Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 315

Woojin stepped into the house, and the ordinariness of it all almost made him laugh. All the worries that had been twisting in his gut just moments ago now seemed silly, like a child’s bad dream.

Dust motes danced in the weak sunlight that squeezed through the grimy windows. The air hung heavy and still, smelling faintly of old wood and forgotten things. An umbrella stand, thick with cobwebs like ghostly curtains, leaned against the wall. The shiny wooden furniture that once divided the living room from the kitchen was now dusty and leaning, its surface dull with neglect. The colours of the furniture were so faded by time and sun that Woojin could barely guess what they had once been. A thick blanket of dust covered everything; he knew that just a touch would leave his fingertip black.

Twenty years had changed everything, Woojin knew. Just as he was different now from who he was then, this house, once filled with his childhood joy, was also changed by time.

So, Woojin felt relieved.

He had confirmed once again that the past twenty years were real.

“Ha, haha……”

A hollow laugh escaped Woojin’s lips.

Looking back, he felt almost embarrassed for having had such difficult thoughts.

This was probably a worry that Woojin had held deep in his heart since he came back to the past.

It was as if his mind had built a wall to protect him from the strangeness of returning to the past.

“Hoo.”

As his mind cleared, things he hadn’t noticed before began to appear.

In any case, this house was where Woojin had spent his childhood, the most beautiful house in his memory.

Though old and rusty, the structure from his memory remained.

Of course, not everything was exactly as he remembered.

Some parts matched, but looking at it now, most of it was closer to memories making it look nicer than it really was.

‘Feels a bit bitter.’

Thud- Thud-

Woojin slowly walked further into the house.

Regardless of all other circumstances, this house would soon be demolished as redevelopment was confirmed.

Therefore, he wanted to capture all these memories in his eyes.

After carefully examining the house, Woojin took out a small notebook from his pocket, as if having made a decision.

Then, Woojin’s pen began to move busily across the notebook.

It had been a long time since he had sketched in such a small notebook, but Woojin’s pen moved forward without hesitation.

Soon, Woojin’s expression became trance-like.

The faint memories of twenty years ago began to revive.

The beautiful space he had seen twenty years ago was mixed with the run-down house.

And the next moment.

Whirr-!

Golden shimmering heat haze began to rise around Woojin’s notebook.

“……!”

Woojin’s pen stopped momentarily upon noticing it.

‘This is…….’

It had been almost a dozen years since these golden lines, seeping along the pen, had appeared before Woojin’s eyes.

The Golden Print, which hadn’t even shown its face during the SGBC design that was Woojin’s dream, had reappeared before him.

But his surprise was quick, and Woojin smiled pleasantly, starting to move his pen again.

Right now, Woojin didn’t care why these golden lines had reappeared.

The most important thing for Woojin was the sudden ideas that came to mind.

Scritch-

Each time Woojin’s pen moved, the small notebook was filled with many lines.

The lines were so complex that no one but Woojin could understand them, and golden shimmering heat haze continued to surge above them.

And, had about ten minutes passed?

Whoosh-!

The golden light that had filled the entire space was now being sucked into Woojin’s sketch.

Then, as all the golden light was sucked into the notebook.

Rip-!

Woojin tore the drawing he had just made from the notebook and put it into his inner pocket.

He would need the notebook for the meeting, but he somehow didn’t want to show the sketch he had just made to anyone.

‘Hmm, did I stay too long?’

Woojin, having put the notebook in his pocket, raised his wrist to check the time.

Then, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s a relief.”

It felt like quite a long time had passed, but only fifteen minutes had actually gone by.

It was as if he had experienced time moving slowly.

Woojin looked up and looked around the house one last time.

Then, without any regrets.

Thud- Thud-

He slowly walked out of the house.

Clang-

And Woojin was thinking that he had really done well to come here today.

Woojin entered the union office right on time, and the meeting went smoothly.

“We’re really relying on you for this, CEO Seo Woojin.”

“Haha, I’ll design it as carefully as possible so that we can show you a wonderful design at the general meeting.”

“I didn’t know that CEO Seo Woojin spent his childhood in our district.”

“It’s a neighborhood filled with my memories. That’s why I want to build an even more wonderful house.”

“In that sense… I suppose we can’t get you to use the Arco brand, can we?”

“Ha, haha. As you know, that’s a bit difficult. We’ll design and build this place as the very best, expensive homes, of course, but Arco is a brand that can’t be used for apartments.”

“Tch. It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped. Then, we’ll see you at the general meeting.”

“Thank you, Union Leader!”

On the way back to the office after the meeting, Kyungwan asked Woojin with a curious expression.

“By the way, CEO Seo.”

“Yes?”

“What did you do after going into that house?”

Woojin flinched for a moment at Kyungwan’s unexpected question.

He couldn’t immediately think of an answer.

“What, would I have done anything special? I just went on a trip down memory lane.”

“Really?”

Woojin asked again at Kyungwan’s meaningful question.

“But, why do you ask?”

Kyungwan turned the steering wheel and replied with an awkward expression.

“Ah, no. I was just curious. Your expression when you came into the union office earlier looked a bit dazed.”

“Dazed…… you say?”

“You looked like someone possessed by a ghost, or something?”

Hearing Kyungwan’s words, the face of someone Woojin had forgotten suddenly came to mind.

‘A ghost.’

The one who gave Woojin the gift of ‘going back in time.’

The face of the person who made it possible for Woojin to be where he is now.

‘Uncle Hakcheol…….’

Woojin still doesn’t know what Im Hakcheol is.

Whether he was just an ordinary architectural designer as he said.

Or a ghost as Kyungwan said.

Or something more than human.

But regardless of that, Woojin could realize one thing.

He could remember what he had to do first as soon as he returned to the company.

Woojin, sitting in the passenger seat and staring out the window, picked up the phone and called someone.

“Chief, are you available to talk?”

[Yes, go ahead, CEO.]

And he began to tell a somewhat unexpected story.

“I want to build a house?”

[A house?]

“I need a good site…….”

[Are you planning to build a villa, CEO?]

“Well, something like that.”

Woojin stopped talking for a moment as he was about to say something.

Suddenly, an old memory came back to him.

This time, it wasn’t a memory from twenty years ago.

Counting the time Woojin had lived, it was a memory from exactly forty-eight years ago.

[I envy you, Mister.]

[Hmm……? Why?]

[You’re an architectural designer, Mister!]

[Well, yes, you could say that.]

[My dream is to become a great architectural designer.]

[Aha.]

[You’re the person who has achieved the dream I have. That’s why I envy you, Mister.]

Im Hakcheol shook his head and smiled sadly at Woojin’s words that he envied the mister who had achieved his dream.

[That’s not quite right, Woojin. Actually, your uncle is a little jealous of you.]

[Jealous? Why?]

[Because… I’ve stopped dreaming big dreams. I can’t anymore.]

[Huh? What do you mean?]

[I’m just a designer at a normal building company. That’s all I’ll ever be. But you, Woojin… you can dream so much bigger, can’t you?]

[Why? Don’t you want to be the best designer in the world?]

[Ha, hah.] (He laughs, but it sounds a little sad.)

Woojin remembered Uncle Hakcheol laughing a little strangely back then. But today, more of that conversation came back to him.

It was like he was really there again, hearing Uncle’s voice clearly.

[Well… actually, there is one dream I still have.] (He says quietly.)

[What is it, Uncle?]

[There’s a house I started to design a long time ago… but I had to stop before it was done.] (His voice sounds a little sad.)

[Yes…? You had to leave?]

[If I could finish that design, I’d want to build that house again. On a beautiful hill by the sea.]

[But you can do it now, right?]

[No, sadly, I can’t.] (He sighs.)

[Why not?]

[That’s… a secret for now.] (He smiles a little, but it’s still sad.)

Woojin felt like he finally understood.

He knew now what kind of house Uncle Hakcheol couldn’t finish.

He knew why Uncle couldn’t complete it.

And he knew what kind of special design it was.

‘I can build that house for him,’ Woojin thought. ‘Maybe this is how I can thank Uncle for everything.’

Just then, the secretary’s voice came through the phone.

[Sir…? Is the phone working okay…?]

Woojin blinked, coming back to the present. He spoke into the phone again.

“I want land. A beautiful hill by the sea.”

[Yes, sir…?]

“Find me land like that, please.”

[Understood, sir.]

“The most beautiful view you can find. Don’t worry about the price.”

[Yes, sir. I will find it.]

After he hung up, Woojin could already see the beautiful house in his mind. He imagined every detail.

When Kyungwan asked him, Woojin was still smiling. A big, happy smile spread across his face.

“What’s this? Suddenly you want a house by the sea? What’s happening?” Kyungwan asked.

“It’s not sudden,” Woojin said, still smiling. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”

Woojin looked truly happy and at peace.

Time passed. February 15, 2030 came and went.

After that day, every evening after work, Woojin stayed late, drawing blueprints.

“Sir, aren’t you going home yet?” his coworker asked.

“Soon,” Woojin replied. “Just a little longer.”

“What are those blueprints you’re always working on?”

“Haha, it’s just something personal,” Woojin said. “Don’t worry about it.”

But these were no ordinary blueprints. Woojin was drawing the beautiful house he remembered from his past life. He was redrawing it, piece by piece, from memory.

‘This part should probably be like this…’ he thought, carefully sketching a line.

Normally, a design team could draw blueprints for a house like this in just a couple of days.

But Woojin didn’t want to do it that way. These blueprints were special.

He wanted to draw every line himself, from start to finish, before giving them to the builders.

It took him about two months to finish. He only worked on it in his free time, but he put all his care and feeling into it.

These blueprints, drawn completely by Woojin, were for a house on a beautiful hill by the East Sea.

“How about this land, sir?” the secretary asked, showing him pictures.

“This is nice… but I liked the other place you showed me better,” Woojin said.

“Yes, that place has the best view right now. But there’s a small problem,” the secretary said.

“What is it?”

“The view might not stay beautiful forever. If they build something in front, the view could be blocked.”

“Oh,” Woojin said. “That’s okay.”

“Sir?”

Woojin pointed at the map. “From here to here,” he said. “Just buy all of this land.”

The secretary was silent for a moment.

Building a house usually takes about 4 to 5 months, starting from taking down any old buildings on the land.

Since they started building in June, it would be finished before the end of the year. Woojin’s house wasn’t very big, so it might even be faster. He waited patiently, excited to see it finished.

“Sir, about the big opening party…” the secretary started to ask.

“Oh, it’s just a private house for me,” Woojin said. “No need for a party.”

“Understood, sir.”

“When they finish building today, please make sure all the furniture is in place and everything is clean, just like I asked,” Woojin said.

“Yes, sir.”

The day after the house was finished, Woojin took a day off work. He got into his car and drove towards the East Sea, alone.

As he drove on the highway, his heart beat faster and faster in his chest. He could feel the excitement growing with every mile.

‘Maybe today,’ he thought. ‘Maybe today I’ll understand.’ He had a feeling, a strong hunch, that he was about to find the answer to a question that had been in his heart for twenty years.

‘Please let my hunch be right…’

Finally, he arrived. In the distance, he saw it. A beautiful house, two stories tall, stood on the hill. It was white and bright, with big windows that shone in the sun. Because it was the only house there, on the wide open land, Woojin could see it clearly even from far away.

*Thud!* He parked the car in front of the house. His legs felt a little shaky as he walked slowly to the front door.

*Thud- thud-* His heart pounded in his ears. He reached for the doorknob, took a deep breath to calm himself, and slowly turned it.

*Clang!* The door opened.

And there, standing in front of him, was a face he knew so well. The face he had been thinking about all this time.

“…!” Woojin gasped.

Uncle Hakcheol looked at Woojin, smiled gently, and said, [It’s been a long time, Woojin. I never thought I would see you again…]

Woojin couldn’t speak for a moment. He had thought it might be Uncle Hakcheol, but he still wasn’t completely sure. He had so many questions in his mind, he didn’t know where to start.

Hakcheol smiled again, seeing Woojin’s confusion. [Thank you, Woojin. Because of you, I’m finally making my dream come true.]

“Uncle…” Woojin finally managed to say. His voice was thick with emotion.

[This house… it’s even more beautiful than I ever imagined,] Hakcheol said, looking around with wonder.

Then, Hakcheol’s body started to become see-through, like a ghost fading away. A warm, golden light began to surround him. A tear rolled down his cheek.

Tears came to Woojin’s eyes too. He remembered how Uncle Hakcheol had been his only friend when he was a lonely child.

Woojin’s mouth barely opened. “I could do this because of you, Uncle,” he whispered.

[No, that’s not true, Woojin. I couldn’t have done it without you,] Hakcheol replied softly.

Woojin couldn’t say anything else. His heart was too full.

As he watched, Hakcheol’s figure faded completely. He crumbled into golden light and disappeared. His last words floated into Woojin’s ears, like a gentle whisper.

[Woojin… you are the most amazing builder I know. To me… you are the best designer in the whole world.]

The golden light was gone. Uncle Hakcheol was gone. Woojin stood there, alone, unable to move. A strong feeling stayed with him, a mix of sadness and peace.

*Thud-* After a long moment, Woojin took a step. He looked around the house, just like he had done in his dream half a year ago.

This was the house Uncle Hakcheol had shown him as a child. The house Woojin had seen on the last day of his past life, twenty years ago.

Woojin had finally built this house with his own hands. It felt like finishing a homework project given to him by a dear old friend.

But he knew, even now, there was another, much bigger project that would never end: his life in architecture.