Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 697

How much time had passed?

Hyun-sung had no choice but to weakly release Lee Soo-hyuk’s hand.

He couldn’t feel anything.

To use his healing ability, he needed to sense the other person’s health condition first.

But he couldn’t feel anything from him.

He didn’t know why, but it meant that his healing ability was useless on Lee Soo-hyuk.

“What are you doing?”

Lee Soo-hyuk asked Hyun-sung.

He didn’t know about Hyun-sung’s healing ability. So, Hyun-sung’s actions of holding his hand and concentrating for a while seemed strange to him.

“Oh, just… praying…”

Hyun-sung had no choice but to lie. He couldn’t tell him that his healing ability didn’t work on him in this situation.

‘What do I do now?’

Hyun-sung clutched his head.

He couldn’t just stand still.

He said his survival period was one year. In the end, that meant that if he just stayed still, he could leave this world in a year. No, that’s what would happen.

‘This isn’t right.’

Hyun-sung shook his head violently. It was a situation he couldn’t accept. This didn’t make sense. He was cheerful and confident when he entered the temple four years ago. He said he would come out with a great piece of writing.

But where did this sudden bolt from the blue come from?

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Soo-hyuk, who was bowing his head, and asked.

“How long have you been sick?”

“…Since a year ago.”

Lee Soo-hyuk barely opened his mouth. His expression was full of regret. He seemed to know that if he had received treatment back then, it wouldn’t have come to this.

Hyun-sung wanted to ask right away. Why didn’t he get treatment back then and had been holding on until now?

But wasn’t it already in the past?

He didn’t want to rub salt into the wound in this situation where he was already regretting it himself.

Instead, Hyun-sung replaced his words with a deep sigh.

“Hoo…!”

At Hyun-sung’s deep sigh, Lee Soo-hyuk tapped his head and said.

“The pressure was too much.”

“Pressure? What pressure?”

“I didn’t want to pass thirty. I wanted to write a piece as soon as possible. So, sometimes I stayed up all night for days…”

“You crazy bastard!”

Hyun-sung cursed before Lee Soo-hyuk could finish speaking.

“Hey, you crazy bastard. Does writing a novel work if you rush it? And who told you…”

“IMF.”

Lee Soo-hyuk said something strange before Hyun-sung could finish.

IMF?

Hyun-sung was dumbfounded.

Why was the word IMF suddenly coming up in this situation?

“Hey, why are you talking about the IMF [International Monetary Fund, a global financial institution] here?”

“That might have been the cause.”

“What are you talking about?”

Hyun-sung tilted his head, looking at Lee Soo-hyuk. He couldn’t understand what he was saying.

That the IMF might have been the cause, what was he talking about?

Curious, Hyun-sung asked again.

“Hey, what are you talking about?”

“My family went bankrupt.”

“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t believe it.

His father was the head of the Nonghyup cooperative [National Agricultural Cooperative Federation]. In the countryside, the head of the cooperative was so influential that he was considered one of the pillars of the community.

Of course, he also had wealth as a base. But bankrupt, what was he talking about?

Lee Soo-hyuk continued.

“My father invested in stocks. But during the IMF crisis two years ago, he completely…”

“Your father invested in stocks?”

“Yeah, all the stocks became worthless at that time…”

There was no need to hear any more.

Hyun-sung immediately understood what Lee Soo-hyuk was saying.

In fact, there were many people who invested in stocks during the IMF crisis and went bankrupt overnight. So many people committed suicide.

“Hoo…”

Hyun-sung sighed without realizing it.

At that time, many people lost everything overnight due to stocks.

But he had no idea that Lee Soo-hyuk’s father was among them.

Hyun-sung now understood what Lee Soo-hyuk had said a little while ago.

Why he was trying to write a piece as soon as possible.

He had to write a novel as soon as possible to revive his declining family.

So he couldn’t help but feel pressured.

Everyone knows that stress is the root of all diseases.

In the end, the IMF crisis went around and became the cause of Lee Soo-hyuk’s tumor.

Hyun-sung got up from his seat. Then, he walked a few steps in the lounge and asked Lee Soo-hyuk.

“Why didn’t you call?”

It was Lee Soo-hyuk, not someone else. If he had called, he could have helped him in any way.

“If it were you, could you have called?”

“What?”

“If it were you, would you have called? Saying that my family went bankrupt, so please help me.”

“That’s definitely…”

Hyun-sung stopped talking. Even if he thought about it briefly, he felt that even if he were in his position, he wouldn’t be able to easily call and ask for help.

“I’m sorry. Now that I think about it, I only thought about my own position again.”

“It’s not like you have to be sorry, I actually hesitated several times. I thought you could help me in any way. But!”

Lee Soo-hyuk suddenly stopped talking and seemed to think for a moment before continuing.

“Do you know why I didn’t call?”

“I don’t know…”

“I wanted to keep the promise.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, do you remember? The promise that the four of us, you, me, Il-soo, and Jung-woo, made at the Chinese restaurant on our high school graduation day while drinking soju [Korean distilled spirit] with jajangmyeon [black bean noodles] and sweet and sour pork. I wanted to keep that promise.”

It was the day of high school graduation.

That afternoon, Hyun-sung, Lee Soo-hyuk, Lee Jung-woo, and Kim Il-soo gathered at a Chinese restaurant.

That day, the four of them made a promise.

Hyun-sung would become a building owner, Lee Jung-woo would become a public official, Kim Il-soo would become a chef, and finally, Lee Soo-hyuk would become a novelist.

But there was a condition.

That was the age. That is, until the age of thirty. At the latest, they would each achieve their goals by the age of thirty.

Lee Soo-hyuk is talking about that now.

Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“So that’s why you didn’t call?”

“Yeah, you, Il-soo, and even Jung-woo all kept your promises. So I really wanted to keep my promise too. But it didn’t work out as well as I thought. In the meantime, my father became like that, so I couldn’t concentrate… Shit!”

A curse suddenly came out of Lee Soo-hyuk’s mouth.

That meant he was that angry right now.

Lee Soo-hyuk immediately opened his mouth again.

“I’m sorry, Hyun-sung.”

“What for?”

“I didn’t mean to curse.”

“It would be weirder if you didn’t curse in that situation.”

Of course. He made a promise with his friends, and all the other friends kept their promises, but he was the only one who didn’t.

How psychologically pressured would he have been? But in that situation, his family’s fortunes declined, so the pressure would be something you wouldn’t know unless you experienced it yourself.

So, he must have unconsciously blurted out the curse word ‘shit’ at the end of his words.

Lee Soo-hyuk smiled bitterly and looked at the ceiling before opening his mouth again.

“Right? You’d be angry if you were in my position, right?”

“Yeah, man. So don’t hold back now and curse. As much as you want.”

“Thanks for understanding. You’re the only friend I have.”

Lee Soo-hyuk’s words continued again.

“But I still tried hard. Because I had to keep the promise I made with you guys. But one day, my head started to hurt. At first, I just thought it was a simple headache, so I bought medicine at the pharmacy. It got better. But it only didn’t hurt when I took the medicine, and it kept hurting when I didn’t take it. Later, I kept increasing the amount of medicine, and eventually, I collapsed. I collapsed several times, and I couldn’t take it anymore, so I had no choice but to come to this hospital…”

Lee Soo-hyuk couldn’t continue speaking and got up from his seat and walked back to the window.

His shoulders were shaking slightly.

“…”

Hyun-sung couldn’t say any words of comfort. He just looked at his back.

Lee Soo-hyuk’s shoulders were shaking more and more.

How much time had passed?

Lee Soo-hyuk turned his head and walked in front of Hyun-sung. His eyes were red and swollen.

“Hyun-sung.”

“Yeah, what is it.”

“I want to live. You have a lot of money. Please save me. Huh?”

“…”

Hyun-sung quietly closed his eyes. Then, his voice was heard again.

“I can’t die like this. No, I won’t die. I can’t die even if it’s unfair. Why would I die?”

“…”

Hyun-sung bit his lower lip tightly. Then, the bitter taste of blood was immediately felt in his mouth.

After that, Lee Soo-hyuk’s struggle continued.

At some point, Hyun-sung opened his closed eyes. Then, Lee Soo-hyuk’s figure came into view.

His eyes were already swollen, and his whole body was trembling.

Hyun-sung got up from his seat and hugged Lee Soo-hyuk with both arms.

Lee Soo-hyuk started to cry.

About five minutes passed?

Lee Soo-hyuk stopped crying. Then, he got out of his arms and immediately continued speaking.

“I feel a little relieved now. There was no one to cry to even if I wanted to cry. I can’t cry in front of my mom either.”

“Are you done crying?”

“Yeah, man. I shed all the tears I’ve been holding back today. Thank you.”

Lee Soo-hyuk suddenly looked at Hyun-sung and smiled. But it couldn’t be helped that he looked sadder.

Hyun-sung looked at him for a moment and seriously called his name, wondering what he was thinking.

“Lee Soo-hyuk!”

“Yeah, what is it.”

“You can’t die like this, right?”

“It’s already over. I’m…”

Lee Soo-hyuk shook his head weakly. Hyun-sung looked at him and opened his mouth again.

“You said you wanted to live a little while ago, right?”

“That was just something I said. Anyway, it’s already…”

“Hey, Lee Soo-hyuk. Do you trust me?”

“I can’t trust anyone else, but of course I trust my friend Kim Hyun-sung.”

“Then leave it to me from now on.”

“Huh? What?”

Lee Soo-hyuk looked at Hyun-sung with swollen eyes. Then, Hyun-sung’s words immediately followed.

“Let’s go to Seoul.”

“Seoul?”

“Yeah, it’s not possible here. Let’s go to Seoul and get treatment.”

“Where in Seoul?”

“I’m going to find out from now on. So you just make up your mind. And for your information, I’ll tell you in advance that I’ll be responsible for all the treatment costs from now on. So don’t worry about anything from now on and just trust me and follow me.”

Hyun-sung’s words continued again.

“I won’t let you die here. I’ll make sure to cure you no matter what. There will definitely be a way.”

“…”

Lee Soo-hyuk looked at Hyun-sung instead of speaking. Then, Hyun-sung said again.

“I’ll take care of everything, so don’t give up. Got it?”

“Hyun-sung, anyway…”

Lee Soo-hyuk couldn’t bring himself to say the next words. The result was already out. Would there be anything special about going to Seoul?

But he couldn’t say anything else when Hyun-sung was talking like this.

“Soo-hyuk, let’s go to Seoul. 응 [a Korean particle used to seek agreement or confirmation]?”

“… Okay.”

Lee Soo-hyuk had no choice but to nod. It was Hyun-sung, not someone else. He was the one who opened the way for him to go to Yonsei University’s Department of Korean Language and Literature. He wouldn’t have even dreamed of going to college if it weren’t for him.

In the end, he is the one who opened the way for his life. Who would he trust if he couldn’t trust him?

“Okay, then go and tell your mother. I’ll find out which hospital you should go to by phone from now on.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, tell her right now. Once the hospital is decided, we’ll move tonight.”

“But who are you going to call?”

“There is someone like that. So don’t worry about anything and just tell your mother. We’re going to Seoul tonight. Now, hurry.”

Lee Soo-hyuk hesitated for a moment and moved his steps to the hospital room.

Hyun-sung, who was left alone, started making a phone call somewhere.

Beep, beep.

After the signal rang twice, the other person’s voice was heard from beyond the phone.

-Hello.