Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 236

If only Woojin hadn’t been the first to present.

Would things have been a little better then?

This was the first thought that crossed Junho’s mind as he walked off the stage after his presentation.

‘Damn it…’

Junho knew his presentation was a complete disaster.

The designs were very different in quality, which was a problem from the beginning. But Junho’s biggest issue was his mental state; he was breaking down.

He finished the presentation, but he wasn’t happy with it.

He couldn’t even show everything he had prepared.

When he looked at the audience after his final words, he could tell by their faces that about half of the people had already left the conference hall.

The ones who stayed looked uninterested. Most of them were there because of their jobs, not because they wanted to listen.

They clapped because it was over, but that was all. Even some of the people who should have been interested were falling asleep.

Junho felt angry inside, but he didn’t show it and went back to his seat.

Or maybe Junho was the only one who noticed how bad his presentation was. The others might not have cared.

Junho’s face was pale.

Back in his seat, Junho took a deep breath to calm himself.

‘Okay, even if that guy shows off, this competition was rigged for my design to win. I’m the winner.’

He felt uneasy, but he pushed it down. He had spent too much effort and money on this competition for it to fail.

The labor costs were high, and so were the expenses for wining and dining Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport officials with Kwon Ju-yeol.

Just as he was calming down, a voice beside him destroyed his confidence.

It was Woojin, speaking calmly without any emotion.

“I enjoyed your presentation, Mr. Kim. You worked hard.”

Those words were enough to completely destroy Junho’s confidence.

The design competition at Seoul City Hall wasn’t the only place where the results were decided.

The judges’ scores would be sent to the project committee, who would do a final score tally. The results would be announced a few days later.

The word ‘transparent’ was used, but it was a joke. The judges could decide the scores however they wanted, and no one would really check.

This was what Kim Junho believed until the end.

‘Eight out of ten judges are government officials. There’s no way I can lose.’

There were ten judges in total: four from Seoul City Hall and four from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. Even without the two private committee members, he was sure he had the support of more than half.

Seoul City had to work with the Ministry, so they would support the Ministry’s design.

Junho spoke to Woojin.

“Mr. Seo, you’re still in your twenties, right?”

“Yes, that’s right, but…?”

After the presentations, Junho met Woojin in front of the conference hall. Junho was angry because of Woojin’s earlier words and couldn’t hold back.

“You’re young. You don’t get how things really work. There are uncomfortable truths in the world that you never want to know.”

He felt made fun of by Woojin, who was young enough to be his nephew. If he didn’t say something, he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

“Uncomfortable truths…? Like what?”

Woojin was surprised, but he listened. It seemed Junho didn’t know the ‘uncomfortable truth’.

Junho saw Woojin’s faint smile, and his words were filled with anger.

“Sometimes, what you thought was obvious may not be.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m giving you advice because you might be shocked by the results of this competition.”

He was trying to stay calm, but after Junho’s last words, Woojin chuckled.

Woojin looked straight at Kim Junho and said slowly,

“Are you saying that outside factors will affect today’s competition?”

Junho replied angrily,

“Yes… You’re sharp.”

Woojin was even more surprised. Junho was admitting his own corruption.

‘How can he be so shameless?’

Woojin realized he didn’t need to respect Junho.

‘I guess he thought I’d be nervous if he said that…’

Woojin looked at Junho with disrespect.

Woojin continued,

“Mr. Kim.”

“Why, has reality finally hit you, Mr. Seo?”

Woojin laughed.

“You don’t deny your own corruption, Mr. Kim… So why are you denying reality?”

“What?”

Woojin lowered his voice.

“You know you lost to me in skill, Mr. Kim.”

“……!”

“And you’ll learn something else soon.”

Woojin spoke to Junho, who was speechless.

“No matter what you do, you can’t change today’s results.”

Junho’s fists shook as he looked at Woojin, who was making fun of him. He gritted his teeth and said,

“We’ll see in a few days.”

Woojin turned and repeated Junho’s words.

“You may not want to believe it, Mr. Kim, but there are uncomfortable truths in the world that you never want to know.”

Kim Junho said those foolish things because he was upset and didn’t realize what Woojin was planning.

He didn’t know that the design competition was Woojin’s idea.

He also didn’t know that Woojin had more power than him, even with the support of the Architectural Association.

Finally, he didn’t know that the presentation had become popular on social media and couldn’t be changed.

└ Wow, the presentation is amazing! Is this for the Seongsu district development that’s putting Gangbyeonbuk-ro underground?

└ So this is a design competition… Amazing. Awesome.

└ This makes me want to study architecture! Should I change my major?

└ Mr. Seo! Please come back to ! I miss you!

└ I heard he’s coming back soon?

└ Really?

└ There was a hint in last week’s episode.

└ Ooh…! Awesome!

└ Are they selling apartments there? I want to live in a house designed by Seo Woojin.

└ Cheongdam Clio ㄱㄱ

└ Was that apartment also designed by Seo Woojin?

└ I think so?

└ That place is too expensive.

└ Seongsu won’t be cheap either…

The video streamed live by Seoul City had thousands of comments. The number of viewers was over 50,000, and the video had over 100,000 views.

Most of the comments were about Seo Woojin.

└ Seo Woojin is handsome!

└ Wait. Isn’t that Yuria’s account?

└ Crazy! It’s really her! It’s really Yuria!

└ Yuria, please accept my follower request ㅠㅠ

└ Sis, please do a show with Mr. Seo ㅠㅠ I want to see your chemistry again…

└ Aaaah! It’s Yuria!

Most of the comments were positive, but some were negative and about the other presentations.

└ Is this a design competition?

└ I think so? Why?

└ If so, they should have just picked Seo Woojin in the document review. The difference in quality is too big.

└ ㅋㅋㅋ That’s true.

└ I watched a little after Seo Woojin and then turned it off. The second presenter was like a university student.

└ ㅋㅋ That’s a bit of an exaggeration. The design wasn’t bad, but he was being compared to Seo Woojin, so he stuttered and looked pathetic.

└ Is the rest any better?

└ No, it’s the same.

└ The fourth presenter gave up?

└ Gave up?

└ He didn’t even come to the presentation hall.

Some people praised Seoul City for posting new content on social media.

└ The Seoul City social media manager is working hard.

└ Please post things like this often! Ordinary people don’t check development plans!

└ That’s right! When things like this are uploaded, we learn about development news, which is good.

There were many kinds of people in the comment section, but they all thought Seo Woojin would win.

└ When will the results be released?

└ I don’t know? What are you going to do knowing that?

└ I’m curious.

└ Why be curious? It’s Seo Woojin anyway.

└ I guess so. If they pick someone else after this presentation… That wouldn’t make sense.

└ If someone else is picked, we need to investigate the Seoul City judges for corruption. Who else would they pick besides Seo Woojin?ㅋㅋ

The design competition had become an irreversible situation. They couldn’t just pick Junho and ignore everything.

Junho found this out when he got back to the office.

When he returned, he got a call on his phone.

[Kim Junho, you know why I called, right?]

“Yes? Chairman, what are you…”

[You idiot, you should have failed moderately!]

“……!”

[I just got a call from a junior colleague.]

“Wh…at call are you talking about?”

[I was going to fix it, but he said there’s no way.]

“Th, then…”

[How can you not beat even one young person when I’m helping you?]

“H, has the judging result already come out?”

[Judging? You’ve ruined my reputation! What are you going to do?]

After the call from Kwon Ju-yeol, Junho collapsed into his seat. The day’s events flashed through his mind.

He felt like he had fallen from heaven to hell in one day. Junho didn’t know how to fix the losses from this competition, and his future looked bad.

Golden Print