Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 722

*Ding-dong, ding-dong!*

The bell rang twice before someone answered.

“Hello.”

“Father, it’s Su-hyeok.”

“Oh! Yes, Su-hyeok!”

His father’s voice was full of joy.

The moment Lee Su-hyeok heard his father’s voice, he immediately felt a pang of guilt.

He had been neglecting his father, using his illness as an excuse.

If it hadn’t been for Hyun-sung’s advice today, he would have let it slide again.

Lee Su-hyeok called out to his father again.

“Father!”

“Oh, yes. How are you feeling?”

His father’s urgent voice was heard.

Lee Su-hyeok deliberately answered in the brightest voice possible.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m much better than before. I think I’m finally seeing the effects of the new drug.”

If he hadn’t talked to Hyun-sung a little while ago, he wouldn’t have been able to say this. He’d been thinking the new drug wasn’t working because he felt no change in the pain.

But now that he knew that wasn’t the case, he could confidently tell his father.

“Is that true?”

He could hear the brightness in his father’s voice compared to before.

Was that why?

Lee Su-hyeok’s voice also gained strength.

“Yes, Father! I haven’t lost consciousness even once these days. So, don’t worry about me and eat well. How’s your cough these days?”

“I’ve been a little better these days too. And don’t worry about me, just take care of your health. As a father, I can’t even visit you at the hospital…”

His joy was short-lived, and he could hear his father sobbing over the phone. It seemed he had burst into tears because he was worried about his son while talking.

Lee Su-hyeok had no choice but to wait until his father stopped crying.

He had never seen his father cry until he was hospitalized.

But these days, he often shed tears like this when they talked on the phone.

Some more time passed.

His father’s voice was heard again.

“Su-hyeok!”

“Yes, Father.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I keep crying when I hear your voice these days.”

“I’m sorry, Father. Because I’m in the hospital, you keep….”

Lee Su-hyeok’s eyes turned red without him realizing it. But he couldn’t show it, because he knew it would make his father even more upset.

Lee Su-hyeok immediately changed the subject.

“Father, have you had dinner?”

“Yes, I ate. I also received a call from your mother a little while ago.”

“Do you have enough side dishes to eat?”

“Of course, I do. You don’t have to worry about me. Just eat well in the hospital. By the way, I heard you’re getting a detailed examination tomorrow?”

“Yes, they said the examination starts at 8 a.m. tomorrow. After that, I’ll have an interview with the doctor, so I’ll be able to find out the details. But don’t worry. I know my body well. I’m sure the results will be good.”

“I hope so. If that happens… cough, cough.”

He could hear his father coughing over the phone. Lee Su-hyeok quietly waited for his father’s cough to stop this time as well.

Sometimes, these short moments when he can’t do anything and just has to wait are the hardest.

After a while, his father’s voice was heard again.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold back the cough…”

Since some time ago, the word “sorry” had become a habit in his father’s mouth.

He didn’t use to say that.

His father was always strong.

So, it hurt his heart to hear those words.

“Father, please don’t say you’re sorry anymore. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“That’s not true. If I hadn’t invested in stocks back then, you might not have been this sick…”

His father was talking about the IMF crisis [International Monetary Fund crisis, a major financial crisis that affected several Asian countries in the late 1990s] again.

He was blaming himself for causing pain to his son because he had lost all his wealth overnight because of that.

“Father, it’s not your fault. So, please stop saying that.”

It upset him every time his father talked about stocks. His father thinks he did everything wrong because of that and thinks of himself as a sinner.

But honestly, how could that be his father’s fault?

Wasn’t it because the country didn’t manage the national economy properly?

He gets so angry that he jumps out of bed in his sleep when he thinks about that time.

The country was at fault, but the innocent people had to bear all the damage.

But his father still blames himself for that.

“Father, I’m telling you again, it’s not your fault. If you’re going to blame someone, blame the country.”

“Even so…”

“Father!”

Lee Su-hyeok interrupted his father. Then he continued.

“I hope you can get out of that guilt now. You really didn’t do anything wrong. Stocks aren’t illegal, are they?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“You were just doing normal economic activities. The criminals are the ones at the top. They ruined the country’s economy. So, please get out of that guilt now. Okay? Father?”

“…”

There was silence over the phone for a while.

After a while.

His father’s voice was heard again.

“Thank you. For saying that to this incompetent father.”

“It’s nothing. I just told the truth. At first, I thought it was an individual’s fault, but later I found out it was the country’s fault. So, from now on, you’re going to get out of that guilt. Got it? Father!”

“Um… okay, I got it.”

Of course, his father’s mind won’t change quickly just because of this. But he wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault.

He hoped that he would get out of his guilt even a little bit.

Lee Su-hyeok talked about something else this time.

“Father, two years.”

“Two years? What are you talking about?”

“In two years, I’ll be discharged from here. Of course, after I’ve fully recovered.”

“Is that real?”

“Yes, so please bear with it until then. Then I’ll go down to the countryside and live with you. I won’t go to the temple anymore.”

Of course, the number two years may just be a hopeful number. But he wanted to give his father hope even like this.

“Even if I leave here now, I’ll stay right next to Father and Mother.”

He realized after entering the temple that it wasn’t a good thing to do.

Moreover, he even cut off contact because he was writing, which was the worst thing to do.

How difficult would it have been for his parents?

His father’s voice was heard immediately.

“How great would that be if it could happen?”

“It will definitely happen. So, eat well and don’t skip your medicine. And don’t eat ramen, okay?”

“Huh? Oh, okay, I got it.”

Lee Man-soo answered while looking at the pot on the gas stove.

In fact, he was boiling ramen before he answered the phone.

“Father, you didn’t eat ramen for dinner tonight, did you?”

“Of course not. I ate rice every meal, so don’t worry about that. I may not be good at anything else, but I’m good at cooking rice, you know?”

Lee Man-soo shook his head while talking. He was just ashamed that he was lying to his only son about this.

“Yes, I understand. Then I’ll call you again when the results come out tomorrow.”

“Okay, I understand. Thank you for calling me like this.”

“I’ll call you often from now on.”

“That would be even better…”

*Click.*

Lee Man-soo, who hung up the phone, got up from his seat and approached the gas stove. Then he lifted the pot containing the ramen and poured it into the sink without hesitation.

“Okay, I’ll never eat ramen again.”

He couldn’t eat ramen while deceiving his son.

Lee Man-soo took rice from the rice container, washed it, and started cooking rice in the electric rice cooker.

Meanwhile, Lee Su-hyeok, who hung up the phone, approached the window and looked at the rain falling.

He looked more comfortable than ever.

In fact, there was something he wanted to say to his father.

It was about his father’s stock investment.

When the IMF crisis broke out two years ago, his father collapsed. It was only natural since he had lost all his wealth overnight.

At first, he naturally thought it was his father’s fault and resented him a lot.

But as time passed, he realized that it wasn’t his father’s fault.

Then he cut off contact and lived in the temple because he wanted to write.

As time passed, he regretted his actions.

He realized that everything was wrong after being hospitalized.

And he hadn’t been able to say sorry to his father all that time. But today, he was finally able to say what he had been holding in his heart.

And also, he was able to say today that it wasn’t his father’s fault that his family’s fortune had declined due to stocks.

Of course, he doesn’t know how much his father’s mind will change because of that, but he hopes that he can get out of his guilt even a little bit.

“Father, I’ll take care of you now.”

A smile appeared on Lee Su-hyeok’s face at that moment.

*Creak!*

The hospital room door opened and Hyun-sung came in. But he was holding something in both hands.

Lee Su-hyeok immediately asked.

“What’s that?”

“Pig’s trotters [a Korean dish called Jokbal, made of boiled pig’s feet cooked with soy sauce and spices].”

“Pig’s trotters?”

“Yeah, it’s raining, so I ordered delivery from a pig’s trotters restaurant I know well.”

“But why two?”

When Lee Su-hyeok asked, Hyun-sung smiled and answered.

“To give to Soo-bin. The nurses have to eat too if they’re going to stay up all night. Here, go and give it to them quickly.”

“Me?”

“Of course. Or should I give it to them?”

“I’m embarrassed.”

“You’re so old… don’t do that and go quickly.”

Lee Su-hyeok hesitated for a moment, then picked up the pig’s trotters and left the hospital room as if he couldn’t help it.

Shortly after.

Lee Su-hyeok’s face, who had been to the nurses’ station, was flushed red.

Hyun-sung, who saw him, immediately asked.

“Why? What happened?”

“The other nurses asked.”

“What did they say?”

“They asked if they could eat too. So I asked what they meant….”

Lee Su-hyeok stopped talking for a moment and then continued.

“Well, they said I brought it just for Nurse Cha to eat.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’? Of course, I said no.”

“Then?”

“They said it didn’t seem like it and started teasing me from then on.”

“Puhahaha….”

Hyun-sung burst out laughing. Then Lee Su-hyeok immediately asked.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Congratulations.”

“What? Congratulations for what?”

“It seems like the nurses know how you feel. They’re deliberately pushing you. Do well.”

“I don’t know, I thought I was going to die of embarrassment.”

“Let’s eat now too.”

Hyun-sung smiled and started spreading the pig’s trotters on the table.

***

The next day.

“Lee Su-hyeok, please come in.”

When the nurse called his name, Lee Su-hyeok entered Choi Min-young’s office with a nervous expression. Of course, Hyun-sung followed him.

“Su-hyeok, welcome. How are you feeling?”

Doctor Choi Min-young greeted Lee Su-hyeok with a welcoming voice.

“I’m nervous. I didn’t really know when I was getting the examination, but when I thought about seeing the doctor, my heart started beating fast without me realizing it.”

“You’re curious about the results, right?”

“Yes! Doctor!”

Lee Su-hyeok pulled out a chair and sat down with a strong answer. Choi Min-young, who saw him, nodded as if he understood and immediately pointed to the monitor and said.

“Okay, look here. If you look here….”

Choi Min-young’s explanation continued.

The content was almost the same as what Hyun-sung had heard yesterday. In the end, the size of the tumor hadn’t changed at all compared to when he had the first examination.

When Choi Min-young’s explanation was over, Lee Su-hyeok immediately said.

“This is the effect of the new drug, right?”

“Huh? That’s unexpected.”

“Yes? Why?”

“Usually, if there’s no change, people think the new drug isn’t working. But Su-hyeok is talking about the effect differently from other people.”

Choi Min-young glanced at Hyun-sung at the same time as he finished speaking. Then he gave a faint smile for a moment.

Hyun-sung, who couldn’t know the meaning of that smile, also smiled slightly. It was Hyun-sung himself who had shown that general reaction.

And one more person.

Lee Su-hyeok also looked back at Hyun-sung, who was sitting behind him, and smiled slightly. He knows that if Hyun-sung hadn’t told him that story last night, he would have shown the same reaction as other people.

After that, Choi Min-young’s more detailed explanation continued, and Lee Su-hyeok’s expression began to brighten more and more as he listened to the explanation.

And finally, when all of Choi Min-young’s explanations were over, Lee Su-hyeok immediately asked.

“So, the conclusion is that there’s hope, right?”

“In my opinion, yes. I think there will definitely be a change in the size of the tumor after injecting the new drug one more time in a month. Of course, I can’t guarantee 100%.”

“Then that’s enough. There’s no 100% in the world anyway. I’ll work hard to maintain my physical strength by eating beef, so please get rid of my tumor.”

“Beef?”

Choi Min-young looked at Lee Su-hyeok as if he was suddenly talking nonsense. Then Lee Su-hyeok looked back at Hyun-sung and immediately answered.

“Yes, someone gave me a card. They told me to buy beef whenever I don’t have an appetite. So, I sometimes go down to the basement and buy beef these days.”

“Ah, yes….”

Choi Min-young looked back and forth between Lee Su-hyeok and Hyun-sung, then nodded with a smile as if he knew what he was talking about.

Shortly after.

Lee Su-hyeok, who came out of the office, said to Hyun-sung.

“Thank you, Hyun-sung. You saved me.”

“You… okay, let’s go eat beef for lunch today.”

“Okay!”

The two walked vigorously towards the elevator with their arms around each other’s shoulders.