Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 189

189

“Lee Su-hyeok, and Kim Hyeon-seong.”

“Pardon?”

Class president Lee Young-min stared at Shin Min-ho with an incredulous expression.

The reason was simple.

It wouldn’t be strange if Lee Su-hyeok took first place. He had always been second, after all.

But Hyeon-seong was different. Hyeon-seong had always been somewhere between 7th and 10th place. The fact that Hyeon-seong suddenly took first place was unbelievable.

“Why? Don’t you believe it?”

“Su-hyeok is one thing, but honestly, Hyeon-seong…….”

“That just means you haven’t paid enough attention to Hyeon-seong. As far as I know, Hyeon-seong has been studying until two in the morning while running his ramen business. I’ve seen it with my own eyes a few times, so it must be true. And…….”

Shin Min-ho began to explain about Hyeon-seong, whom he had been watching. As Shin Min-ho’s explanation grew longer, the number of students nodding their heads began to increase.

And finally, when Shin Min-ho’s explanation was over, class president Lee Young-min nodded and said.

“To be honest, I didn’t know he was working that hard. There must have been a reason for taking first place. All I can say is that he’s amazing…….”

“And there’s one more person who deserves praise. That’s Kim Il-soo.”

“You mean Kim Il-soo, the worst in our class?”

“Yes, Kim Il-soo, who always came in last in our class, has moved up to 20th place this time.”

“Pardon?”

Lee Young-min couldn’t help but be surprised again.

Lately, there had definitely been a change in Kim Il-soo. Unlike before, he didn’t sleep during class and listened to the lessons, and during breaks, he didn’t play around like he used to, but instead, he was seen doing his homework. But even so, he never thought his grades would improve that much.

Then Shin Min-ho spoke again.

“The four of you, please stand up for a moment.”

As soon as Shin Min-ho’s words were spoken, the four people stood up from their seats. But their expressions were all different. Unlike Lee Su-hyeok’s bright expression, Kim Il-soo and Lee Jeong-woo looked embarrassed and flushed. And Hyeon-seong was somewhat indifferent.

As the four people stood up, everyone began to applaud as if they had made a promise.

Clap, clap, clap…….

Hyeon-seong looked at Lee Su-hyeok, Kim Il-soo, and Lee Jeong-woo standing there in turn.

They were so different from what they had been in his past life.

In particular, Kim Il-soo and Lee Jeong-woo were so different that there was no comparison. The guys who had always been at the bottom had scored 15th and 20th place.

Of course, the ranking was important. But more important than that was that he saw their potential. Now that he had confirmed their potential, their lives would be very different from what they had been.

As soon as the homeroom teacher finished the morning assembly and left, Lee Jeong-woo ran to Hyeon-seong’s desk.

“Hey, what happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t say anything, and suddenly you’re in first place?”

“I didn’t know I’d get first place either. I guess I was just lucky.”

“You’re so modest……, but you’re amazing. Studying, business, what can’t you do these days? Anyway, congratulations.”

Lee Jeong-woo was happy as if it were his own accomplishment.

Looking at Lee Jeong-woo, Hyeon-seong said.

“You did well this time too. I knew you were working hard, but I didn’t know you’d get up to 15th place.”

“Hehe, honestly, it feels like a dream. Me, in 15th place…….”

“Now that you’ve confirmed your potential, you have to work even harder from now on.”

“Okay. I know for sure this time. That it can be done.”

Lee Jeong-woo shook his fist and showed his confidence.

It was then.

Tuk.

Someone tapped Hyeon-seong on the shoulder from behind.

And a heavy voice was heard.

“Congratulations.”

The owner of the voice was Kim Il-soo.

“Oh, thanks. And congratulations to you too. You worked hard this time and finally made it.”

“It’s all thanks to you!”

It was a clumsy tone, but it was a voice full of sincerity.

“You did a great job anyway. And you know this is just the beginning, right?”

“Yeah!”

Kim Il-soo smiled and nodded.

Kim Il-soo, who was smiling today, looked even more reliable and handsome.

***

That afternoon.

Lee Su-hyeok headed straight home after school.

As soon as he arrived home, he called out to his mother, Yoo Soo-min.

“Mom!”

Yoo Soo-min, who was in the kitchen, smiled at Lee Su-hyeok’s call and asked.

“What’s wrong? Why is my big boy calling for his mother like this?”

“Mom, don’t be surprised.”

“Oh, dear, what’s all the fuss about?”

“Mom, I got first place. I got first place.”

“What?”

Yoo Soo-min doubted her ears. She was already curious about the results since the exam had ended yesterday.

But she didn’t ask first. The reason was that she could fully expect that the results wouldn’t be good this time. So she was even afraid to ask.

But first place…….

Yoo Soo-min looked at Lee Su-hyeok and asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying I got first place in our class. I’ve always been in second place, but I finally got first place this time.”

“Is that real?”

“Yes, it is. Mom, can’t you believe it either? To be honest, it feels like a dream to me too.”

“Su-hyeok!”

Yoo Soo-min hugged Lee Su-hyeok tightly with both arms.

It felt like a dream.

She had been filled with anxiety because of the runaway and rooftop incident last time. She had never had such a thing before, so the shock was even greater.

In addition, her son had stopped tutoring at her request, so she couldn’t help but feel anxious about his grades.

But he overcame all those anxieties and took first place as if to show off.

Yoo Soo-min released her arms and asked.

“What happened?”

“At first, I was honestly very anxious because I quit tutoring. But after hearing Dad say not to worry about my test scores, I felt even more responsible.”

“Is that true?”

“It means Dad believes in me that much. So I didn’t want to disappoint him.”

That was true.

So what he thought was to do his best on this exam no matter what. He wanted to get at least better results than the last exam.

He only thought about that, even while staying up all night. So he was able to endure to the end.

Yoo Soo-min said again.

“So that’s why you stayed up all night?”

“As Mom knows, I’m originally weak at night.”

“Actually, I was worried about that at first too. I wondered if you could stay up all night. For three days.”

“But the funny thing is, I could do it as I did it. So I realized this time how important a person’s will is.”

It was a new experience.

At first, he didn’t think he could handle it. But as time went on, he could feel his mind getting clearer and clearer. That’s when he knew how scary mental strength is to a person.

“In the end, Dad’s choice was right.”

“I don’t know if it’s right or wrong, I’m just grateful to Dad for believing in me. So I wanted to repay that gratitude.”

Yoo Soo-min nodded.

Then Lee Su-hyeok said again.

“And the important thing is that I found a way to study on my own without tutoring.”

“Does that mean it’s possible?”

“Of course, it wasn’t easy at first. But as I did it alone, I got the hang of it. And it became fun to solve problems I didn’t know with my friends.”

“Friends?”

Yoo Soo-min frowned at the word friends. This was because she knew that the friends who studied with him didn’t have good grades.

She didn’t say it, but she thought it would only interfere with her studies. But she didn’t understand how those friends helped her.

Yoo Soo-min asked again.

“Those friends helped you?”

“At first, I didn’t think it would help. But it was the opposite. When those friends asked me questions they didn’t know, I taught them. But I realized something important there.”

“Something important? What is it?”

“As I taught them, I could see the whole flow. And I could see the intention of the problem maker. How should I say it, my perspective on the problem became wider, anyway, it was a new experience for me.”

Yoo Soo-min nodded.

There would definitely be a difference in perspective between the learner and the teacher. But if you experience it indirectly, Yoo Soo-min judged that your perspective on the problem would be broadened.

“That could be true.”

“And in the case of Hyeon-seong, I got a lot of help.”

“Um…, what does that mean?”

The reason why Yoo Soo-min had doubts was simple. She knew that Hyeon-seong was not as good at studying as Lee Su-hyeok.

Lee Su-hyeok’s answer followed.

“He wasn’t the same Hyeon-seong as before. Especially when he picked out the expected problems, I think he hit more than 70% of them on this exam.”

“70%?”

“I was surprised when I took the test. Oh, didn’t you know that Hyeon-seong and I tied for first place this time?”

“Hyeon-seong got first place?”

“Actually, I was very surprised. He’s a completely different person from the old Hyeon-seong. He’s good at studying, business, and everything else. Not only that…….”

Lee Su-hyeok began to explain about Hyeon-seong’s changes. Especially about Kim Il-soo and Lee Jeong-woo.

When Lee Su-hyeok’s explanation was over, Yoo Soo-min asked.

“The guys who were at the bottom got 15th and 20th place?”

“Hyeon-seong made them do that.”

“Does that make sense?”

“I don’t understand it either, but all of that is Hyeon-seong’s work. Anyway, I learned a lot while studying with them this time.”

Yoo Soo-min shook her head from side to side. This was because it was a part that she couldn’t easily understand no matter how much she thought about it.

Then Lee Su-hyeok’s words followed.

“Mom, so…….”

“Why, what do you want to say?”

“I’m going to seriously consider whether to get tutoring this time.”

“Well, isn’t it too rash yet?”

Yoo Soo-min was worried. Of course, it was encouraging that she got first place on this exam without the help of a tutor, but she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to continue without tutoring in the future.

Lee Su-hyeok’s words followed.

“Okay, then give me one more chance until the midterm exam. Anyway, I decided to stop tutoring until the end of the second grade, so it won’t be too late to decide after the midterm exam, so let’s decide then.”

“I agree with that. By the way, I don’t understand how Hyeon-seong could change so suddenly.”

“I feel the same way. But the important thing is that he’s definitely not the same Hyeon-seong as before, and good things happen when you’re around him. And I’m going to continue working part-time at his store.”

“That means good things will continue to happen to our Su-hyeok.”

“Maybe…….”

“Hoho, if that’s the case, what worries would this mother have? Anyway, that’s why you have to make good friends.”

Yoo Soo-min used to say that you should make friends after you go to college. Yoo Soo-min is clearly showing that people can change depending on the situation.

***

A few days later, early dawn.

“Are you here?”

Hyeon-seong greeted Park Hee-cheol happily.

The reason why he met Park Hee-cheol so early today was because it was the day he was finally going to buy the land he had been waiting for.

“Did you sleep well?”

Park Hee-cheol greeted Hyeon-seong with a smile.

Then Hyeon-seong smiled and replied.

“I couldn’t sleep all night.”

“Why not?”

“I couldn’t sleep because I thought I was going to buy land. Did you sleep well, sir?”

“Haha, don’t even mention it. I also tossed and turned all night.”

Why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t just a penny or two, but a whopping 5,500 [presumably, a large sum of money, perhaps in thousands of Korean Won]. Money was money, but in a way, it was Park Hee-cheol’s entire fortune. It would be strange if he could sleep.

“Can we have a meal at the rest stop in the middle?”

“I guess so. Come on, let’s go quickly. We’ll have to hurry to get to Ilsan [a city in South Korea].”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

The two men left the store and got into the car.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, shall we start buying land now?”

“Then let’s go.”

Vroom.

The car carrying the two men cut through the darkness of dawn and moved forward vigorously.