Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 691

That afternoon,

Hyun-sung was looking at the bird’s-eye view hanging on one wall of his office.

The bird’s-eye view harmoniously depicted seven multi-family buildings and four parks to be completed in two years.

What stood out the most was, of course, the parks.

With parks nestled between the buildings, it looked as if the buildings were in a forest, making it incredibly beautiful.

It was a sight unseen anywhere else in the city.

“What do you think?”

Architect Yoon Tae-ho asked Hyun-sung, who was gazing at the bird’s-eye view. Hyun-sung slowly nodded and opened his mouth.

“It’s great. Absolutely wonderful. Seeing it like this, it feels like being in a forest, which I love even more.”

“Indeed, the CEO’s judgment was correct. At first, I questioned why we were creating parks instead of buildings in such valuable space. But now that the bird’s-eye view is complete, I understand the reason clearly. The parks truly showcase their value in the heart of the city.”

Yoon Tae-ho had to admit it.

When Hyun-sung first mentioned creating parks between the buildings, he couldn’t help but think the land was being wasted.

This was because building on that land instead of creating parks would have been worth hundreds of billions of won [Korean currency].

However, once the bird’s-eye view was complete, he realized that the overall value would actually increase.

He couldn’t help but nod at the value that couldn’t be measured in money.

Hyun-sung continued,

“In 20 years, the effect will be even more pronounced.”

“Yes, I agree. By then, the trees in the parks will have grown much larger, forming an even bigger forest than now. If that happens, we’ll be able to fully enjoy the ambiance of a forest even in the city. It’s truly remarkable.”

Hyun-sung nodded at Yoon Tae-ho’s words.

That was exactly what he had been thinking from the start.

To feel the ambiance of a forest even in the city.

And the ultimate goal was to create a space where children could run and play freely.

Looking at the bird’s-eye view, he felt that it was definitely possible.

“CEO, where is this?”

An employee, Lee Sang-hyuk, approached and cautiously asked while looking at the bird’s-eye view. Hyun-sung smiled and replied briefly,

“Our neighborhood.”

“Huh? Is this really our neighborhood?”

“Yes, in two years, our neighborhood will look like this. What do you think?”

“It looks like a completely different neighborhood. Especially these parks, it’s like they’ve moved mountains here.”

Lee Sang-hyuk pointed to the parks in the bird’s-eye view, unable to hide his surprise. He immediately asked again,

“Did you plan all of this, CEO?”

“Yes, I did.”

Yoon Tae-ho, who was standing next to him, answered instead. He immediately continued,

“There’s nowhere else like this in Korea. The CEO here has done something that no one else could do.”

“Wow! CEO, you’re amazing. How could you even think of this…?”

Lee Sang-hyuk looked at Hyun-sung, unable to close his mouth.

Hyun-sung chuckled at him and said,

“You think it’s good too, right?”

“It’s not just good, it’s the best. It’s amazing that there’s a place like this in the city. Oh, the coffee is ready, would you like some?”

“Yes, please. Give me my usual, and a mix for the CEO here.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As Lee Sang-hyuk went to prepare the coffee, Hyun-sung said to Yoon Tae-ho,

“Please, have a seat over here, CEO.”

“Yes.”

Hyun-sung and Yoon Tae-ho sat down on the sofa, and Lee Sang-hyuk placed the coffee in front of them.

After taking a sip of his coffee, Hyun-sung said to Yoon Tae-ho,

“Could you please explain the construction schedule going forward?”

“Yes, of course. I’ve prepared it here.”

Yoon Tae-ho handed Hyun-sung a document envelope.

Hyun-sung immediately checked the contents. Inside the envelope was a report detailing the construction schedule.

Sharrrk!

Hyun-sung flipped through the report, checking the details.

After reviewing the contents until the last page, Hyun-sung immediately continued,

“The completion date is July 15, 2001, right?”

“That’s exactly two years from the start of construction. For now, we’ve set that as the completion date.”

“For now? What does that mean…?”

Hyun-sung smiled slightly.

Yoon Tae-ho had added the condition ‘for now’ a moment ago.

Hyun-sung knew exactly what that meant.

Hyun-sung had presented a condition when he first met him.

That was to deposit 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD] into his personal account for every day the scheduled construction was moved forward.

1 billion won per day.

Anyone would be greedy.

Yoon Tae-ho probably mentioned ‘for now’ because of that reason.

Yoon Tae-ho nodded and said,

“Yes, your guess is correct. I’m thinking of earning 1 billion won a day. Of course, you weren’t joking about what you said to me back then, right?”

“Of course not. So, what’s your goal?”

“I’m thinking of earning exactly 30 billion won [approximately $22.5 million USD], no more, no less.”

“So, you’re saying you’ll move the construction schedule forward by a month. That’s what I wanted. Haha…”

Hyun-sung laughed loudly and happily.

1 billion won a day is definitely not a small amount. But Hyun-sung judged that it would be more beneficial to expedite the construction schedule even if it meant paying that amount.

The reason was simple.

Hyun-sung himself believed that this construction would be a huge success even if it was completed within two years.

That’s how extraordinary this construction was.

So, what more could he ask for if the construction schedule was further expedited?

Therefore, Hyun-sung was willing to pay that amount without hesitation.

Yoon Tae-ho smiled slightly and said,

“CEO, do you know something?”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“The truth is, this kind of construction usually takes at least two and a half years, no matter how fast you go.”

“Oh, is that so?”

He wasn’t exactly sure, but he had expected it to some extent. Nevertheless, the reason he insisted on two years was because he knew from his past life’s experience that the schedule could be significantly shortened depending on who was doing the construction and how they were doing it.

“Honestly, I had a lot of concerns when you first mentioned the construction period of two years. But do you know why I decided to do it?”

“I wonder…”

To be honest, he thought two years was too much. But he insisted on two years because he wanted to expedite it as much as possible.

Fortunately, Yoon Tae-ho agreed. Of course, he didn’t know why he agreed in that situation.

“It’s because of the cash. I made that decision because you said you would pay all the construction costs in cash.”

“So, it’s the power of cash after all?”

“Yes, that’s right. The biggest weapon in this industry is cash. And you had that weapon. Otherwise, it would have been impossible.”

Yoon Tae-ho continued,

“And let me tell you in advance, the construction will proceed strictly on a subcontract basis. Otherwise, we can’t possibly finish the construction within that period.”

“You mean subcontracting the construction?”

“Yes, that’s right. With subcontracting, it’s more profitable to finish the construction as quickly as possible, so the people in charge of the construction work fiercely.”

That would be obvious. If they win a subcontract, the sooner they finish the construction, the more profit they will get.

But that would create another problem.

That’s safety.

The more they rush, the more the risk factors increase.

“Wouldn’t there be any safety issues? It seems like the more you rush, the more the risk factors will increase.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m thorough in that aspect. The reason why I’ve been doing construction without any accidents so far is that I manage safety more thoroughly than anyone else.”

“That’s a relief.”

Hyun-sung nodded as if relieved.

No matter how quickly the construction is completed, it’s meaningless if there are safety accidents. But if that problem is solved, there’s nothing better.

There would be no more satisfying condition than being able to complete the construction in the shortest period without any accidents.

Yoon Tae-ho opened his mouth again.

“Now, the most important thing is left.”

“The most important thing?”

“Yes, it’s the sale price. Your profit will depend on how much you set the sale price.”

“Ah, yes.”

Hyun-sung nodded.

After all, this is also a business.

The only difference is that the items being traded are just apartments and commercial buildings, but the principle is the same.

How much profit to add to the cost and sell it for.

Hyun-sung immediately asked,

“So, has the sale price been determined?”

“Yes, this is the sale price we came up with, assuming you only take the minimum profit.”

Yoon Tae-ho was also taken aback while calculating the sale price. This was because he had done so many constructions so far, but this was the first time.

Usually, the goal is to maximize profits. But in Hyun-sung’s case, it was the opposite. He asked for the minimum profit, not the maximum.

“How much is it?”

“For apartments, it’s 8.5 million won per square meter [approximately $6,375 USD per square meter].”

“8.5 million?”

“Yes, in fact, other construction companies would charge at least 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD] for this kind of apartment. But you…”

“Wait a minute.”

Hyun-sung interrupted Yoon Tae-ho and immediately asked,

“How much are other apartments?”

“You can’t compare it to other apartments here. Because the cost itself is 30% higher than other places to minimize noise between floors…”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll ask you a favor. What is the sale price of other apartments of the same size?”

“Um…”

Yoon Tae-ho seemed to think for a moment and then immediately opened his mouth again.

“Yes, all right. I’ll tell you since you want to know. It’s 7.5 million won [approximately $5,625 USD], which is 1 million won less.”

“…”

Hyun-sung was silent for a moment.

After a while.

He quietly called Yoon Tae-ho.

“CEO!”

“Yes, CEO.”

“Let’s make it the same amount.”

“Yes? What does that mean…?”

Yoon Tae-ho was utterly dumbfounded. Was this even possible? The cost was 30% higher than other places, but he was going to set the sale price the same.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am.”

“As I said a moment ago, you should be getting at least 100 million won per square meter with this condition. But you’re saying you’re going to take out another 10 million won from the 8.5 million won that you adjusted because you only wanted the minimum profit?”

“I made a promise to the villagers from the beginning.”

“A promise?”

Yoon Tae-ho stared intently at Hyun-sung. He was curious about what he meant by ‘promise’.

Hyun-sung’s answer followed.

“Yes, I said I would eat less [take less profit]. Since I’m not a house seller anyway, I said I would take less of the profit I get. Instead, I said I would share that profit with the villagers. I will keep that promise.”

“…”

Yoon Tae-ho was speechless at Hyun-sung’s words that he would share the profits with the villagers.

“CEO, I’m asking you a favor. Please do that.”

“Um… Yes, I understand.”

“Please match the price of the commercial buildings to the same amount as other places as well.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Yoon Tae-ho had no choice but to accept.

What could he do? Since the person himself was going to do it, he had no choice but to follow.

But he still couldn’t understand Hyun-sung.

***

“Hoo!”

After parting ways with Hyun-sung, Yoon Tae-ho returned to the parking lot, got into his car, and let out a deep sigh. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand Hyun-sung’s actions.

After thinking for a while, Yoon Tae-ho took out his cell phone and made a call.

Beep, beep.

The signal rang twice before the other party answered the phone.

-Hello.

“Chairman, it’s me.”

The person Yoon Tae-ho called was Shin Chun-oh, the former chairman of Nongshim [a large South Korean food and beverage company].

-Oh, CEO Yoon, how have you been?

“Yes, Chairman. Are you doing well too, Chairman?”

-I’m enjoying the fresh air here, but what brings you here at this hour?

“What kind of person is CEO Kim Hyun-sung?”

Yoon Tae-ho abruptly brought up Hyun-sung’s story out of frustration. But Chairman Shin Chun-oh naturally couldn’t understand the meaning, so he had no choice but to ask again.

-What happened? Why are you talking about CEO Kim without any explanation?

“I just can’t understand it.”

-So, what happened?

“Well, that is…”

Yoon Tae-ho continued to explain in detail what had happened with Hyun-sung. When his explanation was over, Chairman Shin Chun-oh immediately called out to Yoon Tae-ho.

-CEO Yoon.

“Yes, Chairman.”

-Don’t try to understand CEO Kim. That friend is incomprehensible. So, just accept it and memorize it.

“Yes? Memorize it?”

-Yes, sometimes in life, it’s better for your mental health to just memorize things. Neither I nor CEO Yoon, people like us, will never be able to understand that friend. So, just memorize it. Haha…

Chairman Shin Chun-oh began to laugh loudly as if he was in a good mood.

After a while.

Heh.

A smile began to spread on Yoon Tae-ho’s face after he hung up the phone. The reason was that although he didn’t understand Hyun-sung’s actions, he felt a warmth in one corner of his heart.

He started the car and muttered,

“Sharing profits with the villagers, huh…”