Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 622

One Week Later.

Various classified ads were spread across the table where the two men sat facing each other.

Three sections were marked with a green highlighter: X, O, and △.

The only listing marked with an O was for a video store called ‘Video Land’ in Bupyeong-dong, the same one they had initially considered a week ago.

Hyun-sung took a sip of his coffee and asked Park Cheol-ho, who sat opposite him, “How many stores have we looked at in total as of today?”

“Including Samsan-dong, we’ve seen twenty-five places.”

“We’ve been to quite a few.”

“Indeed. I think we’ve covered most of the worthwhile spots at this point. It seems we need to make a decision now,” Park Cheol-ho said, glancing at the classifieds. Hyun-sung immediately followed up.

“Isn’t the conclusion already obvious?”

“I suppose so. No matter how many places we look at, none seem quite as promising as Video Land in Bupyeong-dong. After all, the most important thing is the commercial district.”

“That’s true. I don’t know why the video store owner messed up the store’s operations, but that’s not important to us.”

“That’s right. That’s his problem; what matters to us is how well the business will do in the future.”

*That’s right. It doesn’t matter why the previous owner ran the business poorly. What matters is how well the business will do in the future.*

“Right, the future is what’s important. In that sense, let’s get going.”

“Are we finally going to sign the contract?”

“Yes, there’s no reason to hesitate any longer. We’ll go today, sign the contract, and get the keys right away.”

“What? Get the keys today?” Park Cheol-ho looked at Hyun-sung, slightly puzzled. Hyun-sung immediately replied.

“There’s no point in dragging things out. They might try to pull something.”

“Pull something?”

“Yes, it’s rare, but some people are like that.”

“What kind of games are you talking about?”

“They might withdraw the offer at the last minute.”

*Of course, it’s very rare. But in his past life, he had heard about such cases from brokers. It’s something that shouldn’t happen, but there are always a few people who do it.*

Park Cheol-ho, unaware of this possibility, couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Withdraw the offer? What does that mean?”

“Not all videos are the same.”

“Of course. Rare videos can be quite expensive. Are you saying they might take those videos out?”

“Yes, it’s rare, but sometimes people do that. I heard it from a broker.”

“Really?” Park Cheol-ho looked at Hyun-sung incredulously. Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“You know what they say about ‘what ifs’?”

“Of course, I do, but…”

“So, what I’m saying is, let’s not give them any room to do that from the start. It’ll be too late to regret it later.”

“Hmm… Do people really do that?”

“Why would I make something like that up? Anyway, it’s not like we don’t have the money ready. Let’s finalize the payment today and get the keys at the end. That’s the cleanest way to do it.”

Regret is always too late, no matter how early it comes. Hyun-sung believed there was no need for belated regrets.

“Yes, I understand. We’ll do that.”

“Alright, let’s get up then.”

The two left the coffee shop and headed towards Bupyeong-dong.

30 minutes later.

The two arrived in front of ‘Video Land’ in Bupyeong-dong.

“Wait a minute!” Hyun-sung urgently stopped Park Cheol-ho, who was about to enter the video store. Park Cheol-ho immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“I still feel uneasy.”

“About what?”

“About the owner here. The commercial district is good, so why is he trying to leave? I wonder if there’s something we don’t know…”

It was a moment when Hyun-sung’s expression became quite serious. Once they went in and signed the contract, there would be no turning back.

“Why are you anxious?”

“No matter how I think about it, the owner’s behavior is strange. This commercial district is definitely a good deal. But I don’t understand why he’s running the business like that and trying to get out of here.”

“Didn’t we agree not to mention that issue anymore?”

“We did, but it still bothers me. I think we need to confirm that part one last time somehow.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, right now.”

Hyun-sung nodded and seemed to think for a moment before looking across the street. There was a beauty salon there.

“Cheol-ho, come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the beauty salon.”

“Why are we going to the beauty salon?”

“You’ll see when you come.”

Hyun-sung led the way to the beauty salon across the street. He entered the salon and immediately said, “I’d like to get a haircut.”

“Yes, please sit here.”

The salon owner was a woman who looked to be in her 50s.

“Just trim it a bit, please.”

“Yes, I understand. But you’re not from this neighborhood, are you?”

“No, that’s right. We came from Bupyeong. But can I ask you something?”

“Of course. What is it?” The salon owner said casually, as if it were nothing. This was why Hyun-sung had come to the salon. One of the places where rumors spread the fastest in the neighborhood was the beauty salon.

“About the video store across the street, what’s it like there?”

“Are you perhaps looking to buy the store?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But what are you curious about?”

“I think the location is quite good, but it doesn’t seem to be doing as well as I thought. I was wondering if there might be any problems.”

“Hmm…” The salon owner seemed to think for a moment before continuing, “I don’t know if I should be telling you this…”

“Please do.”

“There’s a bit of a problem with that shopping center.”

“A problem? What kind of problem?”

“The landlord is a bit eccentric.”

This was completely unexpected. He thought there might be other problems, but he never imagined the landlord would be the issue.

“What kind of person is he…”

“He raises the rent every two years as a matter of course and comes by to nag all the time. It’s so bad that even the video store owner is giving up and trying to leave.”

“What kind of nagging does he do…”

“He just comes by and does it all the time. If you even hammer a nail into the store, it’s a day of wailing [meaning the landlord will complain incessantly].”

Hyun-sung frowned. This changed things. He could solve other problems, but if the landlord was the problem, there was no solution.

10 minutes later.

The salon owner brushed off the hair and said, “Sir, all done.”

“Yes, but let me ask you one more thing. Has the landlord always been so nagging?”

“No, he wasn’t like that at first. He was such a nice person. But he changed after his grandmother passed away a year ago.”

“Grandmother?”

“Yes, the two of them were very close. But after his grandmother passed away, he started tormenting the video store owner. It’s as if he’s deliberately trying to drive him out.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head. It was because of the salon owner’s last words.

The words ‘It’s as if he’s deliberately trying to drive him out.’

What could this mean?

Hyun-sung came out of the salon and asked Park Cheol-ho, “What do you think?”

“Well, I don’t know why the landlord is trying to drive out the tenant.”

“What’s clear is that there were no problems before the grandmother passed away.”

“That’s what’s strange. What does the grandmother’s death have to do with the tenant that he’s trying to drive him out?”

“Hmm…” Hyun-sung was silent, as if he was thinking about something.

After a while.

Hyun-sung spoke again. “What if the tenant is on his bad side?”

“On his bad side?”

“Yes, for some reason, the tenant is on the landlord’s bad side. So, the landlord is trying to drive the tenant out.”

“What could he have done wrong…”

“We can’t know that, but what’s clear is that it’s somehow related to the grandmother’s passing.”

“Hmm…”

This time, Park Cheol-ho was silent, as if he was thinking about something. He spoke again after a while.

“Could it be that the landlord is sulking?”

“Sulking?”

“Yes, at the tenant.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know exactly, but there’s no other way to explain it. The salon owner said that he was nice to him before his grandmother passed away.”

“Hmm…”

Hyun-sung seemed to think for a moment before continuing. “So, it all comes down to before and after the grandmother’s death. That means the tenant somehow upset the landlord when the grandmother passed away.”

“What could the tenant have done to upset him?”

“I don’t know, but I can only think of one thing.”

“One thing? What is it?” Park Cheol-ho’s eyes sparkled. If they could find that one thing, they could find out why the tenant was trying to leave.

Hyun-sung immediately said, “The funeral.”

“The funeral?”

“Yes, the tenant didn’t come to the funeral. I think that’s the only reason. The tenant ignored it. So, the landlord was offended.”

“So, he deliberately comes to the store and nags to drive him out?”

“That’s the only way we can infer it right now. Maybe the landlord was nice to the tenant at first.”

“But the tenant didn’t come to the funeral and ignored it?”

Hyun-sung nodded instead of answering. Park Cheol-ho asked again.

“Is that really why?”

“People’s feelings get hurt by very trivial things. From the landlord’s point of view, he must have been offended that the tenant didn’t even show his face after he had been so nice to him.”

“Honestly, I don’t understand it well, but that’s the only way we can think about it right now.”

“Anyway, it’s fortunate for us.”

“That’s right, it’s their problem, and it has nothing to do with us. So, are all the problems resolved now?”

“I think so. Resolving it like that makes me feel much better.”

Hyun-sung’s face brightened. Seeing that, Park Cheol-ho asked again.

“I was wondering why you suddenly went into the beauty salon earlier.”

“Beauty salons are usually the fastest at spreading rumors.”

“Anyway, you got a haircut because of me, even though you didn’t need one?”

“No, that’s not it… Alright, let’s go sign the contract.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two crossed the street and headed to the video store.

Clang!

As the two opened the store door and entered, the video store owner, who was sitting down, greeted them. “Oh? You’re the people who came a week ago!”

“Yes, how have you been?” Park Cheol-ho asked casually.

While the two were exchanging greetings, Hyun-sung began to examine the video display case again.

He had looked at it roughly last time, but this time the situation was different, so he was examining it carefully.

About 10 minutes passed.

Hyun-sung looked at the video store owner and asked, “I’m sorry, but I saw in the classifieds that you were asking for 1,500 [presumably a unit of currency] for the videos. Are you planning to get that full amount?”

“Why, is it too much?”

“I think if you could take off about 200, we could sign the contract today. To be honest, some of the items are missing. I think you know that better than anyone.”

“Hmm…” The video store owner seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing, “Alright, if someone else said that, I would honestly ignore it, but since you’re saying that, what can I do?”

“Then can we proceed with the contract knowing that?”

“Yes, let’s do that. As expected of someone who won against the movie industry, you have a keen eye for things.”

“…”

Hyun-sung nodded towards Park Cheol-ho instead of answering. It meant that he should proceed with the contract now.

Park Cheol-ho nodded as if he understood and said to the video store owner, “Mr. [사장 – Sajang, a Korean title for a business owner], shall we sign the contract now?”

“Yes, let’s do it.”

The two quickly proceeded with the contract.

30 minutes later.

After completing all the contracts, Park Cheol-ho looked at the video store owner and asked slyly, “Can I just confirm one thing?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Did you happen to go to the funeral when the landlord’s grandmother passed away a year ago…”

“No, there was no need to go that far, so I didn’t go, but why?”

“No, I was just curious.”

Park Cheol-ho finished speaking and looked at Hyun-sung. Hyun-sung nodded slightly and smiled.

It was the moment when the two’s expectations came true.

It was a moment of realizing once again that people’s feelings get hurt by very trivial things.