Gun-Ho arrived at the express bus terminal in Sinbu Town, Cheonan City.
There were so many people around the bus terminal, and it took some time to find an available parking spot, so Gun-Ho came a bit late.
When Gun-Ho went to the waiting area in the basement of the bus terminal building, Jong-Suk was already there standing beside the sitting area. An old couple was sitting on the chairs next to Jong-Suk. Gun-Ho went there and greeted them.
“Hi. How are you?”
It seemed that Jong-Suk didn’t tell his parents that Gun-Ho would be here. Jong-Suk’s mother looked surprised and looked at Jong-Suk.
“Who is this young man?”
“He is the president of the company I am working for. He is Gun-Ho bro.”
“Gun-Ho? That Gun-Ho Goo?”
“Yes, ma’am. I am Gun-Ho.”
“Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe it.”
Jong-Suk’s mother stood up and grabbed Gun-Ho’s hand in delight.
“You grew up very well, son. You look like a gentleman. I can’t believe you are Gun-Ho. You look very different from when you were little. Well, you still have the same eyes and nose. Oh, my gosh.”
Jong-Suk’s mother was a tough woman; well, at least that was how Gun-Ho remembered her. Her nickname between the kids in the town was the tiger lady. But she didn’t look so tough anymore. She looked shorter than before, and she had a lot of wrinkles on her face.
“Aren’t you having a hard time because of Jong-Suk?”
“No, no. He is actually helping me a lot at work.”
“Are your parents still in Incheon City?”
“Yes, ma’am. My parents are in Guweol Town.”
“Are they in good health?”
“Yes, they are. I heard you are meeting Jong-Suk’s girlfriend’s parents today. Are you excited?”
“Well, I do like her except that she is wearing glasses.”
“Here we go again. Stop it, mom!”
It seemed that Jong-Suk heard the same complaints over and over from his mother so far.
“I actually saw her in person. She looked very pretty and very smart. She also seemed to have a very good temper.”
“How many kids do you have, Gun-Ho?”
“I am still single, but I have someone I am seeing right now.”
Gun-Ho just said that so Jong-Suk’s parents didn’t think he was available. Otherwise, they would try to introduce someone to him. That was how old people were.
“Your parents must be worried about you. If you have someone, you’d better marry her as soon as possible. You will regret it if you get married late.”
“Haha. I will keep that in mind. I guess you will have to leave for the appointment now, so you wouldn’t be late. I will leave for my workplace too.”
Gun-Ho then took an envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket and quickly slipped it in Jong-Suk’s mother’s outwear pocket.
“Huh? What is this? No, I can’t take this.”
“Well, I hope you stay very healthy!”
Gun-Ho quickly walked toward the parking lot after waving his hand to them.
Gun-Ho had his lunch before going back to the office. After lunch, he took a walk around Cheonho Lake nearby Dankook University for a while. When he arrived at his office in Jiksan Town, it was 2 pm. When Gun-Ho’s car arrived at the factory gate, the security officer opened the gate and gave a bow to Gun-Ho.
As soon as Gun-Ho entered his office, Secretary Hee-Jeong Park brought a cup of coffee.
“Any call for me during my absence?”
“The manager of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry called and also the president of the Business Promotion Committee in Chungnam Province called too.”
“Hmm. I see.”
A while later, the research center’s chief officer entered Gun-Ho’s office. He usually didn’t come to the president’s office very often.
“Sir, we have completed the hiring process, and we will have an orientation for the new employees today. I’d like to introduce them to you first.”
“How many did you select?”
“Seven workers, sir. You told me to hire two more workers than we originally planned, so we hired seven.”
“After the building dedication ceremony of the factory in Asan City, we will send those two researchers who had training in the U.S., to Dyeon Korea, okay?”
“Okay, sir. We have enough workers at the research center now.”
“Are those seven workers here already?”
“Yes, they are waiting outside the door.”
“Oh, really? Let them in then.”
The seven new employees gave a 90-degree bow to Gun-Ho as they walked into Gun-Ho’s office. They all had a nametag on their chests, and they all looked nervous.
“Let’s have a seat at the table over there.”
The new workers carefully sat at the table.
“I welcome you all on board. According to the chief officer, he initially planned to hire five people, but there were so many competent and smart applicants, so he ended up hiring two more. Now I see you all in person, and I totally understand how the chief officer felt. You all look smart and hard workers.”
Secretary Hee-Jeong Park brought green tea in a paper cup and distributed it to each new employee.
“Our company was previously known as Mulpasaneop. As I joined this company, I changed the name to GH Mobile. So, you are officially the first new employees who GH Mobile hired.”
While talking, Gun-Ho looked at the new employees. They all looked like in their 30s, mostly. There were about two people who looked older than Gun-Ho, but the others were younger than him.
“Our chief officer of the research center here studied at a school that’s famous worldwide—the Technical University of Munich in Germany. He received his Ph.D. from there and worked at the research center of BMW for a long time. You are the people who will take charge of our research center with our chief officer here for the future of our company. I hope you stay with GH Mobile for a long time.”
Gun-Ho then stood up from his seat and made a tour around the new workers and had a handshake with each of them. The workers looked like they were feeling grateful by having a handshake with the president of the company that they would be working for.
“Thank you.”
The new workers were about the same age as Gun-Ho. They graduated from top universities, but there was a gap in the social status already between Gun-Ho and them.
Gun-Ho looked at the chief officer of the research center and said,
“We now have a full house at the research center. Why don’t you throw a welcoming party to them?”
“Yes, sir.”
Once the new workers left the office, Secretary Hee-Jeong Park came in to clean the table.
“Ms. Hee-Jeong Park!”
“Yes, sir?”
As Gun-Ho called her name, Ms. Hee-Jeong Park, who was picking up the empty paper cups, lifted her head and looked at Gun-Ho.
“It seems that we hired good workers for the research center.”
“I agree with you, sir.”
“Why don’t you pick one from them or someone within the company? You don’t have to look for your husband somewhere far.”
“You are embarrassing me, sir.”
Secretary Hee-Jeong Park blushed and left the office.
