Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 607

“Thanks to you, I enjoyed the meal.”

Yoo Min-sang put down his chopsticks and said to Hyun-sung. Lee Soon-nyeo, who was next to him, immediately followed.

“That’s right, I enjoyed it too. Mr. Kim, thank you for everything today.”

“You’re very welcome. I’m even more grateful that you enjoyed it.”

Hyun-sung cleared the finished dishes to one side and then spoke again.

“Then, I’ll be going now. Please take good care of yourself. And as I said before, please be careful not to move around too much for the time being. The doctor said earlier that you absolutely must not fall or strain your ankle again.”

“Alright, I’ll be as careful as possible, so don’t worry too much.”

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

Hyun-sung greeted Lee Soon-nyeo and Yoo Min-sang and then went outside. Then, he got into the truck parked in front of the house.

Brrr!

He was about to start the engine when he saw a familiar face running out in the rearview mirror. It was Yoo Min-sang, Lee Soon-nyeo’s son.

Hyun-sung lowered the window and immediately asked.

“Hyung-nim [older brother or respected male acquaintance], what’s wrong?”

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“To me?”

“Yes, I have something important to say to you, Mr. Kim, so I chased you out here. Actually, I wanted to say it before we ate *jjambong* [spicy Korean noodle soup], but I didn’t have the courage to say it.”

In fact, Hyun-sung had been feeling it since earlier.

He kept looking at him, as if he had something to say. However, he couldn’t pretend to know without being asked, so he just stayed still.

“Get in the car first. It’s cold, so let’s talk inside.”

He didn’t know what it was, but the fact that he had chased him all the way here meant it wasn’t a simple matter, so he let him into the car.

As soon as Yoo Min-sang got in the car, Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Coffee?”

“Yes, judging from your expression, it seems like you have a long story to tell.”

The fact that he had chased him all the way here meant that he definitely had something to say, and he thought it would be better to move the location rather than talk in the car, so he offered coffee.

After hesitating for a moment, Yoo Min-sang scratched his head as if he was sorry and continued.

“I’m sorry, but the coffee is on you, Mr. President……”

“Yes? Ah, yes, I understand. I’ll treat you.”

At first, Hyun-sung didn’t know what he meant. But he immediately realized what he meant. Yoo Min-sang couldn’t even afford a cup of coffee right now. That meant he was in financial difficulty.

Perhaps it was only natural.

His company went bankrupt without even receiving severance pay, let alone several months of salary. He had first heard this story from his mother, Lee Soon-nyeo.

In fact, Hyun-sung first met Yoo Min-sang when he was running a video store in his past life.

However, they weren’t close, but rather knew each other as a customer and owner.

What he particularly remembered was that he didn’t talk much. Still, the reason he remembered him was that he kept his promises to the letter.

He had rented so many videos, but he had never been late once; he was such a diligent person.

However, after the IMF crisis [International Monetary Fund crisis, a major financial crisis in the late 1990s], he naturally stopped going to the video store, and he hadn’t seen him since. In the end, he was also one of the victims of the IMF crisis.

10 minutes later.

The two arrived at a coffee shop.

Yoo Min-sang was the first to speak.

“I’m imposing on you again.”

“Treating you to a cup of coffee is not imposing, please don’t say that. And I hope you’ll speak casually to me now. You’re much older than me, and it makes me very uncomfortable when you keep talking to me so formally.”

“No, that’s not true. I know very well what kind of person you are, Mr. President, so I can’t dare to speak casually to someone like me just because I’m old.”

It was an unexpected remark. He thought he was just using honorifics because they weren’t close, but he didn’t expect those words to come out.

“‘Dare’? That’s absurd. Who am I to say such things?”

“Aren’t you doing something that even the country can’t do right now? There’s no one like you anywhere in Korea, Mr. President. Who would give away even a grain of rice for free in these difficult times? But you’re giving away rice and groceries without any conditions. You’re doing something that even Chairman Lee of Samsung can’t do right now. How can I dare to……”

Yoo Min-sang shook his head. That meant that he absolutely couldn’t do it.

It was difficult for Hyun-sung. What could he say to that?

Hyun-sung had no choice but to change the subject.

“You said you had something to say to me earlier……”

“Ah, yes……”

Slurp.

Yoo Min-sang took a sip of the coffee in front of him instead of speaking. Then, he looked at Hyun-sung, who was sitting in front of him, and opened his mouth again as if he had made up his mind.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but tilt his head. The reason was that he had no idea what the favor he was talking about was. That was because he had no special relationship with him other than being a customer at the video store.

“To be direct, please lend me some money.”

“Did you just say money?”

It was absurd for Hyun-sung.

Borrow money? Of course, people can say anything if they need it. But money has a special meaning unlike other things.

In order to borrow money between individuals, not financial institutions such as banks, a certain level of bond is a prerequisite.

However, he had no special bond with Yoo Min-sang other than being a customer at the video store. That meant he wasn’t in a position to ask for money. Therefore, it was only natural that Hyun-sung was taken aback.

“You must be very taken aback, right? A person who used to rent videos suddenly asks to borrow money.”

“That’s a little……”

“Yes, I know very well that what I’m doing right now is not normal.”

The fact that he was doing it knowing that his actions were not normal meant that there was a good reason.

Then, it would be basic to listen to his story further.

“There must be a reason for that, right?”

“As expected, you’re different, Mr. President. Usually, in this case, they would ignore the other person without even listening to their story.”

“Who am I to dare to do such a thing? That’s not the way to live.”

We often call the reason for something or the duty that people should keep as a case.

That’s how much there is a duty to be kept basically while living.

The current situation is like that.

Of course, it’s true that it’s not the situation, but ignoring the other person without listening to their story is not the case.

“The word ‘case’ is a very good word. But the problem is that many people ignore that case and live. In fact, today was a very difficult day for me personally. Actually……”

Yoo Min-sang’s words continued for a long time.

He said that he went to the labor market early this morning. He waited for three hours with the hope that he might get a job, but he couldn’t get a job in the end. So he came out of the labor office and contacted his former colleagues.

But when he talked about money, they all avoided meeting him.

Yoo Min-sang sighed for the last time and continued.

“Still, they were all co-workers at one time, how could they do that…… But who can I blame? This is the harsh reality.”

“……”

Hyun-sung had nothing special to say. Therefore, he had no choice but to replace the answer with silence.

Yoo Min-sang’s words continued again.

“It’s strange, of course, I know this is a harsh reality, but I’m angry. Still, they were co-workers at one time. And in fact, I didn’t ask for a lot of money. I only talked about one million won [approximately $750 USD] to start a business. But these guys, you know……”

Yoo Min-sang clenched his fist tightly as if he was angry while talking. Then he continued.

“Actually, the guys I contacted today are the ones I used to lend money to once or twice. But they’re ignoring me like that. I’m not just asking for it, I’m asking to borrow it. How……”

“Wait a minute!”

Hyun-sung raised his hand and interrupted Yoo Min-sang’s words in the middle. Then he immediately asked again.

“Did you say one million won a little while ago?”

“Yes, that’s right. I think one million won is enough for the business I’m thinking of.”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but tilt his head. He was curious about what kind of business he could do with one million won.

“May I ask what kind of business it is?”

“Of course. I was going to tell you now anyway. The business I’m thinking of is *bungeoppang* [fish-shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean paste].”

“*Bungeoppang*?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve been going to the labor market for the past three months, but I haven’t worked for even 10 days. If I keep going like this, I feel like I’m going to starve to death, so I came to the conclusion that I’d rather do another business. So I thought of *bungeoppang*.”

Yoo Min-sang’s words continued.

“At first, I thought about several other businesses, but there was no choice in a situation where there was nothing. I couldn’t even get severance pay, and I was deprived of six months’ salary, so I couldn’t think of anything else that would cost money because there was only dust left in my pocket.”

“So you thought of *bungeoppang*?”

“Yes, *bungeoppang* was the only thing I could do with the least amount of money.”

“Hmm……”

After thinking for a while, Hyun-sung took out a check from his wallet and handed it to Yoo Min-sang.

“Take this.”

“Huh? Isn’t this a one million won check?”

“Yes, start with this.”

“Are you giving it to me right away?”

Yoo Min-sang was dumbfounded. He had been looking for his former colleagues all morning to borrow this money today. But in the end, he was empty-handed.

Then, when he returned home, Hyun-sung was there.

He wanted to ask with regret, but he didn’t have the courage. It was too brazen to ask to borrow money, so he couldn’t say anything.

But he was so desperate that he chased after him with the feeling of grabbing his pants.

But to receive money so easily…….

Yoo Min-sang couldn’t believe it and asked again.

“Are you really lending me this money?”

“Yes, that’s right. Start with that money.”

Yoo Min-sang, who received the check, couldn’t help but ask.

“What’s the reason?”

“The reason?”

“Yes? I mean, why are you lending me this money? In fact, you don’t know me very well, so easily……”

“Wait a minute!”

Hyun-sung interrupted Yoo Min-sang’s words in the middle. Then he immediately continued.

“Do you think I gave you this money easily right now?”

“That’s what I saw. I just asked to borrow money a little while ago.”

“That’s your opinion, and I made the decision after thinking about it enough. The important thing is that I didn’t give it to you easily without thinking.”

“Ah, is that so……”

Yoo Min-sang tilted his head slightly as if he still didn’t understand. Hyun-sung, who saw that, continued.

“Do you know how long we’ve known each other?”

“Hmm…… It’s been about 8 months. I went to the video store from April last year until last month.”

“That’s right. That’s about it. Then, do you remember how many videos you watched during that time?”

“Well, I haven’t calculated that……”

“You probably watched more than ten episodes a month, so it’s been 8 months, so it’ll be at least 80 episodes.”

That’s true. He usually came about once a week, and he watched two or three episodes each time, so he watched at least ten episodes a month. He watched it for 8 months, so it’s basically 80 episodes in total.

“But what is the relationship between the number of videos and this money now?”

“The number of videos is not important, but you have never been late for those 80 videos.”

“Ah, you’re talking about returning it. That’s natural. I’m the type to keep that to the letter.”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it? What do you mean?”

Yoo Min-sang couldn’t understand what Hyun-sung was saying. Therefore, he couldn’t help but stare at Hyun-sung without realizing it.

Hyun-sung’s answer followed immediately.

“Diligence.”

“Diligence?”

“Yes, you know it too. There’s a saying that you can know ten things if you see one thing. I gave you the money after seeing your diligence. So you should never think that I gave you the money easily.”

“Ah, is that how it’s connected?”

“Yes, that’s right. Although it’s a video return, you can know the person’s character with just that one thing.”

That’s true. People start with small things, no matter what. If Yoo Min-sang was a person who habitually delayed videos, he wouldn’t have given him even 100,000 won, let alone one million won.

“I understand what you mean. Anyway, thanks to you, Mr. President, I’m starting again.”

“I hope it helps. By the way, have you decided where to do it?”

“Yes, there are a few places I’ve thought of, but the problem is the bathroom.”

“Bathroom?”

“Yes, since I have to be there for at least 14 hours a day, the most worrying thing is the bathroom.”

“Hmm……”

After thinking for a while, Hyun-sung immediately opened his mouth.