Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 266

After that day’s meeting in Icheon City, the following week brought a call directly from the audit officer.

[Hello. Is this the number for CEO Seo Woo-jin of WJ Studio?]

“Yes, this is Seo Woo-jin speaking.”

[Ah, nice to meet you. This is 000, the audit officer from Icheon City.]

Because the expected call came at the expected time, Woo-jin remained calm.

However, regardless of his inner calm, he needed to put on a bit of an act.

“An audit… you’re an audit officer?”

There was no need to act overly flustered, but being too nonchalant would also seem strange.

[An audit is underway regarding the development project in Icheon City… and we need to request some cooperation from CEO Seo.]

[What kind of cooperation?]

Woo-jin deliberately spoke with a slightly reluctant voice and scheduled the audit with the officer.

“Then, I will have all the documents you mentioned prepared by Wednesday.”

[Thank you, CEO. I’m sorry for the tight schedule.]

“Ah, no worries.”

[Then, I’ll see you on Wednesday.]

“There shouldn’t be any problems, but… I look forward to working with you.”

In fact, the audit officer expected Woo-jin to have anticipated the audit to some extent.

Woo-jin would naturally know that the Icheon City Culture Department had been audited.

Even if he wasn’t certain, he would have guessed that there was a chance he would be audited as well.

That’s why they didn’t give him much time to prepare for the audit, but in reality, Woo-jin didn’t even need until Wednesday.

He was already fully prepared, to the point where he could handle an audit barging in tomorrow.

‘So, it begins.’

Woo-jin stretched briefly after hanging up the phone.

It was time to release the bait he had prepared in advance, little by little.

Kwon Joo-yeol, the head of the Architects Association, had been feeling quite anxious lately.

The plan he had confidently started with his junior, Ji-hwan, at the end of the year was starting to feel like it was going awry.

“What? The internal audit is over, and you didn’t find anything?”

[Well… that’s what it looks like on the surface, Senior.]

“On the surface? Let’s not play word games. What the hell is going on?”

In fact, Joo-yeol and Ji-hwan didn’t even think it would be necessary to directly audit Woo-jin.

They were so sure of Woo-jin’s corruption that they thought a simple internal audit would reveal it, like pulling threads from a loose sweater.

But the internal audit ended without finding even a tiny bit of evidence.

Joo-yeol, who had already made plans assuming Woo-jin’s corruption was a sure thing, couldn’t help but feel anxious.

If Woo-jin’s corruption wasn’t revealed…

A situation he didn’t even want to think about would unfold.

‘Surely that won’t happen….’

The most critical thing was the ‘association operating expenses’ that he had already received from each architectural firm.

He had pocketed money ranging from a few million to tens of millions of won, disguised as operating expenses.

If it became difficult to take over the project because no corruption was found in Woo-jin, he would have to return all that money.

‘Hmm. Did I move too hastily?’

Ji-hwan’s voice was heard again over the receiver, beyond the anxious Joo-yeol.

[Don’t worry too much, Senior. It seems they prepared more thoroughly than we thought, but the result won’t change anyway.]

“Hmm.”

[You confirmed all the circumstances, didn’t you, Senior?]

“Circumstances… are you talking about Seo Woo-jin buying land?”

[Yes, that’s right.]

Joo-yeol paused for a moment, lost in thought.

Ji-hwan, who had been hesitant for a moment, continued to speak.

[There’s no way Seo Woo-jin didn’t grease some palms.]

“Of course, he did.”

[At most, he probably stashed money in a nominee account or wrote a side contract… but as you know, Korean audit agencies aren’t that easy to fool.]

“True. They’ve been auditing fiercely these days.”

[They’ll probably start digging into Seo Woo-jin directly from Wednesday. Something will come out then, so don’t worry.]

Listening to Ji-hwan’s story, Joo-yeol was able to find some peace of mind.

‘Right. No matter how much he struggles now, it’s already game over.’

The things Ji-hwan said were all reasonable to him.

“Anyway, prepare thoroughly so there are no missteps.”

[Yes, Senior.]

“Report on the progress again soon.”

[Understood. I’m sorry for causing you concern.]

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s just that Seo Woo-jin is more cunning than I thought.”

But after hanging up with Ji-hwan, Joo-yeol thought that he couldn’t just wait for the audit results.

He was afraid of the backlash if Woo-jin succeeded in concealing his corruption and didn’t receive any sanctions.

So, Joo-yeol started calling somewhere again.

“Hey, Kim. How are you doing these days?”

The person Joo-yeol called was a reporter from a major broadcasting station who frequently visited the association.

“I have a good source for you.”

Joo-yeol’s choice was to publicize this project.

Woo-jin was already more than just a regular architectural designer; he was a public figure.

And what such a public figure would fear most was having their flaws exposed to the public through the media.

He knew it would be a dirty fight, but Joo-yeol thought it was a choice he had nothing to lose since it was certain that Woo-jin had committed corruption.

“Are you free tomorrow or the day after?”

This was a rather impulsive and emotional choice.

“Then I’ll see you then. I’ll buy you lunch.”

But even at this moment, Joo-yeol couldn’t know how much of a fatal boomerang this one phone call would become for him.

If January was a month when WJ Studio employees were frantically busy because of the project’s progress, February was chaos itself.

The paperwork had increased to respond to the tight audits, and Joo-yeol had even started using the media to spread rumors.

Regardless of the truth, the spread of bad articles and public opinion against Woo-jin was a big loss for the company.

Therefore, the marketing team at WJ Studio had no choice but to respond to this.

If they didn’t respond and remained silent, the public would believe the media regardless of the truth.

Jin-tae, who had checked the articles that started pouring out from the morning, ran to the CEO’s office as soon as he got to work.

“Woo-jin, did you see the articles?”

“Of course, I saw them.”

“These guys are really vicious, aren’t they?”

“I know. I didn’t think they’d go as far as using the media.”

When he first saw the articles, Woo-jin was also taken aback.

Even Woo-jin had not expected the Architects Association to use the media.

The articles were quite sensational from the title, and the comments below were already emotional.

[WJ Studio CEO Seo Woo-jin. Unfairly profiting from the Icheon City tourism industry development?]

[Thousands of square feet of land near the Icheon City set are known to be under the name of ‘CEO Seo Woo-jin’ of WJ Studio…….]

└ Wow, I didn’t think Seo Woo-jin was like that. Amazing.

└ He’s already acting like this at a young age…….

└ You became a little famous in your twenties, and in the end, you’re just the same old construction corruption.

But that didn’t mean he was flustered.

Woo-jin knew better than anyone that this was a self-inflicted wound for them.

‘This is almost a matter of intelligence…….’

Of course, it might be a good strategy in the short term.

This kind of media play was a choice that could put a lot of pressure on Woo-jin at the time of the audit.

“Hey, why are you so calm?”

“About what?”

“Isn’t this a pretty big deal?”

“Why?”

“There are already hateful comments and a mess in the comments.”

Woo-jin smiled at Jin-tae’s concern.

It might be unpleasant and damaging right now.

But the moment the truth is revealed, these arrows that are now pouring down on Woo-jin will return to the Architects Association as they are.

‘Maybe this is an opportunity.’

Moreover, if Woo-jin’s perfect innocence is revealed in this highly publicized situation, the public’s negative attention will turn into positive public opinion, and he might even be able to benefit from it.

What was important in this situation was not to get angry and worked up.

As always, Woo-jin was just looking for the best way to resolve this situation.

“Let’s have a marketing meeting, Hyung.”

“Meeting?”

“We need to set a guide on how to respond, don’t we?”

“Hmm…….”

Woo-jin smiled and continued.

“How’s the atmosphere in the company? They don’t actually believe I committed corruption, do they?”

At Woo-jin’s question, Jin-tae waved his hand and answered.

“Of course not. How popular are you in the company?”

“That’s a relief.”

Jin-tae added a word.

“Everyone’s worried. They say something must be wrong, but they’re worried that the CEO will be upset.”

At Jin-tae’s answer, even the slightly unpleasant feelings that remained in Woo-jin disappeared.

What was important to Woo-jin was not the criticism of an unspecified number of people who were not related to him, but the people close to him, the people he works with.

Woo-jin thought it was enough that they believed in and supported him.

“As you can see, I’m fine, okay?”

At Woo-jin’s words, Jin-tae burst out laughing.

“Yeah. You look fine. I’m embarrassed that I rushed over here because I was worried.”

Woo-jin also chuckled and nodded.

“So, everyone don’t worry and call a meeting. Now that the stage is set, I’m going to have a proper fight.”

“Okay.”

“And today’s meeting should be limited to at least the chief level.”

“Why? Limiting it to the chief level means there are only five people?”

“Some of the things we’re going to discuss today are confidential.”

“I understand. I’ll do that.”

After Jin-tae left the CEO’s office, Woo-jin sat in front of the computer and started typing quickly.

Until now, he had been planning and worrying almost alone, but now he had to share the picture he had drawn with his employees and respond together.

‘I’m going to burn those association bastards…… all the way to the roots.’

A day, two days. A week like that.

The audit of WJ Studio became more tenacious, and the media was on fire every day.

At first, the public opinion that criticized Woo-jin was overwhelmingly large, but now, looking at the articles, public opinion was split about half and half.

This was because WJ Studio’s marketing team did their best, not even avoiding working overnight.

The funny thing is that even in the midst of this controversy about Woo-jin’s corruption, the viewership ratings of continued to rise.

It could be said that it unintentionally became unintentional publicity.

“Hoo, Seo Woo-jin, that guy. He’s really not an ordinary guy.”

[We’re really almost there now, Senior. Just wait a little longer…….]

“How much longer are you telling me to wait? Using the media has its limits now. There’s no solution if they’re holding out like this.”

[But this time it’s certain.]

“What is?”

[We found Seo Woo-jin’s overseas account in Spain.]

“……!”

[It’ll be over as soon as we reveal the account. He’s been hiding it until the end, so everything must be in there.]

And in this process, Kwon Joo-yeol, whose patience had reached its limit, finally made a perfect mistake with his own hands.

[Architects Association President Kwon Joo-yeol. Files a complaint against WJ Studio CEO Seo Woo-jin.]

[‘We cannot tolerate corruption and favoritism in national projects that should be conducted transparently.’]

[‘I will sue CEO Seo on behalf of the small and medium-sized architectural firms that were harmed by this collusion.’]

When the president of the Architects Association directly filed a complaint, the public opinion that had barely been balanced tilted back toward criticizing Woo-jin.

But the very next day after that article was published.

[WJ Studio CEO Seo Woo-jin sues the Architects Association for ‘false accusation.’]

Woo-jin, who had been holding back, finally drew his sword, ready to fight back with determination.