Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 574

The next day.

“Have you heard anything from Cheol-ho?”

Hyeon-seong asked Lee Myeong-hoon, who was next to him, while looking at his watch. Park Cheol-ho hadn’t come to work, even though it was 30 minutes past his start time.

Lee Myeong-hoon shook his head.

“No, I haven’t. He probably overslept after being up late at Young-seok’s farewell party last night.”

“What about you?”

“Pardon? What do you mean…?”

Lee Myeong-hoon tilted his head, feigning ignorance. Hyeon-seong pressed on.

“You were with him until late, weren’t you? And so were they,” Hyeon-seong said, glancing at the two employees organizing videos. Lee Myeong-hoon tilted his head again.

“I wonder if something happened…”

Just then,

*Ding-dong!*

The store door opened, and Park Cheol-ho rushed in, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead.

He gasped for breath.

“I’m sorry, boss. I’m a little late.”

“What happened?” Hyeon-seong asked, his expression concerned.

If he didn’t trust Cheol-ho, he would have been angry. But knowing Park Cheol-ho, he figured there had to be a good reason.

“On the way here… no, I overslept.”

Park Cheol-ho hesitated, then lamely blamed oversleeping.

But Hyeon-seong wasn’t born yesterday. He’d lived over 50 years and knew when someone was lying, even if he didn’t know why.

“Do you think I don’t know you? Why are you lying?”

“Yes?”

Park Cheol-ho was flustered. He’d hoped to brush it off, but now he was caught.

Hyeon-seong continued, “You, who have never been late in six months, suddenly overslept today? You expect me to believe that?”

People get to know each other after spending time together.

Six months wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short either. They’d had company dinners that stretched until 3 or 4 AM, sometimes even 6 AM. Yet, Cheol-ho had never been late.

So, Hyeon-seong couldn’t buy the oversleeping excuse.

Park Cheol-ho stammered, “That’s…”

“Why are you hesitating?”

“It’s nothing much, so I’m hesitant to bother you with it.”

“I’ll decide if it’s nothing. Tell me what happened.”

Just then,

*Ding-dong!*

A man in his mid-50s, wearing a suit, entered. He didn’t look like a typical video rental customer.

Still, a customer was a customer, and Hyeon-seong greeted him loudly. “Welcome!”

“Ah, yes. Is Park Cheol-ho here?”

“Yes, he’s our employee. May I ask what this is about?”

“Yes, of course. Actually…”

The man explained that he was from the police station. His mother, who suffered from dementia, had wandered off that morning. The police had called, saying someone had brought her in – Park Cheol-ho. He’d come to thank him.

When he finished, Hyeon-seong looked at Park Cheol-ho and smiled.

Ten minutes later, after the man left, Hyeon-seong said, “Come here.”

“I’m embarrassed. I just saw an old woman wandering on the street…”

*Tap tap.*

Hyeon-seong patted Park Cheol-ho’s shoulder. “Cheol-ho, you did a good job.”

“To be honest, I was worried. I knew I’d be late if I took her to the police station.”

“What’s there to worry about? Taking the old woman to the police station is the priority.”

“Still, I couldn’t help but worry. A friend of mine had a similar incident a few months ago and got fired for it.”

“That’s a bit much…”

Hyeon-seong shook his head. That was going too far.

“My friend told me if it ever happened again, he’d just ignore it.”

“…”

“So, I was worried. But I trusted you, boss.”

“Me?” Hyeon-seong pointed at himself. Park Cheol-ho smiled.

“Yes, because of something you always say.”

“I do?”

“Yes, you always say to prioritize consideration for the socially disadvantaged – women, children, the disabled, and the elderly. So, I didn’t hesitate and put it into practice.”

“You rascal!”

*Tap tap.*

Hyeon-seong tapped Park Cheol-ho’s shoulder again. “Hey, Park Cheol-ho, you’re on the counter starting today.”

“Yes? Me?”

“Yeah, you need to learn diligently to open your own store in three months. And study movies whenever you have time.”

“In three months?”

“Yeah, you have to open a proper store in three months, right?”

“Yes, boss!” Park Cheol-ho saluted.

Just then,

*Ding-dong!*

This time, Yoo Seung-il entered.

“Oh? Mr. Yoo, what brings you here so early?”

“Take this.” Yoo Seung-il handed Hyeon-seong a small box.

“What is this?”

“It’s *sirutteok* [steamed rice cake]. I had an opening ceremony today, so I brought plenty to share with the employees.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Yoo Seung-il hadn’t even had an opening ceremony when he opened his video store last time, let alone greet the people around him. This time, he brought opening rice cakes himself.

This was a big change.

Hyeon-seong looked at Yoo Seung-il with satisfaction.

Yoo Seung-il approached Hyeon-seong and said quietly, “Mr. Kim, can I talk to you for a second?”

With that, Yoo Seung-il left the store, and Hyeon-seong followed.

“What’s going on?” Hyeon-seong asked outside. Yoo Seung-il hesitated, then spoke.

“It’s nothing much, but I just got a call from Chief Park.”

“Chief Park? You mean Park Seon-woo, the chief of Movie Heart headquarters?”

“Yeah, he somehow found out and said Chairman Min is coming down this afternoon with him to celebrate the opening.”

“Why are those guys coming?”

“That’s what I’m saying. It doesn’t matter to me anymore. I don’t want to see them again, so why are they coming…?”

“Hmm…” Hyeon-seong thought, then took out his cell phone and made a call.

-Hello?

“Chief Park, this is Kim Hyeon-seong.”

-Oh? What’s up, Mr. Kim?

“I need to confirm something.”

-With me?

“Yes, did you say you were coming to Bupyeong today?”

-Yoo said he’s opening today, so we’re going to congratulate him…

“Chief!” Hyeon-seong interrupted. “Don’t do that.”

-Huh? What do you mean?

“I’m saying you don’t have to.”

-Are you telling us not to go to Bupyeong because of what Yoo said?

“Yes.”

-Did Mr. Yoo say something?

“Don’t ask me that, just don’t come. If you still come, you better be prepared to not work in that building anymore.”

-No, what kind of talk is that…

“Then I’ll assume you’re not coming and hang up. Oh, let me say again, I’m not someone who lies.”

*Click.*

Hyeon-seong hung up. Yoo Seung-il, who had been watching, started laughing.

After a moment, Yoo Seung-il spoke. “Is that how easily you solve it?”

“Those kinds of people only understand this language. They don’t listen to words.”

“Money is good after all. Movie Heart can’t even make a peep.”

“The only way to fix guys who only know money is with money. Now that I’ve said this much, don’t worry about anything and focus on your business.”

“Alright, thank you. I didn’t know Mr. Kim had that kind of personality. Well, I’m going then.” Yoo Seung-il waved and walked away.

***

“You son of a bitch!” Chief Park Seon-woo cursed as soon as Hyeon-seong hung up. Chairman Min Hong-shik, who was watching, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s that guy.”

“Who?”

“That kid from Bupyeong. He’s telling us not to come to Bupyeong.”

“What?” Chairman Min Hong-shik was dumbfounded.

How could this be? He was telling them not to congratulate an opening store. And it wasn’t even the person involved, but a third party.

“What’s the reason?”

“He just says not to come, no reason given.”

“What kind of rude bastard is that?”

“That’s what I’m saying. But you know what’s funny?”

“Why, what else did he say?”

“If we still come to Bupyeong, he’s going to kick us out of this building. He’s going to buy it. What kind of guy is this?”

Chief Park Seon-woo shook his head. It was absurd and insulting.

But there was nothing they could do. He was the kind of guy who would actually do it.

“He’s openly ignoring us.”

“That’s right. And what’s even more infuriating is that he’s the kind of guy who would do it, so we can’t say anything.”

“So, he’s going to throw money around?”

“That’s right. This building costs about 2 billion won [approximately $1.5 million USD], so he can buy it and still have money left over after doing business for two days.”

“So, we just shut up and stay quiet?”

“That’s what he’s saying. I want to curse him, but I can’t…”

Chief Park Seon-woo clenched his fist in anger.

Why wouldn’t he be angry? He was being ignored by someone fourteen years younger.

Chairman Min Hong-shik spoke. “By the way, how much did that kid say he sold the video for?”

“I heard it was 70 million won [approximately $53,000 USD].”

“70 million?”

“Yes, he was lucky enough to connect directly with the founder. So, he got the highest price. But the used dealer who connected him was Choi Yoon-soo.”

“So, that guy is behind him?”

“It seems so. He’s still doing used deals with him, just like when he first opened. What should we do? Should we put Choi Yoon-soo on the Movie Heart blacklist?”

The blacklist was a list of used dealers Movie Heart wouldn’t work with. If a name was on it, no Movie Heart across the country could do business with that person. Violators would be penalized by headquarters, so no owner dared to violate it.

If that happened, the used dealer’s position would narrow, making it difficult to survive. That’s why used dealers called the blacklist the Grim Reaper.

“Are you crazy?”

“Yes?”

“If that kid finds out, do you think he’ll leave us alone? Are you going to burn down the whole house to catch a flea?”

“Ah, yes…” Chief Park Seon-woo scratched his head. He realized he’d made a mistake, driven by anger.

“From now on, completely forget about that kid. We’ll only look shabby if we get involved. And let’s not even go near Bupyeong in the future. It’s best not to deal with such a guy at all. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“I’m in a bad mood. Let’s go have a drink to get rid of this hangover.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

The two left the office.

But they didn’t know that human relationships are not so easily broken.