Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 208

Sunlight, warm for early spring, slanted through the window of Hong-shik’s temporary office, illuminating dust swirling in the air. Outside, the rhythmic clang of construction echoed – the sound of Seongsu District 1 slowly transforming. Hong-shik leaned back in his chair, the lukewarm coffee in his mug doing little to cut through the afternoon drowsiness. His phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with a familiar name: Hyung-taek. An old friend, from his banking days and the Cheongdam-dong neighborhood – and a man who loved to boast.

Hong-shik answered, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Hey, Hyung-taek. What’s up, you old show-off?”

[Hehehe! Hong-shik, my man! Can’t an old friend just call to say hello? Or do I *need* a reason to talk to the great Mr. Real Estate Investor these days?] Hyung-taek chuckled, a familiar, slightly grating sound.

And recently, a true friend who was genuinely envious upon hearing the news that Hong-shik had made a large sum of money when the Cheongdam Seonyeong group was being resolved.

“Still, you must have called for a reason, you rascal.”

[Still as sharp as ever…]

“So, what is it?”

Hong-shik was quite curious about why this friend had suddenly called.

Having known each other for nearly thirty years, he could tell from his friend’s voice that he was excited about something.

Wondering what kind of boast his show-off friend would make today, Hong-shik quietly listened to the phone.

[Ahem.]

After clearing his throat, Hong-shik’s friend, Hyung-taek, continued in a subtle voice.

[Hong-shik, do you perhaps remember the story I told you before?]

“Hmm? What story?”

[You know, when you made that investment proposal last time.]

“Ah, Seonyeong Apartment?”

[Yes. I rejected it back then because I had another investment opportunity, remember?]

“I remember.”

Hong-shik’s proposal to Hyung-taek was to join him in buying their shares when the Emergency Committee was being resolved.

Hyung-taek had been envious because he hadn’t listened to Hong-shik at the time.

Hyung-taek continued.

[I regretted not taking your offer back then… but as it turns out, my investment was also quite good.]

“Oh really?”

Hong-shik, intrigued, brought the smartphone closer to his ear.

Hyung-taek had worked in the financial industry for a long time and was as knowledgeable about real estate as Hong-shik, so Hong-shik was curious about the investment he had made.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t ask him where he bought it back then. I was too preoccupied….’

Of course, even if he talked about his investment, it wasn’t as if Hong-shik had the capacity to add new investments right now.

He had poured almost all of his spare funds into Seongsu District 1.

But regardless, he was curious, and so Hong-shik waited with anticipation.

However, as he waited for his friend’s next words, he was momentarily taken aback and almost spat out the coffee he was drinking.

[You know the Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zone, right?]

“Ptooey…!”

[Huh? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?]

“Ah, no. Go on, tell me.”

Hong-shik was currently sitting in the District 1 office of the Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zone, so he couldn’t help but be taken aback when this name unexpectedly came up.

And Hyung-taek’s story that followed was becoming more and more interesting.

[The place I bought back then was in District 2 of the Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zone.]

“Oh really?”

District 2 was the most stable area within the Strategic Redevelopment Zone, with the least amount of risk.

The progress was fast, and there was the least amount of internal discord within the association.

There were also hardly any commercial or religious facilities within the district, making the relocation risk the lowest.

However, as the risk was low, District 2 was the most expensive area to invest in.

‘What on earth is he trying to say? Why is he talking about this indirectly?’

Hyung-taek spoke again.

[This is still confidential, but a really big piece of good news has broken out over here.]

“Oh… is that so?”

[I have a junior colleague who works at Seoul City Hall, and I had a drink with him last night.]

Hong-shik’s expression brightened noticeably as he listened to the story.

He had known for a while that Hyung-taek had connections at City Hall.

The fact that good news related to Seongsu-dong was coming from that direction meant that it was highly likely to be part of the ‘Gangbyeonbuk-ro Underground Project’ (a plan to build a tunnel under Gangbyeonbuk-ro road) that Woo-jin had mentioned.

‘I knew it…!’

However, Hong-shik didn’t show it and opened his mouth towards the phone again.

“So, come on, spill it! What’s this big news then?”

[Hehe, curious?]

“Yes. I’m curious, so please tell me quickly.”

[So, this is how it happened…]

The story that came out of Hyung-taek’s mouth was not much different from Hong-shik’s expectations.

As part of the project (a project to improve the Han River area), the Gangbyeonbuk-ro underground project had begun to be promoted.

And the Seongsu district was selected as the first target section for the Gangbyeonbuk-ro underground project.

[Even just this much is a huge piece of good news, isn’t it?]

Hong-shik chuckled, but continued to play along, pretending not to know.

“That’s right. Since the Strategic Redevelopment Zone is right next to the Han River, the Han River Park will also improve, and noise and dust will disappear. It’s definitely a big piece of good news.”

Hyung-taek, feeling even better at Hong-shik’s agreement, giggled and continued.

[But it doesn’t end there?]

“Oh really?”

[This Gangbyeonbuk-ro underground project is being promoted in conjunction with the Strategic Redevelopment Zone development plan.]

Hong-shik, listening to his friend’s voice, clenched both fists without realizing it.

‘Here it comes…!’

The most important part of the development plan that he had heard in detail from Woo-jin after buying the District 1 shares was this very point.

It seemed like that story was about to come out of Hyung-taek’s mouth now.

‘I knew CEO Seo wouldn’t have said anything false…!’

And Hyung-taek did not betray Hong-shik’s expectations.

[So, this is how it’s going to proceed…]

The stories that followed from his mouth were almost exactly the same as what he had heard from Woo-jin.

Of course, it wasn’t as completely specific and clear as Woo-jin had told him, but the overall framework was exactly the same.

[Hehe, isn’t it amazing?]

Hong-shik smiled, a slow, knowing smile spreading across his face.

“Yeah, it’s amazing.”

[It’s been internally confirmed, so rumors will start spreading among investors within this week.]

“I guess so. There must be more than one or two investors with acquaintances at City Hall.”

Hongshik grinned, already picturing success. “Even just making the building rules easier is a huge win.”

He found the situation very funny. His friend was calling to brag about his investment.

But Hongshik suspected his own investment was much bigger.

He had put all the money from selling his apartment into this project.

“How much did you buy?” he asked casually.

“Hee hee… Just one ‘lid’ and about nine pyeong.”

“Isn’t nine pyeong a little small? I don’t think you’ll get a thirty-pyeong unit with that.”

“It’s expensive because the government says the houses here are worth a lot, so I’ll probably get a thirty-pyeong unit. I’m good at finding deals. Hee hee.”

Hongshik knew the situation and chuckled at Hyungtaek’s words.

Hongshik’s investment was almost twenty times larger than Hyungtaek’s.

The area Hyungtaek invested in was already expensive, while Hongshik’s area was undervalued. Because Hongshik invested ten times more money, he was able to buy twenty times more land.

Hongshik understood everything. He grinned and said, “Hee hee, Hyungtaek-ah.”

“You’re the best, brother. Thanks for sharing this.”

“Of course, I’m grateful. Thank you for sharing such great news over the phone.”

“Well, naturally…”

Hyungtaek sensed something was wrong. “Wait a minute. Great news? You can only be happy about this if you bought land in Seongsu, you silly! Why are you celebrating?”

Hongshik replied, “Of course, I’m happy because I have land there, you fool.”

Hyungtaek was silent.

“What…?”

“After selling my apartment, I put all the money into Seongsu-dong.”

“What?!”

“I had a feeling it would be a good investment. I made a lot of money before, and this time, I wanted to try this area, you know? Haha.”

“……”

Hongshik was very excited and started to brag on the phone.

Hongshik’s land was much more than Hyungtaek could ever have.

The area Hongshik invested in was risky, but when the development plans were announced, the prices would increase. It was cheaper to buy into because of the risk.

“Wow, Hongshik, you’re good at making money…”

If Hyungtaek knew that Hongshik and Woojin were working together to speed up the project, he would be very jealous and angry.

‘This isn’t something to talk about on the phone…’

Hongshik’s voice was full of excitement. “Let’s have some soju in Seongsu-dong soon. I heard good news because of you, so I’ll buy the drinks.”

“No way.”

“I was going to share some good information with you when we met… Take it or leave it.”

“Brother…!”

After talking more with Hyungtaek, Hongshik hung up and sat on the office sofa.

The instant coffee was now cold, but it tasted sweet to Hongshik.

“Hee hee hee… Kroo hoo hoo.”

Hongshik laughed like crazy.

Hongshik had felt sad this morning on his way to work. But now, he praised Woojin again.

“CEO Seo is amazing! I need to call him now.”

Hongshik jumped up and called Woojin.

He wanted to start the association before the end of March.

Hongshik’s success was all thanks to Woojin’s plan. Speaking of Woojin…

Spring is a time for new beginnings.

It is the start of the school year, and flowers and trees grow.

This spring was a month of new beginnings for Woojin.

Woojin’s newest challenge was building the set for the drama.

He had never designed a set before.

Today, Woojin was going to inspect the set as it neared completion.

He was in the car with Kang Sojeong, the CEO of KSJ Entertainment and the director of the drama. She was also Woojin’s business partner.

“We’re almost there now,” Sojeong said.

“It looked close on the map… Have we been driving for two hours?” Woojin asked.

“CEO Kang, haven’t you been here before?”

“I’ve been here once, but I wasn’t driving, so it didn’t seem this far.”

“Haha. You should have come in my car.”

“I brought my car anyway, why bother you?”

Woojin was comfortable with Sojeong and chatted with her.

But he was nervous as they got closer to the set.

‘It looks good to me…’

He knew about architecture, but designing a drama set was new to him.

He worried about what the director, staff, and investors would think.

Two people were coming to the set today.

“You know the lead actress is Seong Hayoung, right?” Sojeong asked.

“Yes, I know,” Woojin replied.

“Hayoung is coming today too… The director and the filming director will also be there.”

“The director and filming director make sense, but the actress is coming too?”

“Yes. She hasn’t met the director yet. She’s coming to greet everyone.”

Seong Hayoung was the lead actress in Woojin’s past life.

Woojin was worried the actress might change, so he was happy that Seong Hayoung was confirmed.

‘It’s best to keep it the same.’

Woojin became more nervous knowing the actress was coming.

Sojeong didn’t know Woojin was nervous. She was excited about the design as they approached the set.

“When they see the set today, everyone will be shocked, right?”

“Why, why…?” Woojin asked.

“Because it’s CEO Seo’s work, of course. It’s a set designed by an architect who’s been recognized in Europe, so isn’t it obvious?”

“……”

The car was getting closer to its destination.