Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 126

126

“Hello?”

“Who do we have here? Isn’t this Kim Hyun-sung, the student who saved our Su-hyeok? It’s a pleasure to see you again like this.”

Hyun-sung looked at Principal Park Sang-hyun. He was silently asking why this man was here.

Principal Park Sang-hyun smiled and continued, “This is Su-hyeok’s father, who is also the alumni association president you’re looking for. I made a special request.”

Hyun-sung hadn’t known this. The alumni association president Hyun-sung knew from his past life was someone else. He had visited the alumni association during his freshman year Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving] holiday, and at that time, it was definitely not Chairman Lee Man-soo.

That meant the alumni association president would change within at least the next two years. In any case, this development was good for Hyun-sung.

Was that why?

A smile spread across Hyun-sung’s face. He looked at Chairman Lee Man-soo again and bowed his head.

“Hello? I didn’t know you were the alumni association president.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. The principal here told me you were looking for me so earnestly.”

“I had something to tell you.”

As the two were talking, Principal Park Sang-hyun poured them each a cup of coffee and placed it in front of them. Hyun-sung bowed his head in thanks.

Chairman Lee Man-soo also took a sip of coffee and said, “The coffee smells great. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Please, feel free to talk comfortably.”

“Yes, then.”

Chairman Lee Man-soo looked at Hyun-sung and asked, “So, what is it you wanted to say?”

“It’s about the restroom issue.”

“The restroom… I’ve heard about the issue from the principal, but can you tell me more about it?”

“Yes, I understand. But before that, may I ask you one thing?” Hyun-sung looked at Chairman Lee Man-soo, who nodded, allowing the question. “Go ahead, although I don’t know what it is.”

“Excuse me, but have you ever been inside the women’s restroom?”

“I’m sorry, but honestly, I haven’t.”

Hyun-sung nodded. It wasn’t a surprise, as it was the answer he expected.

This time, he turned to Principal Park Sang-hyun, silently posing the same question.

Principal Park Sang-hyun, aware of Hyun-sung’s gaze, spoke, “In the past…”

Hyun-sung lightly nodded to Principal Park Sang-hyun to thank him for his answer, then turned his gaze back to Chairman Lee Man-soo. “Do you happen to know how many restrooms there are? Actually, it’s not polite to keep asking, so I’ll tell you instead.”

Chairman Lee Man-soo nodded slightly.

“There are exactly 312 students. If you include the teachers, it’s 320. So, the conclusion is that 320 people are using 5 restrooms. That’s about 1 restroom per 64 people.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“But the problem is that not only the school but also the higher-ups know about this fact. Yet, they keep saying they can’t do anything because there’s no budget.”

At that moment, Principal Park Sang-hyun, who had been drumming his fingers on the desk the whole time, opened his mouth. “Unfortunately, that’s the reality.”

Nod, nod.

Hyun-sung nodded at Principal Park Sang-hyun’s words and continued, “That’s right. This is the reality of our school. That’s why it’s so unfortunate, and that’s why our students have stepped up to do the construction themselves this time.”

“I’ve heard the story. So, that’s why you wanted to see me?”

“Yes, Senior!”

Hyun-sung changed his title for Lee Man-soo to ‘Senior’ [a term of respect for someone who graduated before you].

Lee Man-soo, who couldn’t possibly not know the meaning, immediately continued, “Yes, Junior. Now, tell me. Tell me the reason you called me.”

“Yes, I won’t make it long. Please help us from the alumni association. We’ve started, but frankly, it’s something we can’t do with our own strength alone.”

“Haha, so you’ve taken the first step, and now you want the seniors to finish it?”

“Yes, to be honest, that’s right. From what I’ve gathered, it costs about ten million won [approximately $7,500 USD] to do the construction.”

When Hyun-sung mentioned the construction cost, Lee Man-soo seemed to think about something for a moment before continuing. “Ten million won…”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s by no means a small amount. But I thought that if we didn’t start like this, not only us but also our juniors would have no choice but to continue living in this situation.”

“Haha, you’ve even thought about the juniors. In that case…”

Lee Man-soo’s 고민 [worry/concern] seemed to be getting longer.

After a while, he said, “I understand.”

“Does that mean?”

“My junior has pushed this far, how can we seniors just stand by? Since this is my last term anyway, I will do my best to make sure I can achieve a beautiful ending.”

“Thank you, Chairman.”

“No, I should be the one thanking you. And let me tell you in advance, I can’t guarantee the result either. I’ll put it on the agenda and have an in-depth discussion.”

They say starting is half the battle, and just hearing that it was put on the agenda made him feel like it was almost resolved.

Hyun-sung’s face was full of smiles, and Principal Park Sang-hyun asked, “Is it done now?”

“Yes, I think things have been going smoothly thanks to the principal. I don’t know how to thank you enough…”

“You’re saying all sorts of things. Now, let’s wait with a prayerful heart.”

“Yes, Principal.”

Hyun-sung bowed politely to Chairman Lee Man-soo and Principal Park Sang-hyun before leaving the principal’s office.

It was a lot of money if you thought about it, but Hyun-sung thought it wasn’t impossible.

Hyun-sung left the principal’s office and headed to the classroom.

That afternoon, after finishing class, Hyun-sung headed to the 철봉대 [horizontal bar/pull-up bar] in the playground with Lee Jung-woo.

Hyun-sung asked first, “Have you improved a lot these days?”

“I’ve improved a bit since the beginning, but it’s still not enough.”

“How many can you do?”

“Hehe, twenty. It was hard at first, but it’s getting better as I keep doing it.”

Hyun-sung nodded.

Everything is difficult at first. The same was true for Lee Jung-woo. At first, he was panting after only a few, but now he’s up to twenty.

The same goes for his leg muscles. The first time he climbed the 뒷산 [back mountain], it was hard to reach the top, but now he says he can climb to the top of the mountain on his own.

Hyun-sung put his hand on Lee Jung-woo’s shoulder and continued, “Jung-woo, at this rate, I think you’ll be able to climb 앞산 [front mountain] this fall?”

“Well… I’m not confident yet.”

“No, if you keep doing leg exercises and strength training like this for about a month, I think it’ll be enough. Let’s go up the mountain with a few of us after the midterm exams.”

“I’ll see then. By the way, did you hear from your mom?”

“News? What news? What did my mother say?”

Lee Jung-woo glanced at Hyun-sung and said again, “She said she’s only going to be in business until this week.”

“What do you mean? She clearly said she was going to do it until the end of this month, why suddenly?”

“I guess my mom didn’t tell you. The landlord came back again, and he said that construction has to start next week, so he told her to only do business until this week. Otherwise, he told her to use it until next month and restore it to its original condition.”

“Seriously, how many times is that bastard going to change his words?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t understand. He had clearly heard a few days ago that it was until the end of this month, but he was dumbfounded that the date was moved up because something else happened in the meantime.

Hoo.

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but sigh.

But the problem was that he was frustrated, but he didn’t have the strength to resist. This was because the clause of restoring it to its original condition was attached like a tag until the end.

After listening to Lee Jung-woo’s words, Hyun-sung thought for a moment and said, “Jung-woo, let’s postpone today’s workout until next time. I don’t think I can pretend to be okay and work out after hearing that.”

“Should we? I don’t feel like it either.”

“Let’s go, let’s go talk to my mother in any way.”

The two crossed the playground and headed to the snack shop.

The two arrived at the snack shop.

Lee Jung-woo opened the store door first and went inside. “Mom, we’re here.”

“Oh, you guys are here.”

Shin Myung-soon greeted the two with a happy heart, just like any other day.

Then Hyun-sung also greeted her. “Yes, Mother, I’m here. If you’re not busy, I’d like you to come over here for a moment and talk.”

“Okay, just a moment.”

Shin Myung-soon finished washing the dishes and sat down in front of Hyun-sung.

Even at a glance, Shin Myung-soon’s face looked tired.

Hyun-sung opened his mouth first. “I heard it from Jung-woo. The landlord came and went again?”

Shin Myung-soon sighed instead of answering and nodded.

Then Hyun-sung’s words continued again. “Is it true that you’re only going to be in business until this week?”

“That’s what happened. He said he’s starting construction next week and asked me to empty the store. Otherwise, he told me to use it until next month and restore it to its original condition.”

“What kind of person is that? He told me to use it until the end of this month a few days ago.”

“That’s what I’m saying. I think he’s trying to move up the opening date. Otherwise, there’s no way that would happen.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head. He couldn’t understand why he was doing that. He didn’t think there was any special reason to open the store early.

There was something Hyun-sung didn’t know. The reason Oh Sang-cheol was doing this now was to open even a few days earlier than the date Hyun-sung was opening.

“Maybe…?”

Hyun-sung stopped talking in the middle of his words.

Then Shin Myung-soon immediately asked, “Maybe what? Is there anything you can think of?”

“This landlord here. Is it possible that he’s taking this unreasonable measure now to open earlier than the date I’m opening?”

“Well, is there any reason to do that? The industries overlap a bit, but not that much, no, he’s such a greedy person, he might be able to do that…”

The two were just guessing.

If there was a possibility, that would be the only reason.

“I don’t think there’s any other reason besides that.”

“That’s right, no matter how much I think about it, there’s nothing else… But I don’t think there’s much difference if you open first, the customer base is different from there…”

“That’s what I’m saying. I think this guy is misunderstanding something.”

“Or that younger sister could be playing tricks behind the scenes, but what’s clear is that I have to empty the store by this week.”

Hyun-sung also nodded.

This week is the Chuseok holiday starting tomorrow. That means today is the last day of business. Perhaps that’s why Shin Myung-soon’s expression looked even more gloomy.

It was understandable how sad and unfair it was to be kicked out of a place where she had been doing business for over 10 years by the landlord.