When Gun-Ho was reviewing the chart in his office at Dyeon Korea, he received a call from A Group’s A Electronics’ CEO
“This is A Electronics’ CEO Park.”
“Oh, hi. How have you been?”
“Are you in Seoul right now? Or Are you in Cheonan City?”
“I’m actually in Asan City.”
“Oh, that’s right. You have another company in Asan City. Do you have any plan to come to Seoul City anytime soon?”
“I only stay here on Mondays and Thursdays.”
“Oh, then, can I assume that you will be in Seoul City tomorrow?”
“Yes, I will be there.”
“Then, let’s have lunch together tomorrow.”
“Sure, but can I ask you what’s the occasion?”
“I just want to ask you something while having lunch with you.”
Gun-Ho couldn’t turn down his proposal to have lunch together since he had bought him lunch the other day after playing golf together, in the restaurant— Seungjiwon.
“Where do we want to meet?”
“Hmm, my office building of A Electronics is in Euljiro… What about we meet at the Chinese restaurant called Dongboseong in Namsan Town? It shouldn’t be far from your office in Sinsa Town.”
“Sounds good. I will be there.”
“Okay, then I will see you at Dongboseong by noon tomorrow. And, please make sure that no one knows about our lunch meeting tomorrow.”
“Okay, I will make sure of it.”
Gun-Ho thought that A Electronics’ CEO was a weirdo.
‘What’s wrong with meeting me publicly? Why does he have to meet me in secret all the time? When he visited me at GH Mobile in Jiksan Town last time, he made sure that I didn’t tell anyone about his visit. And, now he wants to have lunch with me and told me that I shouldn’t say anything about it to anybody. It’s just a da*n lunch. What is so secret about having lunch with me? He must be hiding something.’
Gun-Ho googled the Chinese restaurant— Dongboseong— on the internet.
“Yeah, it’s a Chinese restaurant. It’s not far from here at all. I need to cross the Han River and head to the Namsan Public Library.”
Gun-Ho searched A Electronics’ office building on the internet as well. It was a high tech smart building. He recognized the building since he once passed by it when he was working in a factory. He was heading to the city hall to visit an event that day. One of his colleagues told him, “Wow, this is the A Electronics’ building.”
Gun-Ho could see their office workers coming in and out of the building. They were wearing white shirts and wearing an ID around their necks. Another colleague commented, “Wow, the female workers there are all pretty.”
“They are way out of your league, dude. You wouldn’t even be able to talk to anyone of those in your life!”
A Electronics was one of the most favorable companies that any young people, who were preparing to get a job, would want to work for. But it was obviously hard to get in. A Electronics required the job applicants to pass their exam which tested various things including cognitive competency, implementation capacity, and personality test. The exam itself was very difficult to pass, and it was known as a “bar exam for your personality/aptitude test” among the job seekers. People who graduated from a low-ranking college like Gun-Ho wouldn’t even try to apply for a position with A Electronics because they knew that their applications would be denied right away during the paper-based review.
If Gun-Ho graduated from top universities, a.k.a. SKY and worked for this company, his position by now would be an assistant manager. However, Gun-Ho was doing much better. The current Gun-Ho was in a position to play golf with that company’s CEO and to have lunch together.
The next day, Gun-Ho left his office in Sinsa Town around 11 am and headed to Dongboseong in Namsan Town.
“It is indeed a nice Chinese restaurant.”
Dongboseong provided private rooms to eat in for their customers as well. When Gun-Ho looked around to see if CEO Park had arrived already, he saw a man in the corner waving his hand at Gun-Ho. It was A Electronics’ CEO Park.
“You came early.”
“I just arrived. Please have a seat. The traffic is light at this hour, right?”
“Yes, but it got heavy when I was almost here.”
A waiter came to take an order.
“Would you like to place an order, sir?”
CEO Park asked Gun-Ho, “What do you like?”
“I can eat anything.”
“Well, I will have a bowl of Jajangmyeon*.”
“I will have the same, please.”
Gun-Ho felt a bit embarrassed to order only two bowls of Jajangmyeon at this luxurious Chinese restaurant, but since CEO Park was the one who would pay for the lunch, he couldn’t order more.
‘Hmm. Did I come all the way here to have a bowl of Jajangmyeon?’
CEO Park seemed to really like Jajangmyeon. It was not bad actually. Gun-Ho enjoyed it as well. Chan-Ho Eum was sitting on the other side of the restaurant hall and had his own Jajangmyeon.
“This is good.”
“Do you often come to this restaurant, sir?”
“Sometimes.”
They ate their Jajangmyeon without further conversation. The waiter came back to Gun-Ho’s table and asked, “Will it be okay for me to clean the table, Mr. CEO Park?”
“Yes, please.”
Gun-Ho noticed that the water called CEO Park as Mr. CEO Park. He was probably a regular to the restaurant after all as he said so.
CEO Park said while wiping his mouth with a paper napkin, “Well, since we are done with our lunch, I guess it’s time for us to enjoy our afternoon coffee.”
“Sounds great. Would you like to have the coffee here or somewhere else?”
“Let’s move to another place. We are right under the Namsan Mountain. If we go up a little bit from here, there is a nice wooded area. Let’s have our coffee there. Why don’t you leave your car in the Namsan Public Library’s parking lot while we have our coffee? I came alone without my secretary or chauffeur today, so I could have a talk with you in private, President Goo. Would you mind if I ride with you in your car to the Namsan Public Library’s parking lot?”
“Not at all. Please get in the car with me.”
Gun-Ho and CEO Park headed to the Namsan Public Library’s parking lot.
Chan-Ho Eum asked, “Can I just park the car here?”
“Yes, we will have a cup of coffee around here.”
“Umm, sir, I don’t see any place selling coffee around here.”
CEO Park said, “There is a small store in front of the bus station over there. They are selling canned coffees.”
Gun-Ho said to Chan-Ho, “Chan-Ho, can you go to the store over there and buy three cans of coffee?”
“Yes, sir.”
When Chan-Ho came back with three cans of coffee in his hand, CEO Park said while indicating the upper area, “There is Ahn Jung Geun Memorial Hall over there. There is a bench as well. It’s a cool area with a nice breeze. Let’s go there and have our coffee.”
Gun-Ho and CEO Park walked towards the memorial hall while carrying a can of coffee.
“This is a nice wooded area. You can even hear birds singing. I come here often after my lunch and take a brief walk before going back to work. How do you like this place? Isn’t it nice? It’s giving a serene feeling.”
Gun-Ho was thinking at that moment, ‘A serene feeling my as*! My physical energy is already depleted while walking up all the way here. I only had a bowl of Jajangmyeon* for lunch!’
However, Gun-Ho couldn’t show how he was really feeling inside. He smiled broadly and said, “Yes, it’s very nice. I can even feel a fresh breeze on my cheek.”
Note*
Jajangmyeon – Korean style Chinese noodle in black bean sauce.
