his stance.

“Cheap places are troublesome because they are deficient. There’s crime, and strange things pop up more than often. 

“Wouldn’t the customer make a fuss about it later on after you sign the contract?”

“I don’t mind if something that is not human will appear, so I think it would be better to have a place where I can pay a reasonable monthly rent.”

Ghosts were not the problem. Money was the problem.

The real estate here was so expensive compared to my previous life, I wondered. And why wasn’t I born rich in the novel I wrote myself? Ahh, the life of a dirt spoon disturbed by money.

It seemed that my suffering was viewed as pitiful even to others. The real estate agent leaned forward and gave me a few words of good advice.

“Hey, Miss. Is this your first time running a business?”

“What? Oh, yes.”

“Listen. I’m giving you advice because you look like my daughter. What do you think about business, Lady?”

Business? It is done to make money. I wondered what this man was trying to say. I chose an easily acceptable answer.

“Uhm, I don’t know.”

“Business is a bluff, I repeat, a bluff. Now, look at this.”

He showed me the expensive watch he wore on his wrist. At the same time, he pointed at the clothes he was wearing with his hand as well as flipping his hair as if showing off. The sunlight shone through his thinly-growing hair. I thought his head was bald because it looked like that, but it turned out not. The light was reflected from the gem of the ring, which was pinched on the man’s knuckles.

“Do you know why I wear expensive accessories and famous designer clothes that’s usually worn only by the royal? It’s the fastest way to gain the trust of strangers.”

I snorted when thinking that the real estate manager’s words were ridiculous.

“Ah, what kind of trust do clothes give? That’s ridiculous.”

Then, he hit his chest as if he was frustrated.

“Oh, really? No, Lady. Just think about it. There are two people you are going to trust. However, one person’s clothes look shabby and poor at first glance. On the other hand, the other person has just spent money on their slick clothes. Then, who do you think you can trust?”

“Um… the shabby one?”

“No! He seems like a bad person even from the outside.”

“Why?”

“Think about it carefully. How can you trust a poor person wearing dirty clothes when they have to run errands for you now? They might run away with what they’re given.”

I think he’s been taking it too far.

“It could be inconspicuous, right? Poor people can be more diligent.”

“No, they’re not. People who look rich are even more diligent. What do you think they are saving money for?”

While I twisted my head to come up with the idea to refute the uncle’s words, he continued.

“Since you look so attentive, don’t you have time to dress yourself up more? And even if you let them run an errand, he wouldn’t run away with them because he must be wanting to earn his own money.”

“Isn’t that too far-fetched?”

“I mean, someone’s appearance will inspire confidence in their customers.”

That made a lot of sense. Even if I go to a job interview, I’ll try to gain trust by wearing neat clothes. When I couldn’t refute the real estate owner anymore, he laughed as he walked around the office with 10 gold coins as his monthly rent.

“So the rent for this building must be high. Just being here gives people confidence.”

“You mean it’s better for promotional effects?”

“That’s right! Oh, Lady, you’re starting to understand now.”

“Hmm. I’ll think about it.”

Ugh, I was almost tricked by an old man into signing a contract.

I rushed out of the real estate office. The man behind me said, “This is a very popular place! When you come again, you probably won’t get anything here!”

That said, the reason for opening a branch in Myeongdong, which was famous for its high monthly rent only in Korea was because of its promotion and advertising effects. First of all, this was the strategy of rich companies. I was just an owner of a small newspaper publishing company.

I was walking down the alley looking for another real estate office whilst thinking that I should choose a place with a lower monthly rent. The street was very noisy. When I approached the place filled with all sorts of noises while wondering what was going on, a couple of people were shouting exaggeratingly on the street.

The woman with grayish hair and wearing a fancy dress seemed to be angry with the man.

“What, was it a waste of money to buy it for me?”

“No, I didn’t say it was a waste…”

“That’s what you clearly meant! I’m going back to the store now!”

“You should have gone on a date with me today. Where are you going?”

“No, I’m offended. I’ll be leaving.”

The woman ran wildly and tried not to look back. However, the man held the woman’s arm tightly which stopped her in her tracks.

“Hey! I gave you an expensive meal. Where are you going?”

“Let go of me!”

“Where are you going? Spit out what you’ve eaten, or go to my house now!”

“Argh! It hurts! Let go!”

People watched their fight with interest, some walked quickly as if they had no interest. The woman’s wrist, which was held by him, became even red.

‘Oh? That’s violence in dating.’

I quickly took out the wet plate camera that I placed in the cart and set it up on the side of the road just in case it was what I thought. After pouring the collondione solution onto the glass plate and letting it dry, I attached it back to the camera to observe the situation through the lens, and that was when the man raised his other hand and slapped the woman’s cheek.

Click

Along with the pressing sound of the camera shutter, a woman’s scream followed. After getting slapped, the woman fell on the road, then got up again while shouting and started beating the man by swinging her arms and legs.

“Hey, this b**ch! Why are you hitting me? Oh! Why are you hitting me?”

The man hit the woman several times and pushed her back as if he was enraged. The woman sat on the street and cried loudly. Then, the man spat his saliva on the road.

“Oh, how unlucky I am.”

Meanwhile, I was taking pictures using the mini blackout camera I had brought along. The noises from people began to get louder. When such an intense commotion arose, a policeman approached them.

“What’s going on?”

The man hesitated for a moment, and immediately started blabbering excuses.

“It’s nothing serious, but this woman is my lover. Don’t worry about it and you can go on with your business.”

The policeman raised his eyebrows and questioned the man again.

“Did you hit this woman?”

“I was also beaten by this woman! This woman suddenly went crazy and hit me. So I kept getting hit, and then my hand stretched out without me realizing it, I just pushed her away.”

The gray-haired woman shouted.

“You’re lying! This man hit me first!”

The man shouted, staring at the woman with red eyes.

“Do you have any proof? Huh?”

“Everyone here has seen it! Officer, you can call someone and even ask around. He hit me first.”

When the woman pointed her finger at passersby, the people who didn’t want to get into trouble quickly scattered and disappeared into thin air. The man saw no one had the intention to help her, while the woman was confused and her pupils fluttered restlessly.

Now it was my turn to step forward.

I approached them and gave the policeman my business card.

“I’m the president of a newspaper publishing company, and I happened to take the picture of this man who hit the woman first with this camera. If you need proof, I’ll drop by the Morris police station later. I’ll provide the photos I took as evidence.”

The policeman stood there while staring at my business card. The man who fought earlier asked me as if he was innocent.

“What’s the photo you took that corresponds with it? Did you not record it?”

“Yes, but are you sure, Uncle? You haven’t seen it at all.”

“Oh! See? You’re all on the same team! Hey, police. These guys are con artists and they’re trying to scam me. You must arrest them all!”

The man tried to run towards me with his finger pointed at me, but the policeman extended his hand to block the man’s movement.

“Sir, come with me for a moment.”

“Oh! Hey. I’m not guilty at all. This isn’t fair!”

“We need to go to the National Police Agency and you can make an excuse about it there. Don’t you know that if you hit children and women in the capital, you’ll be fined?”

“Oh, it’s a two-way attack! I’m the right one here!”

Even while being dragged away, the man showed the police officer the parts of his body that weren’t bruised while crying out that he got beaten up worse, but it was useless. I shook my head and put the camera into the cart and tried to fly away from this place. However, the woman grabbed my arm and pretended to know me.

“You’re Haley, aren’t you?”

I looked at the woman’s deep purple eyes intensely, and for some reason, I felt like I didn’t know her.

“Who are you?”

“It’s me! Emily. We met at a bar last time. You took my picture too, didn’t you?”

Oh, that’s when I recalled her. She was Emily, one of the receptionists at Madam Arete, a bar run by nobles.

“Huh? Emily. I didn’t recognize you earlier.”

This was my third encounter with Emily. One when I visited Madame Arete, and the next time was when I did a photo shoot with Emily. Then we met again by chance today.

It was just a photoshoot, so I didn’t recognize her because she was wearing a mask. It was surprising that Emily, who usually showed her drunken appearance and being not completely sober, could become such a beautiful and ordinary woman when she decided to dress herself up.

The woman was now standing with her normal and sober mind. I obviously had never seen her like this before. Emily seemed embarrassed by the previous situation, so she tried to change the subject.