Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 418

419

The two men were lying on the cot.

Lying on the cot during work hours meant they had practically finished their military service.

Indeed, those two were Hyun-sung and Kim Dong-soo, who were about to be discharged tomorrow.

Hyun-sung suddenly jumped up from the cot. Kim Dong-soo, who was lying next to him, got up and asked,

“You’ve only been lying down for less than 10 minutes. What are you doing?”

“It’s a waste of time. Only one day left, and it doesn’t feel right to just lie here like this.”

“You never change…”

Kim Dong-soo shook his head and lay back down on the cot.

“Hey, I’m going to sleep, so don’t wake me up until lunchtime.”

“You’re like a piglet…”

“What, you punk!”

Thwack!

Kim Dong-soo suddenly struck Hyun-sung’s side. Hyun-sung immediately clutched his side and began to roll around on the cot.

After a moment, Hyun-sung got up from the cot and began to choke Kim Dong-soo. But who was Kim Dong-soo? A Ssireum [Korean wrestling] wrestler from Yongin University. He quickly escaped from Hyun-sung’s attack and began to attack Hyun-sung again.

The two men wrestled and played on the cot like children for a long time. Anyone watching would think they were friends who had known each other for a long time.

How much time had passed?

Kim Dong-soo, who was lying down exhausted, asked first.

“Hey, Kim Hyun-sung. Isn’t it time you told me now?”

“About what?”

“What you said to my dad when we first met at the Nonsan training center. You said we would train together, go to the same unit, and finally get discharged together. At the time, I honestly thought it was nonsense, but looking back, everything you said was true. How did you know?”

Smirk.

Hyun-sung chuckled lightly. Of course, he knew what Kim Dong-soo was asking. But from Hyun-sung’s perspective, there was nothing special to say. He couldn’t exactly say he had regressed [gone back in time], could he?

Then Kim Dong-soo asked again.

“What? Are you not going to tell me?”

“There’s nothing to tell. You wouldn’t understand no matter what I said.”

“Hey, how can you say that? Why wouldn’t I understand? What’s the difference between Yongin University and Kangsang University?”

“It’s not about that level…”

“Then what is it?”

Kim Dong-soo still seemed curious and pressed Hyun-sung. It was a natural reaction. From Kim Dong-soo’s perspective, it wouldn’t make sense. They met in front of the training center, and Hyun-sung spoke about the future as if it were nothing.

“Hoo!”

Hyun-sung sighed briefly. He understood Kim Dong-soo’s position, but he also had nothing special to say. However, he felt sorry for Kim Dong-soo if he didn’t say anything, so he sighed without realizing it.

Then Hyun-sung called Kim Dong-soo’s name.

“Hey, Kim Dong-soo.”

“Yeah, what is it? Are you going to tell me now?”

Kim Dong-soo’s eyes were still shining.

Hyun-sung nodded as if he couldn’t help it and began to speak.

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say. Actually…”

Hyun-sung began to explain everything that had happened so far to the best of his ability at this moment. As Hyun-sung’s explanation continued, Kim Dong-soo quietly listened to Hyun-sung’s story. But the strange thing was his eyes.

His eyes, which had initially sparkled with curiosity, gradually changed strangely as if he was getting angry. And finally, when Hyun-sung’s explanation ended, Kim Dong-soo quietly stared at Hyun-sung without saying a word.

“…”

“Why? Do you think I’m lying?”

“…”

“This guy, after I went through the trouble of explaining…”

Hyun-sung couldn’t speak any further.

Because Kim Dong-soo’s fist was already touching his vital spot, his solar plexus.

“Ugh!”

Hyun-sung collapsed, clutching his chest.

“What do you mean, this guy? Die and come back to life to serve in the military twice? You punk! You can tease someone to a certain extent, but this is too much…”

“…”

“Try talking nonsense like that in front of me one more time. Then I’ll really just…”

Kim Dong-soo shook his fist at Hyun-sung, who was lying on the ground, as if he couldn’t shake off his anger.

“Chuckling!”

Hyun-sung, who was lying down, suddenly started laughing. But because his stomach hurt, he couldn’t laugh out loud and could only barely open his mouth.

At that moment.

Creak!

Sergeant Jo Han-sung, the duty officer, entered the barracks.

“Hey, old men.”

“Old men? Yeah, well, we are now anyway… Anyway, what’s up?”

“The battalion commander is calling for you.”

“Why is the battalion commander calling us?”

“I don’t know either. I just got a call a little while ago, and he wants you to come to his office by 11 o’clock.”

Hyun-sung, who had gotten up at some point, asked.

“11 o’clock?”

“Yes. It’s 10:30 now, so take your time to prepare and go up. But no matter how I think about it, it’s strange.”

“What is?”

“This has never happened before. You’re going up to report tomorrow morning anyway, so why is he calling you today?”

That’s right. This didn’t happen in his past life either.

And the battalion commander had never called a soon-to-be discharged soldier a day before. They had to go to the battalion commander’s office to report their discharge before going to the brigade tomorrow anyway.

But what could they do? Going when they were called was a soldier’s duty.

“Okay, we understand. We’ll go on our own.”

“Yes, I understand. And…”

Sergeant Jo Han-sung couldn’t finish his sentence for some reason.

Then Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“What is it? What are you trying to say?”

“Thank you for everything. And thank you for your hard work. Our company has been happy thanks to you two. Sergeant Kim Hyun-sung, Sergeant Kim Dong-soo!”

Tap tap!

Hyun-sung lightly tapped Sergeant Jo Han-sung’s shoulder and continued.

“You can say such cheesy things? That’s unexpected.”

“Sergeant Kim, why are you like this? I’m also a soft man if you get to know me. I was just too embarrassed to say it until now.”

“Haha, is that so? Anyway, thank you. If you continue your military life like this, you’ll be fine. And come visit me after you get discharged. Then let’s talk seriously about the job issue we talked about last time. In your case, you have a large vehicle license, so working at our restaurant wouldn’t be bad. We’ll be running a bus when we start 영업 [business/operations], so.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll seriously consider it. And thank you for giving me the opportunity.”

Sergeant Jo Han-sung nodded to Hyun-sung and smiled. And this time, he looked at Kim Dong-soo and continued.

“Sergeant Kim, my father told me to thank you. My father has gotten much better thanks to you, Sergeant Kim. Thank you so much.”

“Hey, don’t mention it… Anyway, I’ll send you medicine until your father is completely cured even after I’m discharged, so tell him to take it steadily.”

“I’ll definitely pay you back for the medicine after I get discharged.”

“You’re putting on a show. Hey, am I going to do medicine business with you? Don’t worry about that and think carefully after you get discharged, like Hyun-sung said. This guy isn’t just my 동기 [same-term enlistee], he’s really capable. He’s been doing business since he was a sophomore in high school. So don’t go somewhere else and suffer, you know what I mean, right?”

“Yes, Sergeant Kim. Anyway, I’m glad I met you two in the military. I’ll definitely contact you after I get discharged.”

Sergeant Jo Han-sung bowed to Hyun-sung and Kim Dong-soo once again and left the barracks. No, he was about to.

But then Hyun-sung called Sergeant Jo Han-sung again.

“Sergeant Jo. Take this with you.”

Hyun-sung was holding a white envelope in his hand.

“What is this?”

“Sergeant Kim and I prepared this. We wanted to have 막걸리 [Korean rice wine] with everyone, but the military doesn’t allow us to do whatever we want. Today is Wednesday, so have a company 회식 [company dinner] on Sunday in a few days.”

“Hey, I’m poor, so I only contributed a little. The rich Hyun-sung prepared the rest. We just felt bad about leaving.”

Kim Dong-soo, who was next to him, said with a smile.

Sergeant Jo Han-sung, who received the envelope, suddenly adjusted his hat and received the envelope Hyun-sung handed him with both hands.

“Sergeant, Jo Han-sung. Thank you. I will definitely convey your intentions to the company members. And I will use this money for the unity of the company members.”

“Thank you. We were happy in our final days thanks to Sergeant Jo.”

“I had a rewarding military life thanks to you two. Thank you. Forward!”

Sergeant Jo Han-sung saluted Hyun-sung and Kim Dong-soo. Then the two also formally received his salute.

A salute in the military.

Of course, it may simply be a basic courtesy from a junior to a senior. But at this moment, the meaning of the salute for the three people didn’t seem to be such a simple meaning.

The look in their eyes said it all.

A look that felt the memories and gratitude for the past time spent together, and the regret of having to part ways.

Shortly after.

The two men left the barracks and headed to the battalion commander’s office.

The battalion commander’s office is located in the highest position in the unit. As a result, the entire unit can be seen at a glance from there.

“Hey, Kim Dong-soo. Look over there.”

Hyun-sung, who had arrived in front of the battalion commander’s office, called Kim Dong-soo and pointed somewhere with his hand. The place Hyun-sung’s finger pointed to was the 연병장 [parade ground] in the center of the unit.

“Do you remember? Practicing Taekwondo barefoot there.”

“Do I just remember? I get goosebumps just thinking about it. You got your 단증 [Taekwondo black belt certification] in a month, so you don’t know, but it took me seven months. Even after I became a 일병 [private first class], I had to practice with the 이등병s [privates]…”

Kim Dong-soo shook his head. No wonder, others usually got their 단증 in a month at the earliest, or 3-4 months at the latest, but it took Kim Dong-soo a whopping 6 months. As a result, it was natural that he couldn’t go on vacation, and he couldn’t even rest when others were resting in the barracks.

“Yeah, you really suffered back then.”

“I endured it thanks to you. You already had your 단증, but you still practiced with me. I’m really grateful now, but I was really grateful back then.”

“I just liked exercising.”

“You’re lying again. What about the vacation? You postponed your vacation because of me, saying you’d go together.”

“That’s…”

Smirk.

Hyun-sung just smiled. Kim Dong-soo’s words weren’t wrong. Back then, you couldn’t go on your first vacation if you didn’t get your 단증. The purpose was to get you to get your 단증 no matter what.

As a result, Hyun-sung and Kim Dong-soo’s vacation dates had to be different. But because Hyun-sung postponed his vacation, the two were able to go on their first vacation together at the same time.

“Anyway, I met a really good military 동기 [comrade/buddy], even if I don’t know anything else.”

“You know it.”

“It’s been a while, so I’m saying this now, but honestly, I probably wouldn’t have been able to live properly in the military if it weren’t for you. That’s true in 신교대 [recruit training center], and when I was getting 운전 [driving] practice in 자대 [assigned unit]. If that were the case, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get discharged properly like this. I was too embarrassed to say it until now, but thank you so much. And what I’m even more grateful for is…”

Kim Dong-soo’s words began to lengthen. It seemed that many thoughts came to mind because he thought it was the last time.

Hyun-sung was listening to Kim Dong-soo’s words and looking at the entire unit.

He ended up coming here twice, but fortunately, he had no regrets. When he first enlisted, he wondered how he would spend this time again, but when time passed, it was fun and rewarding in its own way.

Anyway, he had fulfilled his duty to defend the country, and now all that was left was to properly build a village. After that, he would find his wife, Yoon Ji-soo, and finally, if he properly built a 50-story building, he would have achieved all his goals.

“…I was really grateful again.”

When Kim Dong-soo’s last words ended, Hyun-sung tapped his shoulder.

“Hey, Kim Dong-soo. Anyway, congratulations on your discharge. Good job.”

“Hehe, you too. And I feel good. It’s good to be discharged, but it’s also good to have gained a great friend like you.”

“You’re embarrassing me… Anyway, we’ll be business partners in society, so learn your father’s business quickly after you graduate. And don’t mess around with 씨름 anymore. You’re more suited for business than 씨름. Got it?”

“Okay, I already promised my father during my 말년 [end-of-service] vacation last time. And like you said, I’ll completely learn my father’s work within 5 years. But why 5 years is still a secret?”

Hyun-sung nodded instead of answering. In fact, his father would pass away in 6 years. But he couldn’t tell him that at this point, so he had no choice but to keep it a secret.

Of course, he was planning to discuss this issue with Kim Dong-soo when the time came to some extent. He couldn’t change a person’s fate, but he hoped that the father and son would have a proper ending. How he would talk about it was a matter to think about more in the future.

“Hey, it’s time. Let’s go in.”

Hyun-sung checked the time and headed to the battalion commander’s office with Kim Dong-soo.

“Forward! Sergeant Kim Hyun-sung and 1 other are…”

“Oh, oh. You’ve come. There’s no place to sit. Let’s go out right away.”

“Yes? Where are we going?”

“Where else would we go? It’s lunchtime, so we have to go eat. Even if I can’t do anything else, I have to feed you two a meal. I made a reservation at a good place…”

“…”

Hyun-sung had nothing to say.

It was completely unexpected. That the battalion commander would buy them lunch because they were being discharged.

Hyun-sung and Kim Dong-soo, who followed the battalion commander, got into the back seat of the jeep that was waiting. When the two got in, Battalion Commander Lee Chun-soo got into the front seat.

“Corporal Lee, let’s go.”

Vroom!

The jeep carrying Hyun-sung and Kim Dong-soo immediately departed.

Car No. 1!

The car that the highest commander of the unit rides in is Car No. 1. In his past life, it was such a symbolic existence that he would be nervous just looking at Car No. 1. But now, Hyun-sung himself was riding in that car to go to lunch.

Smirk!

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but laugh.