Chapter 84
The branch manager of the stock brokerage firm in Suwon City gave his business card to Gun-Ho .
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"I don't have my business card with me . "
"That's fine, sir . I wanted to meet with you . We take care of our VIP clients separately . "
Gun-Ho firmly said,
"I will have to withdraw my funds next month because of my business . "
"All of the funds?"
The branch manager's face hardened .
"I'm moving from Incheon to Seoul soon, so I have to move my account to the branch over there anyway . "
"Why don't you leave some of your funds with us? We provide a text message service to our VIP clients with useful stock-related information . It's not a spam message but it's information from a reliable source . "
"I will take it into account . "
Gun-Ho couldn't harshly decline the branch manager's kind offer, so he just told him that he would consider it . While he was walking out of the stockbroking firm, Gun-Ho thought of his past experience with the same firm .
"When I placed my 10 million won that I borrowed from the sunshine loan program to the firm years ago, they didn't care about me at all . Now, even the branch manager greeted me and served me a cup of tea in his office . As my mom said, a person should live a long life to see various and unexpected things in life . "
Gun-Ho stopped by a massage shop in Suwon after having his lunch in a Japanese restaurant . He felt sleepy while he was getting foot massages, probably because he just had his lunch .
"At this hour, the factory workers in the factory I used to work at must be working so hard . Money is good . "
Gun-Ho received a call from the consulting company .
"I talked with the TowerPalace condo owner, and he agreed to move out if you pay 5 million won for the moving cost . "
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"That's good . Thank you for your work . "
Gun-Ho told Manager Oh that he would send him the 5 million won moving expense for the current occupant in addition to the consultation fee .
Fifteen days later, Gun-Ho received the keys for the condo from Manager Oh . Manager Oh also handed the receipts of the last HOA payment and gas service payment paid by the previous owner .
"5 million won is not a bad deal at all . I believe I handled it very well . If someone else talked with the previous owner, he wouldn't agree to the price . "
Manager Oh, still wearing his sports cap and chewing his gum, said to Gun-Ho .
"I know you would make it work . Thank you for your great work . "
Gun-Ho extended his hand for a handshake .
"If you need my help any time in the future, just let me know . I will do my best for you . "
Manager Oh gave Gun-Ho a military salute in a comical gesture .
"Hahaha . I will definitely do so . Thank you again . "
Gun-Ho went to his TowerPalace condo that evening .
"There are a lot of luxurious cars parked here . "
When Gun-Ho opened the condo door, a huge vacant space met his eyes .
"50 pyung is indeed large . The vacant space makes it look even larger . "
Gun-Ho thought he would have to do the wallpaper since someone had been living here for several years and left some normal wear and tear on the wall .
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"I will have to do the wallpaper and renovate the bathroom . "
The next day, Gun-Ho asked a remodeling contractor to come to his condo .
"I want to change the wallpaper and renovate this bathroom . "
"Is there any particular wallpaper you like?"
The contractor asked while laying out wallpaper samples he brought on the floor .
"Hmm, it's hard to choose; there are so many of them . I just want something bright . "
"What about this one then? This one is popular among young female homeowners these days . "
"Umm, okay . Let's do that then . "
The remodeling contractor checked each room of the condo .
"Sir, why don't you renovate the kitchen too?"
"The kitchen looks okay as it is . "
"Sir, once you change the wallpaper, the kitchen will look dingy . You don't want that in a luxurious condo like this one . I can get you a good price . You should change the ceiling lights as well . There are so many well-designed ceiling lights out there . You need to replace them all . All these updates will change the price of the condo . "
Once Gun-Ho heard the change of the condo's price, he decided to update the condo as the remodeling contractor suggested .
After the condo renovation was completed, Gun-Ho went to the condo .
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"Oh, gosh . Money is good . The renovation was worth every penny . They made the condo as if it was a brand new condo . They are certainly good at what they do . "
Gun-Ho started filling the condo with necessary furniture and home appliances . He bought a sofa, a dining set, a refrigerator, a washer, etc . They were all luxurious and expensive . Gun-Ho also bought a luxurious high-end designer bed frame, a wooden desk, and a bookshelf .
"This condo is too big for me; however, after three years I expect its price to go up by 100 million won . That means I would make over 30 million every year just by living here . "
Gun-Ho finally moved to Gangnam; his long-lasting dream came true . He liked the fact that he didn't go through a realtor to purchase a real property but bought it instead through an auction at a low price . Gun-Ho now wanted to buy a car .
"Should I buy a BMW? Since I go fishing sometimes, maybe I should by an SUV . Let's get a Land Rover . "
Gun-Ho purchased a Land Rover Discovery for 100 million won .
"Let me see how much I have spent for the TowerPalace condo, the condo in Guweol Town, the Land Rover, and the condo renovation . "
Gun-Ho calculated how much he spent so far .
"It's a little over 2 billion won . I can recover the money I spent on buying the condo later once I resell it, so it's okay . The cash that I have available now is a bit more than 17 . 7 billion won . Let's take out some of it and start looking for a business I can run . "
Gun-Ho's day in Gangnam started with waking up in the morning in a luxurious 50 pyung large condo in the TowerPalace community . He then went to a fitness center in his Land Rover and after working out there, he stopped by a café inside the Education Community Center building in Yangjae Town . When he was enjoying his coffee in this café as usual, he received a call from his friend—Min-Hyeok whom he ran across in front of the National Assembly Library of Korea the other day .
"Hey, Min-Hyeok . How have you been? Did you pass the government job exam?"
"No . I think I am not smart enough . "
"Come on, cheer up! I heard many people passed the exam after several attempts . "
"What about you, Gun-Ho? What are you doing these days? You are still in Yeongdeungpo, right?"
"No, I moved to another town . "
Gun-Ho decided not to tell him that he was living in a TowerPalace condo after considering telling him for a second .
"Oh, really? I was going to ask you if you would like to have soju with me if you're in Yeongdeunpo because I took a position of a residential manager in a OneRoom in Yeongdeungpo, so I can continue to study for the exam while making some money .
"I will buy you a soju . "
"I have to stay in this area close to the OneRoom that I am working at as a residential manager . I can't lose this job now . The same position at a luxurious OneRoom in Gangnam is extremely competitive . "
"I see . "
"If you happen to be in the area, just let me know, okay?"
"Yeah, I will . Thank you for calling me, friend . "
"OneRoom…"
Gun-Ho thought of his old days in a OneRoom . He used to live in one of those when he studied for the level-9 government job exam .
"There was no window in my room . It was tiny, and that room didn't have a private bathroom either . Those days were indeed painful . "
Gun-Ho didn't even want to think of those days; he shook his head as if he wanted to shake off the memory, but he went on .
"I kept failing the exam, and I had to save money . So, I ate cooked rice and kimchi for every meal in a day because they were free; the OneRoom provided cooked rice and kimchi for its residents for free . I don't want to go back to that life ever again . "
Gun-Ho felt sorry for Min-Hyeok .
"Min-Hyeok is the same age as me, 36 years old since New Year's Day already passed . If he could pass the level-9 government job exam, he would start making about 2 million won per month . I'm not sure if he could plan his future—marrying someone and buying a house—with that salary . "
Gun-Ho recalled his time with Min-Hyeok when they were still in junior high school together .
"He was a good friend . He must be having a difficult life now . His father used to drive a bus, but he's probably retired already . Whew . "