Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

After the wedding ceremony, the guest had enjoyed buffet food prepared at the churchyard. Gun-Ho and Young-Eun ate there lightly and then headed to Yeonan Pier. It was getting dark already. On the way to Yeonan Pier in the car, Gun-Ho, who was driving, said to Young-Eun who was sitting next to him, “Jae-Sik is probably on the plane heading to Jeju Island by now.”

“You said they used to be in the literature field, right?”

“Yeah. Jae-Sik is an award-winning author of a full-length novel.”

“And, his wife used to write poems, huh?”

“That’s right.”

“They are a great couple. Since they are writers, I think that they will adapt to Chinese culture very quickly.”

“You think so?”

Yeonan Pier was noisy with many touts who were soliciting customers loudly. Even though it was late at night, there were so many people there enjoying the evening. Gun-Ho and Young-Eun went to the largest sashimi restaurant in the area. They walked up to the second floor in the restaurant building.

It was Monday.

Gun-Ho visited the old GH Logistics’ office in Seonghwan City.

There were people cleaning the office, and also some of them were measuring the land that was recently flattened.

“I guess this is it. I will have to say goodbye to this land.”

“I think so, sir.”

Chan-Ho agreed and laughed.

Gun-Ho headed to the new location of GH Logistics in Siheung City after briefly stopping by GH Mobile in Jiksan Town. He wanted to make sure that his sister and brother-in-law were doing okay.

The land that was leased through Onbid was neatly mowed. There were two GH Logistics’ freight trucks being parked.

Chan-Ho commented while parking the car, “It is very spacious, and it’s easy to park here.”

The old banner advertising the old daycare center was no longer there. Instead, there was a new business sign saying “GH Logistics.”

“How is it?”

“Hey, Gun-Ho, you are here!”

When Gun-Ho’s sister welcomed Gun-Ho loudly, her husband, who was standing next to her, teased her. “You don’t call his name at work. You’d better call him Mr. President Gun-Ho Goo. That’s the proper addressing at work.”

Gun-Ho laughed and said, “Haha. It’s okay. You don’t have to do that.”

Surprisingly, the office was very clean. There was even a flower vase on the meeting table. The flowers in the vase seemed to be wildflowers that his sister plucked from somewhere. The office that was being handled by his sister looked cleaner and fresher than the one that Jae-Sik used to work at.

“Did President Moon hand over all the work?”

“Yes, he did, but that doesn’t mean I know how to handle it all.”

“You will catch up quickly as you work every day. Most of the work here is being repeated every day, and you will build your own routine accordingly rather than doing new work every time.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“What about business cards? Are they ready?”

“Yes.”

Gun-Ho’s sister showed Gun-Ho her and her husband’s business card. She seemed to feel bashful about her new job title even though she was the one who picked it. One was the president’s business card, and the other one said the director of GH Logistics.

“Oh, Mr. President Goo, let me serve you a cup of tea.”

Gun-Ho’s sister brought a cup of warm tea. It was not green tea but tasted like jujube tea.

“Is it jujube tea?”

“Yeah, and I added some liquorice as well. The truck drivers here love this tea.”

“Hmm, yeah, it’s very nice. Is there any truck driver who complained saying that this office is too far to come?”

“Only a few of them stopped by so far, and none of them said anything about the distance that they have to bear. Some of them said that we picked a good location for a small transportation company. And they also said that the old office in Seonghwan City had probably been chosen in the first place to serve the business owner’s investment purpose.”

“Really?”

“How do you have your lunch here? Isn’t it far to go to the area where you can find a place to eat?”

“Oh, we eat here. I cook. We even came to work yesterday even though it was a holiday. It’s very convenient to cook here with the kitchen over there. A truck driver stopped by the other day when we were having our lunch, and he joined us. He loved my dishes. He said he definitely preferred my food over the food in a restaurant. We usually enjoy our coffee after lunch. I feel like living in the countryside when I have my coffee while looking out the window.”

“Really? Hmm. Is there a bank nearby?”

“There is a Shinhan Bank near the traffic circle. President Moon gave us the bankbook of Shinhan Bank. He said that he would give us the bankbook with a huge balance later after discussing it with you. For now, we have the one with 20 million won in it. That will be used for the operation expense.”

“He will come back from his honeymoon trip today. I guess he will come to the office tomorrow.”

“Yeah, he said he will spend two or three days here before leaving for China.”

Gun-Ho asked his sister for more tea. He really liked the new tea that his sister made.

“Oh, and President Moon asked me to give this to you. It’s pay scales.”

Gun-Ho looked at the paper that his brother-in-law handed over to him. It listed GH Logistics’ workers’ salary.

[President Hee-Jae Im 3.2 million won. Director Gun-Sook Goo 2.5 million won. Managing Director Gun-Ho Goo 5 million won. Jae-Sik Moon in China. 1.5 million won.]

“Hmm, I don’t want to impose the company with this much salary. You can reduce mine to 3 million won. Also, raise Jae-Sik Moon’s salary to 1.8 million won.”

“Okay.”

“And, you received the business credit cards, right?”

“Yes. I have one, and your sister is holding the other one.”

“Which bank does it belong to?”

“They are from Industrial Bank of Korea.”

“Do you know its branch office around here?”

“There is one around 3 kilometers away from here.”

“The company’s identity certificate number with the bank is already stored in my sister’s computer, isn’t it?”

Gun-Ho’s sister responded, “Yes. I’m using the same computer that the bookkeeper lady here used to work with. And, my husband is using the computer that President Moon had used. So, it already has all the necessary information and data.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“Did you also have the OTP card for Industrial Bank of Korea?”

“President Goo mentioned about it, but he didn’t give it to us yet.”

“But, you can still check the account, right?”

“Right. I can access our bank account with our identity certificate number stored in the computer. It seems that there are 300 million won in that account.”

“If you use the business credit card, you are using the money from that account.”

“I know that. We were told that the monthly limit for the credit card is 10 million won, and that we can’t make any cash withdrawal with the account. The sales proceeds for GH Logistics’ property are in Woori Bank’s account. President Moon said he would hand it to you directly.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“Did President Moon explain to you about what sort of expenses you can cover with those business credit cards?”

“He said that we can treat our clients, buy office supplies, and pay for food with the credit cards along with other costs related to the company operation.”

“If you look at a bookkeeping book, there is a section about an account title. You can use the business credit card to pay for any items listed there. And you should make sure that you don’t use it to pay for your personal stuff like clothes or cosmetics.”

“Cosmetics?”

Gun-Ho’s sister and her husband giggled. Gun-Ho laughed along with them.

“So to speak, you use it to pay for things related to the company matters. For example, any ingredients that you used for this jujube tea can be paid with the company credit card.”

“Really? Gun-Ho’s sister asked.

“It’s because… The tea is being used to treat our clients?” Gun-Ho’s brother-in-law tried to make reasoning.

Gun-Ho’s sister and her husband looked at each other.

“Shoot. We used our personal money to buy the tea ingredients.”

Gun-Ho responded, “Hahaha. Don’t make the same mistake from now on.”