Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 28

“Strike while the iron is hot,” the saying went. It meant when things started moving in your favor, you had to push harder, faster, to make the most of it. For Woo-jin, this was exactly the moment.

‘This is bigger than I ever imagined…’ he thought, a thrill running through him.

The success of his first project had been far beyond his initial hopes. And now, unexpected doors were opening. The call from Park Kyung-wan, sudden and exciting, felt like a powerful wind filling the sails of Woo-jin’s already smoothly sailing ship, ready to send it soaring.

[Next time, you’re buying the beef, you old guy.]

“Thank you, Chief. Beef is nothing. I’ll treat you properly.”

[There he goes again, sounding like an old man… Seriously, talking to you is like talking to someone much older and more experienced.]

“Aren’t you being a bit harsh? I’m still a vibrant youth.”

[Anyway, let’s meet soon. This is a big deal, so we’ll probably have a meeting with our marketing team as well.]

“Yes, sir. I’ll see you soon.”

An opportunity too great to simply ignore for the sake of academics had come to Woo-jin.

Not seizing it would be a foolish choice.

It would be a different story if he didn’t have the ability to do it.

‘It’s a bit early, but… there’s no reason I can’t do it.’

The opportunity that came to Woo-jin was this: Chunwoong Construction wanted WJ Studio to design the entire interior of their new sales promotion hall. It was a chance to create something truly impressive, a space that would wow potential clients and showcase Chunwoong’s ambition.

Although not yet discussed, the budget would start from at least hundreds of millions of won.

However, in terms of net profit, it wouldn’t be as lucrative as model outsourcing.

To produce the best quality that could give a strong impression, he would have to spare no expense on high-end materials.

‘After that construction… would I be left with about 30% net profit?’

But that wasn’t the important thing.

From Woo-jin’s perspective, who knew how difficult it was for a new architectural firm to get work, being able to receive work from a large company like Chunwoong Construction and leave behind a proper portfolio had an intangible value that couldn’t be converted into monetary terms.

‘Things are starting to work out… they’re really working out.’

Life isn’t supposed to go according to plan, is it?

It seemed to be the same for Woo-jin, who was in his second life.

Starting the model-making business in the first place was just a stepping stone for drawing a bigger picture in the future.

To establish his own architectural firm in the long term, it was better to have some kind of foundation than to start from scratch.

While attending school, he would do small model-making jobs to make a name for himself in the industry.

His original plan was to open an office upon graduation, utilizing the connections and infrastructure he had built in the process.

Even Woo-jin, who had made the plan, thought it was the best build-up that could be done in conjunction with university life.

But somehow, his first project became a huge success.

Although Chunwoong wasn’t a top-tier construction company like ‘SH Corporation’ or ‘Jeun Construction’, he had still succeeded in securing a major project from a construction company classified as first-tier.

Woo-jin had to rebuild the ambitious plans he had set from the beginning.

Before he could properly build up, he had a foothold to move on to the next stage.

‘I need to run twice as hard from today.’

Woo-jin leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. “Okay, time to move,” he muttered to himself, pushing back from the desk with sudden energy, the chair scraping against the floor.

Then, Jayden, who was sitting next to him, opened his mouth in surprise.

“Holy shit! Why are you suddenly getting up?”

“I have somewhere to go.”

“Where? You have to do Max with me!”

“I’ll be back soon. Just finish what you were doing, Hellboy.”

“Damn it. I can’t concentrate unless you’re next to me.”

“Isn’t concentration supposed to be better when you’re alone?”

“Not for me.”

“Still, I can’t help it.”

“Hmph, heartless Korean.”

Grabbing his jacket, Woo-jin hurried out of the workshop and towards the meeting place he had arranged with Jin-tae.

‘Strike while the iron is hot.’

Woo-jin immediately started to act.

Everything was working out excessively well, but that didn’t mean there were no problems involved.

In order to make this situation the best possible outcome, what Woo-jin lacked was time.

It was almost impossible to juggle a project of this size with his studies, let alone model work.

‘It’s a physically impossible schedule.’

But if Woo-jin became the ‘Owner’ rather than a practitioner, things would be different.

If he proceeded with the work in the position of ‘manager’ rather than hammering wood himself, he could run WJ Studio while still attending school.

“If I don’t have time… I can hire people. Anyway, I can’t keep working on the front lines forever.”

So, before starting this project, Woo-jin’s first priority was to find people to work with.

Among them, the highest priority was a reliable talent who would replace Heather in the future.

Seok-hyun would play that role in the model side, so he needed someone to control the construction part.

And Woo-jin knew one person who could do that role well.

“It’s here, Jin-tae hyung!”

“Oh! Woo-jin was here early?”

“Well, I’m close to the school.”

Woo-jin had been in constant contact with Kim Jin-tae even after the Suseo site work was finished.

It was partly because he thought they would work together someday, but the person himself was very kind.

In addition, perhaps because they both understood the challenges of working in the construction world, Jin-tae was someone he could meet comfortably and enjoyably, even if they met occasionally.

Of course, Kim Jin-tae probably didn’t realize that he and Woo-jin had this shared experience of working hard in tough situations.

“Wow, Woo-jin, you’re looking… less like you just finished a marathon in the desert.”

“What do you mean by looking like a college student?”

“It means the bald guy became a human.”

Apart from being comfortable with each other and having good chemistry, Jin-tae was very favorable to Woo-jin.

It was because they had worked so well together at the Suseo site, but also because Woo-jin had been in constant contact with him and treated him well ever since.

Even when Park Kyung-wan had previously suggested woodworking, he had passed the job on to Kim Jin-tae and taken care of him.

From Jin-tae’s point of view, Woo-jin couldn’t help but be a pretty younger brother.

The air filled with the rich, smoky smell of beef sizzling on the hot grill. Jin-tae watched the fat spit and crackle, his mouth watering.

Jin-tae subtly asked Woo-jin.

“But Woo-jin, did you hit the jackpot somewhere?”

“What jackpot?”

“Didn’t you make some money? I thought that’s why you were suddenly buying me meat.”

“Ah, I did make some.”

“Wow, hyungnim!”

“What, why are you being so creepy.”

“Originally, if you have a lot of money, you’re a hyung, you punk.”

Jin-tae was perhaps even more aware of Woo-jin’s skills than Kyung-wan.

Unlike Kyung-wan, who was a manager, he had worked right next to him.

Therefore, even if Woo-jin had made a lot of money, Jin-tae wasn’t very surprised.

Interior woodworking was a high-end skilled job that could earn quite a lot of money if you had the skills.

So, at Woo-jin’s words that he had made money, Jin-tae loosened his belt and ate the meat with excitement.

“Hey, but. Suddenly, it’s a bit suspicious?”

“What again.”

“Seeing you feed me so much that I’m about to burst… it seems like you have something up your sleeve.”

At Jin-tae’s words, Woo-jin chuckled and poured soju.

“Did you just realize that?”

“Seriously?”

“Hyung, you’re more dull than you look.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s eat first. Let’s talk after we eat.”

The two talked for a long time about their own stories.

As the grill was cooling down, Woo-jin finally began to speak.

“Hyung. The work I gave you last time, is it slowly coming to an end?”

“Why is that work you gave me? It’s the work Chief Park gave me.”

“Anyway! I passed the work that came to me to hyung.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Jin-tae nodded and ate the last piece of meat.

And in his eyes towards Woo-jin again, curiosity was slightly rising.

He was feeling from the atmosphere that Woo-jin was about to get to the point.

“If I go out by this week, it’ll be roughly finished.”

“Really?”

“Why are you asking? Do you have something else to pass on to me?”

In fact, since Jin-tae was a carpenter who was called everywhere, he wasn’t expecting to receive work from Woo-jin again.

However, he just threw it out there once because he felt that what Woo-jin was about to say was related to work.

‘Well, if he throws me a big deal, it’s worth looking forward to…’

But the moment Woo-jin’s answer followed, Jin-tae’s expression couldn’t help but change strangely.

“I don’t have anything to pass on… I want to take hyung with me this time?”

The words that came out of Woo-jin’s mouth were not understood at once.

“What?”

So Woo-jin told him more clearly.

“I want to hire hyung.”

“……!”

Jin-tae, who heard Woo-jin’s words, couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.

Regardless of age, he highly valued Woo-jin, but he didn’t expect to receive a scout offer from a twenty-two-year-old kid.

Apart from accepting or rejecting, he couldn’t understand the situation itself.

‘What kind of guy is this?’

But Jin-tae’s embarrassment soon went beyond that level and turned into shock.

Woo-jin brought up a more shocking story to him, who had lost his words.

“I’ll make you earn at least twice as much as you do now. How about it?”

“Are you kidding me? Do you even know how much I earn?”

“I know.”

“How?”

“It’s obvious. It’s not like I’ve been in this industry for a day or two.”

“…….”

Jin-tae was speechless again at Woo-jin’s words.

‘He’s definitely not in his right mind.’

Is this something that should come out of the mouth of a twenty-two-year-old college freshman?

But regardless of how embarrassed Jin-tae was, Woo-jin was very sane and full of sincerity.

“I know very well that hyung earns a lot.”

In Woo-jin’s judgment, Jin-tae was a carpenter who was still making at least four to five hundred a month.

He would probably earn more than six to seven hundred in months when he worked full-time even on weekends.

But that was the amount that Jin-tae could earn because he was a freelancer.

There were hardly any companies that would pay that much to a salaried carpenter.

In short, Woo-jin judged that the maximum that Jin-tae could earn by running around and finding work was about eight hundred.

So Woo-jin was able to subtly suggest a reasonable amount that Jin-tae would be tempted by.

“First, I’ll match your annual salary to about sixty-five hundred.”

As a stable salaried worker, not a freelancer. An attractive annual salary that slightly exceeds the average earnings he used to earn.

“What?”

At Jin-tae’s question, which was mixed with surprise, embarrassment, and confusion, Woo-jin opened his mouth again in a calm voice.

“Of course, I know it’s not double. I didn’t say I’d give you double right away.”

Of course, it shouldn’t end here.

In fact, Woo-jin’s company was not a leading conglomerate.

To put it bluntly, WJ Studio is a small shop run by a twenty-two-year-old CEO that has been established for less than two months.

Therefore, to bring Jin-tae in, he had to present a sure card that would make him close his eyes and throw himself in.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“Hehe, I’m very serious.”

When Woo-jin picked up the soju glass, Jin-tae lightly bumped his glass in front of it.

“Let’s hear the story until the end. I’m curious to see what kind of nonsense can come out of here.”

“Isn’t it exciting?”

“I’m not kidding. I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I go home like this.”

Jin-tae poured the soju glass straight into his mouth, and Woo-jin took a sip and put it down.

And after a moment of silence, Woo-jin slowly opened his mouth again.