ICTU 10

Chapter 10

I Obtained 30,000 Coins Through Secondhand Trading 

Chapter 4. The Scout (2)

Two days later.

Choi Yeon-wook visited the CH office and delivered the good news that Choi Hyuk had been waiting for.

“Gwang-seok submitted his resignation to the company today.”

“Really? Didn’t he say he needed a few days to think about it? He decided pretty quickly for someone who said that.”

“If he immediately said, ‘Yes, I’ll go!’ right there, he would look a little too desperate. So he pretended to think about it.”

“That makes sense.”

Besides, there was one more thing.

There was a condition that Yun Gwang-seok would have a hard time refusing.

“Even if we offered twice his current salary, there would probably be plenty of people willing to change jobs. But you said you would give him five times his salary. How could Gwang-seok not lose his mind over that?”

Then Choi Yeon-wook mentioned something he had not been able to say at the time.

“I think offering twice his salary would have been enough. Didn’t you offer way too much?”

“I prefer something certain over something ambiguous. And you said that man is capable, right?”

“That’s true.”

It was not just Choi Yeon-wook’s personal opinion.

Even if people throughout the entire industry were asked about Yun Gwang-seok’s work ability, everyone had nothing but praise for him.

If his abilities had already been proven.

“Then I have to make him completely my person. So he can’t easily move to another company. If I train him well enough to make him loyal to CH for the rest of his life, it’ll make things easier for both me and you. Don’t you think?”

That was why he had thrown money at him.

Choi Yeon-wook could only envy his wealthy relative, who was able to make such bold decisions.

“I want to hold onto my employees by paying them generously too. But whenever I think, ‘Should I make them work a little more?’ some big company quickly comes along and scouts them away. And I can’t exactly tell them not to go. From a CEO’s point of view, I really envy you.”

“It’s not like I just throw money at everyone either. If the person hasn’t been thoroughly verified like the person you recommended, I’ll be stingy too. In the first place, if someone is like that, I wouldn’t even think about bringing them over to our side.”

With that in mind, Choi Hyuk told him to recommend talented people whenever he found them.

“If one of your employees looks like they’re going to move to another company, tell me. I’ll hold onto them here with money.”

“Okay, got it.”

Choi Yeon-wook gave a small laugh, finished the rest of his coffee, and stood up.

“I heard you’re having dinner with the CEO of Haneul Garden tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“He must have a lot to ask you about real estate.”

“I guess so.”

Only Choi Hyuk knew the secret behind how he could profit from every property he purchased.

But it was too unrealistic to explain to other people, so Choi Hyuk had never told anyone about the secret behind his own real estate success.

Not even Choi Yeon-wook.

If I told him, he’d definitely think I was crazy.

So, unintentionally, it had become something like a secret recipe for a famous restaurant that only he knew.

“When did you say you were having dinner with their CEO?”

“Next Wednesday evening.”

“Really? Isn’t that the day Gwang-seok is supposed to start working at your company?”

“That’s right.”

“What a coincidence.”

As Choi Yeon-wook casually spun his empty cup around, Choi Hyuk answered in a meaningful voice.

“Well. Is it really a coincidence?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Nothing. It’s an internal company matter.”

“You little punk. Are you already drawing a line between us?”

“It’s called keeping business secrets.”

Choi Yeon-wook had no idea what kind of picture Choi Hyuk was drawing.

A week passed.

A new face showed up at CH Investment.

“Hello. I’m Yun Gwang-seok, the manager—no, the senior manager who will be overseeing the overall practical operations of CH from now on. I look forward to working with you.”

When Choi Hyuk prompted them to applaud, the two young employees welcomed Manager Yun with applause and cheers.

“We look forward to working with you, Manager!”

“Let’s all work hard together!”

Manager Yun responded with a deep smile as he looked at the two energetic employees.

Choi Hyuk personally showed Manager Yun around the company office and said,

“As you can see, we have more office space than we need. If you find a place you like, feel free to choose it. You can even use two offices.”

“Oh, no. I should use just one. Two would be too much for me.”

His own private office inside the company.

It was something he had never even had at a large corporation.

Such a benefit was usually only given to executives, yet he was receiving it immediately after changing jobs. Manager Yun felt overwhelmed by the experience.

“Oh, right. If you need furniture or anything, tell Jeong-bin. He’s going to look into the necessary supplies, including appliances, desks, chairs, and bookshelves, and place one big order sometime this week.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Since today is your first day, take a look around. Just think of this as your own home and make yourself comfortable.”

Could there really be a workplace this comfortable?

When Choi Yeon-wook first told him that he wanted to meet briefly, he had sighed inwardly, thinking, It’s another job offer.

After all, he was already working at a large corporation.

A so-called dream workplace that could surpass his current job was something he had considered nothing more than a fantasy.

But after meeting Choi Hyuk, Manager Yun realized that such a dream workplace was not a fantasy.

It was reality.

At a company like this, Yun Gwang-seok was confident that he could come to work with a smile every day.

“Oh, right. Manager Yun.”

“Yes, Representative!”

“You don’t have anything scheduled today, right?”

When Choi Hyuk asked, Manager Yun thought that since it was his first day, the CEO might be planning a welcome dinner.

“Yes, of course. If you call me, Representative, I’ll go anywhere!”

Choi Hyuk seemed quite pleased with his answer and gave a satisfied smile.

“Good. Then come with me somewhere.”

“Pardon? Where…?”

It did not feel like an ordinary company dinner.

Choi Hyuk casually explained.

“I’m going to meet the CEO and executives of a company that has been maintaining a cooperative relationship with us in real estate investment. We agreed to have a meal together. Is that okay?”

“……”

He had clearly been told to think of this place as his own home and make himself comfortable.

Yet on his very first day, Manager Yun ended up being dragged to an important business dinner.

The CEO of Haneul Garden, several executives, and Manager Jeong Dae-su had already taken their seats and were waiting for Choi Hyuk and his group.

“Oh my, Representative Choi. Thank you for coming in person.”

Kim Doo-hyun, the CEO of Haneul Garden Law Firm, stood first and held out both hands.

“Hello. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Yes. But the person beside you…?”

As Choi Hyuk smiled and shook his hand, Manager Yun Gwang-seok slightly bowed with a somewhat nervous expression.

“Hello. I’m Yun Gwang-seok, Senior Manager of CH Investment. I look forward to working with you.”

“Oh, Manager Yun. I’ve heard a lot about you from Representative Choi. I heard you worked at a large corporation before changing jobs?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“As expected. Representative Choi is such a capable person that talented people naturally seem to gather around him one by one. Haha!”

Choi Hyuk followed CEO Kim Doo-hyun and smiled modestly.

Once everyone sat down, the first course arrived.

A simple salad and appetizers were served.

After exchanging some formal greetings and asking about each other’s recent activities, CEO Kim Doo-hyun subtly shifted the conversation toward the main topic.

“I heard you’ve been causing quite a stir in the real estate world lately, Representative Choi.”

“Causing a stir is a little too much…”

“No, maybe it’s because we’re too easily influenced by rumors, but we’ve been hearing a lot of things from here and there. There’s a rumor spreading almost like an urban legend that a Golden Hand has appeared. Apparently, whenever he invests in a property, he makes a profit without fail!”

CEO Kim laughed as he raised his glass.

“I also wanted to meet someone who’s so hot and famous. That’s why I arranged this dinner. And, to be honest…”

He playfully winked.

“I wanted to steal a look at your secret.”

Laughter broke out around the table.

Choi Hyuk slightly tilted his glass and replied.

“I think I’m actually the one who should be stealing a look at your secrets, CEO Kim. I’ve been learning a lot by watching how you manage vacancy rates and organize your tenants.”

“Oh, please. You don’t have to flatter me that much.”

“Flatter you? If the reputation of CEO Kim Doo-hyun were nothing but an illusion, Haneul Garden couldn’t have remained one of the top companies in the real estate industry.”

As they exchanged brief compliments and talked about recent events, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

However, the financial director soon asked a serious question.

“There’s something I personally really want to ask Representative Choi.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“I looked at the list of properties you’ve purchased recently. Every property you invested in ended up making a considerable capital gain. Of course, the market conditions were good too, but the timing was almost unbelievably perfect. Do you happen to have some kind of information network…?”

He was openly asking, What is your source of information?

An information network…

Choi Hyuk lowered his eyes for a moment.

Of course, he had one.

A strange man wearing an old-fashioned hat, along with all kinds of unbelievable and bizarre experiences.

But Choi Hyuk tried to leave out the unrealistic elements as much as possible and began talking as if he had some special method.

“Most people look at real estate and focus only on the current rent or immediate rate of return. But I look at the future of the building.”

“The future…”

“Yes. I first think about whether this building will be worth more three years from now, or five years from now. Or whether it will already reach its peak within a year and then begin to decline. I picture that first, and then I look at the numbers. If I were to compare it to stocks, it’s like a long-term investment.”

“So you consider future growth factors before the rate of return…”

At that moment.

CEO Kim Doo-hyun put down his glass for a moment and continued.

“Then, Representative Choi.”

“Yes.”

“Looking at how the market has been moving lately, are there any properties that make you think, ‘This one might be pretty good’…? Even if it’s just a feeling, does anything come to mind?”

At that moment.

Choi Hyuk glanced at Manager Yun Gwang-seok.

If we have something to give, we should get something in return.

Yun Gwang-seok gave him a look as if telling him to think about whether there was any useful information or anything else they could get from these people, and, if so, how they could make it theirs.

Besides, their opponent was Haneul Garden, the real estate brokerage corporation that dominated the real estate industry.

Depending on how they handled this, the amount they could gain would be completely different.

Manager Yun quietly swallowed a sigh.

Only then did he realize why Choi Hyuk had brought him here.

This was not simply a dinner.

It was a kind of test to prove Manager Yun Gwang-seok’s abilities in front of Choi Hyuk.

I paid a lot of money to scout you. So you’d better work just as hard, Manager Yun.

There was no such thing as something being free in this world.