Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 424

426

“…….”

It was several minutes before Park Beom-soo, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Did you say essay just now?”

“Yes, why?”

“Are you telling me to write an essay on the two letters that make up the word ‘family’?”

“Why, can’t you do it?”

“…….”

Park Beom-soo closed his mouth again. Then, as if struck by an idea, he got up and headed to the kitchen.

Park Beom-soo entered the kitchen.

“This bastard is really…….”

A rough sound escaped from Park Beom-soo’s mouth.

Anyone could see that he was being made fun of. Even though he had lived in Japan for over 20 years, it wasn’t as if he had no concept of family.

“But to write an essay on the two letters of ‘family’?”

Of course, he had felt a strange sensation when Hyun-sung said that his name had to be written to complete the family. It was a somewhat refreshing shock, as it was a phrase he had forgotten for a while.

Everything has its limits. As the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little. But no matter how he thought about it, this was a bit…….

‘Wait a minute!’

Another thought flashed through Park Beom-soo’s mind.

‘Why? Why did he do that? Why is Hyun-sung emphasizing ‘family’ to him so severely?’

After thinking for a while, Park Beom-soo slowly began to nod.

“Yes, maybe…….”

At that moment.

The two people sitting in the living room.

“Why did you do that?”

Park Hee-chul looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

He had been watching from the side, but he thought it was a bit much. Of course, he knew the purpose, but he thought the extent was too severe. That’s why he asked the reason.

Hyun-sung couldn’t possibly not know the intention of Park Hee-chul’s question. Hyun-sung’s answer followed immediately.

“If I had to give a reason, there are two things.”

“Two things?”

“Yes, the first is that I wanted him to think more deeply about the meaning of family. As Father knows better than anyone, I thought that was essential for Beom-soo hyung.”

“Hmm…… That’s true, but everything should be done in moderation…….”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Hyun-sung shook his head before Park Hee-chul could finish speaking. Then he immediately continued.

“Of course, that would have been enough for anyone else. But Beom-soo hyung is definitely different from other people.”

“That’s true.”

“I heard that Beom-soo hyung went to Japan when he was ten years old. And he lived there for over 20 years before returning to his homeland. How much do you think such a person would recognize the community of family?”

“Well…….”

Park Hee-chul tilted his head and looked at the kitchen where Park Beom-soo had disappeared.

Then Hyun-sung’s words continued.

“Everyone has stages.”

“Stages?”

“Yes, stages of recognition. To recognize something, you must first perceive it, whether it’s tangible or intangible. That means you have to think about it.”

“But our Beom-soo is…….”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s completely absent. You saw it a little while ago. When I said the completion of the family, he was thinking for a long time. Of course, it’s not Beom-soo hyung’s fault. He hasn’t experienced it. Strictly speaking, that’s Father’s responsibility.”

“Hmm…….”

Park Hee-chul nodded with his mouth firmly shut.

Hyun-sung’s words continued again.

“Of course, I’m not suggesting we discuss that now. The important thing is that Beom-soo hyung needs more time to think than others.”

“So you did it on purpose?”

“Yes, otherwise, why would I have taken such a risk? But don’t worry too much. Beom-soo hyung will overcome that process well enough.”

In fact, it wasn’t that he hadn’t worried. But he saw the look in his eyes when he said that his name had to be written to complete the family.

He first saw him at Park Hee-chul’s wedding. After that, he saw him briefly whenever he came out on vacation while in the military.

To be honest, it wasn’t the feeling he had now back then.

What should he say…… It was like water and oil, a feeling of playing separately.

But today was definitely different.

Seeing him buy pork and come in, saying he would make kimchi stew for Park Hee-chul, he wondered if a person could change so much in three years.

That was probably because his father, Park Hee-chul’s efforts, were so great. It wouldn’t be easy to bring about that much change in a thirty-five-year-old son in three years, who is not one or two years old.

And from his appearance of hesitating before finally writing his name, he felt that he was now sincerely thinking about the community of family, not just himself.

That’s why he hesitated for a moment, and in the end, even though he knew it was an unreasonable request, he chose to have him write an essay on the two letters of ‘family’.

Although the number of letters is only two, he thought it was time to seriously consider the meaning contained within them.

Park Hee-chul asked again.

“Do you really think Beom-soo can do well?”

“Yes, I think so. Of course, Father’s efforts were great in making that happen. If I don’t know anything else, it seems that Father has given Beom-soo hyung a lot of love for the past three years.”

“…….”

“That power of love will appear this time. Watch. My eyes will be right.”

“…….”

Park Hee-chul closed his eyes tightly without saying a word.

In fact, it would be a lie if he said he hadn’t been anxious all along. He had sent him to Japan at such a young age that even though he was his son, it wasn’t easy to live with him in the same house after 20 years.

He had thought about it for a long time, and in the end, he chose to give him back the time he had lost 20 years ago.

So, he chose to go to the bathhouse in the morning on Sundays and spend time there, and go fishing in the afternoon. And on market days, he would go to the market together and stop by a Chinese restaurant on the way back to eat jajangmyeon [Korean-Chinese noodle dish with black bean sauce].

As they spent time like that, the relationship between the two people, which was awkward at first, had naturally returned to the relationship between father and son.

As Park Hee-chul opened his eyes again, Hyun-sung’s words continued.

“And I also wanted to improve hyung’s patience. He needs that much patience.”

“Patience?”

“Yes, that’s the second reason. Until now, he has been gradually adapting to Korean life by Father’s side. But Father knows very well that that is not enough.”

“Hmm…… That’s right. So you did it on purpose?”

“Yes, I had no choice. And I told you from the beginning, didn’t I? I said I would take responsibility after 3 years. Now is the time. From now on, he will have to face reality.”

Pfft.

Park Hee-chul looked at Hyun-sung and laughed lightly. Then he immediately continued.

“As expected, you had a plan from the beginning?”

“But there’s one more important thing left.”

“Important thing? What is it?”

“Now Beom-soo hyung will try to test me. Now I have to pass that test to work with Beom-soo hyung.”

“Heh heh, a test…….”

Park Hee-chul laughed lightly once again.

After all, he had expected it to some extent from the beginning. The age difference between the two people is exactly eleven years, not just one or two years. Of course, age is not absolutely important in life, but it is not something that can be ignored.

In the end, he will want to confirm Hyun-sung’s capabilities.

Whether he is worth believing in and following.

It was then.

Creak!

The kitchen door opened and Park Beom-soo walked out. He was holding a cup in his hand.

Thud!

Park Beom-soo put the cup, which was only half full of water, on the table and called Hyun-sung’s name.

“Kim Hyun-sung.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot…….”

Park Beom-soo glanced at Hyun-sung before speaking, then continued.

“There’s a condition.”

“A condition? What condition all of a sudden?”

“To be honest, I never thought that the person testing me would be you. I don’t know why Father kept that a secret all this time, but I think Father had his own reasons. So I decided to just skip that part. Whatever the reason, I think Father did it for me.”

Hyun-sung nodded. Hyun-sung also had the same thought as Park Beom-soo in that regard.

If he had to guess the reason, it was probably because of Hyun-sung’s age. Park Hee-chul had experienced Hyun-sung all this time, so he knew his abilities to some extent, but Park Beom-soo’s case was different.

In Park Beom-soo’s case, he had only seen him at home a few times during his vacation. In that situation, if Hyun-sung was the person to test Park Beom-soo himself, he would feel a sense of rejection before he was curious about what kind of person he was. Park Hee-chul probably did that to prevent that from happening.

Park Beom-soo’s words continued again.

“So, as you test me, I also need to know about you to some extent. That way, I can come to a conclusion about this issue.”

Park Beom-soo was pointing to the last problem with his hand.

In the end, it was about verifying himself as Hyun-sung had expected.

Hyun-sung tilted his head slightly. He was curious about what method he would use to verify himself.

Then Park Beom-soo opened his mouth.

“First of all, I need to know what kind of person you are.”

“Yes, that’s good. I don’t know what method you will use to verify me, but tell me what to do, hyung.”

“Good, then what do you see here?”

Park Beom-soo pointed to the water cup on the table. The cup was only half full of water.

The moment Hyun-sung saw the water cup, he remembered something from the past.

There are two memories. One is the memory of his past life, and the other is the memory of this life.

Both are memories from his freshman year of college. It was during a psychology class, a liberal arts subject.

One day, the professor put a cup half full of water like now and asked the students.

-How much water do you think is in the cup now?

The students’ opinions were largely divided into two categories.

One was the opinion that there was only half the water, and the other was the opinion that half the water was left.

Only later did he know that it was a psychological test that was often used in psychology. But at the time, it was the first time he had heard of it, so it was interesting.

The conclusion was one.

The result is different depending on how people think in the same situation.

Even with the same water cup, some people complain that there is only half left, while others are grateful that half is left.

He said that our lives are the same. Even in the same situation, some people are unhappy and others are happy. So, if you live with gratitude in everything with a positive mindset, you will be happy, which was the professor’s conclusion. It is the aesthetics of half a cup of water that is often talked about.

But the important thing is that you can’t evaluate people with this.

People cannot be simply divided into positive and negative, and positivity is not always good, and negativity is not always bad.

As we live, our attitudes change from time to time depending on the situation.

In the end, this method is not suitable for evaluating people.

Hyun-sung looked at Park Beom-soo and answered.

“A water cup.”

“Yes, there is a cup with water in it now. So, how much water do you think is in Hyun-sung’s eyes?”

Park Beom-soo’s eyes twinkled as he asked. He didn’t know what answer he wanted, but he had the wrong address. This is not it. This is not how you verify people.

Pfft.

Hyun-sung chuckled and got up from his seat. Then he picked up the water cup on the table and drank it.

Then Park Beom-soo looked at Hyun-sung as if he was dumbfounded.

“What? You’re not answering the question…….”

“Hyung, you can’t verify people with this. I don’t know how you learned it in Japan, but this is only briefly applied in psychology. Get up.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go somewhere. There’s something I want to show you.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“You’ll know when you go.”

With those words, Hyun-sung greeted Park Hee-chul and immediately moved towards the front door.

Then Park Beom-soo was dumbfounded.

He wanted to know at least what kind of tendency he had. So, what came to mind was the half-cup of water test. Of course, he knows that people should not be evaluated with this method.

But he had no choice but to choose that method because it was the only thing he could check right now. But he never thought he would drink the water.

“Father, what is that guy?”

“Heh heh, I don’t know. I think Hyun-sung is just saying that water is just water…….”

“Huh? Water is just water?”

“Isn’t he saying not to play with water? I think he thinks it’s all just words, whether it’s positive or negative. Anyway, go quickly. I want to follow you because I’m curious about where that place is, but if I do, I’m afraid Hyun-sung will just call me a busybody…….”

Park Hee-chul could only look at the door where Hyun-sung had left with a look of regret.

Then Park Beom-soo was also just tilting his head without making a decision.

It was then.

Honk honk!

Hyun-sung started honking outside as if telling him to come out quickly.

Then Park Hee-chul urged Park Beom-soo.

“Hurry up.”

“Hoo……!”

Park Beom-soo sighed deeply as if he had no choice and moved his feet.

“Where are we going?”

Park Beom-soo, who got into Hyun-sung’s truck, asked bluntly.

Then Hyun-sung smiled and immediately opened his mouth.