Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 383

383

Sunday of the second week of July.

Pitter-patter!

‘What’s that sound?’

Hyun-sung opened his eyes, disturbed by the noise. He listened intently.

“Is it raining……?”

Hyun-sung jumped out of bed and went to the window. It was raining outside.

He glanced at the clock. The desk clock showed it was just past 10 a.m.

“Has it gotten this late already?”

He had gone to bed around 5:30 a.m. The habit he had picked up since starting university was staying up all night on Saturdays. Since he had decided to rest on Sundays anyway, he had decided to stay up all night studying on Saturdays.

To finish preparing for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam by December at the latest, he had no choice but to cut down on sleep. Fortunately, once he started studying again, his memories from his past life, though old, were coming back to him.

“It’s raining harder.”

The raindrops were getting thicker.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, someone came to Hyun-sung’s mind: Lee Hak-sung, the dean of the College of Commerce and Economics. When he had a meeting with the dean at the beginning of the semester, the dean had said, ‘I don’t know when it will be, but if it rains on a Sunday, let’s meet at the Glass House in Gyeongpo.’ Of course, Hyun-sung himself had readily agreed.

‘Could it be……?’

Hyun-sung tilted his head. He had clearly said that at the time, but he didn’t think the dean would actually show up at this hour.

‘But…….’

Hyun-sung tilted his head again. He felt that it was up to the dean. Whether he came to the meeting place or not was the dean’s problem, and Hyun-sung felt he had an obligation to keep his promise. That was the right thing to do.

‘In that case…….’

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung moved quickly. Even if he went to Gyeongpo and the dean didn’t show up, there was nothing he could do. He would just be fulfilling his duty. And even if that happened, Hyun-sung thought it wouldn’t be so bad to watch the rainy sea alone.

Hyun-sung went outside and headed straight for Gyeongpo. He briefly considered taking the truck, but he figured that if the dean was there, they would naturally have some *makgeolli* [Korean rice wine], which would make things inconvenient. There were no designated drivers back then, so he took a taxi instead.

The taxi carrying Hyun-sung passed Gyeongpo Lake and headed for Gyeongpo Beach in the rain.

“It’s still the same!”

Hyun-sung got out of the taxi and looked up at the two-story commercial building. It was the ‘Glass House,’ a café and bar. Just like in his past life, the entire front was made of glass. So, if you looked out from inside, you could see the entire ocean. That was the fantastic view of the sea that you could enjoy at the Glass House, especially on a rainy day.

“Welcome.”

As Hyun-sung opened the door and entered the store, a young female employee in her early twenties greeted him.

Despite it being morning, the seats by the window were almost full. But fortunately, one seat was empty. However, Hyun-sung’s expression quickly soured. That was because even that empty seat had a ‘Reserved’ sign on it.

“Is that seat reserved?”

Hyun-sung asked the employee, hoping for the best.

The employee immediately bowed her head and said,

“Yes, I’m sorry. It was reserved by phone 5 minutes ago. They said they would arrive within 10 minutes…….”

“5 minutes ago?”

“Yes, the call came 5 minutes before you walked in. We don’t usually take reservations, but the person who called was a bit special, so we couldn’t help it…… I’m sorry.”

“A special person?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but ask, taken aback by the explanation of a ‘special person.’ The phrase implicitly suggested discrimination against ordinary people.

“I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant…….”

The employee, realizing her mistake, looked flustered. Seeing this, Hyun-sung quickly waved his hand and continued,

“No, you don’t have to be so sorry. I was just curious about who it was. I thought they must be someone with a pretty high social status. So, you don’t have to worry too much.”

“No, I’m still so sorry. I hope you don’t misunderstand. I really didn’t mean it that way…….”

“Yes, I understand. Can I sit over there?”

Hyun-sung deliberately moved towards the opposite side of the window before the employee could finish speaking. Otherwise, he thought the employee would continue to feel uncomfortable.

As Hyun-sung took a seat, the employee scurried over again.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“It’s okay. As I said before, I just asked because I thought it was someone who knew the atmosphere well enough to reserve a window seat at this hour.”

“Ah, yes……. I see. Anyway, I made a mistake…… How can I help you with your order?”

“Before that…… do you still have seaweed soup these days?”

Hyun-sung asked, recalling his past memories.

It was the trademark of this place. If you ordered coffee or other drinks, it wasn’t the case, but if you ordered alcohol, seaweed soup always came as a basic side dish. And the seaweed soup was excellent. It wasn’t just some roughly made seaweed soup, but a rich broth that you couldn’t taste anywhere else.

The employee immediately replied,

“Of course, we have seaweed soup. Have you been here often? You know about the seaweed soup.”

“Haha, a long time ago. A very long time ago.”

“Yes?”

The employee tilted her head.

Seeing this, Hyun-sung momentarily thought, ‘Oops.’ It was his mistake.

To the employee, he probably looked like a freshman or sophomore at best. But in that situation, he had said ‘a very long time ago,’ so it must have sounded absurd.

However, since it was already water under the bridge, Hyun-sung quickly changed the subject.

“Please give me an assorted pancake and *makgeolli*. And two glasses, please.”

“Two glasses? Is someone else…….”

“I don’t know if they’ll come, but just in case.”

“Yes? That’s…… Ah, never mind.”

The employee hesitated to say something, shook her head slightly, and headed straight to the kitchen.

A little later.

“Enjoy your time.”

The employee placed the seaweed soup, assorted pancake, and *makgeolli* on the table and bowed slightly. Then, she turned to leave but turned back. She carefully opened her mouth towards Hyun-sung.

“Excuse me…… are you Kim Hyun-sung from the College of Commerce and Economics?”

“Yes? Yes, I am…….”

“Ah, I see. Actually, I was wondering when you first came in, but I remembered it a little while ago when I went to the kitchen.”

“Ah, yes……. But how do you know me?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but be curious. He had no memory of her at all. But an unexpected answer came from her mouth.

“I saw you in the newspaper.”

“The newspaper?”

“Yes, the Biryeong Newspaper.”

The Biryeong Newspaper is an on-campus newspaper published weekly by students at the College of Commerce and Economics. Only then did Hyun-sung realize how the employee knew him. He had briefly done an interview with the on-campus newspaper at the beginning of the semester, of course, because he was the top student.

If what the employee was saying was true, she was also a student at the College of Commerce and Economics.

Hyun-sung immediately asked. No, he was about to, but he couldn’t. The reason was that someone opened the door and came into the store at that moment.

“Welcome!”

She greeted the newly arrived customer with a smile and approached them.

But at that moment, a smile spread across Hyun-sung’s face. The reason was that the customer who had just entered was none other than Lee Hak-sung, the dean of the College of Commerce and Economics. He, too, had not forgotten and had come to the meeting place.

‘What?’

His joy was short-lived as Hyun-sung tilted his head. The reason was the familiarity between the dean and the female employee. He couldn’t tell what they were talking about because they were far away, but at first glance, they seemed to be more than just acquaintances. But he immediately shook his head. If the two were close, there must be a reason, Hyun-sung thought.

‘What?’

Hyun-sung was surprised again. The reason was that the place where the employee guided Lee Hak-sung was the very seat he had tried to sit in earlier but couldn’t because it was reserved. That meant that the person who had reserved the seat was none other than Lee Hak-sung.

Without thinking, Hyun-sung immediately got up from his seat and headed there.

“Dean!”

Hyun-sung greeted Lee Hak-sung with a smile. Honestly, he had hardly expected him to actually show up here. He had just thought that he had made such a suggestion on a whim. So, it was natural that Hyun-sung’s voice was full of joy as he called out to him.

Lee Hak-sung’s face was filled with surprise at Hyun-sung’s voice.

“Oh? Hyun-sung?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Haha, I didn’t think you would actually come here.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t you clearly say during our meeting at the beginning of the semester that we should meet here if it rained on a Sunday?”

“Of course, I did. But that was a long time ago, wasn’t it? I naturally thought you would have forgotten.”

Lee Hak-sung’s face was now full of smiles. That was because, even as he left the house, he honestly had little expectation. But he couldn’t help but come. It was because of a sense of duty.

He was the one who had first suggested meeting on a rainy Sunday. In that situation, if Hyun-sung hadn’t forgotten the promise and had come, but he wasn’t there, he thought it was something that couldn’t be tolerated as an adult.

Then Hyun-sung continued,

“I honestly thought the same thing as you, Dean.”

“You thought I wouldn’t come?”

“Yes, that’s right. That was at the end of February, so it’s been almost 5 months. I naturally thought you would have forgotten.”

“So, we were both thinking the same thing. But both of us came anyway. Isn’t that interesting? So, what made you come?”

Lee Hak-sung smiled and immediately asked Hyun-sung. Then Hyun-sung also smiled and immediately continued.

“Duty.”

“Duty?”

“Yes, that’s right. If you had come, Dean, and I wasn’t here, what could be more absurd than that? That’s something I can’t tolerate.”

“So, you came to fulfill your duty?”

“Yes, honestly, that’s right.”

Hyun-sung spoke his honest mind. Then Lee Hak-sung asked again.

“What would you have done if I hadn’t come?”

“That doesn’t matter. I would have done my duty anyway. Either way, my mind would be at ease.”

“You’re saying it’s okay because your mind is at ease because you’ve done your duty?”

“Yes, isn’t it enough for people to have peace of mind?”

That’s what he had felt while living. The feeling you get when you’ve done your duty—there’s nothing as confident and comfortable as that. And he realized that there’s no need to resent anyone because he knew that it would only make his own heart uncomfortable.

Lee Hak-sung continued,

“You’re saying you wouldn’t have resented me even if I hadn’t come?”

“Why would I resent you? It would only hurt my own feelings. And isn’t it great to drink *makgeolli* in a place like this on a rainy day? Look over there. The sight of rain falling on the sea. How many places in Korea can you enjoy such romance? That’s why I said I came to the College of Commerce and Economics. It’s a really wonderful place. Isn’t it?”

“Haha…….”

Lee Hak-sung just laughed. He thought that everything he said was true.

He had done his duty, so his mind would be at ease. And there’s no need to resent the other person for not coming. And enjoying the scenery while sitting by the window overlooking the sea is the best thing you can enjoy here.

Everything he said was right.

But the problem was that the guy who said those things was only twenty years old.

That was why Lee Hak-sung just laughed.

At that moment.

“Dad, what’s going on with these two?”

The female employee, who had finished serving another table, looked at Lee Hak-sung and asked.

‘Dad?’

Hyun-sung looked back and forth between Lee Hak-sung and the female employee for a moment. Then he started laughing.

“Haha, hahaha…….”

He couldn’t help but laugh at his own brain structure, which had suspected the relationship between the two, even for a brief moment.