Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 461

That evening.

After the restaurant closed, a long line formed on the first floor. This was the queue of employees waiting to receive their monthly salary in person, as it was payday.

Perhaps that’s why.

The faces of the employees waiting were filled with anticipation rather than boredom, each with a bright expression. The faces of those who had started working immediately after graduating from high school seemed particularly radiant.

Perhaps it was only natural.

First paycheck!

It was probably due to the excitement that could only be felt from the words ‘first paycheck.’ Moreover, the anticipation seemed heightened by the crisp, new bills prepared by the Nonghyup bank [a South Korean agricultural cooperative and bank].

“Team Leader, how do you feel?”

Shin Yu-bin, who worked on the farm, asked Baek Du-soon, the team leader.

Baek Du-soon, also looking slightly excited, replied immediately.

“Honestly, I’m nervous too. I’ve never worked anywhere else before. I only finished one year of college, went to the army, and then came straight here without returning to school.”

“Ah, that’s right. You said you were in the army with the boss, right?”

“Yeah, we trained together in the training camp. Back then, I honestly never dreamed that I would come all the way here to Gangwon-do [a province in South Korea] to farm.”

Baek Du-soon was amazed as he spoke.

When Hyun-sung first suggested that he come to work at his restaurant after being discharged, he never imagined that they would actually work together.

But the important thing was that he had no regrets at this moment. On the contrary, he felt incredibly fortunate.

Perhaps that’s why.

A faint smile spread across Baek Du-soon’s face as he spoke.

Shin Yu-bin, seeing this, smiled and asked immediately.

“You don’t seem to have any regrets, judging by your expression?”

“Regrets?”

“Yes, I don’t see any of that on your face. Rather, what should I say… Ah, that’s right. I sense a feeling of happiness from your expression right now.”

“That’s right. Yu-bin, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Honestly, I often think about how fortunate I am right now. If I hadn’t come here and had continued with college… the thought alone is terrifying.”

“Terrifying?”

Shin Yu-bin tilted her head. Of course, she could be satisfied with her current life, but she didn’t quite understand why he would use the word ‘terrifying’ to describe his college life.

Shin Yu-bin asked again.

“Is there any particular reason?”

“Of course, there is. I hate numbers.”

“Huh? What does that mean? What does hating numbers have to do with college life being terrifying?”

“Do you know what my major was?”

“Well, you haven’t told me yet…”

“Hehe…”

Before Shin Yu-bin could finish speaking, Baek Du-soon couldn’t help but laugh for some reason.

Shin Yu-bin pouted and immediately asked.

“Hey, are you really going to do that? Laughing all by yourself…”

“Oh? Sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

“It’s not like you have to apologize that much. Anyway, what’s the reason for laughing?”

“Actually, I was an accounting major. So, college life was bound to be terrifying. Someone who inherently hates numbers was studying accounting, so how could it not be?”

“Hehe!”

This time, Shin Yu-bin made a strange noise and laughed.

It was only natural. Of course, accounting isn’t a major that only studies numbers, but it’s a major where you inevitably have to deal with numbers. In that situation, it wouldn’t have been easy for someone who inherently hates numbers to study accounting.

Shin Yu-bin smiled as she looked at Baek Du-soon.

Even she thought he seemed like someone who was far from numbers. Anyone could see that he was someone who was naturally suited for farming. Thinking about him sitting down and crunching numbers made her laugh.

While the two were talking, it was Shin Yu-bin’s turn.

“Shin Yu-bin, thank you for your hard work this month. Here you go.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The hand of Shin Yu-bin, who received the pay envelope, seemed to tremble slightly.

How could it not? It was the first paycheck she had ever received in her life. And because it was crisp, new cash, the feeling was an undeniable sense of happiness.

A little later.

The two people received their pay envelopes.

“How do you feel?”

Baek Du-soon asked first.

Shin Yu-bin smiled and replied.

“It’s amazing.”

“Amazing?”

“Yes, it’s amazing that I worked and received money. And it’s a million won each [approximately $750 USD]. Oh, by the way! How much is yours, Team Leader?”

“It’s embarrassing, but it’s 1.2 million including the team leader allowance [approximately $900 USD].”

“What’s embarrassing about that? I think you’re really qualified to be a team leader. I’m confident in my work, but when I see you working, you’re really amazing.”

“Who are you telling that to? Yu-bin, you’re the amazing one. And by the way…”

Baek Du-soon tried to say something but couldn’t finish his sentence.

Shin Yu-bin immediately asked.

“Why? Is there something you want to say to me?”

“Oh? No, it’s nothing…”

“Are you going back to the dorm?”

“Oh? Oh, I should.”

“Then go ahead. I’m going to stop by somewhere for a bit and then go straight home. My mom is waiting for me.”

“Oh, okay…”

Shin Yu-bin said that and then disappeared in the direction of the office after saying goodbye.

Baek Du-soon was left alone.

Thwack!

Baek Du-soon suddenly hit his head hard with his hand.

“Idiot!”

He first saw Shin Yu-bin a month ago, at the end of February. At that time, he didn’t have any particular feelings. Well, he was curious. It was perhaps only natural to be curious about a young woman who had just graduated and was saying she would farm.

The strange feeling came about two weeks later.

Because it was her first time, she inevitably had a lot to learn. As a result, she suddenly caught a bad cold, perhaps because she had overdone it.

In the end, she had no choice but to be absent from work the next day.

But then a problem arose.

Lethargy.

He hadn’t realized it when they were always together. But suddenly, when he thought about her not being there, he unknowingly fell into such a severe state of lethargy that he couldn’t work.

At first, he didn’t even know what this feeling was.

It was a feeling he was experiencing for the first time in his life, so he couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

Lunchtime.

After forcing himself to finish the morning shift, he headed not to the cafeteria but to a pharmacy 20 minutes away by bicycle.

By the time he bought cold medicine and gave it to her, lunchtime was already over. He had no choice but to skip lunch.

But then a strange thing happened.

Even though he skipped lunch, he wasn’t hungry.

Not only that, but the lethargy he had felt in the morning disappeared as if it were never there after seeing her.

It was a strange experience.

He thought, ‘So, things like this can happen.’

That night.

Of course, he couldn’t fall asleep easily.

The conclusion he came to after staying up late was that his heart had already moved towards her.

From the next day, the way he looked at her couldn’t help but change. But the problem was her. Her actions were no different from before.

In the end, he realized it was a one-sided love.

He had made a decision in his heart a few days ago.

A first date.

He would ask her to have dinner with him to celebrate payday. But on payday, he couldn’t even bring himself to ask her to have a meal with him.

“Idiot!”

Thwack, thwack.

Baek Du-soon began to hit his head relentlessly again.

At the same time.

Hyun-sung was in his office on the second floor, meticulously organizing the details for the Dulle-gil [a scenic walking trail] construction that would begin tomorrow.

Since they would be working full-time for 24 hours a day for five days, there were many things to pay attention to.

It was then.

Knock, knock.

The person who opened the door and came in was none other than Shin Yu-bin.

“Oh? Yu-bin, haven’t you left work yet?”

“I just received my first paycheck. So, I came to pay off my debt.”

“Debt?”

“Yes, when we took my mom to the hospital last time, you paid for the hospital bill. We had no money back then, so we had no choice but to accept your help, but now that I’ve received my paycheck, I should pay it back.”

It was two months ago. Shin Yu-bin suddenly called him crying. Her mother was very sick. But she couldn’t go to the hospital because she didn’t have any money.

That was inevitable in that era. Even if they wanted to go to the hospital, they couldn’t go as they pleased. It wasn’t easy to have cash in the countryside.

So, he took Shin Yu-bin’s mother to the hospital and paid for the medical expenses.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious illness, just acute gastroenteritis.

At that time, Shin Yu-bin said on the way back that she would pay back the hospital bill when she received her first paycheck later.

Shin Yu-bin took out a 10,000 won bill [approximately $7.50 USD] from the envelope and handed it to Hyun-sung.

“Here you go, Boss. Thank you so much for your help back then.”

“Oh? That’s…”

Hyun-sung was in a difficult position.

The 10,000 won bill that Shin Yu-bin was handing him now wasn’t just worth 10,000 won. It was Shin Yu-bin’s first paycheck, which she had received after working for a month after entering society.

She was handing that money to Hyun-sung now.

Of course, he had no intention of receiving the hospital bill now. He had never intended to from the beginning.

But the important thing wasn’t the money right now.

The most important thing right now was Shin Yu-bin’s heart.

Shin Yu-bin had rushed over to pay off her debt as soon as she received her first paycheck. There was probably another meaning in her heart along with the desire to pay off her debt.

That was the sense of responsibility as the head of the household on behalf of her mother.

This was what Hyun-sung was worried about.

It was easy to refuse. But would that be helpful to Shin Yu-bin, who was just starting her social life?

After thinking for a while, Hyun-sung nodded as if he had made up his mind and continued to speak.

“Okay, I’ll take this money. But!”

Hyun-sung emphasized the last word and then took out a 5,000 won bill [approximately $3.75 USD] from his wallet. Then, he handed the money to Shin Yu-bin and continued to speak.

“We have to be clear about the calculation. The examination fee and medical expenses for your mother that day came out to 5,000 won. So, I’ll give you back the remaining 5,000 won.”

“No!”

“No?”

Hyun-sung stared at Shin Yu-bin for a moment. He had naturally expected her to accept it, but the word ‘no’ came out of her mouth in such a firm voice.

Hyun-sung, who couldn’t possibly not know what that word meant, immediately asked.

“No? Does that mean you’re not going to take this money now?”

“Yes!”

This time, Shin Yu-bin nodded vigorously and answered in a loud voice.

Hyun-sung, curious about the reason, immediately asked.

“What’s the reason?”

“It’s my grateful heart. I don’t know how scared I was that day. But that day, you rushed over right away…”

“Shin Yu-bin!”

Hyun-sung interrupted Shin Yu-bin and called her name.

Shin Yu-bin, with surprised rabbit eyes, looked at Hyun-sung and carefully opened her mouth.

“Yes… Boss.”

“What are you talking about right now?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Are you saying you’re going to replace your heart with money? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Rather than replacing it exactly…”

Shin Yu-bin couldn’t finish her sentence properly and looked at Hyun-sung with a flustered expression. She seemed to know instinctively that she had made a mistake.

Then Hyun-sung called her name again.

“Shin Yu-bin.”

“Yes.”

“What should I do about this?”

“Yes? What does that…”

“I don’t want to sell my heart that day for 5,000 won.”

“…”

Shin Yu-bin was speechless for a moment.

The moment she heard Hyun-sung’s words, she realized her mistake. He was the one who had rushed over as soon as she called that day without even asking why. She had just calculated the heart of such a person with 5,000 won.

It was a mistake. A big mistake.

Shin Yu-bin, realizing her mistake, bowed her head to Hyun-sung.

“Boss, I made a mistake.”

“Mistake?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of mistake?”

“I tried to calculate your grateful heart with a few pennies. It’s something that can’t be converted into money.”

Shin Yu-bin bowed her head to Hyun-sung once again.

Then Hyun-sung called Shin Yu-bin’s name again. But this time, he called only her name, without the surname, unlike before.

“Yu-bin.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“I’ll say just one thing.”

“Yes, Boss!”

Shin Yu-bin’s answer was more forceful. That meant that her heart was more sincere. That was possible because she had already realized her mistake.

Hyun-sung continued to speak.

“You shouldn’t calculate people’s kindness with money. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes, Boss!”

Shin Yu-bin bowed her head once again.

Hyun-sung thought about talking a little longer, but he didn’t say anything more because he judged that Shin Yu-bin would have understood enough. He knew well that anything excessive was worse than lacking.

464

Reincarnated as a Building Owner