Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 158

“What? How could the teacher be here?”

It was his homeroom teacher, Shin Min-ho.

Hyun-sung was surprised because Shin Min-ho shouldn’t be here right now. He should be in Seoul until the end of this week, observing the mourning period [a period of time after a death when people grieve and often abstain from certain activities].

For such a person to suddenly appear before him, it was only natural for Hyun-sung to be surprised.

Shin Min-ho asked nonchalantly,

“Am I too late?”

“Business hours ended a while ago, but that’s not the point, is it? You’re still in mourning, so how did you come down here?”

“Our Hyun-sung is opening a store, so as his homeroom teacher, I had to come.”

“There’s no need for that. You could have come here later……”

“No, I couldn’t do that. I received so much help this time, and it’s just one day earlier, so don’t feel too burdened.”

Shin Min-ho spoke comfortably, as if it were nothing.

Shin Min-ho, who had entered the store, looked around and continued,

“The store is much better than when it was first under construction.”

“Thank you. By the way, did you come straight down from Seoul?”

“Yeah, I spent more time than I thought cleaning up my mother’s belongings and the house she lived in.”

“Ah, I see. You must have felt a bit heavy-hearted?”

Shin Min-ho nodded slightly and continued,

“But because I was with her until the end, the emptiness feels less. It’s all thanks to you. If I hadn’t gone up that day and had been on duty, I would have regretted it forever.”

“Don’t mention it, I just……, but I’m glad. Your mother must have gone to a good place.”

“Yes, she must have. I’m really grateful again.”

“Are you saying you came all the way down here tonight because of me?”

It was truly unexpected.

Considering his relationship with Shin Min-ho in his past life, it was too big of a change.

Shin Min-ho continued,

“I thought it would make me feel better.”

“Teacher, you……”

“This is nothing compared to how grateful I am. By the way, did the opening go well today?”

“Yes, more students came than I expected, so the results were good. Oh! Teacher, you haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”

“Dinner? Now that you mention it……”

“Wait a minute. I’ll quickly make you some ramen.”

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

A little later.

“Here you go, Teacher. Try this Ssin Ramen.”

“Is this the Ssin Ramen that makes a man cry from the advertisement?”

“Yes, try it first. It’s definitely different from the other ramen you’ve had so far.”

As soon as Hyun-sung finished speaking, Shin Min-ho started by tasting the broth.

“Oh!”

A short exclamation escaped Shin Min-ho’s lips.

“How is it?”

“Like you said, the broth is different from the other ramen I’ve had so far.”

“That’s probably right. Until now, no ramen has had this spicy flavor. Maybe it properly sniped at the taste buds of us Koreans [a phrase meaning it perfectly targeted the preferences of Koreans].”

That’s how it was back then. Of course, there were differences in preference, but most people couldn’t help but be enthusiastic about the spicy taste.

Shin Min-ho nodded and began to eat the noodles.

Slurp. Slurp.

“The noodles are good too?”

“Is that so? The chewiness is the life of ramen noodles, so I tried to maximize that flavor, so I’m glad you think it’s good.”

“The ramen is good, but this pot is also good. Eating with this lid reminds me of the memories of cooking ramen in the army back in the day. Back then, the highest-ranking senior soldier ate ramen with this lid. I was so envious.”

The reaction to the aluminum pot was generally good, regardless of adults or children. The reaction was especially good among young people. The reason is that they found the way they ate with the lid fun.

In any case, the choice of the aluminum pot was an excellent choice for Hyun-sung.

After finishing the ramen, Shin Min-ho looked at Hyun-sung and asked,

“No matter how much I think about it, there’s something I’m curious about……, how did you think of doing a ramen business here?”

It was a cliché question.

Because it was a question he had received countless times from many people.

But he couldn’t not answer again.

“It was because of Jung-woo at first.”

“You mean Lee Jung-woo in our class?”

“Yes, Jung-woo’s family suddenly had to quit the store. But suddenly, they had nowhere to go.”

“Oh dear, what happened……”

“It was the landlord’s unilateral tyranny [abuse of power]. So, I had no choice but to……”

Hyun-sung began to explain to Shin Min-ho in detail what had happened. Shin Min-ho’s expression looked quite serious as he listened to Hyun-sung’s explanation.

When Hyun-sung’s explanation was over, Shin Min-ho asked again,

“So, Jung-woo’s mother said she didn’t like this place until the end?”

“Yes, it seems like the death of the previous owner bothered her so much.”

“Well, who wouldn’t? Someone died……”

Shin Min-ho nodded. Then he looked at Hyun-sung and asked again,

“But what about you? Everyone else hates it, but you were okay with it?”

“It’s just an accident.”

“Someone died?”

“That’s right. It’s an accident.”

Hyun-sung had nothing else to say. The reason he chose this place was only because of his memories from his past life. But he couldn’t tell Shin Min-ho the truth.

“Tsk.”

At Hyun-sung’s answer, Shin Min-ho just shook his head as if he was dumbfounded.

Shin Min-ho, who looked at Hyun-sung with strange eyes, opened his mouth again.

“You really have an amazing heart?”

“I thought there wouldn’t be another chance if it wasn’t now. So, I did it even though I knew it was too much.”

Hyun-sung was now quite natural at lying.

Then Shin Min-ho pointed at Hyun-sung with his finger and said,

“You, you’re the Kim Hyun-sung I knew, right?”

“Haha, Teacher, you too……”

Hyun-sung, feeling guilty, burst out laughing.

Of course, all of this was possible because he had regressed. If that wasn’t the case, it would have been nonsense from Hyun-sung’s point of view as well.

But from Shin Min-ho’s point of view, who had no way of knowing that, Hyun-sung was just amazing.

Shin Min-ho suddenly handed over a white envelope.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

“I don’t have anything to help you with, so at least this……”

Shin Min-ho came down a day early despite being in mourning. That means Hyun-sung was on his mind that much.

The reason was obvious even if he didn’t ask.

Hyun-sung hesitated for a moment.

Because he knew too well that the envelope wasn’t just a simple envelope. Otherwise, why would he have come directly from Seoul at this hour?

It was an envelope filled with Shin Min-ho’s heart.

Hyun-sung jumped up from his seat and received the envelope with both hands.

“Thank you. Then I’ll take it as an encouragement.”

“Why are you hesitating so much to receive just one envelope? You’re making me feel awkward……”

“Because it’s not just a simple envelope.”

“You’re like an old man……, but I’m grateful that you recognize it.”

A slight smile spread across Shin Min-ho’s lips.

In fact, he had hurried since morning to come down today. Even if he came down tomorrow, no one would say anything.

But he couldn’t do that in his heart. If it wasn’t for Hyun-sung, he wouldn’t have been able to protect his mother’s last moments. It was all thanks to Hyun-sung that he was able to wash his mother and have a final conversation.

He couldn’t just stand still when he was starting a new beginning. So, he made a fuss and was able to arrive this late.

Shin Min-ho continued,

“You know that you’re being watched by more than one or two people, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Probably not only the teachers but also the entire student body will be watching you. So, no matter what happens, you have to succeed.”

Hyun-sung also knows.

It is and will be an uphill battle [an impossible thing]. That means all eyes will be on him that much.

He had been prepared from the beginning.

But when he actually heard it directly from Shin Min-ho’s mouth, the weight felt even greater.

“I’m already prepared.”

“Okay, then that’s enough. I don’t know if you’ll need my help, but if that’s the case, call me anytime. I’ll drop everything and come running.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“It’s not just empty words, all sorts of things will happen when you’re doing business. Call me when it’s really difficult.”

Hyun-sung looked at Shin Min-ho.

He could tell how serious Shin Min-ho was from his expression. Looking at Shin Min-ho, Hyun-sung continued,

“Yes, I understand. I will definitely do that.”

“Okay, then I enjoyed the ramen, and it’s late, so I’ll be going now. Let’s see each other at school tomorrow.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Shin Min-ho thanked him several times before leaving the store, even before opening the door and leaving.

Hyun-sung, who had sent Shin Min-ho away, entered the inner room.

The more he thought about it, the more grateful he felt for Shin Min-ho’s thoughtfulness. Especially the words that he would come running no matter what happened, of course, that wouldn’t happen, but for Hyun-sung, it was more grateful than any other words.

The next day.

Beep beep. Beep beep.

Hyun-sung opened his eyes to the alarm.

Last night, he was so nervous because it was the first day that he fell asleep without even realizing it. He usually went to bed around 2 a.m., but last night he fell asleep before 1 a.m.

That means his body was tense that much.

Hyun-sung was surprised when he came out of the store.

Sniff sniff.

“What is this smell?”

Hyun-sung began to wiggle his nose.

“No, what crazy bastard……”

What Hyun-sung found was a pile of garbage piled up in front of the store. The front of the store was clean even when he sent his homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho away last night.

That means someone threw garbage overnight.

There was no garbage here even yesterday morning. Usually, the place to put garbage is fixed.

Until now, this was not a place where garbage was thrown. But why is there suddenly a pile of garbage?

“Ugh, the smell.”

But the bigger problem was that the smell of the garbage was foul. That means there’s not just general waste.

Digging digging.

Hyun-sung slowly began to dig through the pile of garbage.

“Ah, really!”

As expected, food waste came out from the inside. The amount was quite large, as if it wasn’t thrown away from a normal household.

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