Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 3

People saw a twenty-two-year-old man. But inside, Woo-jin felt like he had lived for twenty years already. He had been through something amazing, something you only read about in fantasy books. But now, his life was quiet and normal again.

He wasn’t going to tell everyone he was a “returnee.” It was too strange to explain. He needed time to get used to being back.

His only family was his mother, and they lived in a small, old house. The paint was peeling outside, but inside it was cozy. For a few days, Woo-jin stayed home. He didn’t have any special plans to go out.

He thought nothing exciting would happen.

But these quiet days were precious to Woo-jin.

He needed time to relax. Ten years of stress had tired him. Now, he wanted to plan his new life.

His mother made him breakfast every morning, but she didn’t know what he was thinking.

“Woo-jin, shouldn’t you start getting ready for school soon?” she asked.

“Getting ready for school?”

“Yes, you rascal. You need to buy clothes for the entrance ceremony, get your hair cut….”

Woo-jin smiled and nodded, hearing his mother nag him for the first time since he had returned. It felt good to be home.

She hadn’t said it directly, but he knew she was worried about him staying home and doing nothing.

“Ah, I was actually planning to go out today,” Woo-jin said.

“Really?”

“I’ve rested enough now.”

Woo-jin wasn’t just making excuses. He really had plans he had been putting off.

He wasn’t going to prepare for school like his mother thought.

‘Today is February 18th… The job postings should be up by now, shouldn’t they?’ he thought.

Woo-jin planned to visit the architectural firm he had gone to around this time in his past life.

He wanted to go to school, but he also needed to earn some money.

Student loans were one thing, but design college had practical training fees that weren’t cheap.

It wouldn’t hurt to work hard and earn some extra money.

Woo-jin didn’t want to ask his mother for a single won.

‘There’s no reason to,’ he thought.

After a good meal, Woo-jin went to his room to change. He quickly came outside and left the house.

After getting out of the military, Woo-jin’s home was in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu.

Around 2030, before Woo-jin returned, it was a rich neighborhood with new apartments.

But in 2010, it was a run-down area with old, five-story public housing apartments.

‘It was a complete change,’ he thought.

His house was one of those old apartments.

Woo-jin felt it was both a shame and a relief.

In his past life, his mother had sold this house in a few years, but that wouldn’t happen this time.

Woo-jin wouldn’t even let her think about selling it.

‘If she hadn’t sold this house, we would be much better off now…,’ he thought.

Back then, no one knew that this old apartment, selling for 400 to 500 million won, would be worth 1.5 billion won in just ten years.

‘Let’s go to work first. There’s no point in thinking about this now,’ he thought.

Woo-jin walked to the bus stop and took a bus to Suseo Station on Line 3.

He was going to the construction site office at the Suseo Station intersection.

Woo-jin knew there was a shortage of workers there.

‘Was it Department Head Park Kyung-wan? I need to find that person…,’ he thought.

He didn’t remember the exact date, but around this time, Suseo Station, the end of Line 3, would be opened to Ogeum Station.

They needed more field workers to finish construction on time, so the worker agencies near Suseo Station were empty.

Woo-jin knew this because he had worked at Suseo Station after getting out of the military in his past life.

He worked on a large office building being finished on the corner of the Suseo Station intersection.

In this life, Woo-jin had decided to make that place his first job again.

‘But the work I’m going to do will be a little different…,’ he thought.

Clang! Clang!

Woo-jin smiled as he got off the bus and heard the sound of metal in the distance.

“I’m going crazy!” Park Kyung-wan shouted. “Why didn’t you get enough workers in advance?”

“I, I’m sorry, Department Head,” someone replied. “We didn’t think we would be this short….”

“The schedule is already tight!” Park Kyung-wan said. “Don’t you know the finishing work is the hardest?”

“We’ve called all the worker agencies we can,” the person said.

“Haa, if you call, you might find people,” Park Kyung-wan said. “But what about the cost? You have to pay the price!”

Park Kyung-wan, the management department head at the Chunwoong Construction site at Suseo Station, sighed.

Time was money at a construction site, but the deadline was close, and the schedule was getting messed up.

The construction company would have to pay for the losses from the delay.

The more losses, the more Park Kyung-wan’s job was at risk.

“We can find unskilled workers somehow,” someone said.

“Yes, Department Head.”

“Just bring three interior carpenters who can actually do the job. Just three,” Park Kyung-wan said.

“Ah, I understand.”

“B-1 needs to start work by tomorrow at the latest. Got it?”

“B-1… You mean the cafe interior?”

“Yes, you idiot.”

Team Leader Kang Joon-min, who was listening, looked confused.

He knew a large cafe was going to be built on the first floor, but he thought the interior work was separate from the completion schedule.

“You don’t mean… we have to finish the first-floor interior by the completion date?” Kang Joon-min asked.

Park Kyung-wan sighed and nodded.

“That’s why I look so tired,” he said.

“No, but why…?”

“What can I do? It’s in the contract,” Park Kyung-wan said.

Usually, the interior of commercial spaces in office buildings is done after the building is finished.

So, the cafe interior wouldn’t be Chunwoong Construction’s responsibility.

But Park Kyung-wan said it was, so Kang Joon-min was worried.

“We have to find them by the end of today, no matter what,” Park Kyung-wan said.

“That’s right.”

“Haa… I’ll look into it, Department Head,” Kang Joon-min said.

“Pay them extra, but only bring in skilled workers. Got it?” Park Kyung-wan said.

“Of course. Looking at the cafe plans, there’s a lot of design involved…,”

Kang Joon-min sighed and looked upset.

He knew he was partly to blame for not acting sooner when the schedule was delayed, but he didn’t think it would be this bad.

The subway construction and the cafe interior had made things difficult.

‘Damn. It seems the building owner is running the cafe… No wonder the design is the same all the way to the lobby…,’ he thought.

Kang Joon-min hurried past Park Kyung-wan and went to the elevator.

‘Damn. I have to do what I’m told,’ he thought.

He was unhappy, but if the completion schedule was really messed up, he would be responsible.

He was so busy thinking that he didn’t see the young man who walked past him.

Twenty years ago, Woo-jin came to this site office with a simple goal.

‘I want to work on-site. Even if I go back to college, what I learn on-site will help me,’ he thought.

He never went to college in his past life, but now, Woo-jin wanted to learn.

A construction site where he could earn money and learn was perfect for him.

But Woo-jin, with only his strong body and passion, soon learned how hard on-site work was.

‘I was so naive back then,’ he thought.

Woo-jin’s first job was formwork carpentry, known as a tough job.

“[Student], you said you were confident in using your body?”

“Yes, I am.”

“[I’ll pay you well, so let’s work hard today.”

“Thank you!”

The main job of formwork carpentry is simple.

Review the drawings, cut plywood and lumber to the right sizes, and then install formwork on steel columns or walls.

Formwork carpentry creates the framework for pouring concrete.

But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

If the formwork wasn’t made carefully, the lines would be crooked.

And you could get hit by rebar if you weren’t careful.

Handling wood accurately and quickly was important for formwork carpentry.

So, Woo-jin started as an assistant.

Assistant workers were called ‘demodo’ or ‘jogong’ on-site.

The foremen and senior craftsmen were kind to them because the work was hard.

‘It’s hard to find people…,’ he thought.

The work was difficult and dangerous, so people often quit after a day or two.

Woo-jin worked hard for three months.

The craftsmen trusted him.

“[Student], you’re getting better quickly?”

“[Haha, how about staying here?”

“[Yes. You’re young, so if you study and get some certifications, you’ll be fine.”

Woo-jin was tired but proud to see the building being finished.

But Woo-jin wasn’t the same twenty-two-year-old anymore.

He wasn’t going to do formwork carpentry again.

‘I’ve done enough manual labor in my past life,’ he thought.

This time, Woo-jin was going to do more than just use his body.

“Um…? What brings you here?”

Woo-jin opened the door and saw Park Kyung-wan.

He smiled and said, “I came after seeing the job posting.”

“Job posting…?”

“Looking for interior carpenters with 3 years of experience or more, and able to use CAD and SketchUp.”

“……?”

Park Kyung-wan was shocked.

What Woo-jin said seemed impossible.

‘The posting was put up two hours ago… And he’s already here?’ he thought.

He needed workers, so it was good that someone came.

But the young man looked too young to be an interior carpenter.

“Are you really… a technician?”

“Why else would I be here?”

“Excuse me, but how old are you…?”

“Twenty-two.”

“…….”

Park Kyung-wan was speechless at Woo-jin’s confidence.

Woo-jin spoke again, “You know Foreman Kim Ji-hoon, right?”

“……!”

“I worked under him for several years.”

“Is that… really true?”

“Just try me for one day. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to pay me.”

Woo-jin smiled as he saw Park Kyung-wan’s confused eyes.