Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 315

315

“Food?”

“Pardon? Food?”

“Did you eat lunch?”

“Not yet.”

“Make food. I’m hungry.”

“…….”

Hyunsung was momentarily speechless. Although it was his past life, Hyunsung had lived for over 50 years. Even then, Hyunsung couldn’t find the words to respond to this situation.

Whether it was a matter of manners, common sense, or anything else, no single term adequately described this situation.

Eccentric.

That was the only word Hyunsung could come up with. The person in front of him was an eccentric old man – Hyunsung’s initial assessment of Lee Woosuk after only a short time.

Lee Woosuk continued.

“The rice is in the rice container next to the refrigerator, and if you open the refrigerator, there are a few potatoes. Make some side dishes with those. As you see fit. Oh, and cook the rice in a pot, got it?”

Thump.

With those words, Lee Woosuk disappeared into the living room.

Hyunsung couldn’t help but think he was dealing with an eccentric old man. Now, only Hyunsung’s choice remained.

There were two options. One was the easiest: to simply turn around and leave. After all, the very idea of coming to talk to such an eccentric old man hadn’t made much sense from the start. Of course, if he did that, there would be no further progress. It meant the purpose of coming here would vanish.

That wouldn’t do. There were several reasons. The first thing that bothered him was Shin Misook, the woman who lived with her two children after her husband passed away. To call it off like this would be too cruel to that family.

And then there were the shopkeepers, including Kim Myungsoon. Although it had been a short time, he had given them hope. He couldn’t just shatter their hopes like this.

If so, there was no more room for hesitation. Even though he was an eccentric old man, he had no choice but to see this through to the end.

He chuckled.

Once he made up his mind, a smile escaped his lips.

Thump.

Hyunsung headed to the kitchen.

Hyunsung, who entered the kitchen, first washed the rice and put it in a pot.

The method of cooking rice in a pot is simple. First, put the rice in the pot and boil it over high heat without closing the lid. Boil it for about 5 minutes, and you will hear a ‘crackling’ sound from the pot. That means the water has dried up at the bottom. Then, close the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes over low heat.

Of course, this method was learned from his wife, Yoon Jisoo, in his previous life. He never thought he would use it here again.

Next, he took out potatoes and green onions from the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator.

“Pfft.”

Hyunsung suddenly laughed. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t believe what he was doing.

But it was already decided. The dreams and hopes of many people depended on him now. He had a mission to persuade Lee Woosuk, no matter what.

Once he thought that way, he seemed to gain strength.

“Okay, let’s have fun while we’re at it.”

Hyunsung started peeling the potatoes.

30 minutes later.

A decent-looking meal was set on the kitchen table.

“Please, eat!”

Hyunsung said affably, looking at Lee Woosuk, who was sitting across from him. He figured that if he was going to do it anyway, he should do it with a happy heart.

But there was no change in Lee Woosuk’s expression.

Lee Woosuk asked abruptly, as if tossing out a random question.

“You’re a senior in high school?”

“Yes.”

That was the end of Lee Woosuk’s question. He waited a little longer, hoping he would ask another question, but Lee Woosuk’s mouth remained shut.

So the two began to eat quietly.

It was when Lee Woosuk had almost finished eating that he spoke again.

“Your skills are good.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes. Thank you. Did you enjoy the potato soup?”

“Hmm, it was refreshing and savory. But how did you think of making potato soup?”

“Didn’t you have some medicinal wine [a type of traditional Korean alcohol infused with herbs] last night?”

Before he started cooking with the potatoes, he had briefly considered his options.

There were two dishes that could be made with potatoes: stir-fry and soup. Of course, there were more, but those were the two that immediately came to mind.

But Hyunsung’s 고민 [pronounced ‘go-min,’ meaning ‘deliberation’ or ‘worry’ in Korean] didn’t last long. That’s because he had smelled alcohol on Lee Woosuk’s breath when he first opened the living room door. So he immediately made potato soup without hesitation.

Lee Woosuk asked again, as if intrigued.

“How did you know that?”

“I smelled a slight scent of alcohol.”

“Alcohol scent? Ah, so you thought I drank alcohol and deliberately made potato soup?”

“Yes, that’s right. After drinking medicinal wine…”

“Haha, this friend is a monster, just as I’ve heard. I see, clean up roughly, make two cups of coffee over there, and come over here. Haha, that guy…”

Lee Woosuk laughed as if he was in a good mood and got up from his seat and headed to the living room.

After a while.

Hyunsung cleaned the table, made coffee, and headed to the living room.

As Hyunsung approached, Lee Woosuk spoke first.

“Give me the coffee and sit over there.”

Lee Woosuk’s tone seemed to have softened a lot compared to the beginning. But it wasn’t just the tone that had changed. The cold impression he had felt when he first saw him had transformed into a gentle expression, as if it had never been there.

As Hyunsung took his seat, Lee Woosuk smiled and said.

“You passed.”

“Passed? What are you talking about…”

Hyunsung didn’t understand what Lee Woosuk was saying for a moment. That’s because the word ‘passed’ implies the existence of a ‘test’.

The word ‘passed’ can only be uttered after successfully completing a test with certain criteria.

Test?

‘No, wait a minute!’

Hyunsung suddenly had a thought come to mind. It was Lee Woosuk’s behavior.

Lee Woosuk’s behavior when he first greeted him was abnormal to anyone. The first thing he said to him as soon as he saw him was to make food.

Whatever the reason, he was a visitor. That means he was a guest. To suddenly tell a guest to make food? This didn’t make sense to anyone.

But the problem was that Lee Woosuk moved on to the absurd request as if it was nothing.

Was Lee Woosuk such a person who didn’t know manners?

Hyunsung immediately shook his head.

Hyunsung judged that he was not at least *that* uncouth.

Then there was only one thing left.

Deliberately.

The only conclusion was that Lee Woosuk did it on purpose. In the end, Lee Woosuk did something absurd, and that meant he was testing him.

Hyunsung looked at Lee Woosuk and asked.

“Were you perhaps testing me?”

“That’s right. I did something absurd by telling the guest who came to my house to make food as soon as I saw him, but I wanted to check you out, even if I had to do that.”

“Check?”

Hyunsung tilted his head at the word ‘check’. To check meant that he already knew something about him. The source was expected to be Park Youngjin.

Lee Woosuk continued.

“When I first heard about you from the real estate agent Park, I couldn’t believe it, of course. Because it was an absurd proposition for anyone to hear.”

That’s right. How absurd would it be for a high school senior to come and say he was going to revitalize the shopping district? If he were in his shoes, he would have the same thoughts as Lee Woosuk.

As Hyunsung nodded slightly, Lee Woosuk continued.

“I didn’t care at first. Because it was an absurd thing anyway. But Park came to me for three consecutive days and said the same thing.”

“Three days?”

“Yes, so I was honestly curious. Park was that persistent, so I couldn’t help it. So I had someone investigate you.”

“Pardon? You mean…”

“Yes, I’m sorry, but I did some background checks on you.”

“…….”

Hyunsung had nothing to say.

Lee Woosuk continued.

“It was really amazing. So I wanted to see you. And I wanted to check at least what kind of character you had. But no matter how I thought about it, there was no other way to test you.”

“So you told me to make food…”

“Yes, I was curious to see what kind of behavior you would show in an absurd situation. That reveals character. But the result exceeded my expectations. By a lot. Do you know why?”

“Well, as for me…”

Hyunsung shook his head.

Then Lee Woosuk continued.

“Of course, the food was excellent. The pot rice was the best, and the potato soup was very delicious. But that wasn’t very important.”

“…?”

“Because the ramen shop you run has the highest sales in the neighborhood, so you’ve already been verified as far as food is concerned.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Of course. Even if it’s just ramen, the fact that so many people come means that you have your own special touch.”

It was a conclusion that could be easily inferred if you paid a little attention.

As Hyunsung nodded, Lee Woosuk took a sip of coffee and continued.

“I was surprised by two things about you.”

“Two things?”

“Yes, one is that even in that situation, you knew I had drunk the day before and thought of making potato soup as a hangover cure. I was impressed by that considerate mind.”

“Ah, yes…”

“And the other one is…”

Lee Woosuk paused for a moment and then continued.

“It was your demeanor.”

“Demeanor? What do you mean by that?”

“I’m talking about your cooking demeanor. It suited you quite well. And the most important thing is that you had a bright expression while cooking. Honestly, even though it was an absurd situation, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the sight of you smiling and cooking without frowning.”

“Well, my thought is to have fun if I’m going to do it anyway…”

“That’s what I’m saying. That’s not something anyone can do. But you did it. In fact, even in an absurd situation.”

“Actually, me too…”

In fact, it wasn’t easy for Hyunsung either.

There are all kinds of unexpected situations in life. Just like today.

At first, it was such an absurd situation that he had no intention of staying. But he changed his mind because so many people’s faces came to mind.

And if he decided to do it anyway, his thought was to have fun while doing it.

But the amazing thing is that people change without realizing it, depending on how they feel.

Like the common saying that you don’t laugh because you’re happy, but you become happy if you laugh.

Then Lee Woosuk said again.

“I’ll pay the price.”

“The price?”

“Yes, I tested you, so I have to pay the appropriate price. So, I won’t receive rent for 3 months.”

“3 months? Is that real?”

“Instead…”

Lee Woosuk stopped talking in the middle. He seemed to be thinking about something for a moment.

After a while.

Lee Woosuk opened his mouth again.

“That shop is special to me. I don’t have it now, but my wife used to…”

Lee Woosuk’s words became a little more drawn out. It was the story about Lee Woosuk’s wife that Park Heecheol had told him yesterday.

Lee Woosuk said finally.

“Please breathe warmth back into that shop. And make it so that everyone who comes there can smile and have a happy expression. That’s my wish and my wife’s heart. Can you do it?”

“Yes, sir. I will do my best. I will try to bring laughter back to the entire shopping district, not just there.”

“Haha, thank you. And by the way, I will enjoy watching that. And now that I mention it, when I first saw you coming in with the soy milk, I had already made up my mind. People who keep the basics are not something anyone can do.”

Lee Woosuk said, looking at the soy milk box on one side of the living room.

It was a moment of realizing once again that it’s not something grand that moves people’s hearts.