Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 681

“Honey!”

Having finished his business in Seoul and arrived home, Hyun-sung called out loudly for his wife, Yoon Ji-soo, as soon as he opened the front door. Hearing his unusual tone, Ji-soo, who had been preparing dinner in the kitchen, wondered if something was wrong and hurried to the living room.

“Hyun-sung, what is it?”

“It’s resolved.”

“Resolved? What…?”

Yoon Ji-soo looked at Hyun-sung, puzzled. She didn’t know what he meant by ‘resolved.’

“The commercial buildings. You know those five buildings we hadn’t acquired yet? Those buildings…”

Hyun-sung began to explain in detail what had happened in Seoul that day. The longer he spoke, the brighter her expression became.

Finally, when he finished, she immediately asked, “So, the bottom line is that you secured all five remaining buildings today?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Hyun-sung’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he answered.

In fact, even he hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. He had gone to Seoul primarily to deal with the two buildings at the intersection.

But things had unfolded remarkably easily.

The building owner, Park Yoon-sung, had handed over the buildings with surprising willingness. Of course, there was a reason: he was impressed by the positive impact the cherry blossoms had made on the countryside. Because of that, he readily agreed to hand over the building in Bupyeong.

But surprisingly, that wasn’t the end of it. He had then presented Hyun-sung with a business card.

At first, Hyun-sung assumed it was Park Yoon-sung’s own. But it belonged to Na Sang-joon, the owner of the three buildings across from the herbal medicine shop.

Park Yoon-sung explained that they were friends and suggested Hyun-sung meet with him, saying he would call ahead and that Hyun-sung would hear good news.

Nevertheless, Hyun-sung had approached the meeting with some apprehension, unsure of how Na Sang-joon would react.

But something unexpected happened: Na Sang-joon gave his approval within ten minutes of the conversation starting.

He said he had already received a thorough explanation from his friend, Park Yoon-sung.

That’s how everything had been resolved so smoothly.

As a result, Hyun-sung couldn’t help but feel better than ever.

“Things worked out strangely well, didn’t they?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I was actually worried heading up to Seoul.”

And with good reason. In his previous life, those five buildings had been holdouts, never sold, and ultimately excluded from the development.

“So, you’ve now acquired 100% of the commercial buildings?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m going to Seoul with CEO Yoo from the real estate office tomorrow to sign the contracts. Then the commercial buildings will be completely taken care of.”

“That’s great. Clearing those commercial buildings was the first step to starting construction as soon as possible…”

“Exactly. Now, we’ll start construction in July at the latest. After all, we’ve already finalized agreements with the commercial tenants.”

Things were progressing faster than expected, largely thanks to Park Yoon-sung, whom he’d met that day. If he had remained stubborn, it would have been difficult to begin construction so quickly.

Whatever the reason, Hyun-sung was in high spirits.

Sniff sniff.

Hyun-sung suddenly began to sniff the air.

“Is that braised mackerel for dinner?”

“Yes, it is. I made braised mackerel, your favorite. Go wash your hands and come sit down.”

“Oh, wait a minute.”

Hyun-sung stopped Yoon Ji-soo as she turned toward the kitchen. He placed his right hand on her stomach.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t said hello to our Tun-Tun [term of endearment for their unborn child] yet. Tun-Tun, did you have a good day with Mom today?”

“Yes~ Daddy~”

Yoon Ji-soo smiled and imitated a baby’s voice. Hyun-sung, seeing her playful expression, smiled brightly and continued, “Do you know how happy this dad is these days because of our Tun-Tun?”

“Yes~ Daddy~. Me too~”

“Thank you for having a good time with Mom today!”

“Yes~ Please wash your hands and have a meal~”

“Yes, I understand.”

With those words, Hyun-sung hugged his wife tightly, stroking her back.

“You worked hard too.”

“Hyun-sung, you worked hard too. Now, wash your hands and let’s eat.”

Even in her previous life, she had never spoken informally to him. Despite the seven-year age difference, she always used polite language [formal Korean speech].

Years later, he had asked her why.

Her answer was simple: respect.

She deliberately used polite language because she believed that if she didn’t respect her husband, she wouldn’t be respected by others.

And there was another reason: she disliked the way some couples spoke informally, calling each other ‘Hey’ or ‘You.’

As a result, they had continued to use polite language with each other even after fifteen years of marriage.

Tap tap.

Hyun-sung patted her back lightly a few times and headed to the kitchen sink.

About thirty minutes passed.

The two were nearly finished eating.

Yoon Ji-soo asked Hyun-sung, “Do you have any news about your sister?”

“You mean Ji-yeon?”

“Yes, your sister will be thirty next year. I hope she meets a good person before it’s too late, but there doesn’t seem to be any news. Or maybe she’s not telling us…”

“Um…”

Hyun-sung hesitated to answer.

He was also curious about his sister’s love life.

However, it wasn’t easy to discuss because her life was so different from her previous one.

In her previous life, she had graduated from Nanyangju Girls’ Commercial High School and gotten a job there.

She had met a man at the same workplace.

But this time, she hadn’t gone to Namyangju at all.

This time, she had graduated from the College of Education and was working as a middle school teacher in Chuncheon.

She was living a completely different life.

His sister had met her husband in her previous life when she was twenty-eight, last year. But there had been no news this time around.

He figured that her life had changed because her environment had changed.

For Hyun-sung, this was a great relief.

His sister’s married life had been miserable in her previous life, plagued by gambling and violence.

She had ended up getting divorced at forty.

For Hyun-sung, it had been the most heartbreaking thing to witness.

“If we wait, there will be good news.”

It was Hyun-sung’s biggest wish. Having watched her endure such a difficult marriage in her previous life, he simply hoped that she would meet a good person and be happy this time.

“I was wondering if you had heard anything from Hyun-sung.”

“If I had, wouldn’t I have told you? Would I have kept it to myself?”

“I guess so.”

Yoon Ji-soo nodded and got up from her seat, starting to clear the table. Hyun-sung jumped up and took her hand.

“Just sit there. I’ll clean up.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Not at all. I’m not tired because I’m in such a good mood today. Just sit here and rest, honey.”

With those words, Hyun-sung began to clear the dinner dishes.

Just then…

Ring!

The cell phone rang.

Hyun-sung said to Yoon Ji-soo, “I’ll answer the phone and clean up, so just relax.”

“Okay, answer the phone first.”

Yoon Ji-soo said with a smile. Hyun-sung answered the phone.

“Hello.”

“Hyun-sung, it’s me.”

The caller was Lee Jung-woo, who had mentioned going on a blind date that morning.

Hyun-sung was immediately excited. He was curious about how the blind date had gone.

“Hey, Jung-woo. How was the blind date?”

“Uh? That’s…”

Lee Jung-woo hesitated. Hyun-sung immediately pressed him.

“Why? Didn’t it go well?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“What is it? If it’s neither this nor that, then what happened? I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“That’s…”

Lee Jung-woo still couldn’t get the words out. Hyun-sung was getting frustrated.

Hyun-sung shouted without thinking, “Hey, Lee Jung-woo!”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Are you really going to do this? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for your call all day?”

“Hyun-sung!”

Lee Jung-woo suddenly said Hyun-sung’s name in a serious tone.

The moment he heard that voice, Hyun-sung thought, ‘What is this?’

Lee Jung-woo’s serious tone was so rare that it was unfamiliar. Something must have happened.

Unlike before, Hyun-sung was now worried.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Something happened, didn’t it?”

“No, it’s not that. I have something to tell you.”

“To me? What is it?”

“That’s… I didn’t go on the blind date.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? You clearly said this morning that you were going on a blind date today. Why didn’t you go? You didn’t even go to the location?”

He had clearly said he was going on a blind date. But now he was saying he didn’t go. Hyun-sung assumed he hadn’t even gone to the meeting place.

“It’s not that. I lied to you.”

“What? A lie? What are you talking about? What lie did you tell me?”

“Actually, the blind date was a lie. There was no blind date from the beginning.”

“What? There was no blind date?”

Hyun-sung was dumbfounded.

He had been so happy to get a call from him that morning, thinking he was going on a blind date. But it was all a lie?

Meanwhile, another thought occurred to Hyun-sung.

There had to be a reason for the lie.

Lee Jung-woo was Hyun-sung’s most trusted friend, and the feeling was mutual.

For him to lie…

It was almost impossible.

But the fact that he did meant there must be a good reason.

Hyun-sung, having gathered his thoughts, immediately asked, “What’s the reason?”

“Reason?”

“Yeah, man. If you lied to me like that, there must have been a reason why you had no choice? You wouldn’t have lied to me for no reason, would you?”

Hyun-sung held the phone closer to his ear, curious about the reason.

Then, Lee Jung-woo’s voice came through the phone.

“Actually, I’ve been seeing someone for three months.”

“What? Since three months ago?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Huh!”

Hyun-sung was so dumbfounded he laughed.

This was completely unexpected.

It was Lee Jung-woo, not someone else. Lee Jung-woo, who he considered his closest friend in both this life and his previous one.

He’d been seeing someone for three months?

No, even if he could understand that, the problem was why he hadn’t said anything until now.

He knew that Hyun-sung would be happier than anyone to hear the news.

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but ask the reason.

“What’s the reason?”

“Reason?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you tell me you’ve been seeing someone for three months? You know I’d be the happiest person to hear that news. Huh? You bastard?”

Hyun-sung’s voice sharpened without him realizing it.

No matter how much he tried to understand, he couldn’t help but be angry. It showed how much he valued their friendship.

“Because of you.”

“What? Because of me?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t tell you because it was you.”

What was that supposed to mean? The reason was Hyun-sung himself?

Hyun-sung couldn’t understand it no matter how hard he tried.

“Hey, that doesn’t make any sense. What do you mean you couldn’t tell me because it was me?”

“I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“What? Disappoint?”

Hyun-sung tilted his head at the word ‘disappointment.’ Why was that word coming up?

Disappointment?

Who was he seeing…?

No, this didn’t make sense. Dating was about people meeting people. The word ‘disappointment’ shouldn’t even be a factor, no matter who the other person was.

“Hey, are you out of your mind? I don’t know who you’re seeing, but why is the word ‘disappointment’ coming up? This isn’t right, you bastard!”

“You’re close to that woman. That’s why you’re going to be disappointed.”

“So, you’re saying I’m going to be disappointed in *you* because I’m close to that woman? Not disappointed in *her*.”

At first, Hyun-sung had thought he would be disappointed in the woman. But after listening to him, the disappointment he was talking about was directed at Lee Jung-woo himself.

That meant Hyun-sung and this woman were close.

Then who was he talking about?

“Hey, who is that woman?”

“Uh, that’s…”

Lee Jung-woo hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Ji-yeon.”