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Translator: penny
Chapter: 003
Chapter Title: Raymi Castle
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[Raymi Castle]
The next morning, Yoon-hyuk passed through the grand gate of the imposing apartment complex.
It looked dazzling on the outside, but the joke was that it was filled with 500,000-pixel cameras.
"You're here?"
Yoon-hyuk's older sister had come out to the apartment entrance. She tilted her head at the sight of him.
"Why'd you bring a suitcase?"
It was because Yoon-hyuk had dragged along a massive suitcase, like someone heading off on a trip.
"I need it for something. Come on, let's go."
Yoon-hyuk followed his sister into the seniors' center, which hadn't opened yet. This was where the emergency countermeasures committee was currently convening.
It was open to any apartment resident, centered around the residents' representative council.
Of course, Yoon-hyuk wasn't a resident, so he didn't qualify.
"I brought in a mercenary."
As Yoon-hyuk's sister introduced him, everyone in the representative council welcomed him warmly.
"I heard you were a staffer in some assemblyman's campaign?"
"You know any big politicians?"
"Got connections at city hall?"
Yoon-hyuk answered calmly.
"None of the above."
A wave of disappointment and awkward silence swept through the council.
"B-but my little brother's super smart. Just trust him once. He basically handled everything in that assemblyman's campaign."
It was a bit of an exaggeration.
Back in his first life, Yoon-hyuk hadn't been all that savvy about policy, election strategy, or marketing at this point.
He'd worked diligently enough in the campaign, but calling him an elite staffer would be a stretch.
But now? He was confident he could resolve this whole mess single-handedly.
He was a seasoned politician of decades and a master negotiator.
"Do you happen to have the construction plan?"
Yoon-hyuk cut straight to the chase with the representative.
"I also need the supervision report, supervision log, completion documents, and material specifications."
"Yeah, we got 'em. Hold on, let me grab the construction plan first."
The residents' representative pulled a small box from a cabinet. Inside was a massive stack of over 2,000 pages of documents.
The construction plan.
This was the paperwork the builder submitted to city hall for approval. It wasn't usually public to regular residents, but the representative council could request it from the city.
"But looking at these documents..."
This was why the issue had gotten so complicated.
"Here's what it says under the security camera section."
The representative opened to the security and surveillance page.
「5.3. Security and Surveillance」5.3.1. Overview. This complex has been designed with security cameras (CCTV) installed at key facilities and entrances to enable real-time monitoring and recording for resident safety and enhanced complex security. 5.3.2. Installation Purpose. ① Establish a 24-hour surveillance system to strengthen complex security. ② Monitor parking lots to prevent vehicle theft and damage. ③ Monitor playgrounds and daycare centers for child safety. ④ Record and store footage for swift response to emergencies. 5.3.3. Security Camera Locations and Quantities. ① Main entrances (complex front gate, back gate, side entrances): 4 units each, total 12 units. ② Parking lots (underground garage entryways (4 locations), main vehicle paths, parking zones): total 80 units. ③ Playgrounds (3 child playgrounds, 2 toddler play areas): 4 units each, total 20 units. ④ Daycare center (2 entrances, outdoor play area): total 6 units. ⑤ Common facilities (gym, community center, library, seniors' center, residents' meeting room entrances): 3 units each, total 15 units. ⑥ Internal roads (pedestrian and vehicle paths): 4 units each, total 24 units. ⑦ Per-building emergency stairs entrances, elevator interiors: 2 units per building, total 40 units.
"As you can see, it only specifies where and how many cameras to install—no mention of image quality. That's why we're helpless."
The representative said with a gloomy expression.
"The builders claim they followed the plan exactly, and there's no violation of building codes, so what's the problem?"
The council chair sighed deeply.
"They even got annoyed with us. It's not like they installed them before—we're complaining after everything's done. They asked why we didn't read the construction plan beforehand."
Pure nonsense, of course.
The builder's price-gouging on security cameras wasn't legitimate construction.
It was a shady workaround.
They'd exploited loopholes in outdated laws to siphon off construction funds.
In an era where smartphone cameras had 100 million pixels, who would expect them to use 500,000-pixel cams that couldn't even read license plates at night?
After pulling off this outlandish stunt, blaming residents for not reading ahead was just to shift responsibility to the council.
To make regular residents think, "Isn't this the council's fault for screwing up?"
But the council members were ordinary working folks like Yoon-hyuk's sister.
While holding down jobs and raising kids, could they realistically file a public records request with city hall for 2,000 pages of docs, pore over them, spot the missing quality specs in the CCTV section, study the regulations, predict the builder might exploit loopholes, rally residents' opinions before installation, and respond accordingly?
Unrealistic.
"And even if they had, the city wouldn't have listened."
Yoon-hyuk knew those kinds of people all too well.
"They would've pushed ahead, claiming it was legally fine. Blaming us now for not reading the plan? That's just dumping responsibility on the council."
"Exactly!"
The chair let out a relieved exclamation, like a blocked meridian had cleared.
"Can I take these documents and review them?"
With the council's permission, Yoon-hyuk gathered the mountain of paperwork.
Construction plan, supervision report, supervision log, completion documents, material specs.
Each ranging from hundreds to thousands of pages.
That's why he'd brought the suitcase. No backpack could handle this.
"When's the next meeting with the builder?"
The council had been requesting periodic meetings with the builder, grilling them relentlessly.
"Next Friday."
"I'll come to the meeting then and return these."
"Okay..."
The council members eyed Yoon-hyuk curiously.
"But what are you gonna do with all that?"
"Self-supervision."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Supervision.
It's checking how the actual on-site construction measures up against the construction plan.
Basically, like an audit. An audit supervises results; supervision monitors the process.
Anyway, large projects like this typically hire external supervision firms.
They monitor the site steadily, checking matches and discrepancies against the plan.
'They followed the construction plan,' the builder claimed.
That was their strongest weapon. No legal issues, no civil liability.
But.
"You're telling me that while building a 3,054-unit apartment complex, there wasn't a single deviation from the plan?"
No way.
They're human. Even robots couldn't keep a project this massive 100% on spec.
Supervision firms tend to nitpick only safety-critical stuff like rebar counts, skimping on the rest.
Manners creep in.
But what if some psycho politician pores over 2,000 pages for a self-audit and finds every tiny discrepancy?
"What the hell have you been up to lately?"
On Wednesday evening, two days before the meeting, Yoon-hyuk's sister cornered him at their parents' house with a baffled look as he returned home.
"Your photo's the hot topic in our apartment group chat."
Yoon-hyuk took her phone and scrolled through the chat.
💬 Apartment Group Chat— Bldg 103 Rm 702 Jjulong-iWho's this guy...? He's taking pics of the apartment lawn...— Bldg 104 Rm 1804 Min-hiWhoa! I saw him too lolol Yesterday he was in our building's B2 level messing with the drain pipes...;;— Bldg 103 Rm 2505 Saebom DadSeems kinda off his rocker. Should we ask management to restrict outsiders? Cameras are already crap—if something happens, it'll be a headache..⭐ Residents' Rep— Bldg 101 Rm 201 Ip-dae RepHe's our residents' council mercenary.
"..."
Yoon-hyuk quietly read through the chaotic chat.
In the group, he'd gone from lunatic to mercenary to politician and back to lunatic.
— Bldg 102 Rm 705 General-iSorry, but how's snapping lawn pics gonna get the builder to replace security cams?
"Anyway, so you threw up a desperate shield for me?"
Yoon-ha scrolled down to show her own message.
⭐ Sister's Defense— Yoon-haThat's my little bro. He was policy staff for some politician's general election campaign and helped get him elected. He's always been into politics, aiming for Mir City mayor. Not a resident here, but he heard about our mess and stepped up to fight the builder. No idea how, but he's smart. Cheer him on..
Below that, cheers poured in.
Votes in the local elections if he fixed it, no councilor had even visited the apartments, tons of thanks anyway.
"It'll work out."
Yoon-hyuk felt good amid the hot reactions.
"Don't worry."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Residents' council meeting with the builder.
The reason the builder kept showing up for these annoying sessions? Image control and brand reputation management.
Better to show they're engaging and compromising.
Keeps protesters from HQ, no bad press.
From HQ's view. For the on-site staff attending? Pure frustration as the punching bag.
'Sigh. Everyone's so diligent.'
Heading to the conference room inside the A/S center at the apartment.
Raymi Castle's manager Kim Sung-tae clicked his tongue inwardly.
'I get that residents feel scammed by the builder, but whining like this won't fix it...'
Kim Sung-tae entered the conference room and sensed a shift in the atmosphere.
The council members all wore confident smirks.
And there was a young man he'd never seen, surrounded by a mountain of documents.
"Hello, Manager."
The young man stepped forward and offered his hand to Kim Sung-tae.
"I'm Yoon-hyuk."
Kim shook it reflexively.
"Cameras are off the table today. Let's talk discrepancies between the actual build and the construction plan."
Yoon-hyuk said.
"Plan called for Goryeo grass sod, but you laid Taecheon grass."
"Uh..."
Kim stared blankly before blurting a dumb response.
"Pardon?"
What the hell? He came to shut down demands for camera swaps, and now grass?
"No prior approval for the grass swap. That's a construction error."
"..."
"Rip it all up and relay per plan. Plenty of residents wanted to stroll on Goryeo grass."
"No..."
"Oh, and Bldg 108 playground was supposed to get four 3-person benches, but you put in three picnic tables. Remove 'em, add benches."
"Ben...ches? Uh, where?"
"Other benches were spec'd as aluminum, but they're wood. Replace all. Underground garage paint's wrong too—supposed to be gray, but it's light gray. Confirmed directly with the paint maker."
"Wait, hold on—"
"Hear me out. I read all 2,430 pages of the construction plan cover to cover, plus material specs and supervision log. Inspected site myself, cross-checked. Total discrepancies: 112. Just the ones without prior approval. Probably thought they were minor, no biggie."
"..."
"Legally, this is trouble. If we sue civilly, you'll redo everything. Around 5 billion won, I'd say. So?"
He asked.
"Residents say they'll settle for full camera replacement if you agree now."