Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 468

470

Three days later.

Finally, Sunday.

The day I had been waiting for.

The first Sunday since the cherry blossoms started to bloom in earnest.

The reason I waited so eagerly for today is because of its special significance.

The cherry blossoms had started blooming three days ago.

Naturally, the number of customers visiting the restaurant was visibly increasing day by day. However, that was only on weekdays, so there were bound to be limitations.

Yesterday was Saturday, but it was only slightly better than weekdays.

The reason is obvious. Unlike nowadays, back then, people had to work in the morning, so they didn’t have the time to come all the way out here.

But today is different.

It’s an official holiday, Sunday. The day that Hyun-sung had been waiting for.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and it’s Sunday. It’s the first day of business with all the conditions perfectly met.

The first day!

That’s the special meaning of today.

And there’s another reason why today is important. It’s because the number of customers today can be a gauge to predict the success of the entire year.

That’s why Hyun-sung had no choice but to wait so eagerly for today.

“Heh heh!”

It was when Hyun-sung, who had finished his morning exercise, arrived in front of the restaurant.

“Huh?”

Something caught Hyun-sung’s eye. What caught his attention was the farm with the greenhouse away from the restaurant.

The time is 6 a.m. It’s too early for anyone to be at work yet. But the lights were on inside the greenhouse.

“Who’s here at this hour…?”

The lights had never been on in the greenhouse at this hour before.

Step.

After a moment of hesitation, Hyun-sung’s steps headed towards the farm. The fact that the lights were on meant that someone had come to the farm at this early hour, and he was curious to know who it was.

Hyun-sung arrived at the greenhouse.

“Oh? This is?”

The lights were on in house number 3 of zone A. The person in charge of this area is Baek Du-soon. He is in charge of numbers 1 to 10 in zone A.

Creak!

After hesitating for a moment, Hyun-sung slid the door open and went inside.

Because it was a double door, it wasn’t until he opened the second door that the scenery inside the greenhouse came into view. This was where they were growing the lettuce that was consumed the most.

“Hey, Baek Du-soon. What are you doing here at this hour?”

As expected, Hyun-sung saw Baek Du-soon. He was the person he had expected when he first arrived at the greenhouse. After all, he was in charge of this area.

“Oh? Boss!”

Baek Du-soon was surprised. He never expected Hyun-sung to show up here at this hour.

“Hey, what boss? When it’s just us, call me friend.”

“But that’s a bit…”

“It makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to be called boss even by you, who was in the same army unit as me. So call me comfortably.”

“Oh? Okay… But what brings you here at this hour?”

Baek Du-soon finally spoke comfortably.

“That’s what I want to ask. I was passing by the restaurant after my workout and saw the lights on, so I came in. Why are you here when it’s not even your work time yet?”

“I’m doing the shipping work here today.”

“Shipping work?”

“Yeah, we finished the next zone until yesterday, and starting today, the produce from here will go to the restaurant. So I came to see these guys for the last time.”

Hyun-sung didn’t quite understand. Shipping work is done every day. But this was the first time the lights were on this early in the morning.

That’s why it was strange. He wondered why he came out at this hour only today when he hadn’t done so on other days.

“Have you come out on other days too?”

Since shipping work is done every day, he asked just in case. He thought that maybe he had come out every day, but he just hadn’t seen him.

“No, today is the first time.”

As expected, Hyun-sung hadn’t seen it wrong. So now, the next step was to find out why he had come out at this early hour only today.

Just as Hyun-sung was about to ask.

“I’ve been waiting for today.”

Baek Du-soon opened his mouth first. But the words that came out of his mouth were completely unexpected.

Of course, he would be curious about the reason.

Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“Hey, what do you mean? Waiting for today?”

“It’s the first Sunday, isn’t it?”

“The first Sunday?”

“Yeah, it’s the day when the most people can come since we started the business, now that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.”

Hyun-sung already knew that. That’s why he was also waiting so eagerly for today.

But what Hyun-sung was curious about here was why Baek Du-soon was waiting for that day.

“So, that’s what you mean, but why were you waiting for that day?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Huh? Obvious?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t understand easily. He didn’t know why it was obvious.

Inevitably, Hyun-sung had no choice but to ask again.

“Du-soon, I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you’re saying right now. What do you mean by obvious?”

“You really don’t know?”

“Huh? Yeah. Honestly, I don’t know. I’m sure a lot of customers will come today, but I don’t know why you said you were waiting for today.”

Hyun-sung said honestly.

Then he stared at his face. He was curious to know what kind of answer would come out of his mouth.

But Baek Du-soon didn’t answer. Instead, he was looking at Hyun-sung with an unknown smile.

‘A smile instead of an answer?’

What does this mean?

Hyun-sung had no choice but to ask.

“What? What’s the meaning of that subtle smile?”

“A bit disappointed?”

“Disappointed? Are you talking to me right now?”

“Yeah, I thought that if it was you, even if it was just this much, you would know why I’m waiting for today and why I’m here at this hour. I’m talking about that.”

“……”

It was frustrating for Hyun-sung. He couldn’t understand what Baek Du-soon was saying right now.

Then Baek Du-soon’s mouth opened again.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“You couldn’t sleep? Why?”

“Because of anticipation. I think my future will be determined by how many customers come to the restaurant today.”

“Your future?”

“Yeah, of course, I came all the way here from Paju [city in South Korea] because I believed in you from the beginning, but what’s important is that my future will be determined by how many customers there are at the restaurant. Honestly, if the restaurant doesn’t do well, my future will be uncertain. I thought today was the day to decide that.”

“Ah……!”

Hyun-sung seemed to know what Baek Du-soon was talking about.

Baek Du-soon was still anxious. So he wanted to check. He thought that today, Sunday, when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom after starting the business, was the day.

Maybe it’s natural.

Even though he came all the way here with hope at first, he hasn’t actually verified it with his own eyes yet.

In any case, he thought that the number of customers who come today would determine how well the business will do in the future, and his future would also be determined by the results.

Hyun-sung nodded and asked.

“In the end, you needed verification, right?”

“I couldn’t help it. Of course, I came all the way here believing in you, but I wanted to check with my own eyes.”

“So you couldn’t sleep?”

“I woke up at 4 a.m. But I couldn’t sleep. So I lay down for a while and came here a little after 5 a.m. After all, these guys are my future.”

With those words, Baek Du-soon looked around the greenhouse. But he felt another strange feeling in his expression.

What should I say, like a parent looking at their child before sending them away……?

Baek Du-soon’s words continued.

“I don’t know what you think, but I’ve really put my heart and soul into it. While raising these guys, sometimes……”

Baek Du-soon’s words continued for a long time.

Hyun-sung listened to his words quietly.

While listening to his story, Hyun-sung learned a new fact.

For him, lettuce was not just a simple vegetable. For him, lettuce was his dream and his future.

In the end, he dreamed of his future while growing lettuce.

When Baek Du-soon’s words ended, Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“Hey, Baek Du-soon. Unexpected.”

“Huh? What?”

“I didn’t know you had that side of you. I just thought you were suited for farming, but I didn’t know you were so emotionally invested.”

“What? Emotion? Emotion……”

Smirk.

A strange smile spread across Baek Du-soon’s lips. But it seemed certain that the smiling expression was not a happy one.

“What? What’s that smile again?”

“I’m laughing because the word ’emotion’ is funny.”

“Funny?”

“Yeah, of course, I like farming innately, but I’m not in a position to farm unconditionally without hope. But don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to be upset by what you said. Maybe it could look like that to you.”

“……”

Hyun-sung was speechless for a moment.

He felt like he had been hit on the head with a hammer. He had said it without much thought, but he felt that even that word might have felt like a luxury to the other person.

Then Baek Du-soon opened his mouth again.

“Hey, Kim Hyun-sung. Why are you so serious? Unlike you, I’m just……”

“Wait a minute!”

Hyun-sung raised his hand and stopped his words.

Then he was silent as if thinking about something for a while.

After a while.

Hyun-sung looked at Baek Du-soon and asked immediately.

“Hey, Baek Du-soon. What did you mean by what you said a little while ago?”

“Huh? What?”

“I’m talking about what you said that you’re not in a position to farm unconditionally without hope.”

“Are you being sensitive?”

“No, I’m not kidding, but that word is bothering me. Honestly, I don’t know much about you. We weren’t in the same unit, and we only lived in the training center for a few weeks. And even after coming here, we haven’t even been able to have a drink together because we were busy. So, I’m sorry, but can you tell me what you meant by what you said a little while ago?”

When Hyun-sung’s words ended, Baek Du-soon was silent as if hesitating for a moment.

It was about a minute later that he opened his mouth again.

“I made a promise.”

“A promise? With whom?”

“With my mom.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah, I told my mom to wait 10 years while coming here. I said that in 10 years, I would earn money and bring my mom here.”

“……”

It was a completely unexpected word. So Hyun-sung was speechless.

Baek Du-soon’s words continued.

“When I first came here, I saw hope in you. So I confidently made that promise to my mom.”

“But?”

“As time goes by, I’m wondering if…”

“Were you anxious? You were wondering what would happen if the business didn’t do well.”

“That’s right.”

“So you wanted to check with your own eyes?”

Baek Du-soon nodded a few times instead of answering.

Then Hyun-sung immediately opened his mouth.

“You thought that day was today?”

“That’s right. So I woke up in the morning, but I couldn’t sleep. So I came here.”

Hyun-sung finally knew why Baek Du-soon was here this early in the morning.

But then another word came out of Baek Du-soon’s mouth.

“That’s not all.”

“What? There’s something else?”

“Yeah……”

Baek Du-soon’s voice was different from before.

Hyun-sung immediately asked again.

“Hey, what else is there?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m worried about you too. There are more than a thousand employees, and I’m wondering what would happen if not many people come today. Honestly, I just need to get paid, but you’re different. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

Hyun-sung just looked at Baek Du-soon without saying a word.

It was a fact he didn’t know. He really didn’t know that Baek Du-soon was thinking that way.

But what’s important is that he has nothing to say to him before today is over. After all, Hyun-sung will also know the results after today is over.

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung looked at Baek Du-soon and continued.

“Hey, let’s go.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“Where else would we go? To my place. Let’s go eat breakfast.”

“Breakfast?”

“Yeah, honestly, I have nothing to say to you right now. After all, the results will come out after today is over. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right.”

“So let’s go eat breakfast. You eat a hearty breakfast and work hard to ship these guys today, and I’ll work hard to greet customers in front of the restaurant. For now, this seems to be the best we can do.”

It was the conclusion Hyun-sung came to because no words were meaningful right now.

Baek Du-soon’s answer followed.

“Shall we then……”

“You like pork kimchi stew, right?”

“Huh? How did you know that?”

“You were crazy about seeing the chunks of pork fat floating around in the training center, don’t you remember?”

“You remember that?”

“What did you say to me a little while ago?”

“Huh? Me?”

Baek Du-soon looked at Hyun-sung and tilted his head as if he didn’t know.

Then Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“You said I was sensitive?”