Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 493

Morning Meal

With Chairman Shin Chun-oh moving to the countryside, Hyun-sung’s life also underwent a change.

That change was in his morning exercise.

He used to wake up at 5 a.m. for his morning exercise. But since Chairman Shin Chun-oh arrived, he started cycling with him at that time.

It took Chairman Shin Chun-oh only three days to learn how to ride a bicycle.

The day he first mentioned learning to ride a bicycle, he immediately bought one and started learning.

Indeed, there was nothing he couldn’t do once he set his mind to it.

All Hyun-sung did was go to Hongcheon downtown to buy a bicycle and then spend about two hours teaching him.

From the next day, Chairman Shin Chun-oh started practicing riding his bicycle on his own.

After three days, he started riding his bicycle around the village alone.

Naturally, he began cycling with Hyun-sung for an hour every morning.

One day, after a week had passed.

“I’m thinking of learning to cook starting today.”

That was what Chairman Shin Chun-oh said before parting ways with Hyun-sung.

Hyun-sung was naturally surprised. It wasn’t just anyone, but the chairman of Nongshim [a major South Korean food and beverage company] suddenly saying he would learn to cook. How could he not be surprised?

He was curious about the reason.

Why would he suddenly want to learn to cook now?

So, he asked directly.

“Do you have a reason for learning to cook?”

But what was surprising was his answer.

“It’s because of you.”

“No, what do you mean by that? Why would you learn to cook because of me?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t understand.

It was Hyun-sung himself, no less, so he couldn’t help but be even more curious about the reason.

And the reason came out immediately in Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s next words.

“I want to cook you a proper meal.”

“…….”

Naturally, he had nothing to say. He didn’t expect it at all, so he was speechless.

A meal.

Hyun-sung knew what the meaning of a meal was, especially in Korean culture where food is often an expression of care and gratitude.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh wanted to express his gratitude with a meal, so much so that he wanted to learn to cook and prepare it himself.

He didn’t know the full extent of that gratitude right away, but he knew the chairman wanted to express his feelings in that way.

Anyway, he could feel his heart, so the emotion was indescribable.

Two days later.

As usual, they were about to part ways after cycling.

“Let’s go home together.”

“Yes? Now?”

“Yes, I’m going to make you breakfast this morning. Didn’t I promise you two days ago that I wanted to cook you a meal? My skills may be a bit lacking, but let’s have a meal together.”

Only two days had passed since he said he would learn to cook.

But he had already invited him to breakfast.

Two days!

It could be a long or short time. But the important thing was that he must have worked tirelessly during those two days.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to invite him in just two days.

“Yes, Chairman. Then I’ll see your cooking skills.”

He could see confidence in his sparkling eyes.

Was that why?

Hyun-sung readily agreed right away.

Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young, who was standing behind Hyun-sung, simply smiled slightly without saying a word. As if he already knew Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s cooking skills, there was no worry on his face.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh, who came into the house, went straight to the kitchen.

Then, he tied a blue apron with a bear drawn on it and said.

“Chief Secretary Choi and Director Kim, don’t even come near the kitchen from now on. Watch TV in the living room until I call you. Got it?”

“…… Yes.”

Hyun-sung and Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young had no choice but to answer and head to the living room.

Clatter, clatter.

As soon as the two disappeared into the living room, Chairman Shin Chun-oh immediately began preparing breakfast.

The two sat on the living room sofa.

Hyun-sung looked at Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young and asked first.

“Is it really okay for us to just stay still like this?”

“It’s what the Chairman wants. Just watch. And our Chairman studied really hard for the past two days.”

“Studied?”

At Hyun-sung’s question, Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young pointed to a table on one side with his chin instead of answering. He was telling him to look at the table.

Hyun-sung got up from his seat and headed to the table.

There were several books about cooking piled up there.

In the end, Chairman Shin Chun-oh had read all the cooking books piled up there for two days.

Hyun-sung returned to the sofa and asked Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young again.

“Did he really read all those books?”

“Is that all?”

“Yes? What else is there?”

“He also did a lot of practice. Thanks to that, I had a hard time playing the role of a royal food taster. Haha…….”

Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young laughed lightly at the end of his words. It was impossible to know what that laughter meant. But it was certain that his expression was bright.

He immediately continued to speak.

“That’s the Chairman’s heart right now.”

“Heart?”

“Yes, the heart that thinks of you, President. I was actually surprised too. I didn’t know our Chairman had this side to him. That’s how grateful the Chairman is to you right now.”

“Grateful? What are you talking about?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but be curious.

Of course, he could understand his heart to some extent from when he said he wanted to cook him a meal, but he didn’t know the specific reason.

“Didn’t our Chairman get reborn, in a way? He knows what will happen 25 years from now. I think you’ll know what I mean if I say this.”

“Ah, yes…….”

Hyun-sung nodded his head only then.

As expected, those 25 years were the cause.

Of course, he hadn’t lived to that age, so it was difficult to empathize 100%, but he seemed to understand it more than enough.

If a person knows their future, and even lives in good health for 25 years, not just a month or two, there would be nothing happier than that.

Especially if you’re approaching seventy.

At that time, Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young’s words continued again.

“President, you’re still young, so you won’t be able to empathize well. The older a person gets, the more afraid they are of being sick. It’s okay if you just die. But if you don’t die and just keep getting sick, there’s nothing more painful and scary than that. But didn’t you solve that problem for the Chairman?”

Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young looked at the kitchen once and then continued to speak.

“Look, our Chairman is enjoying himself right now. He’s going to be 70 in two years, but he said he’ll be healthy for the next 25 years, so what could be more enjoyable than that? That’s why he’s cooking with such a joyful heart right now. It’s all thanks to your prophetic dream. So, he’s going to repay you now.”

“…….”

Hyun-sung simply nodded his head in response.

Then, Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young looked at Hyun-sung and carefully opened his mouth again.

“So… can I ask you just one thing?” “Yes, go ahead.”

“Did I not appear in that prophetic dream?”

“…….”

Hyun-sung covered his mouth with his hand instead of answering. It was because he thought he would laugh without realizing it if he didn’t.

To be honest, he didn’t expect the word ‘prophetic dream’ to come out of his mouth.

But the important thing wasn’t that he didn’t expect such a word to come out, but that he couldn’t stall like that forever.

He had to answer him with some words.

‘What should I do?’

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but worry.

Honestly, he had no information about him at all. And in fact, when you think about it, the prophetic dream about Chairman Shin Chun-oh was a lie anyway.

From the beginning, there was no such thing as a prophetic dream.

He just happened to see it briefly on TV in his past life. Somehow, the words came out to that point. In the end, everything was a lie, a benevolent lie that Hyun-sung had no choice but to create.

If so…….

He already lied once, so what’s stopping him from lying twice?

Hyun-sung made up his mind and immediately opened his mouth.

“Chief Secretary, you were healthy too. Very much so.”

It was the moment when Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young’s face lit up.

He had been watching him for several years, but this was the first time he had seen him so bright.

He felt a little sorry for that appearance, but he thought that if he was going to lie, he should do it properly, so Hyun-sung opened his mouth again.

“In 10 years, your wife came down and lived with you.”

“Oh! Is my wife really coming down?”

From Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young’s point of view, it was unbelievable.

The person who hated country life more than anyone else was his wife. It was the same this time. He asked her to come down with him, but she stubbornly refused. His wife was coming down in 10 years, so he couldn’t be happier than this.

It was then.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s voice was heard from the kitchen.

“You two, come here quickly.”

Hyun-sung and Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young stood up almost simultaneously. Then, they headed straight to the kitchen.

Perhaps it was because of their anticipation for Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s cooking, the two’s steps couldn’t help but be fast.

“Wow! Chairman!”

Hyun-sung, who arrived at the dining table, couldn’t help but open his mouth wide.

That’s because the food on the table was beyond imagination.

The soybean paste stew [Doenjang-jjigae, a Korean stew made with fermented soybean paste] boiling in the middle of the table was basic, and the number of side dishes alone exceeded ten.

“Now, don’t just stand there and sit down quickly.”

“Yes, Chairman. But did you really make all this?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t believe it even though he was seeing it with his own eyes.

But then, there was one thing that caught Hyun-sung’s eye. It was shepherd’s purse [a common edible wild plant in Korea]. It was still too early to dig shepherd’s purse here because it was cold.

Of course, shepherd’s purse is grown in greenhouses, but it was definitely different from that.

Anyone could see that the shepherd’s purse in front of him was not cultivated but wild.

Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“Chairman, where did you dig this shepherd’s purse? There shouldn’t be any place to dig it yet because it’s still cold.”

The person who stepped up to Hyun-sung’s question was not Chairman Shin Chun-oh but Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young.

“President, don’t even mention it. The Chairman and I wandered around the fields for five hours yesterday to dig that shepherd’s purse.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, I just told him to buy some from the wild vegetable factory that the President runs, but he said it doesn’t taste the same…….”

In the end, Chairman Shin Chun-oh insisted on digging shepherd’s purse in the wild. That took as long as five hours. The reason was Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s desire to show Hyun-sung the taste of wild shepherd’s purse.

In this situation, what other words would be needed?

Hyun-sung opened his mouth immediately.

“Chairman, I will enjoy the meal.”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh picked up his spoon first, then Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young, and finally Hyun-sung picked up his spoon and started eating.

The first place Hyun-sung’s spoon went was the earthenware pot in the middle of the table.

Slurp.

Hyun-sung’s gaze, who tasted the soybean paste stew, turned to Chairman Shin Chun-oh.

“Chairman, it’s art.”

“Is it really okay?”

“Yes, it’s not just a simple soybean paste stew, but it seems like spring is already contained in it. The combination of this wild chive and shepherd’s purse is fantastic. It feels like eating spring.”

It wasn’t a lie, it was the truth.

The soybean paste stew that Chairman Shin Chun-oh cooked was almost fantastic. As expected, what influenced the taste was the wild chive and shepherd’s purse. The deep taste of the wild was contained as it was.

“Haha, eat a lot. Chief Secretary Choi, eat a lot too. You worked hard digging wild chives and shepherd’s purse with me. I feel like I’m flying because it tastes good. And try this shepherd’s purse salad too. I mixed soybean paste and red pepper paste slightly and mixed it…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh pushed the side dishes in front of Hyun-sung and Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young and continued to explain each of the side dishes one by one.

It was the moment when his time studying cooking for two days was revealed as it was.

How much time had passed?

Thump, thump.

Hyun-sung, who drank the scorched rice water [Sungnyung, a traditional Korean beverage made from boiled scorched rice] that Chairman Shin Chun-oh gave him last, patted his stomach while sitting and continued to speak.

“Chairman, I don’t think I can go to work today. I’m too full.”

“Haha, you should eat moderately…… how can you eat three bowls of rice…….”

“Isn’t it against the rules to say that? Who is the person who made it so delicious?”

“Haha…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh just kept laughing as if he was in a good mood instead of answering.

Looking at him, Hyun-sung’s words continued again.

“I’m thinking of coming here every morning for breakfast from now on. What do you think, Chairman?”

“Of course, I’m okay with it.”

“Yes, then I’ll take it that way. Oh! What do you think, Chief Secretary? If you’re uncomfortable…….”

“Huh? What are you saying to make me feel bad…….”

Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young shook his hand and immediately continued to speak before Hyun-sung could finish speaking.

“I’ll prepare breakfast tomorrow. So, look forward to it. I’m also pretty good at cooking.”

“Oh, is that so? Then I’ll look forward to it tomorrow too. Oh, and you know that the academy starts tomorrow, right?”

“Of course. So, to be honest, I’m very nervous. I wonder if I can do well.”

“You’ll do well enough. I believe that you’ll do well, Chief Secretary. Oh, and I’ll prepare breakfast the day after tomorrow.”

As soon as Hyun-sung finished speaking, Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s words continued immediately.

“I’m the one who’s worried. I wonder if I can do well.”

“Chairman, just think of it as playing with your grandchildren. And studying is studying, but for now, please focus on manners for the time being since they are still young children. I think you will be a great teacher.”

“Me, a teacher…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh shook his head slightly as if he couldn’t believe it. Chief Secretary Choi Jin-young was the same. Hyun-sung, who was looking at them, was also slightly excited.

Finally, the academy will open in this countryside in just one day. From young children to middle and high school students, as well as elders over 70 years old.

Another project for the village was about to be realized.