Beyond the pre-existing bed and wardrobe, this studio apartment was utterly bare.
While a refrigerator, microwave, and washing machine were also present, I considered them exceptions, as it was frankly difficult to find a home without them.
Nevertheless, the mattress was deeply indented, bearing the impression of a heavy person having lain there for a considerable time.
Alongside it stood a dilapidated wardrobe, its design evoking the quaint charm of a grandmother’s house.
True to its aged appearance, a persistent creak was the default sound every time its doors were opened.
Even its drawers, if mishandled, would tumble to the floor with an alarming thud.
Despite their decrepitude, these items were part of the basic furnishings, which meant they had to remain.
‘If I accidentally damage them, they’ll surely deduct it from my security deposit.’
My experience living alone was quite extensive.
If one were to mishandle and damage such old furniture, the responsibility would fall squarely on the person who caused the breakage.
It was akin to a specific scenario.
Imagine a company item, shared by everyone, breaking precisely when I was using it; I would then be obligated to purchase a new one.
Moreover, some landlords would raise a ruckus—no, they would outright complain, citing special clauses and demanding to know why I had changed things arbitrarily, even if I replaced the items with superior furniture.
Therefore, upon moving in, it was crucial to meticulously record all provided items on video and thoroughly document any existing defects.
‘After all, I’ve lost more than a small sum of money that way.’
It could be as little as 50,000 won, but sometimes, landlords would demand over 300,000 won for a single door lock, conjuring up preposterous excuses.
Though such an amount now felt as trivial as dropping 500 won on the street, the inherent unpleasantness of the situation remained.
“I won’t give them a single penny.”
Uttering this quiet resolve, I cautiously retrieved all the clothes from the wardrobe.
Frankly, even “all the clothes” wasn’t much to speak of.
“……Was I always this lacking in clothes?”
There were only a few outfits I rotated for work and a handful of shirts I wore when meeting friends.
All my pants looked identical, and my socks were uniformly black and gray.
The sheer lack of things to discard made the task surprisingly easy.
While I felt a slight pang of bitterness, convenience was paramount in the present moment.
“The removal company will be here soon, so I should at least roughly organize these clothes.”
In truth, there wasn’t an overwhelming amount to throw away.
If I were Choi Min-hoo, I could have cleared out this many items in a single day.
However, as Choi Yeon-bi, I couldn’t even fathom organizing all of it.
Even lifting a single chair I had bought myself proved difficult.
It was hard enough to lift a chair, yet I also needed to discard the mattress topper, blankets, dishes, a hanger I’d set up next to the wardrobe, the laundry rack, a folding desk, winter clothes, spare bedding, towels, and more.
I absolutely could not clear all of this by myself.
“It costs money to buy, and it costs money to discard.”
With a short sigh, I haphazardly placed the clothes into a transparent bag beside me.
Even a small amount of tidying would help finish the job faster.
When I had filled the bag about halfway with clothes, a knock sounded at the door.
“Yes, I’m coming.”
Answering, I glanced at the clock.
They had arrived a full ten minutes earlier than my scheduled appointment.
Believing I had chosen a good company, I swung the door wide open.
As the door opened, a pleasant-looking middle-aged man stood at the forefront, smiling affably.
Behind him, two women and one man stood, their eyes betraying a hint of fatigue.
Understandable, as it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet.
“Hello.”
“Hello! Are you Choi Yeon-bi, the client who made today’s reservation?”
The man, likely the Director, spoke with a friendly smile.
His cheerfulness was infectious, lifting the spirits of anyone who saw him.
“Yes, I’m planning to discard everything in this room today.”
“Let’s see… are there any items we shouldn’t discard?”
He asked, glancing around the apartment.
“The bed, mattress, and wardrobe are basic furnishings, so they shouldn’t be touched… the refrigerator and microwave too. Oh, and please leave the desk, computer monitor, keyboard, mouse, and CPU as they are.”
Hearing this, the Director briefly surveyed the room, then nodded lightly and looked at me.
“So, we can discard everything except those items?”
“Yes. Please throw everything else away.”
“You want us to just… throw all of this away?”
As I was speaking with the Director, one of the women who had been standing quietly behind him looked at me in surprise.
I stared back at her impassively.
Did she want to know why I was discarding them?
Of course, I could fully understand her curiosity.
From an outsider’s perspective, the items seemed perfectly fine, and it was just an ordinary studio apartment.
I supposed it might seem a bit strange to suddenly request that all the belongings in a studio apartment be thrown away.
However, asking such a question was meddlesome.
The Director seemed to agree, turning his head to look at the questioning woman with a slightly sterner expression than before.
“So-jin, stop with the unnecessary chatter and bring three more disposal bags from the car. Yeon-seo, you collect the items in the kitchen, and Tae-beom, go to the bathroom, gather everything to be discarded, and then come out to the living room.”
“Okay~”
“Are we starting with the bathroom again?”
“Yeon-seo cleaned the bathroom last time. So, it’s your turn.”
The employees, adeptly dividing the areas, began to enter the apartment.
Feeling a bit awkward at strangers entering my home this way, I stared blankly at the three of them.
‘My new place will surely be piled high with packages again.’
I made a mental note to specify in delivery requests not to block the door with parcels, all while intently watching the employees who had begun to move diligently.
****
Lee So-jin, having received an errand from her father, stepped out of the car.
She was well aware that her earlier comment had been meddlesome.
Still, she couldn’t quite comprehend the situation.
‘Moving? But if it’s a move, people usually ask for their belongings to be packed, not discarded.’
Moreover, the eyes of the person requesting the disposal seemed tinged with sadness.
They were eyes that seemed to hold a desire to forget everything.
‘She’s not preparing to die, is she?’
She had heard it said before.
People nearing death often wished to erase their traces.
They would sever all ties, dispose of all their belongings, disappear somewhere alone, and quietly embrace death.
‘……What a way to start the morning.’
So-jin’s mind was in a whirl.
Unable to voice such thoughts, she silently carried the bags back into the room.
Already, a significant amount of items had been placed in the disposal bags, including clothes and blankets.
‘……Men’s clothes?’
Visible through the bag were underwear and clothes that were unmistakably men’s.
Upon seeing them, So-jin raised her head to look at the client.
‘She’s a woman.’
And an incredibly beautiful one at that.
More beautiful than singers or actors seen on TV.
Singers and actors required makeup and editing to achieve such looks, yet this woman surpassed them without any such enhancements.
She was even dressed in sweatpants, her face seemingly free of makeup.
‘……This is strange.’
So-jin’s intuition was speaking to her.
This woman. She was hiding something.
“If you’re here, hurry up and come help. Keep dilly-dallying, and I’ll cut your salary in half, alright?”
Shaking her head at the Director’s words, she quickly stepped into the room.
Handing the bags to the Director, she surveyed the room, which felt oddly out of place.
“The bathroom’s all cleared.”
“Oh, hand me that bag.”
The other family members, excluding So-jin, were tidying the room as if nothing was amiss.
This made it even stranger.
‘This place… it’s clearly a man’s room.’
Her reasons for concluding it was a man’s room:
No cosmetics.
Not a single piece of women’s clothing, not even underwear.
Furthermore, the bags from the bathroom contained no sanitary pads, cleansing foam, cleansing oil, or any other essential items typically found there.
‘……His girlfriend’s or lover’s room?’
She thought that was entirely possible.
Perhaps they were moving in together, and the items in this room needed to be removed.
If the girlfriend had told her what to discard and what to keep, that could explain it.
‘I’m just getting caught up in strange thoughts.’
So, So-jin shook her head to herself and refocused on clearing the items.
****
“Dad.”
“Hmm?”
“Didn’t you feel anything strange?”
Inside the car, on the way back to the company.
At So-jin’s words, the Director subtly glanced at her face in the rearview mirror.
It was a slightly serious expression.
A face that held many thoughts.
“Why?”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? She’s a woman, but there were no women’s belongings, only men’s, and she just asked us to throw everything away.”
“You felt that too, Unnie (TL Note: A Korean term used by a female to address an older female friend or sister)? I was also quite surprised when I was tidying up and couldn’t find any cosmetics.”
Lee Yeon-seo chimed in, echoing So-jin’s sentiment.
Only Tae-beom, sitting by the window and gazing blankly outside, remained silent.
“……It was certainly peculiar.”
“Right?”
At the Director’s words, So-jin grabbed the driver’s seat and leaned forward.
Seeing her reaction, the Director brought up another story.
“You know what? Back when I first started cleaning, there was a time gangsters had ‘taken care of’ someone (TL Note: A Korean euphemism for killing or disposing of a person) and then asked us to clean out the person’s home.”
“What?”
“I didn’t know it at the time, but I found out later from the news. The day after learning that fact, I immediately closed shop and took a few days off.”
So-jin clamped her mouth shut at the Director’s story.
Yeon-seo’s eyes, next to her, also began to tremble slightly.
“Well, the house we just cleaned probably isn’t such a case. But do you know why I’m telling you this story, girls?”
“……”
“Don’t dwell on it. Don’t get involved. We’re just people who get paid to clear out belongings. Understand?”
At those words, Yeon-seo and So-jin fell silent, their lips sealed tight.
Amidst that somber atmosphere, only Tae-beom, alone,
‘She was really beautiful……’
was thinking of Yeon-bi.
