Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 156

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Why? Am I wrong? Don’t you think you guys were acting strange from the moment you walked in here? Don’t you remember trying to confirm things, like you already knew me?”

It was undeniable.

They had received some information about Hyun-sung from Choi Min-sung beforehand. But that didn’t mean they could honestly tell Hyun-sung the truth.

“That’s not true.”

Inevitably, Lee Chun-shik had to lie.

“Is that really the case?”

“We just came to hang out and heard that a ramen shop had opened. Of course, we heard rumors about you and wanted to check them out. That’s all.”

Lee Chun-shik explained, wondering what he was even doing.

A momentary slip had exposed them. But he couldn’t admit it. As a result, he was left making pathetic excuses.

Hyun-sung continued,

“So, no one ordered you to do this?”

“I told you, there’s nothing like that.”

“Really?”

“How many times do I have to say it? There’s nothing like that. We just….”

“Okay, I’ll believe you.”

Hyun-sung barely suppressed a laugh. They were acting like fools, and it was so clumsy.

But he decided that dragging this out wouldn’t be good for him either. He thought it was best to wrap things up quickly.

Hyun-sung immediately said,

“Are you going to eat ramen?”

“Well….”

Even in this situation, they didn’t refuse to eat.

Hyun-sung continued,

“You probably can’t eat the spicy one, right?”

“Probably not….”

“Then, as a service, I’ll make you Shin Ramyun [a popular brand of instant noodles] without chili powder. Eat that and then leave.”

“……”

Lee Chun-shik, with his last bit of pride, couldn’t bring himself to answer.

“Wait here, I’ll cook it up quickly.”

With those words, Hyun-sung disappeared into the kitchen.

“Hoo.”

As Hyun-sung disappeared into the kitchen, Lee Chun-shik sighed deeply.

He felt that they looked pathetic. They thought they had caught an opportunity, but it had backfired on them.

A momentary mistake had created this situation.

Then, Choi Hee-chul looked at Lee Chun-shik and asked,

“By the way, what are you going to tell CEO Choi?”

“Leave that to me. There’s no way to confirm it anyway. I’ll just make something up. We’re just getting paid for today, right?”

Choi Hee-chul nodded in understanding. Then, he pointed his chin at Hyun-sung and asked again,

“What about that bastard?”

“CEO Choi will call us again in a few days anyway. We’ll see him then. I won’t make the same mistake as today.”

“Do you have a good plan?”

“Trust me.”

A bitter smile spread across Lee Chun-shik’s face.

A little later.

“The last one is on the house, so excluding that, nine bowls of ramen come out to 2,700 won [approximately $2.25 USD].”

“Here.”

Lee Chun-shik frowned as he paid. He was furious at how pathetic he looked compared to when he first walked in.

“Here’s your change of 300 won. Please visit us again next time you’re in the neighborhood.”

Hyun-sung greeted them loudly.

Then, Lee Chun-shik smiled meaningfully at Hyun-sung and left the shop.

As the three men left the shop, the smile disappeared from Hyun-sung’s face.

Hyun-sung immediately called Kim Il-soo.

As soon as Kim Il-soo arrived, he asked,

“Did those guys leave?”

“Yeah, so I need to go out for a bit.”

“Where to?”

“The more I think about those guys, the more suspicious they seem. I held back earlier, but someone is definitely behind them.”

“Okay. I didn’t think they were just random guys either. Be careful.”

Hyun-sung headed in the direction the three men had disappeared.

The three men left Hyun-sung’s shop.

Choi Hee-chul said to Lee Chun-shik,

“The more I think about it, the more embarrassed I am. We even got free ramen from that kid at the end. What was that?”

“Be quiet. I’m upset too.”

“If only you hadn’t made that mistake….”

“Hey, I told you to stop. Do you think I’m feeling good right now?”

Lee Chun-shik became increasingly angry. A momentary mistake had put him in a difficult position, and he had been unilaterally taken advantage of without being able to say a word.

“Okay, okay. Just talk to CEO Choi well. Don’t mess up there too.”

“Don’t worry. CEO Choi won’t know anything anyway.”

The three men headed towards Rose Coffee Shop.

Hyun-sung, who had been following them at a reasonable distance, stopped.

They had entered Rose Coffee Shop.

To find out who was behind them right now, he could go into Rose Coffee Shop. But there was a reason why he couldn’t.

The first reason was that there might be no one there. He couldn’t be 100% sure that there was someone behind them. If he went in and there was no one there, it would be a disaster.

And the second reason was that even if there was someone behind them, there was nothing he could do to them right now.

They had acted unpleasant, but they hadn’t directly harmed him yet.

The important thing was the future.

If there was someone behind them, this wouldn’t be the only time. That’s why he had to be even more careful.

“Huh?”

The guys had already come out of the coffee shop.

That meant they hadn’t just gone in for a cup of tea. If they had gone in for tea, they would have stayed there for at least 30 minutes.

The fact that they didn’t meant they had met someone.

At that moment.

Someone followed the three men out of Rose Coffee Shop.

“Huh? Why is that guy….”

The person who came out of the coffee shop was Choi Min-sung.

Hyun-sung returned to his shop.

As expected, it turned out that those guys hadn’t just come by. The fact that they had met Choi Min-sung meant that Oh Sang-cheol was behind it all.

Choi Min-sung was just Oh Sang-cheol’s shadow anyway.

So, it was Oh Sang-cheol again….

Why was he so obsessed with him? Hyun-sung couldn’t figure out the reason, no matter how hard he tried.

The important thing was the future. Today had ended easily, but he didn’t know when unwelcome guests would come again.

They might come when Hyun-sung wasn’t there, and that was a headache. It was a fact.

Hyun-sung was worrying about Oh Sang-cheol when.

*Ding-dong.*

The shop door opened, and someone came in.

It was Han Myung-soo and Kim Tae-jin.

Hyun-sung looked at Han Myung-soo and asked,

“What are you guys doing here?”

“Are you disappointed? How could the Jandi Crew [likely a student club or group] miss our senior’s opening? Of course, we had to come and congratulate you. And please accept this.”

“What is this?”

“Hehe, we bought some toilet paper so things will go smoothly. We’re just students, so what money do we have? We collected a little from everyone and bought this.”

Han Myung-soo handed Hyun-sung a large roll of toilet paper.

Hyun-sung chuckled as he received the toilet paper. He hadn’t expected this kindness from them at all. He had just been trying to keep them away because they were annoying.

But they had come to visit like this.

“Thanks, guys. But did only you two come?”

“No, the others are outside. We didn’t know what the situation inside the shop would be like, so we told them to wait outside.”

“Tell them to come in.”

“Yes, Senior.”

The door opened, and students rushed in.

But something strange happened. The guys who rushed in started lining up. Then, Han Myung-soo, who was at the front, called Hyun-sung.

“Senior, this way….”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just stand here for a moment.”

Han Myung-soo placed Hyun-sung in front of the line and suddenly bowed 90 degrees to Hyun-sung, saying,

“Senior, congratulations on your opening!”

The problem was what came next.

The rest of the guys standing in the hall also bowed 90 degrees at the same time. And then they repeated the same words that Han Myung-soo had said earlier.

“Senior, congratulations on your opening!”

The voices of 29 people, including Kim Tae-jin, echoed in the shop. It wasn’t just one or two people, but so many people shouting at once, so the sound was deafening.

Shin Myung-soon and Kim Ji-sook in the kitchen just stared blankly at Hyun-sung.

Then, Hyun-sung immediately called Han Myung-soo.

“Hey, Han Myung-soo.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“Who told you to do this?”

“Huh? We just….”

Han Myung-soo looked at Hyun-sung, not knowing what was going on.

Then, Hyun-sung continued,

“Do you think this looks cool right now?”

“The guys really wanted to do it….”

“What? They wanted to do this?”

Han Myung-soo nodded.