Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 434

Hyun-sung visited Shin Yu-bin’s house again the very next day.

She had always distanced herself from books, claiming to be far from academic pursuits. However, Hyun-sung believed this was because the subjects didn’t interest her.

Her interest?

She had already mentioned it herself: her dream was to become a farmer.

Therefore, her current focus would undoubtedly be on agriculture-related fields.

That’s why Hyun-sung came to Shin Yu-bin’s house today.

“Ugh.”

Hyun-sung carried three cardboard boxes from the truck to the porch.

“Oh? What’s all this, Oppa?” [Oppa is a Korean term used by a younger female to address an older male, often a brother or close friend.]

Shin Yu-bin asked, looking at the boxes piled on the porch.

Hyun-sung, catching his breath, replied briefly,

“Books.”

“Books?”

“Yes, these are the books you’ll be studying from now on.”

“Didn’t I make it clear the other day? I told you I get sleepy just looking at books. Why did you buy three boxes of them?”

“Take a look at what kind of books they are before you say that.”

At Hyun-sung’s words, Shin Yu-bin tilted her head and began to examine the contents of the boxes.

And after a moment.

“Oh? Oppa, this is…?”

Shin Yu-bin couldn’t finish her sentence. Her eyes were sparkling more than ever.

“How is it?”

“I love it! Actually, I really wanted to read these books, but they’re expensive, and since this is the countryside, I couldn’t find them anywhere. Where did you get these books?”

“Chuncheon.”

“Chuncheon? You went all the way to Chuncheon for me?”

“For the sake of a great future farmer, I have to make this much of an investment.”

After all, Shin Yu-bin was only nineteen years old.

All she had right now was a passion for farming. She didn’t graduate from an agricultural high school, and at most, she had done a little farming at home.

Hyun-sung thought that wouldn’t be enough to make a living as a farmer, so he chose books about agriculture as a supplement.

“Oh? This is a book about agricultural machinery?”

Shin Yu-bin was already holding a book introducing agricultural machinery.

“I thought you’d need it anyway. Study it in advance before you graduate.”

“Wow! My Oppa is amazing!”

“What? My Oppa?”

“Ah, no… it just came out without me realizing it.”

Shin Yu-bin scratched her head, seemingly embarrassed. As if trying to divert her attention, she took another book from another box.

“Oh? Oppa, what’s this book? It looks like it’s about computers?”

“Yeah, that’s right. The future is all about computers anyway. You need to prepare in advance, even from now.”

“You want me to study this?”

“It’s not an option, it’s a must. You need to study until you can do document work by the time you graduate. I’ll buy you a computer and a printer soon, too.”

“Pardon?”

Shin Yu-bin stared at Hyun-sung in surprise.

She couldn’t understand it, even if she thought about it briefly. She understood what he was saying, but she couldn’t help but think that he was paying too much attention to her. The books alone must have cost a lot, but now he was saying he would buy her a computer, so she couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“No, honestly, I can understand the books, but even a computer…?”

Shin Yu-bin tilted her head.

Looking at Shin Yu-bin, Hyun-sung smiled.

“Because Yu-bin is special.”

“…”

Shin Yu-bin couldn’t say a word. She felt her heart sink at Hyun-sung’s words that she was special.

After all, she was only nineteen years old.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Yes? No, it’s not that…”

“Don’t get any strange ideas.”

“Stop teasing me. What do you want to talk about?”

Shin Yu-bin, realizing that there was no special meaning to the word “special,” looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

Then Hyun-sung, as if understanding, continued immediately.

“It was because of your passion.”

“Passion?”

“Yes, the passion you showed me on the first day. I thought about what you needed most right now, and my conclusion is this.”

Hyun-sung’s gaze turned to the books on the porch.

People should live doing what they love. That’s how they can improve efficiency and develop. To do that, they need to know the basics. That was Hyun-sung’s conclusion.

“So, you bought me these books?”

“Yes, as I said before, it’s an investment. I don’t skimp on investing in people, even if I don’t know anything else. Of course, there’s a condition for that.”

“A condition?”

“Yes, it’s passion. And I knew that my decision today was right.”

“What does that mean…?”

Hyun-sung smiled and continued.

“I knew it when I saw the look in your eyes a little while ago. You said you get sleepy just looking at books, but a little while ago, you were sparkling when you saw these books.”

“Really? I did?”

“Yes, the moment I saw that look, I thought my judgment was right. You probably won’t be able to sleep properly tonight because you’ll be looking at these books.”

“Hoho…”

Shin Yu-bin laughed.

She felt a little embarrassed, as if her inner thoughts had been exposed.

In fact, when she first heard about the books from Hyun-sung, she thought, ‘This isn’t it.’ Because she had always felt resistant to books, to the point where they were incompatible with her.

But the moment she saw the titles of the books a little while ago, she felt a thrill all over her body without realizing it. It was the first time she had ever felt this way in her life.

Shin Yu-bin, who had stopped laughing, turned her gaze back to the third box on the porch. Then she picked up one of the books.

-No Future Without Preparation.

It was a book published by Dong-A Publishing.

“What’s this? Is this also a book needed for farming?”

“No, that’s what I want to say to Yu-bin. It’s about what you need in the future, so I chose it. If you don’t prepare in advance, you won’t be able to seize the opportunity when it comes.”

“Oh? Now that you mention it, that’s true?”

“Yes, so let’s start preparing now, okay?”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll start right away today—no, after Oppa leaves.”

“Okay, I was going to leave anyway. Then I’ll leave, so look at the books.”

“Oh? That’s not what I meant…”

“I’m just kidding. Actually, I have an appointment. Then see you next time.”

Hyun-sung finished speaking and left Shin Yu-bin’s house. No, he was about to leave.

“Oppa! Wait a minute!”

Shin Yu-bin suddenly ran into the kitchen.

And after a moment.

“Oppa, take this with you.”

“Oh? What’s this?”

“It’s corn bread that my mom made earlier. It’s still warm, so you can eat it. I wanted to give you something, but this is all I have.”

“Corn bread? I like this too. I wanted to eat it anyway. Bread is best when it’s corn bread.”

“Oppa, you’re being too obvious. You don’t have to act that much.”

“Oh? Was I?”

“Anyway, if you look closely, Oppa is very innocent. Hoho…”

“…”

Hyun-sung had nothing to say. What could he say when he was over 50 and being called innocent by a high school girl?

But anyway, he felt good.

Following Baek Du-soon, another farmer was born.

***

A few days later, the second week of April.

The cherry blossoms that everyone had been waiting for finally began to bloom. Since it was a cold area, the cherry blossoms in Seoul were said to have bloomed last week, but it seemed to be about a 5-day difference.

“Nice.”

Hyun-sung’s expression, looking down from the top of the restaurant building located on the mountainside, was full of satisfaction. It was only the beginning of the cherry blossoms blooming, so it wasn’t yet spectacular, but the picture unfolding on the field of over 200,000 square feet was enough to make him feel like he was looking at a vast ocean.

Moreover, the feeling was all the better because he thought it was the result of his own efforts and sweat, not someone else’s.

Of course, the person who had suffered the most was someone else. That person was Director Yoo Min-cheol. No, now that he was to be called a manager instead of a director, it would be right to call him Manager Yoo Min-cheol.

Thump.

The rooftop door opened, and someone approached. After all, there was only one person other than Hyun-sung who would come here: Manager Yoo Min-cheol.

Hyun-sung greeted him first.

“You’ve been working hard, Manager.”

“I’m just doing as I’m told, but you’re really amazing, President. I’m just amazed at how you drew such a big picture from the beginning.”

“It was all possible because you helped me from the beginning, Manager. If I were alone, it would have been impossible.”

“No. To be honest, why wouldn’t there be people? If I had announced that I would give that much treatment, hundreds of people would have gathered.”

“What’s the point of gathering people if there’s no one to trust, don’t you think?”

Hyun-sung glanced at Yoo Min-cheol and continued.

“As I said back then, I didn’t just need people; I needed someone I could trust. That was you, Manager.”

“…”

Manager Yoo Min-cheol bowed his head instead of speaking.

No matter how much Hyun-sung said that, he was just an infinitely grateful person. Who in the world would entrust such a big job to someone who just installs equipment in the countryside?

And what was really grateful was his tone.

He had never spoken down to him or ignored him from the beginning to the present.

Moreover, he was only twenty-four years old. As the saying goes, ‘a bad calf grows horns on its butt’ [a Korean proverb meaning a young person can be more formidable than an older one]. Even though he was in a situation where he could easily fall into arrogance, he was actually the opposite.

And now he was going to call him a manager instead of a director.

Manager.

In the office, it is the highest position after executives.

In the future, when employees are officially hired, a huge number of people will work together. That number is as many as a thousand. Among them, the position of manager is bound to be that much higher.

It was a position he didn’t even dare to covet, but he was given the important task. So how could he not bow his head?

At that time, Hyun-sung’s hand pointed to one place. The place he pointed to was where land was being developed to build houses on both sides of the river.

“Manager, when we start building houses there next month, the first house will be Manager’s house.”

“Yes? Is that really true?”

Yoo Min-cheol doubted his ears.

Of course, he had said that at first. But he never dreamed that it would be real.

“Of course. Didn’t I promise you at first?”

“I just thought it was just a saying; I never thought it would really happen…”

Yoo Min-cheol shook his head from side to side without finishing his words. No matter how he thought about it, he thought it couldn’t be possible in terms of common sense.

‘This is not right.’

His conscience did not allow him to accept it so readily.

“President!”

“Yes, please speak.”

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t think this is right. I will only accept your heart, President. I can’t accept this. If others find out, I’ll be the only bad guy. They’ll say I seduced a young president and only took care of my own interests.”

“Who?”

“Yes?”

“Who is cursing Manager? And am I someone who can be seduced?”

“Of course, that’s definitely not the case, but people who don’t know…”

“Manager.”

Hyun-sung interrupted Yoo Min-cheol. Then he continued immediately.

“Don’t worry too much about that.”

“Yes?”

“So, you’re saying that if someone who doesn’t know us well knows that fact, they’ll curse Manager as a bad person?”

“Of course, wouldn’t that be the case? Who in the world would give a house to an employee…”

“Let’s ignore them; they’re people we don’t know anyway. What does it matter what those people say? I think it’s enough if Manager’s heart for me and my heart for Manager don’t change. Don’t you think?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Then that’s it. I don’t think it’s always good to care about other people while living. I think sometimes ignoring them appropriately is a way to live. The most important thing is that we two are confident.”

“…”

Yoo Min-cheol had nothing more to say. He thought it would be impolite to keep insisting when he was talking like this.

But no matter how much that was the case, he still thought that receiving the entire house was not right.

“I understand, President. Instead, there is a condition.”

“A condition?”

“Yes, that’s right. You might say, what condition does the receiver have, but this is my last bit of conscience.”

“Okay. What is that condition?”

“That is…”

Yoo Min-cheol couldn’t continue his words at once, not knowing what to say.

Then Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“No, what are you being so careful about? I’m curious about what Manager’s last bit of conscience is. Tell me quickly.”

“Then I’ll tell you. That is…”