Chapter 33: Wow… What Does That Person Do?
“Let’s rebuild it. Since we’re doing it, let’s do it properly.”
Kim Jeong-nam nodded as if he had expected this decision.
“It would be a waste to just sell the land. If you construct the building properly, it will definitely increase in value.”
“Then why do some people just sell their land without building on it?”
“Well, there could be various reasons. Some people might be satisfied with just the profit they’ve already made, others might be overwhelmed by excessive debt and interest so they need money. Plus, constructing a building isn’t exactly a simple task. Some people find it too troublesome and prefer to sell. Have you ever built a building before?”
I had built one before.
I was working as a laborer on a construction site for 50,000 won a day when I was younger, without really knowing what I was doing.
But since that wasn’t what Kim Jeong-nam was asking, I shook my head.
“This will be my first time. You’ll help me out, right, Chief Kim?”
“Hahaha, of course. Coincidentally, my previous job was at a construction company. I’ll use all my connections to find a reputable construction firm.”
As expected, he was quick to catch on and efficient in his work.
“Thank you. How much will it cost, roughly?”
“Well, it varies greatly depending on the construction company, but… you should budget for at least 3 billion won.”
“3 billion won, huh…”
I mentally calculated the figures.
Of course, I had no intention of taking out a loan.
Excluding my real estate assets, I had around 7 billion won in liquid assets.
Considering the rental deposits that would come in, it seemed manageable.
“Alright. Please proceed as quickly as possible. I’ll make sure you’re well-compensated for your efforts.”
“Ah, if it’s for Boss Song, I’ll drop everything else and work on it right away. I’ll be in touch soon.”
It was only natural for Kim Jeong-nam to be so proactive.
Once the building was constructed and rental contracts were signed, he would earn a substantial commission.
For me, it was better to entrust the job to him, someone with whom I had a golden relationship, rather than anyone else.
So, I gladly handed the project over to him.
And just like that, another stroke of great fortune came my way.
Saturday morning.
Today was the day I was going to volunteer at the animal shelter, so I hurried to get ready early in the morning.
I had been warned that there would be a lot of physical work involved, so I dressed in the most comfortable clothes I could find.
“Let’s see… the address.”
The previous evening, I checked the text message I received from Yoo-jin.
[Gyeonggi-do Namyangju-si………. You must keep this strictly confidential! ^0^ Any leaks will result in immediate execution!]
I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculously intense warning attached to the address she had sent, but I figured there must be a reason and plugged it into the navigation system.
I had agreed to give Kim Joo-hee a ride and since Ga-haeng and Yoo-jin’s house wasn’t very far from Namyangju, they said they would take a taxi together.”
“Oppa!”
I picked up Kim Joo-hee, who was smiling brightly and waving from the tree-lined street by the roadside, and immediately drove to Namyangju.
With great thoughtfulness, Kim Joo-hee was holding two iced Americanos.
And to top it off, they were even larger sizes.”
“Oh, what a thoughtful girl! I was already feeling thirsty.”
“Hehe, since I’m getting a free ride, it’s only natural to prepare this much.”
As I took a big sip of the ice-filled coffee through the straw, my froggy mind instantly cleared up.
But it seems like I drank too much.
“Ugh… my head hurts… But seriously, what’s up with Yoo-jin making such a fuss? She wouldn’t even tell me the name of the shelter properly and kept insisting that I absolutely must not share the address with anyone. You’d think she was a black ops agent for the NIS (National Intelligence Service) or something.”
Kim Joo-hee smiled at my grumbling.
“Private shelters are usually very secretive about revealing their information.”
“Why?”
“If the location of a stray dog shelter gets out, people start dumping their dogs there. They think they feel less guilty if they leave them at a shelter… People are just too much, right?”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah. The place we’re going to today actually had to move for that reason. Too many people were abandoning their dogs in front of the shelter.”
“How… How could they do that? Didn’t they bring them in as part of the family? How do you just abandon a family like that?”
Maybe it was because I felt a connection with those abandoned dogs. My chest started to feel warm with a mix of emotions.
“They bring them in when they’re cute as puppies, but as they grow into adults, people start to change their minds. Cleaning up after them, dealing with the smell—it all becomes a hassle. Especially during vacation season, that’s when they abandon them the most.”
“Those irresponsible people… They will truly be punished by heaven.”
This was the kind of person I despised the most.
It’s pure, selfish pleasure without responsibility.
They buy a pet because it’s cute, like an accessory, but as soon as it’s no longer cute or becomes a nuisance, they toss it away like garbage.
Isn’t it the same for both people and dogs?
The pain of being abandoned by someone lasts a lifetime. Do the people who abandon others ever understand that feeling of becoming worthless, like you don’t matter anymore?
In fact, there were many cases of children who grew up in a nursery never fully recovered from the feeling of being abandoned and ended up making extreme choices.
Did Joo-hee sense that the atmosphere had become a bit heavy?
She quickly changed the subject to lighten the mood.
“Summer break is coming up soon. Do you have any plans, Oppa?”
“Hmm… summer break. Well, I’m not sure?”
In reality, I had a lot to do.
I needed to attend meetings related to the new construction project and I also had to keep an eye on the K-Startup competition where Lee Jang-won was participating.
He sent me regular Kakao Talk messages, almost like status reports, detailing what he had accomplished each day.
He’d found a small but decent office, hired more teams and said they were in the final stages of developing the ‘Thumbs Up’ app.
Surprisingly, the cumulative number of visitors to the ‘Thumbs Up’ web service had already reached nearly 500,000.
Lee Jang-won was concerned about how to smoothly transition the existing web users to the app.
I casually offered my thoughts on the matter and it seemed to have sparked some inspiration. After thanking me, I hadn’t heard from him since.
Regardless, I had faith in him, knowing that he was someone handpicked by the golden light.
After passing through a slightly congested area, we finally turned onto a rural road on the outskirts of Namyangju.
[You have arrived at your destination.]
In the dirt lot, about a dozen cars were lined up side by side.
Woof woof woof woof!
I wondered if we were in the wrong place as the sound of dogs barking, both large and small, filled the air like an orchestra.
“We’re here. It’s kind of far, isn’t it?”
“Thanks for the ride, Oppa. Yoo-jin Unnie and Ga-haeng Oppa said they’re almost here too.”
As if not cut out to be a nobleman since I couldn’t sit still, I noticed a taxi approaching from afar.
“Unnie!”
“Joo-hee-ya!”
Even though they had just seen each other yesterday, Joo-hee and Yoo-jin embraced each other like long-lost family members, making me chuckle involuntarily.
“Hyung, you must have had a hard time getting here.”
“Not as much as you did. Your ears are bleeding.”
“Ouch!”
Ga-haeng, who had likely endured Yujin’s endless chatter in the taxi, instinctively touched his ears, startled by my joke.
“It was just a joke, man. You’re so easily scared, you know that.”
“Hyung, please, don’t make a joke like that. You’ve never ridden in a taxi with Yoo-jin, have you? She talks so much with the driver that by the end, they’re practically calling each other brothers.”
“It’s boring just sitting there quietly, so I talk about this and that, you know, life stuff.”
Imagining the scene in the taxi, I silently patted Ga-haeng on the shoulder in sympathy.
“So, what exactly are we doing today?”
“Nothing too complicated. The shelter’s still a bit messy since they just moved here. We need to finish building some kennels, install the CCTV, and do some cleaning. Pretty simple, right?”
“That sounds like a job for professionals, doesn’t it?”
“They don’t have the money for that. I heard they’re struggling just to cover the cost of dog food. Let’s head inside.”
As we followed Yoo-jin into the shelter, the strong smell of the place hit us and the barking of the dogs grew even louder and more intense, almost making my ears ring.
Looking around, I saw a typical countryside house surrounded by green kennels lined up in rows.
Inside the kennels, large dogs were barking furiously, drooling like crazy and before we knew it, we were soon surrounded by small dogs of indeterminate breed.
People in aprons recognized Yoo-jin and greeted her warmly.
“Oh my, Yoo-jin-ie’s here?”
“I’m sorry, Unnie. I’m a little late.”
“No worries. We actually got here early. Everyone’s been waiting for you. They were getting bored.”
Yoo-jin’s social skills seemed to shine even within the club. One by one, everyone approached her with warm greetings.
“Unnie, these are my reinforcements for today. They’re my best friends and classmates from when I transferred. Say hi, she’s the president of the Smile Club 1
“미소 동아리“ (Miso Club) could refer to a club or group with a positive or cheerful theme. The word “미소” means “smile” in Korean, so a ‘Miso Club’ might be a group focused on spreading happiness, engaging in volunteer work, or simply being a social group where members enjoy each other’s company.
.”
“Hello, I’m Yoo Hye-in.”
Yoo Hye-in said brightly, adjusting her slipping glasses.
She had a very innocent appearance, and her clear eyes were particularly striking.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Song Dae-woon.”
“I’m Lee Ga-haeng.”
“And I’m Kim Joo-hee.”
“Thank you so much for coming out on your precious day off. As you can see… we’re really short on hands.”
Yoo Hye-in said while looking around at the disorganized surroundings with a slightly troubled expression.
“Since we’re here, we’ll do our best to help out. What should we start with?”
“Um… if it’s not too much trouble, could you help us build the kennels?”
“Of course. No problem.”
After working for four years on an ocean fishing ship, I might not become a god-level expert, but I was definitely close to being a master.
On the ship, we had to handle everything ourselves.
We got straight to work.
Although it was my first time building kennels, just looking at the ones already built gave me a pretty good idea of what to do.
Besides, I was fairly talented when it came to this kind of work.
Vrrr Mmmm
I cut the materials to size with a grinder and anchored them securely into the ground.
It had been a while since I’d done physical work and I found myself enjoying it.
Thanks to my quick focus, we swiftly completed one kennel.
The others watching were visibly surprised by my machine-like speed.
“Wow… What does that person do?”
“Um… Excuse me… Sorry to bother you, but can I ask you for some help later? We’re not making much progress on our end.”
Since I had already finished my assigned tasks early, volunteers from other groups started asking for my help.
Despite many of them being older than me, they listened attentively to my explanations, showing the eagerness of students.
The three who had been cleaning the kennels approached me with stunned expressions.
“So, does everyone who works on an ocean fishing ship know how to make kennels too?”
“Sailors are all-rounders. You have to know how to do everything.”
“I’m amazed! The supervisor said it would take a week to finish the kennels, but at this rate, we might be done by today!”
It was definitely possible.
Especially with someone like me who considers himself a master at this kind of work.
After wrapping up the kennel construction, I even moved on to the electrical work.
For the record, I graduated from a vocational high school with a degree in electrical engineering and even had a license.
On the ship, I handled all the basic electrical tasks myself.
“This is… actually kind of fun.”
The feeling was entirely different from doing it for money.
Even though it was unpaid labor, I found myself humming, fully immersed in the work.
I suddenly realized that this must be the true joy of volunteering.
“Let’s eat!”
Before I knew it, it was already lunchtime.
At Yoo-jin’s loud call, the scattered volunteers gathered in one place.
The dogs gathered around as well.
Normally, meals were simple—each volunteer group brought their own packed lunches or instant noodles.
I also received a steaming cup of noodles and a roll of kimbap.
“You really worked hard today. The supervisor kept asking me who you were.”
“After today, I’m fully convinced that you really were a sailor, Hyung.”
The eager looks from the three of them made me feel a bit self-conscious, so I waved them off.
“Enough talk. Let’s just eat.”
Though the ingredients were the same, the noodles I had outdoors after all that hard work tasted unbelievably good.
The four of us devoured our noodles and kimbap as if we were inhaling them.
Suddenly, Yoo-jin clapped her hands, as if she remembered something.
“Oh right! This is huge news! We’re super lucky to be here today. You should all be thanking me for the rest of your lives.”
“What’s this nonsense all of a sudden?”
Yoo-jin smiled mysteriously at Ga-haeng’s indifferent response.
“Hehe. Don’t be surprised. They’re filming a segment of TV ‘Animal Plaza’ here today.”
“They’re filming a show? Ugh, it’s going to be crowded then.”
But Yoo-jin just smiled meaningfully.
“Don’t be shocked. Hong Seul-gi is coming too.”
“What? Who’s coming?”
“You don’t know Hong Seul-gi? Her latest drama was a huge hit!”
“No way! Are you serious?”
In an instant, Ga-haeng suddenly stood up, his mouth wide open in astonishment.
Even my ears perked up at that.
After all, wasn’t she the famous neighbor I had never met?
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