Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 133

Woo-jin’s meetings with Bruno about the design competition were limited. They only met about once at WJ Studio, earlier in the year.

The competition deadline was January 10th, and the design was almost finished.

Because of this, Woo-jin could not do much at this stage.

Of course, Bruno didn’t expect any more help.

‘Actually,’ Woo-jin thought, ‘even if I hadn’t helped at all, Bruno’s original design was so good, it probably would have won anyway… if the competition was fair.’

After the second meeting in Yongsan with more staff, they agreed that Bruno would handle the final design work.

So, was Woo-jin free?

No, not at all.

Woo-jin had to work even harder on his own.

‘Now is the important part,’ he thought.

With only one week left until the competition deadline, Woo-jin had to find evidence of the foul play.

‘I have a rough idea of where to start, though…’

It wouldn’t be easy.

But if he started from the end result, it wasn’t impossible.

Woo-jin was determined to make it happen.

Bruno had talked about signing a contract, so this was now Woo-jin and WJ Studio’s business too.

‘Information. I need to find information from everywhere I can,’ Woo-jin thought, tapping his fingers on his desk. He leaned forward and typed quickly into his computer. The first place to check was the city office website. For a big project like this station, they had to make public announcements.

He clicked on the search bar and typed, his eyes scanning the screen. He knew that reports about the environment, called environmental impact assessments, would be there. These reports checked how the project would affect the area. From these, he could find out who was in charge and which construction company was involved.

‘Okay, let’s see… Paramount should be the main company,’ he thought, scrolling through the list. Then, as he opened a detailed document, a different light sparked in his eyes. There it was. Taeho Construction. He’d found it.

Taeho Construction had gone bankrupt while building this Parafield in Woo-jin’s previous life. It was also the company most linked to the construction problems at Parafield.

Woo-jin remembered that Taeho Construction was likely the construction company this time, too.

After a few phone calls to government offices confirmed that Taeho Construction was indeed the company, Woo-jin made another call.

“Hey, Foreman, got a minute?”

He had a connection to a Taeho Construction official through his network of site managers.

So, Woo-jin called that official’s personal number again to ask for some internal information.

It wasn’t anything too important.

No employee would easily share important secrets with someone outside the company.

However, the information Woo-jin got, while small, was closely related to the corruption he was trying to uncover.

“So… the design firm that Taeho Construction mainly deals with is ‘A&C Factory,’ is that right?”

“[That’s right. They’ve been our partner for over a decade, in fact…]”

“What if we matched the design price for you?”

“[Ah, thanks for thinking of us. But honestly, it’s tough to break into. The bosses are really tight with A&C Factory, you know?]”

“Ah, well. If the relationship is that solid, there’s nothing I can do. Please contact me if anything comes up next time.”

“[Thank you for understanding.]”

“Thank you, Manager!”

Woo-jin pretended to be a design firm representative trying to get work from Taeho Construction to avoid suspicion.

And he found one fishy thing.

‘Hmm… I wonder what that solid relationship is all about?’

It was ‘A&C Factory,’ Taeho Construction’s main client.

He found out that the head of this design firm used to be a manager at Taeho Construction and was also the nephew of Taeho Construction’s CEO.

‘Nepotism, where people in power favor their relatives, is common in this industry, but…’

Given the situation, Taeho would likely try to have A&C Factory do the design for the Wangsimni complex mall project.

The Wangsimni project was the largest construction project that Taeho Construction had recently taken on.

Taeho wouldn’t give even a small project to another design firm, so they definitely wouldn’t do such a large project with another firm.

‘So, that means that awful design that won the competition is from here…’

He had some of the information he wanted, but he still didn’t have the key to solve the problem.

He could see the outline, but the most important part was still unclear.

Now that he knew the design firm was basically part of Taeho Construction, he needed to find one last thing:

‘In the end, I need to find out how Taeho Construction bribed Paramount’s staff.’

He used the word ‘bribed’ for a reason.

Taeho Construction and Paramount wouldn’t have traded fairly.

Taeho Construction was too small compared to Paramount. If they were going to trade like that, Paramount wouldn’t have even had a design competition.

So, Woo-jin thought the corruption happened at the staff level.

Therefore, he downloaded the announcement from Paramount’s website and read it again.

He was looking for the department and person in charge of the announcement.

‘Ahn Ji-hong, Team Leader of the Business Execution Department…’

Woo-jin took out his notebook and wrote down the information.

He put it in his pocket, put on his coat, got ready, and left the office.

Woo-jin had a dinner appointment today.

He would need the help of the person he was meeting for dinner to get any more information.

Woo-jin drove to Jonggak Station.

He used to go to Cheonwoong’s headquarters often when he worked with Cheonwoong Construction.

Today, Woo-jin parked in the underground parking lot of the Cheonwoong Construction headquarters building.

The person he was meeting was Park Kyung-wan.

Kyung-wan would likely have connections at Paramount Corporation, the main company for the Wangsimni project.

“I’ve arrived, Manager.”

“[Okay. Are you on the first floor?]”

“Yes.”

“[I’ll be right down. Anything you want to eat?]”

“Let’s just have something simple today.”

“[What’s gotten into you? I thought you’d want to grill beef.]”

“I’ll have to get a big, expensive meal from you next time, Manager. At the most expensive and delicious place possible.”

“[Anyway… I’m getting on the elevator now.]”

Ding!

Woo-jin arrived just as Kyung-wan was finishing work. They decided to grab dinner together at a quiet Korean restaurant near Jonggak Station.

Seeing Woo-jin’s serious face, Kyung-wan’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

“I thought you were going to treat me because of my promotion,” Kyung-wan said, “but I guess not?”

Woo-jin chuckled and replied quickly, “You haven’t even been promoted yet! Why are you celebrating before it’s official?”

“Heh heh,” Kyung-wan said. “The promotion is confirmed. They just haven’t announced it publicly yet.”

“Oh… So, you’re becoming a manager?” Woo-jin asked.

“Not manager yet!” Kyung-wan said. “Call me Associate Manager. Heh heh.”

“I don’t want to,” Woo-jin replied. “I’ll call you that once the official announcement is made.”

“Tch,” Kyung-wan said. “I was trying to feel good about it.”

“Actually, isn’t ‘Department Head Park’ more catchy?” Woo-jin teased.

“No. Not really,” Kyung-wan said. “‘Manager Park’ sounds much better! Hahaha!”

The Korean restaurant was nearby. They arrived quickly, still laughing from their jokes.

As they settled into their seats, a staff member came and expertly arranged the colorful side dishes on the table.

Kyung-wan and Woo-jin started with some casual talk.

Woo-jin had a reason for inviting Kyung-wan, but he wasn’t in a hurry to bring it up.

He didn’t have any other plans after dinner with Kyung-wan anyway.

After a while, the conversation turned to the Mapo apartment building project.

“How’s the Mapo Clio apartment building project going?” Woo-jin asked.

“The Prestige?” Kyung-wan asked.

“Yes. What other project in Mapo would I care about?” Woo-jin replied.

Kyung-wan nodded. “The foundation is almost done. If everything goes smoothly, it should be finished in about fifteen months.”

“Oh, that’s fast!” Woo-jin said. “But that schedule probably won’t last…”

“Hey, shut up!” Kyung-wan said, frowning. “Are you trying to jinx it?”

Woo-jin grinned, watching Kyung-wan’s reaction.

“Heh heh. You must be proud to see the building rise?” Woo-jin asked.

“Why?” Kyung-wan asked.

“Isn’t that your house?” Woo-jin asked.

Woo-jin brought up the Mapo project to cheer Kyung-wan up before asking him for a favor.

When the apartments were first offered, Kyung-wan managed to get a large, unsold unit thanks to Woo-jin.

Woo-jin knew it was now worth about 90 million won more than Kyung-wan had paid.

But it seemed he had misjudged the situation.

“Well, yes, but…” Kyung-wan hesitated.

“Yes…?” Woo-jin asked.

“It’s not our house anymore,” Kyung-wan admitted.

Woo-jin was stunned. “What the heck? Did you sell it?”

“I went to a real estate agency and found out the price had gone up by 70 million won, so I sold it quickly,” Kyung-wan explained.

“…”

“If you think about the investment, it’s almost double, right?” Kyung-wan said, trying to comfort himself.

Woo-jin shook his head. “I told you it would go up at least three hundred million…”

“That’s just a guess,” Kyung-wan said.

“So, what’s the market price now?” Woo-jin asked. “If you sold it for 70 million, you’ve already lost money…”

Kyung-wan’s face turned red at Woo-jin’s truthful comment.

He had actually sold it for 65 million won, not 70 million, and even before the final payment, it had already risen to 90 million won. He tried to comfort himself that he still made money, but he couldn’t help but feel a stomachache.

“Shut up!” Kyung-wan said. “My wife has been nagging me about it lately.”

“Why?” Woo-jin asked.

“She told me not to sell it. She wanted to move in,” Kyung-wan said.

“Your wife is smart,” Woo-jin said. “Women have a good sense for real estate.”

“Aren’t you a man?” Kyung-wan asked.

“I don’t rely on intuition,” Woo-jin said. “I analyze it.”

“Damn it,” Kyung-wan said, “if only you couldn’t talk…”

“In the future, Manager, talk to me before you sell anything,” Woo-jin advised.

“Sell what?” Kyung-wan asked. “I don’t have anything to sell anymore.”

“You have the house you’re living in now,” Woo-jin said. “That’s probably gone up about 50 million, right?”

“Ugh, you’re a ghost,” Kyung-wan said. “A ghost.”

Kyung-wan grumbled and picked up a piece of boiled pork.

Woo-jin chuckled, watching him.

“Actually, if you invest wisely, selling now isn’t so bad,” Woo-jin thought.

Although he had missed out on some potential profit by selling quickly, he had gained time. If he used that time to make a better investment, it wouldn’t be a loss.

Woo-jin continued, “What are you going to do with the money from the sale?”

“What do you mean?” Kyung-wan asked. “I haven’t thought about it yet.”

“Let’s go to Cheongdam Summit,” Woo-jin suggested.

“What?” Kyung-wan asked.

“Put everything you have together and sign a contract for an apartment at Cheongdam Clio Summit,” Woo-jin said. “Then you can make up for missing out on that profit.”

“The association president contacted me and said the price per unit might be up to 37 million won…” Kyung-wan said. “Is it okay to buy it at that price?”

“It’s okay,” Woo-jin said. “It’s definitely okay. If it’s cheaper than that, there won’t be any units left.”

“Hmm,” Kyung-wan said.

While Woo-jin was excitedly explaining, the spicy raw fish noodles they had ordered arrived.

He took a sip of the warm broth that came with the noodles, and a satisfied sound escaped his lips.

“Kroooooh…! Awesome,” Woo-jin exclaimed.

Kyung-wan chuckled weakly at Woo-jin’s exclamation, which sounded just like someone his age, and picked up his chopsticks.

“Anyway, Seo Woo-jin,” Kyung-wan said.

“Yes, Manager?” Woo-jin replied.

“I don’t think you just wanted to see me to talk about this…” Kyung-wan said.

Kyung-wan tasted the spicy raw fish noodles and then spoke again.

“What’s the real reason? I’m getting curious about the main point.”