Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 324

324

“Boss…”

Shin Mi-sook couldn’t continue speaking.

A moment ago, she was simply dumbfounded by Hyun-sung’s statement that he wouldn’t franchise. After he’d helped her so much, she was naturally taken aback when he said he wouldn’t do it at the last moment.

But after seeing the contents of the paper Hyun-sung handed her, she realized what it meant.

The content was long, but the conclusion was simple.

He would give her the sauce recipe without any conditions. However, the condition was that the secret of the sauce recipe should never be transferred or disclosed to others.

And the last line contained Hyun-sung’s heart as it was.

– Just live happily with Soo-min and Soo-yeon. That’s all I need.

Shin Mi-sook barely managed to speak.

“Boss, how can I accept this?”

“I never intended to franchise from the beginning anyway. The reason I decided to help you was because of Soo-min and Soo-yeon. If those kids weren’t there, I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t have helped you.”

“…….”

“So please, just live happily with the kids. That’s enough for me.”

He was sincere. From the beginning, a franchise wasn’t on his mind. The only reason he couldn’t refuse Shin Mi-sook’s request for help was because of her children. He knew she had two daughters, now in the 3rd and 5th grade. His wish was for those children to smile brightly.

Shin Mi-sook stood up and bowed to Hyun-sung.

“Thank you, Boss! I will work hard and raise Soo-min and Soo-yeon well.”

“Yes, do that. That’s all you need to do. And I have one request.”

“A request?”

“Yes, about that sauce…”

“Don’t worry about that. I will never reveal it to anyone else. I will never talk about it even if they give me tens of billions [of Korean won, roughly equivalent to millions of US dollars].”

Shin Mi-sook made a firm promise before Hyun-sung could even finish speaking. She thought that was the answer Hyun-sung wanted.

But Hyun-sung said something completely different.

“No. That’s not it. You can tell them.”

“Yes? What do you mean? You clearly said not to transfer or disclose it to others earlier, didn’t you?”

“That’s true, of course. But there is a condition.”

“A condition?”

“Yes, if there is someone in a difficult situation, you can teach them. Of course, that decision is entirely up to you.”

“So, what you’re saying is…”

Shin Mi-sook seemed to understand what Hyun-sung was saying. Hyun-sung was saying that he would give the sauce recipe to someone who is in a difficult situation like she had been. He would open it up to someone in a desperate situation, not just for making money.

Shin Mi-sook nodded and replied.

“I understand what you’re saying. I will do my best to protect your warm heart. And I will definitely pass on your words to the next person. I don’t know how many more stores will be created, but it will be hope, not just a simple sauce, for them.”

Shin Mi-sook bowed once again after finishing her words.

***

As Hyun-sung entered, Park Hee-chul, who was sitting by the window, raised his hand.

“Over here!”

Hyun-sung went straight to where Park Hee-chul was sitting.

“You came early?”

“No, I just got here a little while ago. Anyway, I don’t know if I’m taking up your time for nothing.”

“Don’t mention it. And the business is over anyway, so I have plenty of time. Besides, I have things to ask you about your wedding.”

As Hyun-sung finished speaking, an employee approached.

“Chairman, may I help you with your order?”

As the employee finished speaking, Park Hee-chul’s gaze turned to Hyun-sung.

“What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t mind anything. Please order whatever is convenient for you, Uncle.”

“Okay, then just give us plenty of sirloin. The tender part, if possible.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The employee bowed politely and stepped back.

Then Park Hee-chul immediately continued.

“By the way, I heard that the ramen shop in Hongcheon is a hit?”

“Have you heard about it?”

“Yeah, I did. Young-jin called me last night. He said that the neighborhood is going crazy these days thanks to the ramen shop.”

“Yes, I also received a call from Ms. Shin. It’s been only ten days since the opening, but I’m relieved to hear that there are many customers. To be honest, I was worried about what would happen if there were no customers at first, but fortunately, those concerns seem to have been put to rest.”

He received a call from Shin Mi-sook every day without fail. She said that the opening day was literally chaotic. She said that she didn’t expect so many people to come, even though it was a free tasting. She said that over 1,000 bowls of ramen were served.

It was a number that far exceeded Hyun-sung’s expectations.

The reason was simple: free tasting.

Again, he realized that there is no better event than free tasting for an opening.

And fortunately, customers continued to visit afterward. Word of mouth had already spread among the students, and they were lining up to eat ramen after school.

Park Hee-chul continued.

“You’re amazing as always. How did you think of giving away ramen for free?”

“It was actually a desperate measure.”

“A desperate measure?”

“Yes, I had no choice because of the location of the shopping district. I don’t know if you know, but the shopping district is at the very end of the alley.”

“So you had no choice but to do a free event to attract customers?”

“Of course, that’s the biggest reason.”

“The biggest reason? Does that mean there was another reason?”

Park Hee-chul showed interest as if it was interesting.

At that time, the ordered meat arrived. Hyun-sung immediately put a large chunk of sirloin on the grill and continued.

“I wanted to do an experiment.”

“An experiment?”

“Yes, I wanted to check the size of the commercial district. How big it is. I wanted to check how much difference there is from the commercial district we live in now.”

In terms of population, there is almost a four-fold difference between this neighborhood and that one. He wanted to see how many people would gather if he held a free event in that commercial district.

Park Hee-chul asked actively.

“So, did you find out?”

“Yes, I think I did to some extent. It’s obvious, but I think it’s right to do business where there are many people. I expected about 500 people at most because it was ramen, not other food. But twice as many people came than I expected. I really didn’t think there would be over 1,000 people.”

“According to Young-jin, the neighborhood was in complete chaos with people on the day the ramen shop opened. So, the people in the shopping district had a good time watching people for the first time in a while.”

As Park Hee-chul finished speaking, Hyun-sung put a piece of meat in front of Park Hee-chul and continued.

“Thanks to that, the people in the shopping district must have had hope.”

“I guess so. Until now, the commercial district was dead and there were no people, but suddenly they all came at once, so everyone must have wondered what was going on.”

“And another important thing is that not only students but also general adults moved.”

“Even general adults?”

“Yes, although it’s not an exact number, about 7:3, adults came. In fact, students are important for the commercial district to come alive, but more than that, adults have to move.”

“That’s obvious. Anyway, you’ve verified your ability once again this time. And by the way, what happened to that?”

At Park Hee-chul’s words, Hyun-sung tilted his head and asked back.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the discount event. I heard that the entire shopping district is offering a 20% discount, and Young-jin said that it was also your work. Is that true?”

“Ah, that. That’s…”

Hyun-sung began to explain the circumstances of the overall 3-month discount event as a way to revive the commercial district. As Hyun-sung’s explanation ended, Park Hee-chul laughed lightly and continued.

“Haha, anyway, you’re a genius at doing business.”

“Haha, a genius?”

“Isn’t that so? Who would have thought that a discount event that is usually held in department stores would be held in a local commercial district? It was a method that no one but you could have thought of.”

“Fortunately, the people in the shopping district helped me, so it was possible. No matter how much I stepped up and talked about it alone, it wouldn’t have worked.”

“That’s why you’re great.”

“Yes? What does that…”

“Hey, are those people ordinary people? As you know, they’ve all been doing business for at least 10 years. Why would those people listen to a young man like you?”

“That’s…”

“That means your words were persuasive enough. That’s why you’re great.”

Park Hee-chul ate a piece of meat in front of him and then slowly opened his mouth again.

“Do you know what kind of people business people are?”

“Yes? That’s…”

Why wouldn’t he know? Hyun-sung has also been doing business for over 20 years. But he couldn’t show such a thing in front of Park Hee-chul, who is over 60 years old.

As Hyun-sung was silent, Park Hee-chul opened his mouth again.

“They’re foxes.”

“Foxes?”

“Yes, they never do anything that will cause them to lose money under any circumstances. Why would such people listen to your words obediently? There’s only one reason.”

“One reason?”

“Yes, they concluded that it would be helpful. If they didn’t, they would never have agreed.”

That’s right.

And it’s obvious. Not only business people but also other ordinary people are the same. Self-interest is the top priority in everyone’s actions.

It’s just that business people make decisions a little faster.

Park Hee-chul asked curiously.

“Is this the end?”

“Yes? What do you mean by the end?”

“I’m talking about the project to revive the shopping district. I don’t think this is the end, don’t you think?”

“Of course. This is just the beginning. It’s just opening the floodgates.”

“Opened the floodgates?”

“Yes, to be exact, I’m talking about the flow of the commercial district. It’s only been ten days, so it’s too early to tell, but what’s clear is that the flow has changed. The effect is already appearing in the shopping district, although it’s insignificant.”

In fact.

The person who has been constantly contacting him since that day is Choi Sung-pil. Since there is a distance, he cannot know the changes in the shopping district from time to time. Fortunately, Choi Sung-pil contacts him every other day, so he can know the changes in the shopping district.

What is clear is that the number of customers visiting has definitely increased since the discount event. As much as that, sales are naturally increasing little by little.

Park Hee-chul asked again.

“You’re saying you’re getting contacted by someone?”

“Yes, Assemblyman Choi.”

“Assemblyman Choi? Are you talking about Sung-pil?”

“Yes, fortunately, he contacts me often. It seems that he is paying a lot of attention to reviving that commercial district this time.”

“What did I say last time? I said that Assemblyman Choi has other ulterior motives.”

“I don’t care. And it’s not a bad thing for someone who is doing politics. The important thing is that he is working hard for the development of the shopping district, and as a result, the commercial district is gradually coming alive. That’s enough for me.”

“Haha, anyway, you have a big heart. That’s good. By the way, now that you’ve opened the floodgates, what’s the next method?”

Park Hee-chul showed unexpected interest. But since that wouldn’t be a big problem, Hyun-sung answered immediately.

“Coupons and delivery.”

“Coupons and delivery?”

“Yes, we will give coupons when you purchase goods for a certain amount or more. Of course, those coupons can be used like cash in that commercial district later.”

“In the end, you’re saying you’re going to make people come continuously?”

“That’s exactly it. We will maximize the characteristics of coupons to make people come continuously. That way, the commercial district will naturally come alive more and more.”

Park Hee-chul nodded and smiled as if satisfied.

“As expected, you’re President Kim. That’s a really good method. And you’re going to do delivery at the same time?”

“Yes, but delivery will take a little more time. After all, we need money to hire a delivery person on a fixed basis. We will discuss that issue again with the people in the shopping district when the commercial district comes alive a little more in the future.”

“Hmm… the commercial district there will be much more alive in a year.”

“The current goal is 6 months. We will do our best to revive the commercial district within 6 months. By the way, your wedding is in 2 weeks, is the preparation going well?”

As soon as Hyun-sung finished speaking, Park Hee-chul’s complexion darkened rapidly.

Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“Why? Is there any problem?”

“That’s…”

“There’s a problem?”

Park Hee-chul nodded slightly and began to open his mouth again.