Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 21

After Hyun-sung left, CEO Kim Jin-yong and his son, Kim Dong-soo, remained on the second floor.

Kim Dong-soo spoke first.

“Father, who is that guy?”

“I don’t know. Why the sudden talk about military service?”

“What a crazy bastard.”

Hyun-sung became a ‘crazy bastard’ in Kim Dong-soo’s eyes. With that muttered insult, Kim Dong-soo left the second floor to meet his friends.

Now alone, CEO Kim Jin-yong sighed.

“Ugh…”

His stifled feelings burst out. Did Hyun-sung really know about the dormancy period of wild ginseng?

Kim Dong-soo’s arrival had cut off the conversation, letting the moment slip away like a snake over a wall. He couldn’t exactly chase after Hyun-sung now to ask.

Dormancy period aside, how did he know Kim Dong-soo’s name earlier? He was certain he hadn’t mentioned his son’s name first.

And what was with the military talk?

“Crazy bastard… Anyway, when will I recoup the cost of this ginseng?”

Sigh!

Only CEO Kim Jin-yong’s sigh deepened in the quiet space.

***

Stride, stride.

Hyun-sung’s steps were full of energy as he left Sungsim Herbal Medicine Store. The reason was obvious: the family’s debt would be cleared this time. Not only Park Hee-cheol’s private loan but also the debt to the Nonghyup (National Agricultural Cooperative Federation), a farmers’ cooperative bank, would be completely paid off.

It wasn’t that his father was lazy or incompetent. Borrowing money in the spring to farm and repaying it in the fall after the harvest was the reality of rural life back then.

If a typhoon hit in the fall, that year’s harvest would be ruined. Then they could only barely repay the interest, and the principal would carry over to the next year, accumulating like that.

It was a structural and painful reality of rural life.

Come to think of it, in his past life, his father eventually left the countryside. He was old, but he had farmed all his life, and the conclusion was that there was no hope.

He left his hometown crying like that, and in the fourth year, he left his family forever.

His father had once said his goal in life was to make sure his family didn’t go hungry, to ensure his children didn’t go hungry like he did.

That’s how it was back then.

Perhaps it was more a pain of the times than an individual’s problem.

“That’s right!”

Once is enough. The second time must be different. He wouldn’t blame it on the times anymore.

“Father, you’ve worked hard. This time, this son will do it right.”

Hyun-sung clenched his fist and hurried his steps. He had to hurry to get to the Sangbong Terminal.

Hyun-sung headed towards Cheongnyangni Station from Gyeongdong Rotary to deposit the money at Nonghyup.

Cash felt good, but it was burdensome to carry around. It wasn’t a small amount, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

He had asked about making a deposit at the herbal medicine store, but that would require someone to move again, so they said they would trade in cash.

“If I had a smartphone, everything would be solved…”

Hyun-sung briefly thought about his life before regression.

Smirk.

A smile spread across Hyun-sung’s face.

That was only for a moment.

Hyun-sung’s brow began to furrow. It seemed like there was a problem.

Had it been about five minutes since he left the herbal medicine store? Since then, he felt like flies had been buzzing around him. Someone had started following him at a constant distance from behind—two people, in fact.

At first, he thought they were just going in the same direction.

Still, feeling uneasy, he adjusted his walking speed. He walked fast, then he walked slowly, but the distance remained the same.

Then his guess was almost certainly correct… Did they smell the money?

And another thing, were those two all there were?

Given the nature of Gyeongdong Market, there would be many cases like his. Then those guys would be hyenas created by the nature of the environment, and there couldn’t be just one or two.

Hyun-sung’s mind began to race.

If so…

Hyun-sung scanned his surroundings.

“Huh!”

He was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t speak. There were two more in the left alley. It was as if they were already waiting to catch Hyun-sung.

How did they know?

“Could it be?”

Someone from Sungsim Herbal Medicine Store… Yes, it was a whopping 3.7 million won [Korean currency, roughly equivalent to a few thousand US dollars]. He couldn’t confirm it, but he couldn’t rule it out entirely. Then things would get more complicated than he thought.

If someone from Sungsim Herbal Medicine Store was involved with the hyenas, it must be an organization, not just one or two people.

Well… isn’t this Cheongnyangni right now?

It was one of the four major red-light districts in Korea, though it was later demolished. Known as 588 [a former red-light district address], a picture was easily forming in his mind.

Flick.

Hyun-sung turned his head to the right side of the road. In case of emergency, he would run and take a taxi.

“Wow.”

Three guys were already standing at intervals on the side of the road. They hadn’t been visible in the crowd a little while ago. At this point, it was no longer a guess but a certainty. In other words, they were determined.

Trickle.

Cold sweat ran down his spine.

At this moment, if Hyun-sung ran or made a sudden move, they would not stand still.

What they were after was only one thing: the money in his backpack.

Hyun-sung could only hesitate in place, unable to do anything. Even now, there were many people around, so they didn’t seem to be able to act.

“I’m going crazy.”

There was no time. If this went wrong, he would die in vain.

There were no CCTVs around, and those guys were probably waiting for the last moment. As soon as someone gave the order, the operation would be over in an instant.

That’s when it happened.

“Huh?”

Was it because they knew Hyun-sung had noticed?

The three guys on the right side of the road started moving first.

The purpose was obvious: to block the retreat route from the main road. Then they would close in from all sides.

Ha-ha!

Hyun-sung clenched his fists tightly, then felt a moist sensation, probably from the sweat.

Flick, flick.

Hyun-sung looked left and right alternately.

Either way, he would die if he stayed here, or at least get stabbed. In this era, fists were more effective than the law, and knives were more effective than fists.

“That’s it!”

He had to run out onto the road no matter what. Taxi or not, it didn’t matter. He would block and grab any car and get out of here.

The guys might chase after him, but that was the next problem. He didn’t have time to think about that.

Ha-ha!

Hyun-sung took one last breath.

He closed his eyes tightly and opened them.

One, two… He started counting in his head, planning to dash out onto the road the moment he counted to three.

That’s when it happened.

A group of people approaching from the front came into Hyun-sung’s view. There were five of them, and they were filling the sidewalk because they were so big.

One of them was someone Hyun-sung knew.

“Ah!”

It was the first time he was so happy to see someone.

“Dong-soo! Kim Dong-soo! Hey, you! Kim Dong-soo!”

Hyun-sung called out Kim Dong-soo’s name several times in a loud voice.

After a while, Hyun-sung took Kim Dong-soo and his friends up to the Chinese restaurant on the second floor.

Lunch?

No. It was to save his own life. Kim Dong-soo, the savior, had appeared at the moment of desperation, with four of his wrestling team friends, no less.

If he had stayed there, something would have already happened.

Hyun-sung first took a seat by the window, then looked down.

They looked exactly like dogs chasing chickens [an idiom for futile effort].

The hollow eyes of the hyenas, who were loitering around because their prey had disappeared before their eyes, were even more pitiful.

Then Kim Dong-soo looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“Do you always do this?”

“Do what?”

“Can you just act like this with someone you’ve never met before?”

Kim Dong-soo had been dumbfounded a little while ago. With the school year starting in a few days, he was going to the roller rink with his friends before the end of vacation.

The roller rink manager hated wrestlers because the roller wheels couldn’t withstand their weight.

In the end, they were barely allowed to enter the roller rink on the condition that they bring their own rollers, and even then, only twice a month. And today was the second day of that month, but Hyun-sung suddenly called his name and dragged him into the Chinese restaurant.

Kim Dong-soo, who didn’t know the whole story, had a natural reaction.

Then Hyun-sung smiled and said, “Dong-soo, let’s get the facts straight. It’s not the first time; you saw me earlier.”

“Don’t play with words; explain.”

“Okay, I’ll explain. Actually…”

Hyun-sung briefly explained what had happened so far to Kim Dong-soo and pointed his chin outside. As expected, the hyenas were still lingering in front of the Chinese restaurant.

Oh? But the number of people had decreased. There were only three people visible, whereas there were nine until a while ago. Six people had disappeared.

Then Kim Dong-soo, who was looking outside, said, “What? Those guys are Wangsan’s goons.”

“Do you know them?”

“No, I don’t know them well; I just see them on the street sometimes. We don’t mess with each other.”

They don’t mess with each other?

Doesn’t that mean there’s no point in fighting each other? In other words, it’s a loss for both sides?

“What does that mean?”

“As you can see, we’re the Gyeongdong High School wrestling team. Our seniors are strong.”

Only then did Hyun-sung understand the situation a little while ago. He had clearly seen the hyenas around him hesitate and take a step back when Hyun-sung called Kim Dong-soo’s name.

They probably thought Hyun-sung was Kim Dong-soo’s friend. That’s why they didn’t approach him. And even now, there are only three people outside.

Of course, even those will disappear in a little while.

Hyun-sung was getting a lot of help from Kim Dong-soo in many ways. I guess you have to meet your military buddies well.

Tap.

Hyun-sung lightly tapped Kim Dong-soo on the shoulder.

“Dong-soo, thank you.”

“You said Hyun-sung?”

“Yeah, Kim Hyun-sung.”

“Are you always this sociable? Or…”

Kim Dong-soo trailed off. He couldn’t bring himself to ask if he was an idiot to his face.

“Or what?”

“Do I have to say it?”

“It’s because it’s you. If we meet in Paju later, you’ll find out.”

To be exact, it was Paju Beopwon-ri. It was the 6633rd unit where Hyun-sung and Kim Dong-soo served. Kim Dong-soo, like Hyun-sung, was a 610, that is, a driver.

‘He’s an idiot.’

Kim Dong-soo looked at Hyun-sung and just shook his head without saying anything.

Then the employee approached.

Then Hyun-sung looked at Kim Dong-soo and said, “Dong-soo, order whatever you and your friends want.”

“Really?”

Kim Dong-soo couldn’t believe his ears. Who cares if he’s seven-tenths or eight-tenths of a man [a Korean expression for being easily swayed]? He was told to eat as much as he wanted.

Hyun-sung smiled and said again with composure when Kim Dong-soo was happy, “You’re my savior, of course.”

“You’re going to regret it…”

The corners of Kim Dong-soo’s lips curled up severely to one side.

Roller rink? He could just go tomorrow. It wasn’t going anywhere.

Kim Dong-soo looked at his friends next to him and smiled. Then his friends’ expressions changed completely from before.

Then Kim Dong-soo started ordering. “Get us Gochu Japchae (stir-fried peppers and meat), Palbochae (stir-fried seafood and vegetables), and Lajo Gi (stir-fried chicken with chili peppers), for now. And you don’t have to give us the fried dumplings as a service.”

“For now? And the service is free…”

Hyun-sung looked at Kim Dong-soo when he said ‘for now’. That meant there was a second round if that was the first round. And he was a little concerned about why he was refusing the service.

“You said I could eat whatever I wanted, right?”

“That’s true, but aren’t you going to eat Jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) or Jjambong (spicy seafood noodles)?”

“Are you crazy? Why would I eat that when I’m not paying for it?”

That was it. When he wasn’t paying for it, he wasn’t supposed to eat Jajangmyeon or Jjambong. He wasn’t supposed to eat fried dumplings either. It was a fact he didn’t know.

Kim Dong-soo’s friends? As expected, you can tell a friend by looking at his friends. They were so busy ordering only dishes with their mouths wide open.

They ate for two hours because Hyun-sung urged them to leave quickly.

Hyun-sung looked at the Chinese restaurant owner and asked, “How much is it?”

“Just a moment.”

The Chinese restaurant owner had a smile on his face because they came in during a slow time after lunch and were determined to increase sales, so it would be strange if he wasn’t happy.

Finally, the Chinese restaurant owner opened his mouth, as if the calculation was over. “It’s 72,500 won in total, but just give me 72,000 won.”

“Wow…”

He was speechless. It was the first time he knew that people could eat this much. It was a moment when he was confused whether they were eating to wrestle or wrestling to eat.

Of course, his stomach was a little sore, but who was Kim Dong-soo? Wasn’t he his military buddy? Besides, he received 700,000 won more because of the dormancy period that Kim Dong-soo taught him, so if you think about it, it was a profitable deal.

As he was coming down the stairs on the second floor, the Chinese restaurant owner’s voice was heard loudly. “Choi, we’re done for today.”

“Really?”

The employee’s voice was particularly bright.