Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 391

391

“……”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh, who had been quietly watching TV, smiled.

‘They say heroes are born in times of chaos…’

It was two months ago, on the day of the closing ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

As soon as the closing ceremony ended, a special disaster broadcast immediately followed. It concerned the localized torrential rain that had fallen in the Yeongdong region of Gangwon Province the day before.

Literally localized, the rain was concentrated only in Gangneung, a limited area.

200 millimeters [approximately 8 inches], the amount of rainfall in one night. And that was from 11 PM to 4 AM, not during the day. Moreover, the Korea Meteorological Administration had forecast less than 100 millimeters [approximately 4 inches] of rain during the day, so there was nothing to worry about.

Rather, the Meteorological Administration’s forecast worsened the damage.

But a strange thing happened. With that amount of rainfall in a short time, the damage to low-lying areas was obvious. Moreover, more than 50 millimeters [approximately 2 inches] of rain fell per hour from 1 AM to 3 AM. It was literally a water bomb being dropped.

The water bomb was poured during sleeping hours, so the result was more than predictable.

Casualties!

But the result surprised everyone. There was inevitable flood damage, but miraculously, there were no casualties.

The reason is simple. Fortunately, an emergency evacuation order had already been issued before the rain started pouring.

Citizens initially had many complaints.

Because the forecast said that it would not rain that much, but an order to evacuate was issued at that time.

But a few hours later, the citizens’ reaction changed completely.

The rain, which was said to be not much, started to fall fiercely after 1 AM. Everyone realized that if the emergency evacuation order had not been issued, casualties would have been 100% unavoidable.

In the end, the emergency evacuation order saved the precious lives of the citizens. So, who wouldn’t call him a hero?

And the reason they called him a hero was also because of his next action.

His next action was something that had never been seen anywhere in the history of Korea.

It was tent life. Sleeping and eating in a tent without leaving work was basic, and even the mayor’s work was handled outdoors.

The purpose was one.

-I will share the suffering of the flood victims.

But as things always are, not everyone applauded his appearance.

When Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun first set up a tent in the city hall plaza, many people mocked, ridiculed, and pointed fingers at him.

“Don’t put on a show!”

Even the flood victims initially threw stones, saying, ‘What is this doing?’

At that time, Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun said something unexpected in an interview.

-It’s a show.

People who heard that for the first time were dumbfounded. But they had no choice but to watch because of what he said next.

-Instead, I will put my heart into the show.

It meant that he would do his best. He would sincerely understand the flood victims and share their pain, and he would live in a tent until they returned to their normal lives.

But from the beginning, not many people believed those words as they were.

As a day passed, a week passed, and ten days passed, people’s views of Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun began to change.

It was because of his consistent actions.

People’s hearts began to change little by little as they saw him get up in the morning, prepare meals himself, start work, rush to the flood site, help with the restoration work there, cook ramen with the flood victims at lunchtime, and return to the tent in the afternoon to do the mayor’s work.

After a month, many people naturally began to believe in his sincerity, and after 50 days, many people across the country began to be enthusiastic. He had already become a hero to the point where his daily routine was broadcast at the beginning of every news segment.

In the end, he kept his promise to ‘put his heart into the show’ that he had first said.

And today, two months later, his tent life is finally coming to an end. Of course, today is also the day when the last flood victim completely finishes repairing his house and goes home. In the end, he practiced what he had said at the beginning when he set up the tent, that he would share the suffering of the flood victims.

[Hero, Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun Removes Tent After Two Months!]

His tent removal scene is being broadcast as a live special.

Click!

Chairman Shin Chun-oh pressed the call button on the intercom.

“You called, Chairman?”

Secretary Kim Young-woo came in immediately and bowed his head.

Then, Chairman Shin Chun-oh turned his gaze to the TV and asked.

“What do you think?”

“He is a really great person. Who would have known that he would live in a tent for two months, not just a day or two? At least now, there is no one in Korea who doesn’t know Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun. He kept his initial promise to share the suffering with the flood victims until the end. That’s why the people of Korea are so enthusiastic now. No other local government head has ever done that before. That’s why he’s great.”

Secretary Kim Young-woo’s praise for Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun continued for a long time. But what was unique was the look in his eyes as he spoke. His eyes were shining more than ever, as if he was talking about his own thoughts, not just echoing public sentiment.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh nodded at the sight and continued.

“That’s right. If there is a presidential election this year, the president of our country will probably be that gentleman.”

“That’s right. It seems like he’s already secured it. That’s how much the people are showing that they want a politician who understands and shares their suffering.”

“Haha, look at that.”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh pointed to the TV screen with his chin.

On TV, citizens who had gathered at the city hall were shouting Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun’s name and cheering. Some people were even crying. There seemed to be more than a thousand people gathered like that.

“Sit over here.”

When Chairman Shin Chun-oh pointed to the sofa, Secretary Kim Young-woo immediately bowed and sat down. Then, Chairman Shin Chun-oh immediately continued with a smile.

“Secretary Kim, why do you think those people are so enthusiastic?”

“I think it’s because there has never been anything like this before.”

“That’s right. These people are amazed by Mayor Yoon. They have never seen a mayor like this before. It’s not just the mayor, there has never been anyone like this in the political history of Korea. So, people have no choice but to be so enthusiastic. But, you know……”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh paused for a moment and then continued.

“The funny thing is that there is someone behind Mayor Yoon.”

“Are you talking about Hyun-sung?”

“Yes, that’s right. Do you remember what you first reported two months ago, Secretary Kim?”

“Yes, of course. I’m talking about the fact that Hyun-sung went to the city hall duty room on the day it first started raining and talked to Mayor Yoon that day.”

“That’s right. It started that day.”

Even when he first received the report from Secretary Kim Young-woo, he did not expect things to get this big.

Of course, the most 궁금한 [curious] thing was how Hyun-sung knew the amount of rainfall in advance. But no matter how hard he tried to find out, there was no way to find out. So, he put that aside for now and decided to watch Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun’s actions next.

Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun’s actions appeared surprisingly quickly. He ordered an emergency evacuation and moved the next afternoon.

The first thing he showed was setting up a tent in the city hall plaza. At first, he thought it was just a show to show off, and he thought it would only last a few days.

But that was a miscalculation. As time went by, the image he presented was a fresh shock. It was an image that had never been seen anywhere before.

The first to react to his sincerity were the citizens of Gangneung. And as time passed, the emotion gradually began to spread throughout Korea.

From one day, things began to pile up in front of the tent where he was living.

At first, it was rice, side dishes, and other food items. But as time went by, the items piled up began to diversify, and later, even electronic products and furniture began to pile up.

In the end, those items were delivered to the flood victims who actually needed them, and the process was broadcast live across the country.

Two months have passed, and the last flood victim has safely entered his home with the help of a construction company, marking the end. And now, Mayor Yoon Seo-hyun is dismantling the tent where he has been living for two months for the last time.

But the funny thing is that this whole process is being broadcast live across the country. It’s like a program on a broadcasting station that was planned from the beginning.

I found out later.

It’s not a lie, but all of this was planned by someone from the beginning. That someone was none other than Hyun-sung, whom he knew well.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh looked at Secretary Kim Young-woo and asked.

“Why do you think Kim orchestrated this whole show from the beginning?”

“I’m sorry. To be honest, I haven’t figured that out yet.”

“It’s an example.”

“Yes?”