Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 250

250

Min Doo-shik was the one who opened the door and came in.

Min Doo-shik sat down in the center of the hall as if nothing was wrong.

Then, Kim Il-soo quietly asked Hyun-sung, looking at him.

“Who is it?”

“That person.”

“That person? Who is it?”

“I told you a little while ago. The ramen shop that’s coming to the intersection, that person is him.”

As Hyun-sung finished speaking, Kim Il-soo looked at Min Doo-shik with a dumbfounded expression.

Then, he immediately looked at Hyun-sung and said,

“Are you going to sell ramen to that person?”

“Of course not. His purpose for coming here is obvious anyway.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I have to kick him out.”

It was when Hyun-sung was about to move.

Tuk.

Kim Il-soo grabbed Hyun-sung’s shoulder.

“I’ll do it. The boss can’t step up for this kind of thing.”

“Are you okay?”

“I have to earn my keep.”

Kim Il-soo, who finished speaking briefly, walked towards Min Doo-shik.

As Kim Il-soo approached, Min Doo-shik said.

“Is ramen available now?”

“Is it? I don’t think we’ve met before, but you’re using informal speech right away?”

“Oh? That’s… aren’t you a student?”

“I am a student. But you shouldn’t use informal speech to someone you’ve never met like that. It’s degrading.”

Kim Il-soo spoke to Min Doo-shik as if he had made up his mind.

Then, Min Doo-shik smirked as if he was dumbfounded and continued to speak.

“What, degrading? Are you picking a fight with me right now?”

“It’s not a fight, it’s the truth. Even if you’re an adult, you shouldn’t act like that.”

“I’m so dumbfounded… Forget it, go and get me some ramen.”

“Ramen? We don’t have that.”

“What? Are you kidding me right now?”

Min Doo-shik looked at Kim Il-soo with a dumbfounded expression.

Then, Kim Il-soo said.

“We don’t have ramen to sell to you. So please leave quietly.”

“What was that again?”

“Are your ears circumcised? Why can’t you understand what I’m saying? I said I’m not selling ramen to you.”

“Are you refusing a customer right now?”

“Yes, I’m not selling ramen to someone like you.”

Kim Il-soo’s words were getting more and more severe.

At that time, Hyun-sung, who was watching the scene, approached Min Doo-shik.

Then, Min Doo-shik looked at Hyun-sung and said.

“Are you really going to act like this?”

“Get out of here quietly before you get into more trouble. No matter how much you look down on people, there’s a limit. What gives you the right to come in here?”

“I came to a ramen shop to eat ramen, what’s wrong with that?”

“Are you even saying that as a joke?”

Hyun-sung was dumbfounded.

The only reason Min Doo-shik came here now is to taste the ramen.

This is because knowing the taste of the other party’s ramen is essential for doing business.

In a way, it’s stealing.

But selling ramen while knowing that was something Hyun-sung couldn’t do.

Min Doo-shik said.

“What’s the reason you can’t sell ramen?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

“I’m going to pay for it with my money, why can’t you sell ramen?”

“Are you being shameless? Or are you thoughtless?”

Hyun-sung was starting to think that Min Doo-shik was pathetic. No matter how shameless a person is, how can they be so rude?

It’s an act that you can never commit without looking down on the other person.

Then, Kim Il-soo, who was next to him, opened his mouth again.

“Mister, do we look that easy to you?”

“What?”

“I heard you’re opening a ramen shop at that intersection?”

“Oh? You knew? I just signed the contract today, how did the rumor spread already?”

Min Doo-shik’s expression was different from before, as if he was embarrassed.

Then, Kim Il-soo said again.

“You shouldn’t do that to people. Even though we are young students, how can you ignore us like this?”

“Who said I ignored you? I was just curious about the taste of the ramen.”

“Isn’t that what you mean? In the end, you were trying to taste the ramen of your competitor for your business, right?”

“Competitor?”

Min Doo-shik looked at Hyun-sung and Kim Il-soo alternately with a dumbfounded expression. Then he immediately continued to speak.

“Did you just say competitor?”

“What’s the meaning of that? It’s like saying we’re not even competitors, is that right?”

“You know it. Competition? How can you have such a cute thought? I’ve been eating restaurant food for over 10 years, do you think you can be a competition?”

“Huh…….”

Kim Il-soo was just laughing in vain as if he was dumbfounded.

Hyun-sung was just as dumbfounded.

Then Min Doo-shik said.

“So, you’re saying you see me as a competitor right now?”

“What you’re saying now is…….”

“Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t come here as your competitor, I just came out of curiosity.”

“Huh… curiosity?”

Hyun-sung was just speechless.

Min Doo-shik was so arrogant that he couldn’t understand it at all.

Min Doo-shik continued to speak.

“Yes, curiosity as it is. I heard that the business is doing well, so I was just curious about what the ramen tastes like. But at best, you probably just put in a few bean sprouts and played around…”

“Played around?”

“It’s obvious. You probably put a few bean sprouts in the ramen and called it hangover ramen. Am I wrong?”

That’s when it was.

Shin Myung-soon, who had been listening quietly, approached Min Doo-shik.

“I can’t stand it anymore after listening quietly. What did you just say? What’s wrong with our ramen?”

“Who is this auntie again?”

“I’m the person in charge of the kitchen here, did you just say that we’re playing around with our ramen?”

“Am I wrong? Anyway, if it’s ramen, it’s just ramen, what’s with the hangover ramen? Isn’t that all wordplay?”

“No, what…….”

Shin Myung-soon couldn’t continue speaking as if she was dumbfounded.

Then Hyun-sung, who was next to her, called Min Doo-shik in a loud voice.

“Hey, mister!”

“What? Why are you shouting?”

“Get out of here right now when I’m talking nicely. I’m seeing that you’re a really hopeless person. Don’t you even have any respect for your elders?”

“Okay, I don’t want to stay any longer even if you tell me to. And I’m telling you clearly, I won’t let you off. So you better be on your guard.”

“We’ll see. And I’m warning you, don’t live your life like that.”

“Hehe, you little punk…….”

That’s when it was.

Thump.

Kim Il-soo, who was watching from the side, grabbed Min Doo-shik’s shoulder. Then he stood him up.

“Don’t test my personality, just go.”

“Are you not going to let go of this?”

“I’m warning you clearly, don’t let me see you outside from now on. Because I don’t know what I’ll do then either.”

Thud.

Kim Il-soo pushed Min Doo-shik slightly after finishing those words.

Then Min Doo-shik was pushed weakly to the front of the door.

“Are you a gangster?”

“I want to live a good life too, so don’t touch me anymore and just go. Because sometimes I can’t control myself either.”

“You, later…….”

Min Doo-shik stopped talking and opened the door and disappeared from the store as if he was running away as Kim Il-soo approached.

Hyun-sung, who was watching the scene, burst out laughing without realizing it.

After a while.

The five people gathered again.

Hyun-sung opened his mouth again.

“I don’t know how good that guy is right now, but the important thing is that it will definitely affect our business.”

“I guess so.”

Shin Myung-soon said with a worried expression.

Then Kim Ji-sook, who was sitting next to her, continued to speak.

“Boss, what should we do in the future?”

“Don’t worry too much. Of course, it will have some impact, but that doesn’t mean the number of customers will decrease drastically. We just need to do what we’re doing now. As I always say, think of it as your family is eating it, maintain the cleanliness of the food, and work with a happy heart. And even if the business is a little slow, your wages or bonuses will not be reduced.”

As Hyun-sung finished speaking, Kim Ji-sook said.

“Speaking of money, you don’t have to give us bonuses for the time being. It seems like it will be a little difficult anyway.”

“That’s not true. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“But it will be hard…….”

“I want to say again that I don’t want you to worry too much about the new store coming in. We just need to be faithful to our duties as usual.”

As Hyun-sung finished speaking, Shin Myung-soon opened her mouth again.

“Still, I’m relieved that the boss is holding the center like this and not shaking. To be honest, I was a little uneasy like before.”

“I believe in my mother’s skills. I don’t know what others think, but I know very well that boiling that many ramen, not just one or two a day, is not an easy task. So I’m always grateful.”

“You’re saying too much.”

“Anyway, this may be a crisis if it is a crisis. At times like this, let’s trust and rely on each other and overcome it wisely.”

As Hyun-sung finished speaking, everyone nodded. The atmosphere, which had been chaotic due to Min Doo-shik’s appearance a little while ago, was nowhere to be found.

That’s when it was.

Ddalang.

The store door opened and a customer came in.

“Welcome!”

Kim Il-soo got up from his seat and greeted the customer in a loud voice. Then the others returned to their respective positions.

***

The next morning.

Ddalang.

The store door opened and someone came in.

“What brings you here at this hour, Chairman?”

The person who opened the door and came in was Seo Min-gyu, the chairman of the senior citizens association.

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard that a ramen shop is coming to the intersection, is that true?”

“Yes, the kitchen construction will start today. But did you come all the way here because of that?”

Seo Min-gyu nodded and continued to speak.

“There’s a commotion at the senior center because of that.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re worried about you. Everyone told me to go quickly, how much they were urging me, I couldn’t stand it anymore and came to visit you like this.”

“So you came this early in the morning?”

“Of course. By the way, are you okay? I heard that the commercial district at the intersection is quite big?”

Seo Min-gyu looked at Hyun-sung with worried eyes.

Then Hyun-sung said.

“How can I worry when the elders are worried about me like this? I will work hard and do business, trusting the elders in the neighborhood. That’s what I have to do.”

“What great help can we be? We’re just worried.”

“Where is that? That’s enough for me with the elders’ worrying hearts.”

As Hyun-sung finished speaking, Seo Min-gyu handed over a black plastic bag.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

“It’s for lunch. We old people have nothing to do, and we decided to have lunch here today.”

“So you brought the money in advance?”

Seo Min-gyu nodded.

Then Hyun-sung asked again.

“Are you having lunch here on purpose because of me?”

“I didn’t decide it alone, everyone told me to do that. And not only today, but we decided to have lunch here every three days from now on.”

“No, not that far…….”

“This is all we can do. So please cheer up and overcome it. Then I’ll be on my way…….”

Taptap.

Seo Min-gyu tapped Hyun-sung’s shoulder lightly a few times and left the store.

Hyun-sung had a black plastic bag in his hand.

A smile was already spreading on Hyun-sung’s lips as he looked at the door where Seo Min-gyu had disappeared.