Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 620

“Welcome.”

As Hyun-sung and Park Cheol-ho entered the video store, a man in his fifties, who appeared to be the owner, greeted them warmly.

However, judging by his expression, he seemed to think of Hyun-sung and Park Cheol-ho as customers who had simply come to rent a video.

Hyun-sung immediately gestured to Park Cheol-ho, signaling him to speak first.

Park Cheol-ho, understanding Hyun-sung’s signal, nodded slightly and spoke to the video store owner.

“I came after seeing the classifieds.”

“Ah, is that so?”

The owner’s gaze shifted slightly. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“If you offer, I’d be grateful.”

Park Cheol-ho answered casually, looking around. His expression suddenly darkened, as if he didn’t like something.

Hyun-sung’s expression wasn’t any better.

Seeing their expressions, the owner quickly said, “The store is a bit messy, isn’t it?”

“Ah, no, not at all.”

Even if it was messy, Park Cheol-ho couldn’t honestly agree, so he offered a polite lie.

However, the video store owner seemed to anticipate this. “My wife used to run the store, but she’s been hospitalized recently, so I haven’t been able to clean up.”

“Ah, I see…” Park Cheol-ho nodded slightly. The owner then asked, “Which one of you will be taking over the store?”

“I will. This gentleman is my boss.”

“Ah, is that so? You look quite young to be starting so early.”

“I’ve been working at my boss’s store, and it seems like a good business, so I wanted to try running my own store.”

As Park Cheol-ho finished speaking, the video store owner’s gaze shifted to Hyun-sung. He immediately asked, “Where do you run your store?”

“Bupyeong.”

“It must be doing well. Your employee is saying he wants to open his own store.”

That’s when it happened.

Before Hyun-sung could answer, Park Cheol-ho interjected, “Have you heard of Cinema Paradise?”

“Cinema Paradise in Bupyeong?”

“Yes, that store is run by our boss. At one point, it made up to 200 million won [approximately $150,000 USD] in sales per month.”

“200 million won? …Just a moment.”

The video store owner was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about something. He spoke again after a short pause. “Is your name Kim Hyun-sung by any chance?”

“Yes, that’s right. Our boss’s name is Kim Hyun-sung. Oh? How do you know that name?”

“If you run a video store in Bupyeong and don’t know that name, you’re practically a spy. He’s the one who closed down Movie Heart, after all.”

The video store owner finished speaking and immediately extended his hand to Hyun-sung. “It’s an honor to meet such a legendary figure like this. Let’s shake hands.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

Hyun-sung hesitantly reached out and took his hand. The video store owner immediately asked, “How can you make 200 million won in sales at a video store?”

This time, Park Cheol-ho spoke before Hyun-sung. “How can I explain everything in detail here? Anyway, we were so excited back then. We even received 10 million won each per month in salary.”

“Ten million won?”

“Yes, our boss gave us, the employees, 10 million won each per month back then.”

“Heh…”

The video store owner laughed in disbelief. Seeing that, Park Cheol-ho proudly continued, “I think we were the only people in the country who received 10 million won each as employees.”

“Honestly, I still can’t believe it even though I’m hearing it directly. What boss in the world would give their employees 10 million won each, no matter how much sales they make?”

“That’s right. But our boss did that unbelievable thing.”

“Heh, this is really something…”

The video store owner let out another hollow laugh in disbelief. Then, Park Cheol-ho spoke again, “Anyway, our boss is…”

“Ahem!”

Hyun-sung interrupted Park Cheol-ho with a cough, shaking his head from side to side, signaling him to stop talking nonsense and get to the point.

Fortunately, Park Cheol-ho understood Hyun-sung’s intention and continued, “Let’s stop talking about this and get to the main point.”

“Ah, that’s right. We have a different purpose now. You already saw the price in the classifieds, so what can I help you with?”

“Can I take a look at the computer?”

“Of course. We need to check the sales figures anyway. Come this way and check.”

The video store owner confidently yielded his spot at the counter to Park Cheol-ho. Park Cheol-ho immediately went inside the counter and started checking the computer.

While Park Cheol-ho was checking the computer, Hyun-sung started looking around the video store, examining the videos.

About ten minutes passed.

Park Cheol-ho, who was checking the computer, tilted his head and asked the video store owner, “The data is a bit strange.”

“Pardon? That can’t be. What’s the problem?”

“There’s no data from six months ago.”

“Ah, that. The computer crashed six months ago, so I reinstalled everything. That’s why there’s no data from before that. I still get dizzy thinking about it.”

The video store owner shook his head vigorously, making a face as if he didn’t want to think about it again. Then, Park Cheol-ho asked again, “Can you tell me why the computer data was all lost?”

“Don’t even mention it. Suddenly, it got a virus or something, and the computer that was working fine suddenly froze. So, I immediately called the video program company, but they said all the data was lost. So, I had no choice but to reinstall the program. I still feel like my head is going to explode when I think about how much I suffered back then.”

The video store owner grabbed his head and shook it, just like before. That meant he hated the memory that much.

That was only natural.

If a computer simply broke down, you could just reinitialize it and reinstall the hard drive.

However, it’s different for video programs.

The key issue is the data within the program.

The most important thing is customer data, followed by the video list. If these two pieces of data are intact, it’s a great relief, but if not, there’s no way to recover them.

But now, the video store owner is saying that all this data has been lost. If that’s the case, you won’t be able to see past sales information.

It was at that moment.

Hyun-sung, who was looking at the videos, approached and looked at the video store owner. “When was your wife hospitalized?”

“A little less than a month ago. Why do you ask?”

“Then, your wife would have been running the store six months ago, right?”

“Of course.”

“But you didn’t seem to say that earlier.”

“Pardon? Did I?”

The video store owner stared blankly at Hyun-sung’s face, as if he didn’t know what he was talking about. Then, Hyun-sung immediately continued, “A little while ago, you said that you felt like your head was going to explode when you thought about it, didn’t you? That means you experienced it directly. I don’t think you could express it that way if you didn’t experience it directly.”

“Oh? That’s…”

The video store owner couldn’t continue speaking properly. Then, Hyun-sung’s words continued again. “I don’t think there’s any need to lie about something like this… what do you think?”

“Um…”

The video store owner couldn’t say anything and seemed to be thinking about something. He spoke again after a short time. “I’ve become a joke. I didn’t originally intend to lie from the beginning… somehow, it ended up that way as a result.”

“Is there any reason…?”

“There’s no particular reason. I’m just not good at cleaning up in general, so the store is always messy even when I’m running it. But when you two came in and frowned a little while ago, I made an excuse, and it just…”

The video store owner bowed his head to Hyun-sung, as if he was sorry. Then, Hyun-sung asked again, “Then, what happened to the program?”

“That’s the same as I said a little while ago. The computer suddenly broke down six months ago… that’s not a lie.”

“Um…”

Hyun-sung seemed to be thinking for a moment, then immediately continued, “Then, I’m sorry, but we can’t trust your sales figures on the computer right now. What should we do?”

“So, you’re saying you can’t trust me after all? Because I lied a little while ago.”

“I’m sorry, but we have no choice…”

That’s right. How can you trust the words of someone who lied from the beginning? Moreover, it’s not just anything, but the past sales data that is directly related to the key money [deposit money paid to a landlord or business owner].

“Hmm…”

The video store owner was silent for a moment, as if he was frustrated.

After a while.

The video store owner asked Hyun-sung, “How can I make you believe my words?”

“Well, for now…”

Hyun-sung couldn’t say anything else. It seemed like no matter what he said, trust wouldn’t be built in a situation where trust had already been broken from the beginning.

It was at that moment.

The video store owner, who had been silent, opened his mouth with difficulty. “Yes, alright. I broke the trust first, so I have nothing to say even if I had ten mouths. As compensation, I can deduct about 2 million won [approximately $1,500 USD] from the key money.”

“2 million won?”

“Yes, I made a mistake, so I think I should take responsibility for that much. How about it? I think I’ve paid the price for my mistake properly with this much…”

The key money that this person had requested from the beginning was 20 million won [approximately $15,000 USD].

But logically, there are hardly any people who pay the key money as requested. In that case, it means that 2 or 3 million won was a somewhat flexible amount from the beginning.

But this person is now saying that he will deduct 2 million won on his own as compensation for his mistake.

But the problem is that the 2 million won was an amount that could have been negotiated from the beginning.

But this person is saying that he will deduct that amount as if it were his mistake, as if he were taking a big favor.

Wordplay.

This is just this person’s wordplay.

Isn’t he trying to deceive the other person by packaging the amount that could have been adjusted anyway from the beginning as if he were losing money?

Heh.

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing that, the video store owner asked Hyun-sung, “What does that laugh mean?”

“I don’t know, I’m laughing without realizing it.”

“Pardon?”

Why wouldn’t the video store owner know? That Hyun-sung’s laugh is a sneer.

“Why? Is there something wrong with what I said?”

“To be honest, you’re saying things that don’t make sense.”

“Pardon? Did I?”

It was the moment when the video store owner’s eyes widened as if he was taken aback.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Did you intend to receive all 20 million won of the key money from the beginning?”

“That depends on the situation…”

“That’s right, isn’t it? Depending on the situation, 2 or 3 million won could have been adjusted as much as possible, right? That’s what negotiation is in a deal. But you said that amount as if you were losing money as compensation for your mistake, right?”

“……”

The video store owner had nothing to say. Because the moment he admits that, the words he said a little while ago become strange.

Hyun-sung’s words continued again. “Am I wrong?”

“Ahem…”

The video store owner just repeatedly cleared his throat as if he had nothing to say. Watching that, Hyun-sung spoke again. “In this case, you’ve deceived us three times. First, you said your wife was running the store, second, you said the computer broke down six months ago to delete past information, and lastly, the words you said about the compensation for your mistake were also false.”

Hyun-sung’s words continued again. “I don’t know why you did that, but I want to tell you not to do that. The world isn’t a world where only fools live, is it?”

“I’m not saying that…”

“I think it’s already too late. We can’t trust your words anymore. I’m sorry, but we’ll stop here…”

Hyun-sung finished speaking and gestured to Park Cheol-ho, who was at the counter, signaling him to leave. Then, Park Cheol-ho nodded as if he understood and followed behind Hyun-sung.

It was at that moment.

The video store owner’s urgent voice was heard from behind Hyun-sung. “5 million!” [approximately $3,750 USD]