Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 227

Woo-jin used to think packaging wasn’t a big deal. To him, it was just the outside wrapping, like paper around a gift. The real value was what was *inside*. But as he got older, running more and more businesses, he learned he was wrong. He realized that even the best product could seem cheap if the packaging was bad. Imagine a beautiful jewel in a dirty, torn box. Of course, fancy packaging with nothing good inside was even worse. But Woo-jin now understood something new: packaging could be *part* of the product itself. That was branding. It was like the clothes a person wears – it tells you something even before they speak.

Now, the older man, Lim Jung-woo, sitting across from Woo-jin, was talking about this idea, even without saying ‘branding’.

“Dajin Construction. Haven’t heard of it before, have you?”

At Lim Jung-woo’s words, Woo-jin nodded and replied,

“I’m afraid not.”

Jung-woo smiled at Woo-jin, who spoke apologetically, and replied,

“Haha, no need to be sorry. We don’t really do much business under the company name in the first place.”

“I see.”

Jung-woo gave a wry smile and continued,

“Actually, this company was started for real estate investment. I think I focused more on making money than building the company.”

Building a company and just making money are different. They both increase ‘value,’ but having money and being well-known are not the same thing.

Dajin Construction had more money and sales than Woo-jin’s WJ Studio. But WJ Studio was much more famous.

This difference came from how the two leaders ran their companies.

Lim Jung-woo, after sipping his coffee, continued in a slightly more serious tone.

“In that sense, I believe Dajin Construction and WJ Studio can work very well together.”

“Synergy, you mean…”

“Dajin Construction has money and land. You, CEO Seo, have the fame and design skills.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

Woo-jin bowed his head slightly. Lim Jung-woo smiled.

“No need to be so modest,” Jung-woo said, a warm smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. “I’ve been in construction for thirty years, and I know what you’ve done is amazing.”

At first, Woo-jin thought Lim Jung-woo was praising the Parafield Pavilion, which was popular lately.

But Lim Jung-woo really valued Woo-jin’s award from EAC, which surprised Woo-jin.

Woo-jin thought Lim Jung-woo seemed more like a businessman than a designer. He thought EAC was something only architecture students would care about.

To Woo-jin’s surprise, Lim Jung-woo said something more.

“It’s an old story, but I studied architecture too.”

“Ah, is that so!”

“I found making money more interesting, so I stopped designing a long time ago. But I know the industry better than anyone.”

The more they talked, the more Woo-jin liked Lim Jung-woo and felt he could learn from him. The conversation became very friendly and easy.

Lim Jung-woo already liked Woo-jin, so this was natural.

Mr. Kim, the real estate agent, helped them talk easily.

As they talked, their business deal started to take shape.

Woo-jin’s eyes widened as he checked the address Lim Jung-woo showed him.

“Wow… you’ve really got a prime piece of land.”

“Haha, I’m glad you think so, CEO Seo.”

Woo-jin unfolded the map from Mr. Kim and circled the land. He looked at the map for a moment.

Then, he nodded and spoke again.

“This is a perfect place for very fancy villas that feel like townhouses.”

“Is that so?”

“The only problem is that it’s far from the station… but being near a station doesn’t matter for luxury homes.”

“Heh heh, you understand perfectly.”

“Also, with good design, it’s easy to get to the Gangbyeonbuk-ro highway from here. This is better than just being a little bit close to a train station.”

The luxury villa that Lim Jung-woo wanted to build in Cheongdam-dong would cost at least 3 billion won per unit.

Someone living in a house like that wouldn’t care about public transportation.

As Woo-jin kept talking, Lim Jung-woo became more and more impressed.

“You’re planning exactly 30 houses, right?”

“You’re sharp. That’s right. I don’t want to argue about the price.”

“I think that’s smart. For luxury housing, you can only fit about 35 to 40 houses on this land, no matter how hard you try.”

“Haha, you’re giving me an estimate without even seeing the design?”

“I’m actually good at designing houses. Haha.”

To be honest, Lim Jung-woo had been unsure about Woo-jin before this meeting.

He valued Woo-jin’s career and brand, but he didn’t know if they could work well together until they met.

Jung-woo knew Woo-jin was in his twenties. He also knew that success at that age could make someone arrogant.

But Woo-jin was very different from what Jung-woo expected.

He wasn’t arrogant at all. He was very humble.

His knowledge of architecture was amazing for someone in his twenties.

He understood land well, knew the real estate market, and knew how to say the right things in conversation.

He seemed like a contractor with ten years of experience, or an investor like Jung-woo himself.

The ‘designer educated overseas’ image he expected was not there at all.

‘How do you get to this level in your twenties?’

By the time they finished talking about the land, Jung-woo was shaking his head to himself, impressed.

Jung-woo first wanted to use ‘Seo Woo-jin’s’ brand.

Now, Woo-jin seemed like the best business partner he could find.

“You want the title of , right, Mr. President?”

Woo-jin asked. Jung-woo nodded.

“That’s right. Dajin Construction doesn’t have a brand like big companies, so I wanted to use your name, CEO Seo.”

Jung-woo was honest and direct. Woo-jin nodded and spoke again.

“It’s not just because it’s my name. It will definitely work.”

“Haha. That’s why I asked Mr. Kim to set up this meeting.”

“But there are limits.”

“Limits, you mean…”

“But your luxury villas might not become more famous than I am already.”

“…!”

Jung-woo paused to think. He had never thought about that, but it was possible.

‘Seo Woo-jin is famous, but that might not be enough to beat the big construction companies.’

Of course, he didn’t need to beat them. Dajin Construction was smaller, and he didn’t expect to surpass them.

He was about to say that he was okay with that ‘limit’ when Woo-jin spoke first.

“Then how about this, Mr. President?”

Lim Jung-woo saw Woo-jin’s sparkling eyes. He looked expectant.

“Do you have any other good suggestions?”

Woo-jin looked Lim Jung-woo in the eye and spoke softly.

“Why don’t you launch a new luxury housing brand with a townhouse concept?”

“…!”

“Don’t just hire WJ Studio to design it. Let’s launch a new brand together.”

“Oho…”

Woo-jin saw that Jung-woo was interested. He continued confidently.

“Dajin Construction has money and resources. WJ Studio has design skills and a famous name.”

Woo-jin and Jung-woo looked at each other again.

“Let’s try branding in a new way that no one in Korea has done for houses yet.”

Lim Jung-woo and Woo-jin talked for a long time.

Woo-jin’s big idea led to many more things to discuss.

Even after talking for so long, they were both energetic.

They used a lot of energy talking, but every word was useful.

They talked until almost dinner time before getting up.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kim. I took up your whole day…”

“Haha. No, I enjoyed listening.”

“Thank you too, Mr. Kim. Thanks to you, I got a great opportunity.”

They said goodbye to Mr. Kim and went outside.

Woo-jin’s car and Lim Jung-woo’s car were parked next to each other in front of the real estate office.

Lim Jung-woo’s driver saw him coming and opened the car door, bowing a little.

“It was really fun today, CEO Seo.”

“Same here, Mr. President. Thank you for the offer.”

“Haha, I got an offer from you too, CEO Seo.”

Lim Jung-woo shook Woo-jin’s hand again and spoke.

“Are you going home now?”

Woo-jin replied,

“Ah, I have another meeting. I can’t go home yet.”

“You’re busy. Haha. What kind of meeting?”

Woo-jin answered casually,

“I’m meeting about the design competition for the Seongsu-dong area.”

Woo-jin didn’t think much of it. He thought Lim Jung-woo knew about the Seongsu area because he knew a lot about real estate.

But Lim Jung-woo looked surprised.

“Hmm. CEO Seo… are you talking about the design competition for that area?”

Woo-jin nodded.

“That’s right, but…?”

Then, Lim Jung-woo told him something interesting.

“Haha. This is going to be fun…”

“What is it?”

Lim Jung-woo asked Woo-jin again.

“It’s a bit forward, but… CEO Seo, do you know anyone at the Architectural Association?”