Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 544

Halt!

Arriving in front of Hyun-sung’s store, Yoo Seung-il stopped right at the entrance.

He had come all this way out of curiosity, but now that he was about to go inside, he felt reluctant.

The reason was justification. In other words, he didn’t have a good enough reason.

What justification did he have to ask about donations as soon as he walked in?

Moreover, it was just past 9 a.m. That meant the store had just opened.

He was a businessman himself.

One thing he had learned from doing business was the jinx of the first customer.

As the saying goes, if the first customer was unlucky, the rest of the day would be filled with difficult customers.

Knowing this, he felt it wasn’t right for someone his age to barge into a newly opened store and ask about donations.

“Okay, around lunchtime…”

Yoo Seung-il turned around.

He changed his mind and decided to come back briefly around lunchtime instead.

Even though he had come in a hurry, Yoo Seung-il concluded that it wasn’t right to do this in the morning, especially as someone in the same line of work.

Step.

He had just taken a step when…

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Hyun-sung’s voice came from behind him. He didn’t know when Hyun-sung had come out.

Yoo Seung-il felt like a cat caught stealing. Naturally, he was taken aback.

“Oh? Oh, well…”

“What is it? Did you try to steal something? Why are you so surprised?”

“Ahem, who’s surprised…”

Yoo Seung-il cleared his throat as if to say he was fine. But he couldn’t hide the surprised look on his face.

Seeing this, Hyun-sung smiled knowingly and asked directly,

“Anyway, what brings you here so early in the morning?”

“Who came to see you… I was just passing by.”

Yoo Seung-il wanted to save his last bit of pride. That’s why he said he was just passing by. He didn’t want to be caught coming all the way here and leaving without saying a word.

But that was just Yoo Seung-il’s wishful thinking. Hyun-sung said something he never expected.

“I was watching you from right inside here a moment ago…”

Hyun-sung deliberately pointed to the inside of the entrance.

A little while ago.

He was about to go out when he saw Yoo Seung-il walking towards him. It was clear to anyone that he was heading towards Hyun-sung’s store.

So he waited, wondering what was going on so early in the morning. He naturally expected him to open the door and come in.

But then he stopped right at the entrance, seemed to think for a moment, and then turned around.

That’s why he immediately chased after him and called out to Yoo Seung-il.

“Hmm…”

Yoo Seung-il had nothing more to say. What could he say when Hyun-sung had been watching him the whole time?

Pride?

It was already crushed.

‘In that case!’

Yoo Seung-il suddenly felt a surge of stubbornness.

He had already embarrassed himself in front of someone young enough to be his child. So he decided he might as well achieve the purpose of coming here.

After hesitating for a moment, Yoo Seung-il closed his eyes tightly and asked directly,

“Is it true?”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“Is it true that you donated 50 million won to the community center?”

“Yes? How did you…?”

Hyun-sung was taken aback.

He never imagined that Yoo Seung-il would say something like that. He had specifically asked for the donation to be anonymous when he made it to the community center.

Seeing Hyun-sung’s surprise, Yoo Seung-il immediately asked,

“Is it true or not? Why are you so surprised?”

“No, but how did you find out?”

“You don’t need to know that. So, is it true or not?”

“…”

“You’re not saying anything, so it must be true. 50 million…”

Yoo Seung-il felt his mind going blank again.

It was the same feeling he had when he first heard about it from the community center employee last night.

Not 5 million, but 50 million.

The problem is that it doesn’t end there.

If he donated 50 million, how much is his monthly revenue?

That’s the key.

How much is his monthly revenue?

Even with a rough calculation, it comes out to about 200 million won [approximately $150,000 USD based on current exchange rates]. That’s a significant amount for a small business.

That’s including the cost of buying videos, employees’ salaries, and his own profits.

‘200 million…’

For Yoo Seung-il, who was struggling with deficits, it was an unimaginable amount. The sense of futility that washed over him was indescribable.

But what was even more pathetic was that he was blindly trusting and rejoicing in the words of Park Sun-woo, the head of headquarters, without knowing how things were really going.

How pathetic and foolish was that?

As Yoo Seung-il’s thoughts lingered, Hyun-sung asked again,

“Is that why you came to see me so early in the morning?”

“…”

Yoo Seung-il couldn’t bring himself to answer directly.

It was the last of his pride.

He wanted to protect that last bit of pride, even if it was meaningless.

It was already a crumpled piece of paper.

The pathetic look on his face reflected in the windowpane told him so.

Then Hyun-sung continued,

“Mr. Yoo, do you remember what I said to you early in the morning on the day you opened?”

“What…?”

“I said that closing the store now would be the least regrettable time.”

“…”

“Let me say it again, now is the second chance. Even now…”

“Enough!”

Yoo Seung-il immediately cut off Hyun-sung’s words. He couldn’t bear to hear them to the end.

But Hyun-sung didn’t seem willing to back down either, as he continued,

“I’m sorry, but you can’t beat me no matter what you do. So…”

“I’ll be going now…”

Whack!

Yoo Seung-il turned around and started walking back the way he came before Hyun-sung could finish speaking.

Hyun-sung smiled as he watched him go.

It was a scene that was so different from his past life.

Back then, Hyun-sung himself was in Yoo Seung-il’s position. He remembered being coldly rejected when he demanded the normalization of rental fees.

A moment later.

“Why did that guy come here this morning?”

Lee Myung-hoon, who had come out at some point, asked as he watched Yoo Seung-il’s receding figure.

Hyun-sung immediately replied,

“I think he knows now.”

“Yes? Knows what?”

“The revenue.”

“The revenue? Are you talking about our revenue?”

As Hyun-sung nodded lightly, Lee Myung-hoon asked again.

“What was his expression like?”

“Like he was eating shit.”

“Well, that’s probably why he came looking for us this morning without even opening his shop. By the way, at this rate, this fight might end sooner than we thought?”

“Who knows? We’ll have to wait and see, but judging by that guy’s expression a little while ago, I wouldn’t bet on it.”

Hyun-sung simply chuckled as he watched Yoo Seung-il’s receding figure.

In Yoo Seung-il’s position, there was nothing he could do anyway. It wouldn’t make sense for him to close up shop when he’s barely been open for a month.

But that was Yoo Seung-il’s problem.

As for Hyun-sung, who had suffered at his hands in his past life, he had no intention of being considerate.

He had been so heartlessly rejected even when he pleaded with him.

Saying that the world was a jungle anyway.

That was Yoo Seung-il.

Now it was his turn.

He would return the fear and pain of enduring each day without even the strength to resist.

Hyun-sung looked again at the place where Yoo Seung-il had disappeared. His figure was no longer visible.

Generally, an unseen enemy is more frightening than a visible one.

The reason is that you don’t know where the attack will come from.

But sometimes, an enemy right in front of you can be even scarier.

That’s when you realize that no matter what you do, you can’t beat them.

Of course, it would take some time to realize that.

And that time would be different for each person.

But the important thing was that Yoo Seung-il’s downfall began from this moment on.

The corner of Hyun-sung’s mouth lifted slightly.

***

Bang!

Yoo Seung-il, who had returned to Movie Village, slammed his fist on the counter.

“What? A second chance? And that I can’t win no matter what I do? That son of a bitch!”

Curses burst from Yoo Seung-il’s mouth.

Why wouldn’t they? Tomorrow was the day he would have been open for a month.

From the first day he opened, that guy came and told him that closing the shop now would be the least regrettable time, and now he’s telling him to close the shop now because he can’t beat him no matter what he does.

But what’s driving him crazy is that brat’s sales.

When he first heard about the donation last night, he had a glimmer of hope, but after checking it himself a little while ago, it turned out to be true.

The problem is the future.

Could he continue to compete with him like this?

He could no longer trust the head office, who he thought was on his side.

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense. How could the person in charge at the head office lie about the information of a competing shop?

At the same time, they took an extra 10 million won a month under the guise of helping him.

They hired helpers who weren’t very effective, and the so-called professional manager came to work at 2 p.m. like a civil servant and left at 10 p.m., handing out flyers every day. Where did they even spend the 10 million won?

And the problem is that they’re going to do the same thing next month.

This wasn’t right. In the end, their goal wasn’t to normalize management. Even while lying about the information of a competing shop, the only conclusion he could come to was that they wanted money.

At this rate, the head office was just a parasite.

Like fleas or roundworms that suck nutrients while parasitizing.

He couldn’t be fooled any longer.

If he didn’t come to his senses now, he would lose everything.

Now the problem was the method.

How to get out of the head office, and if he couldn’t beat that brat, how to endure in any way.

Otherwise, his second act in life with his wife would end here.

‘What to do…?’

Yoo Seung-il’s brow furrowed more and more.

***

“Hoo!”

Before making the call, Han Mi-sook took a breath. When she actually tried to call the head office to confirm, her heart started beating fast without her knowing it.

Ddi-ddi……

Han Mi-sook started pressing the numbers on the business card one by one.

Ddi-ree-reuk, ddi-ree-reuk.

The other person answered the phone after two rings.

-Hello.

“Hello, is this Mr. Park Sun-woo?”

-Yes, speaking. Who is this?

“I’m Han Mi-sook, the wife of Yoo Seung-il from Bupyeong Movie Village.”

-Yes? Ah, yes……

Park Sun-woo felt a chill for a moment. It was rare for the wife to call directly.

In this case, it usually meant that something was wrong.

But he couldn’t show it, so he immediately continued in a welcoming voice.

-Ma’am, how have you been?

“Yes.”

-But what brings you to call me directly……?

“There’s something I want to confirm.”

-Confirm?

Park Sun-woo couldn’t help but feel nervous at the word confirmation. As expected, he could immediately tell that something was wrong.

-Yes, please tell me. I’ll tell you everything I know.

“It’s about Cinema Paradise, which is 100 meters away from our shop.”

-Cinema Paradise?

Park Sun-woo immediately tilted his head. Cinema Paradise was the shop that brat was running. But he didn’t quite understand why she was asking him about that shop.

“I heard a strange rumor yesterday.”

-Yes? A strange rumor? What is it?

“Before that, let me ask you one thing, Manager.”

-Yes, go ahead.

“Did you say anything to my husband about Cinema Paradise?”

-To Mr. Yoo? Just a moment……

Park Sun-woo immediately started retracing his memories.

At that moment, one memory flashed through his mind. It was the management status of Cinema Paradise, which he had lied about even though he knew the truth.

According to the report, he had told him that they were making a loss, even though he knew that they were making over 200 million won in sales, giving 10 million won in salary to the employees, and even donating 50 million won to the community center.

The reason was that he thought Yoo Seung-il would give up if he told him the truth.

That way, he wouldn’t be able to gain any more profit from the Bupyeong branch, so he had lied.

The fact that Yoo Seung-il’s wife was asking about it now meant that she already knew about Cinema Paradise’s management status.

It wasn’t just a few pennies, but 50 million won was donated, so the rumor must have already spread in the neighborhood.

But he had told Yoo Seung-il that Cinema Paradise was making a loss, so she was now trying to confirm that fact.

Her purpose would be to ask why he lied.

Then the answer was already out.

Play dumb.

If they found out that he had lied, he didn’t know how they would react. It would be better to say that he really didn’t know, even if he sounded a little incompetent.

Park Sun-woo immediately continued.

-The only thing I said about Cinema Paradise was that it was making a loss. Are you talking about that?

“What was that?”

Her voice was unusual. It was as if she would run over to him at any moment if he gave her any excuse.

Who was Park Sun-woo?

Wasn’t he the one who managed thousands of chain stores across the country?

This was nothing.

Park Sun-woo immediately opened his mouth as if he didn’t know anything at all.

-I said it was making a loss.

As soon as Park Sun-woo finished speaking, Han Mi-sook immediately continued as if she had been waiting for it.