Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 37

People always want things that are better, more special, and more comfortable.

Woojin thought that in a society where money is important, this is how money moves.

‘Everyone wants to feel special. After all, everyone is the main character of their own life.’

Woojin’s parents’ generation thought it was bad to spend too much, but now it feels normal.

Even though people have different amounts of money, if everyone wanted to buy the same expensive things, the way money works in our society would stop.

So, people today spend money to show that they are special.

Woojin thought that most people spend a lot of money on their homes.

‘Wanting a good home is something people have always wanted.’

Woojin didn’t think wanting things was bad.

It’s part of being human and what makes people try harder.

The only problem is wanting things you can’t afford or wanting something for nothing – that’s not right.

Woojin thought that the word ‘premium’ was a nice way to talk about what people want today.

He believed that people who want ‘premium’ things really want to feel ‘special’.

“Like I said, we made the space a little smaller, but instead of shiny tiles, we used real marble,” Woojin explained, gesturing to the smooth, cool marble that gleamed softly under the lights.

“Notice how the marble floor guides you naturally into the model home…” he continued, his voice calm and confident.

“And here,” he pointed, “we’ve added a white herringbone pattern, which matches the colors inside the model home. It creates a smooth and elegant flow.”

“When people walk through this promotional hall,” Woojin said, a hint of pride in his voice, “they will connect this grand and luxurious feeling with the home they are going to buy.”

“The model home already uses top-quality materials. We made sure the design from the entrance to the lobby feels just as special.”

“This building, with many homes together, offers a unique kind of luxury. It’s not like a regular apartment building.”

“People who come here to buy a Clio Prestige home will feel truly special in this space,” Woojin concluded. His explanation was clear and flowed smoothly, like a gentle river.

Son Junki, the design team leader from Chunwoong Construction, who was there for the final check, just nodded.

‘Wow, can it look this good?’

Woojin’s explanation was perfect, and he hadn’t even thought about finding fault with it.

He was too busy admiring the design and how well it was made to say anything else.

“CEO Seo, this is incredible! You’ve really brought our design to life, even better than we imagined!” Son Junki said sincerely.

Woojin felt a little shy at the praise and gave a small, awkward smile.

“Thank you, Team Leader Son. But honestly, your design was so good, it made my job easy!”

Of course, Son Junki was grateful, and Woojin’s answer was honest.

He did see some small things he would have changed in the plans.

But compared to the design team he worked with before he went back in time, this design was so good that he wanted to thank them.

‘Just thinking about that Deputy Manager Lim who acted like a designer from abroad… Seriously, ugh.’

The design team members who came with Son Junki were very surprised.

They were looking at the premium promotional hall that they had designed and planned.

But the finished promotional hall looked much better than the computer images they had created.

‘I thought the design was the most important thing….’

‘I didn’t know it could look this good after it was built.’

The design team at Chunwoong Construction had designed many places before.

They had seen spaces that were more amazing and beautiful than the one Woojin built.

But they had never seen a space they designed look better than they had imagined.

Sometimes they were happy that it looked as good as they had planned.

But this was the first time the result was so good that they thought, ‘Did we really design this?’

“Okay, now that I’ve explained everything, let’s take some pictures!”

As soon as Woojin finished, the filming team started setting up their equipment.

The filming team was there to take photos that would be used by Chunwoong Construction.

Usually, these photos are used to show the bosses what’s happening, but today it was a little different.

Before the promotional hall opened, articles with these photos were going to be posted online.

“Hehe, the place is so nice, it’s fun to take pictures.”

“It’s easy to find the right angle.”

Woojin walked over to Son Junki, who was watching the filming team, and quietly spoke.

“Excuse me, Team Leader.”

“Ah, please speak, CEO.”

Woojin smiled shyly and asked, “Can we have the photos that the filming team takes?”

The photos taken by the professional filming team were part of Chunwoong Construction’s property.

So Woojin asked carefully, and Son Junki smiled and said, “Of course, you can have as many as you want.”

“Thank you so much.”

“But what are you going to use the photos for…?”

Woojin answered honestly, “I’m going to use them for our studio’s portfolio. We’re a new company, you know.”

Junki paused for a moment, then laughed loudly.

“Haha. New… That’s right.”

Junki hadn’t seen anything unprofessional about Woojin or WJ Studio during the project.

He had forgotten that WJ Studio was a new company.

Junki looked around the site again and said, “Even if you weren’t a new company, anyone would want to add a project like this to their portfolio.”

“Thank you for saying that. Anyway, thank you for your help.”

After all the checks were done and the filming was finished, Woojin was starting to understand what he had accomplished.

‘I… made this?’

It wasn’t just about building the interior.

From getting the job to finding workers and ordering materials, this was the first project that Woojin and WJ Studio had completed on their own.

‘Now all that’s left is….’

Woojin opened his cell phone and checked the calendar.

It was an old phone, but it still had a calendar.

[May 26th, Wednesday. Receiving the remaining payment.]

[May 29th, Saturday. Press conference.]

[June 3rd, Thursday. Promotional hall opening.]

A wide smile spread across Woojin’s face, a smile of pure satisfaction after weeks of hard work, as he checked the remaining schedules.

He had done his best and worked hard for the past month.

Now, all that was left was to enjoy the results.

Kyungtaek, who had been working for ten years and had a family of three, took the subway to work this morning.

It was the start of another day that was the same as the last ten years.

The subway was crowded as usual, and there were no seats, but he was in a better mood than usual.

He was even humming a cheerful folk song on his way to work on a Monday, not a Friday.

He was in a good mood because today was his first day working in Yeouido.

‘Heu…! Seoul. And Yeouido!’

Kyungtaek grew up in the countryside.

He went to a local university and worked for a company in his hometown until he was almost forty.

Working at Yeouido Securities was his dream, and today he was achieving that dream.

So even though it was Monday, he couldn’t help but be in a good mood.

Also, he was getting a 20 percent raise, which made him even happier.

[The next stop is Yeouido. This is Yeouido Station. The doors will open….]

Kyungtaek got off at Yeouido Station and walked towards the exit happily.

Then, his cell phone started vibrating loudly in his pocket.

Kyungtaek smiled again when he saw who was calling.

“Oh, honey.”

[Did you get to work okay? I was wondering if you overslept.]

“Overslept? It’s my first day at work today. I woke up early to get ready.”

[Did you eat breakfast before you left?]

“Don’t worry. I ate the delicious breakfast you made! It gave me energy for my big day.”

Kyungtaek’s voice became softer and warmer as he answered his wife’s call, a smile in his voice, and then he muttered to himself after he hung up.

“I need to bring my family here soon….”

The only thing Kyungtaek was worried about was how to find a good house in Seoul, where houses are much more expensive than in the countryside, so he could bring his family there.

Kyungtaek was earning a good salary, but buying a house in Seoul seemed impossible.

‘Should I get a Jeonse loan? It would be best to live in Yeouido, but that’s impossible… I should look at a map of Seoul when I get off work today.’

Kyungtaek, looking a little worried, came out of the subway.

Then he looked around because he wanted to buy a cup of coffee before going to work.

But as he looked for a cafe, he noticed the newspapers next to the subway exit.

He saw a large apartment advertisement in the newspaper.

[10 minutes to Yeouido! Chunwoong Construction’s luxury premium brand, Mapo Clio Prestige pre-sale promotion hall opens!]

The words ‘10 minutes to Yeouido’ caught Kyungtaek’s eye.

‘10 minutes? Where is that?’

Kyungtaek picked up a newspaper and started reading the advertisement as he walked to work instead of going to the cafe.

‘A premium brand newly created by Chunwoong Construction….’

After a while, he exclaimed, “Wow…!”

The apartment complex images at the bottom of the advertisement looked like luxury hotels.

“There’s even a swimming pool in the apartment community center? Is Seoul always like this?”

Kyungtaek carefully read every detail as he walked to work, and he became more and more interested in the advertisement.

When he arrived at the company, he folded the newspaper and put it in his bag.

‘Okay. I should go to the promotional hall this weekend. It’s not like they charge admission.’

He didn’t know how much the pre-sale price was or if it was a good investment.

But Kyungtaek decided to visit an ‘apartment pre-sale promotion hall’ for the first time.

This place felt special.