Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 425

427

Hyun-sung arrived with Park Bum-soo at a mountainside construction site.

“Get out.”

“…….”

Park Bum-soo remained silent, struggling to understand Hyun-sung’s intentions. Earlier, Hyun-sung had mentioned visiting his past, a statement that already seemed illogical.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, he’d kept quiet. But being brought to a construction site dampened his spirits, hence his silence.

“Boss, you’re here?”

Director Yoo Min-chul hurried over to greet Hyun-sung.

“It’s cold; you’re working hard, Hyung [older brother or respected male acquaintance].”

“It’s nothing. This cold is manageable. But you weren’t scheduled to be here today. What brings you here?”

“Ah, I came to discuss something with this Hyung. Oh, let me introduce you. This Hyung is Park Hee-chul’s second son, and this is the director of this management office.”

As Hyun-sung made the introductions, Park Bum-soo bowed his head in greeting.

“Hello? Nice to meet you. I’m Park Bum-soo.”

“Park Bum-soo? You’re Bum-soo?”

“Yes? Do you know me?”

“Don’t you remember? In first grade, you were swimming in the river and cut yourself on glass. I carried you all the way home.”

“Ah… That’s right, Hyung was in sixth grade then, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, I was in sixth grade, and you were in first. Now you remember?”

“Ah, I remember now. Honestly, I was so dazed then that I didn’t recognize you, but it was you, Hyung. Ah, that’s right, Min-chul Hyung, now that I think about it, it is you. I remember now. Wow! It’s been so long!”

Park Bum-soo, in stark contrast to his earlier demeanor, greeted Yoo Min-chul with a bright smile. They reminisced about old times, their faces beaming as if they had stepped back into their childhoods.

After a while, Park Bum-soo asked,

“Are you working here?”

“Yeah, it’s been three years. Before that, I was doing facility work, but the boss here called me, so I started working here. Thanks to the boss, I even got the title of director out here in the countryside and made it big.”

“Director?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m in charge of all the construction here… Anyway, what brings you here?”

“Actually, I don’t really know. Hyun-sung just suddenly brought me here, so I just…”

Park Bum-soo glanced at Hyun-sung as he spoke.

Hyun-sung picked up the thread immediately. “Yes, I brought Bum-soo Hyung here because I have something to discuss with him.”

“Ah, is that so? Then please talk. I’ll get back to work.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

“Okay, I understand. Bum-soo, let’s grab a drink sometime on our day off.”

Yoo Min-chul finished speaking, bowed politely to Hyun-sung, and returned to the construction site. Park Bum-soo, watching him, shook his head slightly, struck by Yoo Min-chul’s behavior.

Yoo Min-chul was five years older than him. That meant Hyun-sung and Yoo Min-chul were sixteen years apart. Regardless of the boss-director relationship, they were still people who had grown up in the same neighborhood. Yet, he couldn’t help but be surprised at how Yoo Min-chul treated Hyun-sung, who was sixteen years younger.

But it wasn’t just Yoo Min-chul who was surprising. Hyun-sung was too. After all, he was the employer. In simpler terms, even though he was young, he was the boss. But the way he treated Yoo Min-chul was remarkable.

He was so respectful. He could have been arrogant, given his age, but there was no trace of that.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

Hyun-sung asked, noticing Park Bum-soo’s pensive expression.

“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing. Just…”

“Come this way.”

“Oh, okay.”

Park Bum-soo quietly followed Hyun-sung.

They arrived at the edge of the mountainside, overlooking the village.

“…….”

Hyun-sung gazed down at the village in silence. Park Bum-soo, standing beside him, also quietly looked down.

They stared at the village for a long time without a word.

How much time had passed?

Hyun-sung broke the silence first.

“Hyung, do you remember that place?”

Hyun-sung pointed to a pond, a spot where the streambed was deeply hollowed out, making the water deeper than elsewhere. It was a popular swimming spot for the neighborhood children in the summer, and in the winter, they spun tops and rode sleds there. Even now, several children were riding sleds.

“Of course, I remember. Like Min-chul Hyung said earlier, that’s where I stepped on broken glass and got hurt. But I wasn’t hurt too badly, so I went swimming with my friends again a week later. And winter vacation? As soon as we finished eating, we’d head out to the stream and…”

Park Bum-soo began to recount old memories, as if he had returned to his childhood. After a while, he looked at Hyun-sung and asked,

“Was that place where you said you were going to take me to my past?”

“Yes, that’s right. But do you know what?”

“Huh? What?”

“That place isn’t just a place of memories for you, Hyung, but also for Min-chul Hyung and me. And it’s not just us, is it? Any child living in this village will have the same memories. As you can see, the children playing now will also cherish those memories later.”

“Of course, that’s right.”

Park Bum-soo nodded.

Then Hyun-sung continued, “How long will it last?”

“Huh? What do you mean, how long will it last?”

“I mean in the future. In ten years? Or even twenty years, will children still be able to play there?”

“… Well, I don’t know exactly, but I don’t think there will be as many as there are now.”

Park Bum-soo replied cautiously.

Hyun-sung immediately asked, “Why?”

“It’s been three years since I came to Korea from Japan, and even then, concerns were already being raised in Japan.”

“Concerns?”

“Yeah, they said that in ten years, the population of rural areas will decline rapidly. I haven’t thought about it seriously, but I think Korea will be similar in the future.”

It’s often said that the difference between Japan and Korea is ten years, meaning that what Japan experiences in ten years, Korea will experience in twenty.

Hyun-sung asked again, “Why?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Yes, why is the rural population decreasing so rapidly? It wouldn’t decrease so rapidly without a reason, would it? What is Japan identifying as the cause?”

“The biggest reason is that it’s hard to make a living there. In short, farming isn’t viable. As the amount of imported agricultural products increases, price competition becomes impossible, so even if you farm, it’s not sustainable. But you can’t find other work either.”

Hyun-sung had witnessed this firsthand. The collapse of the rural economy, leading to school closures due to a lack of students.

“As young people increasingly move to the city, only the elderly will be left in the countryside?”

“That’s right. The countryside is rapidly aging.”

“As the number of young people decreases, the number of children will naturally decrease as well. As a result, schools will naturally close down… And that’s not all, is it? As the rural population decreases, the number of empty houses will also increase.”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“It’s obvious. As the countryside gradually turns into a ghost town, the problems of the countryside will eventually become social problems.”

“That’s right.”

Park Bum-soo looked at Hyun-sung and nodded, surprised. It was exactly the same as the findings announced by the research institute three years ago.

Then Hyun-sung continued, “What’s the solution?”

“The solution?”

“Yes, now that we know what the problem is, there must have been a solution, right?”

“Oh? That’s…”

Park Bum-soo trailed off. The research institute hadn’t found a solution either.

If there was a solution, they wouldn’t be worried about the future.

Hyun-sung asked again, “In the end, you couldn’t find a solution, right?”

“Oh? Yeah… There’s no answer.”

“That’s probably true.”

Hyun-sung nodded, as if he already knew. If they had found a solution, the collapse of the countryside wouldn’t be happening in either Japan or Korea. But neither country had solved the problem.

Hyun-sung quietly called out to Park Bum-soo, “Hyung!”

“Huh? Why?”

“What do you think is the reason why young people are leaving the countryside?”

“Oh? That’s because farming isn’t viable… And you can’t find other work either, so you have no choice but to…”

“That’s right. Exactly. Both you and I know very well why the rural economy is collapsing. Isn’t that right?”

Park Bum-soo nodded.

The reason why young people have no choice but to leave the countryside is obvious. The problem itself suggests the solution. If they could find that solution, the rural problem would be solved naturally. But unfortunately, no one, not even the government, could find that solution.

Then Hyun-sung continued, “That solution…”

“Solution?”

“Yes, that solution that can save the countryside.”

“…….”

“I found it.”

“What?”

Park Bum-soo turned to look at Hyun-sung.

Hyun-sung raised his hand and pointed to a vinyl greenhouse complex. Its scale was immense.

“It’s 50,000 평 [pyeong, a Korean unit of area, approximately 3.3 square meters].”

“50,000 평?”

“Yes, as you can see, it’s different from ordinary vinyl greenhouses. Because it’s made by welding steel, it won’t budge even if a typhoon comes. Not only that, but the drainage system is perfect, so there won’t be any problems even if 1,000 millimeters [approximately 39 inches] of rain falls per hour.”

“…….”

Park Bum-soo could only gape, speechless. He had been surprised when he saw it from afar, but hearing Hyun-sung’s explanation made it seem even more incredible.

Hyun-sung continued, “It’s the first stage.”

“The first stage? That means…”

“Yes, in ten years, we’ll build another 50,000 평 over there in the second stage.”

Park Bum-soo tilted his head. If you have the ability, you can cultivate as much as you want. The problem is consumption. The key is whether you can sell that much produce in this countryside.

“We’re going to distribute it.”

“Distribute?”

“Yes, we’re going to sell it. We’re going to cultivate various wild vegetables and sell them nationwide.”

“Here in the countryside…?”

Park Bum-soo couldn’t help but tilt his head again. He couldn’t understand it. Selling produce nationwide from this remote mountain village in Gangwon-do? It didn’t seem logical.

Then Hyun-sung pointed to the opposite side, to a restaurant building under construction.

“Hyung, look over there.”

“That’s a restaurant, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right. How big does it look to you?”

“Well, it’s quite big, but…”

“It’s 200 평. That’s just the hall, excluding the kitchen.”

Saying it was 200 평 was like saying the restaurant was a playground. Park Bum-soo could only blink in astonishment.

“It will be seven stories tall. The first and second basement floors are parking lots.”

“The rest of the building is all restaurants…?”

“Yes, the first to fourth floors are restaurants, and the fifth floor is a cafe. We’re going to supply all the vegetables used in the restaurant ourselves, from the vinyl greenhouse over there.”

Park Bum-soo looked back and forth between the restaurant and the vinyl greenhouse and nodded. Now he understood why the vinyl greenhouse was so large.

But one question remained. He couldn’t understand why they were going to build another 50,000 평 in ten years and sell it nationwide.

Then Hyun-sung continued, “How many people do you think will come here in ten years?”

“In ten years? Well…”

“At least over 10,000 people will come on weekends. From then on, we’ll sell Gangwon-do’s specialty, wild vegetables, to those people.”

“Ah…”

Park Bum-soo’s mouth dropped open.

Hyun-sung continued, “The main attractions that will make all of that possible are those trees planted on the road and on this mountain.”

“You mean the cherry trees?”

“Yes, cherry trees are the foundation, and in the spring, you’ll see canola flowers, and in the fall, cosmos flowers between the cherry trees. Imagine those flowers blooming in this place that is over 200,000 평. Wouldn’t people come from all over the country even if we told them not to?”

“…….”

Park Bum-soo shook his head. He couldn’t imagine it.

Hyun-sung continued, “That’s the solution I found.”

“Huh? Yeah…”

“We’ll need at least fifty people just for parking. If you add up the people working at the restaurant, cafe, and farm, it will be at least 1,000. Of course, if we build another farm in the second stage later, we’ll need more people. If we start selling…”

Hyun-sung began to explain in detail how he would operate the business in twenty or thirty years. As Hyun-sung’s explanation grew longer, Park Bum-soo could only nod repeatedly.

Hyun-sung, finished, called out to Park Bum-soo again, “Hyung.”

“Yeah…”

“Now, let’s go back to the beginning and don’t be half-hearted. Make a decision based on what I’ve told you. I will definitely protect and develop our hometown. I will make sure that no one leaves because they can’t find a job.”

Hyun-sung paused and continued, “But I can’t do it alone. It’s impossible. So please help me, Hyung.”

“Me?”

“Yes, isn’t it our hometown? You’ll have a family in the future, and so will I. Let’s protect this hometown so that our sons and daughters can play freely in that river, just like we used to. Okay? Hyung!”

“…….”

Park Bum-soo was silent, looking at the distant river, lost in thought.

How much time had passed?

Park Bum-soo slowly turned to Hyun-sung, nodded slightly, and said, “Okay, Hyun-sung. No, Boss…!”