Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 294

294

“You can just help me out.”

“What?”

Hyunsung was utterly dumbfounded. It felt like he’d been smacked in the back of the head by a child.

He never expected to hear those words from Lee Suhyuk.

Was he naive? Or was he cunning?

Then, Lee Suhyuk continued.

“Do you know why I said I want to live on my own?”

“Because you’re sick of it?”

“Hey, are you even my friend?”

What was that supposed to mean? He had clearly said just a moment ago that he was tired of living at home and wanted to leave. But now, his expression suggested that wasn’t the whole story…

Hyunsung asked immediately.

“What is it? Is there another reason?”

“I’m disappointed. I didn’t think my idol would be this clueless.”

“Hey, stop messing around and tell me straight. What’s the real reason?”

“Practice.”

“Practice?”

Hyunsung couldn’t understand what Lee Suhyuk was talking about. Practice all of a sudden? What kind of practice was he talking about?

As Hyunsung stared at him, Lee Suhyuk spoke again.

“After messing up the exam, I had a lot of thoughts.”

“A lot of thoughts?”

“Like I said before, I feel sorry to face my parents, and also…”

Lee Suhyuk paused mid-sentence. Whatever he was about to say, it didn’t seem easy to say. It seemed he had put a lot of thought into it.

This changed things.

Until a moment ago, he thought Lee Suhyuk was simply leaving home because he was bored. But his actions now suggested that wasn’t the case.

The real reason he wanted to leave home, what could it be?

Hyunsung looked at Lee Suhyuk and asked.

“Is it hard to say?”

“It’s a bit scary.”

“Scary? What are you talking about?”

Hyunsung still couldn’t understand. A moment ago, he said practice. And now, he says it’s scary.

Hyunsung was becoming more and more curious about the reason Lee Suhyuk wanted to leave home.

Then, Lee Suhyuk said something strange.

“I’m going to be independent.”

“Independent? Not just living on your own, but independent?”

“That’s why I need practice. I’ll live on my own for a few months and then become independent when I adjust.”

“Ah…”

Hyunsung could finally understand what Lee Suhyuk had been saying. In order to become independent, he needed the process of living on his own. That’s why he had mentioned practice.

He understood the word ‘scary’ now too. The thought of becoming independent was naturally frightening from young Lee Suhyuk’s perspective.

But the most important thing was missing.

The reason. The cause that made him think about becoming independent before even graduating. He hadn’t mentioned that yet.

Hyunsung was about to ask, but Lee Suhyuk spoke a little faster.

“I was thinking about retaking the college entrance exam.”

“Retaking the exam?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I can get in anywhere with this score. So, I thought I had no choice but to leave home. I can’t retake the exam at home. That’s why I said I would live on my own in advance. I was scared to be independent without practice.”

“Hmm…”

Hyunsung nodded.

Now all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

It was surprising. He didn’t think Lee Suhyuk would make such a quick decision. Lee Suhyuk had already made up his mind the moment the mock exam results came out.

He decided that he couldn’t get in anywhere with that score. So, he immediately chose to retake the exam. The limitations of being in the countryside would have been a primary consideration.

In the end, Lee Suhyuk would have chosen Seoul.

He probably had academies in mind.

If that were the case, he would have no choice but to leave home and live on his own. That’s why he brought up the idea of independence. Living on his own as well. Because of his fear of independence, he needed the practice of living on his own.

Everything was Lee Suhyuk’s plan.

Hyunsung continued.

“I’m amazed. I didn’t know you had thought that far ahead.”

“I felt really hopeless after checking my score.”

That must have been the case. Anyone could see that there was no hope with that score.

But what was amazing was how he made such a cold-hearted decision in that situation, something Hyunsung couldn’t understand.

“But how did you come up with that idea at that moment?”

“At first, like I said before, I wanted to give up on everything.”

“But?”

“I remembered what you told me when we were studying together last year.”

“Me?”

Hyunsung tilted his head for a moment. Even if he thought about it, he couldn’t remember what he had said.

Lee Suhyuk spoke again.

“You said that when you’re in a situation where it’s hard to make a decision, you should take a step back and think from a third person’s perspective.”

“Ah, that…”

Hyunsung finally remembered.

Last year, they were studying together during a break. Suddenly, Lee Suhyuk asked him. What should he do if he couldn’t make a decision in a certain situation?

What he had said then was exactly what Lee Suhyuk had just said.

Take a step back from the situation and look at it from a third person’s perspective. An objective point of view, that’s what Hyunsung wanted to say.

Like how a move that isn’t visible to the players in a game of Go [a strategy board game] is easily seen by a spectator.

Lee Suhyuk continued.

“At first, I was just scared and afraid, but after taking a step back and thinking calmly as you said, I found an answer.”

“It wouldn’t have been easy, though?”

That was obvious. Lee Suhyuk was only nineteen years old. For someone like Lee Suhyuk to step back from his own problem and think about it was almost impossible. But Lee Suhyuk had done that difficult thing.

Hyunsung couldn’t understand it.

That’s when it happened.

A smirk.

A strange smile spread across Lee Suhyuk’s face.

Seeing that, Hyunsung asked again.

“What’s the meaning of that smile?”

“I cried a lot.”

“Cried?”

“Yeah, I cried all night, and then at some point, I remembered what you said. But even when I tried to think as you said, I couldn’t do it at first.”

Hyunsung nodded. That was obvious. If he could do it right away, he wouldn’t be nineteen years old. It’s not an easy thing even for someone who has lived a long life.

Lee Suhyuk continued.

“But after a day, my thoughts changed. I suddenly woke up. I realized that if I stayed like this, something really bad would happen.”

“Then how did you think about retaking the exam?”

“I remembered something I read in a book.”

“A book?”

“Yeah, it was a book written by a professor from a foreign country, and it said that life is longer than you think.”

“Life is longer than you think?”

“Yeah, of course, it’s a saying that can be interpreted differently depending on the situation, but I thought of that saying at that moment. I thought it was exactly what I needed to hear right now.”

Hyunsung smiled at Lee Suhyuk. He thought Lee Suhyuk’s actions were that amazing.

The fact that he didn’t give in to despair at that moment and had such thoughts was astonishing.

“So?”

“Right now, 1 year may feel like a long time, but when you look at your whole life, I thought that 1 year was nothing.”

“So you decided to invest that 1 year?”

“That’s right. That’s exactly it. If I can go to the university I want by retaking the exam for 1 year, I thought there would be no time more valuable than that.”

That was right. But in order to do that, there was a premise. Achieving the goal, that is, getting into the university he wanted.

But in his past life, Lee Suhyuk couldn’t do that. Even after retaking the exam, he couldn’t go to the university he wanted.

That’s how difficult retaking the exam is. It’s never easy to improve your score while retaking the exam.

Lee Suhyuk said again.

“But a variable has occurred.”

“A variable?”

“Yeah, the situation has changed since you came. I need to revise my plan.”

Hyunsung nodded.

Lee Suhyuk was right. Until now, all plans had been made under the premise of retaking the exam.

But now it’s different.

For now, retaking the exam is out of the question. He didn’t know how the situation would change later, but that issue was not a consideration for now.

Then, what he had to decide first was the issue of living on his own. He had to decide whether to live on his own or study at home as it is.

Hyunsung asked first.

“What are you going to do?”

“Honestly, I don’t know right now. I need to think about this issue a little more…”

“No, that’s not it.”

Lee Suhyuk looked at Hyunsung and asked when Hyunsung suddenly cut him off.

“Not it? Then what are you going to do?”

“What you’re worried about right now is one thing. The issue of living on your own, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

“What’s there to worry about? Is this the time for you to be worrying about that?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Lee Suhyuk stared blankly at Hyunsung as if he didn’t know what he was talking about.

Then Hyunsung said immediately.

“Are you going to college or not?”

“Well, I should at least try to go.”

“That’s right. Then what are you worrying about? Does it make sense to live on your own in this situation? You know what the situation is, don’t you?”

“That’s…”

“You have to sleep only 4 hours a day starting tomorrow. But you’re worried about living on your own? That doesn’t make sense.”

Hyunsung couldn’t understand why Lee Suhyuk was still worrying in this situation. In Lee Suhyuk’s position, it was now a state of emergency. In common terms, he had to focus on studying, even cutting down on the time he spent going to the bathroom. The target score was 50 points. Not 10 or 20 points, but a whopping 50 points. It didn’t make sense to live on his own in that situation.

Hyunsung opened his mouth again with a frustrated heart.

“Hey, this situation…”

Hyunsung began to explain why he couldn’t live on his own in the current situation. As Hyunsung’s explanation grew longer, Lee Suhyuk kept nodding his head. And finally, when Hyunsung’s explanation ended, Lee Suhyuk said.

“State of emergency?”

“Yeah, from now on, every minute and every second is a war. You have to cut down on the time you spend eating and going to the bathroom from now on, but it doesn’t make sense to live on your own.”

“…”

“You don’t think 50 points is a joke, do you?”

“Of course not. Why else would I have thought about retaking the exam?”

“And while we’re on the subject, keep in mind that there’s absolutely no guarantee that your score will improve just because you retake the exam.”

“I know that.”

“So, no matter what happens, you have to raise your score by 50 points by the time you take the last mock exam. You know what I mean, right?”

Lee Suhyuk nodded as if he understood.

Then Hyunsung said immediately.

“Just keep this one thing in mind.”

“One thing?”

“Yeah, the next 7 months will determine your entire life. You know what I mean, right?”

“Yeah, I got it!”

Lee Suhyuk’s voice had more strength in it than before. That meant he realized how precious the remaining 7 months were.

Hyunsung continued.

“Can I trust you?”

“Yeah, sure. Maybe I was looking for a way to escape until now. A way out called retaking the exam. But from this moment on, I won’t think about that way out. As you said, I’m going to do everything I can in the remaining 7 months. Without regrets!”

“Then that’s good.”

Hyunsung nodded.

Now Lee Suhyuk will go down a different path than in his past life. Of course, no one knows the result for now. But what is certain is that Lee Suhyuk’s choice is the best for now.