Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho went to his office in Gangnam, Seoul—GH Development. The lights in the office next door were on. It seemed that the workers of the design company came to the office.

Gun-Ho entered the design company next door with Ji-Young. Three people who were sitting on a chair stood up when they saw Gun-Ho coming into the office. Ji-Young indicated the woman who seemed to be the oldest among three people.

“This is the team leader of the design team.”

“I am Gun-Ho Goo.”

“I am Min-Sook Oh. I’ve heard a lot about you, sir.”

Min-Sook seemed to be a shy person.

“Who was the president of this company?”

“Our company is not a registered company. The manager who quit the job registered the business as a sole proprietorship. And we just worked together with her.”

“What was the nature of the business?”

“We design for books mostly. We also do design work for various things such as business cards, pamphlets, banners, signs, and etc.”

“All three of you work at the design team?”

“No, the lady over there, she handled administration work.”

A lady who was wearing glasses nodded her head at Gun-Ho.

“How much was the security deposit for this office-tel?”

“The security deposit was 20 million won with a monthly rent of 1.6 million won. We are three months behind our rent. We were 7 when we started this business and we all contributed to the security deposit, and when the manager quit the job, she took her portion from it.”

“So, the business is now registered with your name, Ms. Min-Sook Oh?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I will buy this business, and I will open a publishing company here. Why don’t you all join the new publishing company?”

“A publishing company? We would love to work for you, sir.”

“Ms. Ji-Young Jeong, can you ask Manager Kang to come to this office?”

Manager Kang came to the office from next door.

“Manager Kang, I am planning to establish a publishing company. How much do we have in our GH Development bank account?”

“We currently have 340 million won.”

“Manager Kang, please prepare all the paperwork to form a publishing company. Its capital will be 300 million won. The company directors will be Gun-Ho Goo, myself and another person whose name is Jeong-Sook Shin. The sole shareholder who owns 100% of the company is Gun-Ho Goo, and the president will be Jeong-Sook Shin.”

Everyone in the office was wondering who Jeong-Sook Shin was.

“Jeong-Sook Shin? Who is Jeong-Sook Shin?”

“She is known to have the hand of Midas in the publishing industry. She is the former president of KimBooks.”

“Ohhh, I know of her!”

The three ladies of the design company were astonished all at once.

“So once you open a publishing company at this office-tel, Jeong-Sook Shin will join you as the president?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Wow.”

The three ladies clapped together.

The design team leader— Min-Sook Oh suddenly looked worried.

“There are tons of highly competent designers in the publishing field. Will Ms. Jeong-Sook Shin be willing to work with us?”

“It was one of my conditions required when I negotiate with Ms. Jeong-Sook Shin in forming a publishing company. I asked her to hire all of you. She will still talk to every one of you as an interview; however, she will most likely hire all of you unless something unexpected happens.”

“Thank you.”

“Was that desk over there used by the manager who left the company?”

“Yes.”

“Once Jeong-Sook Shin arrived, let her use that desk then. Also, a chief editor will join you ask well.”

“A chief editor?”

“Yes. He is the award-winning author of a full-length novel. He will join us in our publishing company. Oh, you know what? Let the chief editor use that desk; his name is Jae-Sik Moon by the way. We will buy a new desk for Ms. Jeong-Sook Shin. Manager Kang, please get her the most luxurious wood desk.”

“Yes, sir.”

Manager Kang answered while writing down one more item to be added to his to-do list.”

Gun-Ho asked the design team leader— Min-Sook Oh.

“Will the office have enough space to work even with an additional desk?”

“It should be okay. There used to be seven people working here altogether.”

Gun-Ho took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Manager Kang.

“This is the phone number of Ms. Jeong-Sook Shin who will join us as the president of the publishing company. You can contact her on this number for the company registration and other necessary paperwork.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And once the publishing company is established, pay the security deposit and the outstanding balance for rent. You can hand over the company bank account and all the receipts for the expenses you would spend until then for that company to Ms. Jeong-Sook Shin.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The people here might not be familiar with starting and running a registered company. You can help them if they have any questions or concerns.”

“Haha. Don’t worry about it, sir.”

Manager Kang said while slipping the piece of paper with Ms. Jeong-Sook Shin’s phone number into his pocket.

The three workers of the design company had been sort of saved by Gun-Ho; they almost lost their jobs because of their company’s financial situation. In addition, they would have their funds back, which they had contributed to pay for the security deposit of their office. The most surprising thing was that they would be working with the legendary figure in the publishing industry— Jeong-Sook Shin.

Gun-Ho received a call from Min-Hyeok in China.

“The people from Moore Investment arrived here. They are having a tour of the factory right now.

“Really? Please take good care of them.”

“They are more thorough than I expected, and they asked a lot of questions. Especially, they seemed to be very interested in our customers.”

“It seems they know what they are doing.”

“Oh, I talked with the president of the window manufacturing company yesterday. He said that Deputy Mayor Seukang Li has been assigned to Shanghai.”

“Really? Did he tell you what position he is taking?”

“He will be working as a director of the bureau in cultural affairs.”

“Oh, I see. It seems you now don’t have any language problem talking with Chinese people.”

“I can’t compete with you, Gun-Ho who went to college in China.”

Gun-Ho slightly smiled when he learned that Seukang Li had been promoted and assigned to Shanghai.

“Jien Wang was right about it.”

When Gun-Ho came back to Asan City, he called for Jae-Sik.

“Pack your stuff.”

“I do like here…”

“People are supposed to work in a position that they can utilize their talent the most. You don’t belong to the security guard position. You can do way better than that.”

“I don’t have any place to stay in Seoul.”

“I will get you a OneRoomTel there. The office you will work at is located in Gangnam. It’s a convenient location, close to the Gangnam station. Once you get there, you will work with three design workers. Ms. Jeong-Sook Shin will soon join you as the president, once the company formation process is completed.”

“Thank you for getting me a place to stay in Seoul.”

“So, you will be working with four ladies; you will be the only male worker there. I am envious of you.”