Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 225

225

“1 billion!”

Hyun-sung could barely breathe.

He checked several times, and there were clearly nine zeros.

When he first received the envelope, he honestly expected up to a million won [approximately $750 USD]. Given Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s position, he thought it would be around that much. Of course, he still considered that a lot.

But…

1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD].

Hyun-sung slowly closed his eyes and fell into thought.

After a moment.

“Hoo!”

Hyun-sung composed himself.

Just then.

Ring ring.

The phone rang.

‘Who could it be at this hour?’

Hyun-sung got up and answered the phone.

“Hello.”

– It’s me.

“Oh? Chairman…”

The person on the phone was unexpectedly Chairman Shin Chun-oh. It had been 10 minutes since he left the store. The fact that he was calling now meant he hadn’t left the neighborhood yet. This wasn’t the era of cell phones, and the only way to make a call was from a public phone.

Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“Where are you now?”

– At a public phone near the terminal.

“I’d like to see you for a moment. Should I come over there?”

– There’s no need for that. I called because there are a few things I wanted to tell you anyway, so it’ll only take a moment.

“No, I want to see you for a moment. I can’t just let you go like this.”

Hyun-sung couldn’t just stand still. Receiving such a large sum of 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD] and not saying a proper word to Chairman Shin Chun-oh before he left didn’t make sense.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh continued.

– Meeting would only prolong the conversation. I’ll just say a few words over the phone. I’m calling because I assume you’ve checked the envelope by now.

“That’s exactly why I want to see you, Chairman. What is this money…”

– As I said before, it’s the value of my life. Of course, how can that replace a life, but it’s my way of showing sincerity.

“It’s too much for me to handle.”

– I believe in your judgment. And if you’re running a business of that size at your age, I trust you’ll use the money wisely.

“Chairman, even so, this is…”

– I’ll say just one last thing.

“…Yes, Chairman.”

– Don’t become a slave to money. Remember what I mean. That’s all I have to say. And one more thing, people don’t live alone. I hope you live together with the people around you.

“Yes, Chairman, I understand.”

– Let’s meet once I finish treatment.

“Yes, I hope you recover completely.”

Click.

As soon as Hyun-sung finished speaking, Chairman Shin Chun-oh hung up without hesitation.

“Huh…”

After hanging up, Hyun-sung let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

How could something like this happen?

Hyun-sung could only stare blankly at the ceiling.

The next day.

After finishing his classes, Hyun-sung left the store in Kim Il-soo’s care and headed to the Nonghyup (National Agricultural Cooperative Federation) [a South Korean agricultural cooperative].

It was to deposit the check.

To be honest, he hadn’t slept a wink all night. But strangely, he didn’t feel tired at all. Well, it would be stranger if he were tired.

Just as Hyun-sung opened the door to Nonghyup and was about to enter.

“Oh? Hyun-sung, what brings you here at this hour?”

Lee Man-soo, the father of the union leader Lee Soo-hyuk, greeted Hyun-sung.

“I have some business to take care of.”

“I was going to talk to you anyway, so this is perfect. Can you talk with me for a moment?”

“Yes, I understand. Let me deposit this first.”

“Alright. Deposit it and come to my office for a moment. No, give it to me. I’ll help you.”

Lee Man-soo took the passbook and check from Hyun-sung, handed them to the teller, and said.

“Please process this and bring the passbook to my office.”

“Yes, Union Leader.”

Shortly after.

“Union Leader!”

The teller urgently called Lee Man-soo.

“What’s wrong?”

“T-this…”

The teller couldn’t speak properly and handed the check she had received earlier back to Lee Man-soo.

Lee Man-soo took the check, wondering what was wrong.

“What’s going on…”

Lee Man-soo’s mouth dropped open as he checked the check.

Then he looked at Hyun-sung.

Shortly after.

The two entered the Union Leader’s office.

Lee Man-soo asked first.

“Hyun-sung, what’s going on with this?”

“That’s what happened.”

“No, how…”

Lee Man-soo couldn’t understand it at all. How could something like this happen? Not 1 or 2 million, but 1 billion [approximately $750,000 USD].

Lee Man-soo started checking the check again, just in case.

Then Hyun-sung asked.

“Didn’t you say you had something to tell me earlier?”

“Ah, let’s talk about that later. I’m not in the right state of mind right now…”

Lee Man-soo just stared at Hyun-sung with a dazed expression, as if he was still out of it.

That evening.

After closing the store, Hyun-sung headed home.

He felt it was a priority to tell his parents everything.

As soon as he arrived home, Hyun-sung called out to his mother.

“Mother.”

His mother, who was preparing dinner in the kitchen, quickly came out at Hyun-sung’s voice.

“Oh, Hyun-sung. What brings you here today?”

“I have something to tell you. By the way, did you go to the hospital today?”

“Yes, I made an appointment for next Wednesday.”

“Good job. Where did Father go?”

“No, he’s probably in the room. He seems tired after going to the hospital, like he’s worried.”

Hyun-sung came out of the kitchen and went into the main room.

“Father.”

“Hyun-sung, you’re here. It’s chilly outside, isn’t it? Sit closer to the warm spot.”

“Yes, Father.”

As Hyun-sung sat down, his father said.

“I went to the hospital today.”

“Yes, I heard from Mother a little while ago. You made an appointment for next Wednesday?”

“Yes, but I’m still worried about it.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be a simple procedure during the examination, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

It’s a lie.

How could a person not be worried? No matter how small the illness, worry always comes first. Hyun-sung couldn’t help but be concerned as well.

Hyun-sung looked at his father and said.

“Do you have any other pain anywhere else?”

“I’m fine everywhere else, but my shoulder here…”

“Why, does it hurt a lot?”

“It just feels like the muscles are tight; it’s been stiff for the past few days.”

Hyun-sung quickly got up and touched his father’s shoulder. Even with a brief touch, he could feel that the muscles were tight and stiff.

Hyun-sung said.

“Father, sit up straight and straighten your back. I’ll massage it for you.”

“It’s alright…”

“Come on.”

Hyun-sung began to massage his father’s shoulder.

His father’s shoulder was more knotted than he thought.

“Have you been overdoing it lately?”

“I did some heavy carrying a few days ago, so I guess that’s why.”

“Is it because of preparing firewood for the winter?”

“It’s something I do every year, so it’s okay.”

In the countryside, preparing firewood is the biggest task every winter. So his father must have overdone it.

Hyun-sung looked at his father and asked.

“Father, if you had 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD], what would you want to do?”

“How much?”

“100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD].”

“Haha, 100 million won…”

His father laughed as if he was dumbfounded.

Then Hyun-sung asked again.

“Tell me. If that happened, what would you want to do most?”

“I don’t even need 100 million, I just wish I had 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD]. With that, I could build a decent house.”

“A house?”

“That’s my dream. Of course, it’s all meaningless talk, but…”

Only then did Hyun-sung remember. In his past life, his father had said something like that once. His dream was to build a house here, install an oil boiler, and live without having to chop wood in the winter.

Hyun-sung asked again.

“What else?”

“Of course, land. What could be more fortunate than farming on my own land while farming?”

“So, what you want most right now is to build a house and buy land?”

His father nodded.

Just then.

His mother came into the room.

Hyun-sung looked at his mother this time and asked.

“Mother, what do you want to do most right now?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“I was talking to Father about what we would do if we had 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD]. So, tell me too. What do you want most?”

“What did you say?”

His mother glanced at his father.

Then Hyun-sung answered instead.

“Father said he wants to build a new house and buy land to farm.”

“Is there running water in that house?”

“If we build a new house, that’s basic. But why running water?”

“If there’s no running water, I can’t buy it even if I want to.”

“What is it?”

“A washing machine.”

Only then did Hyun-sung realize what his mother wanted. His mother had the hardest time doing laundry in the middle of winter.

Come to think of it, in his past life, his mother had no choice but to do laundry even in the middle of winter.

Hyun-sung asked again.

“Is there anything else?”

“Well, I can’t think of anything else right now…”

Hyun-sung chuckled.

Then his mother asked.

“But why are you suddenly asking that? It’s not like it’s possible anyway.”

“Who knows? Maybe 100 million will fall from the sky.”

“Haha, you’re always so silly…”

His mother smiled and looked at Hyun-sung.

Then Hyun-sung smiled too. Then he asked.

“But where did Ji-yeon go?”

“She said she’s having dinner at a friend’s house and will be late.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hyun-sung nodded and looked at his father and mother.

Then he took out the passbook from his bag and handed it to his father and mother.

“Check this out.”

“Isn’t this a passbook?”

His mother asked.

Then Hyun-sung said again.

“Check it out and don’t be surprised.”

“What am I supposed to check…”

His mother started checking the passbook.

Shortly after.

“H-honey!”

His mother called out to his father in surprise.

Then his father said.

“What’s wrong?”

“L-look at this. There’s something wrong with the passbook.”

His father started checking the passbook handed to him by his mother.

Shortly after.

“What is this?”

His father looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“It’s as you see it.”

“So, what is it?”

“Actually, that’s…”

Hyun-sung began to explain what had happened with Chairman Shin Chun-oh. As Hyun-sung’s explanation grew longer, his father and mother’s expressions changed to disbelief.

And finally, when Hyun-sung’s explanation ended, his father asked.

“So, you’re saying that the chairman told you in advance that he had cancer?”

“Yes.”

“And that was confirmed as true at the hospital?”

“Of course, we’ll have to do more tests to know for sure, but the initial diagnosis was a tumor.”

“Huh, really…”

His father let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.

Then his mother looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“So, that chairman gave you this money?”

“I didn’t know it was such a large sum at first.”

“How could something like this…”

His mother could only stare blankly at the ceiling as if she had nothing more to say.