Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 598

A week later.

“Is this the place?”

Lee Myung-hoon asked, arriving with Hyun-sung in front of a commercial building.

Hyun-sung nodded immediately and said, “Yes, this is the free sharing shop I mentioned.”

“Wow! You even got the sign done already?” Lee Myung-hoon looked at the sign with a surprised expression. The sign read ‘Free Sharing of Love’ in yellow letters.

“It took five days to set up this shop. The goods are all stocked already. Now, let’s go inside.”

The commercial space was contracted five days ago. The area is less than 15 *pyeong* [approximately 530 square feet]. But still, it cost a considerable amount to fill the entire space with the necessary items.

The items were 100% food. At first, he thought about including other daily necessities, but he decided that food was the most crucial need, so he stocked only food.

Lee Myung-hoon, who entered the store, looked around and immediately asked Hyun-sung, “The cost of the goods must have been quite high?”

“It’s the first time, after all.”

“But did you stock all these items by yourself, Mr. Kim?”

“No, Hee-yeol helped me. And he’s agreed to come and help whenever he has time in the future.”

Moon Hee-yeol’s help was significant. Although it was only about 14 *pyeong* of space, it wasn’t easy to fill it with goods. But fortunately, Moon Hee-yeol helped, so he was able to stock everything without any problems.

“How will these items be managed in the future?”

“I’m going to manage it with a computer, like a convenience store. When goods are received, I’ll enter them into the program, and when they go out, I’ll scan them with a barcode. That way, I can immediately check how much stock there is. And I’ll place orders by fax every night at 9 o’clock.”

“Who will bring the goods?”

“I’ve signed a contract with a food supplier.”

“Wow! That supplier is so lucky. The daily order volume will be no joke.”

Lee Myung-hoon was probably right. He didn’t know for sure yet, but at least the daily order volume would be considerable. In common terms, it’s all free. Hyun-sung himself had no idea how much would be taken.

“We’re helping each other out. If that supplier wasn’t there, we’d have to stock the goods ourselves, and that wouldn’t be easy either.”

“I guess so,” Lee Myung-hoon nodded as if he understood.

Just then, *Clang!* Someone came in as the store door opened. Hyun-sung immediately said, “Oh? Ward Administrator!”

The person who opened the store door was Lee Chan-yeol, the ward administrator. In fact, Hyun-sung had visited the community center before opening the free sharing shop to inform the ward administrator of his plans. Even though it was done with personal money, he thought he should at least inform the ward administrator.

“Mr. Kim, you’ve worked hard.”

“I’m doing it because I like it. But what brings you here so early?”

“As the person in charge of the ward, shouldn’t I come to greet you? You’re doing such a great job.” With those words, Lee Chan-yeol took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it over. “And please accept this.”

“Oh? What is this?”

“It’s not much, but it’s my sincerity. I hope it will help you with your good work.”

“I don’t know if I can accept this.”

“Of course, you can accept it. I’m only doing it once, but I don’t know how you’re going to manage this…”

Lee Chan-yeol had a surprising encounter a few days ago when Hyun-sung came to see him. The purpose was to run a ‘free sharing shop’ for people who were struggling due to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] crisis.

At first, he couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that an individual would do something that even the country couldn’t do.

“As I said a little while ago, I’m doing it because I like it.”

“Anyway, you’re amazing. And please accept this too.” Lee Chan-yeol handed over another envelope, this time much thicker than the first, indicating more money inside.

“What is this again?”

“It’s money that the community center staff voluntarily collected. They said that if they came to you individually, you would feel burdened, so they asked me to deliver it for them.”

A smile spread across Hyun-sung’s face. To be honest, even when he visited the community center, he expected Lee Chan-yeol, the ward administrator, to visit him. He thought that was the basic thing to do as the person in charge of a ward. But he didn’t expect the staff to send envelopes like this.

“I’m so grateful, I don’t know what to say. Please be sure to tell them that I’m really grateful.”

“Yes, I will. But there are more items than I thought,” Lee Chan-yeol said, looking around the store.

“It’s still not enough.”

“No, this is good enough to show anyone. I’m really surprised.” Lee Chan-yeol’s eyes sparkled, showing his genuine surprise.

Just then, *Clang!* Someone else came in as the store door opened, but this time he wasn’t alone. The first to react was Lee Chan-yeol, the ward administrator. “Did the district head come?”

That was the beginning. Then someone else came in. That person was someone Hyun-sung also knew. But this time, Lee Chan-yeol, the ward administrator, was quick to speak. “Did the mayor come?”

That’s right, the district head and the mayor came to Hyun-sung’s free sharing shop.

30 minutes later, everyone left, and two people remained.

Lee Myung-hoon looked at Hyun-sung and asked, “Why did those people come all the way here?”

“Why are you asking if you know?”

“Of course, I know they came to encourage you, but how did they appear at the same time like this?”

“Isn’t it our ward administrator’s doing?” When the ward administrator first came, he thought he had simply come to encourage him. But soon after, he saw the district head and the mayor coming in, and he realized that Lee Chan-yeol had planned it.

After all, Lee Chan-yeol was the only one who knew that Hyun-sung was opening the free sharing shop today.

“Could it be for election purposes?”

“Maybe…”

“Well, there’s no better photo opportunity than this for election purposes. Anyway, these people seem to have a sixth sense for these things. They show up without being told.”

Lee Myung-hoon’s voice was full of complaints. He seemed to dislike the way politicians acted. On the other hand, Hyun-sung’s expression was the opposite of Lee Myung-hoon’s. It was an expression that it didn’t matter at all.

“I don’t care about those people’s appearances.”

“Yes? Is that true?”

“Yeah, we just need to achieve our respective goals. They have their goals, and we have ours.”

“Yes? We have ours? Does that mean we received some help too?” Lee Myung-hoon looked at Hyun-sung intently as if he didn’t understand. Then Hyun-sung answered immediately, “Look at this here.” Hyun-sung held out his hand to Lee Myung-hoon. In Hyun-sung’s hand were several envelopes – the ones the ward administrator, the district head, and the mayor had given him.

“That’s what those people gave you, right?”

“That’s right. That’s what those people gave me. How much do you think this will be?”

“Well, I don’t know…”

“Come on, count it yourself.” Hyun-sung handed the envelopes to Lee Myung-hoon, who began checking them.

A moment later, Lee Myung-hoon, who had counted all the envelopes, said to Hyun-sung, “Mr. Kim, it’s over a million *won* [Korean currency, approximately $800 USD].”

“Well, the heads of each institution came and went, so it would be about that much. So how much is it in total?”

“It’s exactly one million one hundred thousand *won*.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Record that money as a donation and write it down on the computer. We’ll need it when we settle accounts later.”

“Settle accounts?” Lee Myung-hoon tilted his head at the word ‘settle accounts’. Then he asked again, “Isn’t this store run by you alone, Mr. Kim? What kind of settlement are you talking about?”

“I have to report it later.”

“Report? To whom?”

“Who else would it be but the people who gave me the envelopes today? There are the ward administrator, the district head, and the mayor, but there are also other staff members, so I have to report to them later. Those people also need to know where the money they gave was used.”

Hyun-sung continued, “And this store won’t be run by me alone in the future.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Of course, this is just my idea right now, but I started it, and many people will participate in the future.”

“Other people?”

“Yeah, starting with Hee-yeol, he said he would donate a certain amount every month. So we have to write down every single *won* we receive as a donation in the future. That way, there will be no misunderstandings later.”

That’s a matter of course. If Hyun-sung was running 100% of it alone, it wouldn’t matter, but if even one other person was participating, it was right to keep all the records. Otherwise, it would be a perfect recipe for misunderstandings later.

“So you think people will donate in the future, Mr. Kim?”

“Of course, I still believe that this society is a warm world.”

Just then, *Clang!* Someone came in as the store door opened. The moment Hyun-sung saw that person, his eyes widened. “Oh, Mr. Yoo!”

The person who opened the store door was none other than Yoo Seung-il, who runs the bookstore. He was holding three boxes of ramen in his hand.

“Mr. Kim, please accept this.”

“Oh, what is all this?”

“I just brought ramen today because I didn’t know what to bring. By the way, how did you think of this?”

“As I said last time, there will be a lot of unemployed people for the time being. So I thought that this was the only way to make sure they don’t have to worry about food.”

In his previous life, the most unfortunate thing was the news of modern-day Jean Valjeans [a reference to the character from *Les Misérables* who steals bread to feed his family]. He wondered how hard it must have been to commit such an act. So he thought that at least there shouldn’t be such a thing because of food.

“Anyway, you’re amazing. And I won’t be able to do much, but I’ll come here like this from time to time.”

“I’m so grateful just for your words. I feel energized just by you saying you’ll join me like this.”

“I lived thanks to Mr. Kim, so I can’t just stand still. And I have some good news.” Yoo Seung-il’s eyes sparkled. Then Hyun-sung immediately asked, “Good news? What is it?”

“I finally hit a million *won* yesterday.”

“Yes? Is that true?”

“It’s true. My sales have increased a lot since I lowered the rental fee as you told me. And since I changed it to a book cafe, I’m getting a lot of sales in the hall too. Anyway, I lived thanks to Mr. Kim.”

Ironically, this was also a strange phenomenon brought about by the IMF crisis. People who used to go to work couldn’t go to work, so they flocked to video stores and comic book rooms. So, of course, sales were bound to increase.

“There will be a lot of people coming during the day for the time being. And just in case, I’m telling you, don’t raise the price of ramen. The people who eat that ramen also have their own circumstances.”

It’s the sorrow of office workers. How could people who were kicked out of their jobs go to work at comic book rooms? They haven’t even told their families yet.

“Don’t worry about that. I haven’t forgotten what you said either. I won’t do such a gangster-like thing to live alone. Well, take care. I’m busy, so I’ll be on my way…” Yoo Seung-il immediately left the store after saying those words.

Hyun-sung was just grateful to Yoo Seung-il. He could have easily pretended not to know, but he didn’t and came to visit him like this. It would have been impossible in his previous life. He was Yoo Seung-il, who only knew himself back then.

*Clang!* Another person came in as the store door opened. This time it was Lee Se-yi, the owner of the bakery. Her hands were full of bread.

But that wasn’t the end. Before Lee Se-yi could even leave, two more people came in. This time it was the owner of the real estate agency and Mr. Son, who runs the supermarket. The real estate agent was holding a box of ramen, and the supermarket owner was holding several plates of tofu. They were people he used to be close with. In the end, they heard that Hyun-sung had opened a free sharing shop and rushed over like this.