I poured another drink into Hubert Palmer's glass.
"How come I'm the only one drinking it? Hahaha."
"Because I have to drive."
"Former president Gerald Dean was in a rented car with a chauffeur, so wouldn't Mr. Choi have a driver?"
"I haven't thought about it yet."
"In the U.S., CEOs don't let them drive because they don't want any accidents to happen. When we get on a plane, our executives don't let us ride the same plane at the same time."
"Is it because I have to save one person in case of an airplane crash?”
"That's it."
"But in Korean sentiment, we hear that a young man in his 30s is rude when he has an article. We'll consider it when we have a bigger company."
"As expected, the boss is not a showy or extravagant person. Assistant manager Choi Yu-na told me that I'm self-made."
"Assistant Manager Choi Yu-na said nonsense.”
When Hubert Palmer's wife comes out of the U.S., I decided to give Choi Yu-na a one-day tour.
Hubert Palmer gulped down the beer and said,
"It's great to have delicious galbi and beer in a scenic spot. The people of Seoul in Korea are blessed with places like this."
"Haha, is that so?"
"Last Sunday, I went to Gangnam on line 7."
"You're investing in an apartment. Have you gone to see the house?”
"No, I just went. It was really fancy and nice. Korea has good transportation and good security."
"Haha, is that so?"
"There were many beauties in Gangnam. I've been to Japan and China, but I think Korean women have the best skin and are the prettiest."
"Haha, is that so? But when you go somewhere, tell the executive director of E Tower where you' It's good for your safety because you're a foreigner."
"Okay."
I took a moment to pause and said with my head down.
"I'd like to make an offer."
"What? Offers? Go ahead."
"You said earlier that you don't need a secretary if the staff is nice to you, right?”
"Yes."
"I don't need a secretary, not someone who keeps working full time at E Tower.Tower. Why don't you raise the salaries of your staff as much as your secretary's?"
"Well, that's Mr. Choi's business."
"Now that we've acquired a new company, why don't we give some gifts to the employees? It's also good for fraud.
"Hmm."
Hubert Palmer actually didn't want to raise staff salaries.
He seemed to think that he should raise his salary because he was an outcast.
"I looked at their payrolls and found that the secretary's monthly salary was 3.2 million won."
"Then I could give 400,000 won to eight current employees."
"It depends on the rank, but on average it will. Suggest that to me at Monday's weekly meeting."
"What? Suggestions?"
"Don't just give me a raise, but at the meeting, Hubert Palmer asks me to raise staff salaries instead of hiring a secretary again. Then the staff would appreciate Hubert Palmer."
Hubert Palmer's complexion quickly changed.
said with a big smile on his face.
"You want me to show you."
"There are bad shows, but there are good shows. Wouldn't it be nice if this would boost employee morale and improve the relationship between employees and Hubert Palmer?"
said Hubert Palmer, clapping his hands.
"Good, idea! Choi seems to be a good politician."
"Haha, politics and I are far away. She once told me I was a reclusive entrepreneur like Howard Hughes, not a politician."
"You have a grandmother at home?"
"What? Oh, yeah."
"Your grandmother must be a new-style grandmother. Howard Hughes knows that.”
"Oh, it's... "
I only scratched the back of my head.
I couldn't even introduce Mrs. Baek in front of Hubert Palmer.
"Once you get back to work, tell Lee Jong-tae that we have a weekly business meeting at 10 a.m. on Monday. Tell him I'll be there."
"Okay, I'll tell him as it is."
Hubert Palmer kept drinking beer as if he was in a good mood.
Every time I drank, my Adam's apple moved big.
"Excuse me, how much money are you going to invest in an apartment in Gangnam, Seoul?"
"We're expecting $3 million."
"You've made a lot of money. If you have about 3 billion won in Korea, you'll be rich."
"I earned some, but I inherited some from my father."
Then Hubert Palmer opened his round, blue eyes and glistened.
I thought he was a very blessed man.
Although he was dispatched to Korea as a salary man, he felt as if he would make a profit through a cheap investment technique.
After finishing the meal, we sat on the parasol chair in the galbi house yard and drank coffee.
I got a call from lawyer Yoon.
"Are you at work now? I'm thinking of stopping by my brother's office after visiting the Yeouido Parliamentary Hall.”
"I'm in Songchu right now."
"In Songchu? Why?"
"I'm here to have dinner with Hubert Palmer, vice president of E Building. You have to blow the wind."
You're doing a lot of good things.“
"Haha, what about good things? By the way, do you have anything to discuss with me?"
"I met James Lee, head of S bank, last time and he keeps telling me to buy a house. They're offering to do the loans, but I'm going to ask if I can buy them."
'Buy it.'
"Sa? Me, it hasn't been long since I've chartered Raemian Celitus in Ichon-dong, eastern part of the country?"
"Why don't you buy it and rent it?"
"Why would you buy something you can't even live for? You get a loan, you pay interest, right?
"If real estate rises, interest remains with Carver."
"But how do we know if real estate will go up or not?”
"If you know the world ahead of you, you're a fortune teller. You live with the possibility of going up. Same goes for stocks."
"So you weigh going up? You tell the same story as James Lee."
"Did James Lee say that?"
"Your bank analysis team said that even if the Korean economy shrinks, the polarization of real estate will intensify.”
I got goose bumps.
It was because it seemed like foreign players were looking at our country's situation.
"I've got the analysis data, so... ...you would have said that."
"Then I'll go home and discuss it with Mihyang. S bank branch manager and CEO Choi are putting weight on real estate going up.”
"Haha, take care of it."
I smiled a smile of remorse.
I thought it was good that I already bought 50 apartments in Gangnam.
The S bank's analysis team says that even if the Korean economy retreats, the polarization of real estate will worsen.
I thought it would be good to have a good relationship with the manager of S bank for a bigger business in the future.
E Tower has already borrowed 140 billion won, so even though we are the main customers, if we catch a bigger one, we need more money.
"Older brother, I'll take care of the S bank manager and his wife. By the way, I would like to meet Hubert Palmer, vice president of E Tower Building.”
"Haha, that's great. Then give me a call when you set a date."
I was sober, but Hubert Palmer turned red from drinking beer.
I played in Songchu Valley until Hubert Palmer woke up.
I played with my feet dipped in the valley water.
Hubert Palmer said he wanted to come here again when his wife came.
While I was talking to Hubert Palmer, I got a call from Hwang Byung-chul, who works at Geumjeong Station.
I thought I would answer the phone, but I did.
"You're busy, aren't you? Hehe, it's me, Hwang Byung-chul. I can't stop by our store these days. I ordered a few more menus this time. Come once."
"Oh, yeah?"
Now I didn't want to go to the beer house in the market barrel.
I didn't want to go again because it was far away.
"I'll tell Kang Hyung-suk to stop by. Kang Hyung-suk might be able to stop by because his house is close. I live in Hannam-dong."
"I just called, hehe."
Hwang Byung-chul hung up.
Now that his status has changed, he seems to be moving away from Hwang Byung-chul.
Three years later, however, I became richer with real estate, but no one knew Hwang would become a credit delinquent due to the Corona craze.
Hwang Byeong-cheol, who is rich and self-employed, went down the road even more.
This is how Korean society went.
In bed, Eunyeong told me.
"Oppa, I went to the E Tower building today.”
"Why there?"
"I went to lunch with my station colleagues. Aren't there many good restaurants underground?”
"Did you?"
"Broadcasting colleagues don't treat me as colleagues anymore. I think it's because she's the owner's wife of a large building like E Tower.”
"It's good. Then be treated."
"It's good, but sometimes it's uncomfortable.”
"Why?"
"Well, I think there's some distance... They even sarcastically ask if a chaebol wife drives a Porsche herself."
"You must be jealous."
"Oppa, can I really quit the broadcasting station next month? The announcement of the Graduate School of Journalism is next month."
"Do it on your own."
"Thank you, brother!”
Then, Eunyeong kissed me on the cheek to mouth.
I hugged Unyeong and said,
"Honey!"
"Huh?"
"There's a bank I'm dealing with. It's the U.S.-based S bank, and its branch manager is Korean-American."
"Then you must be a native of course.
"Right. Only my parents are Korean, just like Americans. I'm not fluent in Korean either."
"Really?"
"We're taking over the E Tower building this time, and they've given us a lot of loan support.”
"How much did you do?"
"140 billion."
"140 billion? Oh, my God!"
Then, Eunyeong opened her eyes wide.
"You get the rent. I'm paying enough interest, so it's okay.”
"How much did you say the building cost?"
"275 billion! I invested 67.5 billion won because I invested with a U.S. private equity firm. It's fund money, so I don't have any personal wealth."
I didn't say that the G Group chairman's money was flowing in.
It's fund money."
"Oppa, you get paid at E Tower, too, too?"
"Call me honey."
"Honey, E Tower is also a company, so you get paid, right?"
"Come out."
"Then, save it. Okay?"
"But I met lawyer Yoon and the branch manager of S bank last time. Since we're from the same U.S., you wanted to be close. By the way, these people are asking me to join them for dinner, so can't you invite them to my house?”
"Home? Here? Well, well."
"That day, why don't you ask Hwang Mi-na and her husband to come with us to the American vice president who's been dispatched to the E Tower?"
"This is an apartment, so wouldn't people downstairs or upstairs hate it if a lot of people came and talked?”
"That's why I'm talking to you. You can't dance like you used to in Omihyang's apartment, can you?"
"How many people do you have to invite?”
"The vice president of E Tower also said that his wife is coming... If each couple comes, there's 10 of us."
"It's hard, then. I can't help but buy food. Shall I call my mom to help me make the food that day?”
"Your mother-in-law?"
"Me, it's hard to be alone.
"Yes, I think 10 is too much for me."
"Or how about renting a pension? Last year, at a year-end party at a broadcasting station, I borrowed a pension on my own."
"Solo? You're renting the whole house without the other team?"
"Yes, it's a pension with a swimming pool and it's in Gapyeong. There's a foot volleyball court. The owner is my director's friend, and we can have a barbecue party on the lawn.”
"Really?"
"There's an underground hall in the pension, so I've set up karaoke facilities. You can scream as much as you want.“
"Really? Was there such a place?"
I decided that when Hubert Palmer's wife comes to Korea, everyone should be invited here.
Discussions on hiring female secretaries