Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 112

Jeong Eun-cheol felt uneasy as he entered the meeting room. This Cheongdam Seonyeong Apartment project was causing him a lot of worry.

Usually, top bosses at Chunwoong Construction, like Senior Managing Directors, did not go to normal company meetings. They mostly received reports about what happened. Their main job was to approve things.

But this meeting about the Cheongdam Seonyeong Apartment redevelopment was very important. Executive Director Jeong Eun-cheol, who was about to become a Senior Managing Director, had to be there.

The project was so important that he couldn’t just rely on someone else’s report to decide which design was best.

Jeong Eun-cheol looked at the designs on the screen. “Hmm,” he thought, “they do look good, very good.” But a frown creased his forehead. He felt a knot of worry tighten in his stomach. It had been a long time since he’d felt this heavy inside. This Cheongdam Seonyeong Apartment project… it was putting him in a difficult spot.

Jeong Eun-cheol wanted this project to fail for his friend and junior colleague, Department Head Yoo Ji-heon.

But, for the company, winning this project would be great, not just for the money. Building a fancy apartment with a river view in Cheongdam-dong would make the company’s brand much more valuable.

Jeong Eun-cheol hoped Department Head Park Kyung-wan would win the project. But he also worried about Yoo Ji-heon, who might leave the company next year.

“If it was a smaller project, I might do something…” he thought.

Some people might say he shouldn’t go against the company to help his friend, but it wasn’t that easy.

In the business world, having support from people like Yoo Ji-heon was very important. Yoo Ji-heon had helped Jeong Eun-cheol get his promotion. Even after the promotion, he needed Yoo Ji-heon to stay in his job and move up.

“Heeeuuuum……”

Jeong Eun-cheol was in a complicated state as the meeting started.

“I’m sorry, Ji-heon… But I suppose there’s no helping it this time. Besides, Department Head Park is also in Director Kim’s faction, so I won’t be at a loss.”

Jeong Eun-cheol shook his head and sat up straight. Even though he was worried, he had to pay close attention to the presentation. He wouldn’t be where he was if he let his feelings get in the way of his work.

Park Kyung-wan started his presentation, and the room became as silent as a tomb. This meeting was just to give information, not to make decisions. So, the room was quiet and serious.

“Well, everyone knows the location, so I’ll be brief,” Park Kyung-wan said.

He pointed the laser pointer, and the screen showed the name of the first company: Raume. The long presentation about the designs began.

Good housing means a comfortable home. The people who will live in the new Cheongdam Seonyeong Apartment want a comfortable home.

To win the project, the company had to design a comfortable home that the future residents would want. But really, it came down to two things:

First, which company would increase the value of their homes the most? Second, which company would build the homes at the lowest cost?

The second reason was the most important to the residents. Lower building costs meant the apartment owners would have to pay less money to get their new homes.

People who move into new apartments often have to pay extra money, sometimes a lot. WJ Studio’s design only focused on being perfect. It had a magnificent exterior and community areas that were too fancy.

At least, that’s how Yoo Ji-heon saw it. “They don’t understand how things work,” he thought. “This is a proposal from a new company.”

If you didn’t worry about costs, the best designs came from Kratika Studio, a foreign company run by Daniel Jacob, and WJ Studio, a new company that Yoo Ji-heon had never heard of. And even between those two, WJ Studio’s design was more creative and new.

But Yoo Ji-heon thought that WJ Studio’s design should be avoided to win the project. It would cost too much to build the building the way they designed it.

“This design would make the building cost much more, at least a million won per square meter,” he thought.

To win the project, they had to lower building costs and even be willing to pay some of the residents’ costs. They couldn’t use designs that were too expensive.

“Sky bridge with infinity pool view… Crazy. Crazy. How are you supposed to handle the maintenance costs if you do this?”

Cheongdam-dong is a rich area, so the residents of Seonyeong Apartment would want a fancy design. But Yoo Ji-heon thought this was too much.

Jihun believed the apartment owners wanted special designs, but not designs that cost too much to build. He believed they wanted good designs that were not too expensive.

Jihun had seen many building sites as he became a manager at Cheonwoong Construction. He was sure about this.

If they went into the bidding with these blueprints, Cheonwoong Construction would never win.

If we spend this much on building, we can’t sell it well to the owners, and we can’t help them move in.

But that was precisely why.

Jihun decided to choose WJ Studio.

He, more than anyone, had reasons for Cheonwoong Construction to fail in this bidding. Jihun smiled slightly. He had waited a long time for this chance to get back at Cheonwoong Construction.

He thought that pushing these blueprints for the bidding would greatly increase the chances of failure.

The design is good, so there’s enough justification…

So, when the meeting really started, Jihun began to support WJ Studio.

It began the moment the story about WJ Studio first came out of a director’s mouth.

Kim Jin-pyo, the top executive, leaned back in his chair, a slight smile playing on his lips. “WJ Studio,” he said, his voice echoing slightly in the large room. “New, aren’t they? But their designs… impressive.”

Jihun saw his chance. He leaned forward, eager to agree. “Exactly, Executive Director Kim! I was really surprised when I looked at them this morning.”

Kim Jin-pyo chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. “Oh? Manager Yoo, you too?”

Jihun nodded quickly. “Aren’t they the only ones who made such detailed pictures for this contest? It’s amazing.”

Jung Eun-cheol, who had been listening quietly, nodded slowly, his brow furrowed in thought. “Manager Yoo is right,” he said, his voice calm and measured. “Maybe because we didn’t expect much from a new company, the designs are even more of a shock. In a good way.”

In this meeting room of Cheonwoong Construction, there were over fifty people. The meeting room was large and brightly lit, with a long, polished table that reflected the serious faces of the fifty people gathered there.

Everyone involved in this project, from section chiefs to executives, was present.

In this meeting, even with the top boss there, everyone knew only managers and higher-ups could talk. Therefore, the stories that came out among the executives inevitably led to the overall flow of the meeting, and that was directly connected to the outcome of the meeting.

Executive Director Jung Eun-cheol continued to speak.

“But there is one problem.”

“Jung, what’s the problem?”

At Executive Director Jung Eun-cheol’s words, all the executives nodded slightly.

Specialized design. A chronic problem that always followed premium design.

It was a problem that would inevitably be mentioned in WJ Studio’s design, and therefore, something that anyone, not just Jung Eun-cheol, would have to address at least once.

Having waited for someone to bring up this story, Yoo Ji-hun quickly opened his mouth again.

“Ultimately, an increase in construction costs will be unavoidable. But isn’t this construction site in Cheongdam-dong?”

“That’s right.”

“The members of Seonyeong Apartment will likely want the best apartment in Gangnam.”

The eyes of the executives turned to Yoo Ji-hun, and he swallowed hard before slowly continuing.

“If we hadn’t launched the Clio brand yet, I would have thought it was a somewhat unreasonable choice. If we were to forcibly raise construction costs and propose specialized designs in a situation where the image of ‘premium’ wasn’t properly established, the members wouldn’t easily accept it.”

Yoo Ji-hun’s words made sense, so everyone listened intently.

“But Clio has finally succeeded in Ahyeon New Town, which everyone said would be difficult. Moreover, it has perfectly established the image of ‘premium.'”

Yoo Ji-hun’s stories seemed perfectly designed to benefit the company.

“Therefore, if we present mediocre premium designs at this Cheongdam Seonyeong construction site, the members will likely be disappointed… Rather than that, I think the choice we should make is to present the most special design possible, even if it’s a bit unreasonable, to move the hearts of the members.”

Executive Director Kim Jin-pyo, listening to Yoo Ji-hun’s story, chuckled and opened his mouth.

“So, you like this WJ Studio design?”

At Kim’s blatant question, Yoo Ji-hun forced a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, and replied.

“Can I… not comment on that?”

“Alright then. It’s your choice. But we don’t have to decide right here and now.”

When today’s meeting ends, all the executives and employees who attended will vote.

Based on that vote, an executive meeting will be held again, and the final design will be decided there.

In the end, the final decision will be made by CEO Cheon Jong-geol, but the content of all these meetings and the opinions of the directors will serve as the basis for Cheon Jong-geol’s judgment.

With active discussions among the executives and employees with speaking rights, the discussion on WJ Studio’s design continued for quite a long time.

The discussion on WJ Studio was the last item on the agenda, but it was allocated the most time.

And after the story was roughly summarized, the meeting concluded with Kyung-wan’s final briefing.

An unusually long meeting that lasted over five hours.

But as this meeting was coming to an end, Yoo Ji-hun, who had participated more diligently than anyone else, suddenly had this thought.

‘But did I do the right thing…?’

In fact, even at the end of the meeting, it was impossible to know which company’s design would be finally chosen.

WJ Studio’s design had become quite an issue, but it wasn’t to the extent that it was receiving overwhelming support compared to the designs of other companies.

But at least the executives were now able to compare the low-profile, new company on equal footing with the other companies.

So, it felt somewhat as planned, but something felt a little strange.

It was as if, in appealing for the advantages of WJ Studio’s design to persuade the executives, he had been persuaded himself.

“Damn it.”

“Is something wrong, Manager?”

“Ah, never mind. Just go home. It’s past seven, what are you still doing here?”

Yoo Ji-hun, who was unnecessarily grumpy with his subordinates, packed his bag and left the office.

Today, it seemed like he needed to have a drink.