Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 123

Wangsimni Station is a very important station in Seoul, where three subway lines meet. It’s a busy place, like a central meeting point for many people in the city.

This station was built by a private company called ‘Paramount’ around 2013. This means Paramount used their own money to build the station. They wanted to make the area better for shopping, so they added department stores and malls inside the station.

Around 2012, a big shopping mall called ‘Parafield’ was added, making the station even bigger and more important.

Woojin remembered something bad about this shopping mall. He thought of it as a place of ‘utter ruin’.

Back in 2011, when Woojin was starting his career, there was a famous accident.

The Parafield shopping mall collapsed because it was built poorly. More than ten people died in this terrible disaster.

Construction site accidents happen sometimes, but it was rare for so many people to die.

The company that built the mall, Taeho Construction, was investigated by the government and went out of business.

Like peeling an onion, more and more secrets and bad actions related to the accident were found.

But did Parafield shopping mall fail because of this?

No, it didn’t.

Even though the project almost failed because of the problems, Paramount, a very rich company, had enough money to fix everything.

Paramount hired a new construction company and started the project again. The Wangsimni Parafield that was finally built became a successful shopping mall.

It made up for the money lost during the accident and started making a profit.

But even before we knew about the problems with the building, Woojin thought the first design was not very good.

Woojin was confused. Knowing the history of Parafield, especially the terrible accident and the bad design, he couldn’t understand why Bruno would want to work on it.

It was hard to believe that such a boring and old-fashioned design was chosen, even though Bruno had helped with the competition.

“Bruno, is the Wangsimni complex mall the project that Paramount Corporation is having a competition for?” Woojin asked.

Bruno’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Woojin, you know about it! Fantastic! It’s a huge project, isn’t it?”

“When is the deadline for the competition?”

“The 10th of next month.”

“Ah. So, you called me because…?”

“I wanted to show you the design and talk about some parts together.”

Soyeon and Jayden were very surprised.

‘Bruno is asking Woojin for advice?’ Soyeon thought.

‘Wow! Is Oppa becoming Bruno’s assistant?’ Jayden wondered.

Asking to see the design and talk about it was like asking for Woojin’s help.

It was very different from just talking about architecture. This meant Bruno thought Woojin was more than just another architect.

Woojin was surprised, just like Jayden and Soyeon. He smiled awkwardly and asked, “How can I help?”

“Haha, Woojin, you don’t know how good you are.”

“That’s not true.”

“You can help with how it works, how it looks, and even how people will use it. In every way!”

Bruno was serious. He really wanted Woojin’s help.

He thought Woojin, who knew a lot about architecture and was Korean, could give good advice on how people would use the building. There might be cultural differences between Spain, where Bruno was from, and Korea.

‘Woojin might be able to see the small things I’m missing in my design,’ Bruno thought.

So, Bruno said even more strongly, “If the design changes because of your advice, I will make sure your name and WJ Studio’s name are on it with mine.”

“You don’t have to go that far…”

“That’s how much I want to hear your opinion. Haha. So, can you help me?”

Woojin had no reason to say no to Bruno’s offer.

The design was mostly done, and if he could get his name and WJ Studio’s name on it just by giving a little advice, it would be a great deal.

It would be a small addition, but it would still help WJ Studio’s career a lot.

So, Woojin nodded. “I’m honored, Bruno. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll gladly do it.”

“You made a good decision.”

Woojin shook Bruno’s hand and smiled. But inside, he felt a little worried.

‘Bruno’s offer is good, but I remember the problems with this project,’ Woojin thought.

Having his name on Bruno’s design would only matter if it was chosen in the competition.

Woojin remembered that Bruno’s design was not chosen. He needed to find out why the old design was chosen instead of Bruno’s, so he could get the rewards.

Also, he had to stop Taeho Construction from getting the contract. Woojin felt like he had a difficult path ahead.

‘Well, it’s never easy,’ he thought.

Woojin looked at Bruno, who was smiling kindly. He chuckled to himself.

Bruno didn’t know it, but Woojin might be able to help him in ways other than just design this time.

After Monday, when something unexpected happened, Tuesday also passed quickly.

The second and third weeks of December were a time for Woojin and WJ Studio to reorganize and take a break.

Even Jin-tae, who was usually busy with sales, focused on things inside the company.

Besides the Cheongdam Seon-yeong project, there were five other projects happening at the same time.

Cafe Fresco had signed more than ten franchise contracts, so they decided not to add any more businesses.

The construction of Yuria’s Garosu-gil building, the second branch, was starting next week, and getting ready for it was not easy.

Garosu-gil was a busy shopping area, even though it was on a side street.

There were complaints from nearby businesses and rules about blocking the road, which made construction difficult.

Luckily, another construction company had already done some remodeling work on the building.

WJ Studio was taking over the site and doing the inside construction. The shopping area was already used to construction.

The previous construction company had already taken most of the blame for any problems.

Woojin still prepared carefully for any complaints. “Even so, be as careful as possible, Jin-tae hyung.”

“Okay. I gave rice cakes to the neighbors and asked each store to understand.”

The results can be different depending on how you handle problems with people.

Construction always causes some problems, no matter what you do. But if you try to be friendly and ask for understanding, you can prevent bigger problems later.

This would help the image of Cafe Fresco, which would be doing business there in the future.

“I’m being very careful, so don’t worry too much, Nuna,” Jin-tae said.

“I wasn’t worried?” Ria replied.

“That’s a relief.”

“You don’t give me a chance to worry. You tell me everything step by step, so how can I worry?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Nunim,” Jin-tae said, using a Korean way to respectfully address an older sister or older female friend.

“You’re making me cringe, hang up!” Ria said playfully.

“Fheuheuheu.”

Woojin kept Ria, the building owner, updated on his schedule to build trust. WJ Studio’s projects were running smoothly.

Woojin was checking the calendar and marking off the finished tasks. “Good. Everything has been going as planned…”

But you can’t always avoid unexpected things. On Wednesday morning, Woojin got a call from Kyung-wan. “Yes, Manager. What’s going on?”

“Ah, it’s nothing much. The schedule has been moved up,” Kyung-wan said.

“Yes…? Schedule? What schedule has been moved up?”

“The meeting to choose the construction company. It was supposed to be on Sunday.”

“That’s… right?”

“It’s been moved up two days. It’s on Friday.”

“No, wait a minute. It was originally this Sunday. You’re saying it’s been moved up to Friday?”

“The construction companies and the association changed the schedule. The weekend was not convenient for everyone.”

“Isn’t the weekend more convenient than weekdays?”

“The Seonyeong Apartment members said that weekday evenings are better. Because it’s the end of the year, many people are busy on the weekends.”

“Manager…”

“Yeah?”

“You said it was nothing much.”

“It’s nothing much. It’s only been moved up two days.”

“Haa…”

“So, Seo Representative.”

“Ah, I don’t know…”

“You can still do the design presentation as planned, right?”

“Aaargh!”

“There are still two days left. Well, I believe in you…?”

“No, how can two days suddenly become two whole days in just three seconds!”

Beep- Beep- Beep-

“Manager. Hey, Manager!”

Woojin stood there, holding the phone, feeling confused. He couldn’t cancel the presentation, even if he didn’t have much time.

“I’m going crazy, really.”

Woojin sighed. It looked like he would have to stay up all night to prepare for the presentation.