Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 210

210

The next day.

– Hello.

“Inhye, it’s your brother.”

– Oh? What brings you calling at this hour, oppa [older brother, a term of endearment used by younger women to address older men]?

“I was wondering if I could see you today. Are you free to come out?”

– Now?

“Yeah, I’m at the public phone in front of your school.”

– Oppa, didn’t you say you were going home yesterday? You’re already back?

“Yeah, I left home early to see you.”

– Oppa, what should I do? I haven’t even showered yet, and I have plans today…….

“But why does your voice sound like that?”

Normally, her voice would be different from the moment she answered the phone. But today, her voice sounded unusually weak.

Could it be that something happened, as Kim Jiyeon said?

– Oppa, I’m so sorry. I don’t think I can go out today because I’m not feeling well.

“Are you sick?”

– Not exactly, I’m just not in a good mood…….

“Don’t say that. Come out. Let’s go somewhere with oppa to change your mood.”

– Where to?

“How about Wonju?”

– Wonju? That’s so far.

“Let’s go to Wonju, eat delicious food, and watch a movie. That might cheer you up.”

– Hmm……, if oppa says so……, okay. Then I’ll quickly wash up and go out.

“Okay, I’ll see you at the terminal in a bit.”

Click.

Hyeonseong hung up the phone and left the phone booth, heading towards the terminal.

A while later.

“Oppa.”

“Oh? Who is this?”

It wasn’t the usual Seo Inhye. She was wearing a brown dress and white sneakers, a look that suited the autumn weather perfectly.

Moreover, her lips were painted a light pink. At first glance, she didn’t look like a middle school student.

Besides, who was Seo Inhye?

Wasn’t she the queen of Seo Myeong Middle School?

So, it was natural for Hyeonseong to be surprised.

Seo Inhye smiled at Hyeonseong’s reaction and said,

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Are you really Inhye?”

“Hehe, oppa……, I was feeling gloomy, so I put on bright lipstick. How do I look?”

“Now I know why they call you the queen at school. You look great.”

“Really?”

Seo Inhye’s voice had changed to a higher tone compared to when they spoke on the phone earlier.

Looking at Seo Inhye, Hyeonseong said again,

“You’re really pretty.”

“Hehe, thanks, oppa. By the way, what brings you here today?”

“I heard you’ve been feeling down lately, so I thought I’d cheer you up.”

“Did Jiyeon say something?”

“Actually, Jiyeon asked me last night.”

“I knew it…….”

Seo Inhye nodded.

Then Hyeonseong said again,

“It’s not just because of Jiyeon’s request. I was planning to go see a movie anyway. You said you wanted to see one since last time.”

“I just mentioned it in passing, but you remembered. You’re the best, oppa.”

Just then, the bus to Wonju arrived at the terminal.

“Inhye, the bus is here. Let’s get on.”

“Okay, oppa.”

“Oh, do you need anything to drink?”

“No, I’m okay. You can get something if you want, oppa.”

“I’m okay too. I try not to drink anything when I’m on the bus. It’s a hassle.”

“Hehe, me too…….”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

The two boarded the bus.

Seo Inhye spoke first.

“Oppa, you said you did the monthly settlement yesterday, right?”

“Yeah, yesterday was the last day of the month. There are a few days difference in terms of the date, but I’m just going to close it out monthly for convenience.”

“Right, oppa opened on the 3rd, didn’t he?”

“You remember the date?”

“How can you say such a hurtful thing? It’s oppa’s business, if I don’t remember, who will?”

Seo Inhye said, glaring at Hyeonseong.

Hyeonseong chuckled.

Seeing his reaction, Seo Inhye immediately asked,

“What? What’s with that smile?”

“You’re cute…….”

“Am I just cute to oppa?”

“If you’re cute, isn’t that enough? What else do you need?”

“Don’t you have any feelings like I’m sexy or pretty?”

“What do you want to hear?”

“Oppa’s honest feelings.”

“You do look a bit different today.”

Hyeonseong was smiling inwardly as he spoke. Seo Inhye was only 16 years old. On the other hand, Hyeonseong was over 50 years old. To be exact, he was 51 years old. It would be strange if Seo Inhye looked different in that situation.

“How do I look today?”

“You look sexy and pretty. No one would think you’re a middle school student. Is that enough?”

“Oppa, are you into older women?”

Pfft.

Hyeonseong burst out laughing without realizing it.

Come to think of it, Seo Inhye was right. Even in his past life, his wife, Yoon Jisu, was 7 years older than him.

It wasn’t like he deliberately met her that way, but the important thing was that he was happy living with her. Even though there was a 7-year age difference, it never caused any problems in their lives.

He realized once again that age was just a number.

Seo Inhye asked at Hyeonseong’s laughter.

“By the way, oppa, about that woman…….”

“That woman?”

“Yeah, the future wife you talked about last time. How old is she compared to you?”

“Ah, I thought you were talking about something else. 7 years.”

“7 years? So, since oppa is 18 now, let’s see……, that means she’s 25 years old.”

Seo Inhye looked at Hyeonseong with a curious expression.

Then she smiled.

“Why are you smiling?”

“You definitely like older women. But did you really see her in a dream?”

“Of course.”

“So that’s why you went to Incheon to look for her last time?”

Hyeonseong nodded.

Then Seo Inhye shook her head and continued,

“Oppa, you’re really something. How can you go looking for someone just because you saw them in a dream?”

“…….”

“Do you think that makes sense?”

“Well…….”

Hyeonseong had nothing to say.

He wanted to say, ‘I’m a regressor,’ but he knew he would be labeled as mentally ill, so he couldn’t say anything more.

When Hyeonseong didn’t say anything, Seo Inhye asked again,

“Are you going to look for that woman again later?”

“Of course.”

“Sigh, I shouldn’t have said anything. Oppa, let’s go to the hospital together sometime. It’s clear that there’s something wrong with your head.”

“Well…….”

Hyeonseong wanted to say something, but he knew it was pointless, so he closed his mouth.

While the two were talking, the bus was already passing through Hoengseong.

Then Hyeonseong called out to Seo Inhye.

“Inhye.”

“Yes, oppa.”

“What’s bothering you these days?”

“Oppa, I don’t want to talk about it right now. Actually, I couldn’t sleep properly last night because of it. Can I sleep for a bit? I feel sleepy when I’m with oppa.”

“Oh? O-okay. Then you should sleep. There’s still time before we get to Wonju, so get some sleep.”

Seo Inhye was already leaning her head on Hyeonseong’s shoulder with her eyes closed.

Hyeonseong looked at the sleeping Seo Inhye.

What could it be?

What kind of worries could she have that would make it so hard for her to sleep at her age?

School, family, relationships……, or something else?

She was a brighter child than anyone else. Until a few days ago, there were no problems. So, something must have happened in the last few days…….

What could it be?

How much time had passed?

The bus was entering the Wonju Terminal.

Hyeonseong woke Seo Inhye.

“Inhye.”

“Oh? Are we already there?”

“Yeah, how can you sleep so soundly?”

“I know, I tossed and turned last night, so I fell asleep without realizing it……, did I snore or anything?”

“You didn’t do anything like that.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. I sometimes snore when I’m tired. Anyway, I feel refreshed after sleeping a bit.”

“Let’s get off first.”

The two got off the bus.

Hyeonseong, who got off the bus, said to Seo Inhye.

“Let’s go get lunch first.”

“What are we going to eat?”

“Inhye, have you ever had tonkatsu [Japanese pork cutlet]?”

“I’ve only heard of it, but I haven’t had it yet. Have you had it, oppa?”

“Me? Well……, it’s my first time too. I’ve only seen it on TV.”

Of course, he had eaten it in his past life.

Back then, tonkatsu was a rare dish. Hyeonseong also ate tonkatsu for the first time when he was a freshman in college.

Seo Inhye said with a smile.

“Oppa, let’s go eat tonkatsu. I’ve been curious about what it tastes like when I see it on TV.”

“Okay, let’s take a taxi to the city.”

“Thanks to oppa, I’m living the high life today. I get to eat tonkatsu.”

Seo Inhye’s expression looked much brighter.

The two took a taxi to the city.

After driving for about 10 minutes, the taxi driver said.

“We’re here, sir. The Western-style restaurant on the 2nd floor here makes good tonkatsu.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He had asked in advance while taking the taxi, so he was able to find the Western-style restaurant right away.

Yurijip [Glass House].

That was the name of the sign.

As he went up to the 2nd floor, he could see why the sign was called Yurijip. All three sides except for the kitchen were made of glass.

As they sat down by the window, a waiter with a bow tie approached.

“Sir, would you like me to help you order?”

“Two tonkatsu, please.”

“Would you like bread or rice?”

Hyeonseong looked at Seo Inhye and asked.

“Inhye, which one would you like, bread or rice?”

“Hmm……, I’ll have bread.”

Hyeonseong looked at the waiter again and said.

“Two breads, please.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll prepare it soon.”

As the waiter left, Seo Inhye looked at Hyeonseong and said.

“Oppa, the restaurant is so pretty. It feels like I’ve come to another world.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, I love it. I was honestly worried before coming out, but now that I’m out, I think it was a good idea. I feel much better.”

“That’s a relief then. I don’t know what your worries are, but forget about them for now and just think about this moment.”

“Okay, oppa.”

Seo Inhye smiled at Hyeonseong.

Shortly after.

The waiter approached.

“Here’s the soup. It’s hot, so please eat slowly.”

“Yes, thank you.”

As the waiter left, Seo Inhye asked.

“Oppa, what is this?”

“It’s called cream soup. Try it, you’ll probably be surprised by the taste since it’s your first time.”

“Really?”

Hyeonseong smiled and nodded.

Even in his past life, when he first ate soup, he wondered if there was such a taste in the world. He regretted that the bowl was so small.

Slurp.

“Oh? Oppa!”

Seo Inhye, who was eating the soup, looked at Hyeonseong.

Hyeonseong looked at Seo Inhye and asked.

“How is it?”

“No, how can such a taste come out in this world?”

“I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, it’s so soft and yet so savory. It’s really the first time I’ve tasted something like this in my life. But how do you know this taste, oppa? You said it was your first time too?”

“Oh? Th-that’s…….”

It was his mistake. He had spoken his memories of his past life as they were. But he had no excuse to make.

Then Seo Inhye said again.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I meant that it would be amazing because it’s your first time. I’m not saying I know the taste from eating it, but that’s what I expect. That’s just my guess.”

People tend to talk longer when they lie, and Hyeonseong was no exception.

Then Seo Inhye nodded lightly as if it didn’t matter and started eating the soup again.

And a little later.

“Oppa, this is too much.”

“Why?”

“The portion is too small. There’s nothing to eat after it gets all over the place.”

“Right? I think so too.”

“Do you think they’ll give me more if I ask for it?”

“I don’t know…….”

Hyeonseong chuckled.

Then Seo Inhye laughed as if she was dumbfounded.