Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 191

191

After parting ways with Park Hee-chul, Hyunsung headed back to his store.

It was as he turned into the alley.

“Who’s there?”

Someone was waiting in front of the store. Not just one person, but two.

As Hyunsung approached, one of them spotted him and called out cheerfully, “Sunbae-nim [senior in school or workplace]!”

“Hey, what brings you guys here so late?”

The people waiting for Hyunsung were none other than Han Myung-soo and Kim Tae-jin.

“Are you just getting back?”

“Yeah, I had some business in Ilsan. Anyway, how long have you been waiting?”

“A little over two hours.”

“How did you know when I’d be back to just wait like that?”

“Well, we just kept waiting. We had something we really needed to tell you today.”

Hyunsung looked at Han Myung-soo. His eyes were shining, eager to speak. Kim Tae-jin next to him looked the same.

What they probably wanted to talk about were the results of the midterm exams that had just finished. If they were waiting this eagerly, the results couldn’t be too bad.

Hyunsung figured that if the news were bad, they wouldn’t have waited for more than two hours.

“Have you guys had dinner?”

“Not yet.”

“Let’s go inside then. I’ll make you some ramen.”

Hyunsung entered the store and headed straight to the kitchen.

A short while later, Hyunsung came out with the ramen.

“Alright, dig in. I made two packs each, so it should be enough. But if you’re still hungry, there’s rice, so help yourselves.”

“Yes, Sunbae-nim!”

The two began to devour the ramen ravenously.

They must have been quite hungry, as they didn’t say a word while eating.

After they finished their ramen, Hyunsung asked, “Were you that hungry?”

“We were hungry, but this Shin Ramen [popular brand of instant noodles in Korea] is really delicious. Especially this spicy flavor; I can’t get this taste even if I add chili powder at home.”

“Of course, that’s not just regular chili powder. You can’t get that flavor with just chili powder. Other seasonings have to go in to get that taste.”

“Ah, I see…”

Kim Tae-jin nodded as if he finally understood.

“Anyway, what’s this thing you wanted to tell me?”

“Ah, that’s this.”

Kim Tae-jin handed Hyunsung a white sheet of paper.

“What’s this?”

“You’ll see when you look at it.”

Hyunsung began to scan the white paper that Kim Tae-jin had handed him.

As expected, it was the results of the midterm exams they had just taken.

The names were listed by grade, with the first semester final exam scores next to the names, and the second semester midterm exam scores next to that.

Hyunsung’s condition was that the entire group had to improve by 5 ranks from the previous exam. However, Han Myung-soo had to improve by 10 ranks, and Kim Tae-jin had to be in the top 10 of his class.

Naturally, Hyunsung’s gaze turned to the two’s names.

‘Hmm?’

Hyunsung tilted his head.

The first thing that caught his eye was Han Myung-soo’s name at the top.

Hyunsung smiled at Han Myung-soo.

“Hey, Han Myung-soo, is this why you were waiting for me?”

“Hehe, did you see it?”

“You went from 58th place to 45th place; that’s an improvement of 13 ranks.”

“I really studied with gritted teeth. But I didn’t really think I’d improve that much. Even the homeroom teacher praised me.”

Honestly, he didn’t have any expectations. He had set the conditions just to get rid of them because he was annoyed. But they had met the conditions as if to prove him wrong.

Hyunsung looked at Han Myung-soo and asked, “How do you feel?”

“I pretended to be nonchalant in front of the other guys, but honestly, I feel strange. How should I put it? I keep smiling, and my heart is pounding.”

Han Myung-soo lightly tapped his chest with his fist.

Hyunsung now focused on the spot where Kim Tae-jin’s name was written.

Hyunsung smiled and looked at Kim Tae-jin.

Kim Tae-jin scratched his head and said, “I failed.”

Hyunsung’s condition for Kim Tae-jin was to be in the top 10 of his class.

The reason why the requirements for Han Myung-soo and Kim Tae-jin were different was because of Kim Tae-jin’s IQ. Surprisingly, Kim Tae-jin’s IQ was 148. Of course, it wasn’t accurate because the test was done at school, but he judged that it wasn’t completely wrong either. So he set the target higher.

“Did you really try hard?”

“Well…”

“What? Are you saying you didn’t do it properly?”

“I did, but I didn’t have the perseverance. I couldn’t sit at my desk for more than two hours. I didn’t know I was this lacking in perseverance until now.”

Kim Tae-jin sighed deeply.

When people work, there are two types of people: one is the type who focuses on one thing and digs into it until it’s finished, someone who sticks to one thing.

On the other hand, there is the type who works but can’t do one thing consistently. These people are easily distracted and do many things simultaneously.

Hyunsung looked at Kim Tae-jin and asked, “Two hours is your limit?”

“Yes, but I think I only concentrate for about an hour of those two hours.”

“You’re saying you’re easily distracted?”

“I think so. I didn’t know because I hadn’t really studied until now, but I definitely know now that I’ve tried it.”

“You also get bored easily?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

Hyunsung chuckled. It’s because Hyunsung himself has similar tendencies to Kim Tae-jin, although there are differences in degree.

In his past life, he was quite stressed about it during his school days. Because his concentration was poor, he had to invest six or seven hours to barely be on par with others, when others could do it in two or three hours, so he couldn’t help but be stressed.

Even now, with the passage of time, that distraction is less, but the habit has not completely disappeared.

“I was similar to you.”

“Yes? Sunbae-nim?”

“But if you keep trying, you’ll get the hang of it, and it’ll get better to some extent, so don’t be too discouraged.”

“Really?”

“Instead, you’ll have to invest a little more time than others. But you’re smart, so if you try a little harder, you’ll be able to get first place, not just in the top 10.”

It is said that anyone with an IQ over 120 is considered a genius. But Kim Tae-jin’s IQ is a whopping 148. If that figure is true, he would even be qualified to join Mensa, a group of the top 2% of IQ holders.

Hyunsung looked at Kim Tae-jin and asked, “Does your homeroom teacher say anything about your IQ?”

“He told me to get tested at a professional institution when I have time.”

“Did you tell your parents?”

Pfft.

Kim Tae-jin suddenly burst out laughing.

Hyunsung was taken aback.

“What? What’s with that laugh?”

“Ah, sorry, Sunbae-nim. I suddenly laughed. It’s because of my mom…”

“What did your mother say?”

“She told me to stop talking nonsense, eat the food she gives me, and go to school.”

“…”

Hyunsung was speechless.

He just felt sorry for Kim Tae-jin’s mother, who didn’t recognize the gem.

Hyunsung now began to look at the report cards of the remaining students.

Out of the remaining 28 students excluding Han Myung-soo and Kim Tae-jin, 23 students, excluding 5, had met the conditions presented by Hyunsung. Among them, there were three who had improved by more than 10 ranks.

In conclusion, 24 out of 30 students met the conditions. That’s 80% in terms of ratio.

Moreover, it was clear that the other 5 had also improved their grades.

Better than expected.

He didn’t expect them to work this hard. At first, he had set unreasonable conditions with the aim of getting rid of the Jandi Faction [likely a school club or group] because it was annoying. But seeing these results, he couldn’t help but waver.

‘Maybe…’

If it’s like this, it means that these guys’ futures can change as much as possible if someone guides them in the right direction.

Not just one or two, but a whopping 30 people.

30 people’s futures…

‘Hmm…’

Hyunsung wouldn’t be Hyunsung if he wasn’t worried in this situation.

After thinking for a while, Hyunsung looked at Han Myung-soo and said, “How was it?”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“What was your mindset while preparing for the midterm exams?”

Smile.

Han Myung-soo wore a smile on his face instead of answering.

It was the first time.

He had been watching Han Myung-soo until now, but it was the first time he had seen him smile like that.

What is it?

What is the meaning of that smile?

Then Han Myung-soo continued, “I was happy.”

“Happy…?”

At the word happiness, Hyunsung felt so dazed that he didn’t know what else to say.

Then Han Myung-soo continued, “I started with stubbornness.”

“Stubbornness?”

“Yes, I knew that Sunbae-nim was looking down on us.”

Hyunsung couldn’t deny it. From the beginning, he had started with the premise that it would be impossible, setting the condition of studying.

It was like, ‘Go ahead and do it if you can.’

“I admit it. So?”

“Once I started, the teasing from the people around me started. Even the homeroom teacher teased me.”

“The homeroom teacher?”

“Yes, he asked if I had eaten rat poison. I really thought… what kind of teacher is this?”

Hyunsung thought it was too much. No matter what, he is a teacher who teaches students.

How could such a person…

“That’s a bit… so?”

“I ignored it. I knew that saying anything else there would only make me a laughingstock.”

“It wouldn’t have been easy.”

“I’m quick to judge such things, even if I don’t know anything else.”

He already knew that he valued practicality over reputation.

“You mean practicality over reputation?”

“Once I’ve made a decision, I know what’s important. And I knew that standing up against them wouldn’t build our pride.”

It was unexpected.

He thought that Han Myung-soo was not the Han Myung-soo he had known until now. He had only thought that he was young, but he was showing a different side of himself.

“In the end, you wanted to protect your pride with results?”

“That’s right. That’s why I worked even harder. But about 20 days after I started studying, strange things started to happen.”

“Strange things? What is it?”

“One day, the homeroom teacher called me.”

“The homeroom teacher?”

Hyunsung tilted his head.

Then Han Myung-soo continued, “He said that the atmosphere in the school had changed. Because 10 students from each grade had changed to an atmosphere of studying, the overall class atmosphere had changed, and he was praising me.”

“You mean the homeroom teacher knew about the Jandi Faction?”

“He already knew that much. But he’s just watching because we’re not causing any major accidents.”

“So the conclusion is that you were happy to be praised?”

“It was the first time. It was the first time I’ve been praised by a teacher while attending school. But the important thing is that it wasn’t the end.”

“It’s not the end?”

Hyunsung’s head turned to the side in an instant. Naturally, he was waiting for Han Myung-soo’s next words.

Then, as if he had been waiting, Han Myung-soo opened his mouth again.

“About a month later, strange things happened.”

“Strange things?”

“Yes, that’s… hehe.”

Han Myung-soo started laughing.

Hyunsung, who was watching the scene, was dumbfounded.

“What is it?”

Then Kim Tae-jin, who was watching the scene from the side, chimed in, “Well, the number of membership inquiries is increasing.”

“Membership inquiries?”

“Yes, they want to join the Jandi Faction. We were the only ones who had the expected question bank.”

“What’s the expected question bank?”

“It’s Sunbae-nim’s younger sister, Jiyeon’s work. It’s been circulating, and the kids are going crazy. But who are we? We never showed it to anyone other than the Jandi Faction.”

“Huh…”

Hyunsung was speechless.

Now he seemed to know why Han Myung-soo said he was happy. But he really didn’t know that his younger sister, Kim Jiyeon, would be at the center of it.

Hyunsung looked at Han Myung-soo and said, “Are you happy that the kids are flocking to the Jandi Faction?”

“They’re the guys who have been ignoring us all this time. Isn’t this an opportunity to raise the status of our Jandi Faction for sure?”

“Of course, you wouldn’t have accepted the membership?”

“Of course not. We are an organization composed only of the best ten in each grade. We don’t accept more than that because the scarcity decreases.”

Pfft.

Hyunsung laughed.

Then, after a while, he continued, “By any chance…”

“Yes, just tell me.”

“Can you gather those best members right now?”

“Do you mean all of them?”

“Of course.”

Han Myung-soo looked at Hyunsung. Then he thought about why Hyunsung was doing this.

After thinking for a while, Han Myung-soo carefully opened his mouth.

“By any chance… are you going to take over the Jandi Faction?”

“Well, that’s a matter to think about more, but today, this hyung [older brother or male friend] is going to throw a ramen party for you guys who have worked hard. What do you think?”

“Yes? Is that really true?”

Hyunsung nodded.

Then Han Myung-soo and Kim Tae-jin looked at each other and opened their mouths at the same time as if they had made a promise.

“Yes, of course!”

With those words, the two burst out of the store.

Not just one or two, but a whopping 30 people. Hyunsung’s idea was to guide them in some way.