Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 7

It meant that, just as his mother had changed into his father [referring to a previous event where his mother took on his father’s responsibilities or role], things could change anytime, anywhere.

Then how much….

Hyun-sung was falling deeper into thought when Lee Jung-woo called him.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh? Yeah, Jung-woo.”

“Snap out of it and order.”

“Ah! Right.”

In his heart, he desperately wanted to go home and eat his mother’s soybean paste stew.

But his body couldn’t handle it.

Even though he had avoided the worst, an accident was still an accident. Fortunately, nothing was broken or seriously injured, but his body was a mess, aching everywhere.

So, he had no choice but to come to the restaurant to find some stability, even if just for a moment.

Come to think of it, this was his first meal since regressing [referring to time travel or a similar phenomenon]. Of course, that was a feeling only Hyun-sung himself would understand.

“Huh!”

A short exclamation escaped Hyun-sung’s lips as he looked at the menu board on the wall.

– Jajangmyeon [black bean noodles]: 500 won

– Jjamppong [spicy seafood noodle soup]: 550 won

– Fried Rice: 600 won

Below that, the price list for the Chinese restaurant menu went on and on. Seeing it, Hyun-sung truly felt the reality of having regressed to the past.

Before his regression, jajangmyeon cost at least 5,000 won, and some places even charged 6,000 won, plus delivery fees.

Of course, there were a few places that charged 4,000 won, but they were rare.

And that wasn’t all.

It was an era when delivery for a single order was rare.

Even if you wanted to eat jajangmyeon, you needed to gather at least two people. It got to the point where some people ordered two servings for themselves. Of course, not everyone did that.

Well, it wasn’t just a day or two; a whopping 33 years had passed, so it made sense.

At that moment, the restaurant owner came into the room to take their order.

“Mr. Hong, it’s been a while.”

Hyun-sung greeted him happily. They were close friends.

But the restaurant owner’s next response made Hyun-sung feel awkward.

“Oh? Yeah….”

It would have been nice if he had just accepted the greeting happily, but Mr. Hong had to make it obvious that he didn’t recognize him. Come to think of it, Hyun-sung had only become close to Mr. Hong later in life, after he had grown up.

Whenever he came down to his hometown, he always made sure to eat jjamppong here. Perhaps it wasn’t just the jjamppong he missed, but the taste of his hometown.

He felt embarrassed by his brief moment of delusion, but Hyun-sung had lived for over 50 years.

He chuckled as if nothing had happened and looked at his father and mother, asking them what they wanted to eat.

His parents said they had eaten a little while ago and didn’t want to eat anything.

Then something popped into Hyun-sung’s head.

It was lajogi [spicy fried chicken].

It was the only Chinese dish that his parents would both come to enjoy in the future.

It was a spicy dish made by coating chopped chicken in starch, frying it, and then stir-frying it with chili peppers, green onions, garlic, ginger, and other ingredients, before adding a starch-thickened sauce.

But right now, neither of them knew this taste. They wouldn’t fall in love with it until 10 years later.

Hyun-sung smiled, thinking about showing them that taste 10 years early. He felt good just thinking about his parents’ satisfied expressions.

Hyun-sung looked at Mr. Hong and placed his order.

“Excuse me, please make the lajogi spicy, and also tangsuyuk [sweet and sour pork]. Oh, and I’ll have jjamppong. Jung-woo, what do you want?”

“Me? I’ll have jajangmyeon.”

Lee Jung-woo replied, and Mr. Hong confirmed the order again.

“Lajogi, tangsuyuk, one jjamppong, and one jajangmyeon, is that right?”

“Yes. Oh, and please give us a bottle of gaoliang liquor [a strong distilled spirit] too. Nothing beats gaoliang liquor with lajogi.”

“Gaoliang liquor added. Okay, please wait a moment.”

As Mr. Hong left, everyone looked at Hyun-sung.

Lee Jung-woo looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“Are you really my friend, Hyun-sung?”

“You simpleton.”

“Suddenly, he’s acting strange. He’s talking a lot and seems like a complete old man.”

“What? Old man? Haha….”

Hyun-sung burst into laughter for no reason. He realized that he had unconsciously used his usual way of speaking, but he had no way to explain it, so he covered it up with laughter.

At that moment, Hyun-sung noticed his father.

His complexion seemed different from before. And he kept looking at the menu board on the wall.

‘Ah!’

Hyun-sung immediately realized the reason.

It was his mistake.

If he had told them in advance before ordering, this wouldn’t have happened.

Hyun-sung immediately looked at his father and said.

“Father, I’m paying today. I have the remaining travel expenses, except for the taxi fare.”

“Hehe, is that so….”

His father trailed off, pretending not to notice.

It was that difficult of a time.

If they wanted to go to the market on market day, they had to bring red beans, soybeans, or something else that could be sold for money to buy groceries.

That’s how life was in the countryside. Of course, not all rural areas were like that.

So, it was natural for his father to be worried. It was his mistake for not mentioning it before ordering.

Then, his mother, who couldn’t stand being curious, looked at Hyun-sung.

“What is lajogi?”

His mother’s eyes began to sparkle.

It was a habit of hers when she became curious about something. In his past life, it was sometimes burdensome, but at least now, that look was happiness to Hyun-sung.

Perhaps that’s why.

Ahem.

Hyun-sung cleared his throat and enthusiastically began to explain lajogi.

“Well, you see, when it comes to lajogi….”

As Hyun-sung’s explanation ended, the first to react was his father, who was next to his mother.

“Is it delicious?”

“What need is there for an explanation? You’ll know once you taste it yourself.”

“Have you tried it?”

“Of course….”

He had tried it.

Of course, it was far in the future.

But the problem was now.

It didn’t fit the timeline to say he had tried it, and if he said he hadn’t after explaining it so elaborately, he would just look like a liar. He was in a dilemma either way.

At that moment, Lee Jung-woo intervened at just the right time, as if it were a staged performance.

“By the way, what happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said something would happen to your mother, right?”

“Oh? Well, you see….”

It seemed like every question he received was difficult to answer. Even thinking about it made his head spin, but he couldn’t just not answer.

Just as his head was starting to ache, an idea suddenly popped into his head.

“Ah! I must have been confused for a moment, between my father and mother.”

Hyun-sung was surprised at his own quick thinking as he answered.

But that was only for a moment.

“What did you say?”

His mother’s eyes sparkled again. Her curiosity had exploded again.

It was an unavoidable gaze.

His head became even more complicated.

How could he get through this crisis…?

Hyun-sung glanced at the door, wondering if the food he had ordered was coming. But there were no allies anywhere.

With no other choice, Hyun-sung had to start making up ridiculous lies again.

“So….”

He started by telling the truth. He had fallen into the sea and was fortunately rescued by the rescue team. And then came the key part.

He said that he had briefly seen the accident in advance while struggling for his life in the water.

He thought that would be enough.

But that was just Hyun-sung’s delusion.

“What! You fell into the sea?”

His mother’s eyes widened as she asked Hyun-sung.

It is said that once you tell one lie, you have to tell ten more lies to cover it up.

Hyun-sung began to explain again.

“Fortunately, I’m perfectly fine like this….”

His son had almost died after falling into the sea, so she couldn’t hear anything else. It was chaos.

In the end, his mother’s scolding continued for a long time, and only after receiving Hyun-sung’s promise that he would never do it again did his mother’s eyes return to normal.

Of course, he thought that was the end.

But that wasn’t the case either.

There was still one more mountain to climb.

This time, he noticed his father.

His father’s fist was clenched, trembling slightly. Hyun-sung saw it.

Ah!

For a moment, he couldn’t say anything.

It would have been less difficult if he had just shouted.

His father said nothing.

After a moment of silence.

Hyun-sung and his father’s eyes met.

Hyun-sung lowered his head. Then his father nodded slightly.

As if to say he was glad he stopped.

Creak.

At that moment, the door opened and the food he had ordered came in.

Click.

As soon as the food was set up, Hyun-sung immediately twisted open the cap of the gaoliang liquor. Then he stood facing his father.

“Father, please accept a drink. I love you.”

He knew.

Even Hyun-sung himself thought it was awkward and out of the blue. But for some reason, it was so hard to say those words.

In the end, he had only said those words in front of the memorial table after sending his father away so futilely.

“Oh? Y-yeah….”

His father seemed just as awkward.

Hyun-sung then stood facing his mother.

His mother’s eyes were already sparkling. Of course, he couldn’t disappoint her. So, Hyun-sung added another modifier.

“Beautiful mother, I love you.”

“Oh my, how embarrassing….”

Then his father looked at his mother and gave a strange smile. Then he added a word.

“Who picked her?”

“Oh my? This man….”

His mother’s face quickly turned red. Just as a smile was about to bloom on Hyun-sung’s face as he saw that sight.

“Mr. Hong.”

His father suddenly called the restaurant owner.

Then he asked for two more glasses. Hyun-sung and Lee Jung-woo were embarrassed by his father’s sudden action.

Because they knew his father’s intentions all too well.

The owner tilted his head and brought two glasses, and as expected, his father handed the glasses to Hyun-sung and Lee Jung-woo.

“Here, starting with my son’s friend.”

Then Lee Jung-woo glanced at Hyun-sung. Hyun-sung looked at Lee Jung-woo and nodded, with a slight smile on his face.

Then, with a slightly flushed face, Lee Jung-woo accepted the glass.

“Ah, Father, I’m not old enough yet….”

“It’s okay, alcohol is also food.”

Finally, his father’s praise of alcohol had come out.

Hyun-sung remembered what he would say next. As expected, his father immediately continued.

“And what an elder gives is not just alcohol, but medicinal liquor.”

Medicinal liquor.

In his father’s words, it was alcohol that becomes medicine.

Was that why?