Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho couldn’t help laughing.

Gun-Ho made a call to the realtor’s office.

“Are you open today?”

“Yes, we are open.”

“I will come by your office in a few minutes.”

“Where are you coming from?”

Gun-Ho hung up the phone without answering the realtor’s question.

The realtor’s office seemed to be busier on Saturdays than on weekdays.

There were two other customers in the office when Gun-Ho arrived. They seemed to look for land to buy. Gun-Ho had to wait for his turn for quite a while.

After the other customers left the office, the realtor came to Gun-Ho and said, “I’m so sorry, sir, that you had to wait. Please come and take a seat. You are the one who went to see the auto repair shop yesterday, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“So, have you made up your mind? That auto repair shop is really good.”

“The price is too high. 2 million won per pyung is expensive. Can we lower the price a bit?”

“That’s actually the current fair market price. I will talk to the landowner about the price.”

The realtor called the landowner.

“It is wise that you sell your land when there is someone who wants to buy it. You know that there are a lot of lands on the market because the economy is currently bad. The gentleman here seemed to visit other lands, and he said 200 per pyung is overpriced.”

The realtor spent quite a long time persuading the landowner to lower the price. While they were still talking on the phone, the realtor whispered to Gun-Ho after covering his phone’s mic,

“It’s 1.96 billion won if we calculate it as 200 million won per pyung, but he said he can lower it to 1.9 billion won for you.”

“1.9 billion won... Assuming I can get a loan for 40% of the price, I can get the land with 1.14 billion won...”

“I can get you connected for a loan.”

“Where is the landowner right now?”

“He is in Bundang District. He is running an authorized dealer for foreign vehicles.”

“Can you ask him to come to this office today?”

The realtor asked that to the landowner and got back to Gun-Ho.

“He said he can leave for here now.”

“Please tell him that I will be here waiting for him then.”

After getting off the phone with the landowner, the realtor smiled and said, “He is leaving from Bundang District. One hour should suffice.”

“Probably not. Since it’s Saturday, there should be heavy traffic.”

“Still it’s not far from here. Well, sir, are you going to stay here while waiting for him?”

“Nah, I will come back after an hour. I want to get some fresh air.”

“Please don’t go too far and stay in the area. I will give you a call as soon as the landowner arrives in the office.”

Gun-Ho walked out of the realtor’s office.

“What am I going to do to kill an hour? Maybe I can visit Dongtan Town. It will take about an hour to go and come back from there.”

Gun-Ho drove his Land Rover to Dongtan Town.

“Dongtan is a newly emerging popular area, huh?”

Dongtan was being developed. A lot of high-rise buildings were being constructed. Gun-Ho was impressed by Dongtan Town’s current look.

“Wow. It’s a well-developed city. I didn’t know Dongtan Town had developed this much.”

Gun-Ho looked around Dongtan Town before heading back to Seonghwan Town. He estimated about an hour to visit Dongtan Town, but it took more than an hour. He received a call from the realtor while still driving back to Seonghwan Town when he was passing Pyeongtaek City.

“The landowner is here in the office now.”

Gun-Ho actually expected to see an old man, but the landowner was a young man who looked like he was in his early 40s.

The realtor said, “Both the person who put his land on the market and the person who is interested in buying the same land are young men. Let’s make it simple and quick. Why don’t we just make a contract right now? What do you think? Mr. Buyer, how much down payment did you prepare to sign the contract?”

“Since it’s Saturday, I couldn’t withdraw as much money as I wanted. I brought 30 million won.”

Gun-Ho pulled out three checks from the inner pocket of his jacket and waved them. Each check valued 10 million won.

The realtor looked at the seller and asked, “Are you okay with 30 million won?”

The seller nodded his head.

The realtor brought a sales and purchase contract for land to the table and said, “I love the fact that both the seller and the buyer are young people and very quick in making a decision. I do envy you both. You two misters are young businessmen but very wealthy.”

Gun-Ho would make the second payment after a week and pay the remaining payment after two weeks. Gun-Ho would be able to start demolishing and cleaning the property after making the second payment.

The seller said while putting the 30 million won in his pocket, “Why don’t we get to know each other more? I guess we are now connected through the property.”

Gun-Ho looked at the business card that the seller handed to him. He had a corporation that was in the business of running a dealership of foreign vehicles. It seemed that he sold strictly only foreign cars.

“You are President Jeong.”

Gun-Ho gave his business card to the seller. President Jeong carefully looked at Gun-Ho’s business card.

“President Goo.”

After exchanging their business cards, the two men had a handshake.

“Since I am selling foreign-manufactured vehicles, I will send you the cars that require A/S to your auto repair shop.”

“Actually, I’m not running an auto repair shop, but we are leasing and transporting trucks or heavy equipment.”

“Oh, I see. I wish your business to prosper.”

“Thank you.”

Gun-Ho went to work in GH Mobile on the following Monday. He called for Director Jong-Suk Park.

“Hey, it takes only fifteen minutes to get to your home from work, right?”

“It takes a bit more than that because I have to drop my wife off at her work, so it usually takes about thirty minutes to get here.”

“I see. Do you also pick her up after work?”

“No, I drop her off in the morning. After work, she takes a bus. I’m thinking of having her stay home once she delivers the baby.”

“Why?”

Jong-Suk was about to explain his situation when President Song entered Gun-Ho’s office, and he stopped talking. When he was with Gun-Ho alone, he talked to Gun-Ho in a very informal way and called him brother instead of Mr. President.

One day, when President Song saw Jong-Suk calling Gun-Ho brother, he reprimanded him.

At that time, President Song told him, “Director Park, I don’t mind what you call Mr. President when you were with him alone, but when there are other people present, you should call him Mr. President. How can you call Mr. President brother in front of workers at work?”

Jong-Suk apologized to President Song and tried to be careful not to make the same mistake when President Song was around.

After getting Gun-Ho’s signature on the expense document, President Song left the office.

Gun-Ho continued to talk to Jong-Suk with where they left off, “Why do you want her to quit her job? Doesn’t her employer give her paid maternity leave?”

“They do. We just think maybe the baby needs his mother to stay home with him all the time. She is also considering doing her mother’s business with her.”

“You mean the hair salon?”

“Yes, or she can obtain a realtor’s license and work with her father in the real estate field.”

“Haha. You have planned a lot, huh?”

“How’s Jae-Sik brother doing?”

“Oh, you know what? That’s why I asked you to come to my office.”