"Sorry, it's one point two million won now."
Under everyone's eyes, Ivan walked up to the man, crouched down, and patted his cheek. "Keep hesitating and it might jump to one point four million. Or more."
"Do you even have any shame? Doctors these days have zero morals!"
A fat auntie carrying a basket of groceries shouted at the top of her lungs. The whole crowd instantly turned hostile, spit flying everywhere as they cursed Ivan.
"Everybody calm down," Ivan said. "As long as I get my money, each of you watching gets a cut."
The entire atmosphere froze.
A few seconds later the same loud auntie narrowed her eyes, switched to a sweet old-lady voice, and smiled. "Now that I think about it, doctors need to eat too. Charging a fee is only fair. We all understand. Hey, Mr. Kim, don't be stupid. Money comes and goes, but life is once."
The crowd flipped instantly.
"Yeah, Mr. Kim, you're being unreasonable. You can always make more money, but you can't buy another life."
"Exactly. The doctor's just trying to make a living. Nothing wrong with that."
"Fine… I'll pay," the manager growled through clenched teeth.
He hated every single one of these greedy, backstabbing tenants. Their fake-ass concern made his chest hurt even worse. Terrified of dying, he had no choice but to agree.
"Smart choice. You just saved yourself two hundred grand." Ivan stood up and grinned at the crowd. "Everyone here is my witness. In case he tries to back out later."
"Don't worry! We all know where he lives. If he doesn't pay, we'll go collect it for you ourselves," the auntie said, thumping her chest.
"The people here sure are friendly," Ivan muttered.
He pressed two fingers against the back of the manager's neck. The tentacles inside the man's body stopped moving. The crushing pain in his chest vanished almost instantly. The manager staggered to his feet, shocked, and kept touching his heart like he couldn't believe it was still beating.
"What the hell? Why doesn't it hurt anymore?"
"One point two million won. I want it before tonight." Ivan shoved his hands into his pockets.
"This is extortion!" the manager snarled.
"Really? Everyone, am I extorting him?" Ivan turned to the crowd.
"Mr. Kim, you're the one in the wrong here. The doctor was kind enough to help you. How is that extortion?"
"Exactly. People should have some decency and honor. You can't just accuse others like that."
The manager looked like he was about to cough up blood. His vision suddenly went black and he stumbled backward. It only lasted a few seconds. When he recovered and saw the ugly, greedy faces of the residents around him, he understood. This fucking doctor had already won them all over.
Unless he quit his job and left Green Home for good, he was paying that money.
"Just you wait," he spat before storming off to scrape together the cash.
"You're the new doctor, right? How much are we each getting?" The auntie and her crew swarmed Ivan the second the manager was gone, their greedy eyes shining.
"Ten thousand won each. Auntie, you get twenty." There were only about twenty people watching. After splitting it he'd still pocket eight or nine hundred thousand.
Some people immediately started complaining. "Why does she get twenty and we only get ten?"
"What's the problem? I did the most talking, so I get ten thousand extra! Anyone got an issue with that?" The auntie planted her hands on her hips and roared at them.
Ivan watched the whole shitshow with an amused smirk.
The circus didn't last long. The mob quickly scattered.
"Thanks. Truth is, nobody in this building has ever respected me. They dump all the dirty work on me, then blame me for everything. You're the first person who's ever stood up for me." The old security guard looked at Ivan with real gratitude.
Ivan could hear the deep resentment boiling under his words.
"His resentment didn't build up overnight. It was years of the same shit piling on top of each other."
No wonder in the original story the old man's desire turned him into a monster that wanted to murder every resident in the building. He'd seal all the exits and try to burn the whole place down with everyone inside.
"If they look down on you, why don't you just kill them all?" Ivan said with a smile.
The security guard waved his hands in panic. "Don't joke about that. I don't want to be a murderer."
While they were talking, a woman walked up to the security office carrying a styrofoam box.
"So noisy. No manners at all, fighting like animals over money. And you, old man, what the hell are you doing? Getting paid to sit on your ass all day?" The woman was Cha Jin-ok, director of a local kindergarten. She shoved the box toward him.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," the guard bowed repeatedly.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
"Someone sent me these fish, but you know me. I only eat the expensive stuff." Cha Jin-ok handed over the box. The guard took it with a grateful smile. "You really didn't have to give me something like this. Thank you so much."
Of course, the box was full of rotten fish she was too lazy to throw away. She was just dumping her garbage on him.
She added with a meaningful look, "The higher the position, the heavier the responsibility. You understand, right?"
Even though the guard didn't fully get it, he kept smiling. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."
He stuck his head out the window, watching her walk away. "Don't worry, I'll enjoy them properly."
Then, right in front of Ivan, he opened the box.
The second the lid came off, an ungodly stench exploded out and filled the entire security office. Ivan wrinkled his nose and took a few steps back.
The fish inside were crawling with flies. Fat maggots squirmed all over them. The guard slammed the lid shut instantly, clapped a hand over his mouth, and started dry-heaving.
Ivan had already known what was inside, so he'd sealed off his nose in advance.
The security guard kept dry-heaving until blood suddenly poured from his nostrils, dripping onto the styrofoam lid.
Those rotten fish from Cha Jin-ok were the final straw. He lifted his head, staring with pure hatred in the direction she had gone. The crushing humiliation brought Ivan's words crashing back into his mind.
If they look down on you, why don't you just kill them all?
"Need me to give you a check-up?" Ivan asked.
The guard pressed a hand over his bleeding nose, closed his eyes, and shook his head silently.
...
One hour later, Ivan returned to the apartment carrying bags of daily necessities he'd bought outside.
As he passed the security office he glanced inside. The old man wasn't there.
But when he reached the upper floors, he spotted the guard standing right outside room 1410. The old man had his face pressed against the peephole, staring into Cha Hyun-soo's room.
Inside, Cha Hyun-soo felt something was off. He walked over and looked through his own peephole. The second he saw what was outside he stumbled backward in terror.
At that moment, a slim girl came walking toward Ivan while talking on her phone.
From the conversation Ivan could tell she was an idol trainee. She was starving herself to make the cut and kept whining to whoever was on the line about how she was dying of hunger. Right as she passed Ivan, blood suddenly gushed from her nose, exactly like the guard.
"Urg, not again. If I bleed during the audition it's all over."
She put her phone away, still complaining, and pulled out a tissue. She tore it, rolled it into a tight strip, and jammed it up her nose.
She moved like she'd done this plenty of times before.
"What kind of monster would hunger turn her into?" Ivan muttered, watching the girl's back disappear down the hall.
Meanwhile.
Yoon Ji-soo, guitar slung over her shoulder, was heading out to work for some cash. While waiting for the elevator she ran into Ahn Sun-young pushing a baby stroller and humming a tune. They started chatting while waiting.
"You new here?"
"Yeah, moved in last week." Yoon Ji-soo had a bright, friendly personality. She pointed toward her room. "I should've said hi sooner. I'm in 1510."
She gave a deep bow. "Nice to meet you! Please take care of me!"
Ahn Sun-young lowered her head toward the stroller instead. "It's okay, Do-eun. She's just the neighbor sister."
Yoon Ji-soo looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I was a little loud."
"I might end up bothering you guys later." She patted the guitar on her back.
"It's fine, really."
Yoon Ji-soo asked how old the baby was, then leaned over to take a look inside the stroller. Her smile froze. The stroller was completely empty except for some baby clothes.
"She's beautiful, right?" Ahn Sun-young said with a soft, loving smile whenever she talked about her child.
Yoon Ji-soo snapped out of it and forced a smile. "Yeah… she really is."
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69