Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 39

Byeong-jae was confused as soon as he arrived at the promotional center.

“What is this? Even on a weekend, are there usually this many people at a promotional center?”

It was around 2006 and 2007, about ten years ago, when buying houses was very popular in Korea.

Back then, any brand could open a promotional center in a good location in Seoul, and people would flock to it.

But now, after 2008 and 2009, that popularity was gone.

Most apartments being sold in decent areas had to worry about being unsold.

This was true for Jeun Construction’s ‘The Village,’ a top company, and Myungsung Construction’s ‘Soo-kyung,’ which was almost as good.

Even if a construction company had a big name, people were not interested unless the apartments were in the best areas.

Yet, Cheonwoong Construction’s promotional center clearly had a line forming.

And this promotional center was in Ahyeon New Town, an area that was not as rich or modern as some other parts of Seoul, where they were building their first apartment complex.

It wasn’t as crowded as during the real estate boom.

But for Byeong-jae, who had only seen empty model houses for the past year, it was shocking.

“Hey, Jin-wook.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Did we come to the wrong place?”

“It looks like it.”

Byeong-jae, who had been complaining inwardly, had to change his attitude.

If he could make ‘The Village’ promotional center this crowded with his idea, his position in the company would be very different.

So, Byeong-jae swallowed and calmly lined up to enter the promotional center.

From the moment he stepped inside, Byeong-jae was speechless.

The entrance of the premium brand promotional center had a ceiling that seemed to disappear into the sky, making him feel small but also amazed. It completely overwhelmed Byeong-jae and the Jeun Construction employees.

“Is this a hotel lounge? Is this really a model house?”

Three large pillars reached up to the 3rd floor.

A beautiful and luxurious art wall stretched high along those pillars.

The red marble patterns on the wall made the design look even more luxurious.

The golden ‘Clio’ font seemed to glow from within, catching the light and throwing a warm, inviting shimmer across the entrance.

It felt like the space was saying, ‘You are special for being here, chosen by the premium brand Clio.’

Byeong-jae, who had been standing still in a daze, soon realized where he was and started walking again.

Having been shocked from the start, he was curious about what would happen next.

‘How fancy did they make the model house if they put so much effort into the entrance?’

Byeong-jae walked without thinking, heading towards the central hall.

The rose-colored marble from the art wall continued along the floor, guiding him forward.

Like in a museum with expensive art, modern paintings along the hallway kept catching his eye.

Byeong-jae was speechless and just kept walking, as if the design was guiding him.

His eyes were drawn through the space to a large, eight-sided platform in the center of the hall.

It was a beautiful ‘work of art’ on that platform.

‘Am I really at a sales promotion center?’

Even when he went to famous art exhibitions with his wife, he had never paid so much attention.

It wasn’t that this promotional center was more beautiful or valuable than famous art.

Byeong-jae wasn’t usually interested in art, but he was an expert in sales promotion centers, so this place was different for him.

From the start, his attitude was different.

But even so, Byeong-jae was shocked.

Before he knew it, standing in front of the large model, he felt surprisingly ‘thrilled’.

‘Crazy, I’m getting goosebumps. If I talk about this at the company, they’ll think I’m crazy.’

Byeong-jae put his hand on the thin, golden fence around the model and leaned in to see it better.

It might have looked funny, but no one seemed to notice.

Besides Byeong-jae, many people were doing the same thing in front of the fence.

“They made a perfect copy of the real apartment and put it here! Who is the crazy genius who made this?”

It was so real, like those super-realistic paintings you see in art.

It was hard to believe that someone made the model for the sales promotion center.

If they hired someone like that to make this model, it must have cost a huge amount of money, just for the model!

‘They wouldn’t have spent that much, would they? If they were this determined…’

Byeong-jae stood in front of the model, admiring it for a long time.

He wondered if Jeun Construction could ever have a model this good at ‘The Village’ promotional center, and who they would need to hire to make it.

His thoughts naturally went in that direction.

‘They’re making it as a premium brand, and the community facilities are unbelievably fancy. If they make it like this, can they manage it well?’

On one side of the model, he could even see the underground community facilities of the apartment complex.

There was a cafe, a sauna, screen golf, and even a fairly large swimming pool.

Cheonwoong Construction was impressive for including so many community facilities. But now, Byeong-jae was most curious about the genius model maker who created all these details.

All these thoughts made Byeong-jae like the ‘Clio’ brand even more.

‘The location is pretty good too. It’ll probably be the best spot in Ahyeon New Town.’

Byeong-jae had come to analyze the competitor’s brand, not to buy an apartment.

But he was already thinking like a customer.

Before being a construction company employee, Byeong-jae was also a homeowner dreaming of a better place.

After admiring the model, Byeong-jae went to see the model apartments.

The first floor was just for the model, but the second and third floors had model apartments of different sizes.

They had different apartment sizes, starting from the standard 25 and 34 *pyeong* (Korean unit of area). They also had larger sizes, up to 47 and 53 *pyeong*.

Byeong-jae was surprised to see that they were selling quite a few 53-*pyeong* units.

‘They’re putting so many large units in Ahyeon-dong… That’s brave.’

Large apartments used to be popular, but that time was over.

Right now, apartments around 25 *pyeong* are very popular in Seoul.

Byeong-jae decided to visit the model apartments next to see more. He was curious to see the interior and how it compared to his own apartment.

Building 40-pyeong apartments was not common unless it was in a rich area like Gangnam. (In Korea, apartments are measured in ‘pyeong,’ which is about the size of a small living room. So, 40-pyeong is quite big.) Gangnam is a very rich and famous area in Seoul, known for being expensive.

Even a 40-pyeong apartment was very big. It was too big for most people, unless they had a family of five or more.

Apartments of 50-pyeong and bigger were very expensive and only for the richest people. They were like luxury cars – not something everyone could afford.

Cheonwoong Construction built 50-pyeong apartments in Ahyeon-dong. Ahyeon-dong is an older, less developed part of Seoul. This showed how confident they were.

This was happening when they should be worried about apartments not selling, even if they built normal-sized apartments.

“They’re really crazy. They’re madmen. No matter how I look at it, this is a gamble.”

Byeong-jae first thought Cheonwoong Construction was just silly. But now he thought they were crazy gamblers. They were risking huge amounts of money on this project.

However, Byeong-jae was about to change his mind again.

After looking around the model house, he found himself picking a number ticket. He was standing in front of the consultation window without even realizing it.

“How much did they say the price is? Should I go crazy and try to buy one?”

Byeong-jae stopped thinking about Cheonwoong Construction’s fancy brand. He just wanted to live in this apartment.

Lim Soo-ha was thirty-one years old. Until last year, she was an actress that no one knew, even though she had been acting for seven years.

She didn’t study acting in school, and she didn’t know anyone in the entertainment business.

She only wanted to be an actress. She auditioned and became one. She was a good actress, but she had only played small parts for a long time.

But finally, things started to get better last year.

She played a character in a small movie, and people liked her performance.

She even won an award for Best Supporting Actress at the end of the year.

Not everyone knew her name yet, but she was becoming a well-known supporting actress. Now, she could choose which acting jobs she wanted.

Because of this, she started getting offers to be on TV shows. Finally, she was starting to save a lot of money.

“Yes. If I work hard this year, things will keep getting better.”

But she didn’t think her life would be perfect.

She believed she could be a good actress, but she didn’t expect to become a huge star.

So, when she had a lot of money for the first time, she decided to buy a house.

“If I just have a house in Seoul where I can sleep, I can focus on acting and feel more relaxed.”

She was over thirty now, but she didn’t really want to get married.

She also wanted to bring her parents to Seoul to live with her. She had always wanted to own a nice house in Seoul.

Buying a house was her first priority.

As soon as she decided this, she thought about buying an apartment before it was even built.

“Yes. If I add my savings to this money, I should be able to buy a good apartment before it’s built.”

Soo-ha knew a little about buying apartments this way.

Some of her friends were married and owned houses, and some were interested in real estate.

She always heard stories about buying apartments before they were built.

“I’ve saved enough money for the down payment. If I can manage the other payments…”

So, this morning, on a weekend when she didn’t have to work, she drove to Gangnam.

She didn’t have enough money to buy an apartment in Gangnam, which cost over a billion won.

But the model house for the new apartment she was interested in was in Cheongdam-dong, which is near Gangnam.

“A friend told me to wait because house prices might go down. But it doesn’t hurt to look around first.”

She had an older sister who knew a lot about real estate, but she didn’t ask her to come along.

If she asked her to go to the apartment promotion in Ahyeon-dong, she thought her sister would yell at her.

Her sister’s voice echoed in her head: “What? Ahyeon-dong? Have you even been there? It’s a terrible place. If you’re going to buy an apartment, buy one in Gangnam, even if you have to borrow money. If you get a loan, you can buy one.”

Soo-ha shook her head and parked her car in the promotion hall’s parking lot.

But when she opened the car door, she was surprised.

“What is this? Why are there so many people?”

There were more people than she expected.

She had only read news about empty model houses, so this was unexpected.

But she had come all this way, so she didn’t want to leave. She stood at the end of the long line.

“This is making me feel competitive.”

Soo-ha took a pamphlet from an employee and read it while she waited.

She wasn’t just waiting because she was competitive.

“Wow, is this real? Can an apartment look this good?”

“Wow! The inside looks so fancy! The community cafe looks like a VIP lounge!”

Soo-ha looked at the pamphlet. Wow! The pictures inside were amazing. They showed apartments that looked much more fancy and beautiful than anything she had seen online. The paper was thick and shiny, and the photos showed bright, modern rooms with big windows. It looked like a dream home.

It wasn’t a super-expensive apartment complex with a river view, like the ○○○ Palace in Gangnam.

But the photos showed a special design that was different and luxurious.

As the line got shorter, she became more excited.

“They said I can see the real inside of the apartment in the model house. Will it really be as good as the pamphlet?”

Soon, it was her turn.

“The next five people, thank you for waiting. Please come in.”

Soo-ha walked towards the entrance with a curious look on her face.

But then…

“……!”

She was excited, but then she got upset.

She had waited in line, but a young man walked past her and went inside.

If he was a staff member, she wouldn’t mind. But he looked like a student in his early twenties.

“How can someone cut in line like that?”

She followed him into the promotion hall, ready to tell him off.