Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 100

“Take this medicine and stick by your mother from now on. That’s the best comfort you can give her.”

“What is that medicine?”

“You’ll know when you take it.”

“How do you know about it?”

Of course, I know because I’ve taken it. Once you hit 50, if you go to a funeral and stay up all night, every nook and cranny of your body aches, feels numb, and you even get cramps.

If you take two of these pills then, you’ll almost be cured. The medicine is strong, so it’s essential to take a stomach protectant with it.

But I couldn’t exactly say that, so I had to make something up.

“What does it matter? If it makes you feel better, that’s all that counts, right?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“Come on.”

Just as Hyun-sung was about to leave,

“Wait!”

Hyun-sung, who had turned away, turned back and looked at Lee Jung-woo.

“What? Is there something you want to say?”

“You said you had something to tell me today.”

“Ah! That’s right.”

I had almost forgotten because Lee Jung-woo was showing so many new sides of himself today.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Jung-woo and continued,

“Have you ever thought about studying?”

“Studying?”

“Yeah, I don’t think you’re completely uninterested in studying.”

“Actually…”

Lee Jung-woo felt a strange emotion.

In fact, this was what he wanted to say at the end of the day. Thinking about himself being unable to do anything in front of his mother, the last thing he thought about was studying.

Although he was in the lower-middle ranks now, he didn’t hate studying that much.

Until now, honestly, coming to school itself was hell. It was because of Kim Il-soo. If he hated coming to school, there was no way he would be interested in studying.

But now it’s different.

Hyun-sung had neatly taken care of the Kim Il-soo problem.

Hyun-sung spoke again.

“What do you think?”

“Even today, seeing myself unable to do anything in front of my mom, I realized this wasn’t right.”

“So?”

“I thought about what I could do.”

It was unexpected. I didn’t think Lee Jung-woo would think that way. But I couldn’t just force him to study.

Even though I’m older, in reality, we’re just friends. And anyway, it’s someone else’s life.

I shouldn’t interfere carelessly, and I had no intention of doing so.

So I was being as careful as possible, but if Lee Jung-woo was thinking that way, things would be much easier.

Hyun-sung nodded and continued,

“So, what did you choose?”

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t do anything physical, so in the end, all that’s left is studying.”

“You’re going to study?”

Hyun-sung asked, pretending not to know. The most important thing was his own firm will.

“Yeah. I think Mom would like it the most.”

“Of course. What could be better for parents than their child doing well in school?”

“I guess so?”

Hyun-sung nodded.

Then, Lee Jung-woo looked at Hyun-sung with a determined expression.

“Can you help me?”

Swish.

Hyun-sung quickly held out his hand instead of speaking. Lee Jung-woo gladly took Hyun-sung’s hand.

Hyun-sung, shaking hands with Lee Jung-woo, said,

“Jung-woo, I think I’ve said this before, but you’re different from other people. If you want, I’m always ready to run to you anytime. So, just tell me anything, anytime. Got it?”

“Hey, aren’t you putting too much pressure on me?”

“I don’t know if the day will come when I can tell you, but you helped me when I was at my lowest, so don’t ever think like that.”

It’s true.

He was the one who readily lent Hyun-sung 25 million won when he was at his lowest point. Others said you shouldn’t do money transactions between friends, but Lee Jung-woo was different.

I found out later that he had broken a 15-year savings account to give it to me.

Even then, he told me he was okay, so don’t feel pressured about the money and pay it back slowly when you have the *yeoyu* [financial leeway].

When I said I would write an IOU, he said if that’s the case, let’s just forget about it.

He’s the kind of friend who puts into practice what might only come out in a novel.

What is there to begrudge, what can’t I do for him?

Lee Jung-woo put his hand over mine and said,

“I don’t know what you mean, but okay. Then let’s do that. Thanks, my friend!”

“Thanks? I’m the one who’s thankful.”

The two looked at each other for a moment.

Both of them smiled without either taking the lead.

Before they knew it, the two walked arm in arm across the playground towards the main gate. Behind them, the evening glow painted the western sky in a crimson hue.

***

After parting with Lee Jung-woo, Hyun-sung headed to the ramen shop under construction.

When he arrived at the shop, the sign was already brightly lit. Since a timer had been attached from the initial installation, there was no need to worry about the sign.

When Hyun-sung arrived at the shop, the equipment installer Yoo Min-chul had finished the ceiling lighting work.

“Hello? *Hyeong-nim* [older brother/respected male acquaintance].”

“Oh, has Mr. Kim arrived?”

In the end, the two decided to drop formalities.

After Hyun-sung asked several times, Yoo Min-chul agreed to do so. After dealing with him a few times, he did his job well, was a good person, and above all, had a clear concept of time, so Hyun-sung decided that he wanted to continue doing business with him in the future.

Of course, words weren’t important, but Hyun-sung’s personality made it more comfortable, and he thought it would be better to have some sense of intimacy.

Hyun-sung looked at Yoo Min-chul and asked,

“Isn’t it time for you to go home?”

“Why are you doing this? There are still 10 minutes left…”

“Anyway, *hyeong-nim* too…, so the ceiling is finished today?”

“That’s right, I don’t know if you like the lighting.”

Yoo Min-chul looked at the ceiling and carefully said to Hyun-sung.

The lighting was designed to make the ramen colors stand out, with yellow lights above the tables and white lights at the entrance and main aisle where people frequently pass.

I wanted to install LEDs, but they weren’t released yet at this time, so I had no choice but to install regular lights.

After carefully checking the position of the lights, Hyun-sung said,

“For now, it looks like it’s coming out as planned, and if there’s anything uncomfortable while using it, I’ll contact you.”

“That’s a given, and you have no experience with the kitchen or the lighting, but no matter how I look at it, it’s amazing…”

“*Hyeong-nim*, do you have to have experience? I’m just doing it as I think of it.”

Hyun-sung tapped his head with his finger.

Then Yoo Min-chul pointed at Hyun-sung with his finger, shaking his head as if he still couldn’t believe it.

“No, no matter how I look at it, it’s strange. If you don’t have experience with this kind of thing, it doesn’t come out of your head. Anyway, I think I’ve met the right guy.”

“Okay, it’s almost time to leave, right? Let’s go somewhere for a while.”

“Where are we going?”

“It’s close, I’ll tell you when we get there.”

Hyun-sung left the store and headed towards the school.

Then Yoo Min-chul, who was following behind, asked,

“Isn’t this the way to school?”

“Yes, I’m going to show you my alma mater for the first time in a while, *hyeong-nim*.”

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean, what’s going on?”

“You wouldn’t just go to school with me to hang out, there’s definitely something going on, and I’m curious about that.”

As expected of someone who has lived a long life, Yoo Min-chul was quick-witted.

Hyun-sung had one thought.

If I were to do toilet construction, how much would the estimate be?

Principal Park Sang-hyun may be worried, but since Hyun-sung himself created this situation in the first place, he was more concerned.

Arriving at the bathroom, Hyun-sung looked at Yoo Min-chul and said,

“*Hyeong-nim*, do you remember this bathroom?”

“I remember, I used to smoke a lot here, and I got caught by the bulldog [strict teacher] and got beaten up a lot, but I think that was a good time. Is it still like that now?”

“It’s the same, I guess.”

“Anyway, why the bathroom all of a sudden?”

“Actually, I have a favor to ask. That is…”

Hyun-sung briefly explained why he brought Yoo Min-chul here.

When Hyun-sung’s story was over, Yoo Min-chul tilted his head and looked at Hyun-sung as if he was strange.

“So, you’re curious about the estimate if you were to rebuild the bathroom here now?”

“Yes, if we were to build it.”

“So, what I’m curious about is why are you curious about that ‘if’? This is a school matter anyway.”

“There’s a reason for that.”

“It’s nothing for us to give an estimate…”

Yoo Min-chul still couldn’t understand. It was a natural reaction, but it was difficult to explain anything more specifically.

After a while.

Yoo Min-chul called Hyun-sung, as if he had roughly calculated it.

“Wait a minute…”

“Yes, have you already got an estimate?”

“This much comes out right away if you tap the calculator. By the way, even if you keep the estimate as low as possible, it’ll still be around 10 million won…”

It was a natural result.

The men’s bathroom only needs to be doubled in size, but the women’s bathroom needs to be tripled in size.

This standard is also based on the size that will be created next month.

Even if it’s narrower than this, the construction cost won’t be much different, and if you were to do it, Hyun-sung judged that it should be at least this size.

Hyun-sung nodded and continued,

“If it’s 10 million won, it’s 10 million won?”

“That’s right, that’s the minimum labor cost. I know a contractor who has equipment, so I got it a little cheaper. It’s by no means an easy construction. Furthermore, if you were to do it, you would have to finish the construction during the vacation.”

As expected, Yoo Min-chul was flawless.

It was at least 3 million won less than Hyun-sung had expected.

Ten million won… It’s by no means a small amount.

I started the work, but I was in a difficult situation as to how to handle it.

Hyun-sung looked at Yoo Min-chul and said,

“*Hyeong-nim*, let’s go eat.”

“Eat?”

“Actually, I was going to go to the store to have dinner with *hyeong-nim* today. But suddenly I thought of this, so I brought you to school.”

There is a trick to doing things.

A meal may seem like nothing, but I realized that there is nothing more important than this. I also learned that one compliment is sometimes better than ten nagging words, and anyway, as I lived, I was sure that the experiences of the past were helpful in many places.

The two entered the restaurant.

Hyun-sung looked at Yoo Min-chul and asked,

“*Hyeong-nim*, how about pork belly?”

“Isn’t that too much? I just need a stew…”

“Who knows? If you eat pork belly, you might put in one more bolt…”

“Hehe, this friend is openly bribing me.”

“That’s my personality. And you worked hard to finish the ceiling construction today. And to be honest, it’s not easy to work alone, is it? But *hyeong-nim* always does it alone.”

That’s right.

A significant portion of the construction cost is labor cost. However, Yoo Min-chul was surprised to see him working alone from the beginning.

That’s not to say that the work speed was slow.

As a result, Hyun-sung was even more grateful and trusted Yoo Min-chul.

Yoo Min-chul scratched his head slightly at Hyun-sung’s words and replied.

“A young friend is making it impossible for people to move. Actually, it would be easier if I used one more person. But in the end, it’s all a burden on the owner.”

“But most people don’t do that.”

“There’s some truth to that. But when working in such a small space, it’s faster to do it alone. And if I really need it, I can call someone and use them.”

He was a frank person to see.

Hyun-sung called the owner.

“Here, boss!”

“Yes, I’m going.”

The boss ran over as if he had been waiting.

“Here, four servings of pork belly, and wait a minute, *hyeong-nim*, is beer okay?”

When Hyun-sung asked, Yoo Min-chul smiled and nodded.

Hyun-sung said again.

“Four servings of pork belly, one bottle of beer, and one bottle of cider, please.”

As the boss stepped back, Yoo Min-chul looked at Hyun-sung and said,

“Why four servings…”

“I don’t know *hyeong-nim*’s appetite? I saw that you had a lot last time. If you don’t have enough while eating, there’s nothing more empty than that.”

“Hehe, that’s true, you have a good eye, I’m looking forward to what you’ll become in the future.”

“Me? I’m going to be a building owner. Definitely!”

At Hyun-sung’s answer, Yoo Min-chul smiled and said,

“Haha, what, a building owner?”

“Yes, I’m going to build a 50-story building.”

“Wow! It feels good just imagining it. 50 floors…”

“I have a lot of resentment about building owners. So I’m going to become a building owner myself. Not a building owner who sucks the blood out of tenants, but a building owner who coexists.”

Yoo Min-chul gave Hyun-sung a thumbs up.

That’s when it happened.

Creak.

Someone came into the restaurant.

“Oh? Mister!”

Hyun-sung jumped up from his seat and raised his hand.