Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho called for Jong-Suk.

“I found a room for Jae-Sik bro to stay into, sir.”

“Don’t sir me, dude. Stop playing when we are alone, okay?”

“But, sir. We are at work.”

“I told you not to do that when we are alone.”

“Someone might hear us talking…”

“Did you get him a room instead of a OneRoomTel?”

“The area is filled with factories, so it’s hard to find a OneRoomTel in this area. There was someone who built a house like a OneRoomTel though and rent an individual room. The room is a bit smaller than a OneRoomTel, but it has all the necessary basic things in the room. The rent is 200,000 won per month. So we decided to rent it.”

“Did Jae-Sik like it?”

“Yes, he likes it a lot. He wanted to say sorry to you.”

“Really? Okay.”

“It’s close to the factory; he can even walk to work. He can have his meals at the company cafeteria, so he won’t have to spend much on his living expenses.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“Well, I’d better go now. We shouldn’t talk alone like this too often. People might not like it. You are the president, and I am just a manager.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, we should be careful. There are 250 people working here. I already heard something from the head of the labor union.”

“What did he say?”

“I shouldn’t tell that to the president.”

Jong-Suk bowed to Gun-Ho before he left the office.

Gun-Ho came out of the factory yard to get some fresh air. The workers in uniform who were passing by bowed to Gun-Ho when they saw him. The plant manager and Director Yoon were talking at the corner of the yard.

“Director Yoon, you haven’t left the Jiksan construction field yet?”

“I was discussing the power transformer installation with the plant manager. I’m leaving now.”

“I will go with you.”

“Would you like me to take my car?”

“No, I will drive.”

Gun-Ho and Director Yoon arrived at the construction site in Jiksan Town.

The workers in the construction field gave a bow to Gun-Ho. They sounded a bit different.

“Are there many Chinese people among the workers here?”

“The construction field is already dominated by Korean-Chinese. Many team leaders are Korean-Chinese as well.”

“Are there no Koreans then?”

“The subcontracting company prefers young Chinese workers in their 30s or 40s rather than 60 years old Korean workers.”

“What about Korean workers in their 30s and 40s?”

“The young Korean workers in their 30s and 40s don’t work in the construction field. Most Koreans in the field are in their 60s or late 50s. The work is not always available for them either.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Gun-Ho thought that the men in their late 50s and 60s in Korea were having a hard time supporting their family.

Gun-Ho looked at the ground that was excavated.

“The concrete work is drying out. The reinforcement steel looks sturdy. What is that thing covered by a wood board?”

“It’s mould. Once the concrete has dried out completely, they will be removed.”

“Then they will construct a building on top of it?”

“That’s right. It won’t take much time to construct a building since we don’t stack up bricks to build a wall, but we will use a pre-fabricated piece for the wall; we just assemble them.”

“The president of the construction company wants to meet you to thank you, sir.”

“He must be very busy. He doesn’t have to come to see me. I just want him to build a strong factory for us.”

“I will let him know.”

When Gun-Ho drove out of the construction field, it was almost time to go home. So he didn’t go back to the office, but instead, he went to a condo close to the KTX train station. He was staying there while he was in Asan City.

After having dinner in a restaurant in the vicinity of the area, he came back home and played a computer game. When it was around 8 pm, he felt a bit hungry. He was thinking of going to a pub in front of the train station when Jae-Sik crossed his mind.

“He must be working as a security guard right now. I think I haven’t really talked to him much. Maybe I should go to him now and see how he is doing with his new job.”

Gun-Ho stopped by a convenience store to buy some beers and snacks such as dried squid and peanuts before heading to the factory where Jae-Sik was working at.

It was dark at the factory. The lights were all off except the security guard office and one small part of the factory where a few people were still working for the night work. Jae-Sik was sitting at the desk in the security office, and he was writing down something. He was wearing a uniform with a corresponding hat.

“Jae-Sik Moon!”

“Huh? President Goo? What are you doing here?”

Jae-Sik quickly stood up.

“Hey, how’s work?”

“It’s good. Thank you for the room too. It’s a really nice room.”

“I brought some beers and snacks to have a drink with you.”

“I can’t. I am on duty now.”

“It’s okay to drink with me; I am the president, remember? We won’t have a lot of chances to drink like this.”

“Then let’s drink after the night shift workers go home. They will all leave work after about 20 minutes.”

“And then you will be left here alone?”

“Yes. I work by myself after that hour.”

“Aren’t you scared of being alone out here?”

“Nah. I have all sorts of things I can use to protect myself. I have a flashlight, a stick, and a whistle. I have an emergency phone number to police as well.”

“You haven’t done this kind of work before, right? It must be hard for you.”

“It’s fine. I don’t do much here. I just sit here most of the time and make patrols sometimes. That is good exercise.”

While they were talking to each other, the light of the factory started being turned off.

“I guess the night shift workers are going home.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

The night shift workers were passing the gate to go home, and they were surprised when they saw Gun-Ho in the security office.

“Sir?”

“I appreciate you all for your hard work.”

They all gave a bow to Gun-Ho before heading to the parking lot.

“Okay, let’s have a drink.”

“I shouldn’t drink while on duty…”

“It’s okay. I just brought two cans of beer. One can of beer won’t make you drunk. You should be fine.”

“But still…”

“A long time ago, there was a meeting called ‘Can Meeting’ at the SK Group.”

“What is it?”

“It was a meeting with colleagues. They sometimes got together with a can of beer and had a talk. With some alcohol, they tend to feel comfortable to talk about anything. The meeting started in order to have better communication, so they could get along better.”

“Hmm.”

“We don’t have any problems between you and me. I just wanted to talk to you. So I brought some beer.”

Jae-Sik felt emotional about Gun-Ho’s care and thoughtfulness. Gun-Ho was driven and had good judgment, but he also tended to make other people feel comfortable.

“You must be very busy running this big company. You don’t have to care about a security guard like me.”

“That’s not true. Being a president or a security guard is just a job title and the work you do.”

Gun-Ho opened his beer can; it was foaming over with a sound.

“Let’s drink.”

Jae-Sik looked at Gun-Ho’s face while drinking his beer.

“I feel like it is so mysterious that… how you could make that much money in a short period of time and acquire a company this big, and also purchase several OneRoomTels in Seoul.”

“I was just lucky.”

“Even I factor in the luck, I still don’t understand. You are just incredible.”