Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 237

237

A few days later.

Hyun-sung headed to the real estate agency. He had received a call from Mr. Park In-soo.

Creak.

As Hyun-sung opened the door and entered, Mr. Park In-soo greeted him warmly.

“Mr. Kim, welcome.”

“Yes, I heard someone wants to open a restaurant?”

“First, have a seat here.”

As Hyun-sung sat down, Mr. Park In-soo spoke again.

“Someone did show up wanting to take the place, but there’s a bit of a problem.”

“A problem?”

“He doesn’t have enough deposit money.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head, not understanding. Usually, starting a business involves certain lease conditions.

The basics are the deposit and monthly rent. He couldn’t understand how someone could start a business without even meeting these basic conditions.

Hyun-sung asked,

“What do you mean? That’s the basic requirement…”

“I told him the same thing. But he said he has something he really wants to say to you. That’s why I called you.”

“Is he someone I know?”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but he said he’d be here soon, so just wait a bit.”

Hyun-sung couldn’t easily understand the situation, but he decided to wait for a while.

Soon after.

Creak.

A man entered as the store door opened.

Hyun-sung’s gaze naturally turned to the man.

“Hello.”

The man bowed deeply, bending at a 90-degree angle, as soon as he saw Hyun-sung. Hyun-sung also bowed his head in surprise.

“Yes, hello. Are you the one who wanted to see me…”

“Yes, that’s me.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head. No matter how he looked, he had never seen this man before. But strangely, the man seemed to know Hyun-sung well.

Hyun-sung asked,

“Do you know me?”

“Of course. You may not know me, but I know you very well.”

“Who are you…”

“First, let me introduce myself. I am…”

The man began to introduce himself.

His name was Shin Young-hoon, 25 years old, and it had been a year since he was discharged from the military. He said he loved to cook, so he decided to open a restaurant.

After Shin Young-hoon’s brief introduction, Hyun-sung asked,

“You’re younger than I thought?”

Hyun-sung chuckled inwardly as he asked. He was relatively too young to be asking such a question.

But he couldn’t help but ask. He had initially thought that anyone starting a restaurant would be at least in their mid-30s.

Shin Young-hoon looked at Hyun-sung and said,

“I started this early because of you.”

“Excuse me? What do you mean?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t understand.

He was meeting Shin Young-hoon for the first time today. But to say that his motivation for starting a restaurant was Hyun-sung himself made no sense.

Shin Young-hoon continued,

“I saw you on TV.”

“TV?”

“Yes, I was planning to open a restaurant in three years. But after seeing you on TV, I changed my plans.”

“I’m not sure I understand…”

“Of course, you wouldn’t. But it was a shock to me. The fact that a high school student was running a business was hard for me to comprehend. But what was even more surprising was that you were successful enough to be on TV.”

Hyun-sung nodded.

Of course, if you weren’t interested in this field, you could easily pass it by. But on the contrary, if you had even a little interest, it wouldn’t be easy to ignore.

Shin Young-hoon was the latter.

Hyun-sung asked,

“So, you’re saying you decided to start three years earlier because of me?”

“Yes, that’s right. But there’s a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Yes, it’s money. Starting three years earlier means I don’t have nearly enough money. That’s why I asked to see you directly.”

Hyun-sung nodded.

He understood well enough.

“I see.”

“Now that you’ve heard my explanation, you probably know what I’m going to ask.”

“…”

Hyun-sung was at a loss.

What could he say in this situation?

When Hyun-sung didn’t say anything, Shin Young-hoon continued,

“To be honest, all I have is one million won [approximately $750 USD]. And that’s what I’ve earned in the past year since I was discharged.”

“…”

“I know the deposit is 1.5 million won [approximately $1125 USD]. So, I don’t even have enough for the deposit. But the bigger problem is that I can’t use any of that one million won for the deposit.”

“…”

Hyun-sung looked at Shin Young-hoon instead of answering.

Then Shin Young-hoon spoke again.

“The reason I can’t use it for the deposit is that I need that money to prepare for the business. I need to buy ingredients and equipment.”

“So, you’re saying you want to start without a deposit?”

“It’s presumptuous, but yes. Instead, I’ll raise the monthly rent from 50,000 won [approximately $37.50 USD] to 75,000 won [approximately $56.25 USD]. And I’ll pay the full deposit in a year.”

“Even so, this is…”

Of course, no matter how desperate the situation, Hyun-sung couldn’t accept it.

Shin Young-hoon said,

“Of course, I know it doesn’t make sense. But I’m asking you because it’s you, not someone else.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Didn’t you say something on the last broadcast?”

“Excuse me? What did I say…”

Hyun-sung tilted his head.

To be honest, he didn’t remember what he had said on the broadcast.

Shin Young-hoon continued,

“Don’t you remember?”

“Honestly, I don’t.”

“Don’t you remember saying that food is made with passion?”

“Ah, that?”

Hyun-sung finally remembered.

He had definitely said that when the reporter asked.

Shin Young-hoon continued,

“The moment I heard that, I knew it. So, I started looking for a place, and I noticed a restaurant space next to the terminal a while ago. And it turned out that it was in your building.”

“Ah, yes…”

“But there was a problem. I moved the plan forward by three years, so I didn’t have enough money. But I couldn’t give up. It was too precious to give up. So, after much thought, I mustered the courage to come here.”

Shin Young-hoon handed Hyun-sung a notebook as he finished speaking.

Hyun-sung immediately asked,

“What is this?”

“My passion.”

“Passion?”

“Yes, that’s all I can show you right now. I may not have money, but I’m confident that my passion is stronger than anyone else’s. So, please look at that and make your decision.”

Shin Young-hoon looked at Hyun-sung with a serious expression.

Shhh.

Hyun-sung turned the first page of the notebook.

‘Huh?’

Hyun-sung’s eyes widened as he looked at the notebook.

The notebook Shin Young-hoon handed him was filled with a business plan and market research.

Among them, Hyun-sung’s attention was drawn to the market research. It contained the number of people passing by, broken down by time, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for ten days.

But what was even more surprising was that it was not just numbers, but also detailed by gender and age group.

Moreover,

The types of food were also organized according to preference.

After checking all the contents of the notebook, Hyun-sung looked at Shin Young-hoon and asked,

“Did you do all this yourself?”

“Yes, I wrote it myself for ten days, except for bathroom breaks and eating cup noodles.”

“15 hours a day?”

“Yes, that’s right. But I never thought that time was long. Rather, I enjoyed that time the most. That time was hope for me.”

“Ah, yes…”

Hyun-sung nodded without realizing it.

He had to admit it.

Doing market research outside for 15 hours a day in this cold winter would not be easy.

Moreover, not just for a day or two, but for as many as ten days.

The fact that he enjoyed that time the most meant that he was full of passion. And the reason he could do that was that Shin Young-hoon’s situation was that desperate.

Passion and desperation, that was what Shin Young-hoon showed.

Hyun-sung looked at Shin Young-hoon and said,

“You’re amazing.”

“I had no choice. For my mother and younger sibling…”

“That means…”

“My father passed away early, and I have a mother who is not well. So, I have no choice but to be the head of the household.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hyun-sung felt like he knew why Shin Young-hoon was so desperate.

Hyun-sung asked again,

“I saw some food items in the notebook earlier, what are those?”

“I did a survey to choose what to sell.”

“So, the conclusion is…”

“I finally chose kalguksu (noodle soup). I surveyed several things, and many people preferred kalguksu the most. And fortunately, there is no place in this neighborhood that sells kalguksu.”

Hyun-sung nodded.

The last place that sold kalguksu was Sangmi Restaurant, run by Oh Sang-cheol.

But now that he has left this neighborhood, there is no place that sells kalguksu anymore. For that reason alone, Shin Young-hoon’s choice of kalguksu was a good one.

But the problem is whether the store can be run with just that one dish.

Hyun-sung asked,

“Will it work with just kalguksu?”

“According to my analysis, it is possible. Of course, that’s only possible because there’s a terminal [bus terminal]. If there wasn’t a terminal, it would be impossible.”

“That’s right.”

Hyun-sung nodded.

Even though it’s a small rural town, there would be a big difference between having a terminal and not having one.

Shin Young-hoon continued,

“This is all I can do. Now, I’m just waiting for your decision.”

“…”

Hyun-sung fell silent for a moment.

After a while.

Hyun-sung slowly opened his mouth.

“I’ll ask you just one thing.”

“Yes!”

Shin Young-hoon’s voice was full of energy. That meant he was that nervous.

“Can you maintain that passion until the end?”

“Of course. I can promise you on my name.”

“Good. I’ll trust that passion.”

“That means…”

Shin Young-hoon looked at Hyun-sung with an unbelievable expression.

Then Hyun-sung smiled and continued,

“I’m saying I’ll replace the deposit with Shin’s passion. And I’ll just keep the monthly rent at 50,000 won [approximately $37.50 USD]. Please do well in business, and I’ll receive the deposit in a year.”

“Excuse me? Is that, is that real?”

“But, you must never lose that passion.”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you so much, Mr. President. I will never forget this favor for the rest of my life.”

Shin Young-hoon bowed to Hyun-sung.

At that time, Mr. Park In-soo, who was watching the scene from the side, smiled and continued,

“I’ve never seen a contract like this in my life. Passion instead of a deposit… haha!”

Hyun-sung looked at Mr. Park In-soo and said,

“How can passion be worse than money?”

“Haha, I understand. I’ll prepare the contract.”

Shortly after.

Hyun-sung handed Shin Young-hoon a contract and said,

“Please be successful.”