Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 649

The moment Hyun-sung heard Yoon Ji-soo’s trembling voice, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

Hyun-sung asked right away,

“Ji-soo, what’s wrong?”

“I… I don’t feel well.”

“What? What’s wrong with you?”

“Since a little while ago… my stomach hurts.”

Her voice was still trembling.

Hyun-sung had already left the real estate office while on the phone and was heading to the parking lot at a fast pace. He was ready to rush to her if necessary.

Hyun-sung first checked her location.

“Where are you now?”

“I’m resting in the fitting room for a bit. But I think… ugh.”

He could hear her groaning over the phone. It was the moment he was sure something had happened.

Hyun-sung shouted her name urgently as he ran.

“Ji-soo!”

“…Yes.”

“Is anyone with you right now?”

“No one. Everyone’s working right now…”

“Call 119 [the emergency services number in South Korea], right now!”

“I can’t, it’s still working hours… I have an hour before I can switch shifts…”

“It’s not about working hours right now…”

Hyun-sung stopped talking. He immediately realized that these words were unnecessary in this situation. He knew very well that she would try to hold out until her working hours were over, no matter what.

“Ji-soo, hang up for now. I’ll take care of it, so just wait a moment.”

“I…”

Hyun-sung heard her voice over the phone, but he ignored it and hung up immediately. Then, he immediately called 119 and explained the situation.

Since she wouldn’t call 119 herself, Hyun-sung had no choice but to report it instead.

Vroom!

Arriving at the parking lot, Hyun-sung turned on the headlights and hazard lights as soon as he got in the car and immediately started driving. The Jeep, after leaving the parking lot, ignored the traffic lights and headed towards the Mi Rae Department Store in Guwol-dong.

It usually took about 30 minutes, but Hyun-sung arrived in 15 minutes and went straight to the department store’s main entrance instead of the parking lot. An ambulance was already waiting in front of the main entrance.

Thump, thump!

Hyun-sung immediately ran up to the 3rd floor where Yoon Ji-soo worked. Then, he headed straight to store number 36. It was the clothing store where she worked.

“I’m not going!”

The moment he arrived at the store, he heard her voice right away. It was coming from the fitting room behind the store.

Hyun-sung immediately headed to the fitting room.

“I said I’m not going!”

He heard her sharp voice again. A paramedic was standing in front of her. Sweat was pouring down her body. It was clear at a glance that her condition was serious.

Step!

Without hesitation, Hyun-sung immediately entered the fitting room where she was sitting.

“Oh? Hyun-sung!”

“Why are you being stubborn?”

“It’s working hours right now…”

It was then.

Before Yoon Ji-soo could finish speaking, Hyun-sung picked her up in his arms. Then, he immediately said to the paramedic,

“Let’s go!”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

The paramedic also noticed the situation and immediately took the lead. It had been less than a minute since Hyun-sung arrived.

“Hyun-sung, I told you I’m not going to the hospital!”

“No, you have to go. Look at all this sweat. Why are you being stubborn?”

“I’ll get fired if I go like this!”

Hyun-sung finally understood why Yoon Ji-soo had been confronting the paramedic.

“Your health comes first!”

Hyun-sung hurried down the stairs. But Yoon Ji-soo, as if making a last-ditch effort, spoke again in an even louder voice.

“Hyun-sung, I’m telling you I’ll get fired!”

“I’ll take responsibility. I’ve been planning this anyway. I won’t stand by and watch you standing all day any longer.”

It was true. Her feet were swollen every evening from standing all day. Every time he saw that, he wanted to tell her to quit the department store.

But he couldn’t.

It was too early.

It wasn’t realistic to tell her to quit her job when they had only been dating for less than a year.

Yoon Ji-soo looked up at Hyun-sung and called his name.

“Hyun-sung!”

“Don’t you know me yet? I’m a man of my word. Today is your last day here.”

Arriving on the first floor, Hyun-sung immediately took Yoon Ji-soo to the ambulance. Then, the paramedic who had come down earlier and was waiting immediately opened the back door, laid Yoon Ji-soo on the stretcher bed, and began emergency treatment.

“Ji-soo, I’ll see you at the hospital soon.”

As soon as Hyun-sung finished speaking, the ambulance immediately left the department store’s main entrance with a loud siren. Then, Hyun-sung also started chasing right behind it.

The ambulance arrived at Gil Hospital in less than 10 minutes. Fortunately, it was possible because the distance between the department store and the hospital was not far.

“It’s acute appendicitis, so we need to operate immediately. Right now…”

That was the diagnosis from the emergency room. If they didn’t operate immediately, the appendix could burst and cause peritonitis, where pus spreads in the abdomen, which could complicate the surgery.

“…I’m scared.”

Those were the last words Yoon Ji-soo said in front of the operating room. Hyun-sung held her hand tightly and said,

“Just think of it as taking a nap. The surgery is simple because the appendix hasn’t burst yet, so just bear with it.”

Watching Yoon Ji-soo enter the operating room, Hyun-sung unconsciously put his hands together and began to pray.

Several hours later.

“Ugh…”

A groan barely escaped from Yoon Ji-soo’s mouth as she woke up from anesthesia. Then, Hyun-sung, who was next to her, immediately grabbed Yoon Ji-soo’s hand and said,

“Ji-soo, are you waking up now?”

“Ugh… Hyun-sung?”

Yoon Ji-soo barely turned her head to look at Hyun-sung. She was still in a daze because the anesthesia hadn’t completely worn off. But she had no problem recognizing people. A strange sight caught her eye.

It was the fact that there was no one else in the hospital room besides herself.

Yoon Ji-soo immediately asked,

“Where is this?”

“It’s a hospital room.”

“But why is no one here?”

She knew it was a hospital room, of course. She had surgery, so she must have been hospitalized. But what she was curious about was why there was no one else in the room besides herself.

Yoon Ji-soo asked again out of curiosity,

“Is this… a private room?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a private room.”

At the word “private room,” Yoon Ji-soo immediately thought of the hospital bill.

“Why? It’s expensive here?”

“It doesn’t matter. This is nothing for Ji-soo. Don’t worry about that and just focus on your health.”

With those words, Hyun-sung pressed the button at the head of the bed. He had been told by the nurse to let them know when the patient woke up.

A moment later.

A nurse entered the hospital room.

“Yoon Ji-soo, how are you feeling?”

“It hurts.”

“Yes, it will hurt a bit because you had surgery. But it was fortunate that you had surgery quickly without being late. It would have been a disaster if you had been a little late. And as a woman, I’m envious.”

“Yes?”

Yoon Ji-soo stared at the nurse, not knowing what she was talking about. Then, the nurse glanced at Hyun-sung and continued,

“I’ve never seen a husband so devoted to his wife.”

“Yes?”

“Your husband didn’t leave your side for a moment after the surgery.”

“…”

Instead of answering, Yoon Ji-soo looked at Hyun-sung, who was standing next to her.

Then the nurse spoke again.

“The painkiller is kicking in, so the pain will be gone in a bit. And…”

After the nurse finished giving instructions and left, Yoon Ji-soo immediately called Hyun-sung.

“Hyun-sung, come here.”

As Hyun-sung approached the bed, Yoon Ji-soo immediately asked,

“What happened?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Since when have you been my husband?”

“Ah, that. Before the surgery, they needed a consent form, and there was a place to write the relationship.”

“And?”

“I couldn’t write ‘video store owner’ there, could I? Don’t you think?”

She chuckled.

Yoon Ji-soo couldn’t help but laugh. It was true that she felt strange when the nurse said “husband” a little while ago. She had never thought she would hear such a word in her life.

Yoon Ji-soo looked at Hyun-sung again.

“So you wrote husband?”

“Yes, did I do well?”

“Yes? Pfft.”

Yoon Ji-soo couldn’t help but laugh at Hyun-sung’s answer. But the problem was that she had just had surgery.

“Ouch!”

“Why? Does it hurt?”

“Don’t make me laugh. It hurts my stomach when I laugh.”

Yoon Ji-soo wrapped her arms around her stomach. Then, Hyun-sung, seeing that, immediately said,

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“No, I’m okay. Anyway, Hyun-sung, you’re a really funny person when you look at it.”

“Yes? Why am I?”

“You made a perfectly good virgin into a married woman. What are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean, what am I going to do? I’ll take responsibility. You told me to take responsibility last time, didn’t you?”

“I was too drunk at the time and wasn’t in my right mind.”

He chuckled.

This time, Hyun-sung smiled as he looked at Yoon Ji-soo. Then, Yoon Ji-soo immediately asked,

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m just so relieved. I was really surprised earlier.”

“I don’t know how scared I was. My stomach was hurting so much, and there was still time left in my shift… Ah, right! What am I going to do now?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“I think I’m going to get fired from the department store…”

It was the moment Yoon Ji-soo’s expression darkened rapidly. Hyun-sung, seeing that, immediately said as if it was nothing,

“That’s a good thing.”

“Yes? What do you mean? I’m just thinking about that one thing…”

“No, quit the department store this time. I won’t stand by and watch your feet swell up every evening any longer.”

Hyun-sung took Yoon Ji-soo’s hand. Then, he immediately continued,

“Ji-soo, listen to me carefully. I made up my mind while carrying Ji-soo down from the department store earlier.”

“Made up your mind?”

“Yes, I’ve decided that I won’t leave Ji-soo here alone any longer. Actually, I’ve been worried a lot. Every time I heard that Ji-soo’s feet hurt, I felt like a criminal. But I won’t just stand by and watch any longer.”

Hyun-sung continued to speak.

“I’ve been holding back until now because of Ji-soo’s privacy, but I won’t hold back any longer. Even if the department store asks Ji-soo to come back, I’ll stop it now.”

“…”

Yoon Ji-soo couldn’t say anything. It was because of Hyun-sung’s very serious appearance. It was true that she had been bothered ever since she heard him say, ‘I won’t stand by and watch any longer’ while carrying her down from the department store earlier. She felt sincerity in those words.

“From now on, I’ll help you achieve the dreams you’ve always wanted to achieve.”

“Dreams?”

“Do you remember? You told me last time that you wanted to open a pretty cafe if you ever had the chance.”

“That was just from being drunk…”

“You know what they say about drunk talk, right? I know that’s not just something you said.”

That was true. She had said that in her past life too. She said that she didn’t want a big cafe, but she wanted to run a cafe of a moderate size. But that wish couldn’t be fulfilled. The reason was simple: lack of ability. She didn’t have the ability to do so.

Hyun-sung continued to speak.

“You have a barista license, right?”

“Yes, I already got that a long time ago…”

“See, you’ve already prepared everything, haven’t you?”

“But I still…”

“Don’t worry about anything else. I’ll prepare everything else. I’ll make a pretty cafe based on your favorite yellow color, so you just run it.”

“Where does that happen?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not giving it all to you for free.”

Hyun-sung had no choice. He knew that not doing so would be disrespecting her.

Hyun-sung continued to speak.

“How about 5:5? You run it, and I invest. And we split the profits in half.”

“Really?”