Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 40

Woojin planned to be busy. When his phone rang, he answered it.

“Hey, Woojin. Are you busy today?” Jaden asked.

“I plan to be. Why?” Woojin replied.

“Wow! Seriously, how is it that a university freshman like you is busier than my dad?”

“I told you to call me hyung, Jaden.”

“Alright, hyung. What on earth are you doing that keeps you so busy, even on the weekend?”

“Gonna play Max.”

“Shit! Max? You should play it with me!”

“Just kidding. I don’t have time to play Max today.”

“Please don’t joke around, bro. I’m being very serious right now.”

“You? Serious?”

“Of course. I’m seriously bored today. I really have nothing to do. It’s the first time I’ve ever been this bored, like hell.”

“Then play Max.”

“Fucking Max!”

Woojin sighed and shook his head as he listened to the loud call from his British friend, Jaden, early in the morning. Jaden clearly had many friends, judging by the home parties he threw, but Woojin couldn’t understand why he was bothering him on a weekend morning.

“I need to get ready to go out now. Bye, Jaden.”

“Damn, you heartless Korean!”

“Do you even know what ‘heart’ is?”

“I know you don’t have one.”

“Anyway, see you on Monday.”

Woojin ended the call with Jaden, wearing a slightly apologetic expression.

‘Come to think of it… Should I have taken Jaden with me?’ Woojin thought.

Woojin was going to the model house in Cheongdam-dong. The model house had already opened a few days ago, but he was only visiting it now because he was busy. Jaden was very interested in the model house, so it wouldn’t have been bad to take him along.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was willing to call Jaden again to bring him along.

‘Well, never mind. I wanted to look around quietly by myself today anyway,’ Woojin thought.

Woojin quickly changed his clothes, thinking he liked the idea of exploring the model house without anyone else. He left the house in casual clothes and quickly arrived in Cheongdam, where the model house was located. Cheongdam, in the Gangnam district, was much closer than the school, which was more than an hour away by public transportation. As he arrived, Woojin couldn’t help but feel proud.

‘There are quite a few people here this morning. It’s only been three days, but I didn’t expect this many people to gather,’ Woojin thought.

Even though the Clio brand became successful later, in the past, people were not so sure about it before the ‘Mapo Clio Prestige’ building was finished. Therefore, Woojin felt encouraged by seeing the bustling model house.

Of course, it was the result of Chunwoong Construction’s branding and marketing, but Woojin had also played a significant role.

‘There seem to be at least thirty or forty people just standing in line…,’ Woojin thought.

Woojin took out the name tag from his bag, showed it to the guard, and entered the model house. He had already received a name tag from Chunwoong Construction that read ‘STAFF,’ so there was no need to stand in line and wait like the others.

‘I’ve cleared my schedule for today… Should I start from the entrance and take my time looking around?’ Woojin thought.

As Woojin stepped inside the model house, he paused, taking in the entrance hall he had designed. Sunlight streamed through large windows, highlighting the sleek, modern lines of the reception area. He had spent weeks perfecting every detail of this space, wanting to create a strong first impression. But he didn’t linger on his own work for long. His eyes moved to the people around him – families, couples, all looking around with expressions of curiosity and excitement. He had seen the model house empty many times during construction.

Now, he was eager to see how real visitors reacted to it.

‘Well, the reaction can’t be bad…,’ Woojin thought.

But as Woojin turned his gaze, he couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed. One of the visitors who had entered after him was walking towards him.

She was wearing sunglasses, so her face wasn’t clearly visible, but she had an appearance that was out of the ordinary at a glance.

‘What is it? Why this way…,’ Woojin wondered.

After a moment, Woojin’s embarrassment grew.

The woman standing in front of him took off her sunglasses and began to scold Woojin as if she were reprimanding him.

“Excuse me, young man. Is there a line here? How can you cut in line so brazenly?”

“Pardon?” Woojin asked.

“No, I mean, people are clearly waiting in line… If you’re going to cut in line, at least do it secretly so it’s not obvious.”

“No, I… That’s not it…,”

“Go back and stand in line right now. Otherwise, I’m going to call the guards.”

Woojin, too flustered to speak, met her eyes.

After a moment, Woojin had to scratch the back of his head and take out the name tag again.

“I… I didn’t cut in line. I’m a staff member here.”

“Oh…?”

The woman who had stopped Woojin could only blink, frozen in place.

Woojin was embarrassed for two reasons. One was the unexpected scolding. The other was….

‘How can such a strange thing happen?’ Woojin thought.

The woman who had stopped Woojin now had a face that Woojin knew very well.

‘This woman, isn’t she Im Sooha? No matter how I look at it, it’s Im Sooha…,’ Woojin thought.

Right now, Im Sooha wasn’t a very well-known actress, so not many people would recognize her even if she took off her sunglasses. But that was only the story based on the year 2010. The Im Sooha that Woojin knew in his past life was a celebrity so famous that the title of ‘National Actress’ wouldn’t be awkward.

‘I can’t believe it. So many things are happening in my life,’ Woojin thought.

Therefore, Woojin was now in a complex emotional state that was difficult to express. He was embarrassed and surprised, but also happy and amazed.

If he had met Im Sooha in his past life, he would have immediately asked for her autograph, but it seemed too awkward to do so now.

“I-I’m sorry. You look so young, I didn’t realize you were a construction company official,” Im Sooha said.

Woojin smiled as he watched Im Sooha apologize repeatedly with a helpless expression. The situation felt somewhat amusing.

“Haha, there’s no need to be so sorry…,”

“No, I would have felt bad if it were me.”

He didn’t bother to explain that it wasn’t that he looked young, but just that he was young. That would only create a troublesome situation. Instead, Woojin was conjuring up some more interesting thoughts in this absurdly fresh situation.

‘Im Sooha… If I can make a celebrity of this caliber into an acquaintance, there wouldn’t be a more attractive card than that, would there?’ Woojin thought, feeling a little surprised but also amused. He wondered what would happen next.

Im Soo-ha was an actress, and she was very beautiful.

However, that didn’t mean Woo-jin was interested in her as a woman.

Woo-jin thought they were about ten years apart in age.

Woo-jin remembered being older, over forty, in his past life. Even then, he recalled Im Soo-ha as an actress in her late forties.

“But she looked younger, almost thirty, even in my past life,” he thought.

Woo-jin realized that knowing Im Soo-ha, who was becoming a very famous actress, could be good for his business.

So, Woo-jin answered her a little more kindly.

“It’s really alright. It happens. It’s annoying when someone cuts in line.”

“Haha, I feel a little better now that you say that. Thank you for understanding.”

He watched her reaction carefully and then started to try and get her interested.

“By the way…”

“Yes?”

“Are you… Im Soo-ha, the actress?”

“Oh my, do you know me?”

Seeing her genuinely surprised face, Woo-jin swallowed hard.

‘I have to choose my words carefully from now on.’

He needed to think hard to remember things from twenty years ago.

‘How can I act like a natural fan?’

Woo-jin knew Im Soo-ha hadn’t been famous for a long time, but she had always worked in movies.

Of course, he didn’t know what movie she was in back in 2010.

So, Woo-jin decided to try a little trick.

“Why, there was a movie released last year, that…”

He pretended to struggle to remember the name, and Im Soo-ha quickly said the movie title.

“Mister J!”

Because she said the movie he expected, the conversation started to go much better.

“That’s right! I really enjoyed that movie.”

Fortunately, the movie she mentioned was one that Woo-jin had also seen.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, yes! You were amazing in it. I even looked you up online afterwards!”

“So…so much so…”

“I’m a fan of yours, so to meet you here by chance, I’m really lucky today. Haha.”

“Oh no, I was so rude to one of my fans… I’m really sorry!”

No celebrity would dislike someone claiming to be their fan.

Especially for an actress who wasn’t very famous and wanted more fans, Woo-jin’s words would be very welcome.

“By the way, are you here to get a unit in this complex too, actress?”

“Ah, not necessarily, I just came to take a look. I saw a promotional article, and it looked pretty good…”

They had started talking easily, and now they walked into the promotion center together, still chatting.

Im Soo-ha had also visited alone without her manager, and Woo-jin was also by himself.

Im Soo-ha probably thought that walking around the promotion center with this fan – who seemed to be one of her few – was better than being alone.

Also, Woo-jin knew a lot about apartments and explained things clearly, so she was getting useful information.

“Well, if you’re looking for a place to live alone, the 59A or C type are also good, but if possible, try to get a unit in the 84A type.”

“The 84A type, you mean the 34-pyeong [approximately 112 square meters] unit?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Why?”

“Yes, that’s right. The 84A type is excellent. They are designed really well, facing south so they get lots of sunlight and fresh air. It’s a flat-type structure, which means most rooms face the same way, making it feel open and airy. The ‘A’ types are usually in the best spots, facing the front.”

“Ah-ha!”

“Since it’s a great place to live, the investment value will naturally be the highest, right?”

“You said you were involved, and you really know a lot.”

“This much is nothing…”

As Im Soo-ha listened to Woo-jin and looked around the model apartment, she became more and more impressed.

First, she was surprised by Woo-jin’s extensive knowledge, even though he looked to be in his twenties at most.

‘Do you have to know this much to work for a construction company?’

Also, she was amazed by how nice the promotion center was, it was much better than she expected.

‘The design and everything they have here… is it so much nicer than my house?’

These two things together were making a strong impression, and the reason was simple.

The more she listened to Woo-jin’s explanations, the more attractive the ‘Mapo Clio Prestige’ apartment complex became.

‘I want to live here.’

Im Soo-ha didn’t realize that this effect was exactly what Woo-jin had planned.

“Actually, Ahyeon-dong isn’t very modern right now, but this Ahyeon 3-2 area is one of the first to be made into a new town.”

“Besides the nice design and features, this location will be amazing in the future.”

“When other areas start being built too, the price of these apartments will go up a lot.”

Woo-jin started talking quickly, listing all the good things about the Clio apartment complex, like a salesman trying to make a sale.

There was, of course, a reason for him to go this far.

These apartments were going to become very expensive after they were sold.

And if that happened, Im Soo-ha would owe him at least a little bit.

And one more thing.

“Later, if you decide to sign the papers, please call me, actress. If I’m free, I can help you with the paperwork.”

He needed Soo-ha to buy an apartment here so he could become friends with her more easily.

Soo-ha, who received the business card Woo-jin handed over, looked slightly surprised.

‘WJ Studio CEO… Seo Woo-jin? He wasn’t just an employee of the construction company?’

She then asked, her eyes sparkling.

“Really? Would that be alright?”

“Of course. I’ll be here most of the time anyway.”

Of course, it was a lie.

Woo-jin was indeed involved, but he was involved in the construction, not the sales.

The place where he would spend most of his time was not this promotion center, but the K University campus.

But it wasn’t harming anyone, and it was a lie that wouldn’t be bad for Soo-ha either.

So, because he had done everything he wanted to, Woo-jin led her to a consultant and bowed slightly.

“Please talk to the consultant now, actress. It was fun talking to you.”

“Me too, CEO Seo Woo-jin. I’ll definitely contact you next time.”

“Then, goodbye.”

No matter how well Woo-jin explained things, there were still things that needed to be heard from the promotion center’s consultant.

Like the price of different apartment sizes, when they would go on sale, and how to get a loan to buy one.

Woo-jin couldn’t talk about those things.

So, Woo-jin turned around and went to do what he originally came for.

He knew that talking to Soo-ha for much longer, after just meeting her, might seem odd to her.

“Hehe. The actress should have been sufficiently tempted…”

Maybe because of this surprising meeting, Woo-jin walked with a spring in his step.