Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

“The vice president who Dyeon is sending to us is Mr. Adam Castler. He is in his late 30s, and he is single. He is in a one-step higher position than you, Director Yoon. I hope you could get along with him well.”

“Don’t worry about it, sir. I will get along with him. I guess maybe it’s a good opportunity for me to practice my English.”

“I know you will do fine with him since you know well how to attract people in sales. But since he is younger than you, I was concerned. Your president is younger than you, and the new vice president is younger than you. It might be an uncomfortable situation for you.”

“Oh, no, not necessarily, sir. I actually prefer to have a young person as my boss. Many old people don’t respect the workers who have a lower-ranked position than him, and they tend to talk bad about the person behind his back. I definitely like a young person better for my boss.”

“Haha. That’s good to know.”

“So you have nothing to worry about, sir.”

“Can you find a house where the new vice president—Mr. Adam Castler—could stay in? I am thinking of providing him a rental condo in Asan City with a monthly payment. He is coming from the U.S., and I don’t want to ask him to stay in a OneRoomTel.”

“How large are you thinking?”

“Hmm… Maybe 18 pyung or 25 pyung large. That should be enough since he will be staying by himself.”

“Yes, sir. I will find one for him.”

“Please find one that was built within ten years and redo the wallpaper.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We will have to provide him a vehicle as well. I am not sure if he will need a chauffeur.”

“If we provide him a chauffeur, we will have to hire an additional worker, and that will cost us. For now, I can share my car with him, and then if he can drive, maybe we can rent a car for him.”

“Hmm… Let’s talk about it again once he arrives here.”

“Yes, sir. I will look for a rental condo for him for now.”

Gun-Ho received a call from Jae-Sik Moon from GH Media.

“President Goo, are you busy? Can we talk?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I was informed that we will have a high school reunion.”

“Why didn’t they call me directly?”

“According to Suk-Ho Lee from Gyeongridan Street, he tried to reach you by calling your office number, but your secretary’s office refused to transfer his call to you.”

“We don’t have a secretary’s office here.”

“It seems that our friends find it difficult to give you a call. I was actually hesitant too before I make a call to you today. I didn’t want to disrupt your work since I know you are a busy man.”

“You don’t have to worry about it.”

“So we are getting together this Saturday at Gangnam Station. They all said they want to see you at our meeting.”

“Well, you can have fun without me; it’s not like I have some special skills to amuse you, guys. Well, I will make time for Saturday.”

“Thank you.”

“How’s the publishing company going?”

“Since President Shin made the contract for the cartoon series, we have been really busy. Since it is a cartoon, we need to be thorough in our editing work after they are fully translated into Korean.”

“That’s good, right? Being busy at work is good.”

“The first two books will soon be printed. Once they come out, I believe President Shin will send them to you.”

“Well, since it is a cartoon, I will read them. I’m not sure if that cartoon bookstore is still there in Juan Town, Incheon City. I used to rent lots of Japanese cartoon books before.”

“I am still renting those cartoons and reading them.”

“Haha, really? Well, keep up the good work. I gotta go now. Someone is asking for my presence.”

“Okay. I will tell our high school friends that you will join us this Saturday.”

While Gun-Ho was talking with Jae-Sik Moon on the phone, the general affairs director entered the office with the payroll documents to be signed.

Gun-Ho signed it with pleasure.

Gun-Ho received a call from the former vice president of S Group.

“Can we meet today? I think I want to get some fresh air and go to Jiksan Town.”

“Today? Sure. I will be waiting for you here.”

“Do you want me to come to your factory?”

“Sure. Come by 11:40 am. The workers will take lunch at noon, so if you want to see the production line working, you have to come before noon.”

“Okay. I will see you then.”

S Group was a part of the H Group, which was one of the largest companies in Korea like Samsung. There was a rumor saying that the owner of the S Group was related to H Group’s owner. S Group had several factories worldwide including the U.S., China, India, and Europe. Egnopak was doing business with S Group and so was GH Mobile.

The former vice president of S Group, Mr. Jang-Hwan Song, graduated from Korea University majoring in Business and worked for S Group. He had worked as a branch manager within Korea and overseas as well. He had spent most of his time abroad, so he didn’t have time to build his own network in Korea, and that worked adversely in a recent job appointment within S Group. So he quit his job, and he was taking a break at home.

Mr. Jang-Hwan Song arrived at GH Mobile at 11:40 sharp.

“Oh, Mr. Vice President, it’s really good to see you again.”

The former vice president extended his hand to Gun-Ho for a handshake while smiling.

“I do like your building.”

“It’s soon lunchtime. Let’s have a tour at the production site first.”

“Sounds good.”

When Gun-Ho and the S Group’s former vice president entered the production site, the workers at the site seemed to work harder than usual. They tried to sit tight and work really hard. The forklift truck seemed to come and go more often than usual and made a louder noise.

“This area is for extruding, and that area is for molding. We do cutting in the building next door.”

“Hmm… the arrangement for the moving line is a bit…”

“Pardon me?”

“No, never mind. It looks awesome. I feel like I am looking at the S Group’s factory in Tianjin, China.”

“Oh, that’s right. You worked in Tianjin too, right?”

“Yes, when I was in a director position, I worked there, managing the factory.”

“Was it a joint venture?”

“No, it was an independent company. Oh, speaking of which, how is the GH Mobile’s company in China doing? I heard it is located in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province.”

“It’s barely making a living.”

“S Group has four factories in China. If you can make a contract with just one of them, that could be a lucrative business for GH Mobile.”

“Please make some connection for us.”

“Oh, haha. I no longer work for S Group. I have no such power. You will have to go and see the person in charge frequently and talk to him often.”

Gun-Ho thought it was too much for Min-Hyeok to do the sales work and develop new customers by himself.

When Gun-Ho and the former vice president of S Group were walking in the factory yard, music resounded through the yard. That meant their lunchtime started. 250 workers in uniform started pouring into the yard; they were heading out to the company restaurant.