Rewind With A Superstar System-Chapter 73: House Hunting

<🎧 Song Recommendation: They Don’t Care About Us by Michael Jackson>

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"Ninety-eight... Ninety-nine... One hundred!"

Von collapsed onto the floor of the hotel room after he was done with the push ups. It took a toll on him, but was far from being extreme.

During the grueling two-day drive from Los Angeles, the System had been strangely lenient, likely recognizing the confines of the cargo van as an impossible environment for physical training.

But the moment Von had checked into the hotel in Chelsea, the reprieve was over. The interface had lit up with a backlog of physical demands that bordered on sadistic.

[Daily Quest: The Foundation]

[Objectives:

● Push-ups: 100/100 (Completed)

● Sit-ups: 100/100 (Completed)

● Squats: 100/100 (Completed)

● Run: 10km (Pending)]

"Ten kilometers," Von groaned, rolling onto his back and staring at the beige ceiling. "In New York traffic. You’ve got to be kidding me."

It didn’t help that there wasn’t a gym in the hotel. Von mentally designated it to be done in the evening and was about to drag himself to the shower when a sharp rap on the door echoed through the room.

Von groaned again, forcing himself upright. He checked the peephole. It was Emily.

He unlocked the door and swung it open. Emily stood there looking significantly more put-together than she had the night before, she even wore a black lipstick on her lips that brought out more of her features.

"You look like you wrestled a bear," Emily remarked, stepping past him into the room. She wrinkled her nose slightly. "And why do you smell like that?"

"Morning workout," Von mumbled, wiping his face with a towel. "Keeps the mind sharp."

"Good. You’ll need a sharp mind for this."

She sat on the bed without an invite and pulled out her phone. "Check your banking app."

Von blinked, the fog of physical exhaustion instantly clearing. "Already?"

"I told you," Emily said with a smile. "I don’t make threats I can’t back up. They expedited the wire this morning."

Von scrambled to find his phone amidst the tangled sheets on the bed and opened up his account balance right away.

[Available Balance: $100,042.50]

Von stared and blinked. He rubbed the screen with his thumb to make sure it wasn’t a smudge.

"One hundred thousand," he whispere before he began to cackle. He even fell back onto the bed, holding the phone up to the light.

For the first time in his two lives he was seeing six figures!

"I can’t believe it," Von said, looking at her. "You actually did it. In less than twenty-four hours."

"I’m just awesome," Emily shrugged, though a small, satisfied smile played on her lips. "Now, let’s handle the business. As per our agreement, I take twenty percent."

"Right," Von sat up, his demeanor shifting to business mode. He wasn’t going to be stingy. Emily had earned every penny. "What’s your account number?"

They spent the next ten minutes handling the transfers. Von moved $20,000 to Emily’s personal account, and they had to open a business account together where he moved $50,000 as capital for the single he was going to release.

When Von was done, he was left with $30,000 now.

"I can work with this," Von said, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders.

"Good," Emily checked her watch. "Now go take a shower. We have a lot to do today."

"What’s on the agenda? Studio?"

"No, I’ve told you already. We need to find you a place to live. And after that... we’re going shopping."

"Shopping?" Von looked down at his grey sweatpants and the faded hoodie he had worn since Miami.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "You can’t walk around New York looking like you just rolled out of a dumpster. Image is currency, Von. Go shower."

Several minutes later, Von emerged from the bathroom, scrubbed clean and wearing the best of his limited wardrobe, a plain black t-shirt and jeans.

"Alright, let’s go."

***

New York City in the daylight was an assault on the senses. They took a yellow cab across the bridge into Queens.

"Why Queens?" Von asked, watching the Manhattan skyline recede. "Why not Brooklyn?"

"Brooklyn is trendy, which means it’s overpriced," Emily explained. "Queens and diverse, and you get more square footage for your money. Plus, it’s closer to the studio."

The apartment hunt was a grueling reality check.

Von’s thirty thousand dollars felt like a fortune in his pocket, but in the New York real estate market, it was barely a handshake.

The first place they looked at was a basement studio in Astoria that had a window that looked directly at a brick wall. The landlord wanted $1,800 a month.

They didn’t even bother wasting time there.

The second place was a fourth-floor walk-up with tilted floors. If you put a marble in the center of the room, it would roll aggressively toward the kitchen.

"It has character," the realtor had tried to convince them, but they didn’t buy it.

By the fourth apartment, Von was starting to lose hope. But then, the realtor took them to a pre-war building near Ditmars Boulevard.

It was on the second floor. As soon as Von walked in, he felt a difference. The floors were hardwood and the living room had a large window that let in actual sunlight. But what caught Von’s eye was the kitchen.

It wasn’t huge, but it had an island, a gas stove and counter space. With Von’s cooking skill, he had unknowingly acquired a hobby to cook, and this was paradise for him.

As a plus to the kitchen, the house was soundproof. The only downside was its location that was further from the bus stop. But Von didn’t care.

"This one," Von said, walking into the kitchen and running a hand over the counter. "How much?"

"Two thousand, two hundred a month," the realtor said. "But..." He looked at Von, who looked like a teenager. "We usually require proof of income, 40x the rent in annual salary, and a credit check."

Von looked at Emily.

Emily stepped forward, her manager mode fully activated. "Mr. Varley is an independent artist with significant liquid assets. We are prepared to offer first month, last month, and a security deposit right now."

The realtor’s skepticism vanished instantly. "I can have the lease drawn up in an hour."

Von did the math in his head. First, last, and security meant $6,600 upfront. It was a massive chunk of his $30,000. But he needed a base.

"Deal," Von said.

After signing the papers and handing over the check, which made his bank account weep but his spirit soar they headed back to Manhattan for the second part of Emily’s plan.

SoHo.

"We aren’t going to Gucci or Louis Vuitton," Emily said as they walked down the cobblestone streets. "That’ll be wasting money. So we’ll just go for street style. Clean stuff and all."

She dragged him into a store that looked more like an art gallery than a clothing shop. The clothes were hung on industrial racks, mostly monochrome.

"Try this," Emily tossed him a leather jacket. "And these." She added a pair of black cargo pants and heavy boots.

Von walked into the fitting room. He looked at himself in the mirror and the books fitted him perfectly, they even gave him a certain dangerous edge.

They spent another two hours hitting different shops. Von bought basics, high-quality tees, hoodies, a few pairs of distinct sneakers.

By the time they were done, Von had spent another $3,000.

"You’re bleeding me dry, Emily," Von joked, carrying four shopping bags as they hailed a cab.

"Haha," Emily laughed at his comment and added snarkily, "We’re not done yet. You still have to furnish your new apartment, and that one’s yours to handle."