Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 505

507

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

The two people talking were Min Hong-shik, the chairman of Movie Heart headquarters, and Park Sun-woo, the manager in charge of opening nationwide chain stores.

Chairman Min Hong-shik asked again with a serious face.

“So, you’re saying that young man took over that small store and expanded it?”

“Yes, that’s right. After the expansion, it will be 40 *pyeong* [approximately 132 square meters].”

“40 *pyeong*? That means there’s only a 10 *pyeong* difference between that and the store we’re opening?”

“Yes, that’s right. But the problem isn’t the size.”

“Not the size? Then what’s the problem?”

“Well, that’s…”

Manager Park Sun-woo couldn’t continue his answer for some reason.

Chairman Min Hong-shik glanced at Manager Park Sun-woo once and then asked directly.

“Why? What’s the matter that you can’t say?”

“It’s such an absurd story. According to the report, that young man bought the entire building.”

“What? The entire building?”

“Yes, I couldn’t believe it at first, so I asked for confirmation again, but the result was the same. It’s certain that he bought the building.”

“Hmm…”

Chairman Min Hong-shik held his forehead with one hand.

This throws off the plan. The Bupyeong branch, scheduled to open this time, has a special meaning unlike other locations.

Symbolism.

They’ve opened numerous chain stores nationwide, but only a handful of stores exceed 50 *pyeong*.

Among them, only five are in the metropolitan area. As such, they have to be cautious because the rent is high in the metropolitan area.

Moreover, the burden of rent is even greater in Incheon.

However, the reason they decided on the Bupyeong branch despite that is because an analysis showed that there was a good chance of success.

But a variable has arisen in the middle.

The small store has expanded to 40 *pyeong*. Moreover, the store closest to the store scheduled to open.

And to top it off, the owner of that store is the landlord.

When they first went for due diligence, it was the most disregarded store.

But in just ten days, the owner changed and the store completely transformed.

In any case, the priority is to understand the new owner.

Thinking, Chairman Min Hong-shik asked again.

“What did you say that guy’s name was?”

“Kim Hyun-sung.”

“Age?”

“He’s twenty-nine now.”

“Twenty-nine and a building owner… Have you investigated his father?”

The important thing is ultimately money. Once the competition starts, the outcome depends on who has more ammunition.

How long they can last, that ultimately depends on how much spare money they have.

That’s why he’s asking about his father now.

After all, there’s no way he could have bought the building himself at that age.

“Still under investigation.”

“Still, huh?”

“Yes, that’s right. Frankly, it was completely unexpected, so I urgently issued instructions. I will report to you as soon as additional reports come in. And also, there’s good news.”

“Good news?”

At the word ‘good news,’ Chairman Min Hong-shik stared intently at Manager Park Sun-woo.

Then, Manager Park Sun-woo immediately continued.

“He’s a novice.”

“A novice?”

“Yes, that Kim Hyun-sung. He has no experience with video rental stores.”

“Really? Then that changes things.”

The dark shadow on Chairman Min Hong-shik’s face disappeared in an instant. That’s because competing with someone who has experience and someone who doesn’t is a world of difference.

Moreover, a rental store is different from other general businesses in that it doesn’t end with selling goods. It’s a business that lends items and then retrieves them.

How quickly you retrieve them.

That’s the key.

Ultimately, how quickly you increase the turnover rate of goods is the most crucial thing in increasing sales.

That means it’s not easy without experience.

“Of course, this is just my guess, but it seems he bought a building with his parents’ help and opened a rental store. Rental stores must look easy from the outside.”

“It seems so. If we’re lucky, the match might end sooner than expected.”

“That’s what I’m saying. It’s definitely not easy for a novice to run a 40 *pyeong* store. And the characteristic of this rental store is that it doesn’t end with lending, but also the retrieval and video turnover rate…”

Manager Park Sun-woo continued to explain the characteristics of the video rental store. Of course, under the assumption that Hyun-sung wouldn’t know that fact at all.

Just then.

Knock knock.

With a knock, someone hurriedly entered the office.

Chairman Min Hong-shik immediately greeted him.

“Oh, Mr. Yoo, what brings you here?”

The person who entered the office was Yoo Seung-il, the owner who was supposed to open the Bupyeong branch this time.

His face was flushed. That meant he was agitated.

Yoo Seung-il looked at Chairman Min Hong-shik and asked directly.

“Chairman, have you heard the news?”

“News? What news?”

Chairman Min Hong-shik pretended not to know, even though he knew what he was talking about. The reason was that he thought it was necessary to calm him down as much as possible.

After all, there was nothing to be gained from him being agitated.

“The store that’s opening this time. The store closest to our store has been open for ten days…”

Yoo Seung-il began to explain why he had rushed here. As his explanation continued, Chairman Min Hong-shik and Manager Park Sun-woo quietly listened to him.

And finally, when Yoo Seung-il’s explanation ended, Manager Park Sun-woo, not Chairman Min Hong-shik, opened his mouth.

“Mr. Yoo, don’t worry too much.”

“How can I not worry right now? We have to open next month, but they’re already coming out aggressively.”

You could immediately tell how agitated Yoo Seung-il was from his expression.

Perhaps it was natural for him.

He was supposed to start interior construction in a few days and open in two weeks, but suddenly the closest store was expanding its space and coming out aggressively, so how could he not be agitated?

Manager Park Sun-woo casually threw out a word as if it were nothing.

“He’s a novice.”

“A novice?”

“Yes, this is his first time running a rental store. So, I’m telling you not to worry too much.”

It was the method Manager Park Sun-woo chose. In order to calm Yoo Seung-il down, there seemed to be no better word than saying that the opponent was a novice.

Was it effective?

Yoo Seung-il’s voice subsided.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, it is. So, I’m telling you not to worry too much. When Mr. Yoo opens, our headquarters will provide full support, so you don’t have to worry about anything. After all, a novice can’t even compete with us.”

“That’s a relief then. I was so surprised when I heard the news today…”

Yoo Seung-il seemed to have calmed down, and his expression was different from before.

Then, Chairman Min Hong-shik gave Manager Park Sun-woo a look. It meant to wrap things up and send him away.

After all, there was no point in him staying any longer.

Manager Park Sun-woo, who couldn’t possibly not know the meaning, nodded slightly and immediately continued, looking at Yoo Seung-il.

“Mr. Yoo, who are we! We’re Movie Heart! We’ve never been pushed back in competition anywhere in the country. So, don’t worry about anything and just trust us and go home and wait. We’ll take care of everything.”

“Yes, I will. Then I’ll trust the manager and go back.”

Yoo Seung-il finished speaking, greeted Chairman Min Hong-shik, and left the office.

Then, Chairman Min Hong-shik immediately opened his mouth.

“Are you sure that kid is a novice?”

Min Hong-shik would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried. So, he asked one more time for the purpose of confirmation.

If that information was wrong, even by any chance, it would be a big problem.

Manager Park Sun-woo nodded and continued his answer.

“Yes, that’s right. He’s definitely a novice. He probably won’t know what to do even if just a few customers come. So, Chairman, don’t worry too much. I’ll make sure to overwhelm him with volume in the early stages.”

“Hmm, okay. After all, no one in this industry has as much experience as Manager Park, so don’t make any mistakes. And even if something goes wrong, don’t create anything that our headquarters will be responsible for.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. After all, the contract already specifies that the store owner is responsible for everything.”

“Okay, I understand. Then that’s fine. Now, let’s go out for dinner.”

The two immediately disappeared from the office.

After all, they had nothing to lose. All the contracts had already been made, and in a few days, they would start interior construction. And then they would open soon.

Of course, it would be good if things went well, but even if things went wrong, the headquarters wouldn’t lose anything, so they had no reason to worry.

Rather, what to eat for dinner was more important to them now.

***

A few days later.

It had been two weeks since Hyun-sung started the expansion construction, and the construction was also finished neatly.

In the end, the construction that was supposed to take a month was finished in two weeks.

Two people sitting face to face in a restaurant.

Hyun-sung held up a *soju* [Korean distilled rice liquor] bottle towards Kim Dong-ho, the equipment installer, and said.

“*Hyung* [term used to address an older brother or male friend], please have a drink. You’ve really worked hard.”

“What do you mean, worked hard…”

Pouring.

The two people who filled their glasses stretched them out forward without either of them saying anything first.

“*Hyung*, thank you. Let’s toast.”

“Okay, let’s drink.”

Clink!

The *soju* glasses met in the air and made a cheerful sound.

The two emptied their glasses in a good mood.

Putting down his empty glass, Hyun-sung opened his mouth again first.

“Thanks to you, *hyung*, my schedule has become easier. But how were you able to reduce the construction period by half?”

“I told you from the beginning, I can’t forgive people who don’t follow the rules.”

“Is that all?”

Smirk.

At Hyun-sung’s question, Kim Dong-ho smiled lightly instead of answering.

Then, Hyun-sung asked again.

“What’s the meaning of that smile? Maybe it’s just my feeling, but it seems like there’s another reason.”

“Why do you keep asking that?”

“Please tell me honestly. I have a feeling about it, too. It’s hard to understand that you’re shortening the construction period by two weeks just because of that one reason.”

“Are you really curious?”

“So, there’s another reason?”

As expected, his prediction was correct.

Of course, what Kim Dong-ho had said from the beginning was because of the rules. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand that he was working so hard for that one reason alone.

So, he thought that there might be a special reason that he didn’t know. So, he asked that reason again today after finishing work.

Kim Dong-ho ate a piece of meat placed in front of him and then continued.

“It didn’t feel like someone else’s business.”

“Yes? What do you mean by that?”

“Actually, a long time ago…”

Kim Dong-ho’s explanation continued.

A long time ago, his mother used to run a restaurant. It was quite well-known, so business was good. But one day, the same restaurant opened across the street. Moreover, it was a large restaurant three times the size of his mother’s store.

They fought fiercely, but they had no choice but to give up after two years. Then, his mother became ill from that time and eventually passed away three years later.

When Kim Dong-ho’s words ended, Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“So, there was such a story. I thought it was strange. When I first told *hyung* about Movie Heart, I thought *hyung’s* reaction was strangely intense.”

“I couldn’t help it because I thought of my mother…”

Kim Dong-ho couldn’t finish his words. It seemed like he was reminded of his past memories.

It was natural. No matter how old the wound is, there will be wounds that don’t heal.

Hyun-sung immediately held up the *soju* bottle and continued.

“*Hyung*, shall we have another drink?”

“Okay.”

The two emptied their *soju* glasses once again and then began to eat the meat placed in front of them.

After eating some snacks for a while, Kim Dong-ho looked at Hyun-sung and opened his mouth.

“Be sure to win.”

“Yes, I will. *Hyung* has helped me this much, so I have to win.”

“Okay, what’s the plan for the future?”

“First, I’ll put up the sign tomorrow and finish the equipment work. And then the videos will come in the day after tomorrow.”

“Sign? Did you change the name too?”

“Yes, I changed it to Cinema Paradise.”

The name he used in his previous life was Cinema Paradise. That’s why he’s using that name again this time.

“Isn’t that a famous movie title?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a work by Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore, and it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1989. It’s about a village in Sicily after World War II…”

As Hyun-sung continued to explain the movie, Kim Dong-ho only quietly listened to his explanation.

And finally, when Hyun-sung’s explanation ended, Kim Dong-ho smiled and immediately opened his mouth.

“You’re a video store owner, so you know a lot about movies.”

“It’s my favorite movie. This movie is great not only for its content but also for its OST [original sound track]. If you haven’t seen it, watch it sometime. Oh, *hyung’s* taste isn’t this way, it’s SF [science fiction], right?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“Huh? That’s…”

A momentary mistake. Because his memories from his previous life popped out, he made a mistake without realizing it. But this much is okay.

“I just meant that it seemed like it?”

“Really?”

“Of course, otherwise how would I know *hyung’s* taste? I just…”

He kept rambling as he tried to lie.

Then, Kim Dong-ho opened his mouth again.

“Anyway, that Movie Heart owner must be dumbfounded. He must have come in ignoring you.”

“If you think about it, he didn’t ignore me, he ignored the previous owner, but it doesn’t matter. Anyway, that guy has a bad heart, so he needs to be taught a lesson. He’s the kind of person who thinks money is everything.”

“Well, that’s why he came in even though there was a store next to him. Anyway, show him what you’ve got. Now, let’s toast for that. Be sure to win!”

“Yes, *hyung*. Thank you.”

Clink!

The two clinked their *soju* glasses in the air again.