Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 342

342

Hyun-sung had just returned home, showered, and entered his room when his phone rang.

Ring, ring.

“Who could be calling at this hour?”

He checked the time and saw it was past 10 PM.

He couldn’t think of anyone who would call so late. It wouldn’t be his parents; they’d spoken the previous night, and everything was fine.

Who could it be?

Curious, Hyun-sung quickly answered the phone.

“Hello?”

– It’s Shin Chun-oh.

“Oh? Chairman Shin! What brings you to call so late?”

The caller was, unexpectedly, Chairman Shin Chun-oh of Nongshim [a large South Korean food and beverage company].

Of course, they had talked on the phone every few months. Each time, Chairman Shin had called, and Hyun-sung had always been on the receiving end. Hyun-sung had no particular reason to call him.

But the timing of the call was strange. Until now, they had always talked in the early evening, usually between 7:30 and 8 PM.

That was probably the most convenient time after finishing business for the day.

But tonight, it was already past 10 PM. So, Hyun-sung was naturally surprised.

Moreover, he hadn’t even been at the store today. He had been at Lee Soo-hyuk’s house until just a short while ago and had only returned home about ten minutes ago. It was almost miraculous how Chairman Shin knew to call right away. It would be hard to time it so perfectly unless he was being watched.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s cheerful voice came through the phone.

-I know it’s late, but I suddenly thought of you. Anyway, how did you spend this summer? It must have been quite hot.

“I was at a friend’s house for most of the vacation. They have air conditioning, so I had a cool summer.”

-Haha, they have air conditioning? I don’t know who it is, but they must be quite well-off.

“His father is the head of the agricultural cooperative.”

-The cooperative head? Haha, well, the cooperative head in the countryside is a prominent figure, so that makes sense. But what made you stay at his house for so long?

Shin Chun-oh already knew. He knew that Hyun-sung was at Lee Soo-hyuk’s house to tutor him. But since that was supposed to be a secret, he asked anyway, even though he knew.

“We were studying together. The university entrance exam isn’t that far away.”

-Does that mean you were tutoring him?

“Tutoring? What kind of tutoring is there between friends? We just studied together. It’s more efficient to study with someone than alone, so we did that during the vacation.”

-Haha, is that so?

Shin Chun-oh laughed pleasantly. The reason was simple. He knew that Hyun-sung was tutoring his friend. Yet, Hyun-sung didn’t reveal that and casually said that he was just studying together with his friend.

Usually, someone his age would want to brag about tutoring, but Hyun-sung wasn’t like that at all.

Shin Chun-oh knew that it wasn’t easy to have that kind of character at such a young age, so he laughed happily.

“Seeing that you called at this hour, there must be a reason. Is there something you need?”

-Actually, I was thinking of coming down there tomorrow. Would you have some time?

“Tomorrow?”

-Yes, I was thinking of having lunch together. I have something to talk about.

“Oh, I’m afraid I have to go somewhere tomorrow.”

-Oh, that’s too bad… Tsk, tsk.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

Then Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Is it urgent?”

-No, it’s not necessarily urgent, but it’s been a year since I saw you, and I have something to talk to you about, so I was thinking of coming down there. But where are you going?

“Gangneung.”

-Gangneung? Why suddenly? Is there something going on?

“Nothing in particular. I just have someone to meet. If it’s urgent, I can adjust my schedule. It wouldn’t matter if I changed it by a day or two.”

Before Hyun-sung could finish, Chairman Shin Chun-oh quickly said.

-No, there’s no need to do that. It’s better for me to adjust my schedule.

“I’m sorry. You were going to come all the way down here.”

-No, that’s just my situation. Don’t worry about it. I have things to do the day after tomorrow, so how about this Saturday?

“Saturday? Hmm, I’m free that day. I should be available then.”

-Alright, then I’ll come down there that day. Let’s meet then.

“Okay, I’ll see you then. Have a good night.”

Hyun-sung was about to take the phone away from his ear when it happened.

Suddenly, Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s voice was heard loudly from the phone.

-Hyun-sung!

Hyun-sung quickly grabbed the phone again and immediately answered.

“Yes, Chairman. What is it?”

-Actually, I had a strange dream…

“A dream?”

-Yes, you keep appearing in my dreams these past few days. That’s why I wanted to see you even more. And just in case, did you turn off the gas? And you don’t use briquettes these days, so that’s not a problem, and…

Chairman Shin-chun Oh’s words grew longer. They were all about worrying about Hyun-sung. This had never happened before. He had occasionally told him to be careful, but he had never talked this long like today.

But Hyun-sung listened to Shin Chun-oh’s words without making a sound. He knew very well that all those words were said out of concern for him.

When Shin Chun-oh finally finished speaking, Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“What kind of dream did you have…”

-Well, that’s… No, I almost said something unnecessary. Anyway, lock the door well and sleep well. Then let’s see each other this Saturday.

“Yes, I understand. Then have a good night.”

Click.

As soon as the call was disconnected, Hyun-sung tilted his head.

“That’s strange.”

He was so different from usual. He had occasionally told him to be careful whenever he called, but there had never been a day like today.

“What kind of dream did you have…”

Hyun-sung went outside.

It was to check the gas in the kitchen again because Shin Chun-oh had repeatedly asked him to.

Hoo…

After hanging up the phone, Shin Chun-oh took a deep breath. But the uneasy feeling still didn’t go away.

Beep, beep, beep.

Shin Chun-oh called again.

-Hello.

“Secretary Kim, it’s me.”

-Oh? Chairman, what’s going on at this hour? Is there something wrong?

“I’m sorry for calling so late.”

-It’s alright. I wasn’t going to sleep yet anyway. But what’s the matter?

“I just wanted to double-check. You’re definitely carrying out what I told you, right?”

-Ah, you mean Hyun-sung?

“Yes, I’m just too anxious. I’ve never been like this before, but for some reason, I keep feeling uneasy.”

-Even if you didn’t say so, I knew you were anxious these days, so we’ve been protecting him 24 hours a day since yesterday. We’ve also added two more people. Two people are protecting him in shifts 24 hours a day, so don’t worry too much. And I’ve made it clear that they can take action first and report later if something happens, so nothing will happen.

“Good job. Thank you. This is the first time for me too. I’m sorry, but please pay a little more attention.”

-Yes, Chairman. Don’t worry and rest comfortably.

“Okay, then take care. Secretary Kim!”

-Yes, Chairman.

“Thank you! Always…”

-I’m always grateful. Then rest comfortably…

Click.

Hoo, hoo!

After hanging up the phone, Shin Chun-oh breathed heavily, still feeling uneasy.

***

Past midnight, 2 AM.

Two people appeared at the three-way intersection store.

Min Doo-shik, the owner of the ramen shop, looked at Choi Min-sung and asked.

“Hyung [an honorific term used to address an older male friend or brother in Korean], is everything ready?”

“It’s ready, but do we really have to go this far?”

“Why are you saying such weak things now? As you know, school starts next week. If we don’t finish it this time, we’ll be beaten by that young punk again. Sang-cheol hyung left this neighborhood because of him, and I can’t let that happen to me. We’re going to get rid of him for sure this time.”

“Still, this is a bit…”

Choi Min-sung, who was feeling uneasy, was holding a gas can in one hand.

“Are you really going to keep doing this?”

“It’s all or nothing anyway. As long as that guy keeps doing business, neither you nor I can live in this neighborhood. He has to disappear for us to live. So don’t say such weak things anymore.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Min Doo-shik checked the time.

The clock was already pointing to 2:10 AM.

“Hyung, let’s go now. The security patrol is over, so now is the perfect time. Hurry!”

“Mr. Min, don’t do that and let’s think about it one more time…”

“Ah! Seriously… Hey, Choi Min-sung, get a grip. Why don’t you understand that you and I will have nothing as long as that bastard is around? And think about who has been paying your salary until now. Huh!”

Min Doo-shik shouted as he looked at Choi Min-sung.

Then Choi Min-sung couldn’t say anything and bowed his head.

The conversation between the two ended there.

The two people who came out of the store started walking towards Hyun-sung’s store.

At that time.

Two people hiding in the darkness.

“No, what’s going on? What’s going to happen in this rural area that we have to guard day and night?”

“Shh! Be quiet. It’s the chairman’s special order.”

“No, I know, but what is this? What kind of relationship does that kid have with the chairman that he’s telling us to guard him so tightly?”

“I don’t know either, but I heard that he’s a hidden child [an illegitimate child]. Otherwise, he wouldn’t tell us to guard him 24 hours a day.”

“A hidden child?”

“I’m not sure either, so be careful what you say. Just in case… Shh, someone’s coming.”

The two became as quiet as mice again.

Thump, thump.

Choi Min-sung’s steps were still heavy.

Then Min Doo-shik said in a low voice.

“Hyung, are you really going to keep doing this until the end? Do you think I’m doing this just to live well on my own?”

“Huh? Y-yes, I understand.”

“Let’s just close our eyes and end it in one go. Let’s just finish this and try to do business hard too. Okay?”

Choi Min-sung nodded weakly instead of answering.

The two people had already arrived in front of Hyun-sung’s store.

Min Doo-shik said again in a low voice.

“What are you doing? Why don’t you pour the oil quickly?”

“Huh? Y-yes…”

Min Doo-shik opened the oil can and started pouring oil in front of the store.

The two people who were watching the scene in the darkness.

“What are those bastards doing?”

“Isn’t that the smell of oil?”

“It’s the smell of kerosene! Hey, what are you doing? Catch those bastards!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the two people flew through the darkness like lightning.

***

Ring, ring.

Shin Chun-oh, who was sleeping, opened his eyes as soon as the phone rang once. He couldn’t sleep because he was uneasy, and he had finally fallen asleep a little while ago.

There is only one person who would call at this hour.

“Secretary Kim, what’s going on? Don’t tell me?”

-Chairman!

Secretary Kim Young-woo’s voice was filled with urgency.

Shin Chun-oh’s voice grew louder as he instantly sensed that something had happened.

“What’s going on?”

-He’s safe.

“Safe? You mean Hyun-sung is safe?”

-Yes, that’s right. I’m telling you the result first because I was worried about you.

Hoo!

Shin Chun-oh let out a sigh without realizing it. He had immediately sensed that something had happened the moment the phone rang a little while ago.

Shin Chun-oh, who had taken a breath, immediately asked.

“What happened?”

-That’s… well…

Secretary Kim Young-woo began to explain the contents he had just received to Shin Chun-oh. As soon as his explanation was over, Shin Chun-oh immediately shouted.

“What? Set it on fire?”

-Yes, that’s right. But fortunately, our guys caught them before that.

“So, what about those guys?”

-They’ve already been taken to the hospital. They’ll be out for at least 6 weeks.

“Good job. Give the kids a special bonus and report the details later. Good work.”

-Yes, I understand. But what kind of dream did you have…

“No, it’s okay. I can’t bring myself to talk about that dream, and tell those friends to keep guarding him 24 hours a day until I give separate instructions, just in case.”

-Yes, I understand. Then I will report the details right after the meeting is over.

“Okay, I understand. Good work. You can rest now too.”

Click.

After hanging up the phone, Shin Chun-oh closed his eyes tightly without realizing it. It was a dizzying moment to think about. If he hadn’t had that dream, he wouldn’t have been able to stop this from happening.

“Thank you, Father.”

Shin Chun-oh called out to his father with his eyes closed.

The image of his deceased father jumping into the fire to save Hyun-sung was still vivid in his mind.