The Nature of Possession – Chapter 78

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
After sending Ho-chul off, I returned home.

It was almost 5 p.m.

I gathered the remaining trash.

I had assumed a fancy apartment would have some sort of automated waste disposal system, but I was wrong.

Some things were universal, regardless of wealth.

I lugged two overflowing bags of trash and a mountain of recyclables down to the disposal area.

The effort made me feel like I deserved a reward, so I bought a coffee at a nearby cafe.

I had intended to drink it there, but the place was full of young people, and I felt out of place.

No one was forcing me to leave, but I instinctively retreated.

I probably looked like a wilted flower among a field of vibrant blossoms.

Sigh, even though this body was middle-aged, my mind was still relatively young…

It was a depressing thought.

Slurp~slurp~

Despite my gloomy mood, the iced Americano was refreshing.

It had been a while since I had enjoyed a proper coffee.

In my previous life, I had mostly drunk bitter tea.

Ice was a luxury, and cold drinks were rare.

Modern life had its perks.

“I wonder how Master is doing.”

She was probably struggling with guilt.

She had lost her disciple twice and one time she even had to kill him with her own hands.

She must be in a lot of pain.

“I hope it doesn’t last too long,” I muttered.

Her obsession with me made me worry.

Lost in thought, I arrived back at the apartment.

The empty space, now cleared of the trash, felt vast and lonely.

My apartment, meant to be a sanctuary, was filled with a sense of isolation.

“No wonder he turned to online streaming.”

He didn’t seem to have any real-life connections.

He must have been lonely after work.

I didn’t approve of his lifestyle, but I understood it.

Loneliness.

He must have been constantly plagued by it.

His attempts to connect with the figures on the screen, his efforts to fill the emptiness of his apartment with noise and activity… it was all a desperate attempt to combat his loneliness.

“Now, back to business.”

I sat in the comfortable armchair and picked up the most recent notebook from the mountain of paperwork.

It seemed to be an analysis of market trends and potential investment opportunities.

Newspaper clippings and printouts from his computer were neatly pasted onto the pages.

Assets, investments… these were things a commoner like me knew nothing about.

I had a lot to learn.

I needed to be prepared to make right decisions.

My first task was to digitize this mountain of analog data.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Three hours.

That’s how long it took to transfer the contents of the notebook to the computer.

I had finished my Americano long ago and was now drinking straight from a 1.5-liter bottle of water.

“Ugh…”

My body ached from sitting for so long.

It reminded me of working with Mina.

“Time for a break.”

I clicked open OceaniaTV.

No camgirls this time.

I was going to watch some gaming streams.

Buzz~

My phone vibrated as I was browsing the channels.

It was Ho-chul.

“Hello?”

– Hyung-nim, I talked to the gym owner. They agreed.

“Good.”

– You can start tomorrow. They said they’re available all day, so come whenever you’re free.

“Okay. You handled it well, right?”

– Of course, hyung-nim. I made sure not to offend them.

“Thanks. It’s getting late. You should head home.”

– Wow, you’re being so kind today. Yes, hyung-nim.

He hung up, his voice overly enthusiastic.

How badly had the previous owner treated him?

I needed to improve my image.

Being a tyrant wasn’t my style.

“I’m bored of League of Legends… are there any variety game streams?”

I scrolled through the channels, looking for something that wasn’t too loud but not too quiet either.

Nothing caught my eye.

“Maybe I should just watch YouTube.”

I was starting to feel sleepy.

Maybe I should just watch some calming videos and drift off.

Just as I was about to switch to YouTube, a small window popped up in the bottom right corner of the screen.

>> Hana (hanazzing): Oppa, you’re online? [8:57 PM]

It was Hana, the camgirl the previous owner had been obsessed with.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇