Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 228

228

“My choice won’t change.”

“Haa!”

A deep sigh escaped Hyun-sung’s lips. He had held onto hope, thinking this was his last chance. But the answer he received was firm: his choice would not change.

Even though people rarely change, how could Oh Sang-cheol not recognize his mistake, even at this last moment?

Hyun-sung felt beyond disappointed, almost hollow.

Oh Sang-cheol continued, “I don’t know what answer you want, but I only acted according to the contract.”

“Is that so? Then what about that person’s ten years of business?”

“That’s just their situation; it has nothing to do with me.”

“Did you just say it has nothing to do with you?”

Hyun-sung stared at Oh Sang-cheol’s face.

How could a person be like this? Even if they were just a landlord and a tenant, how could he not understand the other person’s position at all?

Hyun-sung shook his head, side to side.

He felt foolish for having expected anything different.

Oh Sang-cheol spoke again, “Anyway, how’s the building looking?”

Even in this situation, Oh Sang-cheol was only interested in selling the building.

Hyun-sung looked at Oh Sang-cheol and chuckled.

Then Oh Sang-cheol asked, “What’s that laugh for?”

“You’re really something. I can’t understand how you can pretend not to know and ignore everything until the end. It’s amazing that people like you exist.”

“You’re too young to understand. The world isn’t about emotions.”

“…….”

Hyun-sung had nothing to say.

He felt that just being there was beneath his dignity.

Hyun-sung looked at Park In-soo and said, “Boss, shall we go?”

“Huh? Why? Don’t you like the building?”

“It’s too expensive.”

Of course, the building wasn’t expensive. But Hyun-sung didn’t want to buy the building at that price. The reason was Oh Sang-cheol.

Oh Sang-cheol, who kicked out someone who had been in business for ten years onto the streets and still said the world isn’t about emotions. Hyun-sung didn’t want to buy such a person’s building at the asking price. Even if he were to buy it, he would buy it at the lowest possible price. That was Hyun-sung’s thought.

After all, selling a building in this rural area is difficult. If anyone was going to be desperate, it would be Oh Sang-cheol, not Hyun-sung.

Oh Sang-cheol said, “I put it up for 150 million won [approximately $115,000 USD] less than the market price, and you’re saying it’s expensive?”

“Yes, I think it’s expensive.”

“Then, how much would be enough?”

“2,000 million won [approximately $1.5 million USD], and I’ll sign the contract right now. Otherwise, I’ll pass.”

“You’re asking for another 500 million won [approximately $385,000 USD] off?”

“I’m just telling you what I think. I don’t know if another buyer will appear, but that’s the right price for me to deal with.”

Hyun-sung also knew that this was an extreme lowball offer. But he felt that if he didn’t do this, even to someone as seemingly inhuman as Oh Sang-cheol, he wouldn’t be able to contain his anger, so he did it.

Oh Sang-cheol said again, “Are you doing this to me on purpose because of Shin Yeo-sa’s [Ms. Shin’s] issue?”

“That’s for you to judge, boss. I’ve stated my position, so I’ll step back now. If I stay any longer, I think I’ll make a big mistake.”

With those words, Hyun-sung left the building with Park In-soo.

The two returned to the real estate agency.

Park In-soo looked at Hyun-sung and asked, “Wasn’t 500 million won too much of a reduction to ask for?”

“Boss, you heard what that guy was saying, right? How can a person be like that? How can he say that after kicking out someone who had been in business for over 10 years?”

“You’re right about that. Even if he did that in the past, he should show some remorse now. I don’t know how a person can be so heartless.”

“That’s what I’m saying. If he had shown any remorse, I wouldn’t have gone that far.”

People can make mistakes. Of course, it would be better if they didn’t do such things from the beginning, but if it’s already happened, it’s common to show remorse later.

But Oh Sang-cheol didn’t show any remorse. On the contrary, he said that if the same situation happened now, he would do the same thing, so Hyun-sung was angry.

Park In-soo said again, “Do you think Oh will lower the building price?”

“Of course, he won’t lower it by 500 million won as I said. But if there’s no one to buy the building, he’ll have no choice but to lower the price.”

“That’s probably true. Besides, there aren’t many people with that much money in this rural area.”

“Of course. I think the building price will drop as time goes by. The question is how much it will drop, but I think if it drops by another 200 million won [approximately $154,000 USD], we can grab it.”

As Hyun-sung finished speaking, Park In-soo nodded and continued, “Does that mean Kim is willing to buy it if it drops by another 200 million won?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s a cheap price. Actually, if Oh had admitted his mistake there, I would have signed the contract right away.”

“So, Oh’s one word changed your mind?”

“That’s right. 200 million won was lost because of one word.”

“Come to think of it, you’re not an ordinary person either.”

“What I hate the most is landlords abusing their power. I can tolerate everything else, but I can’t tolerate that.”

Park In-soo tilted his head and asked, “Abusing power? What’s that?”

“Ah, that?”

Hyun-sung realized that he had made a slip of the tongue. Until now, the word ‘abusing power’ didn’t exist. It was a newly coined word that appeared later. He had forgotten that.

Hyun-sung immediately said, “It’s like what Oh did to Shin Myeong-soon this time. It refers to a person in a superior position in a power relationship doing unfair things to a weaker person.”

“Was there such a word?”

“I think I heard it somewhere.”

Hyun-sung had no choice but to lie.

Then Park In-soo nodded as if he understood and continued, “Then let’s postpone the building for later, and I can start looking for land from tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, the building will take some time anyway. So, you can start looking for land first. As I said before, secure as much as possible.”

“Okay, I’ll put everything aside and look for Kim’s land first, so don’t worry.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Hyun-sung greeted him and left the real estate agency.

When Hyun-sung arrived at the store, everyone else had left work, and only Lee Min-woo was waiting for Hyun-sung.

Hyun-sung asked first, “Were you waiting for me?”

“Yeah, I waited to see you before going.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing special. I just have something to ask.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head.

He didn’t think Lee Min-woo would have anything special to ask him.

“About that time…….”

“That time? When are you talking about?”

“The day I stole Young-seok’s money…….”

“Why are you bringing that up now?”

It’s already in the past. And besides, from Lee Min-woo’s point of view, he wouldn’t want to bring that up again.

But the fact that he’s bringing it up means he has something special to say.

Hyun-sung asked first, “What’s wrong?”

“How did you know?”

“What?”

“How did you know? I can’t understand it no matter how much I think about it.”

Hyun-sung was dumbfounded.

He thought Lee Min-woo was asking because there was a special reason. But he never thought that the reason was just to ask how he knew.

Hyun-sung said in disbelief, “Hey, what’s so important about that?”

“Of course, it’s not important, but from my point of view, I’m honestly curious. I’m so curious how you knew I hid it under the insole.”

“Are you that curious?”

Lee Min-woo chuckled and nodded.

It was Hyun-sung who was in trouble.

He knew that Lee Min-woo was the culprit because of his past life’s memories. And he also knew that he hid the money under the insole because of his past life’s memories.

The problem is that there’s no way to explain that to Lee Min-woo now.

Um…….

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung slowly opened his mouth.

“Dream.”

Hyun-sung had no choice. There was no other way to explain it.

“What?”

“I had a dream, you idiot.”

“Does that make sense?”

Lee Min-woo looked at Hyun-sung with a dumbfounded expression.

Then Hyun-sung said again, “I’m also dumbfounded, but it’s true. How else would I have known? Right?”

“You’re saying you dreamed my dream?”

“That’s right. I don’t know how dumbfounded I was at first.”

Lying gets better with practice. Hyun-sung was saying it without changing his expression.

“That’s what you mean…….”

“I’m telling you it’s true. How else would I have known that fact? It doesn’t make sense.”

“That’s true, but can such a thing really happen?”

Lee Min-woo still had an unbelieving expression.

Then Hyun-sung said again, “Is that what you were curious about and waiting for me for?”

“Honestly, that’s not it. I had something else to say.”

“Something to say? What is it?”

“Thank you for that day.”

Lee Min-woo looked at Hyun-sung and bowed slightly.

Then Hyun-sung asked, “For what?”

“For keeping it a secret from my friends. Honestly, if you had told my friends everything that day, I would have been too ashamed to go to school.”

“I did that because you had your own reasons.”

“Still, I’m really grateful for that.”

“Okay, I understand. The important thing is that you should never do such a thing again, no matter what difficulties you face in the future. Got it?”

Lee Min-woo looked at Hyun-sung and nodded.

Then Hyun-sung asked again, “By the way, you said that rainwater leaks from the ceiling when it rains, right?”

“It doesn’t leak much, but it leaks a little when it rains a lot…….”

“They say it’s going to snow a lot this winter. What are you going to do?”

“The tin roof is old, so it’s worn out. But to fix it, I have to replace the whole roof, and I can’t afford it.”

Lee Min-woo’s expression darkened.

Then Hyun-sung, who was thinking for a moment, said, “Min-woo, let’s do construction this Sunday.”

“Construction?”

“Yeah, I think we need to fix the house overall before it gets colder. When I saw it last time, the kitchen was also terrible. Let’s completely renovate the kitchen and roof this time.”

“That would be nice, but the problem is…….”

Lee Min-woo’s expression darkened again.

It must be because of money.

Hyun-sung said, “Don’t worry about the cost, I’ll take care of it.”

“You?”

“That doesn’t mean it’s free.”

“I can’t pay you back right now…….”

Lee Min-woo looked at Hyun-sung with worried eyes.

Then Hyun-sung chuckled and said, “I’m not thinking of getting it back now either.”

“Then when?”

“Pay me back when you get your first salary after getting a job.”

“First salary?”

Lee Min-woo looked at Hyun-sung.

Then Hyun-sung said again, “Yeah, but I’ll get double. So, study hard and get a good job.”

“Hyun-sung…….”

“You shouldn’t even think about cheating me. I’m the kind of person who always gets what’s owed to me.”

“Thank you. I’ll definitely pay you back, not double, but ten times.”

Lee Min-woo looked at Hyun-sung and smiled.