Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 729

732

*Thud!*

Hyunsung tilted his head, having just hung up the phone.

He had received a call a moment ago. The caller was, unexpectedly, Yoon Seunghyun, the chief of staff from Nongshim.

The reason for his call was that Chairman Shin Minki wanted to meet Hyunsung.

‘What could this be about?’

Hyunsung couldn’t help but wonder.

He had had no contact with Chairman Shin Minki until now. Yet, out of the blue, he wanted to meet him.

For what reason?

From his perspective, there shouldn’t be anything he lacked.

“What on earth is going on?”

Hyunsung muttered to himself, tilting his head. Just then, his wife, Yoon Jisu, who was approaching, asked.

“Who were you talking to that you’re muttering to yourself like that?”

“It was Chief of Staff Yoon Seunghyun from Nongshim.”

“Isn’t that the person who transported Suhyuk from Wonju to Seoul last time?”

He had told his wife, Yoon Jisu, about Lee Suhyuk’s transport last time. So, she recognized his name as soon as she heard it.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But why is he calling?”

“The Chairman wants to meet me……”

“What?”

Yoon Jisu’s voice suddenly grew louder. She was also surprised that the Chairman of Nongshim suddenly wanted to meet Hyunsung.

She immediately asked again.

“Why does the Chairman want to see you?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know why he wants to see me either.”

“That’s strange. Someone who hasn’t contacted you at all until now suddenly wants to see you, could it be……?”

Yoon Jisu’s eyes sparkled as if something had occurred to her. Seeing that, Hyunsung immediately asked.

“Why? Do you have something in mind?”

“Could it be because of Chairman Shin Chun-oh, who lives in the countryside?”

“Chairman Shin?”

“Yes, I don’t think he would suddenly want to see Hyunsung for any other reason.”

“Hmm……”

Hyunsung was silent for a moment, as if deep in thought.

Then Yoon Jisu spoke again.

“I think that’s the only possibility. Otherwise, there’s no reason for Hyunsung to be involved with Nongshim.”

“I guess so……”

Hyunsung nodded slowly.

Perhaps his wife was right. He had no connection to Nongshim at all. If there was one, it would be Shin Chun-oh, the former chairman of Nongshim, as his wife said.

The fact that he lived near the restaurant he currently ran.

“That could be it.”

“But when is he coming?”

“Today. He wants to meet today. He’s probably on his way down to Incheon right now.”

“Really? But it’s still strange. To suddenly want to see you without any prior contact.”

Yoon Jisu tilted her head and got up from her seat. Hyunsung immediately asked.

“Do you want to meet him with me?”

“Me? No, thanks. I feel uncomfortable meeting people like chairmen. Tell me what it’s about after you meet him. I’m going down to the café.”

With those words, Yoon Jisu opened the front door and went outside.

Hyunsung was left alone.

Even though she spoke as if it was nothing, he couldn’t help but be concerned.

After pondering for a bit longer, Hyunsung suddenly shook his head vigorously from side to side. It was an expression of his determination not to worry any further.

“I’ll know when I meet him.”

Hyunsung lay down on the living room sofa.

Since it would take about an hour for them to come from Seoul, he planned to rest without thinking about anything until then.

Actually, he was resting at home because it was Saturday.

It would have been impossible in his past life, but these days, he rests at home with his wife on Saturdays.

The country was still far from implementing a five-day workweek, but Hyunsung was already working on a five-day schedule.

He had decided to do so because he knew that family was more important than work.

***

A black car was speeding along the Gyeongin Expressway towards Incheon.

There were three people in the car. In the front were Chief of Staff Yoon Seunghyun and the driver, Kim Woosik, and in the back was Chairman Shin Minki of Nongshim.

Shin Minki, who was in the back seat, called out to Yoon Seunghyun.

“Chief Yoon.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“You said that the business Kim started as soon as he came up to Incheon was a video store, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. He went straight to the video store and signed the contract on the day he came up to Incheon.”

Hearing Yoon Seunghyun’s answer, Shin Minki shook his head from side to side. Seeing that, Yoon Seunghyun immediately asked.

“Chairman, what’s wrong?”

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand it.”

“What do you mean?”

Yoon Seunghyun turned his head to look at Chairman Shin Minki. Chairman Shin Minki immediately continued.

“As Chief Yoon knows, the restaurant Kim was running at the time had average daily sales of 1 billion won.”

“Yes, that’s right, but.”

“Think about it. At that level, since it’s his own building, he doesn’t have to pay rent, and even if you only consider the net profit, it would be at least 500 million won a day. Are you telling me that someone like that starts a video store as soon as he comes to Incheon? Does that make sense?”

Chairman Shin Minki couldn’t understand it no matter how much he thought about it.

How could someone who earns at least 500 million won a day in net profit start a video store, of all things, as soon as he comes to Incheon?

When he first left his hometown and went to Incheon, he thought he would start some big business. But what he chose was a video store, which he had never even imagined.

This doesn’t make sense.

Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Yoon Seunghyun felt the same way.

One of the things he couldn’t understand the most while investigating was the video store that Hyunsung had chosen.

This was not a logical situation.

With a basic net profit of 500 million won coming in every day, he leaves that business to a friend and comes to Incheon to run a video store? Does that make sense?

“Chairman, I have the same thought as you. I also can’t understand Mr. Kim’s video business at all.”

“Right? This doesn’t make sense, does it?”

“Yes, that’s right. If he’s in his right mind, this is impossible……”

Chief of Staff Yoon Seunghyun stopped talking and shook his head from side to side. From his perspective, it was a part he couldn’t understand at all.

Shin Minki seemed to think for a moment and then asked again.

“What’s the reason?”

“The reason?”

“Yes, if Mr. Kim made such a decision, it must have been for a reason. Don’t you think so?”

“Well, I…….”

Chief of Staff Yoon Seunghyun could only tilt his head and had nothing to say.

There’s a limit to everything. It’s a business involving money, of all things. In that sense, Yoon Seunghyun couldn’t accept Hyunsung’s choice at all.

He had no way of knowing that Hyunsung had chosen the video store to meet his wife, so his reaction was perhaps natural.

Who in the world would understand someone who ran the biggest restaurant in Korea suddenly starting a video store, of all things?

“Chairman, I’m sorry, but I can’t figure out the reason no matter how hard I try.”

“Well, I guess…….”

Chairman Shin Minki nodded as if he had no choice but to admit it.

Shin Minki wanted to find the reason no matter what. He thought that if Hyunsung made such a choice, there must be a reason.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find the reason in his own head.

Shin Minki clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed and opened his mouth.

“I guess trying to find the reason was just my greed.”

“No, it’s not your greed, Chairman, it’s just that Mr. Kim is strange. There’s a limit to everything, and this goes beyond basic common sense.”

“In the end, Mr. Kim is not someone we can understand.”

“Yes, that’s the only way to put it…….”

Yoon Seunghyun nodded, making a face as if he had no choice but to give up. The same was true for Chairman Shin Minki, who was sitting in the back.

The two of them began to nod at the same time, as if they had made a promise.

After a while.

Shin Minki seemed to have thought of something and opened his mouth again.

“By the way, what happened during the IMF crisis? That dollar thing.”

“That’s also amazing. While others were going bankrupt, Mr. Kim made a huge amount of money at that time.”

“Did he make 1 trillion won in dollars?”

“Yes, that’s right. He invested all his money in dollars before the IMF crisis broke out. Thanks to that, he earned over 1 trillion won.”

“Hehe, 1 trillion…….”

Shin Minki couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Then Yoon Seunghyun spoke again.

“What about stocks? While the stocks that others bought became worthless, Mr. Kim made 2 trillion won in stocks during the IMF crisis. 1 trillion won in dollars, 2 trillion won in stocks, a total of 3 trillion won. Thanks to that, his bank balance exceeded 4 trillion won.”

“4 trillion…… Hehe, this is something.”

Chairman Shin Minki let out another hollow laugh.

An individual, not a company, earns 4 trillion won? [Approximately 3 billion USD]

This was unbelievable. But the important thing was that the person named Hyunsung had accomplished that unbelievable feat.

Shin Minki thought for a moment and then cautiously opened his mouth.

“This is just my opinion, but…… I think Mr. Kim knows the future.”

“What? The future?”

“Yes, otherwise how could such a thing be possible? The land in Ilsan, the dollars, and the stocks, it’s all the same.”

“Oh? Now that you mention it, that seems to be the case. The opportunities that made Mr. Kim a lot of money were the land in Ilsan, the dollars, and the stocks.”

Yoon Seunghyun had no choice but to admit it.

What he learned while investigating was how Hyunsung had made his money.

The first was the land in Ilsan. He earned 50 billion won [Approx. 37 million USD] at that time, which allowed him to open the current restaurant.

And then there were the dollars. He earned over 1 trillion won in dollars.

Then he earned 2 trillion won in stocks.

Based on the IMF crisis [International Monetary Fund crisis, a period of financial instability in Asia], he earned 3 trillion won in almost a year. This is impossible without knowing in advance.

As the chairman said, it was impossible without knowing the future.

Not just once, but three times.

Shin Minki said again.

“But, is that really possible? For a person to know the future.”

“Why, sometimes when you watch movies…….”

“That’s just a movie. When I think that Mr. Kim might be able to do that, on the one hand, I wonder if it’s really possible, so I’m confused.”

Chairman Shin Minki shook his head from side to side. Seeing that, Yoon Seunghyun seemed to have thought of something and immediately opened his mouth.

“Chairman, what about dreams?”

“Dreams?”

“Yes, that’s right. Do you remember the sign hanging in Mr. Kim’s ramen shop?”

“Of course. I saw it in the picture.”

Chairman Shin Minki nodded and answered. Then Chief of Staff Yoon Seunghyun immediately continued.

“Do you remember how he said he made that sign?”

“He said he saw the image of Shin Ramyun [a popular brand of instant noodles in Korea] in a dream…… Oh? Wait a minute!”

*Thud!*

Chairman Shin Minki slapped his knee as if he had thought of something. Then he immediately continued.

“That’s right. Mr. Kim definitely said he saw the image of Shin Ramyun in a dream and made the sign, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Not only that, but he also said he knew the release date of Shin Ramyun in advance after seeing it in a dream.”

“So, in the end, that friend sees the future in his dreams?”

“In conclusion, that’s right.”

“Hmm…….”

Shin Minki was silent, wondering what he was thinking.

It was only after some time had passed that he opened his mouth again.

“It’s clear that Mr. Kim has a special ability.”

“If that’s true…… this is not a normal problem.”

Yoon Seunghyun’s expression became serious.

Knowing the future?

This is not a normal problem.

If that’s really true, then making money in the future is like a piece of cake.

It was just then.

The sign ‘Bupyeong’ came into Yoon Seunghyun’s eyes.

Yoon Seunghyun took out his cell phone and made a call. It was to arrange a meeting place with Hyunsung.

After finishing the call, Yoon Seunghyun said to Shin Minki, who was sitting in the back.

“Chairman, Mr. Kim said to meet at a gopchang [Korean grilled small intestine dish] restaurant.”

“Gopchang?”

“Yes, that’s right. What should we do?”

“I haven’t eaten gopchang yet…….”

“Shall we decide on another place then?”

“Hmm…….”

Shin Minki couldn’t answer right away.

After a while.

Shin Minki opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“No, just go to the gopchang restaurant. We’re the ones who are desperate right now. We have to make a good impression on Mr. Kim.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The car, which had exited the Gyeongin Expressway, began to head towards Bupyeong.