Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 21

Most people don’t know it, but Euljiro in Seoul, South Korea, is a hub for skilled technicians.

There was even a joke that if the technicians in Euljiro worked together, they could launch a satellite into space.

Woo-jin, who had been in the industry for a long time, knew Euljiro well and thought of this place easily.

“Among the Euljiro contractors, Mr. Hwang is the best,”

When Woo-jin said ‘Mr. Hwang,’ he wasn’t talking about a person. ‘Mr. Hwang’ was the name of a company in Euljiro.

They did many kinds of work, from laser cutting to woodworking.

‘Mr. Hwang’ was a big company in Euljiro, working there for more than ten years.

He hadn’t worked with them in his past life, but he had hired them for a lot of work.

So, Woo-jin went there without hesitation.

But there was a problem to solve in order to hire them for the job.

“Seok-gu, you have to stay still next to me.”

“Wait, ‘stay still’? You’re treating me like a dog!”

“I’m telling you not to panic, no matter what I say. Control your expression.”

“Um…? What are you planning to do?”

“Just relax, okay? Don’t look surprised no matter what I say.”

“Well… I understand for now.”

Woo-jin led Seok-hyun, who had bought the blueprints and model paper for laser cutting, into the back alleys of Euljiro.

Woo-jin walked through the winding alleys like he knew them well.

After a short fifteen-minute walk, Woo-jin arrived at his destination.

‘I’ve come to the right place.’

It was a large container factory on a fairly big site, located at the end of a narrow alley.

Woo-jin, who had been here dozens of times, skillfully moved to find someone.

“Hey, can we really do laser cutting here?”

“I told you we can.”

“But there’s no company name, and there’s no one to greet customers when they arrive?”

“It’s always like this here.”

“…?”

Ignoring Seok-hyun’s questioning expression, Woo-jin entered the small container office.

With a very natural expression, he began to look for someone.

“Is Kim Jin-young here?”

“Oh, who are you?”

“I’m from WJ Studio.”

“Please wait a moment.”

WJ Studio is the name of the company Woo-jin created.

Therefore, the employees here had no idea about the name.

So, the female employee, tilting her head, went into the office to find Kim Jin-young, whom Woo-jin had mentioned.

“Hey, do you actually know this place?”

“That’s why I came. Just be quiet.”

This place, , doesn’t usually do work for individuals.

Because they get large-scale outsourcing work from big companies, they don’t usually accept work from individuals or students.

If Woo-jin had come without any preparation and showed them the blueprints, he would have been turned away.

This was the problem that needed to be solved in order to hire them.

But Woo-jin had a way to get the work done.

Well, he would have to tell a few lies, though.

‘It seems Kim Jin-young is here… It’ll be easier to talk.’

While Woo-jin and Seok-hyun were waiting, a man in his thirties walked out from inside the office.

He handed Woo-jin a business card with a slightly puzzled expression.

“I’m Team Leader Kim Jin-young. You were looking for me…”

“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Seo Woo-jin from WJ Studio.”

Hearing Kim Jin-young’s words, Seo Woo-jin was momentarily flustered and almost misspoke.

The Kim Jin-young he knew had been a manager from the beginning, so he had naturally looked for ‘Manager Kim Jin-young’.

Because time had passed, Kim Jin-young’s position was different from what Woo-jin knew.

Fortunately, the other side didn’t notice.

Before his embarrassment could be noticed, Woo-jin quickly brought up the next topic.

“Our company has been asked to outsource some work from Chunwoong Construction this time.”

“Ah, I see. But how did you know my name…”

Perhaps because of Woo-jin’s young age, Kim Jin-young was still suspicious.

But Woo-jin, not at all intimidated, began to say the words he had prepared.

While being the CEO himself, he even created a fake CEO.

“I’m just running errands for the CEO, so I just received the message… I think Chunwoong Construction must have told me.”

“Ah, I see.”

Woo-jin’s excuse was good enough.

Chunwoong Construction was a long-standing customer that had been working with for a long time.

Team Leader Kim Jin-young had also worked with Chunwoong Construction several times.

So, the suspicion in Kim Jin-young’s voice gradually disappeared.

At that, Woo-jin immediately began to talk about the work.

From now on, it was really important.

“This time, I think we’ll be starting with the Ahyeon-dong 3-2 area model house, so I came to ask for a sample job.”

“A sample?”

“The CEO wants to try a sample job first, as it’s his first time outsourcing.”

Suspicion reappeared in Kim Jin-young’s eyes.

It wasn’t that sample jobs were never done, but was so famous in the industry.

So, usually, sample jobs were skipped, and large orders were placed all at once.

However, Woo-jin didn’t have the work and money to place a large order from the beginning, so he had to bring up the sample story like this.

From Kim Jin-young’s point of view, it was strange to think about.

But Woo-jin’s story didn’t end here.

He had already thought of an excuse for this as well.

“Our company is closer to interior design. Model outsourcing is actually our first time. So, outsourcing laser cutting like this is also…”

Woo-jin’s excuse had two appeals at the same time.

First, requesting a sample job isn’t because they don’t trust the quality of , but because it’s their first time outsourcing laser cutting.

Second, the reason why outsourcing is their first time is not because they are a new company, but because they have moved over from another industry.

Kim Jin-young, who was listening to the story, waved his hand and interrupted him.

After all, Woo-jin’s words were plausible enough.

“Ah, I see. Well, that’s good. Sample jobs aren’t difficult anyway.”

As Kim Jin-young nodded, Woo-jin cheered inwardly.

There were many other companies besides Mr. Hwang, but this place had the best quality and the cheapest price because it only insisted on large-scale work.

The end.

Woojin leaned forward slightly, wanting to make absolutely sure Kim Jin-young trusted him. He added one more thing, speaking clearly and respectfully.

“Thank you, Team Leader. The sample quantity isn’t that large, but… I will pay for it.”

Normally, companies don’t charge for sample work.

Usually, sample work is done to test the quality before placing a large order.

But by offering to pay, he showed respect for the company.

He thought, ‘A small payment to gain their trust is a good investment.’

It clearly showed he wasn’t just testing their skills.

“Haha, there’s really no need to do that….”

“No, Team Leader. If you calculate the cutting fee and give me a receipt, I’ll make a deposit on my way out.”

Kim Jin-young relaxed when Woojin insisted on paying.

“Well, alright then. Where are the drawing files?”

Woojin smiled and handed Kim Jin-young the USB with the drawings and cutting materials.

“Here it is. If you open the file, you’ll see how the work needs to be done.”

Kim Jin-young took the items and went into the workshop.

Woojin and Seokhyun sat in the office, drinking coffee.

Jin-young finished the work in just 40 minutes and came back out.

“Wow, that was incredibly fast!”

Jin-young looked pleased and replied to Woojin’s surprise.

“You gave me such a clean file, making the work so easy… Haha. I almost didn’t think you were a new company to work with.”

“I’m glad to hear that. We look forward to working with you in the future.”

“But first, the CEO has to like the sample, right?”

“Of course, it will be to his liking. This is the most famous place in Euljiro, after all.”

Woojin, wearing a wide, satisfied smile, happily paid the bill and left Hwang’s Workshop.

To keep the business relationship going, he absolutely had to win the Ahyeon-dong model house project.

But with the cutting finished so well, he wasn’t worried anymore.

“Alright. Now, all that’s left is to assemble it neatly and paint it.”

Seokhyun, who had been watching him with an amazed expression, asked Woojin.

“Hey, what on earth happened to you in the military?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re like a sly old fox.”

“Hehe. I’m your older brother, you know.”

“But is it really okay to… just lie like that?”

“We’ll just have to make it not a lie.”

Woojin, feeling great because of the successful visit, returned to his workshop with Seokhyun.

And that night.

“Done…!”

“Wohoo.”

The two finished the white model two days faster than planned.

Wednesday was Woojin’s busiest day.

He had ‘Digital Space Graphics’ with Professor Jo Woon-chan, whom he admired, and ‘Understanding Global Culture,’ which he had managed to register for yesterday.

Saying only two subjects made his schedule tight might sound like a joke to other university students.

But it was true.

Wednesday was the only day Woojin had more than one class.

But that Wednesday went surprisingly smoothly.

“Everyone, quiet!”

“What is it?”

“Why is Inha suddenly acting so serious?”

“Is something up?”

Just before the Digital Space Graphics class was about to start, Kim Inha, the head of the student council, came into the department lounge with good news.

“Professor Jo Woon-chan is at an overseas seminar until tomorrow!”

“……!”

“Woohoo!”

“Class is canceled this week! Everyone, enjoy your freedom!”

“Waaah!!”

The freshmen, excited about their first ‘class cancellation,’ jumped around in the lounge.

Woojin felt the same way.

He was sad that Professor Jo Woon-chan’s class was canceled, but he was also focused on the model-making work.

‘Is it okay to be happy about this?’ he wondered, since class was canceled from the very first lesson.

But the freshmen didn’t know something.

Attendance wasn’t checked during the course change period.

So, skipping all the classes in the first week wouldn’t affect their grades.

If they had known that, so many students wouldn’t have gathered in the department lounge.

‘So, all that’s left is Understanding Global Culture….’

Woojin checked his timetable and thought about it.

Because his major class was canceled, he had a four-hour break until his next class.

Then Jayden, a British student, started to tempt him.

“Hey, Woojin, shall we run from class today?”

“Hmm… Skip it, you mean?”

“Skip it? What’s that?”

“So, you mean ditch it?”

“Nice. That’s right.”

One of the biggest temptations to skip class is when the previous class is unexpectedly canceled.

When there’s only one class left a few hours later, the thought of saving time by skipping it becomes strong, and you start to justify it.

And if someone like Jayden starts tempting you…

Woojin was helpless.

“Alright, Jayden. I guess we have no choice. Let’s take the class together from next week. This is… unavoidable.”

“Unava…idable?”

“Um… Uncontrollable. I mean.”

Woojin tried to explain ‘unavoidable’ in broken English.

But Jayden was more excited than he expected.

“Oh, Bloody Hell! You’re really a mate who understands me!”

“Blood? Hell? What are you talking about?”

“It means I’m happy.”

Woojin shook his head, looking at Jayden, whom it was hard to imagine as a future star designer.

Once he decided to skip class, Woojin was already heading away from the lecture hall.

‘Now that it’s come to this, I should go do some painting,’ he thought.

Woojin’s mind was already filled with the architectural model he had made yesterday.

Golden Print