Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 547

549

“Hello?”

-Honey, it’s me.

The person calling was his wife, Han Mi-sook, who never called at this hour.

So, Yoo Seung-il answered the phone immediately, his voice laced with surprise.

“What’s wrong? Why are you calling so late?”

-It’s not like I’m calling at an inappropriate time, why are you so surprised?

“It’s just that you never call this late, and then suddenly you do. Anyway, what’s going on?”

Actually, there was another reason why Yoo Seung-il was surprised to hear Han Mi-sook’s voice: the issue with that kid’s sales.

He was already planning to bring it up after work today.

He didn’t want to delay any longer, fearing his wife might hear rumors and be shocked. He knew that could be dangerous for her.

His wife has always had a weak heart.

So, if she gets shocked, it puts a strain on her heart. For that reason, he had been worried about that issue all day. In that situation, he couldn’t help but be surprised when he suddenly received a call from his wife.

-What time do you finish today?

“The usual time, but why are you asking?”

-Could you close a little early, just for today?

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Yoo Seung-il tilted his head, puzzled. This didn’t make sense.

Moreover, he couldn’t help but be more puzzled because she had never asked anything like this before.

-Don’t ask why.

“Don’t ask why?”

-Yes, I just want to go on a date with you for once.

A word to the wise.

Yoo Seung-il wasn’t someone who wouldn’t understand after hearing this much. He didn’t know the specifics, but he knew she had something to say.

She was being indirect.

It was the same for Yoo Seung-il himself. He was going to talk about that kid after finishing business anyway.

After thinking for a moment, Yoo Seung-il immediately said,

“Would 12 o’clock be okay?”

-Two hours early?

“Why, is it too early?”

-No, I’m okay, but I feel sorry for the customers.

Han Mi-sook answered, surprised.

Her husband always said that when doing business, you must keep your promises with customers. Of course, there was no need to explain the reason, and it was obvious.

So, she couldn’t help but be surprised when he said he would close two hours early, not just one hour.

“You come before the customers, don’t you think?”

-Oh my, this guy…….

Han Mi-sook’s face flushed instantly. She was momentarily flustered when her husband, who rarely said cheesy things, suddenly said something like that.

“How about a pub in front of the house?”

-A pub?

“Yeah, let’s have a beer and go on a date for once.”

-I’d be grateful, then. I’ll leave home on time, so let’s meet at the pub in front of the house.

“Okay, then let’s meet there.”

-Yes.

Click.

Han Mi-sook tilted her head after hanging up the phone. It was because her husband seemed different than usual.

She felt strange about him readily closing the store two hours early and even suggesting meeting at a pub when he didn’t really like alcohol.

“What’s going on?”

Yoo Seung-il also felt strange after hanging up the phone.

He had never done this before. He had never suggested closing the store early, no matter what was going on.

When a person acts differently from usual?

That means something must have happened.

He didn’t know what it was, but it must be important.

“What could it be?”

Even at a glance, he couldn’t figure out why his wife would ask him to close the store early to talk about something.

But anyway, he thought it was a good thing. He had to talk to his wife about that kid’s sales today anyway.

So, the two of them had the same purpose but didn’t know each other’s intentions.

It was then.

Beep!

The phone rang again.

Yoo Seung-il answered the phone immediately.

“Hello?”

-Mr. Yoo, it’s me.

The person calling was Park Sun-woo, the head of the headquarters.

Of course, he wasn’t happy to hear that voice. After all, his trust in the headquarters had already been shattered this morning.

But Yoo Seung-il wasn’t going to show it right away. He knew very well that his contract with them was still valid.

He had to be even more careful in times like this.

Yoo Seung-il answered the phone cheerfully.

“Yes, Mr. Park! What brings you here at this hour?”

-I heard something strange a little while ago.

“Something strange? What is it?”

Yoo Seung-il pretended not to know, even though he roughly knew.

The reason Park Sun-woo was calling now was because of what he had said to the headquarters employee 30 minutes ago.

The words that he had lost trust.

In fact, it was a kind of warning. He had acted knowing in advance that if he told the headquarters employee, it would immediately reach Park Sun-woo’s ears.

He wanted to send a warning like that.

-You said something strange to our employee, what does that mean?

“Me? What did I…….”

Yoo Seung-il asked again, pretending not to know. He wanted to repay the feeling of betrayal in a small way like that.

Then Park Sun-woo’s reaction came out immediately.

-Are you really going to do this?

“No, what did the employee say…… Ah, are you talking about that? The words that I can’t trust you.”

He was told to do everything in moderation. Too much is as bad as too little.

Yoo Seung-il gave the answer the other party wanted at this point. Then he immediately said.

“I think you’ve misunderstood something?”

-Misunderstood?

“Yes, I was clearly talking to that friend. Would I have said such a thing to the headquarters? And what has the headquarters done to break my trust? Don’t you think so?”

-Of course, but…….

Park Sun-woo felt bad for some reason while answering.

What should I say, he felt like he was being subtly teased.

And on the one hand, he was also anxious. It was about hiding that kid’s sales.

But fortunately, it seemed like he didn’t know that fact yet after hearing the story.

But that’s only a matter of time.

After all, his wife was going to talk about that fact sometime today.

Of course, he said he didn’t know, but it was questionable whether Yoo Seung-il would believe those words.

If he didn’t believe those words, the words he said to the employee that he had lost trust would come back to Park Sun-woo himself, not someone else.

Park Sun-woo asked again to make sure.

-So, that means those words were just for that employee?

“Of course, that’s why I said I was going to think about it. I was wondering if it was right to keep such an unfaithful friend working.”

-Did our employee make a mistake?

“Ask that friend directly. I don’t want to say it with my own mouth. I’m going to think more about that friend until tomorrow. I’ll contact you again tomorrow when I come to a conclusion. And by the way, now that we’re talking about it, I’d like to postpone the headquarters’ consignment management issue for the next day…… Is that okay?”

-What? Postpone it?

“Yes, give me two days. I’ll make a decision after thinking about it.”

In fact, he had already made up his mind. He knew that consignment management itself was meaningless in a situation where trust had been broken.

But he left two days to make a final decision after discussing it with his wife.

He didn’t know what kind of decision his wife would make.

-Mr. Yoo, do you know that this is a breach of contract?

“Yes, of course I know. If I finally give up consignment management, I will take responsibility for it. But…….”

Yoo Seung-il couldn’t continue the next words. The next words were, ‘You also have something to be responsible for.’

But Park Sun-woo, who couldn’t know that, immediately asked.

-But? Is there anything else?

“No, I was just thinking about something else for a moment…….”

Yoo Seung-il quickly turned the words around. It was to be careful because he hadn’t made any decisions yet.

-Ah, yes, I understand. Then I’ll wait for your call. Then goodbye…….”

Click.

Park Sun-woo tilted his head with an uneasy feeling even while hanging up the phone.

Maybe it was just a feeling, but Yoo Seung-il, who he usually knew, was strangely different today.

His tone was different, and anyway, it was true that he felt different from other days.

Then Chairman Min Hong-sik, who was watching the scene, asked.

“Why the expression?”

“It’s strange.”

“Strange? Who?”

“Mr. Yoo of Bupyeong branch. His tone was off throughout the call, and it seemed like he had accumulated dissatisfaction with the headquarters. I definitely felt like he was a different person today.”

At first, he just called to check after hearing the employee’s words, but after talking on the phone, he thought it was nothing.

Among them, the decisive thing was what he said at the end.

He had already asked for consignment management a month ago.

But now he was going to review it again from the beginning.

A change of heart.

What he could definitely feel was that he was not the same person he had talked to a few days ago.

That story meant that something had happened to him in a day or two.

Chairman Min Hong-sik asked again.

“Didn’t he notice our plan?”

“That’s not possible. It doesn’t fit in time.”

“Then what is it?”

“Well, I don’t know for now, and I think I’ll have to wait a little longer to find out. His wife is going to talk about that kid after business ends today.”

“I have a bad feeling…….”

Park Sun-woo immediately continued as Chairman Min Hong-sik stroked his chin and seemed to be worried.

“Don’t worry too much. Anyway, Mr. Yoo won’t be able to make a decision easily from his position. He’s still a rookie trying to survive alone in this industry.”

“Originally, ignorant guys are more courageous.”

“He’s too old for that. He’ll probably act carefully. And even if Mr. Yoo breaks the contract, we don’t have much to regret. After all, we’ve already taken out about 140 million [Korean Won, approximately $105,000 USD].”

“There’s still the last bit of sweetness left, that’s the fun.”

“Who am I? Just trust me. No matter how much Mr. Yoo acts up, he’s in Buddha’s palm [a Korean idiom meaning ‘completely under control’]. So, just wait a day or two more. He’ll probably call again asking to be saved.”

“Okay, Mr. Park, take care of the Bupyeong branch.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

As Park Sun-woo bowed his head, Chairman Min Hong-sik nodded as if he understood.

That’s how the end of the Bupyeong branch was gradually approaching.

***

A pub in Bupyeong.

Dried squid and peanuts were placed between the two people sitting face to face.

Yoo Seung-il said, holding up the beer glass in front of him.

“Come on, let’s have a drink.”

“Yes, how long has it been?”
Han Mi-sook immediately raised her glass with a smile. Her eyes were slightly shaking. That meant she was nervous right now.

Anyway, she was nervous without realizing it because she was about to talk about that kid.

Clink!

The two people, who lightly clinked glasses in the air, began to drink beer. So, the two of them started a daily conversation awkwardly but pretending to be okay.

About 10 minutes passed.

Yoo Seung-il took another sip of beer and looked at Han Mi-sook and said.

“What’s wrong?”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Don’t I know you? Stop beating around the bush and tell me. What’s wrong that you’re setting the mood like this?”

“I, that’s…….”

Han Mi-sook couldn’t say anything right away. Even though she had thought about how to talk several times in her head until she came to the pub, she couldn’t open her mouth to talk.

“Is it a serious story?”

“A little…….”

“Don’t talk if it’s hard.”

“No, I have to talk today anyway. Instead, you shouldn’t be surprised no matter what I say. It’s dangerous if your blood pressure rises.”

Gulp.

Yoo Seung-il swallowed dry saliva because he was nervous without realizing it. Of course, he had expected it to some extent, but his wife’s expression was too serious.

As Yoo Seung-il nodded slightly, Han Mi-sook opened her mouth again.

“Actually, it’s about that kid.”

“That kid from Cinema Heaven?”

“Yes, that’s, well…….”
Han Mi-sook immediately began to bring out the story she had heard as if she had made up her mind. But she slowly continued the explanation, circling around the story, perhaps thinking about Yoo Seung-il’s blood pressure.

As her explanation continued for a long time, Yoo Seung-il’s expression also began to change gradually. But the strange thing was that Yoo Seung-il’s expression didn’t change much.

How much time had passed?

As the decisive sales story came out of Han Mi-sook’s mouth, Yoo Seung-il immediately cut off her words.

“Honey, wait a minute!”

“Yes? Why?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes? What is?”

“Was your heart okay even after knowing that fact?”

“I was surprised, but…… wait a minute, are you okay?”
Han Mi-sook felt something strange. It was her husband’s reaction. She thought he would be surprised, but he wasn’t surprised much.

Then there would be only one reason. He would have known in advance.

Han Mi-sook asked immediately.

“Did you know?”

“…….”

Yoo Seung-il nodded instead of answering, then stared at Han Mi-sook’s eyes.

Yoo Seung-il now knew all the facts.

In the end, the two of them came to this place for the same purpose.

It was a feeling of worrying about each other. Yoo Seung-il was worried about Han Mi-sook’s heart, and Han Mi-sook was worried about Yoo Seung-il’s blood pressure.

Swish.

Yoo Seung-il reached out and grabbed Han Mi-sook’s hand. Then he slowly opened his mouth.

“Honey, thank you!”