“What is it?”
“Jae-Sik bro!”
“What about him? Close the door first before you continue to talk. Everyone will be able to hear you otherwise.”
“Jae-Sik bro won a prize with his novel.”
“Really? Haha. He did a very good job there. I knew he is good at writing!”
“The award is 50 million won.”
“50 million won? Haha. That’s a lot. Did he come to work already?”
“No, not yet. He just called me.”
“When is he off?”
“He is off on Sundays.”
“You are not planning to go to Incheon City to see your parents this Sunday, right?”
“No, I am not. I have to assist that Japanese engineer— Mr. Sakata Ikuzo here. I can’t go.”
“Then, call Jae-Sik and tell him that I will throw a pork belly party for him this Sunday.”
“Wow. I’ve never expected to hear it from you, bro. I didn’t know you can throw a party for someone.”
“Did I hurt your feelings?”
“I just felt distant from you since you became the president of a company.”
“Stupid! I have never tried to put a distance with you. I have been just too busy.”
“Anyway, so you want to buy him pork belly, huh? But usually, the novel prize winner buys his friends pork belly, no?”
“I will buy it. I am the president; I am supposed to buy you guys a good dinner.”
Gun-Ho, Jae-Sik, and Jong-Suk met at a pork belly restaurant downtown in Asan City.
“Oh, wow. This restaurant used to be an old house for someone. It looks great and cozy as a restaurant.”
“That’s right. I do like a restaurant with this kind of vibe.”
“Jong-Suk, you didn’t bring your car, did you?”
“I intentionally didn’t bring my car today, so I can drink as much as I want to without worrying about driving.”
“Good.”
“It has been a while. When was the last time I had pork belly?”
They poured soju in each other’s glass.
“Congratulations, Jae-Sik.”
Three men clinked their glasses of soju to each other’s and started drinking.
“Since you won the prize for your novel, you proved yourself as an author. So what are you going to do now? Are you moving back to Seoul?”
“What are you talking about? I am not going anywhere. I am staying here and work the same job at your company.”
Jong-Suk said while pouring soju in Jae-Sik’s glass.
“Bro, with your novel prize-winning, are you getting lots of requests to write something?”
“Not necessarily. I won the prize, but after the tax, it’s not enough to live in Seoul.”
“That’s true. Even the rent for a OneRoom is really expensive in Seoul.”
“Yeah. I have a rent-free room here, and I can have my meals at the company. My monthly salary is coming into my bank account on time every month. This is so great. Think of moving back to Seoul for a moment. You have to pay at least 100,000 won per month for rent. With the editing work, I can’t make much, and it’s not even coming in regularly. I can’t have a better life there at all.”
“That’s right, Jae-Sik Bro. If you move back to Seoul, your cute bro—Jong-Suk is not there. Gun-Ho bro is not there either. You will feel really lonely.”
“Yeah, I like here and I feel grateful to both of you, Gun-Ho and Jong-Suk for helping me when I need it the most.”
“I didn’t really do anything for you. You don’t have to feel that way.”
“I am even grateful for your presence standing next to me, Jong-Suk. If I get into a fight, you will stand on my side at least, right?”
“Nah. I will pretend that I’ve never seen you in my life.”
“You, fu*ker!”
The three men were drinking, talking and laughing together until late night that day. They drank until they all became drunk.
“Bro, the yard with this big tree looks really nice, right? The tree adds a special vibe to the restaurant.”
“That’s true. What kind of tree is this?”
“We are like those people in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, having a drink in a place where there is a yard with a big tree. It’s like we are doing that Oath of the Peach Garden thing.”
“If so, you must be Zhang Fei since you are the youngest among us. You actually do act like Zhang Fei in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”
The three men laughed altogether.
“Okay. If I am Zhang Fei, then Gun-Ho bro is Liu Bei, and Jae-Sik bro is Guan Yu without a beard.”
“Then, which role should we give to Min-Hyeok in China?”
“Maybe Zhuge Liang? Or Zhao Yun?”
“Hmm. I don’t know…”
“Well, it is hard to place people in the right position. Now I understand why Gun-Ho bro always thinks hard to find the right position for workers.”
Those three men walked out of the restaurant while putting arms around each other’s shoulders, and they were singing together. They walked around the entire Onyang Town in Asan City.
The second factory where the research center was located was sold for 4 billion won.
Gun-Ho used the sales proceeds to pay for the loan to Korea Credit Guarantee Fund in order to lower the debt ratio of the company. The loan from Korea Credit Guarantee Fund had kept bothering him for quite a while because there was a joint surety involved. Gun-Ho now felt like the debt ratio of GH Mobile decreased substantially.
Gun-Ho asked for the accounting manager.
“When do we expect to have the semi-annual financial statements report?”
“We will have it ready by next week. Since it’s a semi-annual report, it will be just several pages of papers, not a booklet.”
“You will have to bring several copies of it. I will have to send it to our major bank and to Financial Supervisory Service as well. I think our major customers will ask for it too.”
“We usually get 20 of them. If we need more, we can always make copies of it.”
“Can you ask the accountant office to make one in English?”
“In English?”
“Yes. I will have to send it to Dyeon Japan as well, and it has to be written in English.”
“Did you say Dyeon Japan?”
“Yes. Just ask them to make one in English.”
“Yes, sir.”
“One more thing. You have the phone number to GH Parts Company in China, right?”
“Yes, I have their number.”
“Make a call to them and ask President Min-Hyeok Kim to make their semi-annual financial statements report in English as well. Hmm, never mind. I will call him myself.”
Gun-Ho made a phone call to Min-Hyeok right away.
“How are you?”
“Good. It’s going well so far.”
“You are expecting to receive GH Parts Company’s semi-annual financial statements report soon, right?”
“Yeah. I actually asked the accountant here to make more copies so I can send it to you.”
“When the report is ready, ask the accountant to make another one in English.”
“Okay, I will ask him. Why do we need an English version of the financial report? Do we have good news?”
“Well, it’s too early to tell. I will let you know once I know for sure.”
Once the second factory where the research center was located was sold, the workers started worrying about their current job security.
The chief officer of the research center came to the president’s office to see Gun-Ho.
“The workers in the research center heard that the factory was sold, and they lost their motivation to work.”
“How many workers are there in the research center?”
“We have 30 workers.”
“Why don’t you bring them all to the meeting room? I will talk to them.”
“Yes, sir.”
The workers from the research center started coming into the meeting room. They seemed to be all nervous when they heard the president wanted to talk to them.
