Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 13

Giving up because there was nothing to eat and going down wasn’t an option.

If he gave up here and went down, he felt his life would be no different from his past life.

He couldn’t do that. Going back into the pit of poverty was a terrible thought.

He had to find it no matter what.

He was determined to find it, even if it took months, not just a month.

School?

He had no regrets.

He was ready to take the high school equivalency exam if he got fired.

Hyeonseong was that desperate.

Of course, he didn’t think this wild ginseng would solve everything. But he thought it would at least be a stepping stone to get back on his feet.

Hyeonseong knew too well how hard it was to get up without a foothold.

And what was clear was that he could make such a decision because he was sure that the wild ginseng he had seen back then was somewhere in this mountain.

After a few days, he became stubborn.

So, he thought about searching the mountain horizontally. It must be somewhere.

And it was true that he also thought that there might be other wild ginseng somewhere in the mountain besides the wild ginseng he remembered.

If he couldn’t find the wild ginseng in his memory, he had to find another one.

It’s been fifteen days since then.

But what was amazing was that as time went by, it was his changed physical strength, not the wild ginseng.

At first, of course, it tasted like death. His physical strength was weak from the beginning, so it couldn’t be helped. But he endured with his evil. Then, strangely, his physical strength began to change over time.

From one day on, he wasn’t tired even after climbing the mountain all day.

So, he thought about what the cause was, and the conclusion was that it was only deodeok [a type of Korean root vegetable].

That’s all he had eaten since he came to the mountain.

At first, he started eating it because it was easy to get, but it tasted amazing.

The taste was incomparable to the taste of buying and eating it on the market. Moreover, it was also excellent for quenching thirst.

Anyway, it was an unexpected side effect for Hyeonseong.

Hyeonseong first lifted the deodeok and checked its size.

“Amazing.”

The thickness of the deodeok’s body was also art. It was as big as a child’s forearm, with years of endurance hanging from it.

“How many years does it take to grow to this size?”

It was hard to believe even when looking directly at it.

Gulp.

Hyeonseong smacked his lips right away, admiring it for a while.

Rubbing.

When he rubbed the deodeok on his thigh a few times, the dirt stuck to the skin fell off. Then, unlike ordinary deodeok, there were faint black bands in the middle, as if to keep the traces of time intact.

But that wasn’t Hyeonseong’s concern.

Eating was the priority.

Crunch crunch.

First, he roughly peeled off the skin with his mouth.

Crack.

Then he started biting from the top.

Um!

It was different. The taste of the flesh filling his mouth was truly art.

It was when he took another big bite.

“Huh?”

It’s a deodeok filled with water that he’s only heard of.

This is the third time.

Very rarely, old deodeok have medicine in their bodies. He knows that these are so valuable that he wouldn’t trade them for wild ginseng.

In other words, it’s precious. As a rule, precious things are good for the body. You shouldn’t spill a single drop of this.

Slurp······, Sss, sss······ 쪽! [Sound of slurping]

Hyeonseong held the deodeok upside down and sucked up every last drop inside. Cleaning up what was on the back of his hand was basic.

Then he started eating the body again.

“Indeed!”

I thought it was different from the size, but the taste was so deep that it was hard to express in words. No wonder his physical strength could improve.

Hyeonseong, who had eaten the deodeok neatly, got up from his seat.

He felt like he was getting stronger because he ate deodeok filled with water.

“Well, shall we go up there this time?”

Whoosh!

Hyeonseong started moving again.

After a while.

The place Hyeonseong arrived at was a cliff located on the 7th ridge.

The scenery overlooking below was like a piece of oriental painting. But he wasn’t enjoying the scenery in peace.

When going to a high place, Hyeonseong’s method was to first look at the surrounding terrain.

If he couldn’t see the surroundings, he couldn’t help it, but if he could see even roughly like this, it was to find a similar terrain by reviving his previous memories.

Then, one place caught Hyeonseong’s eye. There was a slight slope and a cliff on the right.

“Hmm······.”

He felt like he was familiar with it.

Looking at his watch, it was already well past 4 p.m. Going to a new place at this time is something only a fool who doesn’t know the mountains would do.

Greed is forbidden!

It’s the iron rule in the mountains. Thanks to the years he’s lived, that much was basic.

“Okay! It’s there tomorrow.”

It was when Hyeonseong was about to turn away from the cliff.

“Huh?”

He heard some sound from somewhere. At first, he doubted his ears.

There was no way he could hear any sound in this deep mountain. Still, just in case, he focused and listened, but he couldn’t hear anything.

Hyeonseong thought he had misheard and turned back.

Then, he heard a small sound again at the end of the cliff.

“What is it?”

Hyeonseong carefully moved his steps to the end of the cliff, just in case.

Ah!

Something was stuck in the crack of the rock. It was an animal with a brown background and slightly black stripes. At a glance, he could tell it was a baby wild boar.

But there was almost no movement. It seemed like it had been fallen for several days.

Tsk tsk.

Hyeonseong clicked his tongue and shook his head.

It was unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do. If he went down to save it and something went wrong, he would go straight to the afterlife without any reward for his regression.

He couldn’t do that.

“I’m sorry.”

Hyeonseong turned away.

It was when he had taken a few steps.

He heard a small sound again.

He ignored it. And he moved a few more steps.

He couldn’t hear anything.

“What is it?”

He felt even stranger.

“Is it dead?”

The silence made him even more nervous.

And then, he suddenly remembered what had happened at Gyeongpo Beach a while ago.

He was saved from death with the help of the rescue team. Even if he counted the days, it hadn’t even been a month yet.

At that time, if the rescue worker had been passive in rescuing him because he thought it was dangerous······, what would have happened?

The waves were so strong that it could have happened. Even if something went wrong, no one would have blamed the rescue worker.

If that had happened, he probably wouldn’t be here.

Should the rescue worker save him as a matter of course?

No.

After living in the world for a while, he realized that nothing is a matter of course. It was that person’s problem. The result could change depending on how that person lived.

Whoa!

Hyeonseong’s eyes, who took a short deep breath, were different from before.

Even if it’s a mountain animal that can’t speak, it’s still alive. Moreover, it’s a young life. There can be no distinction between noble and base in life.

He didn’t have the confidence to bear the mental burden for the rest of his life if he left it like this.

Hyeonseong quickly looked around. He saw kudzu vines over there.

Fluttering.

His steps quickened. Once he made a decision, he became impatient.

Whack!

He started pulling the kudzu vines without hesitation.

He made the kudzu vines as long as possible. Then he hung it on a tree and repeatedly pulled it with both hands.

It was to make the kudzu soft.

When the kudzu became soft to some extent, he twisted three strands into one.

Clap clap.

When he pulled it, it seemed good enough to use temporarily.

Then he tied it tightly to the pine tree next to him.

“Wait a little bit.”

Hyeonseong wrapped the kudzu vines around his body and started going down carefully, step by step.

His whole body was already soaked with sweat.

Fear?

He didn’t have that anymore. He was only thinking about how to go down quickly and save the young life before it died.

After a while.

Chuck!

He finally arrived at his destination.

He reached out his hand and put his fingertips on the body of the baby wild boar stuck in the rock crevice.

Ah!

He felt warmth.

“Okay! It’s alive!”

Hyeonseong grabbed the back of the baby wild boar’s neck and pulled it out of the rock crevice. Then he opened his backpack and put it inside.

As soon as he came up to the cliff, he opened his backpack and pulled out the baby wild boar.

쏙! [Sound effect for pulling something out]

First, he put his finger slightly into his mouth.

Is it the will to live? He instinctively started sucking Hyeonseong’s finger. Although the strength was weak, he was clearly showing his will to live.

Hyeonseong immediately took out a deodeok root that he had packed in his backpack for emergency use. Then he quickly took a bite and started chewing.

After chewing it finely to some extent, he gently put it into the baby wild boar’s mouth.

He did that several times.

The speed of swallowing gradually increased, and at some point, he started moving a little.

Only then did Hyeonseong’s tense face begin to relax little by little.

“It seems like you and I have tough lives.”

The surroundings were already getting dark. Hyeonseong put the baby wild boar back in his backpack and quickly moved his steps to the tent.

The next morning.

“What is it?”

Hyeonseong felt strange. He felt something tickling him.

When he opened his eyes, the baby wild boar was sucking on his finger.

Pfft.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

He managed to regain his strength. Just last night, he was barely able to move a little, but he regained his strength overnight. As expected, even if it’s a baby, a mountain animal is different.

He’s sucking on his finger, so he must be hungry······.

Hyeonseong took out a deodeok root from his backpack. He always carries a few extra in his backpack just in case.

Omp, omp. [Sound of chewing]

He peeled off the skin, chewed only the flesh, and gave it to the baby wild boar. But he ate it all up as soon as he chewed it.

“Oh, look at this guy?”

Is this because even if it rots, it’s still a croaker [referring to a resilient fish]? He underestimated it because it was a baby, but as expected, a wild boar was a wild boar.

“Here you go.”

This time, he just gave it to him whole.

Crunch crunch.

As expected, it was a croaker. He chewed well with his protruding snout.

“Okay, you’re a Croaker from now on.”

He didn’t know how much longer he would be in the mountains, but Hyeonseong gave the baby wild boar the name ‘Croaker’. A fish name for a mountain animal······.

Hehehe.

Hyeonseong laughed to himself.

Then he looked around for no reason. It was just like a thief with a guilty conscience. Being ashamed is his nature, no matter who sees it or not.