Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 455

457

“What is it?”

Hyun-sung, who had parted ways with the neighborhood women’s association president, Lee Soon-ok, and was heading to the restaurant through the parking lot, paused and stood still.

The reason Hyun-sung paused was that, although the darkness hadn’t completely lifted, he could see someone cleaning in front of the restaurant, though he couldn’t tell exactly who it was.

“Who would be here this early in the morning…”

He stretched his neck to try and figure out who it was, but the distance to the restaurant made it impossible to tell.

In the end, he had no choice but to move closer to the restaurant to find out who it was.

Hyun-sung quickened his pace again.

‘Who is it?’

Hyun-sung wondered as he walked.

He didn’t know who it was, but what was certain was that it wasn’t one of the cleaning staff.

There were two reasons for this.

First of all, it wasn’t the uniform. The cleaning staff wear fluorescent vests to prevent safety accidents.

And the other reason was that it was too early.

The cleaning staff’s working hours start at 7 a.m.

In the end, the conclusion was that the person cleaning was not an employee here.

“Huh?”

Hyun-sung’s voice grew louder at some point.

The reason was that as he got closer to the restaurant entrance, the person cleaning looked somehow familiar.

And as he got a little closer, Hyun-sung couldn’t help but call out to the person cleaning in a loud voice.

“Father!”

The person cleaning was none other than his own father.

Thump, thump!

Hyun-sung started running as soon as he realized it was his father.

A moment ago, the figure seemed vaguely familiar, but he had dismissed it. He never imagined his father would be here at this hour.

It was at least an hour’s walk from home to here. What’s more, it was before dawn, when the darkness hadn’t completely lifted.

He had been returning here every day at this time after his workout, but this was the first time he had met his father here.

As Hyun-sung got closer to his father, he immediately asked.

“Father, what are you doing here?”

“Are you coming back from your workout?”

“Yes, but why are you cleaning here at this hour, Father?”

Looking at the broom marks on the ground, it seemed he had been cleaning around the restaurant for at least an hour. That meant he had been cleaning from 30 minutes after he left for his workout until now.

It was 6:30 a.m. now, so that meant his father had left the house at least at 4:30 a.m.

Even though it was March, it would still be pitch dark at that time.

“I just couldn’t sleep, so…”

His father continued casually, as if it were nothing.

‘Just because?’

This wasn’t right. Hyun-sung immediately shook his head. There was no need to think any further.

To walk for an hour and clean, just because he couldn’t sleep? That didn’t make sense.

And what’s more, this had never happened before. In other words, this was the first time.

‘The first time today?’

In the end, the key was ‘today’.

Then the answer was clear.

What kind of day was today.

Hyun-sung himself knew, and his father knew, that today was the day this restaurant was opening.

So, in the end, his father had deliberately come out here early in the morning to clean because it was the opening day.

Reason?

There was no need to even mention the reason.

You wanted to clean the front of the restaurant with your own hands on the day your son opened it.

You wanted to do something, anything, for your son who was opening a restaurant.

Then various worries would have started, and in the end, the method you chose after much deliberation was to clean this place.

The father wanted to support his son’s new beginning in his own way.

“Father, thank you. I will work hard in the future.”

That was the word Hyun-sung chose.

He hesitated for a moment, but Hyun-sung decided that there was no need for any other words in this situation.

If he were still immature, he might have acted out of misplaced pride, saying useless things like, ‘Why did the owner’s father do such a thing?’ But Hyun-sung had lived too many years to do that.

Meanwhile, the father was just grateful that his son said that.

To be honest, he had his concerns.

He couldn’t just sit still when it was the opening.

He wanted to do something, anything. The first thing he thought of was an envelope. In some ways, it was the easiest and most common method.

But he didn’t want to do that.

He felt it was too inadequate to convey his feelings with just an envelope.

So he had been thinking about it for several days. But no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t come up with a good idea.

After several days, he finally made a decision last night. It was to clean the area around the restaurant himself.

Others might point fingers, saying, ‘His son is the owner, what’s with the fuss?’ but that didn’t matter much.

What he was most concerned about was his son’s reaction.

He worried that his son might still be young and uncomfortable, or that he might scold him for doing something useless.

No matter how good the intention, if the other person didn’t accept it, it was better not to do it.

But his son didn’t do that. No, he said it himself a moment ago, as if to prove that all his worries were unfounded.

With the words, ‘Thank you, and I will work harder in the future.’

How could he not be grateful?

“I’m grateful. Thank you for saying that…”

A faint smile began to spread across the father’s face.

***

11 a.m.

“Boss, everything is ready.”

The person who bowed to Hyun-sung was manager Han Min-gu.

He had been the general manager at Gangneung Myeongseong Hotel until a year ago. However, Myeongseong Hotel, which had been struggling for several years, fired him earlier this year. The reason was his age.

But he was only fifty years old.

Age was just an excuse, and since he had been working there for many years, he was the first to be laid off.

The person who recommended Han Min-gu was Lee Hak-seong, the president of Gangsang University.

He had called two months ago. He asked if he would like to meet someone who was a good fit.

Hyun-sung needed a manager with experience in managing the restaurant as a whole.

Hyun-sung also had no experience in running a restaurant, so he needed a representative who could take charge of all business matters on his behalf.

So there was no reason to refuse.

Hyun-sung knew better than anyone how important experience was in life. Therefore, Han Min-gu’s 25 years of hotel experience was a talent that Hyun-sung couldn’t find anywhere else.

After checking the time, Hyun-sung looked at Han Min-gu and said.

“Would you like to sit down for a moment, since there’s still time?”

“Yes, boss.”

As expected, Han Min-gu was clearly showing how important experience was. Today alone, at least 2,000 guests were invited.

Nevertheless, Han Min-gu’s role was the biggest reason why all the preparations could be made without any gaps.

The same was true now.

Lunch for the invited guests was from 11:30 a.m. But now, 30 minutes before, he had finished all the preparations and came to report that he was ready.

“Are there any inconveniences in working here?”

“Not at all. It’s much better than when I worked in Gangneung.”

“Even if it’s better than working at a hotel?”

“No. It’s not a lie, this place is so much better that it can’t even be compared to there. Above all, the boss’s management philosophy is a completely different family atmosphere from there…”

Han Min-gu’s explanation went on for a long time. His main points were threefold.

First of all, he said that he liked the family atmosphere because he felt affection between the employees. At the same time, he didn’t hesitate to say that this part had its pros and cons, so some kind of system was needed.

Hyun-sung had already been thinking about this issue from the beginning, so he nodded in response.

And then he said that it was convenient to work because he had full authority over sales. However, he said that he felt several times more responsible for it.

And finally, he mentioned his salary.

He said that he felt burdened because he was receiving a higher salary than when he was in Gangneung. At the same time, he didn’t forget to say that he was honestly happy about it. So Han Min-gu concluded with a pledge to work even harder.

As soon as he finished speaking, Hyun-sung continued.

“I’ll make one thing clear.”

“One thing?”

“Yes, I scouted Manager Han Min-gu.”

“Yes? Scouted?”

“That’s right. So I want to tell you that you can work with pride.”

“…”

Han Min-gu had nothing to say.

Whatever the reason, it was true that he had been fired by the hotel. But what could he say when he was being used while being told that he had been scouted?

He also knew why Hyun-sung said that.

It was probably to tell him not to fall into defeatism and to work with pride.

To be honest, when he received the notice of dismissal from the hotel in January, he felt so hopeless that he couldn’t see ahead. He had been working at the hotel all his life, so what would he do after he left?

At first, he couldn’t sleep because of the betrayal. But he had no choice but to accept it in the face of the harsh reality.

He had to live again somehow.

He searched for job advertisements and ran around looking for jobs.

After searching for a job for 20 days, he received a phone call.

It was Lee Hak-seong, the president of Gangsang University.

And he met Kim Hyun-sung, a young boss.

At first, he wondered what this was all about. He thought it was ridiculous that a young man who looked to be in his mid-20s was the boss.

But he had no choice but to interview.

But even before the interview, he realized how narrow-minded he had been.

It was because of the size of the restaurant.

Two basement floors, five floors above ground.

He couldn’t help but be surprised when he saw the building. There was no hotel in Korea with such a large restaurant.

And there was another surprising thing.

It was what Hyun-sung said for the first time during the interview.

-I will treat your experience with the utmost respect.

He was just someone who had already been fired from the hotel. Moreover, he was already fifty years old. He couldn’t help but be surprised by the words that he would treat his experience with the utmost respect in front of such a person.

But those words were true.

At first, he thought that the young man was joking. But he immediately realized that it wasn’t the case from the salary he offered.

3 million won.

That was the first salary he offered.

The last salary he received after working at the hotel for 25 years was 2 million won.

At first, he doubted his ears. So he checked one more time, but his words were true.

He thought everything was over the moment he was fired. But a new world had reopened.

Life, Act 2 had begun.

And now he was fueling his heart with the word scout again.

Han Min-gu slowly opened his mouth.

“Did you just say scout?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve thought of you that way from the beginning. So I hope you will use your abilities to the fullest in the future.”

“…”

Han Min-gu closed his mouth again.

Scout!

The reason for using a scout for someone who has been fired.

Han Min-gu, who had lived for so many years, knew why.

Han Min-gu jumped up from his seat.

“Boss, I will burn the rest of my life here!”

What other words were needed?

Whether it was pity or sympathy, it didn’t matter. Whatever the reason, he was someone who recognized him. What couldn’t he do for such a person?

As soon as Han Min-gu finished speaking, he bowed to Hyun-sung.

Then Hyun-sung also jumped up from his seat and bowed to receive his greeting.

Hyun-sung knew too well how difficult it was to stay in one field for 25 years. Therefore, he couldn’t help but bow deeper than Han Min-gu.

A moment later.

“Boss, please check one last time.”

“It’s okay. As I said from the beginning, I will entrust everything related to sales to the manager. So what kind of inspection would I do? I only trust the manager.”

“No, but…”

Han Min-gu stopped himself from saying something. It was because he knew that no more words were needed anyway.

He said that he could know ten things from seeing one thing [a Korean idiom meaning someone is perceptive].

He was the kind of person who deliberately said that he had scouted him, even though he had been fired. He was such a thoughtful person.

Would such a person step forward to check the preparations for the business just because he was told to check them? He was someone who had already said that he would entrust everything related to sales to him.

But Han Min-gu knew. The more he did, the greater his responsibility was.

Then Hyun-sung’s words followed.

“Let’s go out now, it’s almost time for people to come. I have to greet the guests too.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The two left the office.

After coming out, Han Min-gu greeted Hyun-sung and went inside the restaurant. From now on, his 25 years of experience will be fully demonstrated inside the restaurant.

Beside Hyun-sung, who was standing at the entrance of the restaurant, Deputy Director Yoo Min-cheol had already approached.

He said in a slightly trembling voice.

“Boss, it’s finally starting.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“But it seems like you’re not nervous, Boss. I’m very nervous.”

“…”

Hyun-sung just smiled instead of answering.

How could he not be nervous? But he was forcibly hiding it because he knew that he shouldn’t be nervous.

It was because he knew that the moment he became nervous, all the employees would become nervous.

It was then.

Two buses driven by Jo Han-sung and Lee Sang-shik were entering the parking lot.

It was the moment when the invited guests were finally arriving.