Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 719

“Hyun-sung, what is all this?”

Lee Soo-hyuk was taken aback.

Hyun-sung had suggested they eat dinner together, and he naturally assumed they would go out to a restaurant.

But to his surprise, Hyun-sung suddenly opened a lunchbox and started taking out rice and side dishes.

Lee Soo-hyuk asked again,

“I said, what is all this?”

“What do you mean? It’s a lunchbox, as you can see.”

“Who doesn’t know it’s a lunchbox? I mean, who made this….”

“First, sit over here.”

Before Lee Soo-hyuk could finish, Hyun-sung sat him down on a chair at the table. Then, he laid out the rice and side dishes on the table so he could eat.

The rice had a glossy sheen, probably mixed with glutinous rice [sticky rice]. It seemed Hyun-sung had added glutinous rice to help with digestion, considering he was in the hospital.

The rice was still warm.

There were five side dishes.

Rolled omelet, bulgogi [Korean marinated beef], fresh kimchi [fermented cabbage], stir-fried potatoes, and japchae [glass noodles with vegetables and meat]. Seaweed soup was also in a thermos.

Hyun-sung poured the seaweed soup into a small bowl and said,

“Ji-soo gave it to me when she heard I was coming to the hospital.”

“Ji-soo made all this?”

“Yeah, she said you might not have an appetite because of the medication. So, eat up.”

Hyun-sung set a spoon and chopsticks in front of him. However, Lee Soo-hyuk didn’t pick them up right away and just stared at Hyun-sung.

Seeing this, Hyun-sung urged him again.

“What are you doing? Eat, the soup will get cold.”

“Hey, is it really okay for me to eat this?”

Lee Soo-hyuk was increasingly amazed.

The rice was still warm, and steam was rising from the seaweed soup.

That meant she had made it right before leaving for the hospital.

Who in the world would do this much for their husband’s friend?

After a moment of thought, Lee Soo-hyuk picked up his phone instead of the spoon.

“Hey, give me Ji-soo’s number.”

“Are you going to call her?”

“Yeah, I can’t possibly eat without saying thank you to Ji-soo. So, give me her number.”

“Hey, eat first and then call. The soup will get cold.”

“No, I can’t. What woman in the world would pack a lunchbox like this for her husband’s friend? I should call first before eating… Ugh.”

Lee Soo-hyuk covered his mouth mid-sentence. He suddenly felt nauseous.

However, Hyun-sung, unaware of Lee Soo-hyuk’s condition, was taken aback.

“Hey, Lee Soo-hyuk. What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“……”

“Are you sick?”

“Umm….”

Instead of answering, Lee Soo-hyuk covered his mouth with one hand. Then, he waved his other hand to indicate he was okay.

Only then did Hyun-sung realize that Lee Soo-hyuk’s condition was more serious than he thought.

After a while.

“Hoo….”

Lee Soo-hyuk finally exhaled. Then, he immediately continued,

“Did I surprise you?”

“Huh? Yeah, you did. Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“How long has this been happening?”

“It’s been like this for a few days. The doctor said it’s unavoidable because the new drug is strong. So, don’t worry.”

Lee Soo-hyuk picked up his phone again as if nothing had happened. After hesitating for a moment, Hyun-sung had no choice but to give him his wife’s phone number.

Lee Soo-hyuk immediately started the call.

Shortly after.

Lee Soo-hyuk, who had finished talking to his wife, looked at Hyun-sung and said,

“Okay, let’s eat now. You too.”

“Do you feel better now that you’ve talked to her?”

“Yeah, I feel like I can eat now that I’ve talked to Ji-soo. And thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, just eat.”

Lee Soo-hyuk finally picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

“Wow! The rice is so soft, probably because it’s mixed with glutinous rice.”

“Is it good?”

“It’s the best. It’s on a different level from hospital food. And this japchae is amazing. Here, you should try it too.”

Lee Soo-hyuk pushed the side dish bowl towards Hyun-sung. Hyun-sung smiled and pushed the bowl back towards Lee Soo-hyuk.

The two of them passed the side dish bowl back and forth several times while eating.

Then, at one point.

Lee Soo-hyuk suddenly got up and ran to the bathroom.

He was about to throw up again.

Hyun-sung watched him, unable to say anything, just feeling sorry for him.

Shortly after.

Lee Soo-hyuk returned from the bathroom and said to Hyun-sung,

“Sorry, my stomach is a bit….”

“Don’t be sorry… Don’t say that. And you can stop eating if it’s too hard.”

Hyun-sung didn’t realize Lee Soo-hyuk’s condition was this bad. He thought he was okay when they talked on the phone before leaving the house.

But seeing him in person, he realized it was more serious than he thought.

“No, I can eat.”

Lee Soo-hyuk started eating again as if nothing had happened.

He had to go to the bathroom two more times before he could finish his meal.

Hyun-sung watched him, unable to say anything, just silently eating with him until the end, trying to convey his feelings.

The two finished their meal.

Hyun-sung spoke first.

“Thanks for the meal.”

“Sorry. I tried to hold it in, but I couldn’t.”

“Hey, you should hold in what you need to hold in. I’m fine, so don’t worry about it.”

“Anyway, I’m sorry and thank you. You suffered too, eating with me.”

“What suffering… Can we have coffee for dessert?”

“It doesn’t matter. My insides are fine anyway. There’s a coffee shop in the basement, should we go there?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The two left the hospital room and headed for the elevator.

They had just arrived in front of the elevator when a person in a white doctor’s coat approached. Hyun-sung already knew him well.

He was Dr. Choi Min-young, Lee Soo-hyuk’s attending physician.

Hyun-sung greeted him first.

“Hello!”

“Oh? Who is this? Mr. Kim, isn’t it?”

“Yes, how have you been?”

“We’re always the same… Anyway, where are you headed?”

“We’re going to have coffee after dinner.”

“Ah, I see. Let me think….”

Choi Min-young seemed to be thinking for a moment before continuing,

“Could you come to my office around 8 o’clock later?”

“Pardon? Do you mean me?”

“Yes, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll come by at that time.”

Hyun-sung nodded. Then, Choi Min-young walked past Hyun-sung and Lee Soo-hyuk with a nurse, heading to another hospital room.

Hyun-sung tilted his head, watching him.

“Why does he want to see me?”

“I wonder.”

Lee Soo-hyuk also tilted his head, watching Choi Min-young’s back.

After a while.

The two took the elevator down to the basement.

“Are you really okay with coffee?”

Having arrived at the coffee shop, Hyun-sung asked Lee Soo-hyuk again before ordering. He was worried that there might be something wrong with his body.

Lee Soo-hyuk nodded and said,

“I told you I’m fine. The doctor said I don’t need to be particularly picky about food. So, you don’t have to be so sensitive.”

“I’m just worried.”

“I’m fine, here.”

Lee Soo-hyuk called the employee as if nothing was wrong.

Shortly after, the ordered coffee came out, and the two started drinking.

Hyun-sung asked first.

“How’s your eating these days?”

“Well… to be honest, it’s a bit tough. When I try to eat, I keep feeling nauseous like before. But I’m trying hard to eat.”

Lee Soo-hyuk had initially thought about lying. He thought about saying that he was eating well without any problems.

But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to lie, especially not in front of Hyun-sung.

He wanted to be honest in front of him. There was no reason to hide it anyway.

“Yeah, you have to. That’s how you can beat the disease.”

“Yeah, I think so too. So, these days, I sometimes come down here to the basement and buy meat with the card you gave me.”

“Good job. That’s my friend Soo-hyuk.”

Hyun-sung felt naturally happy.

He had given him the card, but he was worried that he might not use it.

Lee Soo-hyuk immediately asked as Hyun-sung smiled.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course, I was actually worried. But I couldn’t keep telling you to use it.”

That was true.

It might be a matter of pride. In that situation, constantly telling him to use the card might hurt his pride, so it was hard to say.

Pfft.

A light smile spread across Lee Soo-hyuk’s face. Then, he immediately opened his mouth.

“To be honest, I had a lot of 고민 [romanization of Korean word meaning ‘worries’ or ‘concerns’] at first. I received the card, but I wondered if I could use it. But when I thought about it, it was funny to even 고민 about it.”

Lee Soo-hyuk looked at Hyun-sung for a moment before continuing.

“I’ve already received so much help from you, it’s funny to 고민 about using a card. So, I decided not to do that anymore. Pride? I’ll give that to the dogs in front of you.”

“You, don’t go that far….”

“Honestly, it doesn’t make sense for me to have pride in front of you. Right?”

“That’s not it, that’s….”

“No!”

Lee Soo-hyuk said in a firm voice before Hyun-sung could finish. Then, he immediately spoke again.

“I don’t think it’s time for me to assert my pride. I think the only thing I can do now is to fight and win against this disease. Pride is next. You know the saying that pride is a luxury, right?”

“A luxury?”

“Yeah, my situation right now is exactly like that. No, it’s not just like that, it actually is. So, I’m not going to assert any pride until this disease is cured.”

Lee Soo-hyuk covered his mouth again.

After a while.

“Hoo….”

Lee Soo-hyuk took a deep breath again and took a sip of coffee. Then, he immediately continued,

“So, I’m going to keep eating meat. So, don’t be surprised if I eat too much.”

“I hope you eat so much that I’m surprised.”

Hyun-sung smiled lightly.

He was just grateful that Lee Soo-hyuk was saying this. It was the moment when his worries disappeared.

Hyun-sung picked up his coffee cup.

“Hey, let’s toast with coffee.”

“Okay, good!”

Clink.

The two’s coffee cups collided in the air with a cheerful sound.

Hyun-sung, who had drunk his coffee, asked again.

“How’s the novel going these days?”

“I can’t write much, just a little bit… Ah, right!”

Lee Soo-hyuk slapped his knee as if he had remembered something. Then, Hyun-sung immediately asked,

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Before you came, the nurse gave me homework.”

“Homework?”

“Yeah, it’s not anything else….”

Lee Soo-hyuk started explaining to Hyun-sung exactly what the nurse had said earlier.

Shortly after Lee Soo-hyuk’s explanation, Hyun-sung immediately said,

“The nurse said that?”

“Yeah, she told me to finish the novel by the time I’m discharged in two years. To be honest, I was a bit taken aback. You know that the 원주 [Wonju, city in South Korea] hospital told me I only had a year to live.”

“That’s just….”

“No, anyway, she told me that I would be completely cured and discharged in two years, so I suddenly felt strange.”

Lee Soo-hyuk said, interrupting Hyun-sung. Then, he seemed to be thinking for a moment before continuing,

“Can I really be completely cured and leave this hospital in two years?”

“Of course.”

“Of course?”

“Yeah, the nurse wouldn’t have said something nonsense. And let’s believe in the power of money, like that nurse said!”

Hyun-sung’s voice gained strength. That meant that he was also excited about the current situation.

Of course, he had faith that Lee Soo-hyuk would get better, but he hadn’t expected a specific date.

But just now, the specific date of ‘two years’ had come out.

That’s why Hyun-sung was excited.

Lee Soo-hyuk said,

“Can it really be like that?”

“Let’s believe it, what do we have to lose? Let’s think positively if possible. And the nurse wouldn’t have said that without any basis. But what’s that nurse’s name?”

“I don’t know her name, I just know she’s Nurse Cha.”

“So, her last name is Cha.”

“Probably.”

Lee Soo-hyuk nodded.

Hyun-sung’s words continued.

“But can you really finish the novel in two years?”

“It depends on how I feel.”

“So, it’s possible?”

“Yeah, I think I can do it if I put my mind to it.”

Hyun-sung looked at his watch. Then, he immediately called the employee. Then, Lee Soo-hyuk immediately asked,

“Why the employee?”

“I’m going to buy coffee for Nurse Cha. Of course, the coffee will be delivered in your name.”

“In my name?”

“Yeah, I have a good feeling about that nurse. You should ask her name today. Who knows? Maybe that nurse will be your girlfriend when you’re discharged in two years.”

“What? Girlfriend?”

Lee Soo-hyuk’s face turned red in an instant.