Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 426

Back home, Park Beom-soo called out,

“Father.”

As soon as he opened the front door, he called out to his father, Park Hee-cheol. Park Hee-cheol, who had been wondering why his son Park Beom-soo hadn’t returned for so long after going out with Hyun-sung, couldn’t have been happier to see his son’s face.

He jumped up from his seat and hurried towards the entrance.

“Oh! Beom-soo, welcome home!”

“No need to come all the way, Father. I was coming in anyway…”

“Why are you so late?”

Park Hee-cheol asked before Park Beom-soo could finish his sentence. Then he noticed two ramen boxes next to Park Beom-soo.

Park Hee-cheol asked again.

“What are those ramen boxes?”

“Ah, this? They’re books.”

“Books?”

Park Hee-cheol tilted his head. Even after living together for three years, Park Beom-soo had never bought a book himself. Moreover, he hadn’t gone out alone today, but with Hyun-sung.

Two boxes of books, not just one or two… Park Hee-cheol was understandably surprised.

Then Park Beom-soo smiled and continued.

“The boss bought them for me.”

“Boss? What’s with the ‘boss’ all of a sudden? Since when do you have a boss? Or, maybe…”

“Yes, I’ve decided to serve Hyun-sung as my boss from today.”

“…”

Park Hee-cheol was dumbfounded.

Just this afternoon, Park Beom-soo was ready to challenge Hyun-sung [verify his worthiness]. But after five hours, he suddenly appears and calls him ‘boss’ out of the blue?

‘What happened in the meantime…?’

He couldn’t deny his curiosity.

Park Hee-cheol asked as soon as Park Beom-soo took off his shoes at the entrance.

“What happened between you two?”

“Father, just a moment. Let me just…”

Park Beom-soo started moving the ramen boxes from the entrance to the living room. After two trips, Park Hee-cheol headed to the kitchen. After drinking water, Park Beom-soo returned to the living room, sat on the sofa, and said.

“Father, why are you so curious?”

“Wouldn’t you be curious if you were me? A guy who was going to test him until this afternoon suddenly comes back and calls him ‘boss.’ By the way, what happened between you two? What on earth happened…?”

“Father, I get it. I get it, so take a breath while you talk. You’re going to run out of breath.”

Park Beom-soo interrupted Park Hee-cheol, who was talking non-stop. Then Park Hee-cheol immediately continued.

“Okay. So tell me what happened now.”

“Are you that curious?”

“Are you even asking that now? Suddenly bowing to someone 11 years younger than you…”

“Okay, Father. I’ll tell you everything right now. Otherwise, you’re really going to run out of breath today. Actually…”

Park Beom-soo began to explain in detail what had happened that day. As Park Beom-soo’s explanation continued, Park Hee-cheol’s expression finally began to relax. The explanation continued for a while, and when Park Beom-soo finally finished, Park Hee-cheol nodded and asked.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“So, he said he couldn’t revive and develop his hometown alone, so he asked for help?”

“Yes, I was honestly surprised by that.”

“Hmm… that remark?”

Park Hee-cheol looked at Park Beom-soo, trying to understand exactly what surprised him.

Park Beom-soo continued immediately.

“First of all, I was surprised by the scale. Honestly, the scale was so enormous that I couldn’t even imagine it. He said that at least a thousand employees are needed. That’s if you add up the people working in the restaurant, parking, cleaning, and the farm. And that’s just for the first phase; he said that more people will be needed later.”

“I heard that story before. But honestly, a little…”

Park Hee-cheol shook his head slightly. In fact, he had heard that story from Hyun-sung before. Of course, he didn’t say anything at the time, thinking of Hyun-sung’s feelings. But his honest feeling was that it would be effective to some extent, but he didn’t think it would create that many jobs.

Park Beom-soo spoke again.

“No.”

“No?”

“Yes, you’re wrong, Father.”

“I’m wrong? Does that mean you agree with Hyun-sung?”

“Of course!”

Park Beom-soo nodded emphatically, as if he was completely convinced.

Then Park Hee-cheol asked immediately.

“Why?”

“He said the world is changing.”

“The world is changing? What does that mean?”

“He said that in five years, in 1997, high-speed internet will be introduced, and from the following year, 1998, it will be commercialized, and the world will completely change.”

Park Beom-soo’s words became faster, as if he was a little excited.

On the other hand, Park Hee-cheol tilted his head, as if he didn’t understand, and asked.

“Internet? Is there such a thing? I’ve never heard the word ‘internet’ in my life.”

“Ah, that? It’s a huge computer network where computers all over the world are connected to exchange information.”

“Huh? Well, I don’t understand what that means at all. Okay, let’s say that’s true, but what does that have to do with it?”

“If that happens, this place will be known nationally, no, worldwide, and people will flock here. If that happens, of course, we’ll need a lot of people to work. But there’s something even more surprising.”

At Park Beom-soo’s words, Park Hee-cheol stared at him, silently asking what was so surprising.

Park Beom-soo continued.

“Actually, this is something that’s being talked about a lot in Japan right now. How did Hyun-sung know that? And what’s even more ridiculous is that he knows how the world will change not only 20 years from now, but even 30 years from now.”

“Who? Hyun-sung?”

“Yes, and those words are all correct. It’s the same as what scholars in Japan are predicting. Honestly, there are so many surprising things that I can’t even believe it.”

“Hmm…”

Park Hee-cheol seemed to think for a moment, then slowly nodded and opened his mouth again.

“Well… if it’s Hyun-sung, he’s capable of anything.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but Hyun-sung has a special ability.”

“A special ability?”

“Yes, Hyun-sung has the ability to see the future.”

“Yes? No way…”

Park Beom-soo was dumbfounded.

Is this even possible? Not just any ability, but the ability to see the future…

But what’s strange is his father’s expression. It was too serious to be a joke.

Then Park Hee-cheol continued immediately.

“Why, don’t you believe me? You don’t think I’m joking in this situation, do you?”

“No, it’s not that, but… even so, that’s a bit…”

Park Beom-soo was still shaking his head from side to side.

Then Park Hee-cheol opened his mouth again.

“Then let me give you just one example. You know about the land in Ilsan [a planned city near Seoul], right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“That’s Hyun-sung’s doing, not anyone else’s. He bought that land in ’86, and three years later, in ’89, that land was announced as a new city, and the land value jumped more than 100 times. But do you know what’s really amazing?”

“I don’t know…”

Park Beom-soo tilted his head and looked at Park Hee-cheol.

Then Park Hee-cheol opened his mouth immediately.

“April 27th.”

“April 27th? What about that day?”

“Don’t you remember anything? What happened on April 27th, ’89…”

“April ’89… Ah! Maybe the last time I called…”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s the day you called your father. Of course, I later learned that you had bad thoughts that day because you told me.”

“…”

Park Beom-soo nodded instead of answering. How could he forget that day? The very day he was going to say goodbye to this world because of the fear that he would go bankrupt in just one day.

Park Hee-cheol continued.

“That day was not only the day you came back to life, but also another special day. That was the day Ilsan was announced to be developed as a new city.”

“Ah, yes…”

“But Hyun-sung already knew that fact when he bought the land. He even knew the exact date.”

“Is that really true?”

Park Hee-cheol nodded and continued.

“Even now, I can’t believe it, but the important thing is that I made 5 billion won [a large sum of money] with that land thanks to Hyun-sung. In a way, I’ve gotten a new second life in my old age. It’s like being born again.”

“Is that why you’ve been visiting the family graves every April 27th?”

“Yes, that’s right. I haven’t told you about it all this time, but there were those two reasons. You got a new life, and I also got a new life. In a way, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we were both born again that day.”

“…”

Park Beom-soo was speechless.

Listening to it, none of his father’s words were wrong. He also thought that he should live again while talking to his father that day, and his father was also able to find the family graves again with that money and live a new life.

But what’s strange is still Hyun-sung’s ability. Does he really have the ability to see the future…

Of course, it’s nonsense. But the evidence is too clear to ignore. It’s something that his father actually experienced, not someone else.

Then Park Hee-cheol opened his mouth again.

“Well, it’s up to you whether you believe it or not, so you can take care of that problem yourself. Now let’s get back to the main point and hear the story of what wind blew that you immediately called Hyun-sung, who is eleven years younger than you, ‘boss.'”

“It’s simple.”

“Simple?”

“Yes, my heart moved.”

“So, what I mean is, what moved that heart? No matter how I think about it, it wouldn’t have been easy, given your personality.”

Park Hee-cheol stared at Park Beom-soo, curious about the reason.

Then Park Beom-soo answered immediately.

“It was because of one word: ‘Help me.'”

“Huh? Is that true?”

“Yes, what do I have to gain by lying? As you know, Father, I was a failed life anyway.”

“No, what kind of…”

“No, Father. That’s true. I know myself well, even though you may not think so as a parent. Actually…”

Park Beom-soo continued for a long time. As his words grew longer, Park Hee-cheol just listened quietly without saying anything.

In fact, he couldn’t say it all this time, but it’s true that he felt uncomfortable. He’s a son who lost everything and returned empty-handed after living in Japan for over 20 years. How could he not feel sorry for such a son?

He hardly ever went out while living together for three years. But he couldn’t say anything about it either. He knew his heart too well. He was just careful that he wouldn’t get hurt if he went out.

It might have been easier to adapt if it was downtown. But this is a rural area where you can’t ignore the eyes of your neighbors, who know everything about everyone.

-Whose son lived in Japan for over 20 years and so on…

He must have hated those words. Or maybe he was scared. So it wouldn’t have been easy to go out.

Park Beom-soo looked at Park Hee-cheol as he finished speaking. Then he continued.

“That’s how lacking I was. On the other hand, what about Hyun-sung? He’s an amazing friend, beyond comparison to me. That friend bowed his head to me. He asked me to help him.”

“…”

“And I knew that wasn’t a pretense, but sincere.”

“…”

“I don’t know the reason… no, the reason must be because of his relationship with you, Father. Anyway, putting the reason aside, how could my heart not move when such a friend sincerely asks me to help him? It’s a shameful story, but even though I’m a failed life, I had my last bit of pride. But I knew that I didn’t need that pride in front of that friend.”

Park Beom-soo paused for a moment and then continued.

“Even if that heart was compassion, I thought I could follow that friend as long as he had that level of character. So I made that decision.”

“Hmm…”

“And now I know why you didn’t talk about Hyun-sung all this time. If you had told me about Hyun-sung in advance, I probably wouldn’t have tried to test him just because he was young.”

Park Hee-cheol nodded slightly. That’s because Park Beom-soo’s words are true.

Then Park Beom-soo continued.

“You’re still my father. I felt it once again this time. How much you love me.”

“Hehe…”

Park Hee-cheol just laughed, as if he had nothing to say. Then he saw the ramen box.

“By the way, what are those books?”

“They’re cookbooks.”

“Cookbooks?”

“Yes, the boss went all the way to Hongcheon [a region known for its food] to buy all these books for me.”

“That means…”

“Yes, he said that I seem to have a talent for cooking, so he told me to start with cooking. And…”

Park Beom-soo took out an envelope from the box and continued.

“The boss even gave me a million won [Korean currency] like this.”

“Money? Why?”

“He said it’s for ingredients. He told me to make the dishes in these cookbooks with this money. Isn’t our boss the best?”

“Hehe… our boss?”

Park Hee-cheol laughed once more.

Then Park Beom-soo took out a black bag from the box this time.

“What’s that again?”

“It’s pollack [a type of fish].”

“Pollack?”

“Yes, the boss said that you like pollack stew, so he told me to make pollack stew for dinner tonight. Please wait a moment.”

With those words, Park Beom-soo took the pollack and disappeared into the kitchen. Park Hee-cheol, who saw that, just smiled contentedly.

‘Thank you, Hyun-sung…’