Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 614

Three days later.

Kim Il-soo, having finished the funeral for his grandmother, approached Hyun-sung, who was gazing at the distant mountains, and stood beside him. He quietly called his name.

“Hyun-sung!”

“Yeah, what is it? Did all the guests leave?”

“Yes, I sent everyone off a little while ago.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Tired? What are you talking about? It’s natural for me, but you’ve worked hard for three days.”

“It’s nothing…”

Hyun-sung shook his head slightly, dismissing it. Then, he glanced at Kim Il-soo’s face before continuing.

“It’s going to be tough for a while. You’ll feel your grandmother’s absence greatly.”

Those who haven’t experienced it wouldn’t know.

The longing for someone who has passed away.

But Hyun-sung had already experienced the loss of both his father and mother in his previous life, so he knew that feeling all too well.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to think right now. It feels like if I call her, she’ll open the door to her room and come out right away.”

“Maybe that’s how it’ll be for now. But as time passes…”

Hyun-sung’s words trailed off. He wanted to comfort Kim Il-soo, who was left alone, in any way he could. The two talked for a long time.

Some time later.

Hyun-sung spoke again.

“Take a few days off from the restaurant.”

“No, I can’t do that. I’ve already missed three days. I’m a vice president, so I have to go tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to force yourself. Why don’t you take a few days off and…”

“No, there’s no need.”

Kim Il-soo spoke before Hyun-sung could finish. Then, he immediately continued.

“I’m working on a few new menu items these days, so I can’t be away.”

“New menu items?”

“Yeah, I’ve been preparing something for this spring.”

“There’s still plenty of time.”

“It’s not something I’m doing alone. And I can’t be away…”

“Alright, then do as you see fit. I just meant for you to take a few days off and sort through your grandmother’s belongings.”

As soon as Hyun-sung finished speaking, Kim Il-soo replied.

“Of course, I know what you mean. That’s why I’m even more grateful.”

“Grateful for what…”

“Honestly, what kind of boss would be so considerate to their employee like this?”

“We’re different.”

“That’s what you think, but I’m honestly so grateful that you’ve been by my side for these three days. Who in the world…”

Kim Il-soo’s words grew longer. He meant that he was truly grateful for Hyun-sung’s actions.

“You’re getting sentimental, you know? Saying all these things.”

“As you know, everything I’ve become is thanks to you.”

“Why are you bringing that up now, out of the blue?”

“No, I just started thinking that way as I got older. If you hadn’t told me to learn how to cook back then, what would I be doing now?”

Kim Il-soo paused for a moment, as if thinking, then continued.

“By the way, what are you going to do? Are you going back to Incheon right away?”

“I can’t just go back after coming all this way. I’m going to stop by home to see my parents and check out the restaurant since I’m here.”

“So, you’re going up tomorrow?”

“I think so.”

“Then I’ll prepare lunch.”

“Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“Of course, I am. I was sad to just say goodbye, so I’m grateful that you’re making time like this.”

Kim Il-soo forced a smile. Seeing that, Hyun-sung immediately said.

“Alright, then let’s meet again for lunch tomorrow.”

“Yeah, okay. And thank you so much for being here with me on my grandmother’s final journey. Thanks to you, I was able to properly say goodbye to her.”

“Don’t mention it. Well, I’ll be going now, so get some rest.”

With those words, Hyun-sung turned and walked towards the truck. Kim Il-soo watched him go and muttered to himself.

“Thank you, my friend.”

***

A few days later.

After finishing his morning exercise, Hyun-sung headed to a shopping district where Yoo Young-seok was preparing his side dish shop.

“Hyungnim [older brother or respected male friend], you’re here!”

Yoo Young-seok greeted Hyun-sung with a smile as he entered the shopping district. Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“How are the opening preparations going?”

“Yes, it’s going well thanks to you, Hyungnim. But how did you find a shopping district that’s perfect for me?”

“It’s for our Young-seok, who will be doing business here, so I paid a little extra attention.”

“I especially like that there’s a living space attached.”

As Yoo Young-seok finished speaking, Hyun-sung shook his head slightly and continued.

“I have a different idea about that.”

“Yes?”

Yoo Young-seok tilted his head and looked at Hyun-sung, not understanding what he meant by ‘different’.

Hyun-sung immediately replied.

“I got this shopping district because of the commercial viability of the area, not the attached room.”

“Commercial area?”

“Yes, the most important thing in finding a shopping district is its commercial potential.”

“Ah, yes…”

Yoo Young-seok nodded, as if understanding the meaning. Seeing that, Hyun-sung spoke again.

“No matter how good the shopping district facilities are, it’s meaningless if the commercial area is bad. Especially since the commercial area changes depending on the type of business. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, I think I understand. So, in my case, you secured a spot in this alley where a lot of people pass by?”

The place where Hyun-sung secured Yoo Young-seok’s shop was not on a main street or in a residential area, but in an alley leading to Bupyeong Station. The reason was that the type of business Yoo Young-seok would be running was a side dish shop.

“Yes, there were a few shopping districts that came up, but I thought this place, where a lot of people pass by, would be perfect for you, so I decided on this place.”

“Actually, I’ve been here for a few days preparing for the opening, and I was surprised to see how many people pass by, even though it’s not a main street.”

“Yes, although this place is located in an alley, it’s on the way to Bupyeong Station, so a lot of people pass by. That’s why this spot is perfect for you.”

“Yes, I think so. Besides, it’s great for me that there’s even a room where I can live. If there wasn’t this room, I would have had to find a separate place.”

Yoo Young-seok looked satisfied as he glanced at the room inside. Then, Hyun-sung spoke again.

“When did you say you were opening?”

“The shop repairs will be finished in about a week, so I should be able to start business by the end of this month at the latest.”

“This month…”

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung asked again.

“Does that mean you still have to repair it for another week?”

“Yes, that’s what the contractor said.”

“How long has it been since you started repairing the shop?”

“Today is exactly one week.”

“So, the repair period is going to take two weeks?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As Yoo Young-seok finished answering, Hyun-sung got up from his seat, briefly looked around the shop, and spoke again.

“Who did you say that contractor was?”

“My dad said he knows him well. That’s why I entrusted the work to him.”

That was true. After securing the shopping district, he contacted Yoo Young-seok, and a day later, he received a call. The shopping district interior construction would be done by an interior contractor that his father knew well.

So, he naturally trusted him and told him to do it that way.

“Hmm… this doesn’t seem right.”

“What is it?”

“It doesn’t make sense that it would take two weeks to do this much construction. This is a bit much.”

Hyun-sung’s expression suddenly darkened. That’s because this place used to be a restaurant until recently. In other words, there wasn’t much to fix.

Even if it was a bit old, it would only take about a week to prepare it for a side dish shop.

One week of construction taking two weeks?

Hyun-sung didn’t think that was right.

Hyun-sung asked again.

“Is that contractor a very close friend of your father’s?”

“Yes, I think so. He’s the one my dad contacted and asked for a favor.”

“Hmm… and he’s doing it this way.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head to the side, looking displeased. Seeing that, Yoo Young-seok immediately asked.

“Hyungnim, is there a problem?”

“As you know, the shop is a bit old, but there wasn’t much to fix. I thought it would be enough to do it in a week at the latest, but he’s saying it’ll take two weeks.”

“I thought that was a bit strange too. It seems like the time increased because he tore down the ceiling that didn’t need to be torn down.”

“Did you tell him to tear it down?”

“No, I don’t know much about it, so I told him to do it as he saw fit. And then it turned out like this… sigh.”

Yoo Young-seok sighed deeply as he looked at the torn-down ceiling, looking dumbfounded. Then, he immediately continued.

“So, on the first day of the interior construction, I went to find you at the shop. But that day, you happened to be at your friend’s grandmother’s funeral, so I couldn’t contact you, and the situation became like this.”

“I told you from the beginning that you didn’t need to tear down the ceiling, right?”

“Of course, you did. But that interior guy came and said I was saying that because I didn’t know, and he tore down the ceiling. My dad also took his side, saying that you have to do it right the first time, so I couldn’t do anything by myself.”

Yoo Young-seok shook his head from side to side, looking disappointed. Hyun-sung watched him and thought for a moment before speaking again.

“This is a headache.”

“There’s nothing we can do now, right?”

“It’s too late. Moreover, your father took the contractor’s side. That means I, as a third party, can’t say anything more about this.”

Hyun-sung checked his watch. It was just past 7:30 AM.

“By the way, what time does that guy start working?”

“Officially, it’s from 8 o’clock.”

“Officially? What does that mean? Does that mean he doesn’t actually start at that time?”

“He said he would start at 8 o’clock at first, but he only came at 8 o’clock on the first day, and then he started coming after 9 o’clock the next day. He even came at 10 o’clock yesterday.”

Hyun-sung’s brow furrowed.

What was this all about?

The progress of the work is proportional to the time the contractor works. In other words, time is money.

But he’s not keeping that time? This doesn’t make sense.

“What about the quitting time?”

“It’s winter these days, so it gets dark at 6 o’clock. So, he leaves right at 6 o’clock.”

“So, he doesn’t keep the arrival time, but he keeps the quitting time perfectly?”

“That’s right. And if you take out an hour for lunch, he only works about 8 hours a day. In the case of yesterday, he only worked 7 hours because he came at 10 o’clock.”

“Did you tell your father?”

“Yes.”

“What did your father say?”

“He said that since we set the construction period for two weeks from the beginning, it’s okay as long as he finishes the construction within that period.”

Hyun-sung was just dumbfounded.

Does this make sense?

Even if he’s only an hour late each day, that’s 14 hours in two weeks. 14 hours is almost two days’ worth of time.

In the end, that means the construction period itself was miscalculated from the beginning.

“This doesn’t seem right at all.”

“Right? I think something’s been wrong from the beginning.”

“In the end, that means the two-week construction period was miscalculated from the beginning, right? Don’t you think so?”

“That’s what I’m saying. But my dad keeps telling me to trust that contractor, so I’m a bit frustrated. But I can’t say anything now.”

“Do you know that contractor’s name?”

“Yes, of course. It’s Ahn Sang-min.”

“Ahn Sang-min…”

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung started making a call somewhere.

Beep, beep.

The other person answered the phone after two rings.

-Hello.

“Hyungnim [older brother or respected male friend] Dong-ho, it’s me.”

The person Hyun-sung called was Kim Dong-ho, a well-known plumbing contractor.

-Oh, President Kim, what’s going on so early?

“Is it okay to talk right now?”-It’s President Kim calling, so I have to answer no matter what. But what’s up?

“Do you happen to know a contractor named Ahn Sang-min?”

-Who? Ahn Sang-min? Why are you asking about that guy?

“What kind of person is he?”

-Hoo…

Kim Dong-ho sighed before speaking.