Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 671

That afternoon.

Hyun-sung checked his watch. It was just past 1:30 PM.

Right then.

Knock, knock.

The office door opened with a knock.

“Is this CEO Kim Hyun-sung’s office?”

A man who looked to be in his early 60s asked, looking directly at Hyun-sung as he entered.

Hyun-sung immediately recognized him as Yoon Tae-ho, the construction contractor Chairman Shin Chun-oh had mentioned.

“I am Kim Hyun-sung. Are you perhaps CEO Yoon Tae-ho?”

“Yes, that’s right. I am Yoon Tae-ho.”

“Welcome. I received a call from the Chairman this morning. He said you would be here around two o’clock, but you’re earlier than expected.”

“Yes, I left Seoul a bit early, just in case.”

*You can tell a lot from a little,* Hyun-sung thought. Arriving 30 minutes early for an appointment spoke volumes about the man’s character.

“Please, have a seat over here. Have you had lunch yet?”

“Yes, I ate in Seoul before leaving.”

“Then, would you like some coffee?”

“Yes, I would appreciate that.”

“I have both brewed coffee and instant mix coffee. Which would you prefer?”

He had prepared different types of coffee knowing everyone had different preferences.

“I’ll have the instant mix. I’m mostly on-site, so I like the sweet mix.”

“Yes, please wait a moment.”

Hyun-sung immediately got hot water from the water purifier, made the coffee, and placed it in front of Yoon Tae-ho, who had settled into a chair.

“Thank you for coming all the way to Incheon.”

“No, of course, I should be the one coming. But you’re quite young, more than I expected.”

Yoon Tae-ho had been surprised the moment he entered the office. Chairman Shin Chun-oh hadn’t mentioned Hyun-sung’s age, so he had expected someone at least over 50. Seeing a man in his early 30s was naturally surprising.

“It seems the Chairman didn’t tell you much about me?”

“No, that’s right. He only gave me the office address and name. And he told me not to even think about playing games with you since you are like a grandson to him.”

“A grandson? Haha….”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but laugh at the word ‘grandson.’

In fact, there was a time when he called Chairman Shin Chun-oh ‘Grandfather.’

But when he actually tried to call him that, it wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. The chairman wasn’t just any Sangwoo Association chairman; he was the former chairman of a major corporation, so it felt strange to call him ‘Grandfather.’ So, he had no choice but to go back to calling him ‘Chairman.’

“The Chairman thinks highly of you.”

“Of course, I also feel a special connection to the Chairman. That’s why I asked you to handle this construction project.”

With those words, Hyun-sung turned his gaze to the large map on the wall.

A large map, like one you would find in a real estate office, was hanging on the wall, with the location for the construction marked with a fluorescent pen.

As Hyun-sung’s gaze turned to the map, Yoon Tae-ho also naturally shifted his gaze to the wall where the map was hanging.

After a moment, Yoon Tae-ho quickly took a sip of his coffee and got up from his seat, walking towards the map.

After a short examination, Yoon Tae-ho pointed to the area marked with the fluorescent pen and asked.

“Is this where you’re going to build this time?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Hyun-sung answered and got up from his seat, walking towards the map. Then, pointing to the map with his hand, he continued.

“As you can see, we’re going to build a mixed-use building along this road. And here, this area will be developed into a park. For your information, there are a total of four park sites.”

“Did you just say there are four park sites?”

Yoon Tae-ho looked at Hyun-sung with surprised eyes. Hyun-sung nodded and continued.

“Yes, that’s right. If you look here….”

Hyun-sung pointed to the map one by one, explaining in detail where the building would be built and where the park would be developed.

As his explanation grew longer, Yoon Tae-ho wore a look of incomprehension. He even tilted his head, glancing at Hyun-sung as he spoke.

And finally, when Hyun-sung’s explanation ended, Yoon Tae-ho immediately asked.

“Are you really going to build like this?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“May I ask why?”

“What reason are you asking about…?”

“The park. I’m asking why you’re creating a park instead of a building on commercial land, not even in a general residential area.”

Yoon Tae-ho was dumbfounded.

Did this make any sense? Who would create a park that doesn’t help at all in a space where they could build a building? And four of them, at that, which would cost hundreds of billions of won [hundreds of millions of USD] in terms of money.

“Why wouldn’t I have been greedy for money? But I realized that there was something more precious than that.”

“Something more precious than money? What is it?”

Yoon Tae-ho asked the question, but he snickered inwardly. *He’s still naive because he’s young,* he thought.

*Something more precious than money?*

*Could there really be such a thing in modern society?*

Hyun-sung’s answer followed.

“My child. And, furthermore, all of our children. I hope you understand it as the heart of a father who wants our children to run and play freely in nature.”

“…….”

Yoon Tae-ho was speechless.

Just a moment ago, he had scoffed inwardly because Hyun-sung said there was something more precious than money.

But the word ‘child’ came out of his mouth.

And he said it was the heart of a father for his children.

*The heart of a father for his children!*

What could he say to that?

He felt embarrassed that he had been mocking him a moment ago.

After thinking for a moment, Yoon Tae-ho finished the remaining coffee and immediately opened his mouth.

“I’ve traveled around the country and built countless buildings, but this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. I don’t know what to say. I’m just amazed that you can even think of such a thing.”

“I hesitated at first too. But when I thought about becoming a father, I decided that this was the right thing to do for the future.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m abnormal, but I don’t think I can understand you no matter how much I think about it. Please don’t hate me for saying this. In my opinion, out of ten people, there won’t be anyone who understands you.”

“It’s okay. I only need one person to understand me.”

“One person?”

Yoon Tae-ho tilted his head, and after thinking for a moment, he immediately asked.

“Who is that one person?”

“My wife. I only need my wife to understand me.”

“So, your wife knows about this situation and has already agreed to it?”

“Of course. My wife was the first person I discussed it with.”

“…….”

Yoon Tae-ho nodded silently. A faint smile was spreading across his face. It was definitely different from his expression a moment ago.

He looked at Hyun-sung and opened his mouth again.

“You’re both amazing. I don’t think I could ever make the same decision as you two, even if I died and came back to life. Anyway, you said that after building the mixed-use building, you’re going to start building villas, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. We’re still buying up general houses, and if we continue to buy them for the next two years, we should be somewhat prepared.”

“Are you planning to create a park in the villa complex as well?”

“Yes, of course. And all the parking lots will be 100% underground. Not only that….”

Hyun-sung began to explain again how he would create the villa complex.

After a while, when Hyun-sung’s explanation ended, Yoon Tae-ho was silent for a while, then suddenly opened his mouth.

“Okay, I understand your intentions. To be honest, it’s so different from the common sense I’ve lived with so far that I’m a bit confused, but that’s my problem. I’ll organize the parts you’ve mentioned so far and come back in a few days. Then, let’s sign the contract formally.”

“Yes, I understand. Please take good care of me.”

“By the way, you said this is all a cash construction, right?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll make the deposit right away according to the progress of the construction. But how long will it take?”

Hyun-sung was thinking of two years. If it could be completed within that time, he wouldn’t ask for anything more.

“Well, the exact time will depend on further calculations, but….”

“1 billion.”

“1 billion? What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry to say this, but I’ll deposit 1 billion won [~750,000 USD] into your personal account every day as a special bonus.”

“1 billion a day? What are the conditions?”

Yoon Tae-ho was sixty-two years old this year. There was no way he wouldn’t know what that meant. So, he immediately asked about the conditions.

“The construction period I want is two years. But if you shorten that period by even one day, that’s a special gift I’ll give you.”

“1 billion a day, 10 billion in ten days?”

“Yes, that’s right. 30 billion in a month [~22.5 million USD].”

“Heh heh….”

Yoon Tae-ho couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. But that was only for a moment. Yoon Tae-ho suddenly grabbed Hyun-sung’s hand.

“I’ll work hard!”

Yoon Tae-ho’s eyes were shining brighter than ever.

1 billion a day. What was there to hesitate about?

In any case, the construction schedule depended on how much equipment was put in.

He said the payment method was cash, not promissory notes.

*This was a piece of cake.*

He could shorten it by at least two months; two months would be enough.

60 billion suddenly started flying around in Yoon Tae-ho’s head.

After a while, Yoon Tae-ho was about to leave the office, but he asked again, just in case.

“Is this the end of the construction?”

“The *real* construction will be in 15 years.”

“Yes? The *real* construction?”

Yoon Tae-ho couldn’t help but be surprised. The commercial building and villa construction alone would cost at least 2 trillion won [~1.5 billion USD]. That alone was a huge construction project. But now, this man was saying that the *real* construction would be in 15 years.

Then, what was the scale of the real construction?

Yoon Tae-ho asked again.

“Can you tell me what that real construction is?”

“I’m going to build a 50-story building.”

“Yes? 50 stories?”

Yoon Tae-ho couldn’t believe his ears.

Then Hyun-sung’s words continued again.

“But that building is a twin.”

“A tw-twin?”

“Yes, that’s my final goal.”

“…….”

Yoon Tae-ho couldn’t say anything more.

***

Yoon Tae-ho, who came out of Hyun-sung’s office and returned to his car.

“Hoo…!”

He took a breath first.

Building a 50-story building?

And not just one, but two.

He said that if he finished this construction well, he would entrust the next construction to him as well.

“Heh heh….”

Yoon Tae-ho suddenly started laughing.

After a while, Yoon Tae-ho took out his cell phone and started making a call somewhere.

-Hello.

“Chairman, it’s me.”

The person Yoon Tae-ho called was Shin Chun-oh, the former chairman of Nongshim.

-Oh, yes. CEO Yoon. How did the work go?

“Yes, Chairman. I’m just coming out of CEO Kim’s office now. Thanks to you, I’ve been entrusted with a big construction project. Thank you.”

-What thanks, between us. Anyway, what was it like meeting CEO Kim?

“He was definitely different from ordinary people. Well, he’s going to create a park on about 40% of that large land. I still can’t understand it no matter how much I think about it.”

-Heh heh, I was like that at first too. But you know, when I thought about it a little more, I thought it might be better for the future.”

From Yoon Tae-ho’s point of view, it was still hard to understand.

“What do you mean it’s better for the future?”

-Think about what that neighborhood will be like in 20 or 30 years. What do you think it will be like then?

“Well, wouldn’t it be like a village in the forest because the trees have grown?”

-That’s right. Have you ever heard of Forest Rights, CEO Yoon?

“Ah, so in the end….”

Yoon Tae-ho stopped talking and clapped his knees. Chairman Shin Chun-oh was right. In 20 or 30 years, this place would be the best residential environment in Korea. The entire village would be surrounded by large trees. Wouldn’t that be Forest Rights as it is?

“So, CEO Kim saw the future?”

-When I see it, that neighborhood will be the best place to live in Korea in 20 or 30 years. CEO Kim was aiming for that.

“Now that I think about it, that seems to be the case. CEO Kim is a remarkable person. How can he think of such a thing….”

Yoon Tae-ho had no choice but to admit it. At first, he just thought it was ridiculous, but the more he thought about it, the more he thought it was amazing.

-And is there anything else?

“Yes, there is.”

-What else is there? What is it?

“He’s going to build a 50-story building in 15 years. And as twins.”

-What, 50 stories? And as twins?

“Yes, that’s right. It seems like the end of my life will be with CEO Kim. It’s all thanks to you, Chairman.”

-Heh heh, 50 stories….”

Only Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s hollow laughter was heard over the receiver.