Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 616

618

A while later.

“What time is it now?”

Hyun-sung asked Yoo Young-seok, who was sitting with a dumbfounded expression. Yoo Young-seok checked the time on his phone and immediately answered.

“It’s past 9 o’clock.”

“So, you’re saying this guy still isn’t back even though it’s past 9?”

It was an hour ago. The time was 8 o’clock. That was when the interior designer, Ahn Sang-min, showed up at the store.

But the funny thing was, as soon as he arrived, he said he was going out for a bit and immediately left the store. That was an hour ago.

“That’s what I’m saying. No matter how I think about it, I can’t understand it. If it’s like this, I don’t think we’ll be able to finish the construction in the remaining week.”

“This is really a headache, sigh!”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but sigh.

How could this be happening? At this hour, the person who should be working on the construction is gone from the site. For an hour, no less.

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung said to Yoo Young-seok.

“Young-seok, I’m going to head out. Call me when he gets back.”

“Yes, I understand. But I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“Surely he’ll be back before 10 o’clock. He wouldn’t stay out past that, would he?”

“Well, I don’t know about that. Honestly, in this situation, I’d be lucky if he came back in the morning.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. This isn’t a situation to be judged by common sense. Anyway, wait a little longer. There’s no other way for now. Sigh…….”

Hyun-sung sighed again. That’s how much he couldn’t understand the current situation.

Yoo Young-seok asked Hyun-sung, who was about to leave.

“Are you coming back this evening?”

“Didn’t this guy say he’d finish work at 6?”

“Yes, that’s right. As soon as it hits 6, he stops what he’s doing and goes home.”

“Okay. I’ll be here before 6, so let’s have dinner with him and talk. We have to finish the construction no matter what.”

“Yes, I understand. Then I’ll see you in the evening. And thank you again for helping me like this.”

Yoo Young-seok bowed to Hyun-sung. It was a sign of gratitude.

But Hyun-sung waved his hand, dismissing it as nothing.

“What are you saying between us… You’re my brother. Of course. Well, I’m off. See you later.”

Hyun-sung finished speaking and left Yoo Young-seok’s side dish store.

Yoo Young-seok was left alone.

He took out his phone and made a call. Of course, the other person was the interior designer, Ahn Sang-min. He couldn’t just keep waiting, so he made the call.

Beep, beep…….

Ahn Sang-min didn’t answer the phone no matter how many times he called.

“This son of a…….”

Yoo Young-seok couldn’t help but curse.

***

That evening.

Hyun-sung headed back to Yoo Young-seok’s side dish store.

Clang!

As soon as he opened the store door and entered, Yoo Young-seok greeted Hyun-sung as if he had been waiting.

“Hyung [older brother/term of endearment for a close male friend], welcome!”

“Yeah, thanks. But why are you alone? Where’s that guy?”

Hyun-sung was momentarily dumbfounded.

At this hour, Ahn Sang-min should be here with him to talk. It wasn’t time for him to leave work yet. And besides, the reason Hyun-sung came here now was to meet Ahn Sang-min, not anyone else.

“Ah, he just went to the bathroom. He’ll be back soon.”

“Oh, is that so? I thought he was gone already because I couldn’t see him. By the way, did he do his job properly today?”

“I’ll tell you about that later. He’ll be back soon.”

“Oh? Oh, okay.”

It was at that moment.

The store door opened and a person came in. Of course, that person was the interior designer, Ahn Sang-min.

“Mr. Ahn, this is my brother. Hyung, this guy is the interior designer in charge of this place. Introduce yourselves.”

Yoo Young-seok immediately introduced the two. Then Hyun-sung greeted him first.

“Hello, I’m Kim Hyun-sung.”

“Kim Hyun-sung? Ah, are you the famous Kim Hyun-sung?”

“Excuse me?”

Hyun-sung’s voice grew louder as he was momentarily taken aback. That’s because Ahn Sang-min had never met him before.

“Do you know me?”

“Of course not.”

“Excuse me? You clearly said I was famous a moment ago…….”

“There isn’t an interior designer in Incheon who doesn’t know your name, at least.”

What was this all about? How did the interior designers know his name? Hyun-sung was at a loss.

“What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you the killer of Movie Heart?”

“Excuse me? A killer?”

“Yeah, I heard you’re the only one in the country who closed down Movie Heart. Is that true?”

Of course, it was true that he had closed down the Bupyeong branch of Movie Heart. But the problem was, how did the interior designers know that fact?

“It just happened that way, but how did you know……?”

“I heard rumors about you from the video store interior designers.”

“Rumors?”

“Yeah, your story is being told like a legend among those people. Why wouldn’t it be? You closed down the mighty Movie Heart, after all.”

Hyun-sung finally understood how Ahn Sang-min knew his name.

In fact, back then, video stores were all the rage. There was hardly a neighborhood without a video store. It was so popular that people would say, ‘If you have nothing to do, just open a video store.’

As a result, there were bound to be many video store interior designers as well.

In the end, Ahn Sang-min had heard about Hyun-sung from those designers.

Ahn Sang-min asked again.

“I heard the video store’s monthly sales were 200 million won?”

“Oh? How did you know that too……?”

Even if he knew his name, how did he know the sales figures?

“That’s right. I was wondering if it was true, but it was. But can I ask you one thing?”

“What……?”

“Why did you stop the delivery?”

“Delivery?”

“Yeah, I heard you stopped the delivery right after Movie Heart closed down. And then the sales dropped to 1/10, right?”

Hyun-sung’s brow furrowed.

He had felt something was strange from the moment he first heard that he knew his name. But now, he even knew the exact video sales figures. And now he was asking why he stopped the video delivery.

He wouldn’t know this much detail without a special reason.

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

“Mr. Ahn, who are you?”

“Haha, you’re sensitive…….”

“It’s not that I’m sensitive, but this doesn’t make sense. You can’t know this much detail unless you’ve deliberately investigated me.”

“Are you curious?”

“Yes, I’m curious.”

It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t curious. A stranger knew so much about him.

“I was just curious about you, so I looked into it a little.”

“That’s why I’m asking why you were curious about me.”

“Well…… Actually, someone I know passed away because of Movie Heart. It was about 5 years ago. That friend…….”

Ahn Sang-min’s words continued at length.

He said that 5 years ago, his friend quit his job and opened a large video store with his severance pay. But a year after opening, Movie Heart opened 100 meters away.

In the end, he couldn’t last 3 years and closed down, which led to him taking his own life.

Ahn Sang-min’s words continued again.

“I heard rumors about you from an interior designer I know two months ago.”

“Rumors?”

“Yeah, the story that you closed down Movie Heart. So I was curious about you. I wanted to know what kind of person you were to make Movie Heart close down. So I looked around a bit.”

Hyun-sung nodded slightly. Then Ahn Sang-min’s words continued again.

“I found out you were really amazing. But there’s one thing I can’t understand no matter how I think about it. That’s the delivery. Why did you stop the delivery? If you hadn’t stopped the delivery and stayed for another year, you could have cleaned up most of the video stores within a 2-kilometer radius. Then you could have monopolized the business and done even better.”

It was at that moment.

Yoo Young-seok, who had been listening quietly, immediately joined the conversation.

“That’s the difference between you and my brother.”

“Difference?”

“Yes, if my brother had continued the delivery for just one more year, as you said, many of the video stores within a 2 or 3-kilometer radius would have closed down.”

“That’s what I’m saying. If only that had happened…….”

“That’s exactly it.”

Yoo Young-seok interrupted Ahn Sang-min. Then he continued.

“My brother didn’t want that. He didn’t want the other video stores to close down.”

“What? Does that make sense?”

Ahn Sang-min was completely dumbfounded.

Did that make sense?

After all, all the video stores in the neighborhood were competitors.

The law of the jungle.

As is the way of the world, it’s natural for those who lose in the competition to disappear.

But he stopped the delivery because he didn’t like that?

Ahn Sang-min couldn’t understand it.

“The reason my brother stopped the delivery was exactly that. He didn’t want the surrounding video stores to disappear.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. Honestly, I don’t understand that part either. But anyway, that’s the kind of person my brother is.”

“Oh, my…….”

Ahn Sang-min looked at Hyun-sung with a bewildered expression. Then he asked directly.

“Is what this friend is saying true?”

“Yes, it’s true. I didn’t want the surrounding stores to disappear.”

“Why?”

“It’s simple.”

“Simple? Okay, tell me what that simple reason is.”

“We all live together. It’s not about one person monopolizing everything, but a world where everyone lives together.”

“Hmm…….”

Ahn Sang-min was silent for a while, as if he was thinking about something. It was some time before he spoke again.

“You’re a weirdo.”

That was the conclusion Ahn Sang-min came to.

A moment later.

This time, Hyun-sung asked Ahn Sang-min.

“By the way, I have a question too.”

“A question? For me?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What is it?”

Ahn Sang-min asked casually as he prepared to leave work. Then Hyun-sung asked directly.

“This construction. It’s been a week since we started the construction until today.”

“So?”

“There’s only a week left.”

“What do you want to say to me? Don’t beat around the bush and just say it.”

Ahn Sang-min glanced at Hyun-sung and said. Then Hyun-sung glanced at Yoo Young-seok. He was asking if he could speak freely. Seeing this, Yoo Young-seok nodded to Hyun-sung. Then Hyun-sung nodded slightly as if he understood and continued.

“Then I’ll ask you directly. Will the construction definitely be finished?”

“Finished?”

“Yes, I’m asking if we can open in a week.”

“Hmm…… I don’t know.”

Ahn Sang-min seemed to be thinking for a moment, then asked Hyun-sung again.

“Why are you asking that question?”

“I’ll be honest with you. Actually…….”

Hyun-sung answered honestly. He said that he was worried that the construction wouldn’t be finished in the remaining week, based on the progress so far.

Smirk.

As soon as Hyun-sung finished speaking, Ahn Sang-min smiled instead of answering. Then he nodded and continued.

“I understand.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t you know what I’m saying? I’ll make sure to finish the construction within a week no matter what.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, it is. To be honest, I was going to extend the construction for a few more days, but after hearing your words a moment ago, I don’t think I can do that.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head. The reason was that he didn’t quite understand what Ahn Sang-min was saying.

“Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”

“Honestly, I don’t.”

“I started to look back on myself after hearing your words a moment ago. Of course, I don’t know if I can completely change in the future, but I’ll try.”

Ahn Sang-min’s words continued again.

“I was a little ashamed of myself when you talked about a world where we all live together a moment ago. To be honest, I’ve never thought about that until now. But after hearing your words, I’m going to try to live that way now.”

“…….”

Hyun-sung was speechless.

It was a bit absurd. He didn’t expect everything to be resolved so quickly.

“Mr. Ahn, let’s go eat. Let’s go to a barbecue restaurant if possible.”

It was the moment when Hyun-sung’s voice gained strength. He was going to ask more about why he suddenly changed while eating meat.