Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 48

Indeed, the class president was different.

Lee Young-min stepped forward and smoothly wrapped things up when no one else could find the words.

Watching Lee Young-min, Hyun-sung spoke again.

“We really picked the right class president. Right, guys?”

“Are you praising me now?”

“Yeah, you.”

Only then did the atmosphere in the class seem to ease up a bit.

Creak.

At that moment, Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol entered through the back door of the classroom.

Huff, huff.

The two were breathing heavily.

“Here.”

Park Cheol-min handed Hyun-sung a bag containing bread and milk.

Hyun-sung, after receiving the bag, asked Park Cheol-min.

“Hey, Park Cheol-min, how do you feel?”

“…….”

“Like crap, right? Your pride is hurt, you feel pathetic, and you can’t do anything about it, so you’re going crazy, right?”

Park Cheol-min lowered his head and said nothing.

Then, Hyun-sung asked the same question to Lee Soo-cheol next to him. Lee Soo-cheol’s reaction was the same as Park Cheol-min’s.

Hyun-sung spoke again.

“Do you understand now what you’ve been doing all this time?”

“……I, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

Hmph!

Hyun-sung let out a snort involuntarily.

Now they say they’re sorry.

After all the years of suffering….

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung opened his mouth again.

“Let me ask you just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Are you usually this quick to give up? Or are you just quick to judge?”

To be honest, he expected them to refuse at least once when he ordered them to get bread earlier. He didn’t expect them to listen so obediently after just one beating.

In response to Hyun-sung’s question, Park Cheol-min quietly opened his mouth.

“Because I know.”

“What?”

“You can tell when you’ve been hit [realized you’ve lost].”

“Well done, you bastard. You’re so quick with that sense.”

Hyun-sung then looked at Lee Soo-cheol.

“You too?”

Lee Soo-cheol nodded slightly instead of answering.

Well, they’re good fighters, so they must have a knack for that kind of thing.

Maybe it’s a good thing. It would be tiring if they stubbornly rushed at him with youthful vigor. If he went back in time just to fight with these guys every day, how pathetic would that be?

He thought that ending it when they knew their place was also a way.

He needed a justification to end it.

Hyun-sung looked at Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol and continued to speak.

“Okay, I’ll accept that apology you mentioned earlier. But, there’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

“Yeah, I’m too upset to just let it go like this, so I’m going to give you guys a mission.”

“A mission?”

Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol looked at each other and tilted their heads.

Then, Hyun-sung spoke again.

“For the rest of the semester, you guys are responsible for Class 2-2.”

“What does that mean?”

“Protect them. Make sure no one messes with our classmates. If I hear that even one of them got beaten up or had their money stolen, consider that day your death anniversary.”

Hyun-sung continued.

“You’ve been bullying them until now, so now you’re going to protect them instead. Keep my words in mind. I’m not kidding.”

“All these guys?”

Are they innocent, or just naive…….

Lee Soo-cheol was asking again, when he should have just understood.

What more could he say when they apologized?

He couldn’t kill them, and he couldn’t just beat them up. But there were too many eyes watching to just let it go like nothing happened.

So, he was trying to come up with a reasonable excuse to move on. But now that they were asking again, Hyun-sung couldn’t help but sigh.

“Hey, Lee Soo-cheol.”

“Yeah.”

“I won’t say much, but no one in our class should get hurt. Okay?”

“…….”

Lee Soo-cheol lowered his head instead of answering. He didn’t seem so innocent after all.

Hyun-sung called the two again.

“Park Cheol-min, Lee Soo-cheol, take this.”

Hyun-sung held out the bread and milk he had bought earlier.

Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol were surprised.

“Why are you giving this to us?”

“Did you think I ordered it for myself?”

“Of course…….”

“You crazy bastards. Do you think I’m like you? I just wanted you to feel that dirty feeling. So, chew that bread well and don’t forget that feeling.”

At Hyun-sung’s gesture, the two began to return to their seats with the bread and milk.

Then, someone blocked their path.

“Jung-woo, why?”

Park Cheol-min asked, surprised.

Then, Lee Jung-woo held out his hand.

“Give it to me.”

Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol looked at each other once again. They were momentarily taken aback, but they couldn’t say anything. They knew better than anyone that Hyun-sung was behind Lee Jung-woo.

“Here.”

“Mine too.”

The two handed over the bread and milk as if they had agreed to it.

Then, Lee Jung-woo smirked.

“Hey, do you think I’m like you guys? Why would you give this to me?”

“Then…, why?”

“50 won [Korean currency].”

That was it. Lee Jung-woo remembered that Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol hadn’t given Hyun-sung 50 won.

With that, Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol finished their task.

However, Kim Il-soo didn’t show up until the start of class.

Lunchtime.

“Hyun-sung, let’s eat.”

This was a first.

He had never seen Lee Jung-woo leave his seat to eat lunch. He always quietly sat in the front row and ate alone.

“Yeah, did you pack something delicious today?”

Hyun-sung greeted Lee Jung-woo naturally, as if it were nothing. He was grateful that Lee Jung-woo was finding his place on his own.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to say anything about such things between friends. If he made a mistake, he could hurt the other person’s pride.

That’s when it happened.

Bang!

The front door of the classroom opened violently, and someone entered.

It was Lee Cheol-seung from the next class and his gang. If Kim Il-soo was the top dog in Class 2, Lee Cheol-seung held that position in Class 1.

He must have heard about Kim Il-soo.

“Kim Hyun-sung, where are you?”

Lee Cheol-seung shouted loudly.

Hyun-sung stood up from his seat.

There was no way this would end quietly with words. He thought it would be better to end it quickly.

And just as he was about to move from his seat.

“Hyun-sung, we’ll take care of it.”

The person who said that was none other than Park Cheol-min. Then, Lee Soo-cheol also stood up from his seat with Park Cheol-min.

Park Cheol-min walked forward and said.

“Lee Cheol-seung, what are you doing coming to someone else’s class?”

“You pathetic bastard. I heard you got dumped too?”

“Watch your mouth. Il-soo isn’t here, so you’re acting up, but that’s not right, is it?”

Park Cheol-min didn’t back down either.

He figured he could handle Lee Cheol-seung in a fight.

“Quietly get out of here. Lee Cheol-seung!”

Suddenly, another voice was heard.

The owner of the voice was none other than the class president, Lee Young-min.

“Have these bastards all gone crazy today? Everyone’s acting up and causing a ruckus.”

“As the class president, I’m telling you clearly to get out of here quietly. We’ve been quiet until now, but we won’t stand still anymore.”

As soon as class president Lee Young-min finished speaking, something strange happened.

“Get out, you son of a bitch.”

“Who are you to come to our class and cause a scene?”

“Aren’t you leaving?”

Curses began to erupt from everywhere. Even spoons were thrown at Lee Cheol-seung.

Lee Cheol-seung was taken aback.

He had heard as soon as he arrived at school this morning that Kim Il-soo had been completely beaten up by Hyun-sung in the vacant lot yesterday. And by the end of the first period, he learned that Kim Il-soo hadn’t come to school either.

So, he waited until lunchtime.

He thought that Class 2-2, without Kim Il-soo, was no longer a match for him. He naturally thought that he could take over Class 2 on this occasion.

But the atmosphere in the class was absurd.

At first, Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol slowly confronted him, then class president Lee Young-min, and then everyone started getting up from everywhere.

“Have these bastards all gone crazy?”

Lee Cheol-seung slowly began to back away. If he held on any longer, he was heading towards a situation where he didn’t know where a fist would fly from.

One person was watching all of this.

Hyun-sung tilted his head. An incomprehensible situation was unfolding.

He wondered what kind of psychology this was.

Today’s atmosphere was very different from usual. They didn’t care who got hit. But suddenly, today, they took collective action against Lee Cheol-seung.

Of course, the starting point was Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol. Then it was class president Lee Young-min.

He could understand the class president.

Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol were the ones who knew how to fight, and Lee Young-min was the class president.

But what about the rest of them?

Hyun-sung got up from his seat.

Lee Cheol-seung had already disappeared through the front door.

The classroom suddenly became noisy. It was like a victory celebration after defeating the enemy.

Hyun-sung walked to where Park Cheol-min and Lee Soo-cheol were sitting.

He lightly touched the two guys’ shoulders and said.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course, this is nothing.”

“Good job.”

“You told us to take responsibility, right? So, we just took responsibility. Hehe….”

Park Cheol-min answered and smiled. Lee Soo-cheol, who was sitting behind him, also smiled. Hyun-sung felt strange the moment he saw the two guys’ smiles.

These were the guys who had been bullying him until before the vacation. Now, they were smiling in front of him like gentle sheep.

Ha!

A hollow laugh came out involuntarily.

This time, he approached class president Lee Young-min.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course.”

“Weren’t you scared?”

“What’s there to be scared of? You’re flying around [doing well in fights]. Haha….”

Lee Young-min laughed and looked at Hyun-sung. Hyun-sung had nothing to say when he saw that. He had admitted that he was flying around, so there was no room for excuses.

But a concern arose.

It was about Lee Cheol-seung.

If he just left it alone, it would become a problem later on. He had retreated just now by chance, but he would come again tomorrow.

What to do?

He thought about it a bit more, but he didn’t think it was right to chase him to the next class.

Hyun-sung turned around and returned to his seat.

Then, he started eating lunch with Lee Jung-woo.

The atmosphere in the class during lunchtime was the best it had ever been.

Lunchtime seemed to be passing quietly.

It was about 20 minutes before the end of lunchtime.

Bang!

Lee Cheol-seung re-entered the classroom. This time, it wasn’t the front door, but the back door.

“Kim Hyun-sung, don’t hide cowardly behind others, come out here.”

“This bastard came again without any fear?”

This time, Park Cheol-min stepped forward again.

Thud.

Hyun-sung closed his math reference book. He was reviewing the part he was going to learn from his sister Kim Ji-yeon today.

Now, there was no way to just let it go.

Hyun-sung got up from his seat and approached Lee Cheol-seung. Then, he looked at Park Cheol-min, who was confronting Lee Cheol-seung, and said.

“Cheol-min, step back.”

“I’ll end this bastard with my own hands.”

“No, he wants me anyway. So, step back.”

Lee Cheol-seung, who was listening to the two people’s conversation, said as if it were amusing.

“These bastards are really acting up.”

“Let’s not talk too much and end this quickly. I have to study.”

“Oh, you’ve grown a lot. You beat Kim Il-soo, so now you don’t see anything anymore?”

Hyun-sung didn’t say anything more. The more he talked, the longer it would take.

Hyun-sung immediately took a stance. Then, he built up his tension.

He knew very well that he couldn’t take him lightly.

Click, click.

Hyun-sung turned his palms upward and then slightly folded and unfolded them.

He was telling him to attack.

What Hyun-sung believed in was his dynamic visual acuity rather than fighting skills. To do that, it was advantageous for him if the opponent moved first.

Then, Lee Cheol-seung said.

“Why, don’t you have the confidence to attack first?”

“I’m giving you the opportunity first, you bastard.”

“Such consideration, don’t regret it.”

“That bastard talks too much. Hurry up and attack.”

As soon as Hyun-sung’s words fell, Lee Cheol-seung’s movements quickened.

Hyun-sung stood there. The first movement was the opponent’s feint [deceptive attack]. He was only focusing on the opponent’s movements.

After a while.

He could see the force entering Lee Cheol-seung’s left shoulder.

Whoosh.

As expected, his left fist lightly flew towards his face. It was an action to gauge the opponent’s movements.

He could see that right away. Fighting was also about experience.

Hyun-sung lightly twisted his body.