Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 244

244

Hyun-sung was relaxing in his room after dinner when he heard a knock.

Knock, knock.

He opened the door to find his father standing there.

“Father!”

Hyun-sung greeted his father warmly.

“May I come in for a moment?”

“Yes, please do.”

As soon as his father entered the room, he handed Hyun-sung a document envelope.

“Take a look at this.”

“What is it?”

Hyun-sung opened the envelope and checked the contents. Inside was a certified copy of the land register.

Hyun-sung asked immediately,

“This is a land deed, isn’t it?”

“It’s the land I bought with the money you gave me. The rice paddy in front of the house and the field across the stream.”

“You finally bought it?”

Hyun-sung smiled at his father.

In his past life, his father’s wish was to own the rice paddy in front of the house and the field across the stream. But unfortunately, he couldn’t own those lands in his previous life.

Poverty.

It was something he couldn’t escape with willpower alone.

His father held Hyun-sung’s hand tightly, then continued,

“Hyun-sung, thank you. I’ve fulfilled my lifelong dream thanks to you.”

“Congratulations, Father.”

“Well, I don’t know if this is something to celebrate, but I certainly feel good. So good that I even wake up in the middle of the night to check this land deed again. What more explanation do you need?”

“Ah, yes….”

Hyun-sung nodded.

He felt he understood his father’s feelings all too well.

His father continued,

“And I’m thinking of buying a cultivator [a machine used for tilling soil]. What do you think?”

“A cultivator?”

“Yes, I think I’ll need a cultivator to farm. I didn’t need it when I didn’t have land, but now that I’ve bought land, I feel like I can’t do without it.”

“I suppose so. You can’t leave all that land to others. But are you sure it’s safe?”

“I can handle that much….”

His father looked at Hyun-sung with a confident expression.

Hyun-sung chuckled and said,

“If you’re okay with it, I’m all for it.”

“Then I should go buy it tomorrow.”

“Right away tomorrow?”

“There’s no need to delay, is there? If I’m going to buy it anyway, it’s better to buy it as soon as possible. Don’t you think?”

Hyun-sung grinned.

His father was always overly cautious when making decisions. So much so that it sometimes felt frustrating.

But what about his father now?

He was buying a cultivator that cost nearly a million won [approximately $750 USD] without the slightest hesitation.

His father had changed. So what had changed his father?

Without a doubt, it was money.

The balance in his account.

The balance in his account had even changed his father’s frustrating personality.

Hyun-sung looked at his father and said,

“Father, you seem very different from before.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you used to take quite a while to make any decision, but this time, even when buying such an expensive cultivator, I couldn’t see any of that.”

“Haha, I admit that. Even I can tell that I’m different from the old me these days.”

“It’s good to see.”

“Isn’t it all thanks to you? Honestly, once a person has money, their thinking changes. These days, I’m realizing anew why people say ‘money, money.’ But I won’t waste that money, so don’t worry.”

Hyun-sung shook his head and said,

“Why would I worry about that? I’m sure you’ll take care of it. I’m just saying that I like seeing you so confident now.”

“Haha, I’m glad you think so. But since it’s all thanks to you, I feel a little awkward as a father.”

“Why do you think that way?”

“I can’t help it as a father. But I won’t let that get me down or discourage me. Instead, I’ll work even harder for our family.”

“That’s my father. I believe in you.”

Hyun-sung nodded, looking at his father.

It was like seeing a new side of him that he hadn’t seen before. Perhaps that’s why a smile began to spread across Hyun-sung’s face.

Then his father spoke again.

“And by the way, we’ll start construction on the house after this winter.”

“Have you met with a builder?”

“I met him last week, and we decided to start construction on March 20th.”

“How many months will it take?”

“He said it would take about five months. And we decided to build a separate storage shed altogether. So the cost has increased a bit.”

Hyun-sung nodded and asked again,

“How much does he say the total construction cost will be?”

“Of course, I won’t know the exact amount until I get the blueprints, but he said it would cost about 150 million won [approximately $112,000 USD].”

“That’s quite a bit, isn’t it?”

“The cost went up because I made the building a bit larger. And we decided to build the storage shed spacious while we’re at it. We should do it right the first time.”

“You did well. And it’ll be hard for you now that it’s cold, so why don’t you and Mom go on a trip somewhere in the spring?”

His father glanced at Hyun-sung at the word ‘trip’.

Then he asked immediately,

“Why a trip all of a sudden?”

“You’ve never gone on a trip with Mom before, have you?”

“That’s true, but….”

“So I’m saying you should go on a trip together now. Do you even know if Mom likes to travel?”

It was a fact that Hyun-sung only learned later in his past life. It must have been sometime after his father passed away. His mother said something while looking at an album.

It was that she didn’t have many memories because she couldn’t travel with his father when she was young. She said that if she could go back to those days, she would want to travel a lot with his father.

At Hyun-sung’s question, his father tilted his head as if he had never heard of it.

“What are you talking about? I’ve never heard that before….”

“She doesn’t say it, but Mom will like traveling with you too. And people say that as they get older, they live on memories. So before you get any older, travel and take lots of pictures and make lots of memories.”

“Did your mom tell you to say something?”

“It’s not that, but that’s how I feel. And as you know, Mom has never really traveled properly. And neither have you. So I’m saying that from now on, you two should take it easy and travel.”

When Hyun-sung finished speaking, his father nodded as if he understood and continued,

“I know what you mean. Actually, I haven’t had time to do that because I haven’t had the leisure, but from now on, I’ll travel with your mom, so don’t worry.”

“Yes, please do.”

“But no matter how I think about it, it feels like a dream. How could this happen to our family….”

“Hehe, I feel the same way.”

Hyun-sung just smiled.

It was unbelievable to Hyun-sung as well.

In his past life, he only had memories of his father and mother struggling because of poverty. As a result, it was hard to find laughter in the family.

Moreover, his younger sister couldn’t go to the school she wanted to go to because of poverty, and that young girl had no choice but to go to a vocational high school in another town.

But now it’s different.

Leisure.

Leisure was evident in his father and mother’s expressions.

They had also regained their laughter.

What about his sister?

She was able to go to Chuncheon Girls’ High School, which she wanted to go to.

Most importantly, she had found her dream.

And she had regained her laughter.

It was a sight he could never have seen in his past life.

His father looked at Hyun-sung and said,

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“No, I know very well that it’s all thanks to you. Even though we’re parent and child, I’m grateful for what you’ve done. As I said a little while ago, I’ll work hard from now on, so keep an eye on me.”

“Yes, Father.”

Hyun-sung smiled at his father.

Knock, knock.

Then his father nodded, lightly tapped Hyun-sung’s shoulder, and left his room.

Even after his father left the room, Hyun-sung’s gaze did not easily leave the door.

The existence of a father.

It was only after his father passed away that he realized how big his absence was.

He thought that absence would be filled over time.

But that was a delusion.

It wasn’t something that could be filled over time.

Rather, the more time passed, the greater the absence felt.

There were days when he cried alone because of his longing for that absence.

It was only when he reached his father’s age that he realized the weight his father had carried throughout his life.

“Father!”

Hyun-sung called out to his father in a low voice.

Hyun-sung opened the door and went outside.

The dark night sky was full of stars.

The light was brightly lit in his sister’s room.

Step, step.

His footsteps naturally headed towards his sister’s room.

Knock, knock.

“Oh? What brings you here at this hour, Oppa [term for older brother used by females]?”

“Can I come in for a moment?”

“Of course, come on in.”

Hyun-sung entered the room and said to Kim Ji-yeon,

“Were you studying?”

“Yeah, I thought the level would be different from studying in the countryside when I go to Chuncheon Girls’ High School, so I’m preparing in advance.”

“You’re such a good student that there won’t be much of a difference.”

“No, the teacher said there’s a big difference. She said I need to pay a lot of attention, especially to math and English.”

Hyun-sung nodded and continued,

“By the way, when are you going to look at the rooms?”

“I was thinking of going around the 30th of this month. What do you think, Oppa?”

“Isn’t that too late?”

“Well, I don’t know. What should I do then?”

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung spoke again.

“Why don’t we go tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, there’s no need to wait until then. It’ll be a headache if there are no rooms left when we go later.”

“That’s true, but isn’t it too early? Then I’d have to pay almost a month’s rent extra.”

Kim Ji-yeon was worried about the rent.

Looking at Kim Ji-yeon, Hyun-sung said,

“Oppa isn’t thinking of getting a monthly rent.”

“If you’re not getting a monthly rent, what are you getting? Oppa, are you thinking of a jeonse [a type of lease where a large lump sum is paid instead of monthly rent]?”

“Yeah, jeonse is more convenient than paying monthly rent.”

“That’s true, but jeonse costs a lot of money, doesn’t it?”

Kim Ji-yeon looked at Hyun-sung with worried eyes.

Then Hyun-sung said,

“She’s not just anyone, she’s my sister, so Oppa has to do that much for her.”

“Really?”

“Of course. If you asked me to buy you a house, I’d be willing to buy you a house.”

“Oppa!”

Kim Ji-yeon stared at Hyun-sung, seemingly moved by his proactive actions.

Then Hyun-sung said again,

“Just tell me anything you want, Ji-yeon. Oppa will do anything for you.”

“…….”