1 Jan 2033
A man in crisp white pajamas stood like in half sleep in front of his floor to ceiling window, holding a toothbrush in one hand and a rinsing cup in the other.
His entire apartment was an clean aesthetic pure white with blue LED lighting. It was a cozy relaxed place with law books on floor to ceil drawer with law books on onside and white sofa in the middle of the room. Right near the window sat his customized white gaming PC setup with blue led lights. Currently a mountain of lawsuit documents were placed neatly on the table with weight on them.
Siwoo let out a deep, soul-weary sigh. "Haaa... today the weather is too cold. I should definitely wear a coat over my clothes for work, or my body will freeze into a block of ice before I even get to the subway."
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, ptuih!"
With his morning dental hygiene complete, Siwoo marched into the bathroom.
Shhhhhhh… Shhhhhhh… Shhhhhhh…
As the hot water hit him, he melted. "AAAhh, a hot shower in freezing weather is the best. Honestly, if I could just stay home, wrap myself in a blanket, and binge dramas all day, my life would be utterly perfect."
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
After his bath, Siwoo stepped out. Then he went through his meticulously rehearsed routine. white shirt which is buttoned perfectly, black pants with no wrinkles, mechanical watch on hand, and a generous spray of deodorant so he wouldn't smell. Finally, he yanked open his drawer, pulled out a heavy overcoat, after putting coat on, he threw his backpack over his shoulders.
He stepped out into the hallway. Click.
"Ah, this is the ideal life," Siwoo muttered to himself, admiring his own mediocrity. "Go to work, come back, and lie around doing absolutely nothing. I pray to whatever gods are listening that my life remains exactly this boring."
He took precisely two steps.
Click click click click click!
A blinding wall of camera flashes hit his retinas. Siwoo blinked, realizing his peaceful hallway had been hijacked by a chaotic mob of paparazzi. Creeping up to a cameraman who was near him, Siwoo whispered, "What happened? Why is there a whole media convention outside my door?"
The cameraman glanced at Siwoo's office attire, and surprised explained "You don't know? Yoon Seolha is about to move into this apartment complex! The building owner literally gifted her this place for casually an A-rank mana gate."
'A gifted luxury apartment? Why no one gift me luxury apartment. I have to bought it myself and I am still paying for it. God why are you so unfair.' Siwoo thought, entirely envious. Seeing that the famous superstar actress was arriving, he decided to do what any curious citizen would do to participate in the fun.
Five minutes passed.
Click clack, click clack.
The crowd parted. A goddess walked in, accompanied by a security. The woman was blindingly beautiful, long legs, porcelain skin, and dark black hair cascading over a red dress that was literally dripping in real diamonds. She wore massive black sunglasses, but as she approached, she slowly slid them down, revealing deep, mesmerizing black eyes.
The paparazzi went absolutely crazy.
Click! Click! Flash! Click!
Stopping little away from her front door, Seolha gave a smile that could probably cause war and said softly, "Sorry everyone, can you give me just a tiny bit of space to enter my apartment?"
"Sure, ma'am! Anything for you!" "Please, we will clear out right now!" The cameramen practically tripped over themselves to back away.
Seolha beamed. "Thank you, everyone."
Click clack, click clack.
But as her high heels clicked past Siwoo, she suddenly froze. Her eyes locked onto him. For a fraction of a second, an icy chill ran down her spine, a raw instinct telling her she was standing next to something profoundly dangerous. But as she squinted and looked closer... the feeling abruptly vanished.
'Interesting,' she thought. 'And he smells surprisingly nice.'
"Nice to meet you," Seolha said, looking directly into Siwoo's eyes while extending a perfectly manicured hand.
Meanwhile, Siwoo was internally screaming and sweating profusely. He had just felt a sudden prob, this woman had secretly activated a Perception Card to scan him! If he hadn't reacted in time to activated his own Enhancement Card to mask his presence, his peaceful life would have ended right there.
Siwoo looked at Seolha but did not say anything.
Seeing him not responding, Seolha waved her hand right and left in front of his face. "Hello? Are you okay?"
Suddenly Cameraman 1 burst out laughing. "Pfft! Look at him! I think the guy is completely hypnotized by Miss Seolha's beauty. Haha ha ha!"
Cameraman 2 nodded in deep sympathy. "Hey, don't blame him. Some guys are just totally helpless against her charms. I remember the first time I saw Miss Seolha, I forgot my own middle name for a solid hour."
Siwoo snapped back to reality, realizing the crowd thought he was just a starstruck simp. 'Yes! Perfect! Let them think I'm an idiot!'
"Oh! Sorry!" Siwoo blurted out, putting on his best foolish smile. "I was just... thinking about something. Nice to meet you!"
He extended his hand and shook hers. But the moment their palms touched, Siwoo's heart dropped. He felt a tiny, invisible thread of foreign mana trying to sneak into his body. He looked straight into Seolha's eyes, only to find her smiling at him like an innocent angel.
They broke the handshake.
Siwoo's brain was in full panic mode: 'This woman is an absolute menace! Did she seriously think I wouldn't notice her trying to inject her mana into me? If my Enhancement Card wasn't active, I'd be cooked. Note to self: Stay a minimum of fifty feet away from this crazy lady at all times.'
Seolha smiled sweetly. "I think you live in the apartment next to me, so we will definitely be seeing a lot of each other. I hope we get along well!"
"Likewise" Siwoo lied flawlessly, bowing his head. "I hope we can be friendly neighbors."
Inside his head, he was already screaming 'Forget about being neighbors, lady. If I see you in the hallway, I am pulling a U-turn.'
Seolha's inner thoughts were just as suspicious: 'There is definitely something off about this guy. My mana probe felt absolutely nothing, which makes no sense. But living right next door? He can't hide his secrets from me forever.'
Turning back to the media mob, Seolha clapped her hands. "Everyone, please leave now. The official photo session is over, and I'd really love to see my new apartment in peace."
Cameraman 3 bowed. "Of course, Miss Seolha! We are leaving immediately. We would never disrespect your privacy!"
"Thank you, everyone," she cooed.
As the crowd began to file out of the building, Siwoo quickly blended in with them to make his escape. The cameramen were still relentlessly teasing him. "Haha, buddy, admit it, you were totally in a trance back there!"
Siwoo laughed along, playing the role. "Haha, yeah, you caught me! Miss Seolha is so beautiful, what can a regular guy like me even do?"
"Right? You really can't blame yourself," Cameraman 1 agreed, patting his shoulder as everyone else nodded in agreement.
Once the hallway cleared, Seolha slipped into her apartment and shut the door with a firm thud.
Her entire apartment was a mixture of pink and white. First things after entering she did was kicked off her agonizingly uncomfortable high heels with a sigh of relief. She marched straight into her bedroom, shedding the diamond-crusted red dress, and changed into a thoroughly comfortable pink T-shirt and a white skirt.
Plopping down onto her giant pink sofa, she gave a small wave of her hand. Suddenly, nine light-pink cards with glowing pink halos manifested in mid-air, spinning rapidly on their own axes around her.
"Strange..." she muttered to herself. "I couldn't feel a single trace of power from that man. I'm certain he isn't a normal civilian... so why can't my cards detect him?"
Seolha snatched a giant teddy bear off the sofa, squeezed it tightly in her lap, and glared at the wall shared with Siwoo's apartment. "There is definitely, 100% something wrong with that guy."
Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Siwoo stopped walking and looked back toward his apartment building with a visible shiver.
"There is seriously something wrong with that girl" he muttered under his breath, adjusting his backpack. "She literally tried to search me twice without my permission. I am going to have to be careful from now on..."