Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 171

171

Hyun-sung couldn’t bring himself to speak.

The thought of facing even greater difficulties the moment he opened his mouth kept him silent.

However, Lee Se-hee, unable to understand Hyun-sung’s feelings, was on the verge of going crazy with frustration. At first, she thought it was nothing.

But as time passed and Hyun-sung remained silent, her curiosity only grew. Now, she was even feeling stubborn.

Lee Se-hee’s mouth opened again.

“Kim Hyun-sung!”

“Please…….”

He desperately wished he could escape into a rat hole.

“Kim Hyun-sung!”

“Okay, okay. Stop it. But no making weird noises.”

“Just tell me quickly. Haa…….”

The final sigh revealed that Lee Se-hee’s patience had run out.

If he dragged it out any longer, she might really say something.

Hyun-sung cautiously opened his mouth.

“I already have a wife.”

“…….”

“Her name is Yoon Ji-soo, and she’s seven years older than me.”

“…….”

“…….”

The two were silent for a moment.

After a while.

Lee Se-hee called out to Hyun-sung with a bewildered look.

“Hyun-sung, student.”

“Yes.”

“What’s going on here? A wife……, I must have misheard, right?”

“You probably don’t believe me, right? That’s why I didn’t want to say anything from the beginning.”

It was a natural reaction.

The very idea of a high school sophomore mentioning a wife was absurd from the start. And to top it off, she was seven years older, so Lee Se-hee’s reaction was understandable.

But the important thing was that it was true.

Hyun-sung said again without changing his expression.

“Whether you believe it or not, what I’m saying is true.”

“You shouldn’t talk to adults like that. You need to say something that makes sense to some extent!”

Lee Se-hee’s voice had strength, as if trying to suppress her emotions.

Then Hyun-sung spoke again.

“Of course, I understand it’s hard to believe, but I’m just as frustrated.”

“Are you really going to do this?”

“Yes, let’s stop. You won’t believe me no matter what I say anyway.”

Hyun-sung didn’t want to talk anymore.

He didn’t expect her to believe him from the start anyway. It was something that didn’t make sense to anyone and was unimaginable.

Hyun-sung thought he should get up.

“Then I’ll be going…….”

“Leaving?”

“I have to. It doesn’t seem like anything good will come out of staying any longer, and you seem to have said everything you wanted to say.”

Hyun-sung was about to get up from his seat when.

“Do you dislike In-hye that much?”

Strange words came out of Lee Se-hee’s mouth.

Hyun-sung doubted his ears. He couldn’t understand why those words were coming out in this situation.

Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“Excuse me? What do you mean?”

“Isn’t that so? How much do you dislike In-hye to tell such ridiculous lies?”

“Are you saying…….”

“I’m so dumbfounded that I can’t even speak. And honestly, my pride is hurt too…….”

From Lee Se-hee’s perspective, it was absurd itself.

No matter how much she disliked her daughter, how could such words come out of a high school sophomore’s mouth?

A wife? How could that be possible? And what, seven years older?

The more she thought about it, the more absurd and ridiculous it was.

Then Hyun-sung’s words continued.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“What misunderstanding? How much did you dislike her to tell such ridiculous lies?”

“Who dislikes whom? Are you saying I dislike In-hye?”

“Isn’t that so? Otherwise, how could you say such absurd things?”

“Ha…….”

Hyun-sung let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

He never thought she would misunderstand in this way. He had just told the truth out of frustration.

Lee Se-hee’s words continued.

“Why, am I wrong?”

“Of course you’re wrong. That’s a real misunderstanding. Of course, I don’t have any romantic feelings for In-hye, but that doesn’t mean I dislike her.”

“Whether you turn it over or flip it, it’s all the same, isn’t it just wordplay?”

“…….”

Hyun-sung was speechless with bewilderment.

Things had taken a strange turn. But the problem was that there was no good way to resolve this twisted situation.

‘What should I do?’

Just then.

Screech.

The door opened and Seo In-hye came in.

“Mom, here’s the cola.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“But what happened? Why do you look like that?”

Lee Se-hee’s expression was the kind that said, ‘I’m angry.’

Seo In-hye, who was looking at her, turned her gaze to the side.

“Oppa, what’s wrong?”

“Huh? Nothing’s……, nothing like that.”

“But why does Mom look like that?”

“Oh? Th, that’s…….”

When Hyun-sung couldn’t speak, Lee Se-hee, who was next to him, looked at Seo In-hye and said.

“Well, he has a wife.”

“What?”

“And she’s seven years older.”

Lee Se-hee was telling Seo In-hye as if she were a child tattling.

Then something strange happened.

“Hehehe…….”

Seo In-hye started laughing.

Then Hyun-sung looked at Seo In-hye.

He couldn’t understand. He thought this situation was not something to laugh about, at least.

And another person was dumbfounded.

Lee Se-hee also looked at Seo In-hye with a dumbfounded expression.

Then Seo In-hye said with a smile.

“Mom, is that woman’s name Yoon Ji-soo by any chance?”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

“Is that right? I thought it was something else…….”

Seo In-hye spoke as if she knew everything. But what was strange was her expression. She had a calm expression as if nothing had happened.

Then Lee Se-hee asked immediately.

“What’s with that reaction?”

“I heard that story a long time ago.”

“From whom?”

“Who else but Ji-yeon, Oppa’s younger sister.”

Lee Se-hee still had no idea what she was talking about.

“What are you talking about?”

“Ji-yeon said that one day she had a dream and Oppa said he was going to Incheon to meet his future wife.”

“A dream?”

“Yeah, he saw it in a dream in advance.”

Lee Se-hee was even more dumbfounded.

Does that make sense? To go all the way to meet that person because you had a dream.

Lee Se-hee’s gaze naturally turned to Hyun-sung.

“Is it true?”

Hyun-sung smiled and replied.

“Yes.”

“You had a dream too?”

“Yes, everything is exactly as In-hye said.”

“Oh my…….”

Lee Se-hee had nothing to say.

It doesn’t make sense.

Let’s say he had a dream.

It’s just a dream. But to bring that dream into reality, does that make sense? You’d have to be crazy for that to happen.

Lee Se-hee asked again.

“You really went all the way to Incheon?”

‘What am I doing?’

Lee Se-hee thought she was pathetic even as she asked.

Then Hyun-sung’s answer followed.

“Yes, of course.”

“So?”

Lee Se-hee asked immediately with a desperate heart without realizing it.

“I didn’t meet her.”

“You didn’t meet…….”

When Lee Se-hee said that Hyun-sung didn’t meet her, she felt a strange sense of disappointment in one corner of her heart.

Just then.

Seo In-hye started laughing again.

“Hoho…….”

“Why are you laughing?”

“It’s funny. Mom is disappointed that Oppa didn’t meet that woman. What are you expecting?”

“Oh? Did I do that…….”

Lee Se-hee then realized what she was doing.

Then Seo In-hye said.

“At first, I felt strange, but I decided to ignore it. It’s just a dream anyway. What can’t you do in a dream?”

“I guess…….”

“But how did that story come out?”

“Oh? That’s…….”

Lee Se-hee was embarrassed.

The beginning was her question.

At the end of asking how he felt about In-hye, Hyun-sung’s answer was that he had a wife.

But she couldn’t say that she had asked Hyun-sung that question first in this situation.

When Lee Se-hee couldn’t answer properly, Seo In-hye’s words continued again.

“It doesn’t matter anyway, so stop it, and can I ask you something, Mom?”

“To me?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit awkward to ask this in front of Oppa, but since it’s a problem related to Oppa, I’m going to check with Mom in this place now.”

Seo In-hye was quite serious.

In Lee Se-hee’s eyes looking at Seo In-hye, a slight sense of tension was felt.

“What is it?”

“You told me a few days ago not to meet Oppa.”

“Oh? Th, that’s right.”

Lee Se-hee was momentarily flustered.

Of course, what she said was right. But she didn’t know that the person in question would ask directly in this way.

“What’s the reason?”

“Oh? The reason…….”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a few days, but I can’t understand it. Oppa is not a bad person, he doesn’t study poorly, and these days he’s even running a store and living harder than anyone else, Mom knows that too. But I don’t know why you’re telling me not to meet him.”

“That’s…….”

Lee Se-hee had nothing to say. Because none of what Seo In-hye said was wrong. But what she’s worried about is another reason.

A woman should meet someone who loves her. Looking at Hyun-sung alone, there is nothing to criticize.

The problem is that Hyun-sung is not interested in her daughter.

She knows better than anyone how difficult and bleak a life without love is for a woman. She wants to stop her because she’s experienced it.

Lee Se-hee’s words continued.

“In-hye, listen carefully to what Mom is saying from now on. So…….”

Lee Se-hee began to talk about her story, which she had never told before. Of course, she had roughly told Hyun-sung a little while ago.

As Lee Se-hee’s explanation lengthened, Seo In-hye’s expression changed from moment to moment. She was surprised and sometimes had a gloomy expression.

“…… That’s why Mom was against it.”

“…….”

When Lee Se-hee’s explanation was over, Seo In-hye was silent for a moment.

Only for a moment.

Seo In-hye opened her mouth.

“Mom.”

“Huh?”

“First of all, thank you for telling me a story that’s not easy to tell.”

“Honestly, I didn’t want to say it. I’m a woman too, so it’s embarrassing. But it seemed like you were following in Mom’s footsteps, so I didn’t think this was right. So I had no choice…….”

From Lee Se-hee’s expression, it was clear how much she was worried about Seo In-hye.

“Mom!”

Seo In-hye’s voice had more strength than before.

“Yeah, tell me.”

“Of course, I don’t know what Mom thinks, but I’m different from Mom.”

Lee Se-hee looked at Seo In-hye and asked.

“What’s different?”

“Times have changed. I don’t know what it was like back then, but I think differently now. Why do you think I meet Oppa?”

“Of course, because you like him…….”

“That’s right. But that’s all. I’m sixteen now. But why do you think so complicatedly? I’m happy now. Isn’t that right?”

Seo In-hye’s answer was straightforward.

Then Lee Se-hee said quietly.