Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 529

“Hoo!”

Arriving in front of the store, Yoo Seung-il focused on his breathing. He had briefly visited this morning, but the thought of officially opening brought a wave of tension throughout his body.

Act Two of his life.

He was closing the chapter on his lifelong banking career and starting his second act. Perhaps that’s why his body was tense without him even realizing it.

It felt as intense, if not more so, than his first day at the bank.

“Hoo-hoo!”

Yoo Seung-il took another deep breath and opened the store door.

*Ting-a-ling!*

The small bell hanging on the door made a clear sound. This bell wasn’t just a common accessory shop item; his wife had personally searched for days in Insadong [a district in Seoul known for traditional crafts and art] to buy it.

Perhaps that’s why it always sounded particularly clear to him.

*Click!*

He flipped the switch on the wall, and the store was instantly illuminated.

“What should I do now?”

Since it was the first official opening day, he hesitated for a moment, unsure of where to start.

But only for a moment.

Yoo Seung-il immediately went to the counter and turned on the computer. He could hear the computer starting up.

“Okay, now open the rental program…”

He had already received training on the rental program from the headquarters, so handling the program was not a problem.

“Now, the music…”

Yoo Seung-il played classical music. He had always dreamed of starting the day elegantly, listening to music softly playing in the store.

*La-la-la-la-la…*

The music began to fill the store.

Yoo Seung-il’s dream seemed to be coming true.

Just then.

*Ting-a-ling!*

The store door opened, and a man in his late twenties walked in.

“Welcome…”

He wanted to greet him loudly, but the voice that came out was barely audible to the customer.

It felt different from when he worked at the bank.

The male customer approached the counter and asked,

“Do you have ‘Clear and Present Danger’ with Harrison Ford?”

“‘Clear and Present Danger’? Just a moment.”

Yoo Seung-il immediately went to the computer to search the rental program. He didn’t yet know where each movie was located in the store based on the title alone, so he needed to find its location.

‘Huh?’

But something absurd happened.

Whether it was due to nerves or not, he couldn’t remember how to search at all. He could easily find it during the training at headquarters, but when he tried to use it in practice, it didn’t work as he expected.

As Yoo Seung-il fumbled, the customer immediately pressed him.

“Do you have it or not?”

“I… I’m sorry, it’s my first day, and I’m looking for it, but it’s not working out…”

“Okay, I’ll look around for now, so please find it quickly.”

“Yes, yes, I will. I’m sorry, really sorry.”

As the customer walked towards the display case, Yoo Seung-il started searching the program again. But nothing had changed from before.

His mind was still blank, and he had no idea how to find it.

Right then.

One thing flashed through Yoo Seung-il’s mind: the word ‘headquarters.’ He immediately thought that headquarters was what he needed in this situation.

Yoo Seung-il immediately made a phone call.

Shortly after.

Yoo Seung-il, having learned how to search by video title from headquarters, immediately went to the computer.

But it was all in vain.

The waiting customer, having waited too long, was leaving the store without a word.

“Sir!”

He called out urgently, but the customer, already gone, didn’t respond.

“Hoo…!”

Yoo Seung-il couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.

The music was still softly playing in the store. But Yoo Seung-il couldn’t hear anything. He was just filled with a sense of emptiness for having let his first customer go like that.

Yoo Seung-il’s dreamed-of elegant daily life was beginning to crumble little by little.

About ten minutes passed.

*Ting-a-ling!*

The store door opened, and this time a female customer in her mid-thirties walked in.

“Welcome!”

Yoo Seung-il forced himself to raise his voice. But it was only slightly better than before, and he still didn’t like it.

Still, he thought he would improve if he kept trying like this.

The female customer immediately asked,

“Do you have ‘The Pelican Brief’ with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington?”

“‘Pelican’… what?”

Yoo Seung-il immediately asked back.

He wasn’t usually interested in movies, so the movie title didn’t immediately register.

“Brief, ‘The Pelican Brief’!”

The female customer deliberately pronounced each syllable, as if she thought Yoo Seung-il hadn’t understood properly.

“Yes, I understand. Please wait a moment.”

Unlike before, Yoo Seung-il quickly started searching for the movie. He didn’t want to make the same mistake as before.

*Tap!*

He typed in the movie title and pressed enter. At that moment!

“Huh?”

Yoo Seung-il couldn’t help but make a surprised sound. The reason was that the movie he searched for didn’t exist.

The female customer immediately asked,

“Why? Do you not have it?”

“Well, that’s…”

“How can you not have that movie?”

“Is that movie famous?”

“Excuse me?”

The female customer stared at Yoo Seung-il as if she was dumbfounded. Then she immediately continued,

“Seriously, you don’t know that movie? It’s a legal thriller based on a John Grisham novel, and it was a huge hit as a drama. How can you not know that?”

“Well, I’m not really into movies…”

Yoo Seung-il stopped talking and scratched his head.

He hadn’t realized it before. He thought that a video rental store was just a matter of setting up a store, and customers would pick out movies on their own, and he would just calculate at the counter and receive money.

But he realized that wasn’t the case.

But what could he do? It was already useless.

Yoo Seung-il immediately bowed his head.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I…”

“No, it’s not like you have to apologize to me, and what’s more absurd to me is something else.”

“Yes? Something else? What is it?”

“How can you not have that movie? I just can’t understand it…”

The female customer shook her head from side to side as if she couldn’t understand. Seeing that, Yoo Seung-il began to feel a surge of anger.

It was resentment towards the headquarters.

It wasn’t a small amount; he had paid a whopping 80 million won [approximately $60,000 USD] for the videos. But to not have such a famous movie naturally made him angry.

Yoo Seung-il cautiously asked again,

“…Is there anything else you’re looking for?”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll just go to Cinema Paradise down there. I came here hoping it was new, but… Well, goodbye.”

“Yes? Ah, yes…”

Yoo Seung-il could only bow his head as he watched the customer leave. He desperately wanted to grab her by the pants leg. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it and just stared blankly at the leaving customer.

The direction she disappeared in was towards Cinema Paradise, 100 meters away.

*Thump!*

Yoo Seung-il slammed the table with his fist. Then he immediately took out his phone and started calling someone.

The signal rang twice before the other person answered.

-Hello.

“Manager Park, this is Bupyeong!”

The person Yoo Seung-il called was Manager Park Seon-woo from headquarters.

-Ah, President Yoo, what’s going on from this morning? The chairman and I were thinking of heading over to Bupyeong this afternoon to celebrate the opening.

“This is too much, isn’t it?”

Yoo Seung-il started shouting without hesitation. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t understand how such a famous movie could be missing.

But that was only Yoo Seung-il’s perspective.

Manager Park Seon-woo, who received the call, immediately felt annoyed.

-Why are you doing this? I don’t know what’s going on, but what’s with this without any explanation? This is troubling.

“‘The Pelican Brief.'”

-Yes? ‘The Pelican Brief’? That video came out two years ago. But what about it?

“Why isn’t such a famous movie in the store? It’s not like it’s a small amount; I gave you 80 million won for the videos, but how can you not have that movie?”

-Ah, you’re this upset over just that one thing?

Manager Park Seon-woo said casually as if it was nothing.

Hearing that voice, Yoo Seung-il got even angrier, and his voice got louder.

“Just that one thing? Are you even saying that? I got yelled at by a customer this morning because of that movie…”

-President Yoo!

Manager Park Seon-woo interrupted Yoo Seung-il. Then he immediately continued,

-Are you really going to do this?

“Yes? What?”

-Is that all we are to each other? I’m really disappointed.

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

Yoo Seung-il tilted his head momentarily. Even with a quick thought, he couldn’t understand what Manager Park Seon-woo was saying.

Then, Manager Park Seon-woo’s voice was heard again from the receiver.

-Do you even know what kind of movie that is?

“Not really…”

-It was released three years ago and came out on video last year. It wasn’t a movie that had a lot of viewers at the time of its release. And even though this movie is a crime thriller, it has a slow pace, so opinions are divided…

Manager Park Seon-woo’s explanation continued at length. Yoo Seung-il just listened quietly and couldn’t make a sound. He was ignorant about movies, so he had nothing to say.

Manager Park Seon-woo finished explaining the movie and called Yoo Seung-il again.

-President Yoo.

“Yes.”

-What’s important now is not the movie. What I’m disappointed in is your behavior. I’m disappointed in your attitude of calling and getting angry as soon as you find out that one video, which came out two years ago, is missing. You’re not a rookie.

“That’s…”

-No, listen to me more. Of course, when we match the items, there may be items that are unintentionally missing. Do you acknowledge that?

“Well, since it’s something people do…”

Yoo Seung-il had no choice but to acknowledge it. He knew that since it was something people did, it couldn’t be perfect.

Manager Park Seon-woo’s words continued.

-Yes, as you acknowledged, mistakes can happen because it’s something people do. But what am I supposed to do if you call and get angry right away with that mistake?”

“The customer said that movie was so famous…”

-That’s the customer’s perspective. As I said earlier, that movie is a movie with divided opinions. It wasn’t as big of a hit as you think. No, even if that movie was a hit, this is not right. You made a mistake to me today. Do you understand what I’m saying?

“I just thought the customer…”

-That’s right, that’s just the customer’s opinion. In that case, apologize first and say you’ll fill it right away. Then contact me. Then I’ll get it for you. That’s how you handle things. Not by getting angry first.

Manager Park Seon-woo paused and continued,

-And we’re not going to work together for just a day or two, so wouldn’t it be difficult for me if you get angry every time this happens? I’m in charge of presidents all over the country. Isn’t that right?

“Ah, yes…”

-And please keep this one thing in mind.

“Yes? What…?”

-I’m still affiliated with the headquarters. In other words, I’m not your subordinate. Do you understand what I’m saying? Sometimes, there seem to be presidents who are mistaken, so I’m telling you. Of course, you wouldn’t do that…

‘This son of a bitch…’

Yoo Seung-il briefly moved the phone away from his ear. He thought that if he listened any longer, he might unknowingly swear.

After talking a little longer, he hung up the phone.

The conclusion was to be careful. And lastly, he said he would bring the missing video himself in a few days. Of course, he didn’t forget to say that the video cost was separate.

In the end, it means that there will be continued costs if there are missing videos in the future.

“Hoo!”

Yoo Seung-il sighed deeply after hanging up the phone.

***

“Who is it from this morning?”

Chairman Min Hong-sik immediately asked as Manager Park Seon-woo hung up the phone.

“President Yoo in Bupyeong.”

“Why is that person calling from this morning?”

“Well, actually…”

Manager Park Seon-woo continued to explain roughly what had happened. Since it was always the case when opening for the first time, there was no need to explain it at length.

Chairman Min Hong-sik nodded as if he understood as Manager Park Seon-woo’s explanation ended and immediately opened his mouth.

“How many did you leave out this time?”

“President Yoo doesn’t know anything about movies, so I left out 100 in advance.”

“If it’s 100, even if you receive 10,000 won each, it’s 1 million won? Isn’t that a bit much?”

“No, we need to leave out at least that much to cover our transportation and meal expenses. Of course, we can drink liquor two or three times too, haha…”

“Okay, I understand. Manager Park will take care of that. But as I always say, moderately…”

Manager Park Seon-woo bowed his head as if he understood.