Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 381

381

“When is it?”

Han Su-jin’s voice was surprisingly calm. In a normal situation like this, emotions would usually take over, but Han Su-jin didn’t seem that way. This probably meant she believed Hyun-sung’s words weren’t a lie.

Hyun-sung couldn’t possibly not know what Han Su-jin was asking, and his answer followed immediately.

“I don’t know the exact time either. But it won’t be later than today.”

“Does that mean?”

“Yes, I’m sure the accident will happen today.”

“…….”

Han Su-jin was speechless.

Usually, you can tell to some extent whether someone is lying by looking at their eyes. But Hyun-sung’s eyes hadn’t wavered at all since earlier. That meant he wasn’t lying, at least.

Of course, she didn’t know if it was true yet. But if what Hyun-sung said was true, even if just by chance, it was huge. It was a matter of someone’s life.

It was then.

“Mom, do you even believe what this crazy bastard is saying?”

Park Min-seok, who still hadn’t calmed down, spoke again. Then, Han Su-jin, who had been ignoring him a moment ago, turned her gaze to him.

“Min-seok, why are you so agitated today, unlike yourself?”

“No, Mom. How can I not be agitated right now? He ruined my once-in-a-lifetime graduation trip!”

Park Min-seok’s voice was still full of anger. He looked like he was about to throw a punch at Hyun-sung again any second.

Looking at him, Han Su-jin immediately continued.

“Park Min-seok!”

“What?”

“Is the graduation trip that important?”

“How can you say that now? It’s once in a lifetime. But he ruined it because of this guy…….”

Before Park Min-seok could finish, Han Su-jin interrupted him and asked first.

“What about your life?”

“Huh?”

“Is the graduation trip important, but your life isn’t?”

“What kind of talk is that? That doesn’t make sense. Do you really believe this guy, Mom?”

Park Min-seok turned his head to look at Hyun-sung. Then, Han Su-jin looked at Park Min-seok and asked.

“What did you say last time?”

“Huh? What did I…….”

“You said Hyun-sung is different from other people, didn’t you?”

“That’s…….”

Park Min-seok couldn’t finish his sentence. It was because he had definitely said that with his own mouth.

He had drunk *makgeolli* [Korean rice wine] with Hyun-sung every day for a week after they first met. The strange thing was that he didn’t feel strange at all from the first time they met. So, they became close surprisingly quickly.

On the last day they spent together, Hyun-sung looked at him and said. He said that even if no one else believed what we said in the future, we should at least believe each other first.

It was about respecting each other that much.

Of course, he had said okay, and he had proudly told his mother about it that evening.

His mother was talking about that now.

Han Su-jin continued.

“Why can’t you speak? How long has it been since you said that?”

“That’s…….”

“Why is a man like you so fickle? If you said something, you have to keep it, right?”

“…….”

Park Min-seok had nothing to say. After all, he had broken his own word.

But only for a moment.

Park Min-seok raised his head again.

“Still, this isn’t right. Of course, you can have dreams. But how can someone drag someone who’s actually going on a graduation trip by lying?”

“Why do you only think about one thing and not two?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you wonder why Hyun-sung went that far? Is this something Hyun-sung did for himself? Are you a child of one or two years old? You shouldn’t be like this after going to the army. Anyway, Hyun-sung did it for you, right? What else would have made him do that? And honestly, no matter how worried you are, who would chase you all the way to Daegwallyeong [a mountain pass in Korea] to do that? Even if the accident doesn’t happen, you shouldn’t be like this right now. Do you still not understand what I’m saying?”

Han Su-jin drove Park Min-seok hard as if she had made up her mind.

But Park Min-seok’s expression was still one of injustice. He was just not saying anything.

Then, Hyun-sung, who was watching the scene, called Park Min-seok in a low voice.

“Hyung! [Older brother or male friend]”

“What? You!”

“Are you that angry?”

“How can you say that now? You ruined my once-in-a-lifetime graduation trip. Does that make sense? And even by lying…….”

“Min-seok hyung!”

Before Park Min-seok could finish, Hyun-sung called his name again. But this time, the voice calling him was definitely different from before.

Was that why?

Park Min-seok looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“What?”

“Let’s go.”

“What?”

“Let’s go. If you’re that upset, I’ll take you back to Gimpo Airport. If we leave now and step on it without stopping, we can get to the airport before the plane leaves. If dying like that is your wish, I’ll take you.”

“This guy is really…….”

“But don’t forget that your mother will have to live in pain for the rest of her life because of you!”

“You really…….”

“Let’s go, I’ll take you right now!”

Hyun-sung was also annoyed, to be honest. Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t understand Park Min-seok’s position, but he thought he would be able to accept it since the situation had come this far. But he was annoyed by the fact that he couldn’t let go of his anger until the end.

It was then.

Han Su-jin called Hyun-sung.

“Hyun-sung!”

“Yes…….”

“Stop it and go into your room. You’ve worked hard. And thank you. For going all the way to the top of Daegwallyeong at that hour. And I’ll prepare lunch today, so come for lunch later.”

“…….”

Instead of answering, Hyun-sung bowed his head to Han Su-jin and moved his feet. He thought that if he stayed here any longer, he might say something else to Park Min-seok.

“You go in too. Anyway, you’ll know when you watch the 9 o’clock news tonight.”

After Hyun-sung returned to his room, Han Su-jin said to Park Min-seok. Then, Park Min-seok looked at Hyun-sung’s back and muttered.

“This guy, we’ll see…….”

***

“Emergency report? What’s that?”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh looked at Director Kim Young-woo with a curious expression and asked.

Then, Director Kim Young-woo’s words followed immediately.

“Yes, it’s a report that just came in from Gangneung.”

“Gangneung? If it’s Gangneung, is it about Kim?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s an emergency report that just came in about Hyun-sung. But the content is so absurd.”

“Absurd? What is it this time?”

“Well, it’s not that, but…….”

Director Kim Young-woo began to report the contents he had just received to Chairman Shin Chun-oh as they were. As Director Kim Young-woo’s words continued, Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s expression gradually changed more and more strangely. And finally, when Director Kim Young-woo’s report ended, Chairman Shin Chun-oh let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.

“Heh heh…… this is really something.”

“I was so dumbfounded at first that I couldn’t say anything. But looking at Hyun-sung’s actions one by one in the past, he has never done anything without a reason, so I am reporting this urgently.”

“So, this time, he chased after the son of a self-boarding house who was going on a graduation trip and dragged him back?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What’s the reason?”

“But that’s…….”

Director Kim Young-woo couldn’t answer easily. Then, Chairman Shin Chun-oh asked immediately.

“There must be a reason, right? Kim couldn’t have done that without any reason.”

“Of course. But the reason is so incomprehensible.”

“What on earth is the reason that you’re hesitating like this?”

“He said there will be an accident. So, he took action in advance.”

“Accident?”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh tilted his head. Even at first glance, he couldn’t understand what he was saying. Then, Director Kim Young-woo’s detailed explanation followed immediately, and when the explanation ended, Chairman Shin Chun-oh asked immediately.

“What about the other students?”

“Huh?”

“No, according to Director Kim’s explanation, there will be an accident on this graduation trip, right? Then what will happen to the other students?”

“Ah, are you talking about that? I tried to persuade them through the student representative, but it was not enough. I think the student representative didn’t have a good reason to persuade the students either.”

“So, you had no choice but to save the student from the self-boarding house?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hmm…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh seemed to be thinking about something for a moment, then asked again.

“Did he say that he saw it in a dream this time, like the last general election results?”

“Yes, that’s right. He said it was like that this time too.”

“What time is it? I mean the time of the accident. When did he say it would be?”

“He said he doesn’t know the exact time. He just said it would be today.”

“Today…….”

In fact, an unbelievable thing happened during the last general election results. Hyun-sung himself said that he just predicted it by feeling, but when I found out later, he also said that he saw it in a dream in advance.

But in fact, the dream story is not all there is to it. The same was true of the initial image of Shin Ramyun [a popular brand of instant noodles in Korea]. He was able to design the Shin Ramyun image on the signboard a month before the ramen was released because he saw the design in a dream in advance. At that time, I thought it was unbelievable, but my mind changed after seeing the results of the last general election.

But now he’s saying there will be an accident again. It’s absurd, but I can’t just ignore it because of the results he’s shown so far.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh looked at Director Kim Young-woo and said.

“What do you think, Director Kim? Do you believe that an accident will happen as Kim predicted this time too?”

“It’s a bit of a headache.”

“A headache? That sounds like you can’t just ignore it unconditionally, am I right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I thought it was absurd at first, but the last general election and the Shin Ramyun image before that, nothing has been wrong so far. So, of course, I can’t ignore it. But I can’t believe it 100% either…….”

Director Kim Young-woo shook his head from side to side.

He predicted an accident and chased after the person who left on a graduation trip all the way to Daegwallyeong and brought him back. It’s not a story that makes sense in common sense. But it’s Hyun-sung, not someone else, so I can’t ignore it. It’s because he has shown results so far.

Then, Chairman Shin Chun-oh called Director Kim Young-woo.

“Director Kim.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“I don’t know if it’s just my feeling, but I think Kim’s prediction will be right this time too.”

“You mean an accident will happen?”

“That’s right. So, I was wondering……, others might think we’re crazy, but I think we should prepare for it, even if it’s just the two of us. What do you think?”

“Huh? Prepare?”

Director Kim Young-woo tilted his head. Even at first glance, he didn’t know what Chairman Shin Chun-oh meant by ‘prepare’.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh continued.

“We can’t just stand still knowing there will be an accident, can we? It may not be directly related to us, but those students are also someone’s precious children.”

“That’s true, but how do you want me to prepare…….”

“Find out about private ambulances in Jeju.”

“Private ambulances?”

Director Kim Young-woo didn’t know exactly what he meant, so he asked again. Then, Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s words followed immediately.

“Hire 10 of them. It doesn’t matter how much it costs. I don’t know when the accident will happen, so there’s no other way. Have them follow the bus from Jeju Island Airport to the accommodation. Of course, it would be great if there was no accident, but if an accident does happen, first aid and patient transfer will be more important than anything else. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, I understand. I will contact Jeju Island right away.”

Director Kim Young-woo bowed his head. He was surprised by Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s thoughtfulness. He couldn’t help but be surprised by the fact that he was paying so much attention to something that had nothing to do with him.

Director Kim Young-woo turned to leave, then turned back.

“Um…… Chairman, I’m sorry, but can I ask you one thing?”

“Um? Are you talking to me?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s not that, but in this case, it has nothing to do with the chairman at all, so why are you bothering to spend so much money…….”

“You don’t understand? Is that what you’re saying?”

“To be honest, yes.”

“Um…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh thought for a moment, then opened his mouth again.

“Would you understand if I said it was a calling?”

“Huh? A calling?”

“That’s right. I’ve met Kim and experienced many things. As I did, I felt that meeting Kim was also God’s will. If so, I thought that doing my best to handle the things that come with it within my ability was also an order given to me by God. Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s also for Kim. I want to make my relationship with Kim meaningful even if it’s like that.”

“…….”

Director Kim Young-woo nodded, said goodbye, and quietly left the chairman’s office.