Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 157

As Woojin and the chairman planned, the union lost the first trial.

The news quickly reached all the union members, and they all became very upset.

“Chairman, your phone must be ringing non-stop!”

“Heh heh. What can we do? Please bear with it a little longer.”

“Shouldn’t we just open everything up to the union members?”

“Not yet. Everyone, please wait just one more week.”

The union members weren’t too worried because the chairman had already told them they might lose the first trial.

They were working to find proof, but it might take longer than the first trial.

He said they would definitely win the second trial, so please wait.

He had subtly told this to some union members he was close to.

Since the emergency committee representatives thought the union was lying to buy time, this was a smart plan that worked well.

If they didn’t believe this story, many union members would have quickly sold their homes already.

‘Just two more weeks to hold on,’ Kwak Hong-shik thought as he went to the union office veranda for a cigarette. He chuckled, remembering what happened last March.

He didn’t know that the plans he and Woojin made at the beginning would work out so well.

The operation started simply because he didn’t want the emergency committee members selling their apartments at high prices before the lawsuit. But thanks to Woojin, it had grown into something very big.

‘That guy is a real prodigy.’ Hong-shik felt much better and started thinking about his future plans.

‘Now, there are four properties left, right?’

After Woojin bought an apartment for 910 million won, the apartments listed on real estate sites for 1 billion won were gone.

Once the first deal went through, the emergency committee members who had been holding out started selling their properties quickly.

None of the properties sold for around 900 million won.

As Woojin had originally planned, eight properties were quickly sold for around 800 million won.

Of course, Woojin, the union leader, and Cheonwoong Construction were the buyers.

And the day before yesterday, as soon as the news of the first trial loss came out, five more properties were sold for around 850 million won.

So now, the emergency committee has only four properties left.

Union leader Kwak Hong-shik thought excitedly.

He was thinking about the four emergency committee members who were refusing to sell for 800 million won.

‘I need to buy at least two more properties next week…….’

He had to buy their properties before the second trial started.

Losing again in the second trial and delaying things even more would be risky for the union.

‘They’re definitely going to sell. The key is what price I buy them at…….’

Of the remaining four properties, one was for the union, two for Cheonwoong, and one for Woojin.

Hong-shik wanted to buy his share as cheaply as possible.

‘I’ve made the real estate market look tempting, so it’s time for them to start selling cheaply.’

Hong-shik stroked his prickly beard and glanced at his cell phone on the desk.

And just then…

Whirr-!

Hong-shik’s phone started ringing.

[Sunyoung Real Estate, CEO Lim ○○]

“Okay, that’s it, Sis.”

“Great. Thanks to you, I’m trying new things. I’m even investing in reconstruction.”

Today, Woojin finished the last purchase.

Today’s deal was the last and the cheapest.

The purchase price was a very low 830 million won, and Suha was the lucky buyer.

The deal was 80 million won cheaper than the 910 million won that Woojin had originally gotten a very good price for.

“Okay, so what happens next? All this real estate stuff is still a bit new to me.”

“Balance payment next week, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“When you deposit all the balance, the legal representative will register the deed.”

“Then?”

“Then that house will be yours.”

“Yay.”

“The second trial is scheduled for April 13th, so if you’re going to sell, you can sell it after that.”

Woojin was in the car driven by Suha for the first time in a while.

She was treating him to a meal because he helped her make an investment that anyone couldn’t do.

“So, Woojin.”

“Yeah?”

“How much should I sell it for when I sell it?”

“Hmm… If you’re going to sell it within three months, about 1.3 billion won.”

“That much?”

“Actually, it’s a waste to sell it for 1.3 billion won. If I were you, I’d just hold onto it until it’s completed.”

“Then how much will it be?”

“At least 1.7 billion won.”

“Wow……?”

“It could be almost 3 billion won in about ten years?”

“Hey, that’s a bit much.”

Suha thought Woojin was joking and made a funny face while driving.

But Woojin was not joking at all.

In 2020, in his previous life, Artia, which would have been built where Cheongdam Seonyeong was if it hadn’t been for Woojin, had apartments selling for 2.8 billion won.

‘I don’t know how much my regression will affect the future… But at least the trend won’t change.’

But he couldn’t tell her that, so Woojin smiled awkwardly and mumbled.

“I’m just saying, just saying.”

“You’re no fun.”

Woojin changed the subject.

“Okay, then here’s a quiz.”

“Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“When you sell it for 1.3 billion won, how much money will Lim Suha make?”

“Hey. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“So how much is it?”

“Well… Just a moment.”

Suha frowned and started calculating in her head.

Woojin chuckled, finding it amusing to tease her.

“Do you have to calculate that for so long?”

“Be quiet! You’re distracting me from driving!”

While the two were laughing and talking, Suha’s car arrived at their destination.

Screech-

Suha’s car stopped at a sushi restaurant in Hannam-dong that looked expensive.

As Suha parked the car at a place where the meal would easily cost around 200,000 won per person, Woojin asked, surprised.

“Sis, aren’t we going to an expensive place?”

“It’s okay. Thanks to you, I’m going to make hundreds of millions of won, so this is nothing.”

Woojin sighed and replied to Suha’s answer, which was half joke and half serious.

“Ha, I suddenly feel a lot of responsibility.”

“I trust you, Seo Woojin. The more pressure you have, the better.”

“Ah, why are you like this? I’m going to get indigestion from eating expensive food.”

“Hee hee, the sushi rice here is really excellent. It’s really delicious because it’s chewy?”

“You’re changing the subject……”

Soyeon loved beef, and Suha had always loved Japanese food.

She especially liked sushi, and most of the sushi restaurants she recommended were delicious, so Woojin entered the restaurant with anticipation.

“Welcome, Actor.”

“Hello, Chef!”

“You haven’t been around lately. It’s been a while.”

“I’ve been a little busy recently, haha.”

(Note: *Shari* is a special type of rice used for sushi.)

Su-ha looked like she knew this place well. She smiled warmly at the chef behind the counter, who smiled back.

They found a quiet table in the corner. Small dishes of food were already waiting for them. They both took a bite and started talking again.

Suddenly, a question popped into Woo-jin’s mind.

“By the way, Su-ha,” Woo-jin began, using the Korean word ‘Noona’ as a friendly way to address her.

“Hmm?” Su-ha replied.

“I heard you changed agencies?”

“Oh? How did you find out?”

“Jae-yeop told me,” Woo-jin said, using ‘Hyung’ to refer to Jae-yeop.

“Ah, yes,” Su-ha said.

“You moved to KSJ Entertainment?” Woo-jin asked.

Su-ha nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. My manager and I moved together. The old company’s contract was really bad.”

Woo-jin was surprised about Su-ha’s agency change. He remembered things differently. In his memory, Su-ha had changed agencies before, before she filmed the movie ‘Hannam-dong Romance.’ But she had moved to a different company then, not KSJ Entertainment. In fact, actress Im Su-ha, who everyone in the country loved, had been with Daisy Entertainment for almost her whole career. Woo-jin felt this change was because of him.

Kang So-jung, the CEO of KSJ Entertainment, was Seok-jung’s younger sister. Su-ha and Kang So-jung had met at Yu-ria’s year-end party. Woo-jin knew that if he hadn’t gotten involved with Yu-ria and Seok-jung, Kang So-jung probably wouldn’t have been at that party. Because of this, Woo-jin felt unsure if this agency change was a good thing for Su-ha.

‘I hope this new agency is good for Su-ha,’ Woo-jin thought. He worried that Su-ha’s future, which he believed would have made her a huge star in Korea if she stayed at Daisy Entertainment, had now changed, even if just a little.

Just as Woo-jin was thinking about this, Su-ha surprised him by saying something unexpected.

“Ah, now that you mention agencies, it reminds me.”

“Hmm?”

“So-jung—I mean, our CEO—really wants to meet you.”

“Meet me?” Woo-jin asked, surprised.

Su-ha nodded.

“Yes, really. She’s very interested.”

Woo-jin frowned, confused. He couldn’t understand why a CEO of an entertainment company would want to meet him, just an architect.

“Maybe she wants to build a new office building or something?” Woo-jin guessed.

Su-ha shook her head.

“I don’t think so. They just bought a new building for their company.”

“Hmm. Then why?”

Woo-jin thought hard, but couldn’t think of any reason.

He couldn’t think of any reason why KSJ, which mainly recruited talented actors, would be interested in him, someone who had only appeared on a variety show once.

‘Well, I’ll find out if I ever meet her.’

As they chatted, the food arrived quickly.

The sushi was as delicious as Su-ha had promised. Woo-jin savored each bite, enjoying the fresh taste.

“Let’s see you with Ria next time.”

“Thanks for the meal, Noona.”

“You’re welcome.”

Woo-jin felt really good as he walked home after the tasty meal. He thought about the delicious food and how nice Su-ha was.

And today, he had put the finishing touches on a project he had been working on for the past month.

And because of a final piece of information Su-ha gave him tonight, all his plans were finally ready.

‘Just about five days until the second trial,’ Woo-jin thought. He planned to go and watch. As someone involved with the apartment association and with a big interest in Sunyoung Apartments, he had every right to be there.

‘I can’t wait for next week,’ he thought. He was really curious to see how the emergency committee members would react when they heard the recording Chairman Hong-shik had made. It was all planned for that day at the apartment application site.

Wednesday, April 13th, arrived. Everything was going as planned, but Woo-jin still felt a little nervous on the day of the trial. Even if he was sure he would win, so much money was at stake that he felt the pressure.

‘Today’s trial will decide if I get billions of won,’ he thought. Woo-jin woke up early to clear his head and went to the courthouse on time, making sure he had no other plans.

This was the second trial, so it was held at the High Court in Seoul, in the Seocho-gu area.

From the seats high up in the courtroom, Woo-jin looked down. He could see the jury in the distance. Soon, everyone came in – those being sued and those who were suing. Chairman Kwak Hong-shik was in his seat as the person being sued. Across from him, in the seat for the people suing, sat a serious-looking man in his forties or fifties. ‘That must be the leader of the emergency committee,’ Woo-jin thought. He recognized the leader and the committee members behind him. Woo-jin smiled to himself. Just by looking at them, he could tell they weren’t worried at all. They probably thought they had already won this case.

As Woo-jin was thinking this, Kwon Soon-hyun, the head of the emergency committee, spoke to Hong-shik.

“Why did you even ask for another trial?” Soon-hyun said in a nasty voice, looking annoyed that he even had to be there.

Hong-shik just smiled slightly.

“Why did I ask for another trial? To win, of course.”

“If this case takes too long, everyone will lose money.”

“Really?” Hong-shik asked calmly.

“We are going to ask for everything back – the lawyer fees, money for our stress, everything!” Soon-hyun seemed to get even angrier, maybe because Hong-shik looked so calm.

But Hong-shik didn’t care about his angry words.

“Haha, do what you want,” Hong-shik said.

“……!” Soon-hyun was taken aback.

“But you should also think about what will happen if *you* lose. Haha,” Hong-shik added.

Soon-hyun jumped up, ready to shout, but court officers stopped him.

The trial had already begun, and such personal disputes were not allowed in court.

“Hoo….”

So, Soon-hyun took a deep breath and sat down, forced to glare at Hong-shik and grind his teeth.

Soon-hyun had disliked Hong-shik for a long time.

If Hong-shik, as the chairman of the association, had simply accepted the demands of the shopping district association, there wouldn’t have been any need for such a long battle.

Soon-hyun and the others on the committee had forgotten to even think about if their demands were fair or not. Often, people just remember things that make them look good.

But today, Soon-hyun had no choice but to reconsider where this long and difficult battle had gone wrong.

“According to the plaintiff’s claim, some members of Cheongdam Sunyoung Apartments gained unfair profits during the application process for certain apartment types. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“The allocation of one-plus-one apartment types, which allowed members to receive both a 45-pyeong and a 34-pyeong unit, was announced as unavailable to existing members who owned 40-pyeong units… It is also claimed that some of them received the allocation without the prior consent of other members. Is that correct as well?”

“That’s right. As evidence of this, we submit the member information booklet and the current apartment type allocation status chart.”

Suddenly, the defendant’s lawyer stood up and presented a USB drive.

“Objection, Your Honor,” the lawyer said.

Even when he heard the objection, Soon-hyun didn’t worry. He thought the other side was just trying anything they could to win, even if it was unlikely to work.

But then, the audio file from the USB started playing in the courtroom… “……!” Suddenly, the mood in the room changed. Everyone became quiet and tense.