Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 430

432

“It’s me, Oppa [an affectionate Korean term for ‘older brother’ used by females].”

“Huh? You are…”

The person who appeared from the darkness was someone Hyun-sung knew well. It was Shin Yu-bin, who lived next door. Even though they were neighbors, it was a rural area, so their houses were more than 100 meters apart.

“What brings you here so late?”

“Actually, my mom told me you were coming to the community center today, so I was waiting for you.”

“You were waiting for me?”

Hyun-sung tilted his head. Even after a moment’s thought, he couldn’t understand why Shin Yu-bin would be waiting for him.

“Yes, I have something to say.”

“You have something to say to me?”

Hyun-sung confirmed it again. It was difficult to find common ground with Shin Yu-bin. They exchanged brief greetings when they occasionally saw each other, but they hadn’t had any real conversations. That’s why he confirmed Shin Yu-bin’s words one more time.

“Yes.”

“Okay, what do you want to say to Oppa?”

“Do you know what grade I’m in now?”

“Huh? Well… I don’t really know…”

“I’m in 11th grade.”

“11th grade? You mean senior year of high school…?”

Shin Yu-bin nodded and smiled slightly.

“Why? Do I not look like a senior?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that I didn’t know what grade you were in, and then suddenly hearing you’re a senior surprised me. But time really flies. Yu-bin is already a senior.”

“Tch! Oppa has no interest in me at all, does he?”

“……”

Hyun-sung couldn’t say anything and just stared at Shin Yu-bin. He had always thought of her as just a kid, but suddenly she appeared and was acting so forward.

“Oppa.”

“Huh? What?”

“No, why are you so surprised? Are you really that innocent?”

“What, innocent?”

Hyun-sung was just dumbfounded. But the important thing was that he didn’t know what to say in this situation.

In the end, his only option was to ask the original question again.

“Okay, why were you waiting for me?”

“Hehe, is Oppa running away now?””Running away? What do you mean running away? Stop joking around, what do you want to talk about?”

“A joke?”

Suddenly, Shin Yu-bin stared intently at Hyun-sung’s face.

The embarrassment and bewilderment were still Hyun-sung’s burden. Whether he got older or not, it was difficult to deal with a woman acting like this.

“Shin Yu-bin!”

All he could do was call her name seriously. But it would be nice if those words worked, but they didn’t go as he wished.

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“No, Oppa called me. If you call me, you have to say something. What are you going to do if you can’t say anything like that?”

Sigh.

Hyun-sung felt pathetic. He couldn’t believe he was over 50 years old and being flustered by a 19-year-old.

“Oppa, do you have any coins?”

“Coins?”

“Yes, let’s get a cup of coffee. Even though it’s spring, it’s chilly at night.”

Hyun-sung was already walking towards the coffee vending machine. He put in the coins and pulled out two cups of coffee.

“Here, drink.”

“Hehe, thank you. Do you know what’s the best-selling business in our neighborhood these days?”

“Well…”

“It’s this.”

Shin Yu-bin pointed to the coffee vending machine with her chin. Then she immediately continued.

“I heard this is Oppa’s doing?”

“Huh? Oh…”

Hyun-sung had installed the coffee vending machine at the town hall. In fact, it was quite amazing to have a coffee vending machine in the countryside in this day and age. So, the vending machine’s popularity was naturally very high. Of course, Hyun-sung installed the vending machine, but the operation was entirely up to the women’s association [a local community group].

“It’s amazing.”

“Huh? What is?”

“I heard that Oppa donated this vending machine to the town?”

“……”

Slurp.

Hyun-sung just took a sip of coffee instead of answering.

Then, Shin Yu-bin glanced at him and took a sip of coffee before immediately continuing.

“I have a concern.”

“Huh? A concern?”

“Yes, that’s why I was waiting for Oppa. But it’s not the kind of thing Oppa is worried about, so don’t be scared.”

“Me? What am I…”

Hyun-sung looked at Shin Yu-bin, dumbfounded.

Then Shin Yu-bin smiled lightly and continued.

“That’s good. I know your face has been full of worries since earlier. But I’m not interested in dating right now. That’s a luxury for me.”

“……”

“As Oppa knows, it’s just me and my mom. And I’m a senior in high school. The problem is now…”

Shin Yu-bin began to talk about her concerns. Her concern was this: in a year, she would have to leave her mother’s side to get a job. But the problem was that she couldn’t bear to leave her mother, who wasn’t in the best health, alone.

When Shin Yu-bin’s explanation was over, Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“What does your mother say?”

“Of course, my mom tells me not to worry about her and do what I want to do. But I don’t think I can leave my mom alone when she’s not feeling well.”

Now a senior in high school, it was touching and sad to see Shin Yu-bin having such concerns.

Shin Yu-bin’s words continued.

“That’s why I was waiting for Oppa. I thought you were the only one who could solve this problem.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Hyun-sung couldn’t easily understand. He thought that just waiting a little longer was also an option, so he drank the remaining coffee instead of speaking.

“Oppa, do you know what I’m most confident in?”

“Huh? Well…”

“Farming.”

“Farming? Really?”

“Yes, Oppa may not know, but the field in front of our house? I do almost all the farming there. I wake up early in the morning to pull weeds, go to school, and then pull weeds again when I come back. I lived in the field on weekends instead of hanging out with my friends.”

It was a fact he didn’t know at all. No, more than not knowing, he couldn’t believe that she had done that at such a young age, especially as a female student.

Shin Yu-bin’s words continued again.

“I plant potatoes and peppers there, and in the fall, I plant radishes and cabbage and make kimchi [a traditional Korean fermented dish] in the winter. Oh? Looking at Oppa’s expression, you don’t believe me right now, do you?”

“Huh? Uh, honestly…”

“Okay, it doesn’t matter since that’s not important right now, so let’s move on. Do you know why I’m telling you this?”

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung had no choice but to shake his head. The reason was simple: he couldn’t figure out why Shin Yu-bin was telling him that.

“Oppa’s farm.”

“Farm? Why the farm?”

“I heard that you’re going to hire 500 people to work on your farm starting next year, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. But why?”

“Don’t you understand yet? I’m saying that I want to work on that farm now. If that happens, the problem with my mom that I’m worried about right now will be solved neatly. That’s why I’ve been waiting for Oppa until now.”

“Ah…”

Hyun-sung seemed to understand the reason why Shin Yu-bin had been waiting for him.

Shin Yu-bin’s words continued again.

“Oppa, but there’s a problem.”

“A problem? What problem?”

“I don’t know if it’s right to say this, but it’s the most important thing for me, so I can’t help but ask.”

“Okay, what is it?”

Hyun-sung stared intently at Shin Yu-bin. He was curious about what she thought was the most important thing.

“Um… that is…”

Shin Yu-bin couldn’t easily bring up what she wanted to say.

Then Hyun-sung immediately opened his mouth.

“It’s okay, tell me. I’m honestly very curious about what Yu-bin thinks is important.”

“Instead, you have to honestly tell me what you think.”

“My thoughts?”

“Yes, since I’m starting by trusting Oppa, it’s important to me what you’re thinking.”

Hyun-sung became more and more curious about what Shin Yu-bin was trying to say. So, without realizing it, his voice grew louder.

“Okay! I got it!”

“Oppa! Why are you raising your voice…?”

Shin Yu-bin looked around in embarrassment. She seemed to be checking if anyone was passing by.

“Oh! Sorry. I did it without realizing it… Okay, now tell me about it again.”

“The future.”

“The future? What do you mean? Suddenly the future?”

“I’m talking about the future of agriculture. Because that will soon be my future. As Oppa knows, I’m only 19 years old now. I’m not sure if the future of agriculture in our country is bright enough for me to go all-in [commit fully].”

Hyun-sung nodded. Now he knew what Shin Yu-bin wanted to say. It was perhaps a natural thing. No one would want their future to be uncertain.

Shin Yu-bin’s words continued again.

“But one day, I saw Oppa building a vinyl greenhouse complex [a large-scale farming facility]. At first, I wondered what it was, because it was so huge.”

“The reason?”

“There are two reasons. One of them is the area. It kept increasing, and later I saw there were 100 greenhouses.”

“You counted them all?”

“Of course, it was the job I dreamed of.”

From Shin Yu-bin’s expression, he could clearly see what her interests were.

Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Then what’s the second reason?”

“It wasn’t a regular vinyl greenhouse. It was on a different level from the vinyl greenhouses I’ve seen so far. It was literally state-of-the-art.”

“You’re right. It’s the most recent method of construction in our country, and it’s the first time in our country that heating wires have been installed underground.”

“Heating wires? Is there such a thing?”

“Yeah, it’s the principle of a boiler, where hoses are laid underground to circulate hot water. As you know, our town is very cold.”

“Then does that mean you can grow vegetables even in the middle of winter?”

“That’s right, that was the purpose. We can produce vegetables all year round. That way, there won’t be any problems operating the restaurant.”

Shin Yu-bin stared intently at Hyun-sung as if she was surprised. Then she opened her mouth again.

“It’s much more amazing than I thought. Anyway, I started to worry from then on. I didn’t think the future of agriculture in our country was bright, but I wondered if I was wrong to see Oppa investing.”

“So that’s why you asked me that earlier? You told me to honestly tell you about the future of agriculture.”

“That’s right, of course, it’s a job where I get paid, so you might think I just need to get paid, but I don’t think so. More than anything…”

Shin Yu-bin’s explanation continued at length. What she wanted was the value of the future. Her goal wasn’t to just get paid and live right now, but whether the value of agriculture would be guaranteed in the future to the extent that she could feel pride while farming.

When her explanation was over, Hyun-sung was silent for a moment.

“……”

It was about two minutes later that Hyun-sung opened his mouth.

“Shin Yu-bin!”

“Yes.”

“First of all, thank you. For worrying so much about it. And you told me to honestly tell you about the future of agriculture, right?”

“Yes, I need to convince myself to do the work.”

She’s saying that she won’t do farm work just by getting paid. To do that, she needs to have confidence in the future value of agriculture herself.

Hyun-sung slowly opened his mouth.

“I’ll tell you the conclusion first.”

“……”

“It exists!”

“You mean there is value in the future of agriculture?”

“Yes, the future of agricultural products is eco-friendly. It’s all about what’s best for us humans…”

Hyun-sung began to explain the direction of agricultural development in the future. He didn’t directly experience all the processes in his previous life, but he had watched them all with his own eyes.

His father also had no choice but to leave the countryside and come to the city.

He continued to explain all the processes and how they would have to change in 10, 20, and 30 years to survive the competition with imported agricultural products.

As Hyun-sung’s explanation continued at length, Shin Yu-bin’s eyes also sparkled. When Hyun-sung’s explanation was over, Shin Yu-bin’s mouth dropped open.

“Oppa…”

“Can you dedicate your youth to this vision?”

“……”

Instead of answering, Shin Yu-bin shook her head vigorously. From her eyes, he could feel a momentary sense of excitement. That meant that her joy in finding her dream was that great.

Shin Yu-bin.

No one knew what kind of results her passion would bring until this time. That was the same for Hyun-sung.