Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 22

Hyunseong entrusted the connection between Seongsim Herbal Medicine Store and Wangsan to Kim Dongsu.

Because in 12 years, Kim Dongsu would be running the herbal medicine store. Looking at it long-term, it was right to cut off that chain of evil.

The herbal medicine store had three employees: two men and one woman.

*Who could it be?*

He was to contact me if he found the culprit. Anyway, this allowed Hyunseong to have a perfect reunion with Kim Dongsu.

He didn’t know if there would be anything to do before going to the army, but it was enough to know that it wouldn’t be awkward whenever they met.

Under the protection of Kim Dongsu and his friends, he was able to safely deposit the money at the Nonghyup bank [National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, a South Korean banking institution].

After leaving Nonghyup, Hyunseong looked at Kim Dongsu and said,

“Thanks.”

“No, I’m sorry. Just let me catch whoever it is.”

“It’s your business, so take care of it. See you next time.”

“My business? What are you talking about?”

Kim Dongsu was puzzled by Hyunseong’s words. He hadn’t really thought about it yet, though he might later.

Because he had never once thought about not having a father.

“You’re the youngest child. Think about your father’s age.”

Hyunseong clearly remembered. In the year Hyunseong turned thirty, the same year Kim Dongsu turned thirty, Kim Dongsu’s father passed away from old age.

“What the heck is that guy?”

Kim Dongsu muttered to himself as he watched Hyunseong disappear in a taxi.

***

After leaving Cheongnyangri, Hyunseong headed straight to Sangbong Terminal. Fortunately, he was able to catch the last express bus to Wonju.

That was why he had hurried so much, even getting scolded by Kim Dongsu at the Chinese restaurant.

If he was late, there was no way. There were taxis, but it was too far to go from Seoul to Hongcheon Seomyeon. The problem was the money.

At times like this, he missed the 1-ton pickup truck he used to drive in his past life.

Vroom, vroom.

The bus departed shortly after Hyunseong boarded.

Perhaps it was because he had been tense due to Wangsan’s gang, but fatigue immediately set in.

Hyunseong fell asleep as the bus passed the Han River.

How much time had passed?

The express bus had already exited the highway and was entering Wonju city.

Then, his stomach started to ache.

“Ah!”

He still had to go at least 10 more minutes to reach the Wonju Terminal.

It must have been the greasy food he ate at the Chinese restaurant that caused the problem. He seemed to have eaten almost every dish available at the Chinese restaurant.

It was good when he was eating it, but…

“Ugh… let’s just bear with it.”

Ten minutes felt like an hour.

Screech.

As soon as the bus stopped, Hyunseong started running into the terminal.

Thump, thump.

After a while.

Phew…

He finally seemed to breathe comfortably. He realized once again that it’s not good to eat too much greasy food.

Then, he heard voices outside the bathroom door.

– It was worth the wait.

– I know, I’ll go out and keep watch first, so come out in a bit.

– Okay.

‘What?’

The conversation didn’t sound very constructive.

Looking through the crack in the door, he saw someone wearing a tracksuit standing outside.

He couldn’t tell the age because the person was wearing a mask.

‘Could it be?’

It was certain.

The conversation just now, and the mask in the middle of summer. Considering everything, these guys smelled fishy.

Swoosh.

Hyunseong quietly opened the bathroom door and came out.

“He’s not here.”

The blue tracksuit that had been pacing around was gone.

But he didn’t feel like looking for them. Considering his luck today didn’t seem so good, it was better to be careful.

Hyunseong washed his hands and was about to leave the bathroom.

A guy in a tracksuit was standing at the entrance of the waiting room. But it wasn’t the blue one he had seen earlier, but a magenta one.

Back then, wearing a tracksuit as an outfit wasn’t that bad.

He thought nothing of it.

But the problem was that he kept talking to someone. Not with his mouth, but with his hands.

But it wasn’t sign language.

Hyunseong turned his gaze to the other side.

There he was.

The blue tracksuit he had seen through the crack in the bathroom door. And he was approaching a woman.

“Huh?”

The woman was someone Hyunseong knew. None other than his math teacher. Even though so much time had passed, he recognized her right away.

She was a special person to Hyunseong.

“Teacher Choi Miyeon!”

It was then.

Snatch.

Dash.

It was instantaneous.

The blue tracksuit snatched the long wallet that Choi Miyeon was holding and disappeared from the waiting room in an instant.

Then, Choi Miyeon screamed.

“Th, Thief!”

Choi Miyeon’s sharp voice echoed through the waiting room. But no one moved at the sound.

“Help me!”

Choi Miyeon shouted once more, but still, no one moved.

Dash.

Then, someone ran across the waiting room and started chasing in the direction the pickpocket had disappeared.

It was none other than Hyunseong.

He had been thinking of being careful just a moment ago, but now that he knew it was Teacher Choi Miyeon, there was no need to hesitate.

Choi Miyeon, that name alone was enough reason to chase after them.

Hyunseong came out of the terminal and ran to the right.

Swish, swish.

No one knew that the time he spent searching for wild ginseng would shine here.

“Hey!”

Perhaps it was because Hyunseong’s speed was fast, but it didn’t take even three minutes to catch up to them.

When the guys saw Hyunseong catching up, they quickly turned into an alley.

Whack!

Hyunseong also turned right away.

“Huh?”

He didn’t know if they knew it or not, but it was a dead end. Moreover, one more guy had joined them. There weren’t two, but three.

Hyunseong had a feeling.

These guys were repeat offenders. That’s when he remembered what he had heard in the bathroom earlier.

They had clearly said it was worth the wait. That meant they had been looking for a target.

Ha!

Hyunseong caught his breath first. He judged that they weren’t easy opponents if they were looking for a target. Moreover, there were three of them.

A fight?

He wasn’t confident.

He had to buy time somehow. He had chased after them because of Teacher Choi Miyeon, but now that he was face to face with them, his body tensed up.

In novels, fighting was a given when regressing, but he didn’t seem to have that kind of luck.

Then, he decided that the best thing to do was to hold out with words. Teacher Choi Miyeon must have reported it, and the police would come running if he held out a little longer.

Then, the guy wearing the blue tracksuit took off his mask.

Could he be barely twenty? He didn’t seem like a student, seeing as his hair was long.

The blue tracksuit looked at Hyunseong as if he was dumbfounded, then suddenly spat.

Ptui.

Because it came out from between his teeth, the range was quite long. Hyunseong didn’t even have time to dodge the unexpected attack.

Thwack.

He felt it hit his head exactly.

“You son of a bitch!”

Hyunseong cursed without realizing it.

Because his hair was short, the feeling of the saliva was transmitted directly to his head.

Hyunseong was on the verge of going crazy.

But he couldn’t wipe it off with his hand.

He put his hand in his pocket, but there wasn’t even anything like a tissue.

“Huh?”

But something felt strange.

He kept feeling something flowing down from his head. He didn’t even need to check to know what it was.

It felt like it would come down to his face in a little while.

Whack!

Hyunseong had no choice but to jerk his head to the side with all his might. It was to shake off the dirty saliva.

But it was no use.

It only spread wider.

But this appearance of Hyunseong seemed funny to the other guy.

Smirk.

He was grinning and twisting his neck to the side in a disgusting way.

The blue tracksuit said.

“Why did you follow us and make things difficult?”

“Shut up and give back our teacher’s wallet.”

“So, she was a teacher?”

“Watch your mouth.”

He had to say something, anything, to buy time. Fighting was absolutely out of the question. Moreover, there weren’t just one, but three of them. He might get stabbed again here.

He had barely escaped from Cheongnyangri, he couldn’t get caught here.

Hyunseong focused his mind.

Then, the magenta tracksuit behind him stepped forward.

“We’re busy, can you move out of the way?”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Really? Okay.”

The magenta tracksuit obediently stepped back.

Something was strange. Guys like that usually had some kind of skill. But this time, he didn’t seem to be stepping up himself.

The magenta tracksuit nodded at the yellow tracksuit who had joined later.

Perhaps this guy was better at it. Or maybe he was just a lackey. It could be either, but that wasn’t important.

Hyunseong began to get anxious.

By now, the police should have arrived, or at least he should have heard a whistle. But it was too quiet.

Did they even report it?

Then, the yellow tracksuit slowly began to approach Hyunseong.

He had a bad feeling.

As expected.

Swish, swish.

A knife.

The kind of Swiss Army knife that was popular back then.

The yellow tracksuit was showing off his skills by taking the blade in and out.

Whack.

Hyunseong turned around. It was still quiet.

‘What the hell are they doing?’

They should have been here already.

This wasn’t it… Hyunseong’s expectations were way off.

Gulp.

His mouth felt parched, perhaps because he was nervous. There was no choice. He had to buy as much time as possible.

Hyunseong looked at the yellow tracksuit and said.

“Hey, that’s fake, right?”

“What the fuck is this guy saying?”

“That’s fake, isn’t it.”

“It’s real, you bastard.”

It worked.

He had thrown it out there just in case, and he had taken the bait. Let’s hold out with this for now. He could probably hold out for at least 1-2 minutes.

At times like this, you shouldn’t give them time to think.

Hyunseong asked again.

“How much did you pay for it?”

“What?”

“You said it’s real, right? Then it must be at least 3,000 won [approximately $2.50 USD at the time]?”

“Of course, you bastard.”

Okay, let’s play along nicely a little longer.

Hyunseong quickly took out a 10,000 won bill [approximately $8.50 USD at the time] from his pocket. Then, he put the 10,000 won bill between his index and middle fingers and shook it slightly.

Flutter, flutter.

Then, the yellow tracksuit’s eyes sparkled.

Hyunseong didn’t miss that moment.

“I’ll give you 10,000 won, sell it to me.”

“10,000 won?”

“You can probably buy three of them.”

“Wait a minute……”

‘What the hell is this guy?’

He was taking it all in. If he did well, he might be able to hold out for a few more minutes.

But Hyunseong’s hopes ended when the magenta tracksuit moved.

Thwack.

The magenta tracksuit hit the back of the yellow tracksuit’s head.

“Is this bastard crazy?”

“Damn it, I just……”

“What ‘damn it’? You’re dead after this, you bastard.”

Perhaps the magenta tracksuit was the leader. But what was important now wasn’t who the leader was. The real problem was that there was no time.

Hyunseong looked straight ahead.