Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 317

317

“……”

Hyun-sung was momentarily speechless, taken aback by Park Young-jin’s sudden question. But what mattered was the look in his eyes.

He couldn’t just brush it off; his gaze was too earnest.

‘Could it be…….’

Hyun-sung tilted his head.

He wondered if Park Young-jin knew he was a Regressor [someone who has returned from the future]. It was all because of his serious demeanor.

Of course, he didn’t blindly believe in shamanistic beliefs, but he didn’t completely disregard them either. There were too many things in the world that couldn’t be explained by science.

After a moment of contemplation, Hyun-sung shook his head, trying to shake off the fleeting thoughts.

Just then, Park Young-jin spoke again.

“It’s strange.”

“Yes? What is?”

“I can’t figure you out. With other people, I usually get a sense right away—what kind of person they are, how they’ve lived, and how they’ll live in the future. Of course, it’s not 100%, but I get a general idea.”

Based on his words alone, he sounded like a typical shaman [a person believed to have access to the spirit world]. But calling him a shaman didn’t quite fit Park Young-jin’s current image. For one, he was running a real estate agency, not a shrine.

Just what was Park Young-jin’s true identity?

A sudden curiosity arose within him.

“And?”

Hyun-sung was curious about Park Young-jin’s next answer. What would he say? If he actually guessed that he was a Regressor, he was ready to kneel.

Then, Park Young-jin shook his head from side to side and slowly opened his mouth.

“I can’t feel anything.”

“Yes? Nothing at all?”

“That’s right. If you were a person from this world, I should be able to sense at least a trace of you, but I can’t feel anything at all. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. If my intuition is correct, you are…….”

Park Young-jin looked at Hyun-sung and stopped mid-sentence.

Gulp.

Hyun-sung swallowed hard without realizing it. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous. He was starting to think that Park Young-jin might actually guess that he was a Regressor.

Unexpectedly, he blurted out,

“I’m not.”

“Yes? What do you mean by that? You’re making me curious…….”

Hyun-sung found himself complaining.

Park Young-jin chuckled and said,

“It seems I’m getting senile.”

“Why are you suddenly talking about that?”

“Think about it. If my intuition is correct, it means you’re not from this world. Does that make any sense? I’m afraid I’ll end up smearing poop on the walls. Sigh…….”

“…….”

Hyun-sung couldn’t say anything.

A moment later,

Park Young-jin spoke first.

“Anyway, what’s the schedule for today?”

“Yes? Ah, that’s right.”

Only then did Hyun-sung come to his senses and look at Park Young-jin. It was another moment of realizing that there were many things in the world that couldn’t be proven by science.

Hyun-sung immediately continued,

“Ms. Shin Mi-sook and the installer will be arriving shortly.”

“Ms. Shin will be here for the contract, but why the installer?”

“I’m planning to start construction right after the contract is signed. If we’re going to do it anyway, it’s better for Ms. Shin to start *yeong-eop* [business operations] as soon as possible. And we need to start the sign maintenance project I mentioned last time, so he’ll be bringing the sign designs today as well.”

“Sign designs?”

“Yes, we’ll show the *sangga* [commercial building] owners five designs and decide on the one they prefer the most. Once the selection process is complete, we’ll start working on it right away.”

“You’ve already prepared all of that?”

“I started preparing the sign designs a week ago. It’s a job that requires professional skills, so I prepared in advance.”

“Haha, you’re always so thorough. It’s just amazing.”

Park Young-jin looked at Hyun-sung and smiled with satisfaction.

Then, he immediately asked,

“Alright, what can I do?”

“Could you gather the people together?”

“By people, do you mean the *sangga* [commercial building] owners here?”

“Yes, that’s right. I think I should formally greet them and explain the progress of the work.”

It was a natural course of action.

Even if you only take a minimum of 150,000 won [approximately $120 USD] per *sangga* [commercial building], 24 *sangga* [commercial buildings] would be 3.6 million won [approximately $2,900 USD]. That’s definitely not a small amount. If you proceed with this kind of construction unilaterally without saying anything, you don’t know what people will say later.

Money is involved, and words can be made up. Especially when the word ‘joint’ is involved, the standards become even stricter. Hyun-sung knew too well that even making *ginyeompoom* [souvenir] towels for a small gathering could lead to all sorts of comments.

The only way to prevent all that noise in advance was one thing only.

Transparency.

That’s what Hyun-sung wanted to do tonight.

Park Young-jin continued,

“Alright. I’ll gather the *sangga* [commercial building] people in one place tonight. The *sangga* [commercial building] people are already clamoring to see you.”

“Of course, that’s all thanks to your influence, right?”

“Hehe, didn’t I tell you before that it’s all for Mr. Kim?”

“No, that’s…….”

Hyun-sung stopped himself from saying anything. He had already heard from Kim Myung-soon that Park Young-jin had been exaggerating about him to the *sangga* [commercial building] people. But he knew that there was no malice in it, so Hyun-sung cut himself off.

In any case, Park Young-jin’s intention was to revive the *sangga* [commercial building], that was it.

Just then,

Creak.

The door opened, and Shin Mi-sook and Yoo Min-chul entered at the same time. Yoo Min-chul must have contacted Shin Mi-sook and came together.

Shin Mi-sook greeted Hyun-sung first.

“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Kim.”

“It’s nothing. But you came earlier than I expected.”

“Yes, Mr. Yoo here contacted me on purpose. So, thanks to him, I didn’t have to take the bus and came straight here in Mr. Yoo’s car.”

“Ah, I see. Good job.”

After a brief greeting with Hyun-sung, Shin Mi-sook bowed to Park Young-jin.

“Hello.”

“Yes, welcome, Ms. Shin. I’m glad to see you again.”

“It’s all thanks to Mr. Kim here.”

Shin Mi-sook smiled at Hyun-sung again.

Then, Hyun-sung looked at Yoo Min-chul and said,

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], please say hello. This is the owner of the real estate agency.”

As soon as Hyun-sung finished speaking, Yoo Min-chul bowed to Park Young-jin.

“Hello, I’m Yoo Min-chul, and I do *seolbi* [installation] and sign work. I heard you’re the chairman of the *sangga beonyeonghoe* [commercial building association]. I look forward to working with you.”

“Haha, what *butak* [favor]…… I’m also in a position to ask Mr. Kim here for *butak* [favors], but Mr. Kim told me that you’re bringing the sign designs today. Would it be rude if I took a look?”

“Of course not. I prepared them separately to show them to the chairman first. And please speak comfortably, Chairman!”

Yoo Min-chul handed Park Young-jin the file he had prepared in advance.

As the saying goes, a single word can repay a thousand *nyang* [ancient Korean currency] debt. Park Young-jin nodded in a good mood as Yoo Min-chul spoke politely and affably, and continued,

“We’re all adults, so we can’t do that. Of course, we have to be polite. Anyway, thank you for preparing this in advance. Then, I’ll take a look first.”

Park Young-jin sat down in his chair and began to browse through the file that Yoo Min-chul had handed him.

And he looked quite serious. That meant that Park Young-jin also considered this sign maintenance project important.

Why wouldn’t he? The face of the *sangga* [commercial building] is the sign. The image of the *sangga* [commercial building] is bound to change depending on how the sign is done.

Hyun-sung smiled slightly as he looked at Park Young-jin. Anyway, the key figure in this *sangga* [commercial building] is Park Young-jin. If he showed a passive attitude, the future of the *sangga* [commercial building] would be bleak. But fortunately, Park Young-jin was showing an active attitude, which made Hyun-sung feel good.

“*Sajangnim* [boss/owner], I’m going to go to the *sangga* [commercial building] with *hyungnim* [older brother/male friend] here. Please take care of the contract when Mr. Lee Woo-suk comes.”

“Okay, go ahead. Don’t worry about it, and I’ll see you later.”

Hyun-sung left the real estate agency with Yoo Min-chul.

***

The two arrived in front of the *sangga* [commercial building].

Hyun-sung’s gaze turned to Yoo Min-chul. The reason was that Yoo Min-chul’s expression had been suggesting that he had something to say for a while now.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just…….”

Yoo Min-chul didn’t say anything right away and left it hanging.

Then, Hyun-sung smiled lightly and continued,

“No, what is it that you’re hesitating so much about? It doesn’t matter what it is, so what do you want to say?”

“It’s already useless to talk about it, so I feel sorry to say it.”

“It’s already useless to talk about it? Does that mean it’s already spilled milk? Does that mean…….”

It was a little while ago. Yoo Min-chul, who had been talking, suddenly started talking less. To be exact, it was when he had walked about 10m into the alley. He kept tilting his head and looking around. Seeing that, it suddenly occurred to him that it might be because of the location of the *sangga* [commercial building]. He wondered if he was worried because the *sangga* [commercial building] was too far back in the alley.

Yoo Min-chul carefully opened his mouth.

“About the location of the *sangga* [commercial building]…….”

As expected, his prediction was correct. Yoo Min-chul was worried about the location of the *sangga* [commercial building].

It wasn’t that he hadn’t worried about it from the beginning. But the reason he was able to make a final decision was because of the size of the *sangga* [commercial building]. Due to the nature of the business, which catered to students, it was bound to be crowded at the same time. Hyun-sung’s idea was that the only way to solve that problem was to secure space.

Of course, accessibility was somewhat limited because it was in the back alley. But he thought that the problem could be solved to some extent if he competed with taste.

“The location is too far inside, right? I also thought from the beginning…….”

Hyun-sung began to explain the problems he had been *gomin* [pondering] about. He explained what he had *gomin* [pondered] about, what the solution was, and why he had ultimately chosen this place.

As Hyun-sung’s explanation continued at length, Yoo Min-chul began to nod as if he finally understood. And finally, when Hyun-sung’s explanation was over, Yoo Min-chul smiled and said,

“I was worried for nothing. Mr. Kim would have taken care of it anyway.”

“No, in a normal case, it’s a difficult spot as *hyungnim* [older brother/male friend] is worried about. But I thought it was possible because the main customer base is students.”

“You’re saying that if they fall for the spicy taste, the students will move?”

“Yes, that’s right. Food is also a kind of trend.”

“Trend?”

“Yes, if a friend eats it, they’ll definitely want to eat it, and then the word will spread……, of course, that’s my wish. Haha.”

Hyun-sung laughed lightly. Anyway, the result will be known later when the lid is opened. But different words came out of Yoo Min-chul’s mouth.

“What are you talking about! It’s already a master plan.”

“Yes?”

“It’s already been verified. Who would have thought that the place where Mr. Kim is doing business now would be such a hit at first? But in the end, Mr. Kim did it. It’ll be the same here. I believe it.”

Yoo Min-chul smiled at Hyun-sung.

The uneasy look he had shown a little while ago could not be found anywhere. Hyun-sung smiled slightly at Yoo Min-chul and then opened the *sangga* [commercial building] door with the key.

Creak.

The door made a slight noise, probably because it hadn’t been used often. But this was not a problem because it could be solved in one go by applying a little lubricant.

“How is it?”

When Hyun-sung asked first, Yoo Min-chul looked around the store and said,

“Is it true that you haven’t done business for two years?”

“*Hyungnim* [older brother/male friend], you can see that it’s been well-managed, right? I was surprised when I first came in a week ago.”

Usually, when a *sangga* [commercial building] is not used, it’s natural for it to be dusty and have a musty smell. But this place was surprisingly free of that.

“That means it’s been well-managed. Anyway, the store is wider than it looks from the outside, and there’s not much to fix, so it’ll probably be done in two days. If you fix the kitchen and the ceiling, you can start *yeong-eop* [business operations] right away.”

“I think so too. Anyway, there’s no time to do the sign *gongsa* [construction], so it’s good. *Hyungnim* [older brother/male friend], you can start the sign work as soon as this *gongsa* [construction] is finished.”

“So, about that, take a look at this.”

Yoo Min-chul handed the file to Hyun-sung. It was the same file that he had given to Park Young-jin a little while ago.

That meant that he had made another file for himself. Yoo Min-chul’s thoughtfulness was evident.

He could have ignored him because he was young, but Yoo Min-chul didn’t do that and instead paid more attention to him.

Sharrack.

Hyun-sung happily turned the cover of the file.

“Oh? What is this?”