Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 71

“Is it you?”

The man in his mid-40s, who had approached Hyun-sung, asked, looking him up and down.

‘Look at this guy.’ Hyun-sung thought, staring at the man with a dumbfounded expression.

He couldn’t believe someone like this actually existed.

Of course, Hyun-sung knew who this man was. He was the owner of the ramen shop in his previous life.

But that was only true for Hyun-sung. This was their first meeting in this timeline.

In other words, this guy had no idea who Hyun-sung was. Yet, he was already using informal language from the get-go…

Even if the other person was younger, this wasn’t appropriate. This man was immediately revealing his low character.

However, arguing with someone like this would only drag him down to the same level.

Though reluctant, he asked politely, “Who are you?”

“Ah, that’s right. My name is Min Doo-shik…”

Min Doo-shik continued at length, but none of it registered. The only thing Hyun-sung retained was the name.

‘Min Doo-shik?’

Hyun-sung momentarily covered his mouth, suppressing a laugh.

The reason was the name ‘Doo-shik’ itself.

He suddenly recalled Gye Doo-shik from the movie ‘My Boss, My Hero,’ who mistook ‘Yoon Dong-ju’ for a new type of alcohol. [Yoon Dong-ju is a famous Korean poet, implying the character was ignorant of basic cultural knowledge.]

Hyun-sung forced himself to stifle his laughter and asked Min Doo-shik, “Ah… yes. But how did you find me here?”

“Because I was curious.”

“Pardon?”

Hyun-sung tilted his head, not understanding.

From Min Doo-shik’s perspective, this was his first time seeing Hyun-sung. But he was curious…

Hyun-sung scrutinized Min Doo-shik and asked again, “Did you just say you were curious?”

“Yes.”

“About what?”

“You!”

Min Doo-shik pointed directly at Hyun-sung.

Hyun-sung wanted to break that finger if he could.

He had anticipated the informal language, but now Min Doo-shik was brazenly pointing at him.

People say you can judge a person from one action. Min Doo-shik was clearly showing his true colors.

Putting that aside, Hyun-sung was genuinely curious about what had piqued his interest, considering this was their first encounter.

“What do you mean?”

“I went to the real estate agency a little while ago, and that old man told me that the person who was going to sign the contract for this place was a high school student.”

“So?”

“The truth is…”

Min Doo-shik launched into a lengthy explanation.

The explanation was long-winded, but the gist of it was simple: he had been trying to secure the contract for this location but was a step too late. He became curious upon learning that the successful applicant was a high school student.

Hyun-sung nodded. He could understand Min Doo-shik’s perspective.

He came to sign a contract but was beaten to it, and if he then discovered that the victor was a high school student, Hyun-sung would probably have reacted similarly if he were in Min Doo-shik’s shoes.

Hyun-sung looked at Min Doo-shik and said, “Now that you’ve satisfied your curiosity, are you content?”

“No!”

Min Doo-shik’s words were forceful.

Then, he moved his lips as if he had something more to say, hesitating for a moment.

Finally, Min Doo-shik spoke again. “Are you really going to go through with this?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Do you think I’m joking right now?”

Hyun-sung was also starting to get annoyed. He understood the man’s feelings, but this was becoming excessive.

Then Min Doo-shik repeated, “You’re really going to do it?”

“How many times do I have to say it?”

“You’re really going to run this place? You, a mere high school student?”

“Mister!” Hyun-sung’s voice rose.

Everything has its limits, but this guy seemed oblivious and was persistently badgering him.

In his past life, they had a customer-owner relationship, so there were no issues. When things were slow, they would occasionally exchange a few casual words.

So, it was perhaps understandable that he didn’t know the person’s true nature. But even so, he hadn’t expected him to be so rude and pushy.

He didn’t want to be treated like this simply because he was a student.

The best course of action in this situation was to disengage.

“Then…” Hyun-sung began to mount his bike.

“Hey!” Min Doo-shik called out to Hyun-sung.

‘Hey?’

“Ha!” A hollow laugh escaped Hyun-sung’s lips involuntarily.

Even if he was a young student, this was unacceptable. Min Doo-shik had no basic manners.

“What is it?” Of course, his tone was far from pleasant.

But what was truly absurd were Min Doo-shik’s next words.

“I’ll give you 100,000 won [approximately $85 USD], so hand this place over to me.”

Seriously, he’s pulling out all the stops.

He wondered if someone could truly be this lacking in self-awareness. No matter how he analyzed it, he couldn’t comprehend this type of person. He even felt pathetic for engaging with someone like this.

It’s best to avoid stepping in poop.

There’s nothing to gain from dealing with it. No matter how careful you are, you’ll inevitably end up getting some on you.

Hyun-sung said quietly, “No, thank you.”

“This is your last chance. Think carefully.”

“…”

Last chance?

Hyun-sung couldn’t grasp his meaning for a moment.

As Hyun-sung remained silent, Min Doo-shik continued, “If you don’t give up this place, I won’t stand idly by either.”

It’s a warning.

No, it’s a threat.

There’s a limit to patience. Patience isn’t always a virtue.

Hyun-sung stared intently at Min Doo-shik. Then he said slowly, “If you don’t stand still…?”

“Oh, look at this punk.”

“Why are you acting like this? I’m not your son. And it’s not a pretty sight to come to someone else’s neighborhood and act like this.”

Hyun-sung deliberately came on strong.

He saw no reason to be polite to someone who didn’t deserve it. And when you thought about it, he had lived longer than Min Doo-shik anyway.

Min Doo-shik, enraged by Hyun-sung’s provocation, retorted, “Someone else’s neighborhood? Do you even know where I’m from?”

“Where else? Hongcheon downtown.”

“Oh, how…?”

Min Doo-shik himself had mentioned it in the past. Whenever Hyun-sung went to eat ramen late in the afternoon, he would boast about it.

– He used to run a fairly large restaurant in Hongcheon downtown.

Hyun-sung opened his mouth again. “Should I tell you one more thing? You used to run a restaurant in Hongcheon downtown, right? A pretty big one at that. Am I wrong?”

“…”

Min Doo-shik was speechless, simply staring at Hyun-sung.

After a moment of silence, Min Doo-shik seemed to regain his composure and asked, “Who are you, you bastard?”

“You don’t need to know that, and I’m telling you clearly, you shouldn’t speak so carelessly. If you’re old, you should act your age. Well, I’ll be going now…”

Hyun-sung turned his back on Min Doo-shik and pedaled his bicycle.

“You son of a bitch!”

Hyun-sung cursed involuntarily while riding his bicycle.

Of course, he was upset that he had been threatened, but that wasn’t the only reason.

It was a few days before the last winter vacation of his senior year of high school.

He had gone to eat ramen with his friend Lee Jung-woo. Come to think of it, Lee Jung-woo’s mother had already quit working at the snack shop at that time.

The incident started because of the ramen.

A foreign object had been found in the ramen that Lee Jung-woo was eating – a short strand of hair.

Naturally, they called Min Doo-shik over.

But the problem was Min Doo-shik’s attitude.

He accused the victim.

Like the guilty party getting angry, he claimed that Lee Jung-woo had deliberately planted the hair to avoid paying for the ramen.

Instead of simply apologizing, he tried to shift the blame and make unreasonable demands.

Of course, such a thing would be unimaginable in the future. One photo taken with a cell phone would have resolved everything.

Moreover, he even threatened Lee Jung-woo by bringing up his physical weaknesses.

Hyun-sung was dumbfounded and speechless, but they had no choice but to let it go.

But it felt too unfair to simply let it go like that. So that night, he and Lee Jung-woo smashed the glass door of the shop.

That’s how he finished his senior year of high school.

Seeing him today, he knew that Min Doo-shik was capable of such behavior.

Min Doo-shik, left alone, muttered, “What is this bastard…”

No matter how he thought about it, this couldn’t be happening.

He was a guy he had met for the first time today. He came because he was curious about a young kid running a business.

He couldn’t believe that Hyun-sung was really going to run the place. It didn’t make sense logically, but he insisted on doing it.

So, he warned him that he wouldn’t stand idly by, and the kid got angry. That was all understandable.

The problem was what came next.

“How did he know?”

It was impossible.

‘Could it be…’ If he were to speculate on that possibility, there was only one explanation.

“Did he come to the store when I was doing business in Hongcheon…?”

Unaware that Hyun-sung was a regressor, that was the only possibility that Min Doo-shik could conceive of.

Hyun-sung had just arrived at the front gate of his house.

Someone was waiting for him.

“Oppa~~ [Korean term for older brother, used by females]” The owner of the strange voice was his younger sister’s friend, Seo In-hye.

“Who told you to call me that?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t drag it out like that. What is that? It’s embarrassing.”

Seo In-hye’s cheeks quickly flushed red at Hyun-sung’s words.

Even so, Seo In-hye persisted, “Then how should I call you?”

“Short.”

“Short? Oppa! Like this?” Seo In-hye immediately tried it out.

Hyun-sung looked at Seo In-hye and asked, “Why are you here today?”

“To congratulate you.”

“Congratulate?”

Hyun-sung’s head automatically swiveled. Even with a brief thought, he couldn’t think of anything to be congratulated for.

Then Seo In-hye smiled brightly and continued, “I heard you’re signing a contract today?”

“What?”

“I heard it from Ji-yeon. That you’re signing a contract for the ramen shop today…”

Instead of answering, Hyun-sung looked around, searching for someone. The person he was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

Hyun-sung turned back to Seo In-hye and asked, “Where is Ji-yeon?”

“Hehe…” Seo In-hye covered her mouth and giggled instead of answering.

Hyun-sung pressed, “I’m asking where Ji-yeon is?”

“She said she would rather die than come with you because you’ll beat her to death… Hehe.”

Seo In-hye’s laughter was unique, to say the least.

Seo In-hye, having stopped laughing, immediately continued, “I’ll help you a lot too.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re already working so hard, so I can’t just sit still.”

“So?”

“What do you mean so? Of course, I have to help. Even for the future…”

Hyun-sung was simply dumbfounded.

He couldn’t tell if she was being genuinely naive or pretending to be innocent on purpose.

But he couldn’t bring himself to argue with her first thing in the morning, and Hyun-sung found himself in a difficult position.

Then Seo In-hye said again, “Oppa, have you decided on the sign yet?”