Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 49

“Oh, you little punk, look at you. Not bad.”

Lee Cheol-seung was momentarily surprised. He had thrown a light jab, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t put any effort into it.

Even though he hadn’t put his full strength behind it, it wasn’t slow either.

But the other guy dodged it so casually, as if he were watching it closely.

And the strange thing was that he didn’t even flinch. Usually, when something flies at you, most people instinctively blink.

But Hyeon-seong didn’t do any of that.

This meant that sending Kim Il-soo flying wasn’t a fluke.

Hyeon-seong’s gaze shifted to Lee Cheol-seung’s lower body this time.

His footwork had changed slightly from before.

Just as he thought.

Whoosh.

Lee Cheol-seung’s right foot seemed to extend slightly to the side, then drew an arc as it rushed towards Hyeon-seong’s upper body.

It was clearly a turning kick.

A stance he had practiced so much during his days as a private [lowest rank in the military] that his feet bled.

The most important thing in a turning kick is to raise the knee quickly. Then, at the highest point of the knee, speed must be applied to strike the target accurately.

However, Lee Cheol-seung’s stance faltered from the start.

The reason was simple: his supporting left foot was unsteady.

The moment Lee Seung-cheol raised his knee, Hyeon-seong moved slightly to the left. This caused Lee Cheol-seung’s supporting left foot to waver.

If he had been just a little slower, the instep of his opponent’s foot would have been precisely planted in his neck. It was a combination of his experience practicing until his feet bled as a private and his developed dynamic visual acuity.

He never thought his military life in his past life would be so helpful again.

When his attack missed again, a curse escaped Lee Cheol-seung’s lips.

“Why is this bastard so fast?”

“It’s not that I’m fast, it’s that your movements are so telegraphed. Who would get hit by that? You idiot. And you underestimated me. Turning kicks are for amateurs.”

That was true.

No matter how fast you do it, a turning kick is always going to be slower than a front kick. It has the advantage of packing more power, but the speed is reduced, making it suitable for finishing moves against weaker opponents or when the opponent is exhausted.

Of course, if you’re skilled, there’s no better technique than a turning kick. That’s only when you have both speed and power.

Lee Cheol-seung was probably greedy.

He must have thought Hyeon-seong looked easy and wanted to end it in one blow.

That was Lee Cheol-seung’s mistake.

“Are you Kim Hyeon-seong?”

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s finish this quickly.”

“Why have you suddenly changed so much? You were a pushover until the school break.”

“You should try going to the army, you moron.”

The memory of shedding tears of blood in the middle of winter on the parade ground to earn his black belt came flooding back.

Why was everything so difficult back then?

Private.

The mere thought of those three syllables made him shudder.

Come to think of it, even when a graduate student came in as a new recruit later on, he always had to escort him to the bathroom.

‘Wait a minute!’

Kicking…

Could he be somewhat decent at it? No matter how much time had passed, he had practiced so hard, shedding tears of blood. He should be able to do this much…

Suddenly, confidence began to bubble up from somewhere.

‘That’s right! Let’s do it!’

Hyeon-seong decided to attack first.

He looked at Lee Cheol-seung.

His eyes showed clear signs of bewilderment after his attack failed.

Was the opponent wavering?

If so, now might be the perfect time to attack. The distance between him and Lee Cheol-seung was just over two meters. It was a bit too far to use his fists.

Then it had to be a kicking technique…

Judging by the distance, a turning kick would be perfect. It was the technique Lee Cheol-seung had used a moment ago. The technique that had failed because Hyeon-seong knew it was coming.

Sseuk.

Hyeon-seong took a half step forward. Fortunately, Lee Cheol-seung didn’t seem to expect Hyeon-seong to attack first.

The reason for taking a half step forward was to secure the optimal space for attack.

The conditions for a successful turning kick are speed and power. With Hyeon-seong’s current skill, it would be impossible to choose both.

Speed and power.

He had to give up on one of them to some extent. If that was the case, it was right to give up on power without a second thought.

The reason was simple.

First of all, the goal of the attack was accurate impact. The final move would be after the first attack succeeded. He would decide then.

Whoa!

Once he had sorted out the situation in his head, Hyeon-seong focused on his breathing.

He tensed his fingertips.

Sseuk.

Then he stepped forward with his left foot. At the same time, using his left foot as a pivot, he raised his right knee and extended it, transferring the force of the rotation directly to the instep of his foot.

It was the stance he had practiced countless times barefoot as a private [lowest rank in the military].

Whoosh!

It was instantaneous. Thanks to reducing the power, the speed was perfect.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Hyeon-seong’s instep struck Lee Cheol-seung’s left neck squarely. Lee Cheol-seung grabbed his neck and began to stagger. Because the power was reduced, he didn’t fall.

Then Hyeon-seong moved again.

Whoosh!

This time, Hyeon-seong’s fist flew towards Lee Cheol-seung’s staggering side.

Thud!

“Cough!”

Without even being able to scream properly, Lee Cheol-seung collapsed on the spot.

Then all the eyes of the onlookers turned to Hyeon-seong in disbelief.

“What?”

It was class president Lee Young-min who broke the silence.

And then silence fell again.

After a moment.

This time, Hyeon-seong spoke to Lee Cheol-seung, who was writhing on the ground.

“Lee Cheol-seung, get back to your class before I kick you some more. And from now on, live quietly like a dead mouse. If you mess with any of our classmates again, I’ll really kill you!”

It was the moment when Hyeon-seong completely dominated the second-year students.

And after a while.

“Wow!”

“Wow!”

Cheers erupted from here and there, and some even clapped and cheered.

***

After class, Hyeon-seong was back at the place where he had done his market research in the morning. This time, it was to investigate the foot traffic after school.

Three hours passed.

In the morning, it was mostly students, but in the afternoon, ordinary people were also using the alley from time to time.

Even so, the proportion of students was still overwhelming.

After all, the main customer base was bound to be students.

Thump.

Hyeon-seong closed his notebook.

Then he got up from his seat.

It was then.

“Kim Hyeon-seong.”

He heard someone calling his name from behind.

“Oh? Mr. Shin.”

It was his homeroom teacher, Shin Min-ho.

“What are you doing here?”

“I have something to investigate.”

Shin Min-ho looked at the notebook Hyeon-seong was holding and gestured with his eyes, asking if he could take a look. Hyeon-seong had no particular reason to hide it, so he handed the notebook to Shin Min-ho.

Shin Min-ho examined the notebook.

“This is a count of people, isn’t it? Why are you doing this?”

“I have my reasons.”

“This isn’t the main street, is it…?”

Shin Min-ho turned his head and began to look around.

After a moment.

“Could it be that place across the street?”

Shin Min-ho was pointing with his chin at the alley across the street. Hyeon-seong smiled and replied.

“A lot of people use that alley, don’t they?”

“The road is narrow, but I guess it’s a shortcut. Anyway, why are you investigating that?”

“By any chance, what do you think about running a business in that alley?”

“What, are you going to drop out of school and start a business?”

Pfft.

Hyeon-seong couldn’t help but laugh at the words “drop out of school.”

“Do I look that immature?”

“That’s what you’re saying.”

“I’m not going to do that, but if I were to start a business…”

“Well, I don’t think I’d take such a risk. If I had that kind of money, I’d rather put it in the bank and live off the interest.”

Tsk.

He had nothing to say.

It was his fault for asking.

He asked just in case, but he realized that teachers and business had nothing to do with each other.

“No, it’s nothing. My mistake.”

“What? That sounds kind of offensive. It feels like I’m being ignored.”

He was quick to notice things like this.

Shin Min-ho, who had been tilting his head, continued.

“By the way! Kim Hyeon-seong, you’ve been making headlines every day lately.”

“Yes?”

“Yesterday it was Kim Il-soo, today it’s Lee Cheol-seung. Rumor has it that you’ve conquered the second-year students.”

“It’s not a rumor, it’s a report, isn’t it? Is it the class president?”

Hyeon-seong assumed that class president Lee Young-min had reported everything to homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho, so he said that.

But strange words came out of Shin Min-ho’s mouth.

“Class president? Don’t even talk about that kid.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“He came the other day and made such a fuss about never reporting anything again. I was so embarrassed in the faculty room that I wanted to die.”

“Young-min did?”

It was surprising.

He said he wouldn’t report to the homeroom teacher again, but he never imagined he would actually say it so openly.

Lee Young-min was definitely pure.

When you get to know him, this kind of guy is the scariest. Once he’s fixated on something, that’s all there is to it. He’s the type who gets lost in his own world.

Come to think of it, he was the one who stood up to Lee Cheol-seung today. He represented the class, but he must have been afraid, yet he did it.

Then Shin Min-ho spoke again.

“Please take care of things.”

“Yes?”

“Please protect the second-year class 2 like you did today.”

How can a person change so much…?

He definitely wasn’t this kind of person. He was indifferent to everything. But even now, he looked so different from before.

Protect them…?

But those words felt so sincere.

Hyeon-seong looked at Shin Min-ho and said.

“You’ve changed a lot, Mr. Shin. Saying things like that.”

“Who do you think is responsible for that?”

“Yes?”

“Hey, I reflected a lot after you scolded me in the counseling room that day. Thanks to that, I was able to think again about what I had resolved when I first became a teacher. Anyway, thank you for making me realize things.”

Shin Min-ho finished his words of gratitude and seemed to think for a moment before continuing.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have left with a lifelong blemish, you know?”

“Left?”

“Oh, no, I just meant that. Someday.”

Wait a minute!

Come to think of it, homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho wouldn’t be at this school after the second semester. He would be transferred to another school.

At that time, of course, he would find out that Shin Min-ho had been transferred to another school when the new semester of the third grade began.

Hyeon-seong smiled and said.

“Let’s do well this time.”

“What?”

“The ending.”

It was Shin Min-ho who was flustered by Hyeon-seong’s words. He felt even more troubled because Hyeon-seong immediately mentioned the ending after his slip of the tongue a moment ago.

Then Shin Min-ho’s eyes fell on Hyeon-seong’s bicycle. He was already in a difficult situation, so he thought it was a good opportunity.

Shin Min-ho asked as naturally as possible.

“Your house must be quite far, do you commute by bicycle?”

Watching Shin Min-ho, Hyeon-seong laughed inwardly. But he wasn’t about to show it.

He naturally accepted Shin Min-ho’s words.

“Yes, I decided to do it to get some exercise. The air is good and it’s very nice.”

“You’re always a subject of research. Are you going straight home now?”

“No, I have somewhere to stop by. Then I’ll be on my way. Take care.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Shin Min-ho’s expression looked relaxed, as if nothing had happened.

A slight smile spread across Hyeon-seong’s face as he watched Shin Min-ho walking ahead.

“He’s quick on the uptake…”

Hyeon-seong muttered and stepped on the bicycle pedals.

After parting ways with his homeroom teacher, Hyeon-seong headed to the real estate agency.

Creak.

As Hyeon-seong opened the door and entered, real estate agent Park In-soo greeted him.

“Welcome. You look like a student, what brings you here?”

“I’m here to ask about a commercial property.”

“A commercial property?”

Park In-soo thought he had misheard Hyeon-seong’s words for a moment. So he asked again immediately.

“Did you just say a commercial property?”

“Yes.”

He asked again, but the answer was definitely the same.

Hmm.

Park In-soo cleared his throat first. It was his habit when he was taken aback.

“Come, sit over here.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“You seem to be a student from Seomyeong High School, so I’ll speak casually. Is that okay?”

“Of course, that’s perfectly fine.”

Park In-soo asked again.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Yes, thank you. If you have any cold cider, I’d appreciate a cup.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have cider, but I have Coolpis [a popular Korean juice drink]. Would that be okay?”

“Coolpis? That’s fine.”

Come to think of it, it was his first time having Coolpis since his regression.

Park In-soo took out a Coolpis from the refrigerator, poured it into a glass, and brought it to Hyeon-seong.

“Here, drink up.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Hyeon-seong downed the Coolpis that Park In-soo had handed him in one gulp. The sweet taste was definitely clinging to his throat.

As Hyeon-seong put down the cup, Park In-soo looked at Hyeon-seong and asked.

“So, can you tell me what kind of commercial property you’re talking about?”

“If you go up a little from here, there’s an empty commercial property in the alley on the right, right?”

“Are you talking about the place where the restaurant used to be?”

“Yes, that’s right. I came in to find out what the lease terms are for that commercial property.”

Park In-soo was listening to Hyeon-seong’s words, but he couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. He couldn’t understand why a student would be asking about a commercial property.

“I’m sorry, but are you running errands for your parents?”

“No. I’m just curious. Of course, I understand why you’re saying that, but I’m not joking either, so please give me a sincere consultation.”

“Of course, that’s a given. I was just asking in case.”

“Yes, thank you. Then please explain.”

As Hyeon-seong finished speaking, Park In-soo cleared his throat and began to explain about the commercial property.

As Park In-soo’s explanation came to an end, Hyeon-seong asked immediately.

“The deposit is 100,000 won?”

“There’s a special circumstance with that store. So the owner had no choice but to lower the conditions like that. However, the condition is that it must be adjusted to 1 million won after one year.”

“Are you perhaps referring to the fact that someone died in that special circumstance?”

“You knew?”

Hyeon-seong cheered inwardly. The fact that the deposit was low meant that Hyeon-seong, who didn’t have much money, could reduce the burden that much.

And another surprising thing was the monthly rent condition.

They wouldn’t receive monthly rent for three months. The building owner said that it was an unavoidable choice as a last resort because the store showed no signs of being leased.

Hyeon-seong looked at Park In-soo and said.

“I’ll sign the contract right now.”

“What?”

“Instead, there’s no down payment. Instead of a down payment, I’ll put my name on the line. And I’ll definitely come back within a week. Please keep that spot open until then.”

Park In-soo was just surprised by Hyeon-seong’s sincerity.

It was then.

Creak.

The door of the real estate agency opened and someone came in.

“Oh? Mister.”