Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 507

509

“That friend of yours?”

“Yes, I was wondering if he has any personal assets or what he might have done in the past. You never know with people.”

“Do you think that’s really necessary?”

Instead of answering, Director Park Sun-woo asked in return.

It was obvious without even investigating.

He’s only twenty-nine years old.

After graduating from college, serving in the military, and spending a year or two in the workforce, he must have found the world tough and eventually turned to his parents for help.

His parents, unable to ignore their child, scraped together all the money they could to buy him a shabby building.

Was there really a need to investigate such a young kid further?

Chairman Min Hong-sik pondered for a moment before nodding and continuing.

“So, Director Park, you’re saying it’s pretty obvious anyway?”

“That’s how I see it. His age speaks for itself. He probably graduated from college and tried the workforce for a year or two, but the world wasn’t easy. So, he must have ended up asking his parents for help, right?”

“And his parents scraped together all the money they had to buy him a small building?”

“Exactly. But that young fool doesn’t know anything and is thinking of spending five or six thousand a month just on video rentals.”

“Hmm…”

Chairman Min Hong-sik seemed to think for a moment before slowly nodding. Eventually, Chairman Min Hong-sik agreed with Director Park Sun-woo’s assessment.

Confirming that, Director Park Sun-woo continued.

“Since it’s opening in two days anyway, we just need to watch. Then, the answer will come out.”

“Hmm, okay, I understand.”

“I’m pretty sure our prediction will be 99% correct.”

“It has to be. That 1% shouldn’t become a reality. Anyway, we should always be vigilant and keep an eye on him, just in case.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Director Park Sun-woo bowed his head.

Then, Chairman Min Hong-sik asked again.

“And the Bupyeong branch interior construction is proceeding without any issues, right?”

“Of course. We set the construction period for two weeks, so it will be finished by the end of this month and open on the 1st of next month.”

“You set the construction period for two weeks? As far as I know, there’s not much to do at that store, so it shouldn’t take that long, right?”

“We created some work. It has to take at least that long for us to get about 50 million won [approximately $40,000 USD]. We have to make the most profit from the interior, so it can’t be helped.”

“Okay, that’s Director Park’s specialty, so handle it. Make sure to take enough from that CEO Yoo so he doesn’t say anything strange. He might be quiet now because he doesn’t know anything, but it’ll be a headache if he finds out later.”

“Yes, don’t worry about that. As for the money, we’ve already specified it in the contract so he can’t say anything. That will never happen.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Tuk, tuk.

Chairman Min Hong-sik lightly tapped Director Park Sun-woo’s shoulder and smiled. Then, Director Park Sun-woo bowed deeply to Chairman Min Hong-sik, as if making a pledge of allegiance.

***

“Boss, this is the last one.”

“Really? Then let’s finish this quickly and go get dinner.”

The current task is barcoding.

Back then, not many places used computer programs. Most places wrote things down in notebooks.

But Hyun-sung was different.

As soon as he took over the store and finished the expansion, he called a program company and installed a rental program on the computer.

Of course, he didn’t have a computer, so buying one was the first priority.

Then, after the construction was finished, he brought in videos from closed stores and immediately started barcoding.

It was a task of attaching labels to 30,000 videotapes and registering them on the computer.

Six people, including five employees and the owner Hyun-sung, worked on it for two days.

“Boss, we’re all done.”

“Okay, everyone worked hard. Myung-hoon, take the guys and go eat meat at the ribs place.”

With those words, Hyun-sung took out his card from his wallet and handed it to Lee Myung-hoon.

Lee Myung-hoon.

Among the five employees hired this time, he was the oldest at 25 years old.

Lee Myung-hoon looked at Hyun-sung and immediately asked.

“Huh? Aren’t you coming, boss?”

“Sorry, I have a guest coming. So, go eat by yourselves.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“And beef is okay too, so eat whatever you want. Of course, have a shot of soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] too.”

“Yes, I understand. Then, see you tomorrow.”

It was about five minutes after Lee Myung-hoon and the other employees left the store.

Clang.

Someone came in as the store door opened.

At first, he thought it was the person he was waiting for, but it was someone he wasn’t expecting at all.

Smirk.

A smile immediately appeared on Hyun-sung’s face. Of course, it wasn’t the person he was waiting for, but the person who came in was also a welcome person.

Lee Se-yi.

It was a very old memory from his past life, but the name immediately came to mind the moment he saw her.

She’s the bakery owner.

Until she moved, she was a customer who came to rent videos almost every other day.

And the reason he remembered her name was because of her unique name. Her first and last names were the same.

Hyun-sung greeted her happily.

“Welcome!”

“Excuse me… can I rent a video now?”

He had expected it from the moment she first came in. There could only be one purpose for entering a video store.

The official opening is in two days, but he couldn’t just send away the first customer who came in.

“Yes, of course. Take your pick.”

“Really? I thought you hadn’t started 영업 [business/operations] yet…”

“Yes, that’s right. The official opening is the day after tomorrow. But I can’t just send away a customer who came. Especially since you’re my first customer since I took over.”

“Oh my! Really? I didn’t know. I just came in because the lights were on… Should I come the day after tomorrow then?”

She was also a business owner, so she was being polite. Or maybe not all business owners are like that. This must be her personality. Her gentle and considerate personality.

Hyun-sung said comfortably as if it was nothing.

“No, it’s okay, take your pick. What kind of business owner wouldn’t have that much flexibility? Take your time.”

“…Yes, then.”

Lee Se-yi slowly walked around and started looking at the videos.

It wasn’t even a minute before she opened her mouth again.

“The store is so much bigger, it’s really nice. It’s a completely different store.”

“Oh, really? Thank you for saying so!”

It was natural to feel good when a customer complimented him.

Was that why?

Hyun-sung’s words were filled with energy.

Then Lee Se-yi immediately asked.

“Have you been in business for a long time?”

“Huh? Why do you think that?”

“The way you talk doesn’t seem like someone who’s starting a business for the first time, and you’re so friendly.”

“Haha, is that so?”

Hyun-sung just laughed it off.

Maybe it was natural. Even though it was his past life, he had been in business for over 20 years, so where would that habit go?

In fact, when you start a business for the first time, you can’t even say ‘Welcome’ properly.

Hyun-sung himself was like that in his past life.

He knew he had to greet people in his head, but he couldn’t get it out of his mouth.

It was a problem that was eventually solved over time.

But he couldn’t talk about the fact that he had been in business in his past life, so Hyun-sung had no choice but to make up an excuse about working at a restaurant.

“I worked at a restaurant for a while. I guess that habit came out.”

“Ah, I see…”

Lee Se-yi nodded as if she understood and started picking out videos again.

Her footsteps stopped at a place with a sign that said ‘Drama’.

Shortly after.

“This one.”

What Lee Se-yi handed over was the Hong Kong movie ‘The Phantom Lover’.

A melodrama directed by Wu Nianzhen, starring Leslie Cheung and Jacklyn Wu, a movie about a tragic love story that no one can watch without crying.

Of course, Hyun-sung had also seen the movie several times before.

“You’ll need more than one handkerchief to watch this.”

“Oh? Have you seen it too, boss? Actually, I wanted to see this and looked for it, but you didn’t have it before. But I saw it today and quickly picked it out.”

The most difficult thing about running a video store is choosing which videos to buy.

Which videos to buy.

Of course, it would be better to buy all the videos that are released. But the problem is the purchase cost. If you buy all the videos without selecting them, you won’t be able to afford the cost.

After all, the purpose of running a video store is to make a profit.

That’s why small stores have no choice but to buy videos focusing on popular movies.

Perhaps that’s why the previous owner didn’t buy ‘The Phantom Lover’.

In the case of movies like this, you have to buy them with a long-term perspective, but he didn’t have the resources to do so.

This is the sorrow of a small store.

Hyun-sung continued.

“I bought it from a closed store this time.”

“Now that I think about it, it’s nice that there are so many videos. I think I’ll be coming every day from now on.”

Lee Se-yi was already smiling brightly. That’s how much she loved movies. The video inventory had tripled from before, so she was in a good mood.

“Your name here…”

Hyun-sung handed Lee Se-yi a customer card.

Then Lee Se-yi immediately asked with a delighted expression.

“Oh? You don’t write it down in a notebook anymore?”

“Haha, we do it with a computer now. So, if you write it down on this customer card just once…”

Before Hyun-sung could finish speaking, Lee Se-yi smiled and started filling out the customer card.

Shortly after.

Tadatak.

Hyun-sung received Lee Se-yi’s customer card and started typing quickly.

Then Lee Se-yi, who was watching the scene, immediately asked.

“Oh? Didn’t you say you worked at a restaurant a little while ago?”

“Yes, that’s right. But why?”

“You handle the program so naturally. Anyone would think you’ve been working at a video store for about 10 years?”

“Haha…”

Hyun-sung laughed without realizing it. As they say, you can’t hide your profession, and he had learned it so well that his body moved naturally.

Beep.

Hyun-sung scanned the barcode and handed the videotape to Lee Se-yi.

“This is a service [free rental].”

“No, I’d feel bad. Don’t do that…”

“As I said before, you’re my first customer. I’m giving it to you so you’ll come often, so please accept it without feeling burdened.”

He wanted to convey his welcome in that way. It was a connection that he thought was over forever. But meeting her again like this made him feel incredibly happy.

She left this place about a year after Hyun-sung opened the video store.

The problem was also due to a competitor.

Paris Baguette, a chain store, came in right across from her bakery.

Six months, that’s how long she lasted.

Eventually, she had no choice but to close her bakery and move to another place six months after Paris Baguette came in.

He still remembers the bread she gave him last before she left.

At that time, Lee Se-yi spoke again.

“Is it really okay for me to just go?”

“If you really feel that way, can I ask you for a bread when you pass by?”

“Oh? How did you know I run a bakery?”

“I smelled delicious bread from the moment you came in…”

“Huhu, oh, is that so? Okay, I’ll definitely bring it to you when I get off work later.”

He doesn’t know how long it’s been since he’s seen that smile.

She tried not to lose her smile even when she was leaving. But the reason why she couldn’t help but shed tears at the final farewell was because of her daughter.

Her daughter, who called him uncle and was especially fond of him, her name is Yoon Soo-jung.

A child whose eyes were as clear as her name.

But he couldn’t ask about her first.

That’s when it happened.

Lee Se-yi looked at the videotape on the counter and shouted happily.

“Oh my! Are you selling this?”

What Lee Se-yi picked was a special edition of ‘The Lion King’.

“Yes, this is the special edition that came out this time.”

“Our Soo-jung loves this so much.”

“Soo-jung?”

Hyun-sung asked back, pretending not to know.

Then Lee Se-yi’s explanation immediately followed.

“Yes, my daughter. She’s 4 years old now…”

He hadn’t seen her since they broke up at that time. He still thought of her occasionally even after a long time had passed. But now that he thought he could see that child again, Hyun-sung couldn’t help but smile.

“She must be as pretty as her name?”

“You have no idea how pretty she is. She’s been making a fuss lately because she can’t watch videos because of the construction here. Give me this Lion King.”

Lee Se-yi quickly pulled out the videotape from the counter.

He wanted to give it to her for free, but he thought it would be uncomfortable, so he had no choice but to call out the cost price.

“Yes, it’s 15,400 won [approximately $12 USD].”

“Oh? It says 20,000 won [approximately $15 USD] here?”

“I wish I could just give it to you, but I thought you’d be uncomfortable, so I just…”

Tuk.

Before Hyun-sung could finish speaking, Lee Se-yi put two 10,000 won bills on the counter and continued.

“I’ll just take your heart. Then I’m busy, so I’ll be going…”

With those words, Lee Se-yi immediately left the store. She was still the same. Even in her past life, she always refused any service.

He only found out the reason later.

She was trying not to weaken while raising a child alone.

“Hoo!”

A long sigh came out of Hyun-sung’s mouth. Anyway, Paris Baguette will be in that place without fail in October this fall.

That’s when it happened.

Clang.

The person Hyun-sung had been waiting for since earlier came in as the store door opened.

510

Returning and Becoming a Building Owner