Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 110

Kim Il-soo boarded the bus home.

Whew!

Sitting in the back seat, Kim Il-soo focused on his breathing.

Tap tap.

Kim Il-soo lightly patted the bag he was holding. He wanted to read the letter Hyeonseong had given him right away, but he couldn’t because he felt like everyone in the world was watching him.

It was the first time the road home felt so long.

“Grandma!”

Kim Il-soo shouted loudly for his grandmother, Shin Yu-bok, as he entered the yard.

Shin Yu-bok, who was preparing dinner in the kitchen, came out to greet Kim Il-soo.

“Oh, my baby, you’re finally here. What has you in such a good mood?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

“It’s not ‘nothing,’ you have a big smile on your face.”

“Hehe, does it show?”

Kim Il-soo was even giggling, which was unusual for him.

Shin Yu-bok tilted her head, looking at Kim Il-soo as if he were strange. It was the first time she had seen him with such a happy face.

“Something must have happened?”

“No, Grandma, I’m just happy to see you.”

Kim Il-soo was even acting cute.

“Hoho, what a surprise. Wait a minute, dinner is almost ready.”

“Okay, Grandma, take your time. I’m just going to my room for a bit…”

“Oh? Okay, go ahead.”

Shin Yu-bok went back into the kitchen, tilting her head once more.

Kim Il-soo rushed into his room. Usually, Kim Il-soo would have gone straight to the kitchen to help his grandmother. But today was an exception.

Click.

Kim Il-soo locked the door as he entered his room. It was probably the first time Kim Il-soo had ever locked his door. That’s how excited he felt.

Whew!

Taking a deep breath, Kim Il-soo carefully took out the letter from his bag.

He handled the letter carefully, as if afraid of creasing it.

Looking closely, the envelope had a heart pattern. At first, he thought it was just a floral pattern, but it wasn’t.

He carefully placed the letter on the desk.

Then, he pulled out a knife from the desk drawer.

He also pulled out a 30cm [approximately 12-inch] ruler.

Holding the ruler in his left hand, he raised the blade with his right hand.

Anyone who saw him would think he was a surgeon performing an operation; Kim Il-soo’s expression was so serious.

Swoosh.

As Kim Il-soo’s right hand moved, the end of the envelope was cut off, slightly opening it.

Flutter.

The letter paper felt nice.

Kim Il-soo held the letter with both hands and began to read.

“To Oppa…” [A Korean term used by younger females to address older males they are close to, like an older brother or boyfriend]

Kim Il-soo’s eyes sparkled as he read the first line.

While reading the letter, Kim Il-soo seemed to have stopped breathing, and not even a breath could be heard in the room.

At that moment.

The atmosphere of two other people was also quite intense.

“You couldn’t find him?”

Hyeonseong asked Park Hee-cheol. Park Hee-cheol nodded and said.

“No matter how much I looked, there was no one like that on the memo Kwon gave me.”

“Could it be that the president doesn’t remember everything?”

“No, that’s unlikely. He definitely said it was your team.”

Hyeonseong checked the memo again. There were definitely eight people listed.

Tsk.

Just as Hyeonseong was about to give up and return the memo to Park Hee-cheol.

“But you know…”

Park Hee-cheol shook his head and continued, as if something was strange.

“Why? Is there anything else?”

“I witnessed a strange scene a little while ago. It’s bothering me, but I don’t have any solid evidence, so I can’t really say anything…”

Hyeonseong immediately pressed Park Hee-cheol about his ambiguous attitude.

“What is it?”

“Well, you see…”

Park Hee-cheol began to explain the actions of Oh Sang-cheol and Choi Min-seong at the main gate earlier. As Park Hee-cheol spoke, Hyeonseong’s expression began to change subtly.

When Park Hee-cheol finished his explanation, Hyeonseong nodded and asked.

“By the way, who is that Choi Min-seong guy?”

“He’s five years younger than us, but he doesn’t really do anything special. He just runs errands for Oh Sang-cheol and lives like that.”

“Ah, I see. But no matter how I think about it, it’s strange. Why were those two watching me?”

Even with a quick thought, it didn’t make sense.

An adult watching a student running in circles?

Moreover, from a stranger’s point of view, it might just look like exercise. But to secretly hide and watch that scene doesn’t make sense logically.

‘What if…’

Hyeonseong formed a hypothesis.

What would happen if Oh Sang-cheol found out that Hyeonseong had been drinking for some reason?

Would he pretend not to see it and just let it go?

He shook his head.

Hyeonseong’s head slowly moved from side to side.

He didn’t think so.

His eyes had been strange ever since Hyeonseong said he was running a ramen shop. He even went to the trouble of going to the store to check it out himself before it opened.

Moreover, Oh Sang-cheol had even figured out that Park Hee-cheol and he had a close relationship.

If it was Oh Sang-cheol…

Hyeonseong nodded and looked at Park Hee-cheol.

Then Park Hee-cheol opened his closed mouth.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“I don’t have any solid evidence, but circumstantially, I think it’s that guy. Otherwise, that situation earlier can’t be explained.”

“I agree. Otherwise, there’s no reason for him to be there at that time. In the end, the problem is the evidence…”

The two continued to talk about Oh Sang-cheol, but they couldn’t find any concrete evidence about him.

***

Hyeonseong, who had parted ways with Park Hee-cheol, headed to the ramen shop.

Because there was something to confirm.

It was when Hyeonseong was almost at the store.

“Hmm…?”

Hyeonseong stopped walking. Someone was squatting in front of the store.

It was a boy.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t the first time he had seen the child. He was the same child who had been lingering in front of the door when he came to see the store before signing the contract.

The child in the photo he found in the inner room, probably the son of the previous owner.

Hyeonseong carefully called out to the child.

“…What are you doing there?”

The child was startled by Hyeonseong’s words and jumped up from his spot, looking at Hyeonseong. Then Hyeonseong continued.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“…”

The child didn’t say anything. Then, like last time, he started to slowly back away.

Hyeonseong quickly took out a photo from his wallet.

It was the photo he had found in the inner room last time.

Hyeonseong held out the photo to the child and said slowly.

“Is this you?”

Instead of answering, the child showed interest in the photo Hyeonseong was holding out and hesitated.

Hyeonseong took another step closer and asked again.

“This handsome kid here, is that you?”

Only then did the child nod slightly instead of answering.

Then he carefully reached out his hand.

He was asking for the photo.

Hyeonseong handed over the photo and spoke again.

“What’s your name?”

“…Woo-jin, Lee Woo-jin.”

“Woo-jin? Your name is Lee Woo-jin. That’s a cool name.”

Woo-jin seemed relieved by the compliment about his name, and he looked at Hyeonseong with a relaxed expression.

Then Hyeonseong asked again.

“What grade are you in, Woo-jin?”

“…3rd grade.”

“3rd grade?”

Hyeonseong tilted his head.

The reason was simple. At first glance, he looked like he was in 1st grade at best. He was that small for his age.

Hyeonseong looked at Lee Woo-jin and asked again.

“What were you doing here, Woo-jin?”

“…”

“Were you waiting for someone?”

Lee Woo-jin shook his head slightly.

It didn’t seem like he was waiting for someone. That meant he just came here habitually…

Hyeonseong nodded.

It had been two years since this place closed. That meant it had been two years since Lee Woo-jin’s mother had passed away.

At that time, Lee Woo-jin would have been 8 years old…

He didn’t need to hear Lee Woo-jin’s story to get a rough idea of the situation.

Longing for his mother.

But it was a delicate situation to ask about it again.

He couldn’t just ask out of curiosity.

While Hyeonseong was thinking, Lee Woo-jin wiped the photo he had just received on his clothes and started looking at it again.

After a while.

“… Hyung.”

Lee Woo-jin carefully called out to Hyeonseong.

Hyeonseong looked at Lee Woo-jin and immediately said.

“Yes, Woo-jin. Is there something you want to say?”

“The photo…”

“The photo? Oh, I found it in the inner room last time, but I didn’t have a chance to give it to you. Sorry for giving it to you so late.”

“… Thank you. It’s my mom.”

Lee Woo-jin said, pointing to the photo.

Hyeonseong nodded lightly and continued.

“Yeah, I was wondering who Woo-jin took after to be so handsome, it was his mom.”

“Isn’t my mom pretty?”

“Yeah, very much…”

“Hehe…”

A smile was already spreading across Lee Woo-jin’s face. Hyeonseong gently patted Lee Woo-jin’s back and said.

“Woo-jin, you don’t have to use honorifics with me from now on. Just talk comfortably.”

“I can’t do that. My grandma said I have to use honorifics to anyone older than me. Otherwise, I’m a bad person.”

It seemed to be his grandmother’s educational policy.

She probably didn’t want him to be told that he had no manners because he was being raised without a mother.

Hyeonseong nodded and said.

“Is that so? Then do whatever Woo-jin wants. I was just worried that it might be uncomfortable for you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it appropriately.”

“What do you mean ‘appropriately’? Haha…”

Hyeonseong laughed without realizing it. Then Lee Woo-jin scratched his head shyly and smiled before asking again.

“Hyung, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“What grade are you in now?”

“Me? I’m in my second year of university, but why are you asking all of a sudden?”

Lee Woo-jin looked at Hyeonseong and started tilting his head.

Then he asked again.