Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 118

118

Station Chief Yoo Seong-il rose from his seat and approached the fax machine. Without a moment’s hesitation, he placed the document he had just written into the fax machine and began dialing the number.

***

Nongshim Headquarters in Shindaebang-dong.

Planning Director Lee Il-woo was working late again due to the new product launch when he received a fax.

The sender was Yoo Seong-il, the Wonju branch manager.

“Hoo!”

Lee Il-woo took a short, deep breath, holding a sheet of A4 paper.

“Kim Hyun-sung, huh….”

Something impossible had happened.

Not only the name of the new product but also the advertisement dates and even the launch date were accurately revealed. And it came from the mouth of a high school sophomore.

In just one week, the TV advertisement would begin. And on the 2nd of next month, the new product, which had been so carefully crafted, would be unveiled to the world.

It was a product designed to capture the spicy taste preferred by Koreans. Until now, there hadn’t been a spicy flavor in ramen. That’s why they had prepared so ambitiously and had high expectations for it.

Until now, there had been no problems. But with just one week left before the advertisement was to air, something had gone wrong.

Of course, they could ignore it. Even if a competitor found out, it wouldn’t mean much. It was a project they had been preparing for a full year, and the new product would be released in two weeks, so there was nothing they could do about it now.

However, what bothered him was that it was a student and that he was using the new product for business. Usually, when doing business, people use existing products.

Because people know the taste.

That’s the obvious thing to do…….

But this student, with what guts, had decided to make the store concept itself Shin Ramyun [a popular brand of instant noodles]. As if he had been waiting for Shin Ramyun to come out.

No matter how he thought about it, it was a situation he couldn’t understand.

Dddddik.

Lee Il-woo picked up the receiver and began dialing a number.

At that moment.

Yoo Seong-il was in his office, organizing the sales performance for the week.

Then the phone rang.

Ring ring.

“This is Yoo Seong-il, the Wonju Nongshim branch manager.”

– Hello? This is Lee Il-woo from the headquarters planning department. Thank you for your hard work late into the night.

“Hello? I assume you’re calling after seeing the fax I sent earlier?”

– Yes, I have something to discuss. It seems like I need you to do some more work.

“Just tell me what it is.”

– It’s about that friend. I think you need to find out more about him. About the store and everything else in general.

“Yes, I understand what you mean. I was curious about it myself. I will investigate as thoroughly as possible and report back immediately.”

– Yes, then I’ll leave it to you.

Click.

As soon as the call ended, Yoo Seong-il left the branch and headed to the terminal in his 1-ton porter truck.

Hyun-sung wouldn’t have arrived at the terminal yet, so he was going to pick him up.

As he made a right turn at the intersection before the terminal, he saw Hyun-sung walking in the distance.

Honk honk.

Lowering the passenger window, he shouted, and Hyun-sung turned his head.

“What’s going on?”

“Get in first.”

Yoo Seong-il gestured as Hyun-sung asked.

A moment later.

“Where are you going?”

“I suddenly have some business in Hongcheon. Since I’m going that way, I thought I’d stop by our younger brother’s store and take a look.”

“What’s there to see?”

“I’m just curious. I can’t stand it when I’m curious.”

Yoo Seong-il was skillfully deflecting the question. But that was just Yoo Seong-il’s delusion.

Hyun-sung had already noticed it.

He probably reported to headquarters as soon as Hyun-sung left the branch. Even though Hyun-sung had vaguely mentioned it as a precognitive dream, he didn’t think they would believe it as it was.

Headquarters must have reacted sensitively as soon as they received the report.

In a few days, they would be starting TV advertisements and 본격적인 [full-scale] work for the new product launch, but before that, someone who already knew everything had appeared, so he would naturally become a person of interest.

There must have been a request to investigate Hyun-sung, and Yoo Seong-il was now next to him to faithfully carry out that mission.

“Tsk.”

Looking at Yoo Seong-il, he lightly clicked his tongue.

He felt sorry for him because he knew that no matter how much he investigated, he would never know his true nature.

Yoo Seong-il started asking about Hyun-sung as if he had made up his mind. Each time, Hyun-sung satisfied him with sincere answers.

Was that why?

Yoo Seong-il’s questions were endless. He even asked about his personal background and school life.

He seemed to suspect that there might be problems with his school life.

That was probably because he was starting a business before graduating. But when he couldn’t find any problems with Hyun-sung’s school life in his answers, he looked at Hyun-sung as if he found it strange.

In any case, thanks to Yoo Seong-il’s many questions, the trip to the store wasn’t boring.

Finally, Yoo Seong-il arrived at Hyun-sung’s store.

“Is this it?”

“Yes, it’s cozy, isn’t it?”

“Hmm…….”

Yoo Seong-il’s interest seemed to be elsewhere. His gaze was fixed on the sign at the entrance.

After staring at the sign for a while, Yoo Seong-il looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“Did you design this sign too?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps this is also something you saw in a dream?”

“Yes.”

Hyun-sung had no choice but to lie again.

A hollow laugh escaped from Yoo Seong-il’s mouth as he stared at the sign.

“Huh!”

He was speechless.

The moment he first saw the sign, he thought his heart would stop.

It was so similar to the image he had received from headquarters. He had thought it was impossible, even with a precognitive dream. But the moment he saw the sign, his mouth dropped open.

How could such a thing be possible?

While he was still in shock because of the sign, Hyun-sung called out to him.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. The sign is just so excellent.”

“Doesn’t the red color make your mouth water?”

“It really expresses the spicy taste well. It’s truly amazing.”

Yoo Seong-il said that, examining the sign several more times before entering the store that Hyun-sung was guiding him to.

Once inside the store, Yoo Seong-il couldn’t help but be surprised again.

“No, what kind of kitchen is this…….”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that the kitchen is too big for a ramen restaurant.”

“I deliberately made it wide so that four people can move around at once without any problems. If you don’t do it right when you first build it, the kitchen is what you really suffer from later…….”

After listening to Hyun-sung’s explanation, Yoo Seong-il said again.

“That means you expect the business to be very successful?”

“Haha, they say you should dream big. And I wanted to do it right since I was doing it anyway.”

“At first, I honestly didn’t believe what you said, but now that I see it like this, I can’t help but have expectations. Like you said, now that you’ve started, I hope you hit the jackpot.”

“That’s what I’m planning to do. So, I hope you can help me a lot, *hyungnim* [term used to address an older brother or male friend].”

“Hehe, I think you’re the one who should be helping me, don’t you think so, Mr. Kim!”

Yoo Seong-il was even joking around.

While he was speaking so comfortably on the surface, his eyes were shining sharply. His appearance of examining every corner as if he were an inspector showed his experience.

Then Hyun-sung smiled and matched Yoo Seong-il’s words.

“*Hyungnim*, really……. Then let’s agree to help each other out. How about it?”

“That’s the right answer.”

Yoo Seong-il also gave a friendly smile and readily answered Hyun-sung’s words. Then Hyun-sung guided him to the inner quarters this time.

Since he knew that this person would have to check everything before leaving, Hyun-sung took the initiative to guide him in advance.

Yoo Seong-il’s mouth dropped open again when he entered the inner quarters.

“Hehe, I can’t believe you remodeled the inner quarters like this…….”

Hyun-sung’s chosen method was to place a wooden floor in front of the main room and connect it to the existing wooden floor. Then, he placed 영업용 [business-use] standing tables so that people could enter and eat without taking off their shoes.

And he also placed tables in the yard. Of course, he had also finished the roofing work so that there would be no problems even if it rained.

Instead of the store hall becoming narrower due to the expansion of the kitchen, he utilized the yard of the inner quarters. By doing so, the space where customers could sit actually increased compared to the beginning.

Hyun-sung smiled and asked.

“Does it look good?”

“Mr. Kim, this is more and more amazing the more I see it. By the way, is this really your first time doing business?”

“Of course.”

It seems that lying gets better with practice. Now, lies were coming out of his mouth without any hesitation. Then Yoo Seong-il’s words continued again.

“This is the level you’re at for the first time. Anyway, I feel relieved after seeing it with my own eyes. Then I have somewhere else to go, so I have to go now.”

Yoo Seong-il was faithful to his acting until the end.

Hyun-sung didn’t forget to smile as he saw him off. Yoo Seong-il, who didn’t know what Hyun-sung’s smile meant, smiled and extended his hand.

Then Hyun-sung grabbed his hand tightly and shook it. This was the moment when the relationship between the two people, who had no connection in their previous life, was newly beginning.

***

It was when Yoo Seong-il left and Hyun-sung was about to close the door and come out.

Someone was approaching Hyun-sung’s store.

“Oh? Elder!”

It was the landlord, Oh Myung-sun.

“I was passing by and saw the lights on, so I stopped by for a moment. Is the opening preparation going well?”

“Yes, I just need to work on the inner quarters a little more. I think the preparation will be finished a few days earlier than expected.”

“That’s good. Have you had dinner yet?”

“I was about to go home and eat.”

When Hyun-sung answered, the landlord, Oh Myung-sun, smiled as if it was a good thing.

“Can you spare some time?”

“Now?”

“Yes, I want to treat you to a meal. How about it, would that be okay?”

It was a slightly unfamiliar sight.

Perhaps because the perception of landlords was so negatively ingrained in his mind, it was hard to adjust to this side of Oh Myung-sun.

However, it didn’t seem polite to refuse.

“Yes, that’s fine. Which restaurant should we go to?”

“If I was going to treat you to a restaurant meal, I wouldn’t have said anything. Let’s go to my house. Let’s go and have a warm soup and rice.”

Hyun-sung hesitated for a moment. He felt reluctant to go to his house, let alone a restaurant. As far as Hyun-sung knew, the landlord Oh Myung-sun lived alone.

When Hyun-sung hesitated a little, Oh Myung-sun immediately continued.

“Why? You don’t like a bachelor’s cooking?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that…….”

“Then follow me quickly.”

With those words, Oh Myung-sun started walking ahead. Hyun-sung had no choice but to follow Oh Myung-sun.

A moment later.

As soon as Oh Myung-sun arrived home, he went into the kitchen. Hyun-sung was left in the room, waiting for the meal without knowing what to do.

Then, what caught Hyun-sung’s eye was a picture hanging on the wall.

One seemed to be his deceased grandmother, and the other seemed to be a family photo. It looked like a large family at first glance.

About 30 minutes passed.

Oh Myung-sun came in carrying the dining table.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, I was just looking at some pictures. I think this person here is your grandmother.”

Hyun-sung pointed to the picture on the left and asked.

Then Oh Myung-sun nodded and continued.

“Yes, it’s already been three years since then. At first, I thought I couldn’t live without her, but as I lived, time passed like this. I think time is the best cure of all.”

“Ah, yes……. But your grandmother must have been quite beautiful when she was young?”

“She was beautiful, she was beautiful.”

Oh Myung-sun made a face as if he was lost in memories for a moment, then he returned to reality and continued.

“Eat quickly, I don’t know if the seasoning will suit your taste.”

“Is it a special day? Why are there so many side dishes?”

Hyun-sung was surprised to see the side dishes. They weren’t just ordinary side dishes that people usually eat. There was *galbi* [Korean BBQ ribs], *japchae* [glass noodles with stir-fried vegetables and meat], and the soup was beef radish soup.

No wonder it was a little late, there was a reason for it. Still, what was strange was that all these side dishes were not dishes that could be made in 30 minutes.

That meant they were made in advance, and Hyun-sung thought that there must have been a special day for that to happen.

At Hyun-sung’s question, Oh Myung-sun smiled and continued.

“It’s not a special day, I actually wanted to treat you to a meal…….”

“Yes? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s embarrassing, but I prepared it myself since this morning.”

“You mean this *galbi* and *japchae* too?”

Oh Myung-sun nodded and smiled.

Was it because of his thoughts?

Looking at Oh Myung-sun’s smiling face, he felt a warm heart, wondering if this was the expression his *chin harabeoji* [paternal grandfather] would have if he had one.

Hyun-sung asked again.

“Are you saying that you prepared all this for me?”“I’m so grateful.”

“I haven’t done anything special for you.”

“Why do you think you haven’t? That’s…….”

Oh Myung-sun started talking about Hyun-sung. At first, he said that he was happy just to sign the contract for the store.

However, he said that he was honestly anxious. He said that he wondered if he could even start properly. However, as time passed, that concern turned into anticipation.

When Oh Myung-sun finished talking, Hyun-sung smiled.

Because he fully understood what he meant.

Then Oh Myung-sun opened his mouth again.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I did it for my own business.”

“That’s true, but I’m still grateful. Anyway, do you know how good I feel every time I see the store’s completely changed appearance?”

“Hehe, I feel really good when you say that.”

Hyun-sung was sincerely happy.

Most landlords were focused on raising the rent in any way possible. He had even seen some landlords take away the store and have their acquaintances run it or run it themselves if it was doing well, no matter what excuse they made.

There was no need to look far. Hyun-sung himself had experienced it.

But what about Oh Myung-sun now?

Despite being a young tenant, he prepared food for that person from the morning.

It was said that if you see one thing about a person, you can know ten things about them.

“Elder! I will enjoy the meal!”

Hyun-sung sincerely bowed his head.

Hyun-sung realized today that there are not only bad landlords in the world.