Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 5

Sunlight warmed Woo-jin’s face, and he couldn’t help but hum. The tune bubbled up from somewhere deep inside, a happy little melody. *Khee…! This is it!* he thought, a grin spreading across his face.

If you really thought about it, the situation wasn’t exactly perfect. He was tired of woodworking, after doing it for years in his past life. And this wasn’t even the design work he truly wanted. But none of that mattered right now.

There was one simple reason Woo-jin felt like he could fly: youth. *Youth is the best, after all!* His body, strong and fit after his time in the military, moved exactly as he commanded. It was a world away from the tired, forty-year-old body he remembered – the one with thin arms and a soft belly. This new body felt powerful, and it made him feel like he could do anything.

“Heeya… Woo-jin, you’ve already put up all the boards?”

“How can a young man be so skilled?”

“Isn’t it obvious that young people are good at their jobs? Haha.”

Woo-jin easily moved a heavy woodworking compressor. It weighed many kilograms, but he didn’t seem to notice. He expertly used a nail gun, hitting the exact spot every time.

There were only three workers.

But right now, Woo-jin’s team was working as fast as a decent ten-person team.

One person was cutting wood non-stop, and another person was bringing the cut wood to Woo-jin.

When Woo-jin confirmed that it was in the right spot, he used his nail gun to secure the wood perfectly.

The sizes of the panels and lumber were prepared in advance according to the drawings.

Woo-jin had already used SketchUp to plan everything, so all the woodworking was clear in his mind.

He didn’t need to look at the drawings to know where the wood went. He built the structure quickly, like fitting puzzle pieces together.

The work flowed smoothly.

“Manager Park told me to work with you for just one day, thinking he was being taken for a ride……”

“This friend is quite the find.”

Kim Jin-tae, a carpenter who had been asked to join the team, watched Woo-jin’s work with interest.

He had been asked to join this team because his other work was canceled. He hadn’t expected much, but now he was seeing something amazing.

‘The way he uses that nail gun, he’s not a beginner.’

Actually, Jin-tae was supposed to be in charge of directing this three-person team, not Woo-jin.

Based on his experience and age, that seemed right.

At first, Jin-tae planned to listen to Woo-jin’s explanation of the SketchUp file and then take over. He thought Woo-jin, who had started a day earlier, would know the site well.

But as he listened to Woo-jin’s explanation, he found himself in a surprising situation.

It was like magic. He found himself easily following Woo-jin’s fast work.

‘Where the heck did he come from?’

He didn’t dislike Woo-jin.

Even though Woo-jin was the youngest and acting like the director, he was also working the hardest.

If a young kid just told him what to do, Jin-tae would have been angry. But there was no reason to be angry now.

Woo-jin was taking care of everything, which made things very easy for Jin-tae.

“Okay, you two. Let’s put in a little more effort.”

“Um? What do you mean, Woo-jin?”

“When Manager Park first gave the order, he said that today is the end of the line.”

“Is that really true?”

The two carpenters were surprised to hear this.

At construction sites, they have a term called ‘Yarikkiri,’ which means finishing work when the day’s goal is done.

Of course, you get paid for the whole day even if you finish early.

According to Woo-jin, they were close to finishing for the day.

The workers were happy.

It was only half past two, but it looked like they would get off work soon.

“Keu, you have to meet the right leader, right?”

“Who is the leader?”

“Of course it’s Woo-jin.”

“Hey, Jin-tae is here, how can I be the leader?”

When Oh Young-cheol, another carpenter, raised his thumb, Woo-jin waved his hand awkwardly.

He was used to giving orders in his past life, but he thought he had made a mistake today.

‘Ah, I think I was too excited because I was in a good mood…….’

Carpenters were usually proud, and Woo-jin’s actions could have been annoying.

Woo-jin was worried.

‘I didn’t mean to do this…….’

Oh Young-cheol didn’t bother him much, but he was concerned about Kim Jin-tae, who had more than 10 years of experience.

But Jin-tae was laughing.

“Haha, isn’t the person who does the best job the leader?”

“Th, that’s…….”

“I’m not upset at all, so don’t worry, Woo-jin.”

“Thank you for seeing it so well…….”

Jin-tae winked.

“Instead, until this work is finished, you’re going to keep ordering our team.”

Woo-jin smiled awkwardly.

Time flew by.

Woo-jin focused on his work, sweating a lot.

The team worked well together, and the atmosphere was friendly.

Even though almost a dozen people were working on the interior woodworking on the first floor from the third day.

The construction went smoothly.

Some people may have been unhappy with Woo-jin, but no one showed it.

Experienced carpenters, including Jin-tae, supported Woo-jin, so no one complained.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed working on site like this…….’

Woo-jin finished his work in a good mood until the last day.

Even though the schedule was moved up by two days, Park Kyung-wan paid him for the original schedule, which made him feel better.

“Are you really not going to do any more work?”

“I told you I have to go to school?”

“You were really a college student?”

“Not yet.”

“What does that mean…….”

“Because I’m going to enter next month.”

“Ah…….”

“If I had been in college, it wouldn’t make sense for me to have 3 years of experience at this age.”

“What doesn’t make sense is more than one or two things…….”

“…….”

Woo-jin finished his work with Park Kyung-wan in a friendly way.

He also got a few business cards.

Park Kyung-wan was very interested in Woo-jin.

“Here, take a business card.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you going to work during vacation?”

“I have to pay for tuition.”

“Don’t go anywhere else, contact me if possible.”

“I’ll try.”

“Hey, there are few managers as nice as me.”

He also got the business card of Kim Jin-tae, a veteran carpenter who had become close to him during the week.

“Woo-jin, are you going to school next month?”

“Yes, Jin-tae.”

“If you have time during the semester, let’s have a drink with Hyung.”

“Okay.”

“If you need Hyung’s help, give me a call.”

“Okay. Hehe.”

Woo-jin had achieved his first goal.

‘I came to the Suseo site to impress Manager Park Kyung-wan……. Jin-tae’s number is a bonus.’

His friendship with ‘Park Kyung-wan’, who would later become an executive at Cheonwoong Construction, was Woo-jin’s most important goal.

But Woo-jin thought his relationship with Kim Jin-tae was just as important.

If he worked at it, Jin-tae could lead most sites.

He also wanted to stay friends with the other workers.

‘Okay. I think I’ve taken a good first step.’

Construction needs people.

It needs a lot of people.

So, every person was important to Woo-jin.

During the week at the Suseo site, Woo-jin earned a little over 2 million won.

The daily wage was about 220,000 won, so it should have been about 1.5 million won for a week.

Park Kyung-wan paid him extra for finishing the work ahead of schedule.

Woo-jin now had about 5.7 million won, including his savings.

For a twenty-two-year-old, that was a lot of money.

‘Should I try to work for one more week? Then I think I’ll be able to pay for the first year of tuition…….’

Woo-jin thought about tuition for a moment, then shook his head.

He wasn’t planning to use that money for tuition, even if he had more than 10 million won.

‘I have to get a student loan no matter what.’

Woo-jin needed every penny.

He saw no reason to refuse a student loan with almost zero interest.

‘After all, you have to get as many loans as possible and pay them back as late as possible…….’

In today’s world, there’s no need to be afraid of debt.

Especially with such low interest rates.

Woo-jin didn’t realize this until he was almost forty in his past life.

‘Well, in my past life……. I didn’t even have time to think about investing until my early 30s…….’

Of course, borrowing without a plan is wrong.

But he knew that borrowing responsibly could help increase his wealth.

‘Let’s save 30 million in cash first. That’s enough to get started.’

Woo-jin smiled to himself, then shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Next week was March, and the entrance ceremony was in the first week of March.

It was time to prepare for college life.

It was important to plan how to earn money, since he was poor.

He was even poorer now than before he went back in time.

But he was excited about school, no matter what.

He had worked hard his whole life, so college was a new experience.

He had wanted to go to college for years, but reality had stopped him.

‘Finally……. Finally, I’m going to college!’

Woo-jin smiled as he looked at his old phone.

[Department of Space Design ‘Seo Woo-jin’. Please reply whether or not you will participate in the OT (Orientation).]

Seo Woo-jin’s heart fluttered.