Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 33

Hyun-sung asked again.

“But you mentioned earlier that you had something to say.”

“I do!”

Park Hee-chul nodded, looking serious. It was as if he was about to make a major announcement.

‘What could it be…?’

Hyun-sung waited for Park Hee-chul to speak. Then, Park Hee-chul opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I’m going to pay the price.”

“The price? What……”

“The 10 billion you mentioned. The amount you asked for after I slapped you.”

“Pardon?”

‘Crazy…’

Hyun-sung stared at Park Hee-chul.

‘This is absurd.’

He had only said it on the spur of the moment, wanting to get back at Park Hee-chul. But now, Park Hee-chul was saying he would keep that promise.

‘If that’s the logic… no, there was no need to think further.’

However, Park Hee-chul seemed to think differently. He looked at Hyun-sung with a firm expression, as if he had already made up his mind.

Park Hee-chul continued.

“Of course, this land isn’t worth that much right now. But the charm of land is that you never know what might happen to it over time.”

“……”

Naturally, Hyun-sung had nothing to say to that.

Park Hee-chul spoke again.

“Of course, this land will probably never be worth 10 billion, even if I die and come back to life. But in 10 or 20 years, who knows, it might be worth at least 10 times, or even 100 times, more than it is now.”

“……”

“I’ll give you this land. It’s in return for saving this old man’s life.”

“……”

Hyun-sung couldn’t say anything.

At first, he didn’t think much of it. He thought Park Hee-chul was just saying it. But the more he spoke, the more he realized he was serious.

Park Hee-chul was saying he would give him this land.

‘Did that make sense?’

Logically, it shouldn’t. But Park Hee-chul, right in front of him, was saying he would do this absurd thing.

But what was strange was Hyun-sung himself.

‘Huh?’

His mind was trying to stay calm, but his heart was already racing.

Thump.

‘Was this his true nature…?’

He was tempted.

He didn’t want to admit it, but it felt like his true nature was awakening from somewhere deep inside.

Like Park Hee-chul said, it wouldn’t take 10 years, or even 5 years. Not if the Garden Restaurant became a national trend.

In his past life, the restaurant was built here the year after the 1988 Olympics. He was on his first leave from the army when it was under construction. That meant only three years left.

At that moment, Park Hee-chul looked at Hyun-sung and said again.

“I want you to fulfill my dream.”

“What do you mean?”

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here right now. This is what I wanted to protect until the very end. That way, the accounts will balance, right?”

“Accounts?”

They hadn’t made any deals, but Park Hee-chul suddenly brought up the word ‘accounts.’

Park Hee-chul continued.

“Of course, I’m still coming out ahead.”

“What are you gaining? What accounts are you talking about?”

Park Hee-chul was still saying things he couldn’t understand.

When Hyun-sung didn’t understand, Park Hee-chul continued.

“It’s an accounting for my life. Instead of money, I want to give you this land, which I cherish the most and wanted to protect until the end, as compensation for my life.”

“No, what……”

“Will you accept my offer?”

“Pardon?”

Beef in the morning, and now land.

Beef and land.

Park Hee-chul was saying the same thing.

Asking him to accept his offer.

He had clearly felt it this morning, but Park Hee-chul’s heart was sincere. At least, that’s how it felt at that moment. That’s why he had ended up accepting the beef.

So, what about now?

It was the same.

No, he could feel with his whole body that it was even more so.

He was saying he would give him what he wanted to protect until the very end. And he was asking him to accept it. And that was also sincere.

He was trembling.

Ah!

Someone had thrown a stone into the calm lake, and the ripples seemed to be growing.

‘What should I do?’

Reason versus emotion, a battle of the dragons and tigers.

This was on a different level than beef. It wasn’t something he could just gobble up and make soup with.

Moreover, he hadn’t reached out to Park Hee-chul from the beginning with the expectation of any reward. He had simply valued a life.

If so, this wasn’t right.

His mind had come to a conclusion.

Nevertheless, Hyun-sung’s mouth remained closed.

Inside, an endless war was still raging.

And that time passed quite a while.

One person was watching that scene.

It was the moment when a strange smile appeared on Park Hee-chul’s face.

It was unexpected.

He had naturally expected him to accept it right away. No matter how young he was, who would refuse such an offer?

Of course, there was enough justification to accept it. In some ways, it might even be too little for the value of a life. This meant that it wouldn’t be strange at all if Hyun-sung accepted the land that Park Hee-chul had offered.

But the person in question still hadn’t said anything.

If that was the case, the picture would have to change.

Park Hee-chul had initially expected Hyun-sung to accept it immediately. He had thought that everything would be neatly settled.

He had done his best to repay his life debt, and Hyun-sung had received a reward, so he thought it was settled.

But his expectations were off.

That meant he had to redraw the picture.

‘That means I have to draw a bigger picture…’

It was a moment when Park Hee-chul’s head became complicated. But he didn’t seem to dislike that feeling.

Park Hee-chul looked at Hyun-sung.

He still seemed to have a lot on his mind.

A smile spread across Park Hee-chul’s face as he looked at Hyun-sung, and then he opened his mouth.

“That’s enough!”

“Pardon?”

Hyun-sung was startled. He had to say something, but he couldn’t come to a conclusion. He was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t believe it himself. It was a moment when he realized how scary human greed was.

Park Hee-chul said again.

“That’s enough deliberation. You pass.”

“Pardon?”

Strange words came out of Park Hee-chul’s mouth.

Pass?

Pass, he said…….

‘Did this mean that everything up until now had been a test?’

Ha!

Hyun-sung was dumbfounded.

He felt a surge of anger when he thought that he had been dancing to his tune without even knowing it.

“What is this?”

“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to deliberate so much. I misjudged you.”

“Pardon?”

It was getting more and more absurd. Now, even judgment…….

Park Hee-chul continued.

“Things have gotten a bit complicated.”

“What does that mean? Would it kill you to speak in a way that I can understand? Are you really going to be like this?”

Hyun-sung’s voice became sharp.

But Hyun-sung’s appearance didn’t seem to bother Park Hee-chul.

Park Hee-chul smiled casually and said.

“Let’s go to school now.”

“……”

Hyun-sung was speechless.

***

“What is it this time?”

Park Hee-chul, who had taken Hyun-sung to school and left, returned shortly after.

“I forgot this.”

“What is it?”

“Allowance. And don’t forget to come home after school.”

Vroom.

Park Hee-chul said those words and disappeared the way he came.

Hyun-sung held a white envelope in his hand.

Now he had even received an allowance.

Beef in the morning, and now an allowance.

But these were insignificant compared to what he had received a little while ago.

In the end, he had received the land in the car.

On the way to school a little while ago, Park Hee-chul had said in the car.

– It’s my offer, so accept it.

– …….

– Thank you!

That was all. Park Hee-chul didn’t need Hyun-sung’s answer.

They would talk about the use of the land after school today. That’s why Park Hee-chul had told him to come home when he left a little while ago.

But that wouldn’t happen.

Because he wasn’t going.

Hyun-sung couldn’t understand it with his head, so his body wouldn’t follow.

***

Step.

Hyun-sung resumed his steps.

[Seomyeong High School]

Just as he was about to pass through the main gate, the school name, vertically engraved, caught Hyun-sung’s eye.

“To come here again……”

It was a strange thing to think about.

Other students were busy passing through the main gate and disappearing towards the classrooms.

Hyun-sung, who had been looking at the school name for a moment, was about to take a step when.

“Hyun-sung.”

He heard someone calling him.

He turned around and saw Lee Jung-woo. Lee Jung-woo was running towards him from afar.

As expected, Lee Jung-woo’s running was different from the other students.

When he was young, he had a high fever and was sick, and after that, he started limping on one leg. Aseptic meningitis, commonly known as polio [an infectious disease causing muscle weakness and paralysis].

Back then, there were always one or two friends with such disabilities in a school. Now, even if you get this disease, it’s a mild illness that can be cured with a single shot.

Lee Jung-woo had said once.

His dream was to run as much as he wanted.

Hyun-sung waved his hand happily at Lee Jung-woo, who was running towards him.

Then, he started walking towards Lee Jung-woo. It was to shorten the distance he had to run, even a little bit.

As the distance between the two narrowed, Lee Jung-woo looked at Hyun-sung and said.

“Just stay there, I’m going that way anyway……”

“I wanted to see my friend quickly, you idiot! Happy now?”

Hyun-sung smiled happily and greeted Lee Jung-woo. Because the feelings from his past life were added, his feelings for Lee Jung-woo were bound to be special.

Lee Jung-woo teased him in response to Hyun-sung’s answer.

“What’s with the sudden cheesiness? It’s disgusting.”

“You, what’s so disgusting about it? Anyway, it’s good to see you. My friend Lee Jung-woo!”

Hyun-sung put his arm around Lee Jung-woo’s shoulder as he spoke. Then, Lee Jung-woo glanced at Hyun-sung. Then, his gaze was fixed on Hyun-sung’s face.

Lee Jung-woo’s eyes suddenly widened.

“Huh?”

“Why are you so surprised all of a sudden?”

“Your face has changed……”

Lee Jung-woo distanced himself from Hyun-sung and began to examine Hyun-sung’s face closely.

After a while.

Lee Jung-woo tilted his head.

It wasn’t just his face that had changed. He also seemed to have grown taller, and his overall body was clearly different from when summer vacation started.

He could have grown taller because it was his growth period, but could his physique change like this…….

Lee Jung-woo looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“What on earth happened?”

“I went into the mountains and trained all summer vacation. How is it, do I look good? Haha……”

Hyun-sung had expected this to some extent, so he didn’t panic and made up an excuse. In fact, if you think about it, it wasn’t wrong.

At first, Hyun-sung himself was surprised when he looked in the mirror. He didn’t know the exact cause. Whether it was because of the deodeok [a type of Korean root vegetable] or the wild ginseng [a rare and valuable medicinal herb].

But the important thing was that he had changed, that was the fact.

Lee Jung-woo was dumbfounded by Hyun-sung’s answer, but he had nothing to say. Anyway, no matter how he looked at it, it was true that he had changed.

Lee Jung-woo smiled and continued.

“Seomyeong High School has produced a handsome guy.”

“Is it that much?”

“You, don’t be so happy about it……”

“Did it show? Hehe……”

Hyun-sung thought it was a childish situation, so he couldn’t help but laugh.

The two passed through the main gate side by side and headed to the classroom. That was the moment when Hyun-sung’s school days began again after 33 years.