Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 226

The early summer evening air was warm.

The meeting with Seok-jung and Seok-ho at Seok-jung’s house fueled Woo-jin’s passion.

Seok-ho, meeting Woo-jin for the third time, shared deeper and more serious stories.

Seok-ho spoke of reaching the top in a new field, something Woo-jin had never experienced, even in his past life. These stories broadened Woo-jin’s perspective beyond architecture and design.

Woo-jin made a promise to Seok-ho.

“If you make a concrete plan to open a gallery soon,” Woo-jin said, “WJ Studio will handle the design and construction.”

“I think I should be asking that of you,” Seok-ho replied.

“Haha.”

“When you have a plan, contact me, Hyung-nim (a respectful Korean term for older brother or senior),” Woo-jin said.

“Of course, but be prepared,” Seok-ho warned.

“For what?” Woo-jin asked.

“I’m quite a demanding client, you see. Hehe,” Seok-ho chuckled.

The stories from Seok-ho suggested that Woo-jin would be designing a gallery in the near future.

Woo-jin was pleased with this prospect.

A ‘gallery’ was a new architectural challenge for Woo-jin.

Woo-jin always desired new architectural experiences.

As Seok-ho suggested, Woo-jin was determined to make that gallery the most beautiful in the world, surpassing even Korean standards.

“For now, let’s finish up the current projects,” Woo-jin thought.

Sitting at his desk, Woo-jin looked at the drawing files on his computer.

Besides the meeting with Seok-ho, the Seongsu-dong Strategic Maintenance Zone design competition was his main focus.

The deadline was approaching, so Woo-jin planned to work overtime.

‘I need to fix the designs by tomorrow. Then, I can spend the next three days improving the proposal,’ he thought.

Woo-jin straightened his posture and began reviewing the design team’s files.

He needed to finish the confirmations today to finalize the design tomorrow.

Although he had stepped back from detailed design work, Woo-jin always handled the final confirmation himself.

‘Everyone’s skills are improving. I don’t see any major issues,’ he thought.

Woo-jin worked in his office all morning, skipping lunch and staying glued to his monitor until one o’clock.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Mr. Seo, it’s time to prepare,” the project manager said, entering the office.

Woo-jin checked his watch, surprised.

“Ah, is it that time already?” he exclaimed.

Woo-jin saved the files, turned off the monitor, packed his bag, and left the office.

Woo-jin had a meeting with a special client that afternoon.

The client was ‘special’ because this meeting was different from WJ Studio’s usual projects.

Moreover, the client was introduced by someone Woo-jin knew from the past.

Woo-jin was headed to Cheongdam Real Estate in Cheongdam-dong, a wealthy area of Seoul known for luxury shops and real estate.

His appointment was with Mr. Kim, the president of Cheongdam Real Estate.

‘I need to hurry,’ Woo-jin thought.

He started the car.

There were only 20 minutes left until the appointment.

Cheongdam Real Estate was a short drive from Woo-jin’s office, just across the Yeongdong Bridge.

Despite leaving a bit late, he arrived on time.

Woo-jin parked his car and entered the familiar office.

Ding-

“Oh, Mr. Seo, welcome!” a voice called out.

“Haha, Mr. Kim, how have you been?” Woo-jin greeted.

“Well, what could be wrong?” Mr. Kim replied.

“Now you’re not only introducing properties but also work,” Woo-jin joked.

“Hahaha. That’s right. I never thought I’d contact you for something like this,” Mr. Kim laughed.

“Thank you. It’s been a while, but I appreciate you remembering me,” Woo-jin said.

“It’s not easy to forget Mr. Seo,” Mr. Kim replied.

“Is that so?”

“The project you did before was very impressive, and you’ve been in the news a lot recently, haven’t you?”

“Ah, you must have seen the articles about Parafield,” Woo-jin said.

“I see them when I’m searching the internet,” Mr. Kim said.

Woo-jin exchanged greetings with a smile and sat on the sofa.

Mr. Kim made instant coffee and placed it in front of Woo-jin. Soon after, the door opened again.

Ding-

Woo-jin knew instinctively that this was the client.

‘He’s quite old, as I expected,’ Woo-jin thought.

The client was the president of another architectural firm, making him a ‘slightly special’ client.

“Mr. President, you’re here?” Mr. Kim greeted.

“Haha, I think I’m a little late,” the man said.

“No, you’re right on time. Come this way,” Mr. Kim replied.

Woo-jin stood up and extended his hand.

The man looked between Mr. Kim and Woo-jin and asked, “Is this the person…?”

“That’s right. This is Mr. Seo Woo-jin, the CEO of WJ Studio. This is Mr. Lim Jung-woo, the CEO of Dajin Architecture,” Mr. Kim introduced.

The man smiled and shook Woo-jin’s hand.

“Haha, nice to meet you, Mr. Seo. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Lim Jung-woo,” he said.

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Lim. I’m Seo Woo-jin from WJ Studio,” Woo-jin replied.

After shaking hands, they sat down on the sofa.

Mr. Kim started the conversation.

Unlike WJ Studio, Dajin Architecture focused more on construction than design.

It wasn’t a large construction company like Chunwoong Construction, but it had a larger sales volume than WJ Studio.

Dajin Architecture didn’t just receive construction orders; Lim Jung-woo was more of a real estate investor.

He started the company with money earned from real estate investments.

Dajin Architecture’s business model was to buy land, build on it, and sell the units or the entire building.

Lim Jung-woo started by building and selling villas and multi-family houses, gradually expanding his business.

Dajin Architecture was financially stable because it was built on real estate investments.

It acted as both the developer and the construction company for most projects.

Dajin Architecture was a corporation, but it was essentially Lim Jung-woo’s personal company.

Lim Jung-woo had enough capital to buy potential construction sites in advance.

Woo-jin had heard about Lim Jung-woo from Mr. Kim during the Cheongdam Seonyeong deal.

Mr. Kim had told Woo-jin, “Among my clients, Mr. Lim Jung-woo is very impressive. You seem to know as much about real estate as he does.”

“Lim Jung-woo… Mr. President?” Woo-jin had asked.

“He’s the biggest player among my clients. He owns over a thousand square meters of land in Cheongdam-dong,” Mr. Kim had said.

Woo-jin had thought the story of someone owning a thousand square meters in Cheongdam-dong was exaggerated.

He never imagined he would meet Lim Jung-woo or work with him.

‘So, the thousand square meters of land in Cheongdam-dong was true… There are many rich people in the world,’ Woo-jin thought.

They were meeting because of a new business Lim Jung-woo was starting.

Dajin Architecture had finally decided to build on the land in Cheongdam-dong.

The site was over 2,000 square meters.

Lim Jung-woo planned to invest a large amount of money in this project.

“Mr. Kim talks a lot about you, Mr. Seo,” Lim Jung-woo said.

“About me?” Woo-jin asked.

“He said you’re already a master of real estate investment in your twenties… Haha. That’s why I wanted to meet you,” Lim Jung-woo explained.

“I’m embarrassed. I just used the information I had,” Woo-jin replied.

“Using information to make money is investment,” Lim Jung-woo said.

Lim Jung-woo was finally developing the land he had held for ten years because he had acquired the adjacent plot.

He was planning a luxury villa for the upper class, with a view of the Han River.

It would be a town house-style villa in the city center, with only large units.

This was Lim Jung-woo’s long-cherished dream: to build a town house-like residence in Gangnam, instead of a dense apartment complex.

However, building a small number of residences on expensive land would reduce profitability.

It was difficult to make a profit with a town house-style residence on prime land like Cheongdam-dong.

Even maximizing the floor area ratio wouldn’t compare to the efficiency of an apartment.

Lim Jung-woo was worried about bridging the gap between his dream and reality.

He found the answer in Woo-jin: to inject marketability into the town house with the brand ‘Seo Woo-jin’.