Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 57

“How many did you sell?”

“Only five.”

“You can sell more in the afternoon. Here you go.”

Choi Min-young handed one of the five stacks of cash to the man.

Then, with a gesture, the man bowed to Choi Min-young again and left the office.

Kim Il-soo watched him go.

He almost burst out laughing.

Just as they had discussed in the bathroom, it was clear they had done this more than once or twice. The two men’s acting was a short, flawless, and polished play.

But there was a problem.

Kim Il-soo also had to appear in that play. Only then would it be a perfect performance.

Kim Il-soo opened his mouth with a surprised expression.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend]! Is that the bonus he’s taking with him?”

“He sold five, so that’s 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD] per piece, making it 500,000 won. It’s nothing much.”

“That means the selling price is 500,000 won per piece? In cash, and the bonus is 100,000 won each?”

“Huh? How did you know the selling price was 500,000 won?”

Choi Min-young tilted his head. He certainly hadn’t told him the selling price.

Then, Kim Il-soo said,

“There were five stacks of money a little while ago. Hyung gave him one, saying it was his bonus. That’s 500,000 won, you said. So……”

Even as he explained, Kim Il-soo felt pathetic.

He wondered why he was even explaining this.

When Kim Il-soo finished his explanation, Choi Min-young smiled and said,

“Haha, you really have a merchant’s instinct. You figured it out right away.”

*You moron*, he was calling that a compliment.

But he had to finish the act.

“Is the bonus usually that high?”

“That’s how our company is. That’s why I said I’d call you, right? How is it, now that you’ve seen it in person, do you feel it?”

*Yeah, I feel it, you son of a bitch.*

He wondered how much of a pushover he thought he was to pull such a prank.

Wait!

Kim Il-soo thought for a moment.

If he hadn’t overheard the two men’s conversation in the bathroom, what would he be like right now? Would he still be sitting here calmly like this?

It was the moment Kim Il-soo’s head slowly moved from side to side.

Choi Min-young looked at Kim Il-soo and said,

“You haven’t had lunch, have you?”

“No.”

“Let’s go. We can finish the rest of the conversation over lunch.”

“Okay, Hyung!”

That’s what he wanted.

After all, he had another purpose for being here.

As they left the building, Choi Min-young said,

“There’s a place in Gongdeok Market that makes amazing beef head soup. You have to eat it when you come here. Let’s go there.”

*You crazy bastard.*

This wasn’t right. Even if he was a con artist, his younger brother from his hometown had come all the way to Seoul, and he was suggesting beef head soup, not even pork belly…….

He was definitely a fundamentally flawed bastard.

Kim Il-soo scratched his head slightly and said,

“Hyung, I’m allergic to beef head.”

“What? There’s an allergy like that? Then we have no choice. What do you want to eat?”

*You moron.*

He believed that too.

Kim Il-soo smiled and said,

“Can I eat what I want?”

“Yeah, go ahead. We’re going to be working together, so how could I not do that for you?”

“Thanks, Hyung. Then I’ll have that.”

Kim Il-soo pointed with his chin to the restaurant on the second floor.

[Korean Beef Country]

The place Kim Il-soo pointed to was a Korean beef specialty restaurant.

Then Choi Min-young said,

“You said you were allergic?”

“That’s to beef head. I’m fine with other parts.”

“It’s the same cow, though?”

“That’s what I mean. I find it strange too.”

Choi Min-young nodded, not sure if he was clueless or just stupid.

The two headed to the second floor.

In any case, they had achieved their primary goal.

They had succeeded in entering the Korean beef specialty restaurant.

The reason Kim Il-soo got out of the taxi was simple. He wanted to pay him back no matter what.

He had trusted him like an older brother from the neighborhood.

But in Choi Min-young’s mind, he was just someone to scam.

It was a betrayal of trust.

He wanted to make him pay the price.

Just as the taxi was about to leave, he noticed the Korean beef specialty restaurant on the second floor.

Kim Il-soo was confident in two things.

His fists and his eating.

The moment he saw the Korean beef specialty restaurant on the second floor, he knew this was it. That’s why he got out of the taxi.

Before ordering, Kim Il-soo threw Choi Min-young a blank check [an opportunity to exploit].

Because now the real game was about to begin.

“Hyung, if I prepare 6 million won [approximately $4,500 USD], can I get the sales rights for two regions?”

“What? 6 million won?”

“After seeing you sell five and get a 500,000 won bonus, I got greedy. If I’m going to do it anyway, I thought it would be better to do two regions.”

It was the moment Choi Min-young’s eyes shone brighter than ever.

‘Yes!’

The effect was definitely working.

No, it was more than that.

In fact, the goal was 3 million won. He had asked the office next door for a favor since he said he was coming up in advance. They were in a mutually beneficial relationship, so it wasn’t difficult anyway.

But now Kim Il-soo was talking about 6 million won, twice the amount of 3 million won.

He had a dream last night where he lost his entire wallet, so maybe dreams are the opposite.

Choi Min-young looked at Kim Il-soo and said quietly,

“Shh, you can’t say things like that so loudly. I’m already giving you a 50% discount. People will go crazy if they hear that.”

Kim Il-soo quickly covered his mouth.

He thought laughter would burst out otherwise.

Kim Il-soo suppressed his laughter and quietly asked again,

“So, is that a no?”

At Kim Il-soo’s question, Choi Min-young pretended to think for a moment before opening his mouth again.

“I’ll make an exception just for you. But I’m telling you again, this is absolutely confidential.”

“Okay, Hyung. Thank you so much……!”

*You son of a bitch!*

He almost blurted out a curse.

At that moment, the server approached.

Then, Choi Min-young said in a slightly excited voice,

“Il-soo, order whatever you want.”

“Really?”

“Of course! I’m your neighborhood hyung, how could I not buy you this much?”

Indeed, the effect of 6 million won was certain.

Swallow.

Choi Min-young even swallowed hard. He was so excited that his face started to turn red.

Well, he must be beside himself at the thought of getting 6 million won for free.

Watching him, Kim Il-soo wiped his mouth again.

Then he confidently pointed to the menu with his finger.

“Five servings of this for now.”

“Five servings?”

“Yes, as you can see, I’m a bit big. Hehe….”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll prepare five servings of prime rib right away.”

The server answered loudly and disappeared into the kitchen.

Choi Min-young was dumbfounded.

Let’s say he could accept the prime rib. But five servings…….

And what was even more absurd was Kim Il-soo’s words.

He clearly said ‘for now.’

Could it be that that wasn’t enough…….

But he couldn’t say anything since he was going to bring 6 million won.

And Choi Min-young had another question.

“Aren’t you eating rice?”

“Rice? Why would I eat that?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t usually eat rice when I eat meat.”

“Usually? O, okay…….”

Choi Min-young didn’t get anything out of saying that.

At that moment, the server approached again.

The server, pushing a cart, began to set the side dishes on the table. There were more than 15 different kinds.

Swallow.

Kim Il-soo swallowed without realizing it.

There were side dishes he had never seen before. If it were any other time, his chopsticks would have been flying all over the table.

But he held back.

The reason was simple.

If he ate the side dishes, he wouldn’t be able to eat as much meat.

When Kim Il-soo didn’t eat anything, Choi Min-young, who was sitting across from him, asked,

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“I only eat meat.”

“You don’t eat rice, you don’t eat side dishes, you only eat meat?”

Kim Il-soo nodded instead of answering.

He didn’t even want to talk. Until a little while ago, he had to butter him up and act cute because he had to order, but now he didn’t need to do that anymore.

Because until he brought 6 million won, Choi Min-young was his meal.

“Here you go.”

The server who was grilling the meat put the meat on Kim Il-soo’s plate.

Seoul was good. He didn’t even have to grill the meat himself, they just grilled it for him. All he had to do was eat.

Kim Il-soo dipped a piece of meat in salt and put it in his mouth.

Chew, chew.

This was the first time. This kind of taste.

He felt like he finally knew what it meant to melt in your mouth. Come to think of it, he was eating beef for the first time in his life.

It was a whole new world.

Kim Il-soo looked at Choi Min-young and said,

“Hyung!”

“How is it? Is it good?”

“Amazing!”

Swish.

This time, Kim Il-soo put three pieces of meat in his mouth at once.

The taste was different from when he ate one piece. But he felt like something was missing in his mouth.

This time, he brought five pieces to his mouth.

Then, the pupils of Choi Min-young’s eyes, who was sitting in front of him, began to shake.

‘This crazy bastard….’

He was going crazy. He didn’t eat rice, he didn’t eat side dishes, he only ate meat. He didn’t even wrap it in lettuce.

At this rate, even 10 servings wouldn’t be enough.

His gaze naturally moved to the menu hanging on the wall. The price tag came into his eyes.

“Huh?”

Choi Min-young was surprised without realizing it. It wasn’t because of the price.

The meat, the meat……. There wasn’t much left already.

At that moment, Kim Il-soo looked at the server and said,

“Here, five more servings.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

The server disappeared at the speed of light.

After a while.

Kim Il-soo started eating again.

Then, Choi Min-young asked,

“Do you always eat this much?”

“No.”

“No? What does that mean? That doesn’t make sense?”