Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho continued to talk to Jae-Sik Moon about the compensation that he wanted to give to him.

“Since your mother is living in Hwapyeong Town close to East Incheon Station, I think a condo next to East Incheon Station would be a good pick for you. You will need a place to stay when you visit Korea while you work in China, so I think you will need at least a 3-bedroom condo. It will cost around 200 million won.”

“Are you… drunk?”

“No, I’m dead serious. I’ve been thinking about this ever since we purchased that farmland. Bring your father and mother to the condo. They will do much better if they live together, especially as they are getting old.”

“I do thank you for your suggestion, but I don’t think I am able to support their living expenses just yet even though I have a place to live for them. I will need to pay for my place once I go to China too. Moreover, my father still needs to make his payment to the court.”

“Once you start working in China, the joint venture company will get you a place to stay. Since they are a government-owned company, they have their own policies and rules that include providing accommodation to the workers like you. I know that because I was once a partner of a joint venture company for Jinxi Industrial Complex in Suzhou Town, Jiangsu Province.”

“Hmm.”

Jae-Sik seemed to be sobering up as he was listening to Gun-Ho. He looked serious.

“You will work there as the president of a joint venture partnered with a government-owned company. They will get you at least a 30 pyung large condo. And, they will only charge you as low as the rent for a dormitory room provided to the workers. Also, even though you are making 3 million won per month here, they will pay you only 10,000 or 15,000 Yuan.”

“Is that so?”

“When Min-Hyeok started working in China for the first time, he was paid so low that GH Development had to pay him an additional 1.5 million won in Korea.”

“Hmm.”

“I will pay you the same. You can use the pay that you receive in China for the living expenses there, and you can let your parents live with 1.5 million won that we would pay you in Korea.”

Jae-Sik seemed to be busy thinking of something with a very serious look on his face.

“The condo that I will buy you will be purchased with your name. Even though your parents live there, it’s yours. You need to find peace of mind by knowing that your parents are doing fine. Save your mother from the basement. Also, don’t let your father work in a hog farm any longer. I understand that you have some resentment toward your parents; I do too. But I think that, at our age, we’d better get it over with.”

Jae-Sik lowered his head. It seemed that he was trying so hard to hide his tears. Gun-Ho wanted to give him some time to calm down. He stood up from his seat and said, “I will go to the bathroom now. I will be back.”

After stopping by the bathroom, Gun-Ho smoked a cigarette outside the restaurant. He looked at Jae-Sik through the window from the outside. He still kept his head low. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his tears. He was crying.

When Gun-Ho went to work in GH Building, Sinsa Town, he noticed that the banner for the art gallery was changed from Mr. Sakata Ikuzo’s wood carving art exhibition to something else.

“Art Exhibition of Young Artists? A new art exhibition with young artists must be going right now. I guess Mr. Sakata Ikuzo’s wood-carved figures all moved to S Group’s factory in Dangjin City by now. Actually, the mold for AM083 Assembly is our product, and it was developed in GH Mobile. Maybe I should have purchased Mr. Sakata Ikuzo’s art pieces and displayed them at GH Mobile’s entrance.”

Gun-Ho regretted letting S Group buy all of Mr. Sakata Ikuzo’s artworks. He didn’t think about it before, but now he was thinking that maybe he should have bought the artworks, at least some of them. They could be great marketing for GH Mobile as well.

When he arrived at his office, he made a call to Jae-Sik Moon. It had been two days since he had a drink and pork belly with him in Jeongja Town, Bundang District. Gun-Ho thought that Jae-Sik probably already bought a condo in the area close to East Incheon Station.

“President Moon? Did you buy a condo?”

“No, not yet.”

“You don’t have much time left before leaving for China. You’d better do it quickly.”

“It’s okay. I decided not to take your gift. It’s too much for the work that I did for you. You don’t have to pay me for using my name in the sales transaction. We are friends, right? We don’t pay each other for that kind of thing. I’m taking a Chinese language class right now in preparation for my departure to China.”

“You are not going to take it? Are you rejecting my mind? You are not my friend anymore then!”

“You don’t have to do this really… I think I should figure out what to do with my family.”

“Are you really going to do this to me?”

“I said it’s okay.”

“Suit yourself then!”

After getting off the phone with Jae-Sik, Gun-Ho felt upset.

“Is he serious? If I gave the same offer to Suk-Ho Lee, he would have been more than happy to take it right away. He would have bought a condo by now before I changed my mind.”

Gun-Ho couldn’t just let it go. He called for Chan-Ho Eum.

“Chan-Ho, let’s get some fresh air. Let’s go to Incheon City, around East Incheon Station!”

Gun-Ho went to the Solbit Village condo complex in the east Incheon area.

“Wow. It’s a huge condo complex. There must be more than 2,000 units here.”

Gun-Ho went into a real estate office when he saw its business sign.

“Do you have any unit available in this condo complex?”

“How large are you looking for?”

“About 30 pyung large.”

“We have one on the seventh floor. It’s one of the most desirable floors.”

“How much is it?”

“The owner priced it for 260 million won.”

“I didn’t know a condo here is that expensive.”

“I have another one at a lower price. It’s 26 pyung large. It’s 180 million won and on the eighth floor. They just redid the wallpaper.”

“How come there is that much price difference between those two units?”

“That’s because the 30 pyung large condo has two bathrooms while the 26 pyung one has only one bathroom. Young people these days prefer to have two bathrooms. That creates a big price gap between the two.”

“Hmm, really?”

“For a young couple without a kid or an old couple, a 26 pyung large condo is large enough. That unit is vacant right now. The owner redid the interior. You can take a look at it.”

Gun-Ho was thinking. Jae-Sik wouldn’t probably take a 30 pyung large condo from him. He would probably think that it’s too much to take for free from a friend. Min-Hyeok’s condo was 200 million won. Knowing the price, Jae-Sik wouldn’t accept a 260 million won condo which would be more expensive than Min-Hyeok’s. Maybe a 26 pyung large condo would be good for Jae-Sik considering his situation. Even though it had only one bathroom, Jae-Sik and his wife would be living in China for quite a while. His parents would occupy the condo, and they wouldn’t have any problem sharing a bathroom. Moreover, the condo price was 180 million won. Jae-Sik might accept a condo with that price.

Noticing that Gun-Ho was debating with himself, the real estate agent started his sales pitch.

“This condo complex is very well developed. It has more than enough space between two buildings. Also, the subway station is only 500 meters away from here. With that convenience, you can commute to Seoul if you have a job there. It is situated in a very desirable location.”

“You said the unit is vacant, right? Can I take a look at it right now?”

When Gun-Ho went to that 26 pyung large condo, he liked it. It was receiving lots of natural sunlight, and its wallpaper was all redone. It felt like a new condo.

“As you see, it’s vacant, and you can move in at any time you want.”