Gun-Ho asked his brother-in-law on the phone, “Onbid?”
“You know the public auction website that is operated by Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO).”
“Oh, Onbid!”
“A real property came out on the market for a location in Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province. There is no restriction on the use of that space. It looks like the right location to store the freight trucks.”
“How large is it?”
“It’s about 1,000 pyung large. The appraisal value to rent is 6,000, but if they fail to rent it out, the price will possibly go down further.”
“Since it’s a rental space, I don’t think that we will encounter any investors to compete with.”
“Only those who are actually looking for a space to rent for themselves will try to get that real property.”
“Have you visited the property?”
“I haven’t yet. But from what I see from the photos, it looks really nice. It has direct access to a road, so there will be no problem for large trucks to go in and out of the property. We just need to add a container office there. It’s a perfect place for GH Logistics.”
“Do you think it will be competitive to get it?”
“I doubt that. Usually, a land that is the size of between 200 and 300 pyung is popular. Once a land goes beyond 1,000 pyung, it’s hard to find someone to want it.”
“They want their one-year rent upfront, don’t they?”
“That’s correct. The appraisal value is actually its one-year rental price. It’s not a security deposit.”
“I guess we will have to renew it every year. China has the same system like you have to pay the rent for the entire year’s use upfront.”
“It’s located in Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province. I think I can commute from home in Guweol Town, Incheon City.”
“Is it owned by the government?”
“I believe so.”
“Well, can you give me a call again once you visit that property?”
“Sure, I will do that.”
Thinking about Siheung Town and Incheon City brought back memories from his childhood. Gun-Ho missed Jakyak Island close to Yeonan Pier.
“I used to go to Jakyak Island with Jae-Sik Moon and Min-Hyeok Kim to collect oysters when I was in junior high school.”
Going to Jakyak Island via ship was not expensive since it was closely located from Yeonan Pier. So he often went to the island to gather oysters, carrying an empty can and a screwdriver with his friends.
“Speaking of which, maybe I want to go to a beach this Saturday with Young-Eun to see the ocean. We can have fresh sashimi there too.”
While planning to go to a beach on Saturday, he realized that he had to go to Chairman Lee’s vacation home in Pocheon City to do medical volunteer work.
“Oh, that’s right. Young-Eun said that we have to go to Chairman Lee’s vacation home in Pocheon City to conduct a stool test for the children this Saturday.”
Gun-Ho thought that people wouldn’t easily decide to do volunteer work since it required a sacrifice of a person’s part of life to a certain extent.
It was Saturday.
Gun-Ho went to the parking lot in TowerPalace to move Young-Eun’s huge bag from her vehicle to his.
“Gee, that bag is really heavy today. It was not this heavy the last time I carried it.”
Young-Eun responded, “I put a device for the test. That’s why it is heavy.”
“What about the small box over there? What is it?”
“Oh, this? It’s the cosmetic that you bought me from the duty-free shop at the airport on the way home from your trip to China; a gift from you.”
“Why do you put that in the car?”
“I want to give it to the instructor of that care facility for the disabled in Pocheon City.”
“You want to give it to the instructor?”
“She had to do extra work collecting the children’s stools, which is not a pleasant work to do. I wanted to give her a present, but I couldn’t think of anything but this cosmetic.”
“Don’t you think that she would prefer an envelope with cash in it?”
“I don’t think she would accept cash. Moreover, doesn’t it sound weird that a volunteer worker gives an envelope of cash to the full-time worker there?”
“That’s true. Well, I don’t know. I feel weird too giving the present, that I gave to you, to someone else.”
“You can buy me another one later. You go on a trip pretty often anyway. It’s a really nice thing to do, you know, giving a gift to someone who works to care for children.”
“Okay. Do so then.”
“You know what? It’s actually a present from you to that instructor since you bought it.”
“Is that how it works?”
Gun-Ho received a call from Chairman Lee in the car while heading to Pocheon City.
“President Goo, I was told that you visited my vacation home last week.”
“Yes, sir. We examined each child and gave the exam results to the instructor there.”
“Thank you so much. You’ve been of great help to the children. The instructor told me that you are coming this Saturday as well?”
“Yes, we will perform a stool test today.”
“A stool test? I thought that you would collect the stools and test them in a lab or something.”
“I was told that a stool test must be conducted within twelve hours after stools are collected. So, we are on the way to the vacation home right now with a necessary device for the test.”
“Oh, you are? I do appreciate that. I’m sorry that you had to visit there twice.”
“Please don’t say that, sir. If I have to, I can visit the vacation home ten times. I can’t forget what you have done for me.”
“Haha. What are you talking about? I haven’t done much for you. Don’t say that even as a joke. Someone, who hears what you said, might think that’s really what happened. Well, drive safely. I will talk to you later.”
Young-Eun, who was sitting next to Gun-Ho, asked, “Who is it? Is it Chairman Lee?”
“Yes, it was him.”
“Do you owe him a lot?”
“Not materially, but I’ve received tons of advice from him. He was my life mentor.”
“You said that he is a really wealthy man, right? Did he run a huge business when he was younger?”
“No. He accumulated his wealth by working as a hard money lender. He was vicious at that time.”
“Well, he certainly is not a vicious man now. It’s odd that he is running a facility for disabled children. Haha.”
“I guess that he wanted to pay back to society regretting his vicious acts done when he was younger. However, his insights towards life and the world cannot be compared with anyone’s. He is a smart and clever person. His children seem to be doing fine too. His son is running a paper production company in Ansan City.”
“You said that he owns many buildings, right?”
“He has a huge building in Cheongdam Town which is one of the most expensive areas in Korea. His care home for the disabled children in Pocheon City has produced several excellent workers for our society. One of them is a college professor at Sejong University.”
“Really?”
“It seems that he has been running that facility for a long time. I remember that he told me that the children there used to call him father, but since he got older, the children there call him grandfather now. He said that while laughing, but he looked lonely.”
“He is a respectable person. That means that he has been running that facility since he was a lot younger.”
Gun-Ho’s Land Rover arrived at the facility in Pocheon City.
The instructor didn’t seem to be happy to see them as much as the last time. It probably was not a pleasant experience for her collecting the children’s stools. She acted very formally with Gun-Ho and Young-Eun this time.
Gun-Ho followed Young-Eun inside the facility while carrying her heavy bag. They went to the recreational room and set up the test device on a table. The device looked like a microscope.
The instructor brought the box with the children’s stools in it. She was wearing a mask and rubber gloves. Gun-Ho could smell the stools. It made him feel like throwing up. He quickly grabbed his nose.
“Wear this.”
Young-Eun handed him a mask.
Once the instructor left the room, Young-Eun opened the box. She then poured the first stool on a micro slide glass.
“Can you please spread the stool on the micro slide using that wood stick? And give it to me.”
“You mean for all of the thirty stools?”
“Yeah, I need them. Don’t forget that you are here as a male nurse today.”
“Shoot. Why did I volunteer for the work again?”
Gun-Ho worked on spreading stools on a glass for a while, and he eventually screamed.
“I can’t take the smell anymore.”
“You can do it. You won’t smell it once you get used to the smell. Just hang in there.”
“What about you? Does the smell not bother you?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Young-Eun looked serious when she started conducting the test.
“What we are doing here now is very important. We are trying to get rid of the worms that are feeding on nutrients from those angelic children.”
“Okay. Do it quickly then. Is it enough stool for a test? Each stool is so small, about the size of a candy.”
“We need to detect not only the presence of worms, but we also have to check if there are any of their eggs.”
