Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 247

247

Time passed, and one evening, a month later.

*Clang.*

The shop door opened, and someone came in.

“Oh? Mr. Shin!”

The person who opened the door was none other than his homeroom teacher, Shin Minho.

“How have you been?”

“Good, but when did you come down?”

“Classes start next week, so I came to sort things out and stopped by.”

“Things?”

The moment Hyunseong heard the word ‘things,’ Shin Minho’s transfer flashed through his mind.

In his past life, Shin Minho had been transferred to another school at the start of the new semester. He had forgotten about it until he heard the word ‘things,’ and it immediately came to mind.

Hyunseong asked immediately.

“Are you being transferred?”

“Oh? How did you know? I haven’t told anyone…”

“You mentioned ‘things’ a little while ago. If it weren’t a transfer, there wouldn’t be any need to sort things out.”

“Haha, I guess that’s how it is.”

Shin Minho laughed it off lightly.

Then Hyunseong asked again.

“Where are you going?”

“Yeongwol.”

“That’s far. So, are you leaving as soon as spring break starts?”

“Pretty much. Actually, that’s why I came here today, to tell you something. I felt like I should tell you in advance, even if I don’t tell anyone else.”

Farewell.

In his past life, he had experienced many kinds of farewells, but the sadness of parting was one emotion that never faded. Of course, in his past life, there was no special connection with Shin Minho. They were merely student and teacher in a formal relationship.

Then one day, he was gone, and Hyunseong was indifferent enough to assume he had just gone somewhere else.

But this life is different.

They had shared many conversations and experiences. The fact that Shin Minho came to find him personally showed that their relationship was special.

Hyunseong looked at Shin Minho and said,

“Let’s go out.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“I should at least treat you to a proper dinner. I can’t just end things like this with you here.”

The two of them left the store and headed to Miso Restaurant.

The two sat down at Miso Restaurant.

Hyunseong asked first.

“Is sirloin okay with you? Oh, and just in case, let me tell you in advance, don’t even think about paying. Today is on me.”

“That’s not right. I’m still your teacher…”

“Please don’t say that. Today, I’m treating you out of gratitude and a little bit of regret. So that you stay healthy and do well in your school life even when you go to Yeongwol.”

“Alright, I understand. Still, when I hear you talk, you sound like an old man.”

“An old man? Haha…”

Hyunseong just laughed.

Come to think of it, it might not be wrong. No matter how much he looked like a student on the outside, he had actually lived 20 years longer than Shin Minho.

After ordering, Shin Minho looked at Hyunseong and said,

“Actually, there’s something I really wanted to tell you before I left, so I came to find you like this.”

“Is there something I did wrong?”

“It’s not that, but there’s something I need to apologize for…”

“Apologize?”

Hyunseong tilted his head. Even if he thought about it briefly, he couldn’t think of anything Shin Minho needed to apologize to him for.

Then Shin Minho continued immediately.

“Do you remember the day Suhyuk was sick and taken to the hospital?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know if you remember, but I made a big mistake in front of you that day.”

“A mistake? What mistake?”

Hyunseong tilted his head as if he didn’t know.

Then Shin Minho said immediately.

“I blocked your way, didn’t I?”

“That was an unavoidable situation as a teacher. What mistake are you talking about?”

“Do you remember what I said to you then?”

Hyunseong shook his head and said,

“No, I was so out of it at the time that I don’t remember what you said.”

“I told you to take responsibility if anything happened to Suhyuk, don’t you remember?”

“Of course not. It would be strange to remember that in that situation. But what about it?”

“Is that something a teacher should say to a student? Later, I realized that I had made a huge mistake.”

Shin Minho said with a serious expression.

Then Hyunseong said again.

“So, you came all the way to see me because of that?”

“When I thought about leaving, the only thing that bothered my conscience was that. I can’t understand how a teacher could think of passing the buck to you in that situation. So, before I leave, I wanted to apologize for that.”

“I don’t even remember…”

“No, it’s not about remembering or not, it’s about the fact that I, as a teacher, said those words. Hyunseong, I was really sorry then. I’m asking for your forgiveness now, even though it’s late.”

Shin Minho bowed his head to Hyunseong.

Right now, Shin Minho is probably asking for forgiveness from himself rather than from someone else. Like a final confession of conscience before leaving.

In this situation, there is only one thing Hyunseong can do.

Hyunseong looked at Shin Minho and opened his mouth.

“Yes, I understand. I don’t know if I’m qualified, but I’ll accept your apology.”

“You’re going to forgive me?”

“Yes, Mr. Shin. So, please get rid of that guilt now. You’ve suffered enough.”

“…”

Shin Minho was silent.

After a moment.

Shin Minho opened his mouth again.

“Thank you. I feel much more at ease now. Actually, I couldn’t tell anyone and suffered alone.”

“I see.”

“I wanted to talk about it several times, but I didn’t have the courage. But now that I’m leaving, I thought I couldn’t put it off any longer, so I came to see you today.”

“You did well. Now you can relieve your burden.”

It was then.

*Slide.*

President Kwon Ohyoung came in with the meat he had ordered.

Hyunseong looked at President Kwon Ohyoung and said,

“President, the meat looks good today.”

“Hehe, I paid special attention to it.”

“Is that so? Thank you.”

Hyunseong immediately put the sirloin on the grill.

*Sizzle.*

The sirloin began to cook with a sound.

Hyunseong looked at Shin Minho and said,

“Mr. Shin, have a drink.”

“Right, come to think of it, today is the last time I’ll have a drink poured by Hyunseong.”

“Thank you for your hard work. I hope you stay healthy and have many good things happen to you even when you go to Yeongwol.”

“Thank you. I enjoyed being the homeroom teacher of Class 2-2 thanks to you. I hope your school life goes well, as well as your business.”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

In his past life, they were just passing acquaintances, but in this life, they were two people who felt regret.

Hyunseong was heading back to the store after parting with Shin Minho.

It was when he was just passing by the real estate agency.

President Park Insoo called out to Hyunseong, who was passing by.

“Mr. Kim, just a moment.”

“Yes? Is there something wrong?”

“Come in for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

Hyunseong went inside the real estate agency. Then he asked immediately.

“What’s going on?”

“Do you know someone named Min Doosik?”

“Min Doosik? I don’t know him well. But why?”

“That person came by during the day and talked a lot about you.”

Hyunseong tilted his head. No matter how much he thought about it, he had no memory of a person named Min Doosik. But since such a person had talked about him, Hyunseong couldn’t help but be concerned.

Hyunseong asked.

“What did he mainly talk about?”

“He mainly talked about the ramen shop. Whether the business is doing well, how the taste is, etc.”

“Is he from this neighborhood?”

“I don’t think so. He said he met you a few months ago.”

“Well, I don’t know him just by his name. By the way, why did that person come to this neighborhood?”

“He looked at a commercial building.”

Hyunseong tilted his head once again. The fact that he looked at a commercial building meant that he was going to do business. But why would he be interested in him?

Hyunseong couldn’t help but be curious.

“A commercial building? Does that mean he’s thinking of opening a store?”

“I guess so.”

“Then which commercial building did he look at?”

“It was the clothing store at the three-way intersection. The owner of the clothing store put the store up for sale a while ago.”

“A clothing store? So, does that mean he’s going to open a clothing store too?”

“I don’t think so. But the strange thing is that he asked about you in many ways. So, I thought he might be thinking of opening a restaurant, so I called you.”

Hyunseong was also feeling uneasy.

In the case of the three-way intersection, it’s only a 5-minute distance from Hyunseong’s store. If a restaurant comes in, it will inevitably overlap with Hyunseong’s store’s commercial district.

Of course, if it’s a general restaurant, it won’t have anything to do with Hyunseong. But if a ramen shop comes in, the story changes.

Because it can only be seen as the same commercial district.

In that case, customers will inevitably be divided.

That’s why he couldn’t help but be concerned.

Hyunseong asked.

“How big is that store?”

“40 *pyeong* [approximately 132 square meters].”

“The store is bigger than I thought.”

“It’s probably the biggest in this neighborhood. And that spot is at a three-way intersection, so business was doing quite well. But the female president opened another store in Hongcheon *eup* [town] 2 years ago, and this store started to decline. As she managed both stores, she inevitably became negligent, and customers gradually started to decrease, and eventually, she put the store up for sale last month.”

Hyunseong nodded and continued.

“Expanding the store was a misstep?”

“That’s right. So, you should always be careful when expanding your business. It may not seem like much, but all businesses are different when the owner is there and when there are employees.”

“That’s true, but the monthly rent must be considerable.”

“It’s 2 million *won* [approximately $1,500 USD] for the deposit and 1.5 million *won* [approximately $1,125 USD] for the monthly rent. And since the commercial district is good, there’s even key money [a non-refundable upfront payment to secure a lease].”

“How much is the key money…?”

“10 million *won* [approximately $7,500 USD].”

*Pfft.*

Hyunseong laughed in disbelief.

“10 million *won*? Will there really be anyone who will get that store in the countryside for that money in the middle of winter?”

“It won’t be easy. But you never know.”

“Of course, that’s true. But what did that person say when he left earlier?”

“He said he would think about it. He said he had something more to check. I don’t know what it is, but he said he would come back when he’s done checking.”

“So, it’s not that he has no intention at all?”

“I guess so. But what I’m wondering is, what kind of business can be done in that spot while paying that expensive monthly rent?”

That was also Hyunseong’s thought.

No matter how good the commercial district is, it would not be easy to afford that much monthly rent due to the characteristics of the countryside, that was Hyunseong’s thought.

“We’ll see. Anyway, thank you for worrying about me. Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Okay, if anything happens, I’ll contact you right away, so don’t worry too much. And even if someone comes in, Mr. Kim will be fine, right?”

“It’s true that I’m concerned if a business of the same type comes in. But what can I do? If someone comes in, I have no choice but to compete. Let’s just watch for now.”

Hyunseong said goodbye and headed to the store after leaving the real estate agency.

It was when Hyunseong was just entering the alley.

‘Who is it?’

A man was lingering in front of the ramen shop as if waiting for Hyunseong.

As Hyunseong got closer, the man smiled at Hyunseong.

“Long time no see.”

“No, you are…”