Chapter 18: I Just Landed Something. And It’s a Huge One
After finishing up the drinking session, I called a cab and headed straight home.
To soothe my complicated feelings, I filled a Wonder Rocks glass with ice and poured myself a glass of Valentine’s 23-year-old whiskey that I had been saving.
I put on some calming classical music and took a sip of whiskey from the terrace, overlooking the bustling night of Seoul at a glance.
The distinctive aroma and spiciness of oak pleasantly stimulated my palate.
After the smooth swallow, the lingering scent of fruit remained in my mouth for a long time.
As the cold whiskey flowed down my throat, my head, which had been warm, cooled down a bit.
“I guess I could see the golden light even on TV.”
It was something I had just learned.
Moreover, I realized that I don’t know much about the golden light.
The golden glow that I can only see is clearly the lifeline of my life, but haven’t I been too indifferent?
I shook my head as I blankly stared at the multicolored lights on the black river flowing backwards.
“No. Don’t be impatient. I’m doing well enough right now. It’s not about ‘speed’, it’s about ‘direction’.”
My current college life was brimming with joy, the most brilliant time of my life.
It was clear that the golden light would bring many opportunities, but at the age of twenty-eight, I had more life left ahead of me.
I wanted to fully embrace the emotions and experiences that I could only enjoy at this time.
I’m not going to chase after money anymore.
“But why did I see the golden light from that inspiring figure?”
I wondered.
What connection could there possibly be between someone like a chairman of a major corporation and me?
“Did I oversimplify about the golden light?”
After pondering for a long time, this was the conclusion I reached.
“Could the golden light be like a navigation system that leads me to beneficial connections?”
Beneficial connections (善緣).
It literally means a good connection that brings benefits.
I couldn’t know what kind of impact the relationship with that person would have on me.
However, it seemed certain that forming a relationship with someone emitting a golden light would be beneficial in some way.
“But no matter how much I think about it, is there any chance that I will have a good connection with the chairman?”
In the case of Kim Sun-gi, who was in charge of asset management, or Kim Jung-nam, who handles real estate business, that would be many opportunities to receive help from them in the future. But what benefits would there be from being involved with the head of a corporate group?
“To be honest, it’s a lot. A corporate chairman is practically like a king. The problem is whether someone like me would even catch his eye.”
My personal assets are approaching 15 billion won, but wealth is relative.
I wonder if my wealth would be of any interest to the chairman of a chaebol.
To a business giant (geowon) whose estimated assets are in the trillions.
“Hmm… What should I do?”
Of course, just because I saw a golden light, it didn’t mean I had to form a connection with that person.
Still, wouldn’t it be a waste?
It’s not like golden lights are something you can see every day.
I was also curious about what a giant (geowon) who controls South Korea’s economy thinks on a daily basis.
While pondering this and sipping my whiskey, a question suddenly crossed my mind.
“But what was the news about?”
It was a news item that I happened to see while drinking beer with my colleagues.
I was so focused on the golden light on the screen that I hadn’t even noticed why Chairman Lee Seung-hwan was on the news.
I took out my smartphone and searched for ‘Buksan Group Chairman Lee Seung-hwan.’
[Buksan Group Chairman Lee Seung-hwan’s Dinner Auction… How Much Will It Go For?]
According to Buksan Group, they plan to auction off a dinner with Chairman Lee Seung-hwan as part of their social contribution activities to celebrate their 70th anniversary. This is an extremely unusual move considering that Chairman Lee Seung-hwan rarely makes public appearances and seldom communicates with the outside world.
‘The dinner with Chairman Lee Seung-hwan is scheduled for the 30th of this month, and one winner will be determined through an auction on the 25th. The auction proceeds will be fully donated to the charity organization ‘Smile’…’
“Wow… This is huge!”
Reading through the article, an exclamation burst out of me without realizing it.
Didn’t it feel like a sign of fate?
I had a strong feeling.
That I would regret it greatly if I missed this opportunity.
“It’s just for dinner. How expensive could it be to have one meal? Let’s see…”
I opened the calendar app.
“If it’s the 25th… There are only two days left.”
Feeling optimistic about the possibility that things might go smoothly, I finished the rest of my whiskey and headed to the bathroom.
At that moment, I completely overlooked it.
The value of having dinner with Buksan’s Chairman Lee Seung-hwan.
***
The next morning it dawned bright.
Today was Friday, a day without any lectures.
I hurried to get ready to go out in the morning.
“Early birds get the worm, or in this case, the best building.”
Today was the day I was scheduled to visit properties with Kim Jeong-nam to inspect buildings.
’Visiting properties’ (Imjang) is a term derived from ‘to be present at the scene’ (imhanda), simply meaning working hard to check out potential real estate.
These aren’t cheap trinkets we’re looking at; these are buildings worth billions of won, so I planned to approach them with a reverent mindset and diligently visit them all.
I drove my Volkswagen and arrived in front of Kim Jeong-nam’s office, which wasn’t far from my house.
[Namnyeo Chilse Real Estate]
“The more I look at that sign, the more impactful it becomes.”
Ding-ding.
As I opened the door and stepped into the office, I saw Kim Jeong-nam, dressed impeccably in a suit, flipping through a substantial file of documents.
Upon spotting me, Kim Jeong-nam stood up and quickly came out to greet me.
“Welcome, Mr. Song.”
“How have you been, Director? You look well.”
“Hahaha. I guess I’ve been swamped with work lately. I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries from all over the place. It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Song. Thank you.”
“I didn’t do much. I just helped out where I could. If anything, I’ve received help from you.”
“Hahaha, I’m sorry if that sounded burdensome, but I mean it sincerely. I feel like I’ve caught some good luck from you, Mr. Song. I’ll work even harder in the future.”
His heartfelt gratitude, dripping with sincerity rather than empty words, eased my initial awkwardness and quickly transformed it into a sense of satisfaction.
He was indeed a person full of energy and like a wireless charger, his energy seemed to transfer toward me just by being around him.
After all, both Kim Jeong-nam and I were benefiting from this partnership, a kind of win-win situation, so I felt it was okay to accept such compliments.
“I’m sure you’ll be even more successful in the future. Speaking of which, have you narrowed down the property list yet?”
“Of course. I’ve been focused solely on that for the past few days. Fortunately, I found several properties that meet the criteria you mentioned, Mr. Song. Please, have a seat.”
Sitting on the office sofa, I took the documents Kim Jeong-nam handed me.
“Hmm… Let’s see.”
The documents contained neatly organized information about the building’s exterior photos, the regional characteristics, pros and cons.
“So, in Director Kim’s judgment, these are the most suitable ones, right?”
“Yes, these are properties in the 5 – 6 billion won range as you requested, Mr. Song. As you can see from the details, most of them are strategically located commercial buildings in bustling commercial districts.”
I read through the materials while listening to Kim Jeong-nam’s explanation, but honestly, they didn’t catch my eye much.
As the saying goes, ‘Seeing is believing.’
I thought it would be best to see and judge them by myself.
“Let’s go see them first.”
“I’ll drive you there.”
Leaving the office behind, we started following the mapped route to the properties.
The first stop was, of course, Gangnam, the most popular district in Seoul.
“The building size is a bit small, but of course, the hagwon street in Daechi-dong is famous nationwide, right? So, the good thing about this location is that there are no facilities harmful to children, like internet cafes. What’s more, it gets incredibly crowded on weekends, especially during rush hour, almost like Sindorim. Since it’s a mixed-use residential area, the commercial district is well-developed too.”
I stroked my chin as I surveyed the building’s exterior.
The clean, modern design wasn’t bad, but somehow it didn’t quite capture my heart.
“Shall we move on to the next one?”
After looking at a few more properties, we headed to Seodaemun District.
“This is a three-story building in Yeonhui-dong. The selling price is 4.8 billion won. As you can see, there’s some distance from the neighboring buildings, and there’s nothing that obstructs the view.”
I looked up at the building and then glanced around the area.
It was a neighborhood densely packed with old multi-family houses and small commercial buildings.
While it was true that there was more space between this building and the others, as Kim Jeong-nam had mentioned, I found it incredibly suffocating.
“Let’s keep this one in mind for now.”
Even after looking at several more properties, I strangely didn’t get that ‘this is it!’ feeling.
‘Am I just chasing a feeling too much? Maybe I should just settle for something decent that works?’
After spending the whole day visiting properties, my legs felt like they were about to give out.
We decided to take a short break and stepped into a nearby cafe.
“You’re working really hard because of me.”
“Oh no, what are you saying? This is my job and I actually enjoy checking out properties every time. Haha, I guess you could say it’s my calling.”
Seeing Kim Jeong-nam laugh heartily without any signs of fatigue made me feel less tired as well.
“We only have a few properties left, right?”
Since there weren’t that many properties on Kim Jeong-nam’s list, we seemed to be nearing the end.
“Just one more left. A property in Mapo-gu, Hapjeong.”
“Hapjeong, huh…”
When I thought of Hapjeong-dong, I remembered hustling to find part-time jobs as soon as I left the orphanage.
I hadn’t been back to the neighborhood since then, so I was curious to see how much it had changed.
After quickly finishing off my iced Americano, we headed towards Hapjeong-dong.
“Here we are.”
Kim Jeong-nam announced, pointing towards a building.
My gaze followed the direction of his finger and my eyes widened in surprise.
“It’s a bit… old, isn’t it?”
Not just a bit—it was a very old two-story building.
Compared to the other properties we’d seen earlier, it looked embarrassingly dilapidated.
“The building may not be in the best shape, but it’s in a bustling location.”
“And the price?”
“5.1 billion won.”
“5.1 billion won…?”
The price was incredibly high, especially considering the building’s condition.
My gaze slowly swept across the entire building.
Aside from its location in a bustling area, there was nothing else that really appealed to me.
‘Strangely enough, I’m drawn to it.’
Could it be that I have an undiscovered taste for antique things?
I couldn’t explain why, but I was irresistibly drawn to this building.
“5.1 billion won isn’t overpriced, right?”
“Not at all. The location is so prime that it’s definitely not overpriced. In fact, the price is essentially just for the land value.”
“Then I’ll take it.”
“Really?”
Unlike before, Kim Jeong-nam didn’t seem surprised by my impulsive decision.
He seemed to have gotten a sense of my taste to some extent.
“The more I look at it, the more it has its own… charming appeal. It’s not bad at all.”
“Understood. Let’s head back to the office and finalize the contract.”
And so, we returned back to Kim Jeong-nam’s office, swiftly completed contract procedures, and in a blink of an eye, I became the owner of a building worth 5 billion won in no time.
***
At a café near Hanyeong University.
Joo-hee, Yoo-jin, and Ga-haeng had arrived earlier and secured a table.
“Oppa, you’re here.”
“We ordered your drink in advance. You’ll drink iced Americano anyway, right?”
“As expected of Ga-haeng, you’re the best. But why do you all look so down?”
Yoo-jin let out a sigh filled with deep despair.
“Ha… We’re doomed. What are we going to do now?”
“What do you mean we’re doomed?”
“I sent emails to all the companies known for their welfare benefits, but not a single one has replied.”
“I tried using some personal connections and asked around, but it’s not easy…”
“I even asked my dad, but he’s busy with the bonus season. Ugh.”
Seeing my three close friends so disheartened didn’t make me feel any better.
Ga-haeng looked at me and asked, “Hyung, have you found anything yet?”
[Love has cooled down~ Can I be honest~]
Just then, my phone rang, and I excused myself to answer it.
“Hello? Yes, this is Song Dae-woon speaking. Oh, really? Okay, I understand. Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
After hanging up, I smiled at the dejected kids.
“ I just landed something. And it’s a huge one.”
In an instant, their heads snapped up simultaneously.
