Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 689

A few days later.

“Be strong, stay with Mom today while Dad goes to work.”

“Yes, Dad~ Have a good day!”

As Hyun-sung said his goodbyes, his wife, Yoon Ji-soo, replied in a baby voice, her face radiant with smiles. It was clear to anyone how happy she was.

Hyun-sung’s face mirrored her joy as he looked at her.

This was his routine every morning before heading to work.

It was a stark contrast to his past life.

All of this was possible because he had met her four years earlier.

Hyun-sung left the house and headed straight for his office.

The commute took about 20 minutes. Initially, he drove, but lately, he preferred to walk for the exercise.

He was passing by the old Movie Heart location.

“Mr. Kim.”

Someone called out to Hyun-sung. He turned and saw Yoo Seung-il, who used to run Movie Heart but now owned a book cafe, waving to him.

Hyun-sung greeted him warmly.

“Hello, Mr. Yoo!”

“Are you on your way to work?”

“Yes, but are you already open?”

It was a little after 8 a.m. Yoo Seung-il’s book cafe usually opened at 9 a.m., so Hyun-sung was surprised to see him already there.

“I decided to open an hour earlier starting in July. Figured it would be a good idea with the summer heat. Would you like to grab a cup of coffee if you have time?”

“Coffee?”

“Coffee is just an excuse. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something, Mr. Kim.”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

Hyun-sung readily agreed and entered the book cafe.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air.

“I made it light, just how you like it, Mr. Kim. I hope you enjoy it.”

Yoo Seung-il poured coffee into a white mug and placed it in front of Hyun-sung.

Saying he made the coffee to suit Hyun-sung’s taste implied he had been expecting him. This meeting wasn’t a coincidence.

Hyun-sung took a sip of coffee and said,

“You were waiting for me, weren’t you?”

“As I said, I have something to discuss with you.”

“Alright, please tell me.”

Hyun-sung looked directly at Yoo Seung-il, curious about what was so important that he had been waiting since morning to discuss it.

“When will the construction of the shopping center begin?”

“Once the compensation [payments to landowners] is finalized this week, we’ll start construction next week. The contractor is coming to the office today to discuss the details.”

“The construction is starting sooner than I anticipated.”

There was no reason to delay the shopping center’s construction. From the outset, the prospective tenants had agreed to the project.

Moreover, the sooner the construction began, the sooner it would be completed, which was ideal.

“There’s no reason to delay. The tenants are on board, and the compensation is nearly complete, so we’re moving forward.”

“I see… And when is the expected completion date?”

“Two years. That’s the timeline agreed upon with the contractor. Of course, it could potentially be finished sooner.”

The initial contract with the contractor stipulated a two-year completion timeframe. Hyun-sung had even added a clause: he would deposit 1 billion won [approximately $800,000 USD] into the contractor, Yoon Tae-ho’s, personal account for each day the completion was expedited.

That’s how eager Hyun-sung was to accelerate the project.

“So, at the latest, the shopping center will be completed within two years?”

“Yes, that’s correct, assuming construction proceeds as planned. Is that what you were wondering about?”

Yoo Seung-il shook his head slightly. He had another question in mind.

He continued, “No, I’m curious about something else.”

“What is it?”

“I’m curious about the sale price of the units.”

“Ah, yes.”

Hyun-sung nodded. He figured that if he were Yoo Seung-il, the sale price would be his primary concern.

However, Hyun-sung himself didn’t have an estimate yet.

“I don’t have an estimate for the sale price yet, unfortunately.”

“Do you know when that information will be available?”

“I plan to ask the contractor when we meet today. But please keep this in mind: the prices won’t be higher than in other areas.”

“Didn’t you mention at the last shopping center meeting that the construction costs were significantly higher than elsewhere?”

He had definitely said that, explaining that the increased cost was due to measures taken to mitigate noise between floors.

“Of course, I did.”

“Then?”

If the costs were high, the sale price would naturally increase. That was Yoo Seung-il’s point.

“We can lower the profit margin.”

“Lower the profit margin?”

“Yes, I’m not an apartment or shopping center salesman driven solely by profit. That’s what makes this possible. So, you don’t need to worry about that.”

The primary goal of redeveloping this neighborhood wasn’t financial gain. If it were, he wouldn’t have approached it this way. The creation of the park was a prime example.

If money were the sole objective, why would he dedicate valuable land to four parks?

“So, ultimately, Mr. Kim’s purpose in redeveloping this neighborhood isn’t money-driven?”

“You might not believe it, but that’s my stance.”

“Hmm…”

Yoo Seung-il paused, then nodded slowly and continued, “To be honest, when Mr. Kim said at the first shopping center meeting that he was redeveloping this neighborhood with the heart of a father, I scoffed inwardly. I was being cynical.”

“Cynical?”

“Yes, I didn’t believe it. Who doesn’t have a desire for money? But after hearing the same answer again today, I’m starting to believe in your sincerity.”

Yoo Seung-il couldn’t help but concede.

Initially, he had dismissed it as a performance, a way to gain favor with the shopping center community before revealing his true intentions after construction.

But today, he realized that wasn’t the case. He understood that the redevelopment was driven not by profit, but by ‘the heart of a father raising his children,’ as Hyun-sung had stated.

“Is that all?”

“Yes. I won’t doubt your sincerity anymore.”

“And one more thing: if you secure a unit, you’ll essentially gain 200 to 300 million won [approximately $160,000 to $240,000 USD] from the start. You know why, right?”

“You mean the sale price will be lower than the actual market value of the shopping center or apartment units?”

“Yes, exactly. So, make sure you get a unit. I want to share that wealth with the people in the neighborhood, not monopolize it.”

Yoo Seung-il struggled to comprehend.

Hyun-sung was essentially saying he would share his potential profits with the community.

“To be honest, I can’t understand your intentions, no matter how hard I try. That’s not a small amount of money; it’s hundreds, no, thousands of billions of won [billions of USD] when you add it all up, and you’re going to share it with the people in the neighborhood.”

“I’m simply content with a smaller piece of the pie.”

“To be honest, that amount isn’t small. That’s why I’m so surprised. How can you do that?”

Yoo Seung-il shook his head, unable to grasp the concept from his perspective.

“Well, I should get going now.”

“Okay, thanks to you, Mr. Kim, I might actually make some money. By the way, it’s not possible to get two shopping center units, is it?”

“Of course not. One person can only get one unit. That way, the benefits are distributed evenly among the residents.”

“Haha, I understand. I asked because I got greedy for a moment there.”

Yoo Seung-il laughed.

Just securing a shopping center or apartment unit was a guaranteed win, so he had momentarily succumbed to greed.

Hyun-sung left Yoo Seung-il’s store and continued towards his office.

After walking for about five minutes,

Ma Sang-gu, the owner of the Paris Baguette [a popular bakery franchise in South Korea] blocked Hyun-sung’s path.

“If you have a moment, could we step inside and talk?”

“What’s this about?”

“I need to ask you something.”

“Please, just ask me here.”

Hyun-sung didn’t want to prolong the conversation, as he had disliked the Paris Baguette franchise from the start.

Unlike Hyun-sung, Ma Sang-gu seemed bewildered.

“Here?”

“Yes, I don’t think there’s anything that can’t be said here. I’m a bit busy.”

Hyun-sung made the excuse of being busy to keep the conversation brief.

After hesitating, Ma Sang-gu spoke with some difficulty.

“Then I have no choice. Actually, I wanted to ask about the shopping center unit.”

“Huh? That’s odd.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I informed the landlord here about the shopping center units in advance.”

“You told our landlord?”

Ma Sang-gu looked surprised, as if hearing this for the first time.

Hyun-sung asked immediately, “Didn’t you hear anything from Mr. Park?”

“No, I…”

Ma Sang-gu shook his head. He hadn’t heard anything from the landlord, Park Hyun-woo.

“That’s strange. I distinctly told Mr. Park about it when I bought the building.”

“Could you repeat what you said?”

“Yes, of course. It’s simple: I said it doesn’t apply.”

“Yes? What does that mean?”

Ma Sang-gu doubted his ears.

Was that even possible?

It doesn’t apply? That meant he wasn’t even eligible.

Ma Sang-gu asked again, “Mr. President, what does that mean?”

“It doesn’t apply.”

“So, what does that mean? What do you mean it doesn’t apply?”

“Can’t you understand Korean? It literally means that the owner of Paris Baguette here is not qualified to get a unit.”

“Why?”

Ma Sang-gu asked confidently, as if it made no sense.

“Because I dislike the Paris Baguette franchise itself. You know why, right?”

“No, I don’t know.”

“Are you really unaware? Or are you pretending not to know?”

“I truly don’t know. What did we do wrong to be discriminated against like this?”

Looking at Ma Sang-gu’s expression, he genuinely seemed clueless.

Hyun-sung continued, “Since you’re truly unaware, I’ll explain it briefly. No, before that, let me ask you a question. Do you know what business ethics are?”

“Business ethics?”

“Yes, the fundamental principles that should be followed when conducting business.”

“What are you getting at? It doesn’t seem like you’re simply asking about the basic concept of business ethics.”

Ma Sang-gu’s eyes were different now, reflecting the seriousness of the situation.

“Okay, let me ask you directly. Mr. Ma, do you believe you followed business ethics when you first came to this neighborhood two years ago?”

“That’s…”

Ma Sang-gu hesitated. He had indeed disregarded business ethics when he first established his business here.

The most basic principle of business ethics is maintaining a reasonable distance between similar stores.

But he had completely ignored that.

In fact, he had deliberately opened his store close to an existing bakery.

The intention was to capture the established customer base.

He had made that decision based on his confidence in outcompeting the existing store.

That was why Ma Sang-gu couldn’t answer immediately.

Regardless of the reason, Ma Sang-gu himself had violated business ethics.

“Why can’t you answer?”

“Is it because of that reason?”

“Mr. Ma came to this neighborhood with the intention of eliminating the competition and benefiting solely himself. Am I right?”

“I won’t deny it. But isn’t that inevitable in a market economy? It’s a competitive environment.”

Hyun-sung smirked and continued, “That logic is flawed. As I mentioned, business ethics exist. You disregarded those minimum principles, even with your own self-serving justification. Am I wrong?”

“That was the head office’s decision…”

“The head office? You know that’s just an excuse, right? You agreed to the head office’s sales guidelines, didn’t you? The head office and you are one and the same. So, don’t blame the head office.”

Hyun-sung continued, “Do you need further explanation? That’s why I excluded Paris Baguette from receiving a unit. And let me tell you something else: Paris Baguette isn’t the only business excluded. Tous Les Jours [another bakery franchise] is the same, and convenience stores will be treated the same way.”

“So, you’re rejecting franchises altogether?”

“Yes, that’s correct. If those businesses move in, the surrounding independent businesses of the same type will be wiped out. I’m not saying that my actions will eliminate franchises from Korea, but I don’t want to see that happen in this neighborhood where I live. I believe that’s a sufficient explanation.”

“…”

Ma Sang-gu was speechless.