Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 527

529

Three days later.

Movie Heart’s opening day.

5 AM.

Yoo Seung-il, who had been tossing and turning, got out of bed. His wife, Han Mi-sook, who was next to him, immediately asked,

“Why? Can’t you sleep?”

“I know, I woke up early and couldn’t fall back asleep.”

“You didn’t sleep well last night either. Is something wrong?”

“It’s not that something’s wrong, but I guess I’m nervous about the opening. I’m not young anymore, and I’m in my mid-50s, starting the second act of my life, so wouldn’t it be weird if I wasn’t nervous?”

“I guess so. To be honest, I couldn’t sleep last night either.”

Han Mi-sook got out of bed as she spoke, her face etched with worry.

She continued,

“Do you think we’ll be okay?”

“Why? Are you anxious?”

“Well…”

Han Mi-sook hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Actually, I was confident when we first signed the contract. I thought the video stores in this neighborhood were all small and couldn’t compete with us. But since that kid showed up, it’s all been a mess.”

“Honey, maybe…”

Yoo Seung-il stopped mid-sentence.

Han Mi-sook immediately asked,

“Why? What were you going to say?”

“Well… lately, I’ve been thinking that we had bad intentions from the start.”

“Bad intentions?”

“Yeah, we thought we could take over all the rental shops in this neighborhood, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“So, we were only trying to survive by crushing everyone else. That’s not a good intention. I thought it was the only way for me to live, but now that the tables are turned and someone might crush me, it’s…”

Yoo Seung-il trailed off, lost in thought. After a moment, he spoke again.

“I guess those people thought the same way we did.”

“Those people?”

“Yeah, the people who were running small rental shops as a side job in this neighborhood. They were also trying to protect their families. In the end, it seems like we destroyed their peaceful lives, and I feel bad about that.”

“Well…”

Han Mi-sook started to say something but stopped. She realized there was nothing to say. What her husband said was true.

They thought they had to eliminate them to survive.

Yoo Seung-il continued,

“Why didn’t I think of that then?”

“…”

“Why did I think it was so natural? I thought it was natural for them to disappear so I could live. People say you don’t know until you’re in that position, and I think that’s true.”

“Honey!”
Han Mi-sook called out to Yoo Seung-il firmly.

Yoo Seung-il, who had been speaking quietly, looked at Han Mi-sook, startled.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“This isn’t right.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The way you’re acting right now. The die is already cast [a point of no return], and your weak attitude isn’t helping. Today is the opening day. How can you be so weak? I understand what you’re saying, but that attitude is not right.”

“I guess so?”

“Of course! We’re not teenagers to be caught up in those emotions. If we don’t survive here, we’re dead. We have to survive no matter what.”

“Hoo!”
Yoo Seung-il sighed briefly instead of answering, then shook his head vigorously as if to clear his mind and immediately spoke.

“Sorry, honey, I was talking nonsense for a moment… This is not the time for me to be like this.”

“Honey! We have to be ruthless. From now on, it’s war.”

“Okay, I got it!”
Yoo Seung-il nodded strongly as if making a resolution and started to change his clothes.

Han Mi-sook asked again,

“Where are you going without eating breakfast?”

“I’m just going to take a walk around the neighborhood. I don’t think I can sleep again anyway.”

“Okay, I understand. Hurry back. I’ll make your favorite mushroom soybean paste stew in time.”

“Okay, I’ll be back by 7.”
Yoo Seung-il finished speaking and quietly left the bedroom.

A moment later.

Han Mi-sook was left alone after Yoo Seung-il left.

“Hoo…!”
A long sigh escaped her lips.

Two months ago, she had searched all over Incheon to find a store location. Finally, the headquarters told her about the current location, saying it was a spot they had been eyeing for a long time.

The space was large, and the commercial district seemed good.

But one thing bothered her: the small video rental shops nearby.

The headquarters explained that if they opened in the current location, all the other rental shops would be gone within a year.

She couldn’t blindly trust their words, so she visited the surrounding rental shops herself. She concluded that their judgment was correct and signed the contract immediately.

Of course, she didn’t feel anything about the surrounding rental shops disappearing.

She thought someone’s sacrifice was natural for her to live.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

But a month later, a variable occurred.

The owner of the nearest rental shop changed. But even then, there wasn’t a big problem. Or so she thought.

But as time passed, the situation gradually began to change.

And finally, three days before the opening, something happened.

Banners were hung at all the rental shops in this neighborhood at the same time. The rumored rental fee dumping had begun.

500 won!

She had heard that Movie Heart was doing the dumping [selling goods at a loss to gain market share], but she had never heard of anyone dumping against Movie Heart.

But it had happened.

Only then did she realize that the dumping issue was not someone else’s problem. And she also realized that the opponent had been targeting Movie Heart from the beginning and had made thorough preparations.

But there was still a last hope. She had something to believe in.

The headquarters!

But that was a big mistake.

The headquarters’ response was so irresponsible that it was terrible.

They said they couldn’t do anything about it.

They said they didn’t know and didn’t expect it at all.

They said to charge the same rental fee as the opponent for the time being and see how it goes.

It was an admission that the opponent had already taken the lead.

That’s when it started.

Her husband didn’t say anything, but he was anxious and couldn’t sleep. He began to feel intimidated by the opponent he had dismissed as an amateur.

The anxiety that they might lose this game.

And finally, on the opening day, her husband even started talking weakly.

“Hoo…!”
A deeper sigh than before escaped Han Mi-sook’s lips.

People say you don’t know how someone feels until you’re in their position.

Her current situation was exactly like that.

When she first signed the contract, she didn’t care about the other rental shops disappearing. She thought it was natural for them to disappear for her to live.

But when she thought that they might disappear, she wondered how those people felt back then.

Putting herself in their shoes.

Only now that she was in that position did she start to think about their position.

But the important thing was that nothing would change now.

It was already done, and the result, whatever it may be, was the responsibility of the one who chose it.

She couldn’t stop the running train now.

“There’s nothing I can do…”
Han Mi-sook closed her eyes tightly.

In the end, she decided to accept the current situation. Of course, she didn’t know that there would be a day when she would regret this moment in the future.

***

“Hehe!”
It was when Hyun-sung, who was doing his morning exercise, was passing the corner of the intersection.

“What? That guy?”
Hyun-sung’s gaze was directed towards a shopping district. It was where Movie Heart, which was scheduled to open today, was located.

The time was 5:30 AM. Of course, the lights shouldn’t be on at this time. But the lights were on.

That meant someone had opened the store at this time.

That someone was obvious.

“Well, anyway…”
Step.
Hyun-sung hesitated for a moment and turned his steps towards Movie Heart. He was going to start a war with the opponent from today anyway, but there was no reason for Hyun-sung himself to avoid it.

And he had suffered that much from him in his past life.

Clang!
When he opened the store door and went inside, Yoo Seung-il was doing something, as expected.

“Huh? You, you are…?”
Of course, Yoo Seung-il was surprised. He couldn’t even speak properly while pointing at Hyun-sung with his finger.

“Why are you so surprised? It’s not like we’ve never met before…”

“What’s going on?”
“I was just taking a morning walk and came in because the lights were on, but what are you doing at this early hour?”
Hyun-sung spoke and slowly looked around the store. In his past life, he was overwhelmed and didn’t have the luxury to do so, but now it was completely different from then, so it was a natural action.

Yoo Seung-il frowned as if he was displeased and opened his mouth.

“What are you doing coming to someone else’s store right now?”

“I was thinking of looking around.”

“Looking around? Not spying?”
Smile.
Hyun-sung smiled lightly instead of answering. Then, he quietly looked around the store and approached Yoo Seung-il, opening his mouth.

“80 million [Korean won], right?”

“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I’m talking about the price of the video goods. That’s probably the amount the headquarters asked for. Am I wrong?”

“Hum… I don’t think you need to know that…”
Yoo Seung-il was momentarily taken aback. 40,000 copies for 80 million won was exactly the amount the headquarters had asked for.

Then Hyun-sung spoke again.

“50 million.”

“What? 50 million? What’s that?”

“The money the headquarters took. That’s how much those bastards made without lifting a finger.”

“…”
Yoo Seung-il clenched his teeth.

Not that he didn’t know. One of the used video dealers came last night and said similar things. But he couldn’t show it.

“Get out!”
Expulsion order.
It was the best expression of emotion Yoo Seung-il could make right now.

But Hyun-sung wasn’t going to back down that easily. He had come in with some determination.

Hyun-sung looked around the store again and opened his mouth again.

“50 million.”

“I told you to stop.”

“The money they made from the interior. It took them 20 days to finish the construction that would have taken a week, so those guys are really vicious.”

“50… million?”
He was human, so how could he not be curious? Yoo Seung-il also reacted to the bait Hyun-sung threw.

“Yes, think about it. What is there to do for 20 days of interior construction in a video store? All you have to do is put up display cases, right?”

“…”
Yoo Seung-il looked around the store instead of answering. He was right. All the walls except the entrance were full of video display cases.

“In the end, the headquarters made 50 million from the videos and 50 million from the interior. And they didn’t even lift a finger. Don’t be too upset.”

“What?”

“That’s how they are. It’s not just you who’s suffering. All the beginners who join the chain are suffering.”

“Hoo…!”
Yoo Seung-il sighed without realizing it. Of course, he had expected it to some extent, but the amount was much larger than he had thought.

“That’s not the end.”

“…?”

“The money they took from here and there is at least 30 million. In the end, 130 million went into their pockets. You opened with 200 million, right?”
He had heard the 200 million story from Yoo Seung-il himself in his past life. When he first went to him about the rental fee issue, he boasted that he had opened with 200 million. Of course, Hyun-sung didn’t have any experience back then, so he thought that was the case.

It wasn’t until many years later that he realized it was all a bubble.

“In conclusion, only 70 million out of 200 million went into the store, and the remaining 130 million was eaten by those bastards. They’re really bad guys, right?”

“…”

“You won’t believe it now. No, you probably expected it to some extent, but it’s beyond your expectations.”
Gritting.
Yoo Seung-il clenched his teeth again. It was his hard-earned retirement money that he had worked for all his life. To think that they would swallow that money in one gulp.
Yoo Seung-il forced his mouth open.

“…Can you guarantee it?”

“Why? You don’t believe me? You probably don’t now. But if you stay in this business a little longer, you’ll find out how vicious and bad those guys are.”

“…”
Yoo Seung-il had nothing to say. His hands were already full of strength.

Then Hyun-sung’s words continued.

“But just know that this is not the end.”

“If it’s not the end?”

“It’s a new beginning. They’re not going to be satisfied with what they’ve taken so far. They’re going to keep taking it little by little, so watch.”

“…”
All Yoo Seung-il could do was sigh. But even sighing was a matter of pride, so he had no choice but to swallow it inside.

“Well, I’ll stop here. If you have any more questions, next time…”
With those words, Hyun-sung turned around. The purpose of coming here was to rub salt in his wounds. Of course, everything he said was true.

That’s when it was.

“Wait a minute!”
Yoo Seung-il urgently called out to Hyun-sung.