Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho sent 480 million won that he had in his bank account with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to Jae-Sik’s account.

“Okay, I’ve done my part. Jae-Sik’s couple will take care of the rest of it.”

Gun-Ho was thinking carefully about the direction that he has to lead his GH companies to.

The companies among GH companies, that he had a high expectation on were GH Mobile and Dyeon Korea. He wanted to make an enormous amount of money through those two companies. As a matter of fact, he didn’t expect much from other companies such as GH Media, or the companies in China that were being run by Min-Hyeok Kim and Jae-Sik Moon, and GH Logistics. He just wanted to have multiple companies to make it look like that he owned a group of companies, but he didn’t try hard to make money from those other GH companies. However, it was nice that he could recover his investment funds and began to receive dividends from them anyway.

Gun-Ho decided to have a private meeting with President Song and the internal auditor in order to discuss the business of GH Mobile and Dyeon Korea.

He first made a call to GH Mobile’s President Song.

“It’s Gun-Ho Goo. Will you be available in the evening tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir. I don’t have any appointments tomorrow. Is something going on?”

“I just want to have dinner with you. Please come to the GH Building in Sinsa Town, Seoul City by 6 pm tomorrow, and let’s have dinner.”

“Sure, sir.”

“Don’t tell anyone about the dinner appointment with me, but please come quietly.”

“Understood, sir.”

Gun-Ho then made a call to Dyeon Korea’s internal auditor.

“Do you have time tomorrow?”

“Yes, I do, sir. What is it about?”

“I want to have dinner with you tomorrow. I have something that I’d like to ask you about too.”

“Is Director Kim going to join us as well?”

“No. I have some questions about finance. Please come without telling anybody.”

Gun-Ho thought, for a second, of asking Director Kim to join them for dinner, and then he decided not to. He wanted to have a quiet private meeting where he can focus on discussing stuff. With Director Kim, a meeting wouldn’t be quiet.

“Where do you want me to come, sir?”

“Please come to GH Building in Sinsa Town by 6 pm tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gun-Ho made a call to Ms. Jang— the bar/restaurant owner in Hannam Town. It had been a while since he talked to her last time.

“Oh, my goodness. Is it Mr. President Goo? I’m so glad that you didn’t forget about Pine.”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you a call for a long while.”

“I talked with Chairman Lee in Cheongdam Town the other day, and he told me that you got married. So, I thought that your wife wouldn’t let you go to a bar like mine.”

“Haha. That’s not going to happen. Don’t worry about it. I’m calling to make a reservation for tomorrow evening.”

“Are you bringing an American man again?”

“No. I will come with two Korean men. So, it will be for three people. We will be there by 6:30 pm.”

The following day, the internal auditor took a KTX (Korea Train Express) train heading to Yongsan District in Seoul. He then took a taxi and arrived in Sinsa Town. President Song, on the other hand, drove his car himself to get to Sinsa Town; he was living in Suji, Yongin City which was in the Seoul Capital Area. They both went up to the president’s office on the 18th floor of GH Development in the GH Building.

“Please come and have a seat,” Gun-Ho greeted them.

“Wow. The view from this 18th floor is amazing. I can see the whole Sinsa Town and Apgujeong Town.”

Gun-Ho asked Secretary Yeon-Soo Oh to bring three cups of warm tea. When Yeon-Soo Oh brought the tea to Gun-Ho’s office, President Song said, “Even a secretary girl in this area is very pretty.”

Secretary Yeon-Soo Oh made a sulky face when she heard President Song referring to her as ‘a secretary girl,’ and left the office as soon as she placed the three cups of tea on the table.

“Sir, if I were you, I wouldn’t have wanted to come to Jiksan Town or Asan City to work but would have just stayed here.”

“I like the fresh and clean air in Jiksan Town and Asan City.”

“Are we expecting more people to join us for dinner today, sir?”

“No, this is it. We three will have dinner.”

“Well, let’s head out to the restaurant then. I parked my car in the basement parking lot. Chan-Ho Eom was there, and he helped me to park in a good spot.”

“Let’s go to the front entrance, not the parking lot in the basement. Chan-Ho Eom will be there waiting for us. Mr. President Song, you can pick up your car later.”

“I thought we would have dinner somewhere around here.”

“We are going to Hannam Town.”

“Hannam Town?”

A while later, Chan-Ho Eom was dropping off the three men at the secret bar— Pine— in Hannam Town. It had been a while since Gun-Ho came to the place.

Gun-Ho looked at Chan-Ho and said, “Chan-Ho, you haven’t been here for quite a while, have you?”

“You’re right, sir. It has been a long while since the last time I came here. I made a call to Tae-Young bro earlier to let him know that you are coming. He is expecting you, sir.”

“Really?”

The internal auditor looked around the area where the Pine was situated.

“Umm, sir, it looks like a residential area.”

“This is the restaurant that we will be having our dinner this evening.”

“But, I don’t see any restaurant signs.”

“Look over there. It says ‘Pine.'”

“Oh, you are right. It’s way too small for people to recognize that this is a restaurant.”

When Gun-Ho’s party walked into the garden, several bouncers including Tae-Young Im in a black suit came out to greet their guests.

“Welcome to Pine, big brother.” It was Tae-Young’s voice.

Gun-Ho extended his hand to Tae-Young for a handshake.

“How have you been?”

President Song was frightened when Tae-Young referred to Gun-Ho as ‘big brother.’

“Ha, did you just call him ‘big brother’? I guess Mr. President Goo comes to this place very often.”

“I wanted to, but I couldn’t.”

At that moment, Ms. Jang came out to the garden and started making a fuss about Gun-Ho’s visit before leading them to a private room.

Inside the room, there was an embroidered folding screen covering one of the walls with four floor cushions embroidered with flowers, on the floor. Ms. Jang said as she was filling up a white ceramic teacup with a tea, “Mr. President Goo looked stately now.”

“I haven’t before?”

“Haha. I mean you look more sophisticated and dignified than before. And these two oppas look like perfect gentlemen.”

At that moment, President Song abruptly grabbed Ms. Jang’s hand, and that startled Ms. Jang.

President Song said, “How do you know if I’m a gentleman or not?”

“You look very familiar. I think I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

President Song replied, “So have I. You look familiar to me as well.”

“Haha. You are funny.”

The food came out. All sorts of Korean food and liquor were placed on the table. There were Sinseollo*, Galbi-jjim*, grilled Deodeok, and grilled yellow Corvina. All of the dishes looked neat and delicious. Gun-Ho chose Ballantine’s 17 years old whiskey for the liquor that they would drink with food that evening. Gun-Ho said as he filled up two empty glasses with liquor, “I chose this place to ease your stress and tension that you have built up lately at work. I want you to have fun and enjoy food.”

“This place is very well decorated and certainly attractive. The restaurant owner is a pleasant talker as well. I do like the food here too. I think I can use this place when I have to meet with the business owners of our client or vendor companies. I had dinner with Mandong Company’s president the other day. He invited me over to a restaurant in Anguk Town. The food there was mediocre without a deep taste that we can feel with the food here, and the atmosphere there was very distracting and noisy.”

“I’m not sure if you noticed this. The owner here— Ms. Jang— is the famous actress in the old days— Mi-Hyang Jang. I was a little boy when she actively worked in the entertainment field, so I don’t really remember her as an actress, but you two probably know of her.”

“Mi-Hyang Jang?”

President Song and the internal auditor’s eyes widened.

“Of course we do know Mi-Hyang Jang. No wonder she looked so familiar. She was very popular in the old days.”

Note*

Sinseollo – It is also called the royal hot pot. All sorts of vegetables and meat are found in a rich broth.

Galbi-jjim – Korean style beef short ribs dish.