Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 441

A few days later.

Hyun-sung headed to Park Hee-cheol’s house.

The person he was meeting today wasn’t Park Hee-cheol, but his son, Park Beom-soo.

A few days ago, he received a call from Park Beom-soo, asking him to come by when he had time because he had something to say. Today was the day they had scheduled.

“President, welcome!”

As Hyun-sung arrived at Park Hee-cheol’s house, Park Beom-soo, who had been waiting outside, greeted him happily.

Park Beom-soo had started calling Hyun-sung “President” two months ago.

At first, he seemed awkward and hesitant every time he spoke. But now, after two months, that awkwardness was nowhere to be found.

“Did you come out on purpose because of me?”

“Looking at the time, it was almost when you said you’d arrive, President. I came out about 10 minutes ago.”

“Ah, is that so? By the way, where did your father go?”

“He said he had some business in Hongcheon and left this morning, but he hasn’t returned yet.”

“Ah, I see. Well, then. Hyung [older brother/friend], here’s something for you…”

Hyun-sung handed Park Beom-soo a box of soy milk and another rectangular box.

The rectangular box was beautifully wrapped with gift wrapping paper.

Park Beom-soo immediately asked,

“Oh? What are all these?”

“The soy milk is for your mother and father, and that box is for you, Hyung.”

“No, not just once or twice, but every time you come… Anyway, this is for me?”

“Yes, check it out.”

At Hyun-sung’s words, Park Beom-soo tilted his head and quickly began to tear open the wrapping paper to check the contents inside.

A moment later.

Park Beom-soo’s eyes sparkled.

“President! Isn’t this a knife?”

“Yes, it’s my gift. I thought you might need that kind of knife now, so I specially ordered it and received it yesterday. That’s why I brought it today.”

Hyun-sung immediately continued,

“Also, just in case, the culture of knives is different in Japan and Korea. Japan has a samurai culture that demands loyalty and obedience, but in Korea, a knife means ‘protection’—protecting oneself and one’s family’s happiness. So, like sharing happiness with people you like, it’s given as a gift when people move or open a business, so don’t misunderstand. Of course, it’s not common. And especially for someone who cooks, a knife is the best gift, so please accept it with a happy heart.”

“Ah, I know that. But can I really accept this?”

“Of course. I’ve heard a lot about it from your father. Your cooking skills are improving rapidly. So, from now on, you can make even more delicious dishes with this knife.”

“President…!”

Park Beom-soo was speechless as he looked at Hyun-sung.

After a moment.

Bow!

Park Beom-soo suddenly bowed his head 90 degrees towards Hyun-sung.

“President, I will never forget this grace.”

“No, Hyung. Why are you suddenly doing this? Just for a knife like this…”

Hyun-sung was utterly bewildered.

Whatever the reason, there is an 11-year age difference between Park Beom-soo and him. No matter how much he calls him president, the difference of 11 years cannot be ignored.

And frankly, they didn’t even have a formal contract.

So, Hyun-sung was naturally taken aback by the sight of him receiving a gift and bowing 90 degrees.

Park Beom-soo continued,

“This isn’t just a knife to me. This is my new life.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

“I’m only saying this now, but honestly, you’re the first person who ever acknowledged me, President. And you’re the one who took me to Hongcheon and bought me cookbooks. Am I right?”

“That’s because you…”

Hyun-sung tried to say something else but nodded slightly instead. He judged that other words were unnecessary in this situation anyway.

Park Beom-soo continued,

“I honestly don’t know how happy I was that day. It was the first time someone had acknowledged me.”

“…”

“As you know, President, I was a failure in life.”

“No, why are you saying that…”

“No, no matter what anyone says, I was a failure in life. So much so that I even had bad thoughts that I shouldn’t have had.”

He had heard about Park Beom-soo from Park Hee-cheol. He said that he only found out later that his son had bad thoughts on the day Ilsan was announced as a new city [a planned city in South Korea]. Park Hee-cheol couldn’t stop crying for a long time while saying that.

Park Beom-soo continued,

“I don’t know if you know, but I hardly went outside for three years after returning to Korea. Because I was afraid and scared of the villagers.”

Park Hee-cheol said that was the part he felt most sorry for.

So, after much thought, the method he came up with was to take him to the bathhouse occasionally. Even then, it was at the earliest hours of the morning when there were the fewest people.

And then they went fishing by the river. He said that he chose that method because there were no people there either.

As time passed, he seemed to be getting better little by little, so on market days, he would take him out to look around and eat jajangmyeon [black bean noodles] on the way back.

He said he gradually got him used to it that way.

But that was it. He said that he only went out when he went out with him, and he hardly ever went out alone.

Park Beom-soo continued,

“I went out with my father sometimes, but I couldn’t go out alone. It felt like the villagers were pointing fingers at me.”

“Why would you think that…”

“Despite my father’s efforts, I couldn’t escape from defeatism. I trusted my father and came back to Korea after 20 years, but there was nothing for me to do. But…”

Park Beom-soo stopped talking and looked at Hyun-sung before continuing.

“Do you know what you did for me every time you came out on leave from the military, President?”

“Yes? What did I do?”

“You were like a real younger brother.”

“A younger brother?”

“Yes, I’m only saying this now, but I was so grateful at the time. No one treated me so kindly except for my father. But you were the only one who was different, President.”

In fact, Park Hee-cheol had asked him to do so. He said that in order to bring him out of the shadows, it was most important to boost his confidence.

That’s why he treated him even more affectionately and paid attention to every word he said.

Park Beom-soo asked again,

“Do you remember what you said to me during your final leave?”

“Well…”

Of course, he remembered. It was an intentional remark, after all. But he couldn’t say that he remembered it in this situation. Anyway, he had to watch what he was doing now.

“You said, ‘Hyung, your eyes are alive.’ And you also said, ‘You’ll do well in whatever you do in the future.'”

There was no choice. He had to make up words to instill confidence in him.

After living in the world a little longer, he realized that there was nothing better than praise to instill confidence, so that’s what he did.

Was that what worked?

Park Hee-cheol said that Park Beom-soo started to change little by little after that. So much so that Park Hee-cheol couldn’t stand it and sent him a letter to tell him the joy two weeks before he was discharged. What more needs to be said?

Park Beom-soo continued,

“Honestly, I knew that was a lie too.”

“Yes? A lie?”

“Yes, I may not know the ways of the world, but I know whether that’s true or not.”

Pfft.

Park Beom-soo stopped talking and smiled lightly at Hyun-sung. Then he opened his mouth again.

“I realized how stupid people are at that time.”

“Yes? Who?”

“Who else but me.”

“You?”

“Yes, I knew I was so stupid, but it gave me strength. I felt confident without even realizing it. So I knew I was really stupid at that time.”

“Oh, Hyung, haha…”

Hyun-sung burst out laughing without realizing it.

He really didn’t know that he would think it was a lie. At that time, he tried his best to make him believe that it was not a lie but the truth.

But Hyun-sung couldn’t help but laugh when he said that he knew it was a lie without any reward.

But honestly, it wasn’t 100% a lie. It was also true that it was somewhat sincere. Hyun-sung wasn’t good at acting enough to say things that weren’t there at all, even if they were empty words.

Hyun-sung, who stopped laughing, quietly called Park Beom-soo.

“Hyung.”

“Yes, President.”

“That’s not a lie.”

“No, President. I’m not that stupid. You don’t have to lie like that anymore. I’ve gained enough confidence now.”

“I’m telling you it’s not a lie.”

Hyun-sung looked at Park Beom-soo with a serious face. Of course, it was true that he had no choice but to lie, but it was definitely somewhat sincere.

“Don’t you believe me?”

“No, President. Does that make sense? What am I…”

“Why, don’t you believe me? I’ll be honest now, it’s true that I lied like you said. I wanted to help you that way at the time. But it wasn’t 100% a lie. Your eyes were definitely alive back then.”

“Really?”

“Why would I lie now? And I’m not that good at acting. If I could act that well, I’d be in Chungmuro [Korean Hollywood] by now, not here. Isn’t that right?”

Hyun-sung laughed lightly with those words.

Then Park Beom-soo smiled as if he understood and immediately continued.

“Okay. I’ll be stupid again. Anyway, thanks to you, President, I’ve gained the strength to come back to the world. It’s all thanks to you that I can laugh like this today.”

“I won’t say anything else now. Thank you for your hard work, all this time…”

“Oh! I spent too much time here. I prepared a meal because you were coming, President.”

“A meal?”

“Yes, I’ve been showing off my skills. Come on, let’s go in and taste it.”

“You should have told me sooner…”

The two went straight into the house.

Sniff sniff.

As soon as he entered the house, Hyun-sung began to sniff.

“Hyung, isn’t this deodeok (lanceolata) [a type of Korean root vegetable with a distinct fragrance] smell?”

“Oh? How did you know?”

“What Korean doesn’t know the smell of deodeok?”

“I’ve been into deodeok these days. In fact, Japanese people hardly eat deodeok. So I didn’t even know what deodeok was when I was in Japan.”

“Japanese people don’t eat deodeok?”

Hyun-sung’s head turned automatically. Deodeok, which Koreans can’t get enough of, is not eaten in Japan? Does that make sense?

“Yes, that’s true. So when you go to the countryside, there’s deodeok all over the fields. I ate deodeok that my mother grilled a few days ago, and that’s when I found out what deodeok was.”

“But why don’t they eat deodeok?”

“I don’t know either.”

“They’re weird. They eat other things well, but anyway, is today’s dish deodeok?”

“Come on, sit over here.”

Park Beom-soo led Hyun-sung to the kitchen.

“Hyung, what is all this?”

Hyun-sung was surprised when he entered the kitchen. A little while ago, Park Beom-soo said it was a deodeok dish, so he simply expected deodeok salad or grilled deodeok.

But there were about 20 side dishes on the table.

“Hyung, what is all this?”

“It’s a deodeok set menu.”

“A deodeok set menu?”

“Yes, it’s a dish I made for you, President. It turns out that deodeok is very good for the body. So I made it especially today.”

“Is that why you called me?”

“I wanted to thank you formally once. So I prepared what I’m most confident in among the things I’ve learned so far. I hope it suits your taste, President.”

“…”

Hyun-sung couldn’t speak for a moment.

Of course, he thought he had called him because he had something to do. But he was calling him to treat him to a meal, so he was a little embarrassed and grateful at the same time.

“I asked my father.”

“Yes? What?”

“There’s someone I’m really grateful for, and I asked him how I can express my gratitude. He said it would be good to prepare a meal with all my heart. But do you know what’s strange?”

“Yes? Well…”

“My father knew right away.”

“What do you mean?”

“Who that person is.”

“Ah, I see…”

Hyun-sung nodded.

How could Park Hee-cheol not know? He must have been anxiously watching over Park Beom-soo all the time. So, of course, he knew what he was thinking.

Maybe he deliberately left the house today. For his son.

He might be wasting time in the vacant lot right now.

“What is this?”

Hyun-sung asked, looking at a small pancake next to the grilled deodeok.

“It’s deodeok jangtteok (soybean paste pancake) [a savory pancake made with deodeok and soybean paste].”