Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 559

561

How much time had passed?

“Ugh…”

Yoo Seung-il barely regained consciousness and sat up. He immediately checked the time. The clock showed 2:10 AM.

He had spoken with Section Chief Park Sun-woo of the headquarters around 2 AM, after closing.

So, he had lost consciousness for about 10 minutes.

This wasn’t the first time. He occasionally lost consciousness briefly when he experienced severe shocks. There were times when he had to be taken to the hospital.

The doctor said that his blood pressure suddenly spiked, putting a strain on his brain, causing temporary loss of consciousness, and warned that it could be dangerous if the duration increased.

“Hoo…!”

Yoo Seung-il took a deep breath. Every time this happened, he felt dizzy. The thought of not waking up again made him sigh involuntarily.

The person he always thought of in those moments was his wife, Han Mi-sook. Her health wasn’t good enough for her to live alone, so he always felt anxious.

But what was he going to do now?

The last place he had faith in was the headquarters.

He thought that if he asked for help, they would find a way.

Of course, he was worried about his past actions, but he still had hope.

But now, even the headquarters had given up.

They said they couldn’t do anything about it.

In the end, even they had concluded that there was no solution.

“No, even so…”

Of course, the opponent was strong.

But even so, how could the headquarters give up?

This didn’t make sense.

But the problem was that this absurd situation had become a reality.

This left only one conclusion.

He had to figure it out on his own, come what may.

Just then,

*Ding-dong!*

His phone rang.

It was probably his wife. She was the only one who would call at this hour.

“Ahem, hello.”

Yoo Seung-il cleared his throat before answering the phone.

He had just regained consciousness, so he wanted to clear his voice.

Otherwise, his voice wouldn’t sound right, and his wife would worry.

-President Yoo, it’s me.

He expected it to be his wife, but the caller was unexpectedly Section Chief Park Sun-woo from the headquarters.

Yoo Seung-il tilted his head in confusion. He had just spoken with him a little while ago, and they had already finished their conversation.

Yoo Seung-il asked curtly,

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

-There was something I didn’t tell you earlier. I’m calling again to tell you that.

“Yes, what is it…”

-If you happen to close down…

“Wait a minute!”

Yoo Seung-il interrupted Section Chief Park Sun-woo as soon as he heard the word ‘close down.’ Even at first glance, he felt that this was not right in terms of basic common sense.

Yoo Seung-il asked immediately for confirmation.

“Did you just say close down?”

-Yes, realistically speaking…

“Hey, you!”

Yoo Seung-il shouted before Section Chief Park Sun-woo could finish his sentence.

Of course, the situation was bad. But even so, it didn’t make sense that the headquarters would be the first to bring up the word ‘close down.’

Yoo Seung-il continued,

“Aren’t you going too far?”

-Of course, I understand why you’re angry, but this is just reality, so I’m telling you.

“Still, isn’t this too much? No matter how bad the situation is, how can you so easily use the word ‘close down’?”

-That’s because you don’t have experience, and reality is harsh. Emotionally…

“Enough, what’s the conclusion?”

Yoo Seung-il didn’t want to hear any more of Section Chief Park Sun-woo’s words and asked for the conclusion. Then, Section Chief Park Sun-woo’s words were immediately heard.

-If you decide to close down, please contact me first.

In the end, he was saying to hand over the videos if he closed down.

He was dumbfounded, but he asked again.

“If I contact you?”

-I will help you as much as possible.

“How?”

-I’ll give you the best price for the equipment and videos.

“Haa…”

Yoo Seung-il was increasingly dumbfounded. All he could do was sigh.

Even so, how could such words come out in this situation?

Yoo Seung-il was about to hang up, but he continued,

“Okay, good. Let me ask you directly. How much will you give me?”

-Pardon?

“You said you’d give me the best price, right? You know the items and equipment here better than anyone, so how much will you give me?”

-That’s…

“What is it? Why can’t you speak?”

-That will be finalized when it’s decided later…

“So, you can’t tell me now?”

-Yes, because the market price varies from time to time.

*Pfft.*

Yoo Seung-il couldn’t help but laugh.

In the end, he could see their intention to squeeze out every last penny.

After all, it had only been open for less than 5 months. What market price were they talking about in that period? The price was the price anyway.

Yoo Seung-il opened his mouth again.

“Section Chief, let’s not do this. Isn’t it enough that you’ve taken that much? Do you really have to go this far until the end?”

-Pardon? Your words are a bit harsh.

“Me? What’s wrong with you? Who’s being harsh? To be honest, I spent 4 million won for the entrusted management for 3 months last time. Do you know that?”

-So?

“So? Are you really saying that now?”

-Your words are increasingly…

“Do you know someone named Lee Han-gu?”

-Who?

Section Chief Park Sun-woo momentarily doubted his ears.

Lee Han-gu.

Of course, he knew him.

He was the one who opened a store in Yeongdeungpo a year ago and closed it down after 6 months. Of course, there were circumstances.

But he couldn’t say that he knew him now. The reason was that he had squeezed more than 5 million won from him in 3 months.

“Lee Han-gu. He’s the one who opened Movie Heart in Yeongdeungpo a year ago. Don’t you know him?”

-Well, we have thousands of chain stores nationwide, so it’s hard to remember every name…

“Oh, is that so? Then, would you know him if I said he closed down after 6 months due to a sudden traffic accident?”

A few days ago,

A new customer came and said that he had also opened Movie Heart a year ago and closed it down after 6 months.

The reason was that he had a severe traffic accident three months after opening. So, he had no choice but to live in the hospital, and he entrusted the management to the headquarters.

But the headquarters took more than 5 million won in 3 months. So, he had no choice but to close down.

-Well, I don’t really remember…

“Wow! It’s only been 6 months since he closed down, and you can’t remember that?”

-As I said before, we have chain stores nationwide…

“Let’s stop. I guess that young friend was right. I think I know what kind of person Section Chief Park is now. Then, goodbye.”

-Wait a minute, President Yoo!

*Click.*

Yoo Seung-il unilaterally hung up the phone.

In the first place, the reason he called earlier was because he had hoped to receive some help.

But he now knew for sure that even that was greed.

When he asked for help, they hung up the phone without hesitation, and then they called back to say to contact them when he decided to close down.

That meant they were going to play around with the closed-down items one more time.

“You bastard!”

A curse immediately came out of Yoo Seung-il’s mouth.

“Oh ho.”

Meanwhile, Section Chief Park Sun-woo smirked as if he found it amusing when the phone was unilaterally hung up.

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

“What is it?”

“President Yoo of Bupyeong is coming on strong.”

“What is he saying?”

“Do you happen to remember Lee Han-gu?”

“Lee Han-gu? Well, who is that?”

“He opened a store in Yeongdeungpo a year ago and had a traffic accident…”

“Ah, that young friend?”

Chairman Min Hong-sik pretended to know as if he had just remembered. Then, Section Chief Park Sun-woo continued.

“It seems that friend went to Bupyeong.”

“So?”

“It seems that friend told President Yoo about us. So, President Yoo doesn’t trust us anymore…”

“So, he’s saying he won’t give us the items even if he closes down?”

“It seems so for now.”

“Hmm…”

Chairman Min Hong-sik began to stroke his chin with his thumb as if he was thinking about something. It was his habit when he was thinking about something.

After a while,

Chairman Min Hong-sik opened his mouth again.

“Paralyze him.”

“By paralyzing, do you mean the program?”

“Yes, that’s the best way for us to tame the chain stores. If they don’t listen to us on their own, we have to make them listen to us by force. Instead, don’t take money this time and solve it. What we’re aiming for isn’t petty money, but the items there. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes, I understand. But I don’t think we need to do it for free. We received 1 million won last time, so even if we receive only 500,000 won this time, he’ll be grateful.”

“Do as you wish.”

Chairman Min Hong-sik nodded as if he understood and smiled slightly. Then, Section Chief Park Sun-woo also smiled faintly and began to pick up the glass of alcohol in front of him.

But there was something the two didn’t know. That things in the world don’t always go as planned.

***

The next day.

“Huh? It’s doing this again?”

Yoo Seung-il, who had come to work, turned on the computer and tried to run the rental program, but the program wasn’t working like last time.

*Tap tap tap!*

No matter how much he tapped and fiddled with it, the program didn’t work.

“Ah, seriously!”

He couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

This wasn’t the first time. The program had broken down twice last month, costing him 2 million won [approximately $1,500 USD].

What he couldn’t understand was why the program broke down so often.

“Hoo!”

Yoo Seung-il sighed and reluctantly took out his phone. After all, the only person who could solve this was Section Chief Park Sun-woo.

But the problem was that he was reluctant to call. He had ended the call on bad terms last night over the issue of closed-down items.

But what could he do? The one who was in need had no choice but to contact first.

Just then,

*Ting-a-ling!*

The store door opened, and someone came in.

“Oh? Hello!”

Yoo Seung-il greeted the person who had just entered.

It was Lee Han-gu, who had moved to this neighborhood a few days ago.

“Hello!”

Lee Han-gu also greeted him happily. Then, Yoo Seung-il continued.

“Do you know how to handle programs [software]?”

“Why?”

“It’s been giving me trouble twice already, and it’s not working again this morning.”

“Just a moment.”

Lee Han-gu went inside the counter and began to check the computer.

After a while,

“Did you have any issues with the headquarters yesterday?”

“Pardon? Why do you ask?”

Yoo Seung-il didn’t understand why Lee Han-gu was asking such a question. He had asked him to look at the program, but he was strangely asking about his relationship with the headquarters.

But then, strange words came out of Lee Han-gu’s mouth.

“This is taming.”

“Pardon? Taming?”

Yoo Seung-il didn’t understand what he meant. Who was taming whom?

“The headquarters is taming the chain stores.”

“Are you saying that the headquarters did this on purpose?”

“That’s what I think. I was also victimized by the headquarters. But the problem is that there’s no way to prove it. Of course, I only found out about that later.”

“So, is that why you asked about my relationship with the headquarters earlier?”

“Yes, that’s right. After I fought with the headquarters, the program strangely didn’t work the next day. That happened several times. So, I found out later that it was the headquarters’ doing.”

“Haa…”

Yoo Seung-il was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t speak. He never thought that the program wouldn’t work for such a reason.

Come to think of it, the first time the program broke down, it was the day after he had raised his voice with the headquarters.

‘But…’

Yoo Seung-il tilted his head. Even if that was the case at first, the second time it broke down after only two weeks, even though there was nothing wrong with the headquarters.

How could he explain that?

Yoo Seung-il asked out of curiosity.

“What about cases where the program doesn’t work even though there’s no problem with the headquarters?”

“Ah, that. There’s a reason for that too.”

“A reason? What reason?”

*Gulp.*

Yoo Seung-il swallowed hard out of curiosity.

Then, Lee Han-gu opened his mouth immediately.

“That’s because…”