Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 223

Kim Jun-young, who worked at Cloud Partners, was more than just a salesperson to Woojin. Their relationship was special.

Woojin first met Kim through Park Kyung-wan when he was looking to buy a building in the knowledge industry center.

Since then, they had stayed in touch.

Actually, their friendship might have ended after Woojin bought the building. It was Kim Jun-young who kept in touch with Woojin afterwards.

At the time, Kim Jun-young’s sales numbers went up a lot because of Woojin. He was so thankful that he treated Kyung-wan and Woojin to a nice meal.

That’s how they stayed friends.

Kim Jun-young leaned forward, a wide grin on his face. “Honestly, I thought I was going to get fired! You two saved me back then.”

Woojin chuckled, waving his hand. “Come on, Kim, don’t be like that. We all helped each other out. That’s how it works, right?”

Jintae nodded, taking a sip of his drink. “Yeah, and thanks to you, Kim, I got a good deal on my place too. Got it for a steal!”

Woojin smiled warmly at Kim. “You helped me out too, Kim. We’re even.”

Kim Jun-young still looked genuinely touched. “Still, I really appreciate it, CEO Seo.”

Back then, Kim Jun-young was just a deputy in the sales department, and he was under a lot of pressure to meet his sales goals.

Now, the building in Seongsu-dong would easily find buyers willing to pay more than the price from two years ago.

But at that time, there was a high risk of having empty, unsold units.

The bosses were threatening to cut their pay and even suggesting they quit if they couldn’t sell everything.

The salespeople on the front lines were the ones who suffered the most.

So, when Woojin bought eight units, it was like a blessing during a difficult time.

“It wasn’t just a blessing,” Kim said. “Thanks to CEO Seo, I sold ten units all by myself.”

“Haha, is that what happened?” Woojin replied.

“After that, things started to go well for me, and I signed contracts for five more units. Once I got started, everything fell into place.”

Kim Jun-young looked very happy as he talked about that time. Jintae listened with interest.

Woojin, sitting next to him, looked a little embarrassed.

“But that’s not all.”

“You mean there’s more?” Jintae asked.

“I mean that’s not the only way CEO Seo helped me out,” Kim replied.

It was during that drinking session, when Kim Jun-young was thanking them for everything.

Jun-young had told Kyung-wan and Woojin something important.

Kim sighed, “Actually, I don’t think sales is right for me. I’m thinking about quitting.”

Woojin asked, “Really? Sales can be hard if you are not good at it…”

Kim replied, “Well, even if I get promoted, the stress will only get worse. A small raise isn’t worth it.”

As they drank, Kim shared his worries.

Woojin suggested, “Then, why don’t you try moving to a different department?”

Kim asked, “Which department?”

Woojin explained, “A developer doesn’t just have a sales department. There’s also a business department and a marketing department…”

Kim hesitated, “Uh, well… it’s not easy…”

Woojin encouraged him, “When you’re doing well and things are going smoothly, try talking to the bosses. Everything depends on people, so there’s always some wiggle room.”

Woojin made an unexpected suggestion.

Kim admitted, “Actually, I’ve wanted to work in the business department for a while. I think that kind of work suits me better.”

Woojin proposed, “Then, how about this deal?”

Kim asked, “What kind of deal?”

Woojin said, “There are still some empty units in IT Tower, right?”

Kim confirmed, “That’s true. But I think they’ll probably be sold within the next month. Why are you asking?”

Woojin explained, “The deputy manager is buying one of the unsold units.”

Kim was surprised, “Yes?”

Woojin continued, “The bosses probably want to sell everything as quickly as possible, right?”

Kim agreed, “Of course. The company seems to be in a hurry because of cash flow.”

Woojin suggested, “At times like this, the deputy manager, who is doing well, can help out. In return, ask them to transfer you to the headquarters business department.”

Kim was speechless, “Huh…”

Woojin concluded, “If you make a deal like this, wouldn’t it be possible?”

When Kim first heard Woojin’s idea, he was shocked.

Even though he really wanted to quit because his job was so tough, making a deal with his boss while buying a unit worth over a hundred million seemed too far-fetched.

He also wasn’t sure if Woojin’s suggestion would actually work.

So, he just laughed it off at the time.

Kim said, “Hey. I don’t think I should go that far, CEO.”

Woojin apologized, “Well, it might seem like too much… I just said it because I thought I would do that if I were you. Sorry if I went too far.”

Kim reassured him, “Oh, you’re not going too far. Not at all. I’m really grateful that you even said this.”

But later, Kim felt embarrassed.

He had to think about Woojin’s idea, which he had almost forgotten.

“The head office is putting a lot of pressure on the salespeople,” Kim explained.

Jintae asked, “How?”

Kim said, “They announced that the top three salespeople in 2011 would get priority for promotions.”

Jintae exclaimed, “Huh…”

Kim continued, “When they said that, I was tied for third place. If I sold just one more unit, I would be in the top three. Isn’t that amazing? So, I decided to take CEO Seo’s suggestion without any hesitation.”

Jintae asked, “So, by any chance…”

Kim Jun-young smiled and nodded. “That’s right. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I closed my eyes and bought a unit in my name. I used my entire three-year savings.”

Kim Jun-young said he would never forget what happened then.

After that, Kim’s career became much easier.

Also, the unit he bought in IT Tower became a good investment.

Jintae asked, “You bought about 50 pyeong based on the contract area at that time, right?”

Kim replied, “That’s right.”

Jintae asked, “Then you bought it for about 280 million?”

Kim said, “I’m an employee, so I bought it a little cheaper.”

Jintae guessed, “Then about 250 million…?”

Kim laughed, “I won’t tell you the exact number.”

At the time, Kim took out a loan of 150 million and bought one unit for about 230 million.

The rent he received each month, about 1.3 million won, covered the interest on the loan. He even had some extra income of about 800,000 won every month.

Two years later, the unit was worth so much that you couldn’t buy it for 350 million.

His investment had grown by over 150%.

“So, CEO Seo is definitely my benefactor,” Kim said.

Woojin waved his hand. “Benefactor? No, Kim, you just made a good choice.”

Kim shook his head. “No, if you hadn’t said anything at that drinking session, I probably wouldn’t have made that decision.”

Jintae, who was listening to them, sighed deeply.

“Haa…”

Woojin looked puzzled and asked, “Hyung, why are you sighing?”

Jintae looked sad and said, “I’m just wondering what I’ve been doing for the past two years.”

“What?” Woojin asked.

Jintae nudged Woojin and said, “I’ve been hanging out with an investment genius, but I’ve just been getting paid and haven’t made any investments.”

Woojin smiled. “I know. You should have listened to me when I told you to buy it. I told you when we bought our IT Tower, right?”

Jintae complained, “Hey. I was going to buy it, after saving a little more money. But I didn’t know it would go up so much.”

Woojin said, “I always say this, Hyung. You can still buy it, you know?”

Jintae asked, “It’s almost 400 million now?”

Woojin replied, “It’ll be 600 million in a few years.”

Jintae shook his head. “Ha… I can’t do it. I can’t buy something for 400 million when I saw it for 200 million.”

Woojin teased, “Hehe, you’ll regret it next year?”

Woojin and Jun-young laughed at Jintae.

Thanks to Jun-young and Woojin’s stories, the atmosphere became even warmer.

As they shared stories, Jun-young checked his watch and asked Woojin, “Well, it’s almost time… Shall we go up now, CEO?”

Woojin agreed, “Sounds good. Will you be handling the contract yourself?”

Jun-young replied, “Not really. It’s a construction project, so the assistant manager will probably be there.”

In the elevator, Jun-young said that the contract would go smoothly.

Because of Woojin’s recent success, people knew about WJ Studio.

Jun-young had strongly supported it, so he said it would probably be easy.

“Because of your reputation, I said that even if we set the price a little high, everything will sell out,” Jun-young added.

Woojin felt pressured. “Ugh… I suddenly feel pressured when you say that.”

Jun-young laughed. “Haha. I’ve already planned the marketing strategy.”

Woojin asked, “How?”

Jun-young explained, “We’ll market it as an office building for IT companies, designed by Seo Woojin’s WJ Studio, who designed Parafield’s Pavilion, not just another apartment-type factory.”

Woojin asked, “We’re doing the construction, but not the design, right?”

Jun-young replied, “The WJ Studio design team can do the design, right?”

Woojin was confused, “Yes?”

Jun-young said, “I’ve already set the stage, so please make it great, CEO. Haha.”

Woojin was surprised.

‘Was Kim always like this?’ he wondered.

When they first met, he seemed shy and quiet.

But now, he seemed completely different.

‘The position makes the person…’ Woojin thought.

Kim, who seemed timid when he was a salesperson under pressure, had become confident and active in the business department.

“Thank you, Kim. I really appreciate it,” Woojin said.

Jun-young smiled and winked. “Next time, let’s have a barbecue with Park. No, Director Park.”

Woojin agreed, “Sounds good.”

Jun-young asked, “Is CEO Seo paying this time?”

Woojin laughed, “Haha, of course.”

Thanks to Kim Jun-young’s help, Woojin easily won the construction contract that day.

The design rights that Jun-young mentioned were an added bonus.

For Woojin, who was experienced in the industry, it was easy to handle.

‘I didn’t know I would get such a big benefit from Kim…’ Woojin thought.

Woojin returned to Seongsu-dong in a good mood after signing the contract.

This contract would definitely help WJ Studio grow.

Woojin thought that his connection with Kim Jun-young was more valuable than the contract itself.