Laughing slightly, Hyunwoo's father said,
"Maybe everybody will be the same. You, me, and that person you mentioned, of course."
Hearing that, Hyunwoo could figure out what his father was trying to say.
Why hadn't he thought of that before? How could he not read the other party's mind with so much sales experience under his belt?
There were many ways to persuade a man. Hyunwoo was trying to use only one of them. Namely, it's what made the other party want what I already had. However, that method failed. He had to find another one.
And that was to identify exactly what the other party wanted, and given the choice, it was much more effective to find it out through his family rather than through him.
Hyunwoo immediately began to gather information about Kwon's family, such as the location of his house, his family members, and their jobs, etc. It was not difficult.
"How are you?"
The old women playing cards under the shade of a tree raised their heads.
"Who are you?"
"I'm a businessman. Can I take a break here for a moment? It's so hot right now."
"Of course. Come this way to rest."
Hyunwoo offered a soft drink and paper cups, along with some cookies that seniors liked.
"Oh, thanks so much. By the way, do they send you out to work like this even on Sunday?"
"I see no Sundays when it comes to making a living."
Pouring a drink for them, Hyunwoo was being overly chatty, and he then brought up the topic he had in mind.
"Do you happen to know the old man living at house number 3011?"
"House 3011? Isn't it Kwon's house? What about him?"
"Well, looks like I knew him. Wasn't he that same person who operated a factory before?"
"Right. He did until two years ago. He lived a decent life, but because his factory went bankrupt last year, I guess he ruined his family." As expected, they were voluble about Kwon, putting down cards. Hyunwoo didn't feel it necessary to ask further. Instead, he could gather a lot of information about Kwon while just listening to them.
"That's why you have to bring in a good daughter-in-law. How could that daughter-in-law desert her family because it declined in wealth?"
"Because she had no child."
"That could be the reason. If she had a child, she would try to keep her family by all means. Tut, tut. Too bad for Kwon."
"By the way, Kwon's son is not getting married again?"
"Which woman wants to marry him, given the miserable situation of his family? Otherwise, he could get a foreign bride."
"I hear his son didn't find a job yet?"
"They say he learned skills in his father's factory, but I think he's doing manual labor because can't use his skills."
They kept chatting about Kwon's family in a low voice to not be caught, but they spoke freely.
Thanks to their chatting, Hyunwoo learned a lot about Kwon Sangtaek, and he seemed to know what Kwon wanted.
"Phew."
Kwon Jungsu let out a sigh. It was a hard day for him.
Suddenly, he thought of the times when he was working with his father at the factory. Though it was difficult at the time, he was happier than now. Maybe he didn't find it that hard thanks to his family.
Nonetheless, it was the thing of the past. His family declined in wealth, and he now had no occasion to laugh or desire to work when his wife deserted him.
What made his life harder was his parents.
Since that day, his father idled away his time with never-ending sighs. He just repeated, "It's all my fault."
His condition got a little better when he strolled at Saeto Park because he saw lots of men who were in a similar situation with him. While talking with them, he seemed to realize, My life is not the worst.
But his mother had no sign of getting better as time went by. Her condition got worse because of her high pride. As her family declined in wealth and her daughter-in-law fled, she stopped going out, saying she was ashamed to see her acquaintances. She confined herself to her house.
I have to work for mom's sake, he thought to himself.
He had to pay off his debt first, though. That was the reason Kwon Jungsu had to work hard without giving up. He was plodding along to his house when he heard a strange voice behind.
"May I ask if you're Mr. Kwon Jungsu?"
Kwon turned his head, and couldn't see who it was because it was rather dark early. He looked like a young man Kwon had never seen before.
"Who is it?"
The young man approached Kwon slowly and offered his name card.
Checking it, Kwon opened his eyes wide.
Kwon stared at Hyunwoo, but Hyunwoo accepted it calmly. He believed he could communicate with Kwon Jungsu, unlike his father.
"Can I talk with you for a moment? Can you make some time for me?"
"What are you trying to talk to me?"
Kwon asked back annoyingly. However, Hyunwoo's voice was calm.
"Don't you think you want to start afresh?"
Kwon's eyes were glittering.
"I'm back."
When Hyunwoo got back home, it was already dark. When he opened the door, he heard his mother's friendly voice.
"Oh, you got here. Did you have dinner, son?"
"No, not yet."
She stood up, surprised by his reply.
"What company assignment made you go around like this, son? Let me prepare dinner for you."
A little later, she called Hyunwoo to the dinner table.
She sat before him. There was some sort of uneasiness in her eyes when she looked at him.
"Is your life at the company hard?"
"No, not at all,"
"Why are you so busy, then?"
"Because I just got hired. I can slow down, but because I want to master my work quickly, I'm working hard like this."
"Good for you then."
She wore an expression of relief, but her expression was a bit different this time. She seemed to have something to talk to him. Hyunwoo asked,
"How about your physical condition? Isn't it time you stopped by the hospital for a medical check-up?"
She instantly reacted by saying, "Why should I visit the hospital when I'm healthy like this? I'm alright now. By the way, I'm just aching to go outside because I've been confined at home for so long."
She looked healthy in his eyes. She stopped working at the side-dish store because her physical condition was bad, but she now felt that staying at home was stuffy and wanted to go outside again.
"Why don't you take a walk?"
"Well, I think I have to work again at the side-dish store."
This time, Hyunwoo resisted her idea. What's the point of going back to work for small money?
Working at the side-dish store was harder than expected.
Hyunwoo tried to persuade her out of it, saying, "Why do you want to work again in such bad conditions? Don't go."
"Well, staying home makes my life harder."
"Why are you saying that? Money doesn't matter, mom. If you lose your health, everything will just be worthless."
Hyunwoo dissuaded her from it.
Then his father, who was lying in bed, said silently, "Let her go back to work. She might feel it's hard to take care of me at home."
"No, that's not my point."
Stunned, she shook her head. It looked like she regretted her decision.
"I know. I understand your heart, dear. If I were you, I would feel more comfortable working outside rather than staying home. Also, you never stop taking care of me, massaging my body here and there. I just feel sorry for you, honey."
"Honey…."
She looked at him with pitiful eyes.
Hyunwoo could understand her mother's heart.
Come to think of it, it was terrible for her just staying at home without doing anything. She had another reason to go back to work.
"Actually the store owner seems to be in bad health. She wants me to take care of the store."
The owner was 15 years older than Hyunwoo's mother. She was over 70. Though she was not healthy, she kept working with patience up to now, and that was why she could keep her good health until recently. But her physical condition seemed to get worse again. Her side-dish store had been closed for more than a week, according to Hyuwoo's mother.
"Okay, mom. Don't work too hard though."
Volume 2. Investments and Returns
Back to Vietnam
"Mr. Jang Hyunwoo. Haven't you made a report yet?"
The team manager prodded him. Though it was only one week since they submitted the report to the president, the manager asked Hyunwoo about the status almost daily.
That suggested that the manager had big expectations of his performance.
Hyunwoo had the same hgh expectations, too. Of course, the subject of his expectations was different from the manager's.
It's about time Mr. Kwon Sangtaek gave me a call.
Kwon Jungsu was an open-minded person.
Initially, he didn't pay any attention to what Hyunwoo said, but Hyunwoo persistently persuaded him and finally managed to open his mind.
And that evening, he got the reply from Kwon Jungsu that he really wanted to hear.
"Let me give it some thought.'
Though his reply was not clear, Hyunwoo thought that was enough. The only thing left to do was Kwon Jungsu to make the decision and persuade his father.
What Hyunwoo was waiting for was Kwon Sangtaek's final decision.
"Give me some more time. Then, I think I can make a perfect report."
"Really? Min Suji, are you busy right now? If you are not, can you help Hyunwoo?"
"Yes, manager."
Min instantly stood up and approached Hyunwoo.
"How can I help you?"
Actually, there was nothing particular she could help him with, for Hyunwoo had already done everything, except he was buying time to complete the report.
However, he could not tell the truth. He should buy more time by giving Min some work to help him with. Suddenly, he came across a good idea.
"Okay, thanks. Actually I was badly in need of your help. Can you go with me to the customs office?"
"Customs office?"
"It's difficult for me to get along with the customs office guys. I think I can make friends with them easily if I go there with you."
Min grinned at that, because she instantly figured out what he wanted.
Hyunwoo's request might be unpleasant to her, but she nodded her head, thinking nothing of it.
"Okay, I would like to use this occasion to say hello to them. Can I go with him, manager?"
"Sure. Just go ahead."
Ignoring Yonggu's sharp look, both of them went out of the office.
At that moment, Hyunwoo's phone buzzed.
Confirming the caller's ID, Hyunwoo's eyes glittered. It was Kwon Sangtaek's phone number.
'Finally he called!'