Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 178

178

“How spicy would you like your ramen?” Hyeonseong asked.

Oh Sangcheol glanced at the menu, which listed levels 1 through 3, along with a brief description of the habanero pepper below.

Instead of ordering, Oh Sangcheol asked another question.

“What’s that over there?”

“What are you referring to?”

“I’m talking about the habanero at the bottom of the menu. Is that the really spicy pepper?”

“Ah, that. Well…”

Hyeonseong briefly explained the habanero pepper, essentially just reading the description from the menu.

Oh Sangcheol then spoke again.

“No, that information is all written there. I’m asking if you have any other information besides that.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose any more than that due to trade secrets.”

“What kind of trade secret is that? People in the same industry share that kind of information. You’re just young and don’t know it yet.”

Oh Sangcheol continued his sophistry, but Hyeonseong wasn’t about to pay attention to such nonsense.

“Anyway, how would you like your ramen?”

“You really won’t tell me?”

“As you can see, I’m busy right now. Please order quickly.”

“Then just one last question. Where do you buy it from?”

Oh Sangcheol was persistent.

This probably meant that he was desperate. He must have heard rumors about this place through some channel.

Of course, the most important thing would be the secret to the spicy flavor.

That’s why he was curious.

The reason he came here today was to taste that flavor.

But what was hard to understand was Oh Sangcheol’s thought process.

In any case, this was a competing business. It wouldn’t be easy for someone with a normal brain to come here so brazenly.

Well, this was the man who kicked someone out of their business of over 10 years overnight. It would have been unreasonable to expect normal character from him in the first place.

‘Yeah, let’s just sell ramen.’

What more could he expect?

Hyeonseong looked at Oh Sangcheol and said again,

“Please order quickly.”

“You’re not going to tell me until the end?”

“I told you, it’s a secret. And what kind of crazy person shares that kind of information, even if they’re in the same industry?”

Hyeonseong emphasized the word ‘crazy person’ on purpose.

These days, you can just search for anything you’re curious about, but back then, you needed a lot of effort to get any information.

That meant the value of information was that much higher.

Of course, Hyeonseong had easily obtained the information with the help of his past life, but he didn’t want to give any information to Oh Sangcheol, who had abandoned his humanity.

“Huh, this guy is now openly…”

Oh Sangcheol was speechless, as if he couldn’t believe it.

Then Choi Minseong, who was next to him, held up three fingers and said,

“Two orders of level 3.”

“It might be a bit spicy for first-timers, are you okay with that?”

Hyeonseong warned him one more time, just in case he changed his mind later. This way, there would be no complaints later.

Choi Minseong said as if it was nothing,

“I heard even elementary school students eat it.”

“Of course. These days, seven out of ten eat it.”

“Is there anything higher than level 3?”

Hyeonseong glanced at Choi Minseong.

People of a feather flock together, as they say. Choi Minseong, who was acting as Oh Sangcheol’s lackey, was showing off again.

Hyeonseong wasn’t one to let that slide.

“Why do you want a higher level?”

“If we’re going to eat it, we might as well eat it hot.”

“Just say the word. We’re in the same industry, how can I not do that much for you?”

Hyeonseong felt like he was being hypocritical as he spoke. His intentions were too impure.

But when he thought of Shin Myeongsun, who was kicked out without receiving any key money [money paid to the previous tenant by a new tenant to take over a lease and any existing business], Hyeonseong justified himself that this was nothing.

At that moment, Choi Minseong said confidently,

“Then give us level 4.”

“Yes, I understand. Please wait a moment.”

Hyeonseong finished speaking and headed to the kitchen.

Arriving in the kitchen, Hyeonseong showed Shin Myeongsun four fingers.

Shin Myeongsun asked,

“Level 4?”

“Yes, those two won’t be able to walk out of here today.”

“Haha, really?”

“I’m going to give them a lot of extra service.”

Hyeonseong had already made up his mind the moment he saw Oh Sangcheol. And now they ordered level 4, which wasn’t even on the menu.

Oh Sangcheol and Choi Minseong were trying habanero for the first time today. That meant whether they ate level 1 or level 4, they wouldn’t know how many spoonfuls were added because they had never tasted that kind of spiciness before.

In other words, they wouldn’t know even if he added more chili powder to level 4.

Hyeonseong poured hot water into the pot and immediately turned on the gas. The water started boiling in less than 5 seconds.

He added the ramen and the soup base, and finally, he added six spoonfuls of the seasoning. Of course, two spoonfuls were Hyeonseong’s special service.

Shin Myeongsun, who was watching from the side, asked worriedly,

“Is it okay?”

“I told you, I’m going to give them a lot of service today.”

“You’re quite something, boss…”

Shin Myeongsun trailed off. She seemed to know what she meant without her having to say it.

Hyeonseong chuckled instead of answering.

A moment later.

“Ramen is here.”

“Oh, really? Do you always cook the ramen yourself like this?”

“No, usually the ajumma [Korean for middle-aged or older woman] cooks it, but today I cooked it myself especially for you. You’re fellow business owners, so I have to show that much sincerity, right?”

“Huh, such deep meaning. Anyway, thank you.”

Hyeonseong had no choice but to cover his mouth for a moment. Otherwise, he felt like he would burst out laughing.

As Hyeonseong stepped back, Oh Sangcheol began to sniff.

Sniff, sniff.

“This smell is no joke…”

“I know. I’ve never smelled anything this spicy in my life. I don’t know if I can eat this.”

Choi Minseong looked scared and was just sucking on his chopsticks without eating.

Then Oh Sangcheol looked at Choi Minseong and said,

“Try it.”

“Me?”

“Try it first. Hurry!”

“No, that’s, I…”

Choi Minseong’s expression completely distorted.

But Choi Minseong, who knew that resisting was useless, carefully picked up a strand of noodles with his chopsticks.

That’s when it happened.

Oh Sangcheol shook his head from side to side and continued,

“No, not that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t the broth the best part of ramen? Put down the noodles and taste the broth first.”

“Hyungnim…!” [Korean honorific for older brother or respected male figure]

Choi Minseong stared at Oh Sangcheol. His expression was a sight to behold. He looked like a child about to cry.

But who was Oh Sangcheol? He wasn’t one to show mercy.

“Hurry!”

“…Yes.”

Choi Minseong, who answered reluctantly, picked up a spoon.

Slurp.

“Cough!”

Choi Minseong coughed as soon as he tasted the broth.

“Hyung, this…”

“Is it that bad?”

“Ah! I can’t do this…”

“What are you talking about? We ordered it. Who told you to order level 4, which isn’t even on the menu? If you had just ordered level 3, it wouldn’t be this bad, right?”

Oh Sangcheol, who didn’t know that Hyeonseong had added a special service, was only blaming Choi Minseong, who had ordered it.

Choi Minseong couldn’t say anything and just stared at the innocent ramen pot. That’s because he thought that everything Oh Sangcheol said was true.

Oh Sangcheol said again,

“Let’s eat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Even elementary school students eat it. Surely we can eat it, no matter how spicy it is, right? And if we want to do business, we have to eat it no matter what. So don’t complain and just eat.”

“Hyungnim…!”

Choi Minseong wanted to cry. But with no other choice, Choi Minseong had to put down the spoon and pick up the chopsticks.

At that moment, Oh Sangcheol picked up the ramen with his chopsticks as if he had made up his mind.

Slurp.

Oh Sangcheol swallowed the noodles.

“Cough.”

The noodles that went into his mouth came back out.

Hyeonseong couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

“Pfft.”

But he couldn’t laugh openly, so he quickly covered his mouth.

Then Shin Myeongsun came up to him and said,

“Boss, thank you. Seeing that, I feel like the indigestion I’ve had has gone away.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that. But I don’t know if those guys’ stomachs will be okay.”

“Haha, I know.”

Shin Myeongsun covered her mouth and started laughing.

That’s how the two people’s petty revenge was successfully coming to an end.

After that, the sound of coughing echoed in the hall for more than 20 minutes. It took them more than 20 minutes to eat one bowl of ramen.

***

A few days later.

“That’s strange.”

Hyeonseong stayed up all night. This was the third day.

He had been staying up all night in the hall for the past three days to catch the culprit who was throwing away trash. But the problem was that no one had thrown away trash for the past three days.

Usually, someone would throw away trash every other day. So Hyeonseong’s plan was to stay up for three consecutive nights.

That way, he would be able to catch the culprit at least once in three days.

But that had failed.

Hyeonseong smiled slightly as he thought for a moment.

‘Is this the end…?’

That was the conclusion Hyeonseong came to. But he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

After some time, Kim Jisook opened the store door and came in.

“Hello? Boss.”

“Yes, hello. You’re here earlier than usual today. There’s still 30 minutes before we open.”

“I just felt like coming in early today.”

“Really? Then how about a cup of coffee to celebrate you coming in early?”

As soon as Hyeonseong finished speaking, Kim Jisook headed to the kitchen and started boiling water in a small kettle.

A moment later.

Kim Jisook came out with two cups of coffee on a tray.

“Here you go, boss.”

“Yes, thank you. By the way, how is your husband doing these days?”

“He’s still just lying down. I’m embarrassed to say this to a young boss like you, but it’s been more than a day or two, and honestly, it’s been really hard.”

“Ah, yes…”

How could it not be? He had been battling the illness for three years already. And it wasn’t even a special disease, the hospital just said it was a rare disease they didn’t know about yet.

“But I’m still grateful that you hired me, boss, so I can feed my child. I’m always grateful.”

“You’re saying too much. I needed someone anyway, so don’t worry about that part.”

“No, I’ll never forget this kindness.”

Kim Jisook bowed her head and expressed her gratitude.

Then Hyeonseong said again,

“I can’t do it this week because I have exams next week, but I’ll take a day after the exams and visit the hospital.”

“No, you don’t have to go that far…”

“No, I’m just uncomfortable. I’ll take care of that.”

“Ah, yes…”

Kim Jisook, who was about to head to the kitchen, turned around and asked,

“By the way, boss. There was no trash again today, right?”

“Yes, it’s strangely not there. It’s been three days already, it’s strange. I think someone…”

Hyeonseong stopped talking.

He suddenly felt something was strange.

Hyeonseong looked at Kim Jisook and asked immediately,

“Wait, how did you know about that? I haven’t told you about the trash yet…”

“Yes? Ah, that’s…”

Kim Jisook couldn’t finish her sentence.

He had already thought something was strange. He didn’t think that whoever it was would give up so easily.

Hyeonseong looked at Kim Jisook and asked again,

“Ajumma [Korean for middle-aged or older woman], I think I need some explanation about what’s going on? Don’t you think so?”

Kim Jisook thought for a moment at Hyeonseong’s question and then opened her mouth.