Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 289

289

“A competitor?”

That was unexpected.

I didn’t realize Shin Young-hoon considered me a competitor.

But what’s strange is that our commercial districts and customer base are too different to be considered rivals.

Shin Young-hoon’s main customers were general adults near the terminal, while Hyunseong’s were mostly students near the school.

Then, Shin Young-hoon scratched his head and said,

“It’s funny, isn’t it? That I thought of you as a competitor.”

“No, it’s not that, but aren’t we too far apart to compete? Our customer base is different too…”

“It’s not that kind of competition.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Hyunseong tilted his head.

Usually, competition means fighting over who can attract more customers in the same commercial district. But Shin Young-hoon says it’s not that kind of competition.

Hyunseong looked at Shin Young-hoon.

Shin Young-hoon smiled and said,

“I wasn’t competing for customers, but competing with you.”

“With me?”

“Yes, I wanted to be more successful than you. And I thought I could. As I said before, you’re my role model, so I wanted to surpass you.”

“Ah, I see…”

Hyunseong finally understood what Shin Young-hoon was saying. Shin Young-hoon wasn’t competing for customers, but competing with Hyunseong himself. Like a kind of goal. But Shin Young-hoon went a step further and wanted to do better business than Hyunseong.

Shin Young-hoon continued with an awkward expression.

“Now that I think about it, it’s ridiculous even for me. How could I have thought that without knowing my place?”

“That’s not a bad thing. I’d rather praise you for that. It’s good to have a goal in life.”

That’s right.

There’s definitely a difference between people who have goals in life and those who don’t.

If you have a goal, you can set a direction. You can move forward without wavering. On the other hand, if you don’t have a goal, you can’t set a direction, so you’re bound to waver.

Shin Young-hoon continued,

“Having a goal itself isn’t bad, but the problem was with me.”

“A problem?”

“Yes, I was all fired up but had no preparation. Even now, it’s funny that I thought I could run a restaurant just because I worked in the officers’ mess [military dining facility]. I don’t know how I thought that back then.”

“You didn’t say that back then, did you?”

“Am I stupid?”

“Huh?”

Hyunseong tilted his head. He couldn’t understand what Shin Young-hoon was saying for a moment.

Then, Shin Young-hoon said,

“If I had told you the truth back then, would you have given me a chance?”

“Ah, is that how it works?”

That’s right.

If Shin Min-ho had said that back then, he wouldn’t have leased the store just because he was full of passion and spirit.

Shin Young-hoon opened his mouth again.

“So what? Look at the state I’m in now.”

“Oh, right! What was that about earlier? You said you knew you had failed after a month, but why did you ask me for help only after three months had passed?”

“It was because of my petty pride.”

“Pride?”

“Yes, as I said before, my goal was to surpass you when I started. But my pride wouldn’t allow me to ask for help after only a month. So I tried to solve it on my own no matter what…”

The next words were obvious without even hearing them.

In the end, his petty pride had brought the situation to the worst.

Hyunseong asked again.

“What about now?”

“Didn’t I tell you when I knelt down earlier? That I would throw away everything?”

“Even your pride?”

“Yes, I know now. I know how pathetic and foolish it is to have pride when you have nothing. I will never do such a stupid thing again.”

Shin Young-hoon shook his head and said as if making a promise.

Hyunseong, who was watching him, opened his mouth again.

“You’ve learned a lot this time, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I realized my own position when I fell to the bottom. At first, I thought I could do anything if I had the will. But reality wasn’t that easy. Once customers started leaving, I couldn’t come to my senses. I didn’t know customers were so scary.”

“Customers are cold. If they don’t like the taste, they just don’t come. That’s it. I wish they would complain about the taste, but they don’t say anything. They just turn away and that’s it.”

“That’s right. I wish they would tell me if it wasn’t tasty, but they just stopped coming one day. At first, I didn’t understand it, but now I realize that’s the nature of this business.”

That’s right.

From the customer’s point of view, they don’t feel the need to say anything bad. But that’s not always the case. Customers definitely send messages in some way. It’s just that the owner doesn’t notice it.

Hyunseong said again.

“Do you know that?”

“Know what?”

“Customers definitely complain in some way before they leave. It’s just not in words.”

“What do you mean?”

Shin Young-hoon looked at Hyunseong as if he didn’t understand.

Then, Hyunseong continued immediately.

“Have you ever checked the empty dishes after the customers leave?”

“Empty dishes?”

“Yes, how much food is left on the empty dishes, or whether they ate everything without leaving anything.”

“I didn’t really pay attention to that…”

Shin Young-hoon shook his head slightly.

Then, Hyunseong continued.

“There’s a message from the customer in that empty dish.”

“A message?”

“Yes, I have a question for you, Mr. Shin. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant?”

“Of course.”

“What do you do when delicious food comes out?”

“Of course, I eat it all clean.”

“Then what do you do in the opposite case?”

“Then I have no choice but to leave it… Ah! So that’s what you’re trying to say?”

Shin Young-hoon’s expression changed instantly.

Then he continued immediately.

“That message in the empty dish is this?”

“That’s right. Do you understand what I’m saying now?”

“Yes, so you’re saying that there’s a message from the customer in the empty dish after they leave? If it’s delicious, they wouldn’t have left anything, and if it’s the opposite, they would have left some. In the end, you’re saying that we can know the customer’s reaction by the amount of leftovers. Why haven’t I thought of that until now?”

Shin Young-hoon had a look of regret on his face.

Hyunseong, seeing that, asked.

“How were the customers here?”

“Now that I think about it, there were a lot of leftovers. Some people even left half of it. But I didn’t think there was a problem with the food, I thought it was just too much.”

“Too much?”

“Yes, so from one day, I started reducing the amount of food.”

Hyunseong finally understood why the noodles Shin Young-hoon brought were so small. Shin Young-hoon thought the amount was too much because customers were leaving a lot of leftovers, so he reduced the amount. The real problem was with the food.

Hyunseong asked again.

“You didn’t know that the cause of the leftovers was the food?”

“Yes, now that I think about it, I think I was running the business without thinking at all. If I had thought a little more, I could have known in advance.”

“It’s all in the past. Just don’t make mistakes in the future.”

“Can I take that as you’re saying you’ll help me?”

Sigh!

Hyunseong took a short breath instead of answering.

Then he continued immediately.

“You said that my responsibility is also why you ended up like this?”

“That’s…”

“Maybe you’re right. If I had refused coldly back then, this wouldn’t have happened today.”

“No. It’s my fault, not yours. It’s 100% my fault.”

Shin Young-hoon said, patting his chest.

Hyunseong, who was watching him for a moment, looked at Shin Young-hoon as if he had made up his mind and opened his mouth.

“Shin Young-hoon!”

“Yes.”

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Shin Young-hoon nodded vigorously as if he understood.

Then, Hyunseong continued.

“I’m going to try to trust my eyes one more time.”

“Yes? What does that mean…”

Shin Young-hoon tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what Hyunseong was saying and looked at Hyunseong.

Then, Hyunseong said immediately.

“I’m going to try to trust you again from now on, just like I trusted you at first.”

“Does that mean…”

“I’m going to start over from the beginning. But there’s one thing I need to check before that.”

“What is it? Just tell me.”

Shin Young-hoon’s eyes were shining brighter than ever.

Hyunseong said.

“Can you follow my words 100%?”

“Of course. As I said before, I’ve thrown away everything. From now on, I’ll unconditionally follow what you tell me to do.”

“Good. Bring a notebook.”

“Yes!”

Shin Young-hoon disappeared into the kitchen as soon as Hyunseong finished speaking.

A moment later.

The two people sat facing each other.

Hyunseong opened his mouth first.

“What do you think is the most important thing in this store?”

“Well, wouldn’t it be the knife-cut noodles?”

“No, I think differently.”

“Yes? Is there anything else besides knife-cut noodles in a knife-cut noodle restaurant?”

Shin Young-hoon looked at Hyunseong as if he couldn’t understand.

Then, Hyunseong continued immediately.

“It’s the owner.”

“Yes? Me?”

“Yes, the owner is the most important thing in this store. The food is next.”

“Now that I hear it, I think that could be true.”

Shin Young-hoon nodded slowly.

Then, Hyunseong said immediately.

“Get up now and stand in front of the mirror.”

“A mirror?”

“Yes, take a look at yourself in front of the mirror.”

Shin Young-hoon got up and walked to the mirror hanging on the wall.

As Shin Young-hoon stood in front of the mirror, Hyunseong asked again.

“How is it?”

“That’s…”

Shin Young-hoon couldn’t say anything. His appearance in the mirror was so terrible.

It had been two months since he had a haircut. Of course, he didn’t have the time to care about his hair because business wasn’t doing well, but even so, he thought it was too much.

The same was true for his clothes. The flour on his clothes from handling the flour was embarrassing to look at.

Shin Young-hoon returned to Hyunseong and sat down.

Then, Hyunseong asked immediately.

“What do you think?”

“I’ll get a haircut right away today. And I’ll pay attention to my clothes too.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to say.”

“Yes? If it’s not that…”

Shin Young-hoon tilted his head.

He thought that Hyunseong would naturally point out his terrible hair and dirty clothes and tell him to look in the mirror. But Hyunseong says that’s not it.

Then what did he want him to see through the mirror?

Then, Hyunseong opened his mouth again.