Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 387

387

“I wonder if she’s come today…”

Hyeonseong muttered, parking his truck in the ‘Grandma Chodang Tofu’ parking lot. Today marked over a month of his daily visits here.

It was around the end of August when he came here after seeing the sunrise in Anin with Chairman Shin Chun-oh, noticing the ‘For Rent’ sign at the entrance, and he’d been coming almost every day whenever he had time since then.

The reason was simple: his mother-in-law.

He hoped that the new owner of this place might be his mother-in-law. Of course, he first met her here 13 years later in his previous life, but it was clear she would have taken over the store before then. The problem was, he didn’t know exactly when.

“Huh?”

Hyeonseong was startled as he headed towards the store entrance. The ‘For Rent’ sign that had been there until yesterday was gone. The removal of that sign meant a new owner had appeared.

Thump, thump.

Hyeonseong hurried inside the store.

“What’s this?”

The store was quiet. It was clear at a glance that it wasn’t open for business. Well, it would be strange to start operating immediately after the owner changed.

“Sorry, but we’re not open yet.”

A woman in her 50s came out from the inner quarters, bowing her head. He didn’t know if she was the new owner, but she certainly wasn’t the previous one.

Curious, Hyeonseong asked immediately.

“Has the owner changed?”

“Yes, we took over today. We’ll start operating in a week after some repairs. Did you come for a meal?”

“Yes? Oh, yes… By any chance, are you the owner?” “Yes, I used to run a restaurant elsewhere…”

The woman said a few more words, but Hyeonseong couldn’t hear them.

“Hoo…!”

Perhaps because his expectations were high, Hyeonseong sighed deeply as he came outside, feeling dejected. That’s why he couldn’t bring himself to leave, even after sitting in his truck.

This would only delay the time he could meet his mother-in-law. Now that the owner here had changed, the current owner would run the store for at least a few years. Of course, he couldn’t know the exact duration, but it would be at least two or three years. After all, the contract period would be at least that long.

“When will I ever meet my mother-in-law…”

Hyeonseong muttered, stepping on the clutch and about to put the car in gear when—

Pitter-patter.

Raindrops began to fall on the truck’s windshield.

“Huh?”

After a little while, the raindrops suddenly became thicker. And the intensity was no joke. If it continued like this for an hour, it would be an enormous amount.

‘Wait a minute!’

Hyeonseong suddenly began to recall an old memory.

It was probably the day before the Olympics closing ceremony. The rain that started in the late afternoon continued for three days and two nights. It wasn’t even the monsoon season, but it rained for three days.

But the problem wasn’t the duration, but the amount of rain. Over 250mm [~10 inches] of rain fell in those three days. Especially on the first night, it poured down at 50mm [~2 inches] per hour. It was literally a water bomb.

However, it didn’t happen nationwide, but rather as a localized torrential downpour concentrated in the Gangneung area of the Yeongdong region of Gangwon Province. The biggest problem was that even the Korea Meteorological Administration hadn’t predicted this at all, so the damage was beyond imagination.

Tomorrow is October 2nd, the day the Olympics end. In the end, the rain that’s starting now will continue to fall fiercely until Monday. The problem is that no one knows this fact except for him.

Vroom!

Hyeonseong stepped hard on the accelerator.

Arriving home, Hyeonseong first called out loudly for Park Min-seok, the landlord’s son.

“Min-seok hyung!” [Hyung is a Korean term used by males to address older male friends or brothers.]

Park Min-seok, coming out of his room, was startled to see Hyeonseong standing in the middle of the yard, getting soaked in the rain.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you standing in the rain?”

“It’s an emergency. Tonight, this place will turn into a sea of water.”

“A sea of water? What are you talking about?”

“The rain will become incredibly heavy soon.”

“What do you mean? The weather forecast this morning didn’t say it would rain that much.”

“Those are all misreports. The head of the Korea Meteorological Administration will lose his job because of it.”

It was true. The head of the Korea Meteorological Administration would resign on Monday morning, taking responsibility for the misreport.

The number of flood victims at that time was enormous. Twenty people died. The damage was beyond imagination. President Roh Tae-woo immediately declared it a special disaster area.

Park Min-seok tilted his head and asked.

“The head of the Korea Meteorological Administration is losing his job?”

“That’s not important right now. Whether he loses his job or not, it doesn’t matter to us. What’s important is that even this place is in danger.”

At that moment, Park Min-seok’s mother, Han Su-jin, came out of the room and asked.

“Hyeonseong, what’s all this about?”

“Well, that is…”

Hyeonseong didn’t have time, so he quickly began to explain what would happen. As Hyeonseong continued to explain, the two shook their heads in disbelief. And finally, when Hyeonseong finished explaining, Han Su-jin asked immediately.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. This isn’t the time to be standing around like this. Do you have any sandbags?”

“Sandbags? What do you need those for all of a sudden?”

“To fill them with sand and pile them up here.”

Hyeonseong pointed to the entrance of his room.

Then Park Min-seok asked, unable to understand.

“What? Are you saying the rainwater will overflow even up here?”

“Yes, of course. If we don’t block this entrance, all these rooms will be flooded. So we need to build a levee here quickly!”

Hyeonseong said urgently. But it seemed Hyeonseong was the only one in a hurry. Park Min-seok and Han Su-jin still couldn’t believe it and didn’t know what to do.

Then Park Min-seok asked Hyeonseong.

“Hey, did you see this in a dream like you did with the graduation trip?”

Park Min-seok remembered the last graduation trip.

If Hyeonseong hadn’t made him get off the bus then, no one knew what would have happened in the crash.

But Hyeonseong knew about it in advance, so he stopped the graduation trip midway. Thanks to that, they were able to avoid the crash. What Hyeonseong said then was that he had seen the accident in a dream.

So he was asking if he had seen this in a dream as well.

Hyeonseong answered immediately.

“That’s right, I had a dream again. So we need to build a levee here quickly. There’s no time. Once it starts getting dark, it’ll be too late. Hurry!”

He was already frustrated about how to make them believe him. But at that moment, he was so glad that Park Min-seok mentioned the dream. Whatever the reason, Park Min-seok had been able to avoid the accident last time. He thought that nothing would be more effective than that in this situation.

Sure enough, the effect was immediate.

As soon as Hyeonseong finished speaking, the two began to move as if they had made a promise.

“Hyeonseong, here!”

Park Min-seok brought sandbags from the storage room. Han Su-jin also grabbed a shovel and approached Hyeonseong.

The two looked completely different from before. Even while working in the rain, there was no sign of doubt in their eyes.

It was then.

As it became noisy outside, the residents began to come out of their rooms one by one.

Hyeonseong called the residents and explained the situation. He thought the more people there were, the faster the work would be done.

After Hyeonseong finished explaining, one student asked.

“Are you really saying the rainwater will overflow up here?”

“Yes, if we don’t block the entrance, these rooms will all be flooded. So hurry…”

The student spoke before Hyeonseong could finish.

“What are you talking about? The TV said it wouldn’t rain much.”

“Yes? Well, that’s…”

Hyeonseong was in trouble. With the Korea Meteorological Administration saying it wouldn’t rain much, there was no way to overturn that.

He couldn’t tell these people that he had a dream. Park Min-seok and Han Su-jin had already experienced it themselves, so they could believe Hyeonseong, but it wasn’t the same for others.

It was right then.

Park Min-seok walked over to Hyeonseong.

“Why, don’t you believe it?”

“Of course not. The TV clearly said…”

“I won’t charge rent.”

“Yes? What do you mean…”

“If Hyeonseong is wrong, I won’t charge rent. Not just for a month, but until you move out. How about that? With a condition like that, you might as well work together?”

As soon as Park Min-seok finished speaking, the students’ eyes began to waver.

Why wouldn’t they? He said he wouldn’t charge rent until they moved out, not just for a month or two.

The student hesitated for a moment and then spoke again.

“Is that really true?”

“Of course. Why? Don’t you believe me?”

“Well, it’s a bit…”

Park Min-seok chuckled at the student’s reaction. He could understand why they were reacting that way.

Park Min-seok had no choice but to look at Han Su-jin and say.

“Mom, it seems we need an explanation from the landlord.”

As soon as Park Min-seok finished speaking, Han Su-jin immediately approached the students. Then she repeated exactly what Park Min-seok had said earlier. The students looked at each other and nodded. Then they immediately began to fill the sandbags with sand.

At that time, the rain was getting heavier and heavier.

Two hours later.

A levee 1m [~3.3 feet] high was perfectly built in two layers at the entrance of the rooms. And they didn’t forget to cover it with plastic to prevent any rainwater from seeping in.

Fortunately, they were able to finish quickly because many people were working.

Tap, tap.

Hyeonseong tapped the firmly built levee with his hand. At this rate, there would be no problem here, no matter how much it rained.

‘This place is done, but…’

Other worries began to coil in Hyeonseong’s mind. It was the safety of the people living in the lowlands of Gangneung.

It was okay now, but once the rain started pouring down from tonight, the flooding would start from the lowlands from midnight.

In particular, the damage was greatest in the lower reaches of the Namdae River. The reason was the flooding of the Namdae River. With more than 50mm [~2 inches] per hour pouring down, it was eventually not enough to handle the amount.

It was then.

“How bad is it?”

Park Min-seok asked, looking at Hyeonseong. Knowing what the question meant, Hyeonseong’s expression couldn’t help but be dark.

“What should we do, hyung?” [Hyung is a Korean term used by males to address older male friends or brothers.]

“How bad is it?”

“If it’s this bad here, how much worse will it be in the lowlands?”

“Are you talking about the lower reaches of the Namdae River?”

Park Min-seok was a native of Gangneung, so he immediately understood what Hyeonseong was talking about.

Hyeonseong answered immediately.

“Yes, the Namdae River can’t handle it.”

“What are you talking about? Are you saying the Namdae River will flood?”

“That’s right. It’s okay now, but it will start overflowing from midnight. The rain is going to be no joke. But the problem is that I can’t do anything about it as an individual.”

This was why Hyeonseong was frustrated. He knew for sure that there would be flooding, but there was no way to let people know.

“Hoo!”

A sigh flowed out of Hyeonseong’s mouth.

Then Park Min-seok asked immediately.

“Is it really going to rain that much?”

“Yes, it will rain more than 50mm [~2 inches] per hour. So the Namdae River can’t handle it. But the problem is that it’s going to rain at night.”

“What should we do? No matter how much we tell people, they won’t believe us…”

Park Min-seok was having the same worries as Hyeonseong.

The two looked up at the sky without saying anything.

After a while.

Hyeonseong looked at Park Min-seok and asked.

“Hyung, do you know anyone at City Hall?” [Hyung is a Korean term used by males to address older male friends or brothers.]

“Yeah, I have a close senior from college… As a matter of fact, that senior is on duty today.”

“Really?”

“Even if he is, there’s nothing he can do… And I don’t know how to explain it.”

Hyeonseong spoke quickly before Park Min-seok could finish.

“Hyung, let’s go. Let’s go and find a way. We can’t just sit here.” [Hyung is a Korean term used by males to address older male friends or brothers.]

“What are you going to do?”

“We have to do something.”

Hyeonseong finished speaking and started walking.

After hesitating for a moment, Park Min-seok also began to follow Hyeonseong.