Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 73

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you taking out your lunch box?”

“Oh? Right……”

Hyun-sung also took out his lunch box. As he did, he glanced at Lee Soo-hyuk once more.

Lee Soo-hyuk was still lying face down.

He felt too uncomfortable to eat lunch like this.

“Jung-woo, wait a minute……”

“Why, where are you going?”

Hyun-sung pointed his chin at Lee Soo-hyuk.

Lee Jung-woo nodded as if he understood. It was a different reaction from this morning. This morning, knowing Lee Soo-hyuk’s personality, he was unhappy with Hyun-sung approaching him. But Lee Soo-hyuk’s reaction wasn’t as severe as he thought, so his thoughts seemed to have shifted a bit.

Since he had been sick before, he seemed to be more understanding than others in that regard.

Hyun-sung was about to leave his seat when someone shouted.

“Hey, Lee Soo-hyuk, what’s wrong with you?”

The owner of the loud voice was none other than Park Cheol-min.

Hyun-sung didn’t have time to think.

Quickly.

His body moved automatically.

“Lee Soo-hyuk!”

“Ugh……”

Hyun-sung called out loudly, but Lee Soo-hyuk’s only reaction was a groan.

His whole body was already soaked with cold sweat.

Fortunately, he was still conscious.

“Lee Soo-hyuk, wake up. Can you hear me?”

“Ugh……”

He was clutching his right side in pain.

In an instant, appendicitis flashed through Hyun-sung’s mind.

There was no time to delay. If it was acute appendicitis like in his past life, every second was critical.

‘What should I do?’

Hyun-sung was momentarily troubled.

‘Right!’

But Hyun-sung’s hesitation didn’t last long. He concluded that it didn’t matter even if it wasn’t appendicitis. What was important now was that Lee Soo-hyuk wasn’t normal.

He decided that overreacting wouldn’t hurt.

Once he made up his mind, Hyun-sung’s next actions were swift.

Hyun-sung first called Park Cheol-min.

“Cheol-min, help me out.”

With those words, Hyun-sung began to push two desks together side by side. Then, with Park Cheol-min, he lifted Lee Soo-hyuk and laid him on the desks.

“Ahhh……”

Lee Soo-hyuk was still complaining of pain.

Hyun-sung quickly bent Lee Soo-hyuk’s right leg slightly. It was to get a more accurate understanding of the patient’s condition.

“Aha……”

Then Lee Soo-hyuk groaned as if he was about to faint.

He was convinced that it was appendicitis.

With a more definite judgment, Hyun-sung’s actions became even faster.

“Cheol-min, hold Soo-hyuk tight so he doesn’t fall. I’ll call 119 [emergency services number in South Korea, similar to 911].”

“119?”

Quickly!

Hyun-sung’s body was already out the back door of the classroom.

Hyun-sung left the classroom and ran to the faculty room on the first floor.

Thump, thump, thump.

The sound of him running down the stairs alone showed how urgent the time was.

Having come down the stairs, Hyun-sung sped up even more.

And finally, in front of the faculty room.

Bang!

Hyun-sung burst into the faculty room and looked for the nearest telephone.

Then the teachers in the room were startled and screamed.

“Hey, you……”

Hyun-sung didn’t hear what they were saying anyway.

Di-di-dik.

As Hyun-sung quickly dialed the number, the signal went right away.

Doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo.

-Yes, 119 situation room…….

“This is Seomyeong High School. There’s a patient needing emergency help. Please come quickly.”

-Where are you?

“Seo. Myeong. High School. Please come quickly.”

-What’s the patient’s condition?

“It’s acute appendicitis. It’s about to burst.”

-Pardon? Yes, I understand.

Hyun-sung was about to leave the faculty room after hanging up the phone.

Thud.

Someone grabbed Hyun-sung’s shoulder.

Turning around, it was Vice Principal Lee Ho-jin.

“Student, what’s going on?”

“Soo-hyuk is in a lot of pain right now. He needs to go to the hospital quickly.”

“You mean Lee Soo-hyuk?”

“Yes.”

As soon as Vice Principal Lee Ho-jin confirmed the name Lee Soo-hyuk, his eyes changed. In a rural town, being the head of the agricultural cooperative was a big deal. Lee Soo-hyuk’s father, Lee Man-soo, was the head of the cooperative.

Quickly.

Hyun-sung ran out of the faculty room and ran to the materials storage, not the classroom.

This is because there was a stretcher in the materials storage that was used during training exercises in military training class.

“Damn it.”

The door to the materials storage was locked.

Bang!

Fortunately, the door was made of thin general plywood, so the storage door opened right away after kicking it a few times.

Holding the pressure bandage and stretcher, Hyun-sung immediately started running back to the second-floor classroom.

Thump, thump, thump.

You could feel Hyun-sung’s urgent heart in the sound of him still running up the stairs quickly.

Hyun-sung was now thinking of moving Lee Soo-hyuk from the classroom to the school gate on a stretcher.

This was because it would shorten the time by at least 10 minutes.

It was to reduce the distance the paramedics would have to transport him.

Of course, the reason Hyun-sung was trying to do that was because he knew Lee Soo-hyuk’s condition. Otherwise, it would be dangerous to arbitrarily transport the patient, so it shouldn’t be done.

Hyun-sung returned to the classroom and checked Lee Soo-hyuk’s condition one more time first. Fortunately, Lee Soo-hyuk’s consciousness was still normal.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Soo-hyuk, who was lying down, and said.

“Soo-hyuk, just hang in there. I called 119, so they’ll be here soon.”

Lee Soo-hyuk barely nodded in response.

Then Hyun-sung looked at Park Cheol-min next to him and said.

“We learned it in military training class, right? We’re going to move Soo-hyuk to the main gate.”

“Okay!”

Park Cheol-min nodded.

But somehow, Park Cheol-min’s eyes were full of tension.

It was then.

Someone tapped Park Cheol-min on the shoulder.

“Move.”

It was Kim Il-soo.

He seemed to think that Park Cheol-min didn’t have the stamina to move Lee Soo-hyuk.

It wouldn’t matter much on flat ground, but there were stairs. He was probably worried about carrying him down from the second floor.

Then Park Cheol-min quickly moved out of the way as if he understood.

Hyun-sung looked at Kim Il-soo. Then Kim Il-soo also looked at Hyun-sung. Hyun-sung nodded first, and Kim Il-soo nodded as if he understood.

That was the end of their conversation.

The two of them first moved Lee Soo-hyuk onto the stretcher as they had learned in military training class.

If there was something wrong with his bones, they would have applied a splint and secured it first, but since that wasn’t the case, they laid him down as carefully as possible.

“This.”

Hyun-sung handed the pressure bandage to Park Cheol-min.

Park Cheol-min also knew what it meant, so he didn’t ask any further.

Thud.

When Park Cheol-min slammed the pressure bandage on the desk, the plastic was torn off.

Then Hyun-sung and Kim Il-soo lifted the stretcher.

Swish, swish.

Park Cheol-min began to tightly tie Lee Soo-hyuk and the stretcher together with the pressure bandage. This was to prevent slipping when going down the stairs.

“Done.”

When Park Cheol-min announced that he was finished, Hyun-sung said.

“Il-soo, are you ready?”

“Yeah!”

It was a rough but reliable voice.

“Let’s go then.”

“Yeah!”

Kim Il-soo’s voice was heard again.

Hyun-sung and Kim Il-soo were about to leave the classroom with Lee Soo-hyuk, matching their breaths.

Huff, huff.

Homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho blocked Hyun-sung’s path.

He probably received an urgent call while eating lunch and came quickly.

“What is it? Kim Hyun-sung?”

“Please move. There’s no time.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Hyun-sung took a step forward to avoid homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho because he didn’t have time.

Thud.

Shin Min-ho grabbed Hyun-sung’s shoulder.

“I’m asking you now. What’s going on?”

“It’s acute appendicitis. There’s no time, Teacher!”

“Hey, how do you know if it’s appendicitis or not? If something happens to Soo-hyuk while moving him on this stretcher, will you take responsibility?”

“Responsibility?”

Hyun-sung was momentarily dumbfounded.

Responsibility in this situation?

But there was no time to be doing this.

Thud.

Hyun-sung shook off the shoulder that the homeroom teacher had grabbed and shouted to Kim Il-soo in the back.

“Il-soo, we’re going straight to the main gate without stopping!”

“Yeah!”

Thud.

Hyun-sung pushed the stretcher past Shin Min-ho.

Then Shin Min-ho blocked Hyun-sung’s path again and shouted as if scolding him.

“Kim Hyun-sung, if something goes wrong, it’s all your responsibility. Got it?”

“I got it! I got it, so move!”

Without realizing it, informal speech came out of Hyun-sung’s mouth. He felt resentful towards homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho, who was only talking about responsibility even in this urgent situation.

It was the moment when the good feelings he had for Shin Min-ho from some time ago disappeared.

Of course, it’s not that he didn’t understand at all, but even so, this wasn’t it.

“You, this……”

Shin Min-ho was about to say something to Hyun-sung’s informal speech, but he clenched his teeth.

‘Why…….’

Why did it have to be Lee Soo-hyuk?

Shin Min-ho’s head was complicated. The reason was because of Lee Soo-hyuk’s mother.

He had no confidence in dealing with her if there was even a slight problem.

Shin Min-ho was terrified just thinking about it.

Hyun-sung continued to call Lee Soo-hyuk’s name while carrying the stretcher.

“Soo-hyuk, just hang in there!”

“Ugh……”

Each time, Lee Soo-hyuk could only barely answer with a groan.

The reason Hyun-sung kept calling Lee Soo-hyuk’s name was because he was worried that Lee Soo-hyuk might lose consciousness in the middle.

The stretcher that Hyun-sung and Kim Il-soo were carrying arrived at the main gate in less than 10 minutes.

Beep! Beep!

Then the sound of an ambulance began to be heard in the distance.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Soo-hyuk lying on the stretcher. His hands were trembling.

Hyun-sung grabbed Lee Soo-hyuk’s hand tightly.

“Soo-hyuk, don’t worry. Do you hear that sound?”

“……”

Then Lee Soo-hyuk gripped Hyun-sung’s hand tightly instead of answering.

Hyun-sung grabbed Lee Soo-hyuk’s hand and spoke again.

“Soo-hyuk, just hang in there, you’ll be fine soon when you go to the hospital.”

“Ugh……”

“What’s the thing that Soo-hyuk wants to do most?”

“Ugh……”

“Think carefully.”

Hyun-sung kept talking.

At that time, the 119 ambulance arrived at the main gate.

The paramedics quickly began to check Lee Soo-hyuk’s condition.

Following that, Lee Soo-hyuk’s father and mother also arrived.

Homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho approached Lee Soo-hyuk’s mother and began to explain something diligently.

Fortunately, Lee Soo-hyuk had not lost consciousness even when he was being taken away in the ambulance.

Compared to being carried away unconscious in his past life, it was definitely a different flow.

Beep! Beep!

The ambulance began to move away from the main gate.

Hyun-sung looked at the departing ambulance.

Compared to his past life, he had shortened the time by at least an hour. He had done everything he could. Now, he could only hope that Lee Soo-hyuk would return safely and quickly.

It was then.

Thud.

Someone grabbed Hyun-sung’s shoulder.

It was Vice Principal Lee Ho-jin.

“Student, you’ve worked hard.”

“Ah, yes……”

Only then did Hyun-sung realize that the situation was over.

Then homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho approached Hyun-sung.

“How did you know?”

“……”

Hyun-sung didn’t say anything and turned away. If he heard Shin Min-ho’s voice any longer, he felt like he might throw a punch at this moment.

Returning to the classroom, Hyun-sung poured a cup of water.

“Il-soo, drink this. You worked hard today.”

“It was nothing for me……”

Kim Il-soo was still a man of few words.

Then someone approached Hyun-sung. It was class president Lee Young-min.

“Hyun-sung, you worked hard.”

“Worked hard my ass……”

“But……”

Lee Young-min seemed to have something to say.

“What is it?”

“……The homeroom teacher is calling for you.”

Lee Young-min was having a hard time conveying the message, probably because he had seen the situation earlier.

But Hyun-sung’s answer was not easy either.

“Go and tell him. I’ll go after I eat.”

“What?”

Lee Young-min looked at Hyun-sung as if his eyes were about to pop out.

Then Hyun-sung said again.

“You worked hard too. Don’t worry about it and go eat.”

“Eat?”

“Yeah, I’ll take responsibility, so you don’t have to worry.”

Then Lee Young-min seemed to think for a moment and continued.

“Okay! Let’s eat. Now that I think about it, you didn’t do anything wrong, so there’s no need to be scared, right?”

Now that he thought about it, he could feel that Lee Young-min had changed a lot from before.

Hyun-sung started eating his lunch box.

Then Lee Jung-woo, who was watching, said.

“The homeroom teacher is calling for you.”

“Can’t you see I’m eating?”

“Isn’t the homeroom teacher first?”

“No, eating comes first. And it’s obvious what will happen if I go, so am I crazy?”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Of course I’m scared. That’s why I’m not going.”

Lee Jung-woo was confused by Hyun-sung’s answer.

He was confused as to whether this meant he was scared or not.

Hyun-sung had no intention of going to the homeroom teacher at all. He thought that everything would be resolved once he received a call from Lee Soo-hyuk’s father or mother.

If the surgery was successfully completed thanks to the quick transfer, the school and especially the homeroom teacher would be happier than anything else.

As expected, the answer came during the closing meeting.

Homeroom teacher Shin Min-ho’s face was beaming.

“I received a call from Soo-hyuk’s father……”

Fortunately, the appendix had not burst, so the surgery was simple and successful. He did not forget to mention that he could be discharged within a week.

Shin Min-ho called Hyun-sung as he was leaving.

“Ah, and Hyun-sung, go see the principal.”

This time it’s the principal.

Not the counseling room, not the vice principal.

The principal’s office.

I’ve never even seen it in my past life…….

Even now, I don’t have any intention of seeing it.

‘Should I not go?’