Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Another group of people came into the Shade House where Gun-Ho’s party was taking a break in. The other team was making so much noise by talking loudly that Gun-Ho felt like the shade house was about to collapse.

“Hahaha. President Kim, I guess you have to buy us a drink today since you made a bogey.”

“I haven’t been myself today. I am so tired because of that b*tch I met yesterday. It was all her fault.”

“Hahaha.”

Those people were ill-mannered and totally ignored the fact that they were not alone in the Shade House. Jien Wang and Young-Jin Kim seemed to feel very uncomfortable by those people’s presence. One man from that group was talking on the phone and he was extremely loud.

“Hey, Byeong-Tae died today. Are you asking me who Byeong-Tae is? You know that one who graduated from Seoul National University majoring in Economics. Yeah, that’s right. That’s him.”

Gun-Ho couldn’t know who Byeong-Tae was, of course, but he could see that which college a person graduate from was following that person until the day he died.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Gun-Ho, Jien, and Young-Jin walked out of the Shade House. They just couldn’t stand the other party.

Jien Wang asked,

“What was that guy talking about on the phone? He was very loud.”

“Well, he said someone who studied Economics at Seoul National University passed away.”

“What does his college have to do with his death?”

“I am wondering about it too.”

“Well, it is called the resemblance theory.”

“Resemblance theory?”

“People are trying to find the same quality as them on things or on other people. They then evaluate the other person or the thing, and they ultimately want to feel that they are better than others or his thing is better than the other thing.”

“Jien, you are very knowledgeable. You are indeed a professor.”

“That is usually caused by a person’s unstable and insecure mind. You will see. As long as people have that sort of mentality, we won’t be able to be free from overvaluing the importance of graduating from a top university, whether it is in Korea or China.”

“Hmm…”

Gun-Ho thought he could understand about half of what Jien Wang just said.

“People talk about someone who graduated from Seoul National University like he is very close to that person, even though that is not true. It could be found in a political campaign as well. Since Korea is a democratic country with numerous elections per year, you probably want to observe it with this theory in mind.”

“Like what? Give me some examples.”

“If a very good-looking man runs as a congressional candidate, the people who value the appearance greatly with a shallow mind and knowledge will vote for that man. It’s the resemblance theory.”

“Da*n it, an ugly person can’t even run for an election, according to what you just said.”

The three men continued to talk as they walked on the golf course.

“You already experienced some benefits from the resemblance theory.”

“Me? What benefits?”

“You made a lot of money by purchasing a condo around West Lake in Hangzhou City, where only rich people live in.”

Attorney Young-Jin Kim who was listening to the conversation seemed to be surprised.

“Gun-Ho Goo, did you invest in the real estate in China?”

Professor Jien Wang and Gun-Ho Goo continued to talk without responding to Attorney Kim’s question.

“I heard the price of the real properties in Gangnam District, Seoul City kept going higher and higher these days. The same theory applies there too. The citizens in Hangzhou City want to live in a wealthy area around West Lake, as the citizens in Seoul want to live in Gangnam. Once they live in the area, they start showing off. They show off that they live in the same area as other wealthy people, implying that they are part of it.”

“Wow. I’m just so impressed by your vast knowledge.”

“Well, many rich people who accumulated their wealth at an early age know this already. I learned it from reading books. The rich people know this like an instinct and they apply it to their life.”

What Jien Wang just said reminded Gun-Ho of Chairman Lee from Cheongdam Town. Chairman Lee accumulated his wealth at an early age by multiple transactions of the condos in Gangnam District, Seoul City, specifically Apgujeong Town.

Professor Jien Wang turned his head to look at Gun-Ho, and said,

“Do you know what we call these wealthy people? We call them a sage. A professor at Seoul National University is not a sage. They are just scholars with high pride. A sage is a different kind.”

Gun-Ho definitely thought that Chairman Lee was a sage. Gun-Ho nodded his head.

After playing golf, Gun-Ho took Jien Wang and Young-Jin Kim to a restaurant that specialized in Galbi (Korean grilled beef ribs). Gun-Ho selected this restaurant because he knew that Chinese people were usually meat lovers. The three men had Galbi with beer, and then they enjoyed the hot spring bath afterward.

“Thank you, Gun-Ho. Because of a good friend like you, I had a wonderful day; I played golf with my dear friends, had Galbi, and took a hot spring bath. This will be one of the memorable days for me.”

Jien Wang grabbed Gun-Ho’s hand and shook it vigorously.

“Don’t mention it, friend. I always find something I can learn whenever I meet you, Jien Wang. What you tell me helps me a lot with my business. We say that people self-develop within a group of other people. Now I see the meaning of it. I do appreciate it.”

Gun-Ho grabbed Jien Wang’s hand and shook it too.

Attorney Young-Jin Kim chipped in. He extended his hand to Gun-Ho.

“I thank you too, Gun-Ho. I had a marvelous day because of you.”

Attorney Young-Jin Kim grabbed Gun-Ho’s hand and shook it hard.

After seeing off Jien Wang and Attorney Young-Jin Kim, Gun-Ho came to his condo in Buldang Town. After taking a shower, Gun-Ho opened his refrigerator. There was dried food and beer. Gun-Ho usually dined out and he didn’t really store food in his refrigerator; however, he always had a beer and dried food in it.

A sip of beer after shower tasted great. While having a bottle of beer, Gun-Ho thought of Jong-Suk Park.

“I am wondering if the meeting between his parents and his girlfriend’s parents went well.”

Gun-Ho made a phone call to Jong-Suk Park.

“Jong-Suk? Are you home already?”

“Yeah. I’m home.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m reading a book.”

“A book? What’s wrong with you? I’ve never seen you reading a book before.”

“I gotta graduate Polytechnics College, don’t I?”

“Ha, I guess you are finally growing up since you have a girlfriend. Did your parents go back to their home already?”

“Yes. By the way, bro, why did you put that much money in the envelope for my parents?”

“Don’t say that. Your mom is my mom. Moreover, the Seolleongtang (an ox bone soup) your mom gave to me when I was little is priceless.”

“Well, still it’s too much.”

“How was the meeting? I wanted to ask you when I saw you this morning, but I couldn’t because I was so preoccupied with the visit of Professor Jien Wang and stuff.”

“It went well.”

“What did they say?”

“You know what? It turned out that my father and Eun-Sook’s father grew up in the same town.”

“Eun-Sook? That’s your girlfriend’s name?”

“Yeah, she is Eun-Sook Bang.”

“It’s a pretty name. So her parents are from Incheon too, huh?”

“No no. My father is originally from Dangjin City in Chungcheong Province and so is my mom. They are not from Incheon City.”

“Oh, I see. So they just settled in Incheon City after they moved from Dangjin City.”

“Since they grew up in the same town, they seemed to enjoy talking with each other, especially by talking about the old days in that town. So, it was good.”

“Really? Congratulations man. I guess you will marry soon.”

“Eun-Sook’s father suggested my parents to move to Cheonan City once we marry.”

“Really? Why so?”

“Eun-Sook is the only child and I am the only child in the family, so once we marry, both parents will feel lonely without a child in their home.”

“Really? What did your parents say?”

“They were just smiling without saying a word about it, but it seems they are considering it.”

“I think it’s a good idea. Since your parents’ hometown is Dangjin City, it is closer to Cheonan than Incheon. Your parents no longer run a restaurant anyway. They don’t have to stay in Incheon, I guess.”

“Oh, bro. I bought a condo.”

“Really? Which one?”

“It’s Purgio Condo next to Dujeong Station.”

“Really? How much did you pay?”

“It’s 32 pyung large. I paid 230 million won.”

“Did you buy it with a mortgage?”

“No. I didn’t have to. I saved up some money for my entire 7 years of career at a factory. That was about 80 million won. And my parents helped me with 150 million won.”

“Really?”

“My parents actually had saved some money for me for all these years, so they wanted to spend it when I get married. So I bought the condo without any debt.”

Jong-Suk’s parents were not rich but they had run a restaurant for a long time; it seemed they saved up good money for Jong-Suk. Jong-Suk was their only child after all. Because Jong-Suk had no siblings, he considered Gun-Ho like his real brother.