Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 500

“……I don’t have it.”

These words came from Lee Seong-soo’s mouth.

Of course, he shouldn’t have it. He started making this ledger on January 1st of this year.

If there were a ledger from before that, it would immediately reveal this ledger as fake, so he must have already discarded the previous ledger or kept it separately.

It was an expected answer anyway.

But he needs to state the reason himself. Only then can the next question follow.

Hyeonseong asked again to hear the reason.

“Why? Why don’t you have it?”

“I discarded it. I usually throw away the ledgers I used before when the year changes and start again……”

Lee Seong-soo was spouting nonsense.

Who in the world would throw away the ledger they were using and replace it just because the year changed? No, even if I concede a hundred times and say that could happen, they wouldn’t discard the ledger.

After all, the principle is to keep ledgers.

In the end, he is now saying something that doesn’t make sense to anyone.

But what’s important now isn’t the ledger but the fact that the ledger doesn’t exist; that’s what Hyeonseong was trying to confirm directly from Lee Seong-soo.

That’s how he can render this three-month ledger useless.

Hyeonseong asked again one last time to make sure.

“So, what you’re saying, Mr. Lee, is that there is no ledger before that, and this three-month ledger is all there is?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Discarding the ledgers you used before when the year changes is your personal style?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Lee Seong-soo nodded confidently, as if it were natural, and repeated the same answer.

Of course, he has to. He can’t say anything different here.

Personal style.

This was the key point Hyeonseong wanted to confirm with him.

Hyeonseong nodded and asked again.

“Is that the case for everyone?”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“I’m asking about other rental shops. I’m asking if other rental shops also throw away the ledgers they used before when the year changes and make new ledgers like you do.”

“Well……”

“That means you don’t know?”

“That’s right. I don’t know how other people do it……”

His answer was obvious even without hearing it. He was just saying that it was his own personal style and that he didn’t know what other people did.

“Then, I’ll just confirm one last thing.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Usually, if you were thinking of selling the store, I think it would be right to keep the previous ledger to calculate an objective selling price, but what do you think?”

“Hmm…… Well, I think that could be the case.”

“Could be? Does that mean it might not be?”

“That’s the case in general, but special cases like me would be different.”

Separating general cases from special cases was the answer Hyeonseong wanted. That’s how he can ask the next question.

“You said it’s a special case now, but what kind of case are you talking about?”

“I wrote it on the advertisement, but I’m quitting not because the business isn’t doing well, but because of special personal circumstances……”

Lee Seong-soo was saying exactly what he said in the advertisement.

It was a moment to confirm once again that it was a special case, not a general one.

He had heard everything he wanted to hear, and the confirmation was over.

Now, all that’s left is to prove that this three-month ledger cannot be used to calculate the selling price.

Hyeonseong opened his mouth again.

“So, in conclusion, you didn’t intend to sell the store, but suddenly special personal circumstances arose, so you ended up selling the store, and that’s why you didn’t keep the previous ledger, right?”

“That’s exactly it. You’re young, so you understand quickly.”

“Then the answer is out.”

“The answer? What answer?”

Lee Seong-soo stared at Hyeonseong, as if curious.

Then Hyeonseong immediately continued the answer.

“This ledger, I mean. This three-month ledger cannot be used as objective information to calculate the selling price. In other words, this ledger is useless right now. The reason is that it’s not a general case, as you said a little while ago, but your special case.”

“So, because of my personal special circumstances, I’m selling the store, so this three-month ledger has no objectivity and cannot be used as a basis for calculating the selling price?”

“That’s right, that’s exactly it. As expected, you understand quickly because you used to run a business.”

He returned the words he had said a little while ago.

Since he had said everything with his own mouth so far, he wouldn’t be able to deny it. His personal special circumstances had literally caught him off guard.

Personal special circumstances are literally special cases, not general cases.

A case that is not general ultimately lacks objectivity, so the conclusion is that this three-month ledger without the previous ledger cannot be used to calculate the selling price.

Groan.

Lee Seong-soo himself was going crazy.

Somehow, he ended up admitting it himself. Even when he put the advertisement on the flyer, he was trying to get out of here under the pretext of personal circumstances.

So, he had been writing false sales every day for three months without missing a single day. But in the end, that ledger became useless. Because it lacked objectivity.

It was the moment when all his efforts went down the drain.

‘Hoo!’

Lee Seong-soo swallowed a sigh and continued.

“So, what amount do you want?”

“Wait a minute, before we talk about the amount, there’s one thing we need to address. That’s the basis for calculating the selling price. As I see it, the only objective information that can be used to calculate the selling price now is the number of videos you have, do you acknowledge that?”

“Hmm……”

Lee Seong-soo couldn’t answer easily.

Then Hyeonseong asked again.

“If you have anything else in mind, please tell me. I’ll consider it as long as it’s objective information.”

“Hmm…… Okay, let’s say that’s the case, what amount do you want?”

“Let’s say that’s the case? What does that mean? Are you saying you don’t acknowledge it?”

Hyeonseong asked one more time on purpose.

Since it had come to this, he wanted to make it clear.

In his previous life, he didn’t know anything, so he was completely taken advantage of, but he had no intention of doing that now.

As if he couldn’t help it, Lee Seong-soo opened his mouth again.

“Okay, I acknowledge it, now the amount you want……”

“Fifteen million won.”

“Yes? How much?”

Lee Seong-soo stared at Hyeonseong, as if he couldn’t believe it.

Then Hyeonseong immediately opened his mouth again.

“Are you curious about why it’s fifteen million won? If you’re curious, I’ll tell you the basis.”

“……”

“Since you’re not saying anything, I guess I’ll have to explain it. The reason I said fifteen million won is that 40% of the videos you have now have to be thrown away. I don’t think I need to explain the reason for that.”

Hyeonseong glanced at Lee Seong-soo and continued.

“So, I only acknowledge 60%. That’s why 60% of the twenty-five million won you presented on the flyer, exactly fifteen million won, came out.”

“……”

“Is my calculation wrong?”

“……”

Lee Seong-soo had nothing to say.

It was an accurate number. He had bought roughly 5,000 videos from the surrounding stores at bargain prices.

But to think that they would all become garbage.

Lee Seong-soo bit his lower lip tightly.

Sneer.

Hyeonseong smiled lightly as he looked at Lee Seong-soo, who was silent. Of course, he couldn’t laugh openly, so the basic sense was to turn his head slightly.

In his previous life, he had no choice but to buy even that garbage with money.

Since he didn’t know anything, he had no choice but to be taken advantage of.

“What are you going to do?”

Hyeonseong asked again confidently.

Unlike his previous life, he now held the knife. In his previous life, he didn’t know anything, so he was completely taken advantage of, but that would never happen again.

And furthermore, Hyeonseong already knew what he meant by special circumstances.

That’s because another video store, Movie Heart, a chain store, would be opening 100 meters away in a month.

He found out later, but Lee Seong-soo had known that fact three months in advance. There is a beauty salon there now, but after the contract period expires, Movie Heart was scheduled to move in.

That’s why Lee Seong-soo knew that he couldn’t compete with Movie Heart anyway, so he had been working on it for three months in advance to get out now.

The reason Hyeonseong is asking so confidently now is because of that. He knows that Lee Seong-soo doesn’t have much time.

Lee Seong-soo opened his mouth with difficulty.

“…… Well.”

“Well? That sounds like you need more time to think about it, am I right?”

“The amount is too different……”

“Yes, I understand. Then I’ll give you 30 more minutes. I’m going to go to the house in front to have lunch, so please make a decision by then. If you don’t make a decision by then, I’ll cancel it and go somewhere else.”

At the end of that sentence, Hyeonseong took out a check from his wallet and handed it to him.

“It’s five million won. I’ll give it to you as a down payment and pay the balance after I eat. So please decide by then.”

Hyeonseong was about to leave, but turned around again and continued.

“By the way, I’m curious about what that special personal circumstance is, can you tell me?”

“Yes? That’s a personal matter……”

Lee Seong-soo shook his head.

Of course, he would never be able to say it. Even in his previous life, he avoided Hyeonseong after Movie Heart came in.

Hyeonseong left the video store, leaving him behind.

Lee Seong-soo was left alone.

“I’m going crazy!”

Lee Seong-soo’s expression was distorted beyond recognition.

When he first heard that he had come after seeing the flyer, he thought the contract would be easily concluded.

But that thought was shattered in just a few minutes. It started when he was counting the number of videos.

The moment he grasped the number of videos in less than 5 minutes, he started to feel uneasy. No matter how skilled you are, it would take at least 10 minutes to count that amount.

As expected.

The prediction did not go wrong. The moment he made the ledger he had worked so hard on useless, everything went wrong.

But the important thing is that there is nothing to refute in his words. None of them are wrong.

Sigh.

Lee Seong-soo turned his gaze to the check in his hand.

He didn’t want to receive it if he could help it. He wanted to reject it outright, but he couldn’t.

Because there is no time. In just one month, another rental store will be coming in nearby. That’s Movie Heart, a chain store, not just an individual.

‘What to do?’

After thinking for a while, Lee Seong-soo made a phone call somewhere.

-Hello?

“Yeah, it’s me.”

-What’s going on at this hour?

“Actually, a buyer has appeared……”

-Huh? Is that real? So what happened?

“But there’s a problem. Actually……”

Lee Seong-soo began to explain what had happened with Hyeonseong so far.

A little later.

As soon as his explanation was over, a curse word came out of his wife Kim Mi-sook’s mouth.

-What kind of bastard is that?

“Tell me about it. That’s why I’m going crazy right now. I can’t do this or that……”

-When did they say that Movie Heart would be coming in?

“There’s less than a month left. They said the interior construction will start on the 25th of this month.”

-Ah, seriously!

Kim Mi-sook’s voice was full of annoyance.

She continued again.

-If there’s less than a month left, that means we can’t hold out any longer, right?

“That’s right, if a buyer doesn’t show up, we’ll be the only ones who get screwed.”

-It’s just my bad luck that such a guy came…….

“What do you want me to do?”

-Hoo!

Kim Mi-sook sighed deeply instead of answering.

Then Lee Seong-soo continued again.

“It’s a shame, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Taking that money and getting out of here is the best we can do right now……”

-Wait a minute!

Kim Mi-sook interrupted Lee Seong-soo. Then she immediately continued.

-Is there any way we can ask for even a million won more……?

“A million won?”

-I’m so upset that I worked so hard every night going around the video store to get videos. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have done such embarrassing things…….

“Who knew this would happen? I’ll talk to him anyway, just in case.”

-Ah, I’m really annoyed the more I think about it. Even when I was writing that ledger…….

The two people’s complaints continued for quite some time after that.

A while later.

“Hoo!”

Lee Seong-soo, who had hung up the phone with his wife, sighed deeply without realizing it.

No matter how much he thought about it, he could only sigh. When he thought about what he had done to get 10 million won more, he just felt pathetic.

Every night, he and his wife carried videos and wrote the names of people who didn’t even come on the ledger to create a fake ledger.

But of all people, such a guy had to come from somewhere…….

It was then.

Clang.

Hyeonseong came in as the store door opened.