Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 666

669

***

The next day.

On the way to Incheon.

About 30 minutes after the car carrying the two of them left the house.

Yoon Ji-soo cautiously called out to Hyun-sung.

“Excuse me… Hyun-sung.”

“Yes, what is it? Is there something you want to say?”

“Well, that’s…”

Yoon Ji-soo couldn’t speak right away for some reason. Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Why are you hesitating so much about what you want to say?”

“It’s a little hard to say…”

“What is it?”

“Um…”

Yoon Ji-soo seemed to hesitate for a moment, then opened her mouth.

“You can’t call me a snob in return.”

“A snob?”

Hyun-sung glanced at her, taken aback by the word ‘snob.’ Then he immediately continued.

“What are you trying to say that even the word ‘snob’ is coming out?”

“There’s something like that. Actually, it’s something I’ve wanted to ask since yesterday.”

“Since yesterday?”

“Yes, I tried to hold back as much as possible, but I couldn’t bear it. So, I ended up blurting it out like this.”

“What on earth is it that has made our Ji-soo so troubled?”

Hyun-sung turned his head again and looked at her. Then Yoon Ji-soo nodded as if she had made up her mind and immediately continued.

“I’ll say it again, you can’t say anything to me.”

“Okay, okay, so tell me now. What on earth is it…”

“It’s about money.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head at the word ‘money.’

She had never talked about money before. But today, he couldn’t help but wonder why she was bringing up money.

“Tell me quickly. Now I’m curious too. Why is Ji-soo suddenly talking about money?”

“Ahem, ahem.”

She cleared her throat and then continued.

“It’s because of the 4 trillion [four million million won].”

“4 trillion?”

“Yes, yesterday you told me that your bank balance is over 4 trillion, right?”

“I did. So?”

“I can’t understand it no matter how much I think about it. How can an individual earn money in the trillions, not just billions?”

Pfft.

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but laugh. At first, he wondered what was going on when she brought up the word ‘snob.’ But it turned out that it was all about money. And it wasn’t anything else, but the amount of money Hyun-sung had earned.

Of course, it would never be easy for an ordinary individual to earn that much money. But Hyun-sung is not an ordinary individual.

He knows the future.

Moreover, there was the IMF crisis [International Monetary Fund crisis, a period of financial instability in South Korea in the late 1990s]. For those who don’t know, the IMF crisis may be a crisis, but for Hyun-sung, it was the opposite. It could only be another opportunity.

“Why are you laughing?”

“No, it’s nothing. I thought it was something else, but I didn’t know it was that.”

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand it. How can an individual earn money in the trillions?”

“That’s what you were curious about?”

“I can’t understand it with my common sense.”

Yoon Ji-soo’s expression was quite serious. Well, he thought she could be like that in her position.

Hyun-sung seemed to think for a moment, then immediately continued.

“Okay, listen carefully to what I’m going to say from now on.”

Yoon Ji-soo stared at Hyun-sung with wide eyes. Her expression said she wouldn’t miss a word.

“I earn about 20 billion [twenty thousand million won] a month. That’s net profit. You can calculate it right away because I said I earn 600 million [six hundred million won] a day.”

“Um… 600 million a day, so a month would be… Oh, yeah. That’s about right.”

“After about 4 years, it became about 1 trillion [one million million won]. That became the basic capital.”

“Are you saying you reinvested it?”

Her eyes were shining more than ever.

“Yes, that’s right. The first place I invested in was the dollar. I invested all my money in dollars before the IMF crisis broke out.”

“Then you must have earned at least twice as much there?”

“I earned two and a half times. Then I immediately bought stocks. Since it was the bottom anyway, I picked them up. And I waited a year and a half. Then one day, I saw that the current money was left in my account. How is it? Easy, right?”

“Is that real?”

“Yes, I used the IMF crisis. I moved in the opposite direction from others.”

In fact, it’s ridiculous. Hyun-sung was only able to move like that because he knew in advance.

Yoon Ji-soo tilted her head and said.

“That’s not as easy as it sounds, is it?”

“Of course. If it were easy, everyone else would have made money. That’s why I said yesterday that I was lucky. Is that okay now?”

Hyun-sung had no choice. He had no choice but to talk like this.

Meanwhile, Yoon Ji-soo kept tilting her head as if she was dissatisfied with something.

“This isn’t it…”

“I told you the truth. So, no more questions.”

“Woong~~!”

Yoon Ji-soo pouted as if she wasn’t satisfied. Then she opened her mouth again.

“Something’s strange.”

“What is it? I just told you the truth.”

“It’s strange. Hyun-sung is the only one who invested in the opposite direction and made money when even the experts are failing. Maybe…”

Yoon Ji-soo looked at Hyun-sung and narrowed her eyes. Then Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Maybe what?”

“Did you have a dream?”

“A dream?”

“You said you have a special ability, right? You said you dreamed about me before you met me, right? That’s why you came up to Incheon, right?”

Clack!

Hyun-sung flicked his thumb and middle finger hard. Then he immediately continued.

“That’s right. That’s it. I saw the IMF crisis in my dream in advance. So, I invested in dollars in advance.”

“Um…”

Yoon Ji-soo was silent for a while as if she was thinking about something. Then Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“It’s next year.”

“Next year? What do you mean by next year?”

“On December 4th next year, President Kim Dae-jung will officially announce at an official event that we have overcome the foreign exchange crisis.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s real. But in reality, the IMF management system will be completely terminated on August 23rd the year after next. That’s the day we pay off the remaining amount of 19.5 billion dollars.”

“…”

Yoon Ji-soo just stared at Hyun-sung instead of speaking. She seemed surprised that Hyun-sung was talking so specifically.

After a while.

Yoon Ji-soo opened her mouth.

“Are you talking about a dream now?”

“Yes, of course. But it will all come true.”

“No, how can…”

Yoon Ji-soo couldn’t believe it even while listening directly. But the important thing is that she can’t not believe it. He has already proven it.

“Anyway, we’ll be out of the foreign exchange crisis by August the year after next, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Exactly August 23rd.”

“It’s really amazing. How can this happen…”

Yoon Ji-soo shook her head, looking at Hyun-sung. Then Hyun-sung smiled and continued.

“I’m also amazed. Why do I have these dreams?”

Hyun-sung was disgusting even to himself. But he had no choice now. He had no way to persuade her unless he did this.

“Is there anything else?”

“What is it?”

“I mean dreams. Is there anything else special happening in our country?”

Yoon Ji-soo’s eyes looked serious. She seemed to believe Hyun-sung’s words. Seeing that, Hyun-sung seemed to think for a moment, then smiled.

“Why are you smiling?”

“There will be an event where the country is completely turned upside down with red light.”

“Turned upside down with red light? What does that mean? Are you saying there’s a war or something?”

“Soccer.”

“Soccer?”

“Yes, the country will be turned upside down with soccer. The 2002 World Cup.”

It was the moment when a smile spread across Hyun-sung’s face.

How could he forget? People who lived at that time, regardless of gender or age, will never forget the memories of that time.

The Red Devils [Korean national soccer team supporters], the red wave, the red T-shirts.

What’s amazing is that Hyun-sung also met Yoon Ji-soo at that time.

That’s why 2002 was a special year for Hyun-sung.

“What do you mean the country will be turned upside down with soccer?”

“We’ll get into the semi-finals.”

“Who? Our country?”

“Yes, so wouldn’t the country be turned upside down? All night long, Korea will be covered with Red Devils.”

“What are the Red Devils again?”

“It’s a cheering squad that supports the national soccer team. But in 2002, everyone will magically become Red Devils. Anyone will wear a red T-shirt and cheer. Of course, Ji-soo too.”

He became close to Yoon Ji-soo because of the World Cup.

She didn’t like soccer. What she liked was just the atmosphere of gathering and enjoying. But as the national team kept winning the games, at some point, she was cheering more passionately than anyone else.

“Me too? I don’t like soccer.”

“Don’t you like the atmosphere?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Later, Ji-soo also wore a red T-shirt and cheered together. More enthusiastically than anyone else.”

“That all came out in your dream?”

“Yes, it’s true. These are things that will happen in three years.”

It was a moment that was exciting just to think about. Anyway, the important thing is that he can enjoy that exhilarating moment one more time.

Was that why?

Hyun-sung’s face turned red because he was so excited.

“Are you that excited?”

“Yes, I get excited when I think about feeling that feeling again. Moreover, when I think about enjoying the World Cup with our child, that feeling is even more… Hooo!”

Hyun-sung gasped. In his previous life, it was just the two of them, Yoon Ji-soo, but this time, thinking about it being three of them, the feeling was beyond words.

Pfft.

Yoon Ji-soo also laughed. Then Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Why are you laughing?”

“When I think about the three of us sitting side by side and cheering, I can’t help but laugh.”

“That’s true. Haha…”

Hyun-sung laughed loudly. Then Yoon Ji-soo also started laughing along with Hyun-sung. The car carrying the two of them was already speeding towards Wonju, passing Hoengseong.

***

A few days later.

It was when he was passing in front of the community center for his morning exercise.

Someone called out to Hyun-sung as he passed by.

“President Kim.”

When he turned around, it was Lee Se-young, who was in charge of the shopping district association.

Hyun-sung greeted him happily.

“Hello, President.”

“Oh, yeah. Are you exercising?”

“Yes, that’s right. But what brings you here at this hour, President?”

“I was waiting to talk to President Kim.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head for a moment.

The current time is 6 a.m. It’s okay to have something to say, but the problem is the time. Is it such an urgent matter that he had to wait this early?

Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Is there something wrong?”

“As President Kim knows, you know that the shopping district meeting is tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, of course. I know that we’re meeting at Buheung Restaurant at 7 p.m.”

“Do you also know the agenda for tomorrow?”

“Of course. Didn’t the president say it last month? That we’re re-electing the president of the shopping district association.”

The term of the president of the shopping district association is two years. But that’s just a formality, and it’s common to just be reappointed. Of course, it’s different if there’s something special.

“That’s why I came to find President Kim.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head once again.

He naturally thought that Lee Se-young would remain as president. But a little while ago, Lee Se-young said that he came to find him about that issue. Doesn’t that mean that there’s a variable in the presidency?

“Is there something wrong?”

“You’re quick to notice as expected.”

“Are you saying…?”

“I’m going to quit the presidency.”