Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 536

A few days later.

2 AM.

*Click!*

Before closing up, Yoo Seung-il entered the date and pressed the enter key to check the day’s sales.

Even though it was a daily habit, today felt different. The reason was simple: there had never been so few customers.

As expected.

The uneasy feeling was spot on.

[₩139,500] [Approximately $105 USD]

The moment he saw the amount at the bottom of the monitor, he was speechless.

Today marked exactly 10 days since the grand opening.

After hitting ₩300,000 [Approximately $225 USD] on the first Saturday, sales started to decline, and today, the 10th day, they plummeted below ₩140,000.

At this rate, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t drop below ₩100,000 [Approximately $75 USD].

Ultimately, if things continued like this, the deficit at the end of the month would inevitably be much larger than initially expected.

“Haa!”

A sigh escaped Yoo Seung-il’s lips involuntarily.

How could it not?

Just 10 days after opening, he was already on the verge of giving up completely.

But what was even more infuriating was the head office’s attitude.

He had clearly requested help three days ago, knowing that he, with no experience, couldn’t handle the operation alone.

But the problem was that three days had passed without any contact.

He tried calling, but couldn’t get through. What were they even supposed to do?

Just then.

*Tring!*

The phone on the counter rang.

Naturally assuming it was Section Chief Park Sun-woo from the head office, Yoo Seung-il answered the phone with a hopeful attitude.

“Hello!”

– Honey, it’s me.

The caller was not Section Chief Park Sun-woo from the head office, but his wife, Han Mi-sook. He felt a sudden wave of disappointment. He was that desperate for a call from the head office.

“Oh, hey…”

– Are you finished?

“Yeah, I was just closing up…”

His voice lacked the energy it had when he answered the phone earlier.

Han Mi-sook, who couldn’t have missed it, asked immediately.

– What’s wrong? Is something the matter?

“Huh? No, nothing’s wrong. Why?”

– Just wondering.

“You’re so perceptive… I’ll be home soon after I finish closing up, so wait a little longer.”

– Okay, I understand. Good job today!

*Click.*

Han Mi-sook deliberately put extra emphasis on the words “good job” at the end before hanging up.

Actually, she had been thinking of having a beer together after work because he seemed to be having a harder time lately. But after hearing his tired voice, she couldn’t bring herself to suggest it, so she replaced it with the words “good job.”

Meanwhile, Yoo Seung-il, who had hung up the phone, put his hand on his forehead. His wife’s words of “good job” seemed to pierce his heart more than usual today.

The truth was, his wife knew the store was struggling, but she didn’t know it was this bad.

It had happened that way somehow.

It wasn’t like he had intentionally hidden it from the beginning, but he had been holding on day by day, thinking that tomorrow would be better than today, and that’s how he had ended up here.

The problem was that he couldn’t hide this situation forever.

He would have to find an opportunity to tell his wife the truth about the current situation in some way.

He felt that was the least he could do for her.

*Tring!*

The phone rang again. Yoo Seung-il was sure that this time it must be Section Chief Park Sun-woo from the head office, so he put strength back into his voice and answered the phone again.

“Hello!”

– Mr. Yoo, it’s me.

It was indeed Park Sun-woo.

In his heart, he wanted to ask what he had been doing without any contact for three days, but he couldn’t.

Because he had clearly received a warning last time: if he shouted or got angry without reason, he wouldn’t be able to talk on the phone anymore.

Yoo Seung-il had no choice but to suppress his emotions as much as possible and answer the phone politely. After all, he was the one who needed them, not the head office.

“What’s going on?”

– I’ve been a bit busy. Suddenly, two people wanted to open stores in the provinces, you see.

In the end, the reason why there had been no contact for three days was that they had been focusing on the more profitable openings.

He wanted to curse them out of anger, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and bear it again.

“Ah, I see…”

– I was wondering if I could take some time to go over to Bupyeong tomorrow. Would that be alright?

“Of course. Today, I couldn’t even make ₩140,000.”

He had mentioned the sales without even realizing it. That’s how serious the current sales were from Yoo Seung-il’s perspective.

But that seemed to be only Yoo Seung-il’s perspective. He couldn’t feel any urgency in the voice coming from the other side of the phone.

– Ah, I see… But don’t worry. The head office will send support anyway, so it will be recovered soon.

“Is that really true?”- Just trust me.

“Yes, I understand!”

Yoo Seung-il’s voice involuntarily grew louder at the word “trust.” He was feeling the seriousness of the current situation with his whole body.

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

– So, about that… Can you prepare ten million won [Approximately $7,500 USD] by tomorrow?

“Huh? How much? Ten million won?”

Yoo Seung-il couldn’t help but doubt his ears. Of course, he had been told that it might cost a lot when he requested help a few days ago, but he didn’t expect them to suddenly demand such a large amount.

– What is it? What’s with that reaction? I was going to take the time to go over despite being busy… It would be a bit difficult if you do this, wouldn’t it?

The voice coming from the other side of the phone sounded like he was about to hang up at any moment.

Yoo Seung-il had no choice but to continue speaking urgently. He was afraid that the call, which had come after three days, would be cut off.

“No, I’ll prepare it right away by lunchtime tomorrow.”

– Mr. Yoo!

Park Sun-woo’s voice was ominous.

Yoo Seung-il had no choice but to lower his tail [submit to authority].

“Yes, Section Chief! Please speak!”

– Am I doing this for myself? I think you’re misunderstanding something right now.

“I’m sorry, I just…”

– If that’s the case, should we go next time?

“No, please don’t do that. Please come tomorrow.”

Yoo Seung-il unconsciously grabbed the phone with both hands and bowed his head. That’s how desperate he was for the head office’s help.

Then, Park Sun-woo’s voice was heard again.

– Hmm, alright, I’ll go since you’re saying that much. But please prepare as I said earlier by lunchtime tomorrow. And please remember this one thing: we’re going to Bupyeong before the two other opening projects we have.

“Ah, yes, I understand. Thank you, thank you so much.”

– Then, see you tomorrow.

*Click.*

Park Sun-woo hung up the phone before the other person could even answer.

*Bang!*

As the phone was unilaterally cut off, Yoo Seung-il slammed his fist on the counter. Then, a curse came out of his mouth without him even realizing it.

“You son of a bitch!”

At that moment.

At a bar in Cheongnyangri [a district in Seoul known for its nightlife].

Inside a room lit by red lights, two people raised their glasses, baring their teeth in satisfaction.

Chairman Min Hong-shik opened his mouth towards Section Chief Park Sun-woo.

“Section Chief Park, you’ve improved a lot. You’re quite good at lying now.”

“Hehe, I’m embarrassed.”

“Well, let’s drink. Good job.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

The two began to empty the drinks in their glasses with pleasure.

After a while.

Chairman Min Hong-shik spoke again.

“You deliberately didn’t contact him for three days, right?”

“I had no choice. That way, Mr. Yoo would be desperate and listen to me.”

“So you lied that there were two openings that didn’t even exist?”

“Hehe, I learned it all from you, Chairman. Tomorrow, I’ll go down there, fill out the documents, and start in earnest from the day after tomorrow. First of all, starting with the event…”

Park Sun-woo’s explanation continued. It was an explanation of how he would operate the Bupyeong branch in the future. As his explanation continued, Chairman Min Hong-shik only nodded a few times as if he understood. He had already expected it to some extent.

And finally, when Park Sun-woo’s explanation was over, he asked immediately.

“Well, Section Chief Park will take care of that, so what’s our share in conclusion?”

“I want to squeeze out more if I could, but I’m just thinking about around 5 million [Approximately $3,750 USD]. If we want to milk it for a long time, we have to do it moderately.”

“Of course, there’s no need to cut open the goose’s belly when it’s just starting to lay eggs [kill the source of profit]. As I always say, moderately… Do you understand?”

“Yes, Chairman.”

As Park Sun-woo bowed his head, Chairman Min Hong-shik nodded in satisfaction. Then, as Chairman Min Hong-shik nodded once more, Park Sun-woo smiled as if he understood and clapped his hands twice loudly.

*Clap clap!*

Then, as if they had been waiting, the hostesses began to enter.

That’s how the two were falling into their own crazy world again.

***

The next morning.

Yoo Seung-il, who was about to go to work, paused for a moment.

Then, Han Mi-sook, who was seeing him off from behind, asked immediately.

“What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”

“No, it’s not that… Could you get me a cup of coffee?”

“Coffee?”

Han Mi-sook felt her heart sink. She knew the meaning of the coffee her husband was talking about all too well.

It was the same when she resigned from the bank.

Her husband, who was about to go to work in the morning, suddenly asked for coffee. That was her last day at the bank. She submitted her resignation that day along with her arrival at work.

“…Yes, I understand.”

Han Mi-sook barely managed to answer and headed to the kitchen.

After a while.

The two sat facing each other at the table.

*Slurp.*

Yoo Seung-il took a sip of coffee, put down the coffee cup, and opened his mouth.

“How’s your health these days? I saw you taking medicine in your sleep last night.”

“That’s…”

“Is it getting worse?”

“I don’t know why, but I keep feeling anxious these days, so my heart…”

Yoo Seung-il closed his eyes for a moment.

The reason why he hadn’t told his wife the details was because of the illness she was suffering from.

She was born with a weak heart, so if she received a psychological shock, her body would immediately react.

The heart rate would increase.

But now he couldn’t hide it any longer. If the worst really happened, she would receive a shock that she couldn’t handle.

Just as a snowball becomes unmanageable as it gets bigger, the same is true of shock.

Now was probably the best time. The head office would manage it, so it would get better.

Yoo Seung-il opened his closed eyes and opened his mouth.

“As I said before, the store’s situation isn’t good.”

“I know that to some extent…”

“No, it’s more serious than you know.”

“So you asked the head office for help a few days ago, right?”

“Yeah, I did. But there’s been no contact since then…”

Yoo Seung-il paused for a moment and opened his mouth again.

“I got a call early this morning.”

“From the head office?”

“Yeah, they’re coming down this afternoon.”

“Then we don’t have to worry anymore?”

“We have to wait and see. But you know…”

Yoo Seung-il stopped in the middle of his sentence. He found it difficult to talk about money.

Then, Han Mi-sook called Yoo Seung-il in a low voice.

“Honey…!”

“Huh? Yeah, why?”

“I’m okay, so if it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to say it.”

“No, you need to know anyway… They asked for money.”

“That’s natural. After all, a professional manager will come, and there will be other things needed.”

“But the amount is a bit much.”

“Huh? How much is it…”

Han Mi-sook’s voice trembled without her even realizing it. In fact, she had been feeling uneasy since her husband started talking about money a little while ago.

But she had been trying to hold back, and when she heard that the amount was large, she became so nervous that her voice trembled without her even realizing it.

“They asked me to prepare ten million won.”

“If it’s ten million won, it’s not a million won… Is it ten million won?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“…”

Han Mi-sook was speechless for a moment. She knew that she would need some money when the head office helped, but she didn’t expect that she would need as much as ten million won.

But she couldn’t show it right away.

The person who was having the hardest time at this moment was her husband.

Han Mi-sook opened her mouth as if nothing was wrong.

“Isn’t that about the basic amount?”

“Do you think so?”

“Of course, there will be a lot to go in the first month. We didn’t even have an opening event at the beginning.”

“I guess…”

Yoo Seung-il nodded. Maybe he wanted to believe and be comforted that way.

Then, Han Mi-sook opened her mouth immediately.

“Honey, don’t worry too much. Everything will be alright.”

“Huh? That’s strange?”

“What is?”

“No, I was talking to reassure you, but you’re comforting me instead.”

“Hehe, is that so?”

Han Mi-sook deliberately showed a smile. She thought that there would be nothing better than that if her husband gained strength by doing this.

Was that why?

There was strength in Yoo Seung-il’s voice.

“Thank you! I feel better when you smile like that!”

“I’m also thankful that you told me in advance…”

“Well, then I’ll go to work now. Anyway, let’s cheer up.”

Yoo Seung-il jumped up from his seat at the end of those words. Fortunately, his expression was definitely different from before he left for work a little while ago.

That’s how Movie Mind’s destiny was moving forward another step.