Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 1

I wanted to design.

I wanted to fill the world with the wonderful things I made.

My wish… was only that.

“Do you have any conscience?”

“Pardon?”

“You say ‘only that’?”

“……”

“You’d be better off scratching lottery tickets every week like Chief Kim, Site Manager Seo. That seems a bit more productive.”

Woojin sighed, a cloud of dark smoke escaping his lips and curling into the cold air like a fleeting worry.

Section Chief Kwon watched him, a small smile playing on his lips.

When Woojin didn’t reply right away, Kwon chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. “Stop talking nonsense and go home, you rascal. You know you have to go to the L Cinema site for supervision tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, yes. I must be getting old, spouting nonsense like this,” Woojin replied.

Woojin glanced at Section Chief Kwon, who was patting his back roughly, and chuckled. Even though he was being sly with that annoying expression, he was one of the few people left by his side whom he couldn’t bring himself to hate.

“Ugh, I’m so bloody tired. I should just work on-site until next year and then retire,” Kwon Jongwoo said.

Hearing Kwon Jongwoo’s words, Woojin retorted with a dumbfounded expression, “You’re hardly the picture of realism, Chief.”

“Heh heh, I’m at least more realistic than you are, you know,” Kwon replied.

Woojin and Section Chief Kwon stubbed out their still-smoldering cigarettes in the ashtray and went down to the office to prepare to leave.

Quickly packing his things, Woojin slung his shabby backpack over his shoulder, passed in front of Kwon, and started to leave the office.

“Need a ride?” Kwon asked.

“No, thank you. I have plans today….” Woojin answered.

“Don’t lie to me,” Kwon teased.

“I’m telling you, it’s true,” Woojin insisted.

“Alright. Then I’ll head out first today?” Kwon smirked at Woojin, then turned and walked out of the office.

But at that moment, as if something he had forgotten came to mind, Section Chief Kwon glanced back at Woojin.

“Hey, Seo Woojin.”

“Yes?” Woojin responded.

“Design. What’s the big deal about it?” Kwon asked.

“……?”

“That thing you always do. That’s design, you idiot.”

“What’s with that all of a sudden….” Woojin mumbled.

“So straighten your shoulders and walk tall. A man shouldn’t be so droopy….”

He rattled off everything he wanted to say like a machine gun, then slammed the door shut and left the office before Woojin could even reply.

Watching him, Woojin couldn’t help but chuckle again.

Woojin was the site manager of a fairly large construction company. Every day, Woojin oversaw the construction of numerous construction sites and interior construction sites.

Woojin knew very well what Section Chief Kwon Jongwoo’s encouragement meant.

‘Those who don’t know anything about the practical side act like they’re in charge of design from above… That’s why these awful drawings keep coming down to the site.’

‘Sigh, what can we do, Section Chief? Even if the drawings are rubbish, it’s our job to make them work.’

‘It would be better if our Seo Woojin was promoted to design team leader. With Site Manager Seo’s sense, we could really create an amazing building.’

‘I was feeling good for a moment… Can I believe that lie?’

‘Heh heh heh, of course not, you rascal. Design, my foot… Let’s finish the carpentry quickly and go have a drink of makgeolli.’

‘Yes, yes. As you wish.’

Section Chief Kwon Jongwoo would often add, ‘Even if our Seo Woojin designed it, it would be better than this,’ whenever he wanted to criticize the design team. And Woojin, at least, knew that those words weren’t entirely empty.

‘Yeah, even Team Leader Im, who can’t even read drawings properly, is acting like a designer… I’m a hundred times better than that guy.’

In the end, design is about materializing some abstract concept of beauty that exists in one’s mind. In that sense, Woojin’s work of taking unrecognizable abstract drafts and turning them into wonderful spaces could be called true design.

But even this plausible explanation couldn’t completely lift Woojin’s spirits today. It was a day when the resentment that had been building up from working on-site for so long finally burst.

“Maybe I’ll feel better if I get some fresh air,” Woojin thought.

Woojin tidied up his desk, packed his things, and slowly walked out of the office.

Woojin headed to Gangnam.

But as he had told Section Chief Kwon, he didn’t really have any plans. He simply had a place he wanted to go after work today.

‘It’s been… quite a while, hasn’t it?’ Woojin thought.

Woojin’s expression was slightly flushed as he stood at the bus stop after getting off the bus. The area was usually thought of as a rich and modern area, but this old village was different.

Peaceful scenery and a calm atmosphere filled the air. Although it was Gangnam, this place had a very different atmosphere from the ‘Gangnam’ that people usually think of; it was almost like Woojin’s hometown.

‘This place… it’s still the same even after all this time,’ Woojin mused.

The place Woojin went to after getting off the bus was a dilapidated villa village on a high hillside.

Gangnam. A shantytown so run-down that it was hard to believe it was in Daechi-dong. Just a short walk from here, there were rows of fancy new apartments worth tens of millions of won per square meter. But this place was still the same as it had been thirty years ago.

Of course, it wasn’t that Woojin found this run-down space beautiful in itself. However, the memories contained within this space were still beautiful.

“It’s about time this place was developed,” Woojin said with a bitter smile as he walked slowly down the old alleyway.

In fact, apart from Woojin’s happy memories, the reason why this run-down neighborhood hadn’t been developed wasn’t so beautiful. In order for a run-down neighborhood to be developed, the interests of the people living in that space had to align. And the reason why this place hadn’t been developed yet was because everyone’s desires hadn’t been fully satisfied.

‘Well, I can’t say it’s all greed. There must be people who actually depend on it for their livelihood….’ Woojin thought.

Woojin shook his head. He suddenly felt sorry for himself for thinking about this even after walking into a space of memories after a long time.

Among the things he did was on-site work for redevelopment and reconstruction, so in a way, it was no different from thinking about work even after leaving work.

‘Should I call this an occupational disease?’ Woojin wondered.

Woojin, who had gone deep into the darkened alleyway, stopped in front of an old gate with familiar steps.

Not very big, but a cozy two-story house with a small yard.

This was the house from Woo-jin’s childhood. It held his happiest memories.

He knew it was just a house now, and he didn’t own it anymore, even with all the memories.

“Hoo.”

Woo-jin stopped at the gate, his heart beating faster. He hesitated, his hand hovering in the air. Taking a deep breath, he finally reached out, his fingers trembling slightly as he touched the cold iron.

Creak!

With an unpleasant metallic screech, the old iron gate, covered in rust like dried blood, groaned open with a sound that scraped against Woo-jin’s ears.

No one was there to stop him from entering the house.

Naturally, there was an owner who possessed the house.

But for more than ten years, no one had lived in this old and run-down house.

For Woo-jin, every part of the house was special and full of memories.

But the person who owned it now just saw it as land to make money from in Gangnam.

“……!”

As Woo-jin stepped into the yard, his face changed. His eyes widened, and a small smile touched his lips. The air smelled like damp earth and old leaves, a familiar smell from his childhood.

His heart was now thumping ba-dump, ba-dump.

He had occasionally passed by this house over the years.

But entering the house itself was something he hadn’t done in nearly thirty years.

A place more beautiful than any other in his memory.

Woo-jin slowly stepped inside.

The reason Woo-jin had come here today was to resolve a question that had been in his heart for decades.

‘Was it really as perfect as I remember it being?’

In Woo-jin’s memory, this house was the most beautiful and perfect place he knew.

It wasn’t just because of the happy memories he held.

Although it was just an ordinary detached house built on a small plot of land.

The way the house was planned and built was so perfect. It was hard to believe it was an old house.

This small detached house, filled with his childhood memories, may have been the driving force behind Woo-jin’s current self.

The countless blueprints drawn by his hand had all been inspired, in large and small ways, by this tiny space.

‘Maybe his memories made it seem better than it was. But he really wanted to see if it was as perfect as he remembered.’

And one more thing.

He hoped that being here would bring back the excitement he used to feel, which was now fading because of real life.

‘If only I could feel that excitement again…!’

Woo-jin, his hand trembling, slowly reached out and firmly grasped the front door.

He then carefully pulled the handle.

Clang!

The old iron gate, not only rusted but also corroded to a yellowish hue.

The gate’s lock was broken for a long time. It swung open as soon as Woo-jin pulled it.

Woo-jin stepped into the entrance hall, his pupils gradually widening.

For before his eyes, an unexpected sight unfolded.

“Th-this is……!”

Was it because the beautiful fantasy in his memory had been shattered?

No.

Quite the opposite.

The space unfolding before Woo-jin’s eyes was precisely the beautiful and perfect space he had vaguely imagined.

It was so beautiful! It was hard to believe it was an old house. No one had touched it for years, and it was waiting to be torn down.

The house of Woo-jin’s childhood memories was coming to life in front of him. Sunlight streamed through the dusty windows, lighting up the familiar living room. He could almost smell the faint scent of his mother’s cooking in the air.

“……!”

As if possessed by a ghost, Woo-jin slowly stepped into the house.

Carefully, like he was looking at treasures, he checked every corner of the house.

‘It’s really just as I remember……!’

From the umbrella stand neatly placed in the corner of the entrance to the beautiful veneered bookcase between the living room and the kitchen.

Not a speck of dust had settled on the furniture, and everything was exactly as Woo-jin remembered.

‘How can this be?’

But a moment later.

Woo-jin, who had been examining every corner of the house, couldn’t help but feel even more bewildered.

Even though he walked around quickly with his shoes on, there were no footprints anywhere in the house.

Even the faint footprints that had just appeared.

Scritch scritch—

Vanished completely before Woo-jin’s eyes, as if by magic.

“Hu, huh……!”

And at this point, Woo-jin couldn’t help but feel goosebumps all over his body.

Everything he was seeing was just too strange and unreal.

‘Could this be a dream?’

But this was neither a dream.

Nor was it not reality.

Therefore, Woo-jin began to feel afraid.

If he hadn’t encountered a ghost, such a thing could never have happened.

‘Wh-what should I do……? Should I leave now?’

And so, Woo-jin, without realizing it, took a step back, slowly leaving the house.

But the next moment.

Woo-jin had no choice but to stop.

For a welcome voice, left deep within his memories, echoed in his ears.

[Amazing, Woo-jin.]

“……!”

[You really haven’t lost the dream from thirty years ago, even past forty.]

Woo-jin was startled by the voice.

But apart from that, he didn’t feel goosebumps or fear as he had before.

But when he heard the voice, he felt warm inside.

“A, Mr……!”

[Now, as promised thirty years ago, I will give you a gift.]

“Yes……?”

[The dream that twelve-year-old Seo Woo-jin told this Mr.]

“……?”

[I will give you the opportunity to dream that dream again.]

Woo-jin began to turn his head this way and that, looking around.

He couldn’t understand what the voice was talking about now.

But apart from that, the owner of the voice was someone he desperately wanted to see.

But Woo-jin could never find him.

‘Ugh, I’m getting dizzy……!’

In an instant, his vision began to turn pure white.

Golden Print

[End]