Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 549

551

A few days later.

“Everyone, gather around the counter.”

After closing the rental program, Hyun-sung addressed the employees.

As if they had been waiting, the employees immediately gathered around the counter. But one person was missing: the youngest, Yoo Young-seok.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Myung-hoon and immediately inquired,

“Where’s Young-seok?”

“He said his stomach wasn’t feeling well and went to the restroom a little while ago….”

Just then,

Yoo Young-seok entered as the store door opened.

Hyun-sung immediately asked Yoo Young-seok,

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. It seems the spicy rice cakes I had for a late-night snack were a bit too much for me. I’m okay now.”

Since they were open until 2 AM, they inevitably had a late-night snack around 11 PM. And unfortunately, the late-night snack prepared that day was spicy rice cakes [tteokbokki] and kimbap [seaweed rice rolls].

“Who bought the spicy rice cakes?”

“I bought them. I heard that place is famous these days. But I didn’t know it would be this spicy.”

“You can’t handle spicy food, can you? Then why did you buy something spicy?”

“Everyone said it was delicious these days… Oh? How did you know I can’t handle spicy food, boss?”

Yoo Young-seok looked at Hyun-sung, surprised.

Hyun-sung immediately said,

“You mentioned it during your initial interview, didn’t you?”

“Of course, but even so, do you still remember that?”

Yoo Young-seok tilted his head and looked at Hyun-sung. Then Lee Myung-hoon, who was next to him, immediately said to Yoo Young-seok.

“Hey, don’t you know our boss yet?”

“Yes? What do you mean, Myung-hoon hyung [older brother/friend]? What about our boss?”

“That’s the kind of person our boss is.”

“Yes? What kind of person?”

Yoo Young-seok looked at Lee Myung-hoon, not understanding. This time, Park Chul-ho, who was next to him, stepped in.

“Our youngest isn’t understanding what we’re saying today. So, our boss is….”

“Stop!”

Hyun-sung raised his hand, cutting off Park Chul-ho’s words. Then he immediately continued.

“Stop talking about that. I have something to tell you all today: the business hours will be adjusted in the future.”

“Yes? Adjusted? How so?”

“From next week, we’ll only be open until 12 AM. We’ll notify the customers this week and start implementing it right away from Monday next week.”

It was a conclusion reached after several days of consideration [gomin].

The reasons were twofold.

First, it was for the employees’ health. Since they were open until dawn, they couldn’t avoid late-night snacks. As a result, it was noticeable that they were gaining weight. Hyun-sung judged that this was becoming habitual, and if it continued, it wouldn’t be good for their health at all.

Second, he concluded that there was no need to stay open so late anymore.

In the beginning, it was necessary to keep Movie Heart in check, but now he knew that there was no need to go that far.

Either way, monthly sales exceeded 200 million won. Hyun-sung judged that it wouldn’t even be a competition with Movie Heart anymore.

In that situation, what was the point of staying up late, harming not only himself but also the health of his employees?

And looking at what Movie Heart was doing these days, it seemed that the head office had already made a decision to some extent.

But that was just Hyun-sung’s thought.

Lee Myung-hoon tilted his head, not understanding, and immediately asked,

“Boss, is there a reason to adjust the business hours when things are going so well now?”

“Well, first of all, your health is….”

Hyun-sung began to explain the reasons he had been considering. As Hyun-sung’s explanation continued, the expressions of Lee Myung-hoon and the other employees gradually changed. At first, they tilted their heads, not understanding, but at some point, they slowly began to nod. But not all employees reacted the same way.

Finally, when Hyun-sung’s explanation was over, the first to speak was Lee Myung-hoon, the oldest.

“So, what you’re saying is that you made this decision primarily because you’re concerned about our health, right?”

“Yeah, Myung-hoon, take a look at your own body and look at those guys too. When I look at you, you’ve all gained at least 2 or 3 kilos since you first came here. Right?”

“Hehe, that’s….”

Smirk.

Lee Myung-hoon scratched his head slightly and looked down at his stomach, unable to deny it.

Then Park Chul-ho, who was next to him, smiled and continued.

“Hehe, I gained 5 kilos.”

“That’s what I’m saying. If you keep going like this, you’ll all gain at least 10 kilos before you leave here. Am I wrong?”

“….”

No one easily spoke. The employees themselves knew the seriousness of it.

Why wouldn’t they? Their bulging stomachs were proof.

After a while,

Lee Myung-hoon spoke again.

“Putting that aside, is Movie Heart really okay?”

Lee Myung-hoon was still worried about Movie Heart. The other employees seemed to feel the same, and all eyes were on Hyun-sung, wanting him to explain.

Hyun-sung immediately addressed the employees.

“The conclusion has already been reached.”

“Yes? The conclusion has been reached?”

“Yeah, I checked with the sales representative yesterday, and they ordered 50 copies of the new program that will be released next week.”

“50 copies? Then they increased it by 20 copies from the existing one? That means they’re increasing their investment, so shouldn’t we be more wary?”

Lee Myung-hoon’s voice grew louder.

Perhaps it was natural. Increasing investment meant that they would be managing more actively.

But Hyun-sung’s judgment was the opposite.

“That’s just their last show.”

“Yes? Last show? Who are you saying is putting on a show?”

“Movie Heart headquarters.”

“Why headquarters?”

“Because they’ll have a lot of crumbs falling on them in the future, so they’re making the 판 [scene/situation] bigger.”

“So, the headquarters is doing this for their own benefit, not for the franchisees?”

When Hyun-sung nodded, Lee Myung-hoon asked again.

“Then what on earth is the Movie Heart CEO doing now? The headquarters is doing something that doesn’t help him.”

“Because he doesn’t know.”

“He doesn’t know?”

“Yeah, if he knew it was a show, he wouldn’t do it. In the end, CEO Yoo is now becoming a sacrifice at the headquarters’ last party.”

That’s right. If he knew, he wouldn’t do it. But doing that means he doesn’t know.

This time, the youngest, Yoo Young-seok, spoke up.

“But what I’m curious about is you, boss. How do you know that it’s a show by the headquarters?”

“It’s simple.”

“Simple? How?”

“As you know, Movie Heart has been under consignment management for two months now. But they weren’t as active in the first month as they are now.”

“That’s true, but what about it?”

Yoo Young-seok stared blankly at Hyun-sung, not understanding. The other employees seemed to feel the same. As a result, all eyes were on Hyun-sung.

Hyun-sung’s answer followed immediately.

“What do you think is the reason why they didn’t do it in the first month and are doing it in the second month?”

“Well, I don’t know, but wouldn’t there be a reason to do so?”

“There’s only one reason.”

“One? What is it?”

“They know our store’s sales for sure. The Movie Heart CEO came to me directly and checked.”

“Oh? Boss, something’s strange.”

Yoo Young-seok suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Hyun-sung.

Then Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“What’s strange?”

“In the end, our store’s sales changed Movie Heart’s management strategy, and that’s strange.”

“So, what’s strange about that?”

“Isn’t it natural for people to work harder when they think they’re somewhat competitive?”

“That’s true.”

“But now Movie Heart is going in the opposite direction. What that means is….”

Yoo Young-seok’s explanation continued.

He was trying to say that Movie Heart was going against basic common sense.

Usually, it’s right to make more aggressive investments and management at the beginning, but Movie Heart is actually coming out more actively after a month, after checking the sales of the store Hyun-sung is running.

His argument was that it didn’t make sense.

Because it didn’t make sense that they were staying still when they didn’t know the sales at first, but actually coming out more actively after knowing that the sales exceeded 200 million won.

Yoo Young-seok finished his explanation and asked Hyun-sung again.

“Didn’t you say last time that Movie Heart’s monthly sales were less than 10 million won?”

“I did.”

“Then isn’t the sales difference between our store and Movie Heart more than 10 times, not 20 times?”

“That’s right.”

Hyun-sung looked at Yoo Young-seok with interest while answering. He thought Yoo Young-seok was properly grasping the core of the problem.

Yoo Young-seok’s words continued again.

“So that’s why it’s strange. Even if we’re running, if we’re about 10 meters apart, we try to catch up somehow, but if we’re more than 100 meters apart, we usually give up then, right?”

“That’s right, so?”

Hyun-sung’s expression became more and more interested, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at Yoo Young-seok. The other employees seemed to feel the same. As a result, all eyes were on Yoo Young-seok.

Then Yoo Young-seok seemed to notice and was slightly embarrassed, but he continued to speak again.

“But Movie Heart doesn’t understand that they’re coming out more actively even though they know that there’s a 20-fold difference in sales.”

“That’s it!”

*Tak!* [sound of hitting the counter]

Hyun-sung slammed the counter with his hand and immediately agreed [matjanggu reul chyeotda].

Then Yoo Young-seok nodded, as if he finally understood, and immediately said,

“So that’s why you’re saying that the headquarters’ show has begun, right?”

“Yeah, if it’s normal, as you said, it’s right to give up. Honestly, what can you do to compete when there’s more than a 20-fold difference in sales? But they’re going in the opposite direction now, right?”

“That’s because it’s ultimately for the headquarters themselves, not for the franchisees.”

“That’s the conclusion I’ve come to. So I’ve concluded that there’s no need to be open until 2 AM anymore because the game is over.”

“After listening, I think what you’re saying is right.”

All the employees, including Yoo Young-seok, nodded, understanding.

Then Park Chul-ho asked with a worried expression.

“Then what will happen to us in the future?”

“Why you?”

“Because we were hired because of Movie Heart from the beginning. If Movie Heart disappears, we’ll automatically….”

Park Chul-ho couldn’t finish his sentence and looked at Hyun-sung.

That’s true. The reason for hiring delivery staff from the beginning was because of Movie Heart. As a result, Park Chul-ho was most worried about that now.

If Movie Heart disappears, the purpose of their employment will disappear.

But how could that be just Park Chul-ho’s concern?

Was that why?

All the employees’ expressions looking at Hyun-sung were dark.

That meant that their jobs were more important than Movie Heart disappearing now.

Perhaps that’s natural from their point of view.

Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Chul-ho, what’s the period I promised at the beginning?”

“6 months.”

“So you’re, no, you’re all anxious [buranhan] because you’re afraid I won’t keep that promise?”

Hyun-sung asked, looking not only at Park Chul-ho but also at all the other employees. After all, they were also looking at him with dark expressions.

This time, Lee Myung-hoon answered as the representative.

“To be honest, that’s right. It’s good that Movie Heart is disappearing, but on the other hand, we’re….”

“Don’t worry.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Even if Movie Heart disappears tomorrow, I’ll keep the promise I made to you.”

“Is that really true?”

“Of course.”

When Hyun-sung nodded, Lee Myung-hoon bowed his head first. Then the other employees next to him bowed their heads almost simultaneously, as if they had promised. The dark expressions they had been worrying about a little while ago were gone.

After a while,

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

“What day is tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Well, is it a special day?”

Lee Myung-hoon tilted his head, not knowing.

Then Hyun-sung asked again.

“Then what date is tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is… May 8th.”

“Still don’t know?”

It was then.

Park Chul-ho, who was next to Lee Myung-hoon, spoke first.

“Are you perhaps talking about Parents’ Day?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Does anyone have special plans for Parents’ Day tomorrow?”

“….”

No one spoke.

Then Hyun-sung looked at Lee Myung-hoon, who was at the front, and asked.

“What did you do last Parents’ Day?”

“Just nothing….”

“What about the others?”

“….”

As before, no one answered. In the end, that meant they didn’t do anything on Parents’ Day.

Hyun-sung looked around at the employees and continued.

“Okay, I won’t ask about the past anymore. But don’t do that from this year on.”

With those words, Hyun-sung began to hand out envelopes one by one.

“Lee Myung-hoon, take it first.”

“Oh? What is this?”

“Have lunch with your parents with this.”

“Lunch? I have to work here at that time….”

“No, the video store is closed tomorrow. So spend time with your parents tomorrow, and write down in detail on A4 paper what you did with your parents, and submit it to me the day after tomorrow. Those who don’t submit it should be prepared, got it?”

“….”

They were still silent.

Then Hyun-sung spoke again.

“I’m going to go to my hometown tomorrow, so let’s see each other the day after tomorrow. And I’m telling you clearly, if you don’t fill the A4 paper with content, it won’t be fun, and don’t forget that the basics are the most important thing for people, that’s all!”

When Hyun-sung’s words were over, the employees looked at each other and seemed to exchange glances. Then Lee Myung-hoon spoke to Hyun-sung.

“Thank you, boss!”

Hyun-sung smiled as he looked at him.

In his previous life, Hyun-sung himself didn’t know its importance. Only after many years did he regret why he did that, but it was already too late then.