Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 176

176

Hyun-sung finished in the bathroom and hurried to the playground.

“Why are you alone?”

Class president Lee Young-min asked, looking at Hyun-sung.

“What do you mean? Didn’t Soo-hyuk get here first?”

“No, he didn’t…”

Hyun-sung wondered what that meant. Lee Soo-hyuk, who should have already been there, wasn’t.

Hyun-sung started looking around for Lee Soo-hyuk.

Just then.

“Hey, look over there!”

Someone pointed to the school building’s rooftop and shouted.

Someone was standing on the top of the building.

“Isn’t that Soo-hyuk?”

“It looks like him, but why is Soo-hyuk up there…?”

An unbelievable scene was unfolding.

*Thump, thump.*

Without thinking, Hyun-sung started running toward the school building. As Hyun-sung moved, his classmates also started running.

After a moment.

Hyun-sung arrived at the rooftop.

He called out to Lee Soo-hyuk, keeping a safe distance.

“Soo-hyuk!”

“Don’t come any closer! If you come any closer, I’ll jump!”

“Okay, I understand. I won’t get closer, so let’s talk.”

*What is going on?*

Lee Soo-hyuk had been with him just moments ago. The fact that Lee Soo-hyuk was now on the rooftop threatening to jump was shocking to Hyun-sung.

However, he couldn’t just stand there in shock.

Hyun-sung called out to Lee Soo-hyuk again.

“Soo-hyuk, what’s wrong? What’s the reason?”

“The reason? You saw it yourself, how my mom is.”

“Hey, come on, man. How could you even think about this?”

“It’s the same whether I suffocate to death or fall from here and die.”

He knew things were tough that morning. Why else would a guy who never missed school say he wouldn’t go? But he never imagined he would consider this.

“Soo-hyuk, no matter what, this isn’t the answer.”

“Living like this isn’t living at all.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean, but we have to find another way. This isn’t it.”

“Another way? You saw her. Even in that situation, all she cared about was stopping me from being truant [unexcused absence].”

“That’s…”

Hyun-sung had no argument there. Frankly, Yoo Soo-min’s insistence on sending him to school even in that situation was baffling.

Even though he said he was suffocating, Yoo Soo-min ignored his words and insisted on school.

Hyun-sung spoke again.

“You’re right. I think your mother was wrong just now, too. Right?”

“Huh? Yeah. How can a person be like that?”

“I know, right? It’s not right to insist on school when your child says they’re suffocating. At least she should listen to you.”

“That’s what I’m saying…”

Lee Soo-hyuk seemed less agitated now that Hyun-sung agreed with him.

Then Hyun-sung continued.

“Soo-hyuk, do you know what?”

“What?”

“Il-soo from our class…”

“Why are you suddenly talking about Il-soo?”

“His mom and dad are both gone.”

Hyun-sung deliberately brought up Kim Il-soo. He couldn’t think of anything else to say in this situation. He needed to say something, anything, to get his attention.

Fortunately, Lee Soo-hyuk showed interest.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know before, but I found out after getting closer to him recently.”

“Then who is Il-soo living with now?”

“I heard he’s been raised by his grandmother since he was young. But do you know what his wish is?”

“Wish?”

“Yeah, he told me when I went to his house the other day. He said he wished he could call someone ‘Mom’ just once.”

Hyun-sung subtly took a few steps closer to Lee Soo-hyuk as he spoke, trying to close the distance.

Then Lee Soo-hyuk said.

“I told you not to come closer.”

“It’s too far to talk. By the way, should we sit down?”

With those words, Hyun-sung sat down. He knew there was a big difference in psychological state between standing and sitting.

He did that because he thought calming Lee Soo-hyuk’s mind was the top priority right now.

Then Lee Soo-hyuk, after hesitating for a moment, said.

“First, lock that door over there.”

“Huh? The door?”

“The rooftop door. In a little while, the teacher will come up, and my mom will come up too, right? I don’t want to see anyone right now.”

“Oh, okay. I understand.”

Hyun-sung got up again and locked the rooftop door. Then he casually walked closer to where Lee Soo-hyuk was.

Sure enough, after a while, they heard someone knocking on the rooftop door.

Lee Soo-hyuk asked again.

“Il-soo’s wish is to call someone ‘Mom’ once?”

“Yeah, my heart ached when I first heard that story.”

“But why are you telling me this now?”

“Well, it’s not really a reason, it’s just that there are friends like that. I thought we needed to think about how lucky we are compared to them. And I wanted to say something that would help in this situation, but Il-soo suddenly came to mind.”

“…”

Lee Soo-hyuk was silent for a moment.

*Swoosh.*

Hyun-sung gently grabbed Lee Soo-hyuk’s hand.

Fortunately, he didn’t pull his hand away or resist. Lee Soo-hyuk, who had been so agitated when he first came up to the rooftop, seemed much calmer now.

Hyun-sung fell into thought.

Soon, the rooftop door would be opened. They couldn’t open it now because it was locked, but they would get a key and come in soon.

No one knew what would happen then.

He had to persuade Lee Soo-hyuk somehow before that.

Hyun-sung, having made up his mind, spoke again.

“Soo-hyuk, do you know that things that are obvious to us can sometimes be special to someone else?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Parents, who are obvious to us, can be something special that someone else longs for.”

“Are you talking about Il-soo now?”

“Yeah, that’s right. You and I take it for granted that we have parents, but it’s something special that Il-soo can’t have for the rest of his life.”

“…I guess so.”

Lee Soo-hyuk nodded.

Then Hyun-sung continued.

“Of course, I know the pain you’re going through because of your mom right now. But for someone else, that might be a luxury.”

“A luxury?”

“Yeah, because that someone can’t even say the word ‘Mom,’ even if they want to.”

“Ah…”

Lee Soo-hyuk nodded, understanding.

Hyun-sung continued again.

“You know what I mean, right?”

“Yeah, of course I know what you mean, but it’s true that I’m having a hard time too. I told you this morning, but sometimes I really feel like I’m suffocating. When that happens, I really want to die.”

“I know, but this extreme method isn’t the way to solve it.”

“Because there’s no other way…”

Lee Soo-hyuk’s voice seemed calmer. It wasn’t the voice he had when he first came up to the rooftop and threatened to jump.

Hyun-sung, reassured by Lee Soo-hyuk’s condition, said again.

“Soo-hyuk.”

“Huh?”

“Countless things will happen as we live. Are you going to solve every problem with such extreme measures?”

“Th-that’s…”

Lee Soo-hyuk couldn’t finish his sentence.

Then Hyun-sung said again.

“I think you’re wrong this time. What do you think?”

“Th-that’s actually… I didn’t intend to do this at first. I just…”

Lee Soo-hyuk began to explain.

He said he had just gone up to the 3rd floor because he felt suffocated at first. But the rooftop door happened to be open, so he ended up going to the rooftop.

He said he just wanted to be in a quiet place where no one was around, even for a moment.

In the meantime, his classmates rushed to him, so he was actually flustered at first.

The explanation continued, but in the end, he claimed he had no intention of making an extreme choice on the rooftop. He said he was pushed into the situation and that’s how it happened.

When Lee Soo-hyuk finished his explanation, Hyun-sung chuckled and said.

“What, so you’re saying you were pushed into a situation you didn’t even expect and had no choice but to do that?”

“Yeah, that’s right, so to be honest, I’m a little dumbfounded, too.”

“Then what are you going to do now?”

“That’s what I’m saying. My mom will be coming through that door soon…”

Lee Soo-hyuk’s expression twisted for a moment, as if he was at a loss.

It wouldn’t just be Yoo Soo-min. The homeroom teacher, of course, and maybe even the principal, would already be at the door.

If that door opened like this, Lee Soo-hyuk would become a laughing stock.

He had to prevent that at least.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Soo-hyuk.

Lee Soo-hyuk was frozen, unable to do anything.

*Well, he’s only a sophomore in high school. What can I expect from him in this situation?*

Hyun-sung, after a moment of thought, called out to Lee Soo-hyuk.

“Soo-hyuk!”

“Huh?”

“From now on, just do what I tell you. So…”

Hyun-sung started whispering something to Lee Soo-hyuk.

After a while.

Hyun-sung ran to the rooftop entrance.

Then he opened the rooftop door.

*Click.*

As expected, many people were standing outside the door when the rooftop door opened.

Yoo Soo-min, as well as the homeroom teacher, the principal, the vice-principal, and even the gym teacher, were waiting.

“Soo-hyuk!”

Yoo Soo-min called out to Lee Soo-hyuk first and ran in.

At that moment, Hyun-sung blocked Yoo Soo-min’s path.

“Mother, you must not approach Soo-hyuk now. He has just barely calmed down.”

“Is our Soo-hyuk okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine now, but he’s still psychologically unstable, so you must not upset him.”

Yoo Soo-min didn’t know what to do.

Then homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know either. I went to the bathroom first because I was changing into my gym clothes and I didn’t feel well, but when I came out, Soo-hyuk had…”

Hyun-sung told the truth.

Then Shin Min-ho asked again.

“So what’s going on right now?”

“I barely persuaded him when he said he was going to jump, and I changed his mind.”

“What was the reason?”

“That’s…”

Hyun-sung looked at Yoo Soo-min next to him.

Then Yoo Soo-min said.

“Is it because of me?”

“That’s…”

Hyun-sung couldn’t say anything because it was an awkward situation.

When Hyun-sung couldn’t speak properly, Yoo Soo-min said again.

“Are you talking about the suffocating words you said in the car earlier?”

“You increased the tutoring time by two hours?”

“That’s because his grades didn’t improve, so I had no choice…”

“He feels like he can’t breathe.”

“Haa…”

Yoo Soo-min let out a stifled sigh.

She felt like the sky was falling when she heard in the faculty room that Lee Soo-hyuk had gone up to the rooftop a little while ago. Of course, there were signs that he was having a hard time, but she never dreamed this would happen.

And the reason was herself…

Yoo Soo-min looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“So, what does Soo-hyuk want?”

“He wants his mother to please listen to him. He said he had no choice but to do this because you wouldn’t listen no matter how much he talked…”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, he wants to have a sincere conversation with his mother.”

“…”

Yoo Soo-min was silent for a moment.

Then, she asked,

“What should I do?”

“Are you ready to have a conversation?”

“Yes, I have to listen to him because my son has gone this far.”

“Then follow me.”

Hyun-sung took Yoo Soo-min and walked to where Lee Soo-hyuk was.

He stopped walking, keeping a distance of about 5 meters [approximately 16 feet] from Lee Soo-hyuk.

Hyun-sung called out to Lee Soo-hyuk.

“Soo-hyuk, your mother is here.”

“…”

“Now tell your mother everything you want to say. I’ll step back over there.”

Lee Soo-hyuk nodded in understanding.

Then Hyun-sung looked at Yoo Soo-min and said.

“Mother, sit here. And you must not go any closer, or Soo-hyuk will be in danger. Please keep this distance.”

“Hoo…! Okay.”

“And I ask you one more time, please listen to Soo-hyuk’s story carefully. How desperate must he have been to do this?”

“Okay. Anyway, thank you, Hyun-sung. You can go now.”

“Yes, then…”

Hyun-sung got up and started walking away from Yoo Soo-min. A faint smile was already spreading across Hyun-sung’s face as he walked.