Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 155

“Huh!”

Lee Chun-shik could only stare blankly at Hyun-sung’s retreating figure.

This didn’t make sense.

He had deliberately ordered the fourth level of spiciness, which wasn’t even on the menu, and then used the excuse of it being too spicy to ask for the ramen to be re-cooked.

Anyone could see that this was a deliberate provocation.

And not just once, but twice.

But the problem was the other party’s reaction.

If he had been provoked to this extent, there should have been some kind of reaction already. Moreover, the other party was a high school student at a sensitive age.

There was nothing wrong with the script.

Of course, there was one thing that bothered him: the cost of the ramen.

Instead of having it re-cooked, Hyun-sung was bearing the cost himself. In that case, Hyun-sung would be 100% responsible for the financial loss.

The reason for doing so was simple.

If a fight broke out and the police came, Lee Chun-shik would be at an absolute disadvantage. The reason was that he was absolutely at fault for ordering ramen that wasn’t even on the menu.

Choi Min-sung had mentioned this part while giving him the job: Don’t get involved with the police in any way. And even if you do get involved, don’t put yourself in a disadvantageous situation.

That’s why Hyun-sung was paying for the ramen.

Of course, in Kim Hyun-sung’s position, there was no financial loss. But there was another aim.

It was a matter of pride.

There are times when pride is more important than money. Moreover, Lee Chun-shik expected that a young student would definitely be sensitive about his pride.

But that expectation was completely wrong.

That’s why Lee Chun-shik was so dumbfounded.

“Are you okay?”

Choi Hee-chul, who was watching Lee Chun-shik, asked quietly.

“There’s nothing we can do. We don’t have any other options now. If we keep pushing him like this, he probably won’t be able to stand it anymore.”

Lee Chun-shik, who didn’t realize that Hyun-sung wasn’t just a simple child, didn’t give up until the end.

At that moment, there was a person with a serious expression in the kitchen as well.

Shin Myung-soon looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“Boss, are you going to be okay?”

“There’s no problem. Just cook it the way I order it. What those guys are aiming for right now isn’t the ramen; it’s something else.”

“Something else……?”

Shin Myung-soon couldn’t understand what he meant. If they came to eat ramen, they should just eat ramen. What else could there be?

With an uneasy expression, Shin Myung-soon said again.

“Are you really going to be okay?”

“Don’t worry. Now that I know what their purpose is, I won’t be taken advantage of.”

“Still…….”

Shin Myung-soon still had an uneasy expression.

But Hyun-sung’s expression was more cheerful than ever.

That’s because this was already the ninth bowl of ramen from one table. Whatever the reason, they said they would pay for all the ramen.

As a ramen seller, all you have to do is sell ramen well.

Pride?

Of course, it’s important. But at least now wasn’t the time for that, and Hyun-sung knew very well that it wasn’t worth it.

If a dog barks, just ignore it.

If you bark with it, you become a dog too.

Of course, if they didn’t pay for the ramen, the story would be different. Then Hyun-sung wouldn’t have stood still either.

Hyun-sung carried the ramen and headed back to the table where Lee Chun-shik was.

“Hyungs [older brothers or respected male figures], the level 2 Ssin Ramen is here.”

Hyun-sung was already calling them ‘Hyungs’. He was willing to match that level of obsequiousness.

Although the industry was different, Hyun-sung had been in business for over 20 years. Even if the industry is different, all businesses have something in common.

That is the spirit of service.

“Hyungs……?”

But words can be heard differently depending on the listener.

Lee Chun-shik glanced at Hyun-sung.

No matter how he looked at it, he was just a young high school student. It was hard to see him smiling and calling them ‘Hyungs’ in a good light.

But the important thing was that he had nothing special to say.

Then Hyun-sung’s words continued.

“You’re much older than me, so you’re Hyungs, right? Isn’t that right?”

“…….”

“Please take care of me in the future. Hyungs!”

“…….”

None of the three answered Hyun-sung’s words.

Ugh.

As Hyun-sung stepped back, the expressions on the three men’s faces were a sight to behold.

Why wouldn’t they be?

The purpose of coming here was not to eat ramen, but to cause trouble under the guise of ramen. But instead of causing trouble, they were being played by a kid, so how pathetic would they feel?

Moreover, they couldn’t even eat the ramen and were only paying for it, so it was only natural that they couldn’t manage their expressions.

At that time, Ahn Yong-soo, who had been quiet until now, looked at Lee Chun-shik and asked.

“What are we doing right now?”

“Hoo.”

Lee Chun-shik only sighed briefly.

Then Ahn Yong-soo asked again.

“Why don’t we just leave quietly?”

“……Wait a minute. Let’s at least taste the ramen. It’s all money, so we have to taste it.”

“You’re going to eat this now?”

“It’s a waste.”

Even in the midst of all this, Lee Chun-shik was regretting the cost of the ramen.

Ahn Yong-soo, who was watching the scene, just shook his head.

Slurp.

Lee Chun-shik took a spoonful of the ramen broth in front of him to his mouth.

“Cough.”

The spicy taste still hit the tip of his nose.

Lee Chun-shik was usually confident in his ability to handle spicy food to some extent. But this was a different level of spiciness than he had ever tasted before.

Gulp.

Lee Chun-shik quickly emptied a cup of water and called Hyun-sung.

“Here!”

Hyun-sung ran to Lee Chun-shik and asked.

“Yes, Hyung.”

“What kind of chili powder do you use here?”

“Why do you ask?”

“No, it’s so spicy that a person can’t eat it. Are you using something strange?”

Lee Chun-shik looked at Hyun-sung with a dissatisfied expression.

Then Hyun-sung said.

“Do you know what a habanero is?”

“Haba… what?”

“There’s a chili pepper called habanero from Mexico, which is at least 10 times spicier than the average Korean Cheongyang chili pepper. The chili pepper we use in our store is that habanero.”

Lee Chun-shik tilted his head at Hyun-sung’s explanation. Because he had never heard of such a chili pepper in his life.

It was only natural for Lee Chun-shik, who only knew Cheongyang chili peppers as spicy chili peppers.

But the important thing was that Lee Chun-shik’s interest was elsewhere.

Lee Chun-shik looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“So you’re saying the chili powder isn’t Korean?”

“Of course. You can never get this spicy taste with Korean chili powder.”

Hyun-sung’s answer was confident.

Moreover, habanero doesn’t just have a spicy taste. The finish has a citrus scent, so it also has a sweetness. That’s why habanero will be used in snacks and other foods later on.

The reason Hyun-sung chose it was because of that. No matter how popular spicy flavors are, you can’t capture the taste of consumers with just that one spicy flavor.

Then Lee Chun-shik looked at Hyun-sung and asked in disbelief.

“So you used imported chili powder?”

It was Hyun-sung who was dumbfounded.

There was nothing wrong with using imported chili powder. Even at this time, there was no proper awareness of origin labeling.

Hyun-sung couldn’t understand why Lee Chun-shik was reacting so sensitively now.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Chun-shik and asked.

“What are you doing now?”

“You used imported chili powder and you’re yelling at me?”

“What’s wrong with that? Is there any law in Korea that says you can’t use imported products?”

“That’s…….”

Lee Chun-shik had no choice but to hesitate.

Then Hyun-sung’s words continued.

“And if you have eyes, please look at the menu over there.”

Hyun-sung pointed to the menu with his finger.

There, a detailed explanation of the habanero chili pepper was written in red letters. The origin was indicated as a basic, and even the degree of spiciness was indicated.

In addition, the bottom line clearly stated that it could be at least 10 times spicier than Cheongyang chili peppers, so be careful.

Lee Chun-shik, who had checked the contents on the menu, was embarrassed.

He had simply gotten excited at the word ‘imported’ and yelled. He was in a situation where he needed the other party’s weakness, so he had momentarily thought that it was against the law without realizing it.

But when he thought about it, he had never heard anywhere that using imported products was against the law.

Moreover, this guy was proudly revealing that he was using imported products on the menu. That would be impossible if it was against the law.

It was a mistake.

It was his clear mistake brought about by impatience.

Hyun-sung glanced at the three men once again.

At this point, their purpose was bound to be suspicious. At first, he thought it was just simple jealousy of young Hyun-sung running a business.

So he was willing to deal with that much.

But seeing them making ridiculous claims about using imported chili powder, which had no flaws, he realized that his thoughts might be wrong.

For what reason…….

If it wasn’t simple jealousy, then there was definitely another purpose.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Chun-shik and asked.

“Why are you doing this to me now?”

“What reason?”

“It doesn’t make sense. What is the purpose of trying to interfere with my business for such a ridiculous reason?”

No matter how much he thought about it, Hyun-sung couldn’t understand it.

Then Lee Chun-shik’s words continued.

“What *yeong-eop-banghae* [interference with business] are you talking about?”

“Do you think this is a normal situation now? It’s okay at first. But the chili powder story just now is clearly different. How are you going to explain cornering me as if you’ve caught some big deal just because it’s imported?”

“That’s…….”

Lee Chun-shik couldn’t answer properly.

He had no words because it was a mistake he had made without realizing it in his haste.

When Lee Chun-shik couldn’t speak properly, Hyun-sung asked again.

“Who is it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t think you just came to harass me. Then that means someone ordered you to do it. Who is it?”

“What is this bastard talking about now? Who ordered what?”

Lee Chun-shik flared up.

Then Hyun-sung asked again.

“Then where are you from?”

“What are you talking about?”