Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 134

Woojin ate his cold noodles quietly, moving his chopsticks like he was very hungry. After a moment, he looked up at Kyungwan.

“Chief,” Woojin began, “you know Paramount company, right?”

Kyungwan looked surprised. “Paramount? Of course, I know Paramount! Do you think I live under a rock? I even went to Paradise supermarket there just last night for groceries.”

Woojin blinked. “Paradise? You mean the supermarket Paradise?”

Kyungwan nodded, taking a big bite of kimchi. “Yeah, Paradise. My wife kept saying how great it was for days. And you know, when you need to buy a lot of things, there’s no place better.”

Paramount Group was a huge distribution company, one of the biggest in the country.

The Paradise supermarket that Park Kyungwan mentioned was the largest supermarket brand in the country.

The Parafield brand, which they were building in Wangsimni, wasn’t as well-known as Paradise, but it was still a fast-growing mall brand.

‘It’s a brand that will be at the top of the industry soon.’

So, Kyungwan was a little confused by Woojin’s question about whether he knew Paramount, because Woojin’s question had a slightly different meaning.

“Sorry, I’m talking about something else for a moment… Chief, have you ever worked with Paramount?”

“Ah, so that’s what you meant by ‘knowing’? That’s the real question.”

“Yes, that’s right. I was hoping you could introduce me to someone if you know anyone there…”

As Woojin hoped, Kyungwan had worked with Paramount several times.

In fact, Paramount’s new headquarters in Seocho-gu was built by Chunwoong Construction.

Woojin didn’t know that when he asked.

“What is it? What are you planning this time?”

Kyungwan picked up a piece of radish kimchi with his chopsticks, crunched it, and looked closely at Woojin.

From the way he spoke, he knew something interesting was happening.

If Woojin was talking about Paramount from a business point of view, it had to be about design or construction.

And Park Kyungwan was very interested in that.

“What do you mean ‘planning’? It’s not like I’m doing anything bad.”

“Hehe. Of course, it’s not a bad thing, but you look like you’re about to cause some trouble.”

“……”

“Anyway, what is it? I need to know why to help you.”

Kyungwan looked curious, and Woojin shook his head and paused to think.

“Hmm. Where should I start explaining this…”

He couldn’t exactly say he knew the future, so he needed to think about how much he should change the story a little for Kyungwan.

In the end, Woojin decided to tell about 90% of the truth and add a little bit of a lie.

“Chief, do you know Bruno?”

“Who’s that?”

“The architect Bruno Sanchez.”

“Hmm…?”

“You know, the Spanish architect who designed the Glacial Tower in Yongsan.”

“Ah, him! Why are you asking about him?”

“He’s entering the Wangsimni mall design competition that Paramount announced, and WJ Studio is working with him on the design.”

“What? Really? So?”

“But there’s a problem.”

“Problem?”

“The problem is that they’ve already decided which construction company will build this mall.”

Kyungwan listened to Woojin and tilted his head.

It wasn’t unusual for design competitions to happen when the construction company had already been chosen.

Woojin saw Kyungwan’s expression and added something.

“If the construction company that’s been chosen is pushing a design company that’s basically their own… You know what the problem is, right?”

Woojin’s story wasn’t really a lie, but the order of events was a little off.

He just told Kyungwan the information he knew because he knew the future result of the rigged competition, as if he already knew it.

Kyungwan listened and now understood what Woojin was saying.

Even though he looked like a bear, Kyungwan was quite smart.

“So, it’s basically a competition where the winner is already picked.”

“That’s right.”

“This is a headache.”

Kyungwan frowned a little and quietly ate his cold noodles for a moment.

Woojin didn’t rush Kyungwan.

He looked like he was thinking hard.

Both of them finished their cold noodles.

Kyungwan spoke again.

“Which construction company is it?”

“Taeho Construction.”

Kyungwan’s face changed even more when he heard Woojin’s answer.

“Hoo. I see, I see.”

“You know the company?”

“Know them? Of course, I know them!”

“……!”

“They were our competitor about seven or eight years ago.”

Woojin looked a little surprised at Kyungwan’s words.

Taeho Construction was now a mid-sized construction company that wasn’t really comparable to Chunwoong.

If Kyungwan was right, it meant that Chunwoong was also a small company around the year 2000.

He didn’t know this in his past life either.

‘Chunwoong grew really fast as a construction company.’

Kyungwan continued.

“I know the situation, so what are you going to do?”

Woojin swallowed and slowly spoke again.

“We need to find the person who took the bribe.”

“The person who took the… bribe?”

“Someone at Paramount must have taken a bribe from Taeho Construction.”

“Hmm… And then?”

“We need to report it to the Paramount audit team.”

“So, you want me to use my connections to find the person in charge?”

“I’ve already found the person in charge. It’s Team Leader Ahn Ji-hong from the Business Execution Department…?”

“Then why do you need my connections?”

“We need to gather some real evidence. The audit team at a big company won’t start an investigation based only on what we think.”

Woojin finished speaking, and Kyungwan was quiet for a moment.

But he didn’t look very happy.

He didn’t think Woojin’s idea was a very good solution.

“You don’t think only one person took the bribe, do you?”

Woojin paused at Kyungwan’s words.

He seemed to know what he meant.

“You mean the problem could be bigger than we think?”

“That’s right.”

Woo-jin leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful “Hmm…” escaping his lips. He swirled the cold noodles in his bowl, the steam rising slightly in the air-conditioned room.

“A project like the Wangsimni private investment is worth hundreds of billions,” he finally said, looking across the table at Kyung-wan.

“That’s right,” Kyung-wan replied.

“If Taeho Construction really wanted to win, they would have bribed people with at least two billion, right?”

Woo-jin had thought his plan was straightforward: Report the corruption of the lower-level staff to their bosses and stop the unfair bidding. Simple.

But Kyung-wan’s words hung in the air, heavy as the humid summer day. Executives too? If even the top bosses were taking bribes, things were much worse than he imagined. Finding proof would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. And the company’s own audit team? They would probably be part of the problem, not the solution.

Woo-jin’s simple plan suddenly felt very small and weak. Did I really think this would be easy? He hadn’t given up, not yet. But he knew he needed to think bigger, think smarter.

“You look… younger today,” Kyung-wan said, a smirk playing on his lips. “Almost like you’re in your twenties. Well, maybe early thirties.”

Woo-jin frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Kyung-wan chuckled. “Your plan. It’s… a little bit innocent.” He took a long sip of his broth, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “You’ll learn. Experience is the best teacher, you know?”

Kyung-wan’s teasing smile made Woo-jin roll his eyes. Unpredictable was definitely the right word for him.

“Okay, wise Director,” Woo-jin said, a hint of a smile in his voice. “What’s your experienced opinion then? Enlighten me, the innocent newbie. You pointed out the problem, now give me the solution.”

Kyung-wan leaned back, pretending to be offended. “Look at you! I rescue you from drowning in your own naive plan, and now you’re trying to rob me blind!”

“Not rob,” Woo-jin corrected, grinning. “Just borrowing. Think of it as an investment. I’ll pay you back with a bag twice as big, maybe three times. So, you can relax a little and share your wisdom.”

Kyung-wan laughed, shaking his head. He knew Woo-jin was right. He already owed him a lot.

“Alright then, Woo-jin,” Kyung-wan said, becoming more serious. “Listen carefully to my plan.”

“…Please, tell me,” Woo-jin replied, leaning forward.

Kyung-wan cleared his throat. “What’s really important to you right now isn’t just finding bribes or corruption, right?”

“That’s right,” Woo-jin agreed. “As long as the bidding process is fair…”

“Then do we really need to investigate Paramount directly?”

“You mean…?” Woo-jin asked, confused.

“Let’s change our target to the district office, or even the Ministry of Transportation.”

Woo-jin’s eyes widened.

Kyung-wan grinned. “Korean citizens have a powerful weapon, you know. We can make official complaints.”

Woo-jin tilted his head, still trying to understand.

Think about it, Woo-jin. This Wangsimni station project, even though it’s private money, it’s still for the public. It’s our station, the citizens’. And who do the government offices listen to most? Us, the people! They have to get approval from the government, right? And the government has to listen to the people. If enough people complain, they can’t just ignore it.

“So… you’re saying to start making complaints?”

“Yes. I’m a Seongdong-gu resident, and I think the Wangsimni station construction will be too inconvenient for my commute. Why are they trying to construct a station that’s already working fine?” Kyung-wan continued in his uniquely sly voice.

“What would the district office employee think?”

“They’d be frustrated to death. Actually, if the station’s private investment project goes well, the biggest beneficiaries will be the Seongdong-gu residents.”

“That’s right. They’ll think another stupid troublemaker has rolled in from somewhere.”

Kyung-wan paused for a moment before continuing. “But can they ignore it? That’s not true either. No matter how awful they think the complaint is, they have no choice.”

“What’s next?”

“They’ll probably try to persuade you. How big a complex mall will be created if this private investment project proceeds, and how much it will revitalize the local economy… and so on.”

Woo-jin’s eyes sparkled as he began to realize something.

“Hmm. I suppose so?”

“What are you going to say here?”

One corner of Woo-jin’s mouth curled up into a smirk. “I’ll say I want to see the detailed business plan. I want to check how much of a construction project will help the local community. And ask them to transparently disclose the design competition.”

At Woo-jin’s answer, this time Kyung-wan looked surprised. “Ooh. What’s this? Why is your head working so well? Did you already catch on?”

“He he. I’ve always been good at using my brain.”

“Then what are you going to do next?”

Woo-jin thought for a moment before opening his mouth again. “The public official probably won’t give in easily, right?”

“That’s right. Because this is a very troublesome thing. If you look at it fundamentally, it’s very important for stopping corruption in all public projects, for the good of everyone. But to them, it’s just extra work because of one annoying person complaining.”

“Then what do I do?”

Kyung-wan smiled. “You have to file another complaint.”

“Yes?”

“You have to bombard them with complaints. Keep filing them until they give in. Because raising that proposal once will be easier to just give in.”

Woo-jin, who was listening to Kyung-wan’s story, was momentarily lost for words. It was truly a crude method, but he couldn’t help but think that there was no more certain way.

“Director, are you a genius?”

“Me? Are you asking the obvious? Actually, my IQ must be over 150, but I’m just too lazy to take the test.”

Even while listening to Kyung-wan’s joke, Woo-jin was quickly organizing his plan in his head. Although it was a crude method, it was a method that required some effort and time, so there was no time to spare.

“But there’s one last problem, Director.”

“What is it?”

“For the complaint to be really effective, a real Seongdong-gu resident has to file a complaint through the district office website… But I’m not a resident here, am I?”

Kyung-wan looked at him, surprised and a little annoyed. “Why are you being so slow all of a sudden?”

“Huh?” Woo-jin blinked.

Kyung-wan pointed at himself. “There’s a Seongdong-gu resident sitting right here, you idiot!”

“Ah…!” Understanding dawned on Woo-jin’s face, and he scratched the back of his head, feeling a little foolish. Of course! Kumho-dong… that was Seongdong-gu too.

Kyung-wan grinned. “My wife is a master of complaints. Maybe she can join our team and help us out?”