Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 726

729

“Wait a minute!”

As Hyun-sung arrived at the Jokbal [Korean braised pig’s feet] restaurant and was about to open the door, Ahn Young-hee, sitting in his wheelchair, spoke urgently.

“Huh? Why?”

“Let’s wait a bit before going in.”

“Oh, okay.”

Hyun-sung, who was about to open the door, stepped back.

Ahn Young-hee watched the inside of the restaurant for a moment, then looked up at the sign.

[Younghee’s Jokbal]

The sign bore his name.

His mother had started the Jokbal business here 15 years ago. But he had never been here until now.

He wanted to come, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move without someone’s help, so he couldn’t help it.

But today, thanks to Hyun-sung’s help, he was finally able to come here.

He had finally come here after 15 years.

Perhaps that’s why. He couldn’t help but feel strange.

Ahn Young-hee looked inside the restaurant again.

His mother was preparing Jokbal in the kitchen.

She had been doing that job consistently from morning till late at night for 15 years.

Before he knew it, his mother’s hair had also changed. The gray hairs that he occasionally saw one day had now spread all over her head.

‘Hmm…….’

Ahn Young-hee, who had been staring for a while, turned his head and said to Hyun-sung behind him.

“Hyun-sung, I finally came here after 15 years.”

“I know.”

“I thought I would never be able to come here in my life. I still feel like I’m dreaming that I’ve come here.”

Ahn Young-hee’s eyes turned red as he spoke.

He hadn’t told anyone, but it had always remained in a corner of his heart like homework that he had to solve.

Of course, nothing will change by coming here.

But he wanted to come at least once.

It’s a place where his mother, of all people, works day and night for her family.

As a son, he wanted to see that sight at least once. And he wanted to thank his mother for that.

“Hyun-sung, let’s go in now.”

“Okay.”

Creak!

Hyun-sung opened the store door. Then he lifted Ahn Young-hee, who was sitting in his wheelchair.

Meanwhile, Yoon Mi-sook, who was preparing Jokbal in the kitchen, said habitually at the sound of the store door opening.

“Welcome…….”

Yoon Mi-sook couldn’t finish her words.

An unimaginable thing was happening before her eyes.

She saw the figure of her son, whom she wouldn’t hurt even if she put him in her eyes [meaning: someone very precious].

“Young-hee!”

“Mom!”

“How did this happen?”

“As you can see, Hyun-sung brought me here.”

Yoon Mi-sook then noticed Hyun-sung holding her son.

“Hyun-sung, how did this happen?”

Ahn Young-hee and Hyun-sung had decided to be friends, so his mother, Yoon Mi-sook, could call Hyun-sung’s name and speak comfortably.

“I came to Seoul and stopped by to see Young-hee. He mentioned wanting to visit his mother, so here we are…”

Hyun-sung said, placing Ahn Young-hee in a chair. Then Ahn Young-hee immediately said.

“Mom, I got a haircut.”

“Oh? Really? Oh? But…….”

Yoon Mi-sook saw her son’s short hair.

“Why did you cut your hair so short?”

“Well, I just like it; it’s cooler this way.”

“That’s true, but…….”

To Yoon Mi-sook, her son’s short hair looked strange. He had never cut it this short before.

“It was uncomfortable when I washed my hair.”

Yoon Mi-sook seemed to know why her son had cut his hair short.

Although he says that, his true feelings must be different.

In the end, he must have made that decision to reduce his mother’s trouble.

She washes her son’s hair on the bed every other day.

Of course, it’s not easy. But she always thought she was happy to have a son who could do that.

“Mom is okay with it…….”

“No, Mom. It was uncomfortable.”

Ahn Young-hee smiled and handed over the bouquet he was holding.

“Mom, this.”

“Oh? What’s this bouquet for?”

“Is this the first time? Me giving Mom a bouquet. I wanted to give it to you at least once. To say thank you.”

“Thank you, my son.”

Yoon Mi-sook received the bouquet and held it to her chest. Then she began to smell the fragrance.

“Um! It smells good too.”

“Mom, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it…….”

“No, really. I don’t know what to say when I actually try to say it, but I was always thinking about it while lying at home.”

Yoon Mi-sook held Ahn Young-hee’s hand tightly. Then she immediately continued.

“I’m always grateful too. For not getting annoyed even though you’re always alone and for smiling at me. And I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? Don’t say that.”

“No, Mom is always…….”

“Mom!”

Ahn Young-hee interrupted Yoon Mi-sook’s words. Then he immediately continued.

“Don’t say that. It’s not Mom’s or my fault. So let’s not say that.”

Ahn Young-hee knew what his mother was trying to say. She was trying to blame herself for Ahn Young-hee’s disability.

It was then.

Three customers came in as the store door opened.

At that moment, Ahn Young-hee’s words quickened.

“Mom, we’ll be going now.”

“Why don’t you stay a little longer and eat some Jokbal?”

“No, I’m not hungry. Hyun-sung, get me outside…….”

“Oh? Oh, okay.”

Hyun-sung knew why Ahn Young-hee was in such a hurry. He must think that his appearance is hindering business.

Hyun-sung hugged Ahn Young-hee and came out. Then Yoon Mi-sook immediately followed.

“Young-hee, you don’t have to do this.”

“No, Mom. I’m going now anyway since I saw Mom. Go in and take care of the customers.”

“It’s okay. I can go in after seeing you leave.”

“Okay. Then we’ll be going now. See you in the evening.”

Ahn Young-hee, sitting in his wheelchair, gestured to Hyun-sung. It meant to leave quickly.

Hyun-sung had no choice but to say to Yoon Mi-sook.

“Mother, we’ll be going now.”

“Oh, okay. Hyun-sung, you’re having a hard time. Young-hee, see you in the evening.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Hyun-sung pushed the wheelchair.

As the two left the front of the store, Yoon Mi-sook immediately went inside.

Ahn Young-hee asked.

“Did Mom go in?”

“Yes, she just went in.”

“Then wait a minute.”

Hyun-sung immediately stopped the wheelchair he was pushing, then turned the wheelchair around to face the store again.

Ahn Young-hee was looking at the Jokbal restaurant. Then Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“Why were you in such a hurry?”

“Just because.”

“You didn’t have to go that far…….”

Hyun-sung stopped trying to say something. He knew why he was in such a hurry.

He wouldn’t want to show his appearance to the customers. He must have thought that it was for his mother’s sake.

Ahn Young-hee, who was looking at the store, called Hyun-sung at some point.

“Hyun-sung.”

“Yeah.”

“I have no regrets now.”

“Regrets?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Actually, I felt like I was a sinner all along. I couldn’t come to the store where Mom was working so hard for 15 years.”

Ahn Young-hee paused for a moment and continued.

“I finally got rid of that guilt today.”

“Why did you think that when you didn’t do it on purpose?”

“Of course, I didn’t do it on purpose, but I felt that way. I guess I wanted to act like a son in my own way.”

“…….”

Hyun-sung had nothing more to say to the words ‘acting like a son’.

Others may think differently, but he could have felt that way. Even though he is disabled, he must have had a sense of duty as a child.

“Hyun-sung, let’s go now!”

His voice was full of strength.

Perhaps he will be freed from the guilt that he alone felt today.

Perhaps that’s why his face was brighter than ever.

“Okay, let’s go home now.”

Hyun-sung started pushing the wheelchair again with vigor.

About 20 minutes had passed.

Hyun-sung stopped the wheelchair. Then Ahn Young-hee immediately asked.

“Why did you stop?”

“It’ll only take a minute.”

Hyun-sung entered a shopping district. The place he entered was a hardware store.

After a while, Hyun-sung came out again. Then Ahn Young-hee asked again.

“Why here?”

“I have something to deliver.”

“What?”

“You’ll know in a little while. Let’s go home now.”

Hyun-sung started pushing the wheelchair again.

Ten minutes later, the two arrived home.

Hyun-sung asked.

“Are you tired?”

“No, I’m okay. I’m a little tired, but I feel so good that I don’t feel anything.”

It was then.

Ding-dong!

The bell rang.

Hyun-sung opened the front door as if he had been waiting. Then a middle-aged man was standing outside. It was the owner of the hardware store he had stopped by earlier.

“I brought the Styrofoam you ordered.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Hyun-sung took the Styrofoam and came into the living room.

The thing he ordered from the hardware store earlier was Styrofoam.

The Styrofoam was a special Styrofoam. It was compressed Styrofoam with a thickness of about 10 cm [~4 inches]. It was usually used as a thermal insulator.

Ahn Young-hee asked.

“Hyun-sung, what are you going to use that Styrofoam for?”

“You’ll know in a little while.”

Hyun-sung ended his words and started cutting the Styrofoam.

It took some time to cut because it was thick.

30 minutes later.

Hyun-sung took the cut Styrofoam and walked to the side of the bed. Then he started filling the empty space next to the bed.

Ahn Young-hee, who was watching the scene, smiled without realizing it.

When the Styrofoam first arrived, he was just curious because he didn’t know what it was for. But as time went by, he seemed to know what it was for.

And a little while ago, when Hyun-sung took the cut Styrofoam and went to the side of the bed, he knew for sure what the Styrofoam was for.

“Hyun-sung, is that why you bought the Styrofoam?”

“Do you know now?”

“Yes, I think I know now.”

“From now on, you won’t fall into this corner. To be honest, I was so surprised when I first came here.”

That’s true.

When he first arrived here, Ahn Young-hee was stuck in the corner of the bed. Perhaps if it weren’t for him, he would have been stuck in the corner until his mother came home from work.

In fact, he said that he had been like that for more than ten hours.

So, what he was thinking was that he had to fill that empty space. That’s why he ordered Styrofoam.

“Okay, it’s all done.”

“Is it over?”

“Yeah, that’s right. You won’t fall here anymore. So you can roll around on the bed as you please.”

With those words, Hyun-sung lifted Ahn Young-hee, who was sitting in his wheelchair, and laid him on the bed.

Ahn Young-hee lying on the bed.

Rolling around.

Ahn Young-hee rolled around on the bed as if to show off. The place he arrived at was the corner of the bed. Just three hours ago, he was stuck here, unable to breathe properly.

But now, no matter how much he rolls, he doesn’t fall into the corner.

Tap tap.

Ahn Young-hee hit the floor with his hand. He could feel the texture of the Styrofoam.

“Hyun-sung, thank you. Now I don’t have to be stuck here and wait for Mom to come home from work.”

“That won’t happen.”

“You are my guardian angel today.”

Ahn Young-hee was so grateful to Hyun-sung.

Thanks to him, he went to the snack bar with memories of his father. And he got a haircut. Then he went to his mother’s store, which he had wanted to go to so much.

And now, he has perfectly blocked the empty space next to the bed that had been bothering him.

All of this happened today because Hyun-sung came.

Ahn Young-hee looked at Hyun-sung while lying down.

He felt like he had wings on his shoulders.

“Hyun-sung, those wings are cool.”

“What? Wings?”

“Yeah, those wings on your shoulders. Hehehe…….”

“This guy…….”

Hyun-sung then realized that Ahn Young-hee was joking. A smile began to spread on Hyun-sung’s face.