Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 589

“Why are you so surprised?”

Hyun-sung was the one who was bewildered.

He had just come to the bakery to buy bread. But he couldn’t help but be surprised by Lee Se-yi’s reaction, who seemed startled as soon as she saw him, so unlike her usual self.

Curious, Hyun-sung asked again.

“Did something happen?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just that you came during the day so suddenly…”

Lee Se-yi barely managed to continue her answer. Hyun-sung immediately followed up.

“I heard they have fresh bread coming out at this time, so I came to buy some. I’m going to visit Young-seok at the hospital.”

“Ah, yes…”

“By the way, how’s the response to today’s thank-you event?”

“It’s pretty good.”

“That’s good, oh? Were there many older women too?”

Hyun-sung greeted Lee Eun-soo and Han Soo-hee, who were standing on one side of the store, with a smile. He knew their faces well as they were customers who occasionally came to rent videos, so he greeted them.

“Ah, yes, hello.”

“Hello.”

Lee Eun-soo and Han Soo-hee also greeted him back happily.

But then, it happened.

“Pfft!”

Lee Eun-soo suddenly burst into laughter. Seeing this, Lee Se-yi quickly approached her, looking embarrassed.

“Sister!”

“Oh, y-yes. I know, I’m trying to hold it in, but it’s not working… Pfft.”

“Are you really going to be like this?”

“Okay.”

Lee Eun-soo covered her mouth with her hand. Otherwise, she felt like she would keep laughing because of what they had been talking about earlier.

Meanwhile, Hyun-sung put the bread on a tray and handed it to Lee Se-yi.

“Here’s the payment.”

“Ah, yes.”

Lee Se-yi quickly finished the calculation and handed Hyun-sung the bread bag. Hyun-sung, after receiving the bread bag, spoke again.

“Really, nothing happened, right?”

“Yes, nothing happened.”

“But why were you so surprised when you saw me earlier?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Yes, I understand. Then I’ll be going…”

Hyun-sung nodded as if he understood and left the bakery.

A moment later.

“Whew!”

It was Lee Se-yi who sighed in relief after Hyun-sung left. She immediately turned to Lee Eun-soo and spoke again.

“Sister, how could you laugh there?”

“How can I help it when the laughter just comes out?”

“Well, I also tried hard to hold back my laughter. Hehe.”

Lee Se-yi also ended up bursting into laughter. Then, Lee Eun-soo and Han Soo-hee, who were next to her, also burst into laughter all at once.

“Hoho…”

“Hehe…”

A moment later.

Lee Eun-soo, who stopped laughing, asked Lee Se-yi again.

“So, in the end, the two of you are not together at all, right?”

“How can you say that again after seeing it with your own eyes a little while ago?”

“I’m just worried about you, Se-yi. Anyway, be careful. It’s never good for a business owner to have such rumors circulating.”

“I understand what you mean. I’ll be careful in the future. Whoever is spreading such rumors, I think they’re strange.”

“I know, why would they spread such rumors for no reason…”

After that, the three of them talked about it a few more times before parting ways.

A moment later.

Lee Se-yi was left alone.

“Pfft!”

Lee Se-yi burst into laughter again.

In fact, she was surprised a little while ago. She couldn’t help but be surprised when Hyun-sung, the person they were just talking about, suddenly appeared.

“Anyway, who spread such rumors…”

Lee Se-yi shook her head from side to side. No matter how much it was a rumor, she thought it was absurd, so she felt even more ridiculous the more she thought about it.

***

Hyun-sung looked at his watch. It was just past 11 PM.

Hyun-sung, who had stepped outside, made a call.

After two rings, the other person answered the phone.

-Hello.

“Boss, it’s me, Hyun-sung.”

The person Hyun-sung called was Lee Se-yi, the owner of the bakery.

-Oh? Hyun-sung! What’s going on at this hour?

“Are you closed for the day?”

-Yes, I just turned off the computer a little while ago.

“That’s why I called. If it’s not too much trouble, can I check how much the sales were today?”

Hyun-sung’s purpose was singular.

It was to find out the bakery’s sales figures. Today was the first day of its reopening after preparations.

That meant that today’s sales were particularly important.

-I was going to stop by the video store on the way home to report it.

“You were going to report it now?”

-Yes, of course, I have to report it. If it weren’t for your help, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything and would have been crying by now.

“That wouldn’t have been the case.”

-No, honestly, I was feeling completely lost. You probably saw it yourself, I was crying on the first day.

That was true. How desperate must she have been, with her young daughter, Yoon Soo-jung, to pull Hyun-sung, who was just passing by, into the store.

“So, how much was it today…”

-Don’t be surprised.

“It went up more than I thought?”

-I was also very surprised. I’ve been in business for seven years, and today is the first day I’ve ever had sales like this.

“Oh, really? You’re making me really curious when you say that.”

-Two million won [approximately $1,500 USD].

“Two million won?”

-Yes, it’s over two million won. As I said a little while ago, I’ve been doing business for over seven years, but today is the first day I’ve ever sold bread for over 2 million won!

From Lee Se-yi’s voice, you could tell how excited she was.

“Good job.”

-No, honestly, I just did what you told me to do.

“No. You’ve worked hard in the meantime. Although you say that, I know you’ve had a lot of mental distress.”

-That much is nothing for me…….

“Se-yi!”

Hyun-sung interrupted Lee Se-yi’s words. Then he immediately continued.

“You did a good job. So don’t deny it.”

-Yes, that’s right. Now that I say it, I wouldn’t have been able to stand it if I hadn’t done that.

“That’s natural. That’s why I’m saying you did a good job.”

-Thank you, but when you say that to me… sob.

Suddenly, Lee Se-yi’s crying could be heard.

“Are you crying now?”

-I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it….

“You’ve had a hard time?”

-Honestly, I was more anxious than having a hard time. I was wondering what would happen to our Soo-jung if something went wrong here.

“Ah, yes. You must have been.”

It was understandable. It wasn’t like there was anyone else, just her and her young daughter.

-Because you understand everything like this, I think I’m crying in front of you without even realizing it. I’m being a nuisance, right?

“Yes? Ah, no. What are you talking about…”

-No, I know too. I know I shouldn’t be like this.

“……”

-I won’t cry in the future. I’ll be brave for our Soo-jung.

“Yes, that’s right. Now that the sales are starting to come out like that, if you work harder, there will only be good things in the future. So cheer up…”

-Hyun-sung!

Lee Se-yi suddenly called Hyun-sung in a low voice. Then Hyun-sung immediately answered.

“Yes, Se-yi.”

-Our Soo-jung.

“What about Soo-jung?”

-Thank you for protecting our Soo-jung. I wanted to say this.

“Ah, yes…”

Hyun-sung just nodded. Now, at this point, Lee Se-yi will not leave this neighborhood because her business is not doing well. As a result, her daughter, Yoon Soo-jung, will not cry saying she doesn’t want to leave this neighborhood like in her previous life.

Then that’s enough.

A smile spread across Hyun-sung’s face as he nodded.

At that moment.

Dark shadows were cast all over the face of Ma Sang-gu, the owner of Paris Baguette [a popular bakery franchise in South Korea]. He sighed deeply.

Then Oh Ji-hye, who saw the sight, immediately asked.

“Why? Didn’t the sales go well today?”

“Not really.”

“How much did you make?”

“I barely made 1.5 million won [approximately $1,100 USD].”

“It’s worse than I thought. Today is the first day of opening, so I thought it would be at least over 2 million won….”

“I know. Whew!”

Ma Sang-gu sighed again. Then Oh Ji-hye asked again.

“How much did the bakery across the street make?”

“I don’t know for sure, but looking at the customers coming and going, I think they have more than us.”

“I was honestly surprised too. I thought we would definitely do better.”

“Honestly, I thought so too, but it’s a bit unexpected.”

“Then what should we do now?”

You could see the seriousness in Oh Ji-hye’s expression. Well, that’s understandable, considering that it’s almost twice the size of the bakery run by Lee Se-yi. In that situation, the sales are less than that, so the worry is natural.

“I’ll watch it for a few days, and if it doesn’t improve, I’ll have to use other methods.”

“Other methods? What is it?”

“There is something.”

A faint, bitter smile spread across Ma Sang-gu’s face as he kept his mouth shut.

***

“Hyung, you’re here!”

As Hyun-sung entered the hospital room, Yoo Young-seok greeted him happily. Then Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Yeah, what’s the reason you urgently asked to see me?”

It was an hour ago. He had received an urgent call from Yoo Young-seok. He didn’t know the reason, but he said he wanted to see him for a moment. So he rushed here now.

“I have something to discuss with you, Hyung.”

“Discuss?”

“Yes, it’s about the hospital room.”

“Hospital room?”

Hyun-sung tilted his head. There was no need to talk about the hospital room in this situation.

From the beginning, the hospital room issue had already been discussed with the hospital. He would be in a private room until all the treatment was over.

There was only one reason for doing so.

It was to ensure that Yoo Young-seok had no inconvenience in receiving treatment.

“I’m thinking of moving out of the private room.”

“What?”

It was a statement that was hard to understand at first glance. That’s because there is no hospital room in this hospital that has better conditions than this one.

Hyun-sung had no choice but to ask.

“What are you talking about? Where in this hospital is there a place with better conditions than here?”

“That’s the reason.”

“That reason? What are you talking about? Explain it so I can understand.”

“The conditions are too good. That’s why I’m trying to move.”

What is this again?

Moving out of the private room because the conditions are too good? No matter how much he thought about it, it was a statement he couldn’t understand.

Hyun-sung addressed Yoo Young-seok.

“Young-seok.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“What are you saying? I don’t understand what you’re saying at all right now. Don’t do that and tell me slowly so I can understand.”

“It’s as I said. I think I’ve been mistaken so far.”

“Mistaken?”

“Yes, that’s right. Actually…”

Yoo Young-seok’s explanation followed.

He said he had been thinking about it for several days. He wondered if it was right for him to continue to be in a private room like this in his situation.

He had been in a private room thanks to Hyun-sung so far, but no matter how much he thought about it, he thought it wasn’t right.

As soon as Yoo Young-seok’s explanation was over, Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“What’s the reason?”

“Yes?”

“There must be a reason, right? Why did you suddenly think that way after being still until now?”

“That’s…”

Yoo Young-seok couldn’t continue right away. Then Hyun-sung immediately asked again.

“Is there something you can’t say?”

“It’s not that, but….”

“Then tell me, I need to know what reason you’re trying to make that decision for, right?”

“Habit.”

“Habit?”