Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 552

Clomp, clomp!

Yu Young-seok got off at Dongincheon Station, exited through Exit 4, and headed towards Songlim-dong.

His pace was still quick.

He had hesitated at first, but once he decided to go, he wanted to get home as quickly as possible.

About 20 minutes passed.

Yu Young-seok’s quick steps gradually slowed down.

He began to look around slowly.

Not that he was looking for anything in particular, he was just looking around. This was the neighborhood he had lived in for the past 20 years.

“It’s the same.”

Nothing had changed in particular.

Well, it had only been four months since he left, so perhaps it was only natural.

But his heart felt strangely unfamiliar.

That was probably because he had vowed never to return when he left. He hated the house that much back then. Or, to be precise, it wasn’t the house, but his father who lived in it.

After walking for another five minutes, a supermarket appeared on the corner.

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Young-seok went inside.

“Oh? Who is this? Isn’t it Young-seok!”

The supermarket lady recognized Yu Young-seok and greeted him happily.

“Hello!”

Yu Young-seok made a point of greeting her kindly. He had seen her almost every day until four months ago, so he was glad to see her, but more than that, he wanted to show her that he was doing well even after leaving home.

“Oh, you’ve grown a lot since I last saw you. You even look like a man now.”

“Haha, really? You look younger than ever, ma’am.”

“Hoho, you even know how to say things like that now… But what brings you here today?”

“It’s Parents’ Day, so I came for a bit.”

“Oh, really?”

The supermarket lady looked at Yu Young-seok for a moment, as if slightly surprised. Since it was a small neighborhood, she seemed to know something about Yu Young-seok’s family situation.

Of course, she probably knew that Yu Young-seok had left home.

Yu Young-seok pretended not to notice and changed the subject.

“Where’s the soy milk?”

“Oh, if you go around that way…”

Before the lady could finish, Yu Young-seok went to where the soy milk was and brought back a box.

He knew exactly where the soy milk was. But he had deliberately asked about the location of the soy milk to divert the lady’s attention.

Anyway, he didn’t want others to look at his family affairs with colored glasses [with prejudice].

Yu Young-seok hesitated for a moment and took a bottle of soju [Korean distilled spirit] from the refrigerator. The thought of alcohol was terrible, but his father liked it the most, so his heart was moved.

Then, the lady who saw it immediately opened her mouth.

“Oh? I don’t think your father has been drinking these days?”

“Yes? Is that true?”

It was unbelievable.

The reason his mother divorced him was because of alcohol. He used to be violent when he was drunk, and his mother, who had suffered like that for over 10 years, chose to divorce him when he was almost finished with high school.

He later learned that his mother had waited until he graduated from high school.

“It’s been about a month.”

“Did something happen?”

His father had destroyed his family because of alcohol. The fact that his father had quit drinking made him think that something must have happened, so he asked immediately.

“Once to 119…”

“119?” [Korean emergency call number, like 911]

Yu Young-seok’s heart sank at the word 119. It was true that he had left home because he hated his father, but when he heard the word 119, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

Yu Young-seok left the supermarket after hearing more about his father’s news.

In Yu Young-seok’s hands were soy milk and soju.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have any worries, but in the end, he was provoked. Since he was young, his father had always been drunk.

He couldn’t believe that his father wasn’t drinking. So he deliberately bought alcohol. If that was true, he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

“Hoo!”

Yu Young-seok, who arrived in front of the villa, took a breath first. He had come with a sense of spite, but he couldn’t help but feel nervous when he tried to go up to his house.

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Young-seok went up to the second floor of the villa.

[201]

The familiar number came into Yu Young-seok’s eyes.

But the strange thing was that even though it was his house where he had lived until four months ago, he felt unfamiliar.

Maybe it was just his mood.

Knock knock.

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Young-seok gently knocked on the front door with his fingertips.

But perhaps he knocked too softly, because he couldn’t hear anyone inside.

Click.

Hoping for the best, Yu Young-seok grabbed the doorknob and turned it. In the past, when he came home late at night, his mother didn’t lock the door so that he could come in without knocking.

‘Huh?’

He was hoping for the best, and the door opened.

Creak!

But the problem was the sound. Because the house was old, the front door made a loud friction sound when it opened.

That’s when it happened.

“Who…?”

Father Yoo Sang-hyuk, who heard the door sound in the room, stood in the living room with a surprised expression.

Yu Young-seok was also surprised.

But Yu Young-seok was surprised for a different reason.

It was because of his father’s changed appearance.

It was definitely his father. But he looked so different from the last time he saw him four months ago.

He looked like he had lost at least 10 kilograms [22 pounds].

“Yo, Young-seok…”

His father’s voice had no strength. Besides, the voice itself was not the same as it was four months ago.

“Dad, what is this?”

Yu Young-seok couldn’t help but shout.

He was angry for a moment. He was angry that he had ruined his family and only showed him this.

“What the hell happened?”

Even if he thought about it briefly, this didn’t make sense. It had only been four months. But how could a person change so much in that time?

His father is fifty years old this year. But his father’s current appearance had changed so much that he could believe that he was over sixty.

That’s when it happened.

Yoo Sang-hyuk asked.

“Did you eat?”

“Is food the problem now? Did you get a divorce just to show me this?”

“……”

Yoo Sang-hyuk headed to the kitchen instead of answering. Then, he took rice from the rice container and started washing it.

Seeing this, Yu Young-seok approached the kitchen in one step. Then, he snatched the dipper from his father’s hand.

That’s when it happened.

Wharararack!

Perhaps because he snatched the dipper too hard, the rice spilled onto the floor.

But then a strange thing happened.

His father, who would have shouted from the beginning, was kneeling down and picking up the spilled rice without saying a word.

His father’s kneeling figure came into view. But that figure felt endlessly small.

Yu Young-seok, who was looking at the figure, started to cry without realizing it.

He had made up his mind even before opening the front door. He had heard from the supermarket lady that his father didn’t seem to be drinking these days, so he said he would check it out. Otherwise, he couldn’t believe it.

But that thought disappeared in an instant when he opened the front door and saw his father’s appearance.

The reason was that he knew that it was meaningless to see his father, who had suddenly aged 10 years in four months.

That father is now kneeling down and picking up the spilled rice.

And that is his father, who has become so small.

“Dad!”

Yu Young-seok hugged his father, Yoo Sang-hyuk, tightly from behind.

There was no need for other words. He had been filled with hatred for his father even while taking the subway from Bupyeong. But now, he couldn’t find such emotions anywhere.

Tap tap.

Yoo Sang-hyuk opened his mouth, tapping Yu Young-seok’s shoulder, which was wrapped around him, with his right hand.

“Young-seok, I’m sorry!”

“……”

Yu Young-seok hugged his father, Yoo Sang-hyuk, once more from behind instead of answering.

After a while.

Hoping for the best, Yu Young-seok asked.

“Dad, why didn’t you lock the front door? What if a strange person comes in?”

“Because of you…”

“……”

Yu Young-seok had nothing more to say.

He had been a little strange since he first opened the front door. But as expected, there was a reason. His father had been waiting for him, who had said he would never come back.

Yu Young-seok took the dipper and headed to the sink. Then, he quietly started preparing lunch. Tears were flowing endlessly from his eyes.

He didn’t want to argue about right and wrong in this situation. He just felt sorry for his father, who had suddenly aged.

Fortunately, he came to see his father today before it was too late.

***

Hyun-sung was almost home.

He saw a person standing on the newly paved road. He could tell who that person was even from a distance.

That person was his father.

He had probably been out there waiting for at least 30 minutes.

“Father!”

Hyun-sung got out of the car and called his father. Then, his father welcomed Hyun-sung with open arms. Hyun-sung also hugged his father happily.

It was definitely different from his past life.

Back then, he would just nod his head.

It was a moment when he realized once again that people can change if they try.

That’s when it happened.

Perhaps because he heard Hyun-sung’s voice, his mother was coming out of the house.

“Mother!”

Hyun-sung ran out as soon as he saw his mother. Then, he hugged his mother tightly, just like he had done to his father a little while ago.

The three of them headed home side by side.

Of course, Hyun-sung was holding the Korean beef rib set that the employees had given him as a gift and the gift he had prepared.

When he arrived home, Hyun-sung bowed deeply first.

Then, his mother asked immediately.

“Are you hungry?”

He didn’t know that those words would become so precious in the past. He didn’t know how precious they were until his mother passed away.

But it’s different now. He knew how precious it was because he had experienced it once.

“Yes, Mother. I’m very hungry. Please give me a lot of food.”

Hyun-sung continued with a bright expression like a child.

But then a strange thing happened. The main character was his father. As soon as Hyun-sung’s words fell, his father was heading to the kitchen.

Hyun-sung looked at his mother and asked immediately.

“Mother, what’s going on?”

“As you can see.”

“That’s what I mean, why is Father going to the kitchen?”

The person who was far from the kitchen was his father. But for some reason, his father was heading straight to the kitchen today, so Hyun-sung couldn’t help but think it was strange.

Then, his mother’s words continued.

“He’s been like that for a few days.”

“Yes? Why?”

“Why, he changed like that after receiving your call last time. I’m curious about what you said at that time that made your father change like that. What did you say at that time?”

“Pfft.”

Hyun-sung just laughed instead of answering. Then, his mother asked immediately as if she was curious.

“What? What did you say…”

“It’s nothing. I didn’t say anything special.”

“That doesn’t make sense. A person who didn’t even come near the kitchen is now living in the kitchen these days, but you say it’s nothing, what did you say?”

“That’s…”

It was Hyun-sung who was ambiguous. In fact, he had talked to his father a few days ago about ‘what kind of person a real man is’.

At that time, Hyun-sung himself had said, ‘I have to protect and cherish my woman’. At the same time, he also said, ‘I have to cherish my woman so that others will cherish her too’.

But the problem is that it’s not easy to tell that story to his mother as it is.

What should I say, it’s childish and it seems like I shouldn’t do it for my father who is working hard to prepare lunch in the kitchen.

In fact, I thought it would be better for my mother not to know.

That’s when it happened.

His father called Hyun-sung from the kitchen.

“Hyun-sung!”

“Yes, I’m going. Mother, let’s have lunch first and talk about that later…”

Hyun-sung got up from his seat immediately. Then, his mother tilted her head as if she was disappointed and followed Hyun-sung to the kitchen.

“Father!”

Hyun-sung was surprised to see the side dishes on the table.