Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 699

5 AM.

I’d fallen asleep around 3:30 AM. It had been a while since I’d seen Lee Soo-hyuk, so we had a lot to catch up on.

I went to bed late, so I could have slept in, but I’m in the habit of exercising every morning, so I woke up at exactly 5 AM.

*Swish.*

Hyeon-seong turned his head toward Lee Soo-hyuk’s bed.

‘Huh?’

Hyeon-seong was momentarily startled.

Lee Soo-hyuk, who he’d expected to be asleep, was sitting up.

Not just sitting, but kneeling with both hands clasped at his chest.

He was praying.

His expression was so earnest.

Hyeon-seong felt he had no choice but to lie there.

He couldn’t disturb him while he was praying.

How much time had passed?

Lee Soo-hyuk stopped kneeling and sat up straight. Hyeon-seong, seeing this, immediately asked,

“Are you done?”

“Huh? When did you wake up?”

Lee Soo-hyuk asked, surprised. He naturally thought Hyeon-seong would still be asleep, so he was caught off guard.

“A little while ago, but since when have you been going to church?”

“I don’t.”

“You don’t? Then what was that prayer just now?”

“I’m just… doing it. I’m desperate, so I do it without even realizing it. Aren’t I being too selfish?”

Lee Soo-hyuk smiled and looked at Hyeon-seong.

“Selfish? Everyone is like that. And God probably understands that much, right?”

“Do you think so?”

“Of course. At this moment, your prayer is probably more earnest than anyone else’s. God has definitely heard your prayer.”

With those words, Hyeon-seong got out of bed and walked over to Lee Soo-hyuk’s bed. Then, he sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulder.

“Soo-hyuk.”

“Yeah, what’s up.”

“How long has it been since we had a morning like this together?”

“Hmm, it was when we were in high school, so it’s been over 10 years already. Time really flies.”

Lee Soo-hyuk’s arm was also on Hyeon-seong’s shoulder before he knew it.

The two of them sat side by side, arms around each other’s shoulders, looking out the window.

Darkness had faded, and the day was beginning to dawn.

Lee Soo-hyuk said,

“How nice would it be if this were a dream?”

“A dream?”

“Yeah, I wish this was a dream. Then it wouldn’t hurt when I woke up from it.”

“…….”

*Tap tap.*

Hyeon-seong didn’t say anything but lightly tapped his shoulder with his hand. Then, Lee Soo-hyuk continued,

“What was that doctor’s name again? The doctor here?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Dr. Choi Min-young. But why?”

“Do you think he can cure me?”

“Of course!”

Hyeon-seong deliberately put strength into his words. Then, Lee Soo-hyuk smiled and asked,

“Why are you so sure?”

“He’s said to be the best in Korea in this field. So, of course, he’ll be able to cure you. So, don’t think about anything else and just trust that doctor.”

“I really hope so.”

Hyeon-seong looked at Lee Soo-hyuk for a moment, then tapped his shoulder and said,

“How long has it been since we ate together?”

“It’s been at least 11 years since we graduated high school, since we haven’t had a meal together since then?”

Hyeon-seong thought for a moment and then immediately continued,

“Let’s go out.”

“Now? Where to at this hour?”

“I saw a 24-hour *seolleongtang* [ox bone soup] place in front of the hospital here. Let’s go have some *suyuk* [boiled sliced meat] and a bowl of *seolleongtang* each. For the first time in 11 years. How about it?”

“Sounds good, let’s go.”

The two got out of bed, left the hospital room, and headed to the *seolleongtang* restaurant in front of the hospital.

As the two walked side by side, the dawn gradually began to brighten.

***

Yu Su-min, who took the first train from Wonju in the morning and arrived home, opened the front door and went inside.

*Cough cough.*

Her husband, Lee Man-soo’s cough, could be heard from the main room.

Yu Su-min opened the door and went inside.

“What about Soo-hyuk? Why did you come home?”

Lee Man-soo got up from his bed and asked with a worried expression.

“Soo-hyuk went to Seoul last night.”

“Seoul? What are you talking about?”

“Actually, Hyeon-seong came last night…….”

Yu Su-min continued to explain what had happened last night. When she finished explaining, Lee Man-soo immediately asked,

“So, our Soo-hyuk went to Gangnam Severance Hospital last night, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. The Nongshim headquarters stepped in…….”

“Wait a minute!”

Lee Man-soo interrupted Yu Su-min’s words. Then he immediately asked,

“Did you just say Nongshim headquarters?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why would they care about our Soo-hyuk?”

From Lee Man-soo’s point of view, it didn’t make sense. The reason was that there was no connection between Nongshim and Soo-hyuk.

“Hyeon-seong contacted them, I heard.”

“So, in the end, Hyeon-seong moved Nongshim?”

“I think so. I don’t know the details.”

“Hmm…….”

Lee Man-soo seemed to think for a moment and then continued,

“Whatever the reason, Hyeon-seong ended up taking our Soo-hyuk to Seoul.”

“That’s right. Not only that, but he also said he would take responsibility for Soo-hyuk’s medical expenses from now on. I think Soo-hyuk told him about our family situation.”

“Even the medical expenses…… Oh, my.”

Lee Man-soo looked at the ceiling for a moment and then continued,

“As a parent, I’m ashamed in front of Hyeon-seong. If I hadn’t done that damn stock trading, I wouldn’t have received help from others like this…… Ugh.”

Lee Man-soo hit his knee with his fist.

“It’s all in the past.”

“The more I think about it, the more pathetic I feel. What’s wrong with this family because of me?”

“Let’s stop talking about that now. Oh, Soo-hyuk’s father, please take a look at this.”

With those words, Yu Su-min took a check from her wallet and handed it to Lee Man-soo.

“What is this?”

Lee Man-soo took the check his wife handed him and checked it. His eyes widened in an instant. The check read ‘One hundred million won’ [approximately $75,000 USD].

Lee Man-soo looked at his wife’s face and immediately asked,

“Honey, where did this money come from?”

“Hyeon-seong gave it to me last night.”

“Hyeon-seong did?”

“Yes, he did. Well, last night…….”

Yu Su-min began to talk about receiving money from Hyeon-seong last night. When she finished explaining, Lee Man-soo just looked at the check without saying anything.

“…….”

After a while.

Lee Man-soo, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.

“So, Hyeon-seong gave us this money?”

“Yes, he did.”

“With no conditions?”

“Yes, he did. I didn’t want to receive it at first, but Hyeon-seong insisted until the end…….”

Yu Su-min couldn’t continue speaking.

The reason was that her conscience was too pricked to make excuses for Hyeon-seong.

Of course, it was true that Hyeon-seong handed over the check until the end. But that was just an excuse.

To be honest, she was greedy the moment she saw the money.

If she had refused until the end, she might not have received it. But reality was too harsh to pretend not to know and just accept it.

Yu Su-min said again,

“Honestly, Hyeon-seong’s story is an excuse, and I was greedy the moment I saw the money. So, I pretended not to know and just accepted it.”

“…….”

Lee Man-soo had nothing to say. No, he couldn’t. If he were in her shoes, he wouldn’t have been able to refuse the money either. That meant the current family situation was that bad.

Lee Man-soo hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I have no face to show you.”

“I’m in the same boat, so who can I blame? I’m also responsible for not stopping you from investing in stocks.”

At first, it was honestly so good. Money was being made even if she didn’t work and just stayed still. She thought this was why people fell into stocks.

She thought these days would last forever until the IMF crisis [International Monetary Fund crisis of the late 1990s in Asia] hit.

So, who could she blame?

“By the way, what are you going to do with this money?”

“Well, I don’t know right now. Let’s think about it a little more for now.”

“I was thinking of starting a small supermarket, what do you think?”

“A supermarket?”

“Yes, I don’t think we can do anything else, and if we do that, we’ll have enough to live on in the future. Hyeon-seong also said something like that when he gave me this money.”

“Hmm…….”

Lee Man-soo seemed to think for a moment and then immediately continued,

“First of all, our Soo-hyuk is the priority, so let’s focus on curing his illness first and think about the supermarket later.”

“Of course.”

“So, when are you going to go up to Seoul?”

“Hyeon-seong said he’ll be at the hospital until tomorrow afternoon, so I can go up tomorrow morning. Once I go up this time, I won’t be able to come down for a while.”

“I guess so. Don’t worry about me here and just focus on Soo-hyuk. Of course, take care of yourself as much as possible. Here, you put this money in the bank.”

Lee Man-soo handed the check to Yu Su-min.

Yu Su-min, who received the check, hesitated for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“About Hyeon-seong…….”

“What about Hyeon-seong?”

“No matter how I think about it, I can’t understand it. No matter how much money a person has, giving 100 million won like this isn’t a normal thing, is it?”

“I feel the same way. Just because a person has money doesn’t mean they’ll give it away. Looking at it that way, Hyeon-seong seems to be a bigger person than we think.”

“That’s right, I think so too. Oh, you need to have breakfast, right? I’ll prepare it right away.”

It was then.

Lee Man-soo grabbed Yu Su-min’s hand as she was about to get up.

“You sit down. I’ll prepare breakfast.”

“You will?”

“What face do I have to sit and receive a meal? It’s late, but I need to start acting like a human being from now on. Just wait here for a moment. I’ll call you when breakfast is ready.”

With those words, Lee Man-soo got up and headed to the kitchen.

***

Lee Soo-hyuk, who had finished all the tests from the morning and was sitting in front of the doctor’s office, had a look of tension on his face.

Hyeon-seong, seeing this, tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, relax.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

“Are you that nervous?”

“I’m getting nervous without even realizing it. Moreover, it’s the first time I’m seeing the test results here, so I can’t help but…….”

In fact, Hyeon-seong was just as nervous. He was just holding it in for him. He thought he would have a harder time if he was nervous too, so he was forcibly holding it in.

It was then.

The nurse called Lee Soo-hyuk’s name.

“Lee Soo-hyuk, please.”

“Yes.”

Lee Soo-hyuk answered and immediately entered the doctor’s office. Hyeon-seong also naturally followed him.

“Hello!”

Lee Soo-hyuk greeted him warmly first, and Hyeon-seong, who was next to him, bowed his head instead of greeting him.

Choi Min-young, who was sitting in his chair, greeted the two of them happily.

“Welcome. So, you came up early in the morning, did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I slept well.”

“I heard you got a private room?”

“Yes, this friend…….”

Lee Soo-hyuk pointed to Hyeon-seong with his hand. Then, Choi Min-young glanced at Hyeon-seong and continued,

“Now, let’s get down to business and see how our patient Lee Soo-hyuk is doing.”

Choi Min-young displayed dozens of photos on the monitor and continued to explain.

As expected, he said the condition was not good. The only hopeful thing was that the size of the tumor was not immediately life-threatening.

The key was how much to reduce the size of this tumor. Surgery was said to be the last resort after reducing the size of the tumor as much as possible.

Lee Soo-hyuk carefully opened his mouth.

“Doctor, in Wonju, they said I had about a year left…….”

“Lee Soo-hyuk!”

Choi Min-young interrupted Lee Soo-hyuk’s words and called his name.

“Yes, Doctor.”

“You know the saying that life is in the hands of God, right?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“I can’t be sure either. But what is clear is that from this moment on, I will use all the medical knowledge I know to treat Lee Soo-hyuk’s tumor. So, Lee Soo-hyuk must not lose heart and fight bravely against the disease. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Lee Soo-hyuk nodded with a firm face and answered. Then, Choi Min-young continued,

“No matter how good the medicine is, there is no better medicine than a person’s will. I have seen and experienced that firsthand while treating countless patients. So, from now on, Lee Soo-hyuk’s will is the most important thing.”

“Yes, I understand!”

Lee Soo-hyuk’s voice was filled with strength. That meant he had changed his mindset as much as possible.

“We’ll start with radiation therapy this afternoon. At the same time, medication will also be administered. But the problem is that this medication will cause a loss of appetite. So, I’m telling you this, but you have to eat all the food provided by the hospital unconditionally. From now on, it’s no exaggeration to say that it’s a fight against physical strength. Are you confident?”

“Yes, I will unconditionally follow your instructions, Doctor.”

“Yes, that’s good. Then that’s it. I’ll see you in the afternoon. You can leave now.”

Hyeon-seong and Lee Soo-hyuk bowed their heads and greeted him before getting up.

It was then.

“Ah, the guardian, please stay for a moment.”