Chapter 397 - Debt Ratio (2) – Part 2

Gun-Ho gave a piece of paper to Master Park, where his date of birth was written on. Master Park compared it with the date in the Perpetual Calendar. He then retrieved Gun-Ho’s fate.

“You will marry next year. You will make more and more money.”

“Who would I marry?”

“To a woman, of course.”

“What kind of woman would that be?”

“To some woman.”

“Sir, please tell me more and be specific for me.”

“How do I know? I don’t even have that woman’s date of birth to know more.”

Gun-Ho should have brought the three women’s date of birth, who was currently in his life—the lady medical doctor, Seol-Bing, and Mori Aikko. He could ask Artist Choi of Young-Eun Kim’s birth date without any difficulty. For Seol-Bing and Mori Aikko, he could ask them directly. Seol-Bing might not be honest with her date of birth given the nature of her job, but Mori Aikko wouldn’t mind giving Gun-Ho her date of birth. From Gun-Ho’s personal experience, Japanese people usually seemed to believe in superstitions, in

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Chapter 398: Date at Fortress Wall of Seoul (1) – Part 1

Gun-Ho received a call from Min-Hyeok Kim in China.

“I heard that Dyeon Korea now has machine no. 9 and no. 10.”

“That’s right.”

“You are going to send all of the products produced by those two machines to us, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

“The five tons of raw materials that you sent to us at GH Parts Company last time was used by us to manufacture our own products. From now on, all of the raw materials that we receive from Dyeon Korea will be sold to other companies here.”

“Of course.”

“I think we might want to form a separate business entity for selling those raw materials in China rather than handling the business under the name of GH Parts Company. The form of a joint venture will do.”

“A joint venture?”

“It will be more convenient that way. We can find a straw man as if that person runs the company. We can arrange the shares as divided as 90:10 just like the arrangement you made when you had the Korean restaurant in a hotel in Hangzhou City.”

“Do you have any Chinese person in mind for that straw man position?”

“I do. I can have the team lead in GH Parts Company take the position. The company will be a joint venture with Dyeon Korea ostensibly, and in fact, Dyeon Korea will own 100% of the shares of the joint venture.”

“Dyeon Korea can’t just start a joint venture by having another business partner. I will have to discuss it with Lymondell Dyeon, especially when an investment is involved.”

“Really?”

“Maybe I don’t need Dyeon Korea to be involved here, but I can be the co-venturer personally, like I, individually, own the joint venture by investing in it, and have the team leader be the other co-venturer as a straw man.”

“That will work, but you will have to use your personal funds to invest in it.”

“For a manufacturing company, it would cost a lot for me to establish one; however, the company that we want to form is a sales company that sells imported products. I wouldn’t need to invest much. Can you quietly find out how much funds would be needed in order to establish a joint venture by a foreigner in that area?”

“Sure, no problem.”

“You haven’t talked to that team lead about borrowing his name to open a joint venture yet, right?”

“Right, I haven’t talked to him about it.”

“Hold on to it. Maybe we want to use your wife’s name or your father-in-law’s name in this matter instead of bringing that team lead person.”

“My wife? Or my father-in-law?”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“I don’t know…”

“Well, for now, just find out how much fund I will have to prepare.”

Sunday came around. It was the day Gun-Ho asked Young-Eun to meet him.

Gun-Ho drove his Land Rover to the Starbucks in front of Hangsung University. He was wearing new jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket that he bought the other day in Apgujeong Town. He was wearing new shoes as well. Gun-Ho believed that he looked younger in his new outfit.

Gun-Ho was waiting for Young-Eun while having a cup of coffee at Starbucks. It was after ten o’clock, but Young-Eun didn’t show up. It was 10:15, but she still hadn’t appeared yet. Gun-Ho felt anxious, and his mouth got dry. Gun-Ho had a similar experience with Seol-Bing and Mori Aikko; he had waited for them anxiously before, but he felt way more nervous now than those times.

“If she doesn’t show up by 10:30, then I won’t wait for her any longer. Since I am here already, I will take a walk around the Fortress Wall of Seoul by myself anyway, but I’ve never been here. Well, I can ask someone how to get there.”

Gun-Ho almost finished his coffee when Young-Eun arrived at the café. She was wearing jeans with a pink jacket. Gun-Ho at first couldn’t recognize her because she was wearing a wide-brimmed hat almost covering her entire face.

Young-Eun looked around and smiled when she saw Gun-Ho sitting at a table.

“I’m sorry that I’m late.”

Gun-Ho said with a smile, “No problem.”

“I was caught up with doing laundry.”

“Why don’t you have a seat and have a cup of coffee.”

“Well, it seems you finished yours. Let’s just go and take a walk.”

Gun-Ho followed Young-Eun out of the café. They walked toward the entrance of the Fortress Wall of Seoul, and neither of them spoke a word. The way Young-Eun walked reminded Gun-Ho of a soldier. He thought that Young-Eun would have nicely fit in the occupation as a soldier if not a medical doctor.

Gun-Ho didn’t bring a climbing backpack because he thought it wouldn’t be necessary since he was there not for mountain climbing but for just taking a walk around the fortress, but Gun-Ho thought that maybe he would need to carry at least a bottle of water with him. When he saw a grocery store, he ran into the store and bought two bottles of water and a chocolate.

“This is for you. It’s a bottle of water and chocolate.”

“Thank you.”

Young-Eun laughed as she took the bottle of water that Gun-Ho was giving to her. Gun-Ho thought she looked so cute when she laughed. The two started walking, and they entered into the silent mode again. Once they passed Gyeongsin High School, the Fortress Wall of Seoul started emerging. When they began to walk up the stairs, Gun-Ho gasped for air while Young-Eun seemed to have no problem with breathing. Maybe Gun-Ho should have reduced the frequency of taking a nap and do more physical exercise.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m good.”

Gun-Ho was still gasping for air while responding to Young-Eun.

Young-Eun looked worried. When she saw a bench, she asked Gun-Ho to take a short break there before continuing their walk.

Gun-Ho and Young-Eun sat on a long bench side by side while enjoying the full sunlight.

“You walk like a soldier.”

“I actually considered joining the army seriously as an army doctor.”

“You do look like someone who is very well disciplined just like a soldier. I mean by looking at the way you walk.”

“The people, who work with a computer all day long, tend to jut their neck and shoulder forward. Similarly, medical doctors tend to develop poor posture and the job requires us to have good stamina. I regularly exercise to keep up with the work.”

Gun-Ho was drinking his water when he saw an old couple climbing the stairs toward him.

“Oh, my gosh. I think I need to sit down now.”

“Ma’am, please take this seat.”

Gun-Ho quickly stood up from the bench and gave his seat to the old lady. Gun-Ho wanted to show Young-Eun how considerate and thoughtful he could be. The old lady sat on the bench.

“Thank you, young man.”

Young-Eun stood up from the bench as well to give her place to the old man.

“I’m good.”

The old man declined Young-Eun’s offer.

“Please take the seat, sir. We are leaving anyway.”

The old man said while sitting on the bench, “Are you two a married couple?”

“Oh, umm…”

Gun-Ho stammered while blushing.

“You two look alike. The married couple who resemble each other usually lives a happy life together for a long time.”

Both Gun-Ho and Young-Eun blushed and quickly left the place after giving a slight nod to the old couple while feeling embarrassed.

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Chapter 399: Date at Fortress Wall of Seoul (1) – Part 2

Gun-Ho and Young-Eun continued to walk around the Fortress Wall of Seoul. The path was steep but short. They had to take several short breaks on the way because of Gun-Ho. When Gun-Ho felt like he walked enough, it was almost 11:30 am. It was too early for lunch.

“It’s 11:30. We can have our lunch around noon. Would you like to walk 30 minutes more?”

When Gun-Ho asked Young-Eun to walk a bit more, Young-Eun looked at her watch.

“Let’s walk a bit more until we reach Gilsangsa Temple.”

“Gilsangsa Temple?”

The name of the temple sounded familiar.

The Gilsangsa Temple was located in a town called Seongbuk. It was a rich town with many luxurious single houses. Many foreign embassies were situated there too. Gun-Ho took out his smartphone and searched for Gilsangsa Temple on the Internet surreptitiously. After reading about the temple, Gun-Ho started talking about it as if he already knew all the information.

“Did you know that it was once a bar called Daewongag before it became a temple?”

“Yes, I heard about it.”

“The owner of Daewongag Bar gave the place to a monk—Bopjong—when she died.”

“That sounds right.”

Gun-Ho and Young-Eun entered the temple and walked around. Gun-Ho put his hands together and gave a bow in the main temple without actually entering the room.

“Are you… a Buddhist?”

“No, I’m not. I just prayed, wishing for something. I prayed for maintaining a good relationship with Ms. Young-Eun Kim.”

Young-Eun laughed. Gun-Ho was not sure why she laughed. She might like the fact that Gun-Ho wanted to be in a good relationship with her, or what Gun-Ho wished for baffled her.

Gun-Ho walked around the temple while Young-Eun didn’t. She said that she came to the temple several times already. While Young-Eun went to the bathroom, Gun-Ho quickly searched for Gilsangsa Temple on the Internet again for more information.

“Shoot. There is another temple with the same name in Namwon City. Let me specify the search word by adding Seongbuk Town.”

Gun-Ho read information about Gilsangsa Temple. The bar owner was in love with the poet—Baek Seok. Gun-Ho sat on a bench and looked around.

“This place was once one of the top three bars during President Chung-Hee Park administration. This is huge for a bar! The one in Hannam Town and the bar in Shinjuku, where Mori Aikko is working, are so small compared to this one that they might be the size of this place’s bathroom.”

Gilsangsa Temple was extended into an uphill road in the mountain.

“President Chung-Hee Park must have had a lot of fun in this place with his followers. You can’t come here if you don’t have a vehicle, so it was a good place to have fun without worrying about being in the public eye.”

Gun-Ho thought about the previous owner of this place—the owner lady of Daewongag Bar.

“She gave this place to a monk when she died. I wonder what kind of person she was. Is Mori Aikko going to donate the condo in Daikanyama, which I bought for her, to a temple later?”

While Gun-Ho was thinking about the bar and Mori Aikko, Young-Eun came back. The two walked out of the temple and continued to walk without talking. There was a pork cutlet restaurant.

“Would you like to have a pork cutlet for lunch?”

Young-Eun nodded her head.

While placing an order, Gun-Ho wanted to have a beer as well.

“Maybe we should drink a glass of beer with food.”

“No beer. I will have a glass of coke.”

While having his pork cutlet, Gun-Ho continued to talk about Gilsungsa Temple, which he read about on the Internet.

“The owner lady of Daewongak Bar was a courtesan.”

“Right. I heard about it.”

“She revealed in her later years of life that she was the poet Baek Seok’s lover.

“I see.”

“When she donated the place to the temple, which was worth more than 100 billion won at that time, she said it wasn’t even worth a line in Baek Seok’s poem.”

“Oh, she did?”

“It seems that they didn’t marry each other after all.”

“Baek Seok was an English teacher at that time, and his parents disapproved of their marriage rigidly because she was a courtesan. Bae Seok then married another woman.”

“Hmm, it’s a sad story.”

They kept walking until they reached Starbucks.

“I brought my car. I will drop you off to your home.”

“It’s okay. I can take the subway. It’s only one station away from here.”

“I insist. We walked a lot today. You should let your legs take some rest. Just give me one second, I will bring my car.”

Gun-Ho drove his Land Rover to the place where Young-Eun was waiting for him.

Young-Eun got in the car. Usually, people who got into Gun-Ho’s Land Rover made a positive comment about the car, but Young-Eun didn’t say anything.

‘She probably didn’t even look at what kind of car this was before she got in it.’

Gun-Ho thought Young-Eun didn’t check out his car, but the fact was that Young-Eun didn’t know much about cars. She just didn’t know whether a Land Rover was an expensive and luxurious vehicle.

“Where should I head to?”

“It’s close to the four-way intersection in Heyhwa Town. The condo complex’s name is Anam.”

Gun-Ho quickly glanced at Young-Eun’s profile who was sitting in the front passenger seat. Her profile was absolutely gorgeous. The profile itself was more beautiful than Seol-Bing’s or Mori Aikko’s. Gun-Ho wanted to drive all the way to Busan City with Young-Eun.

“I had fun today. I will meet you at the same Starbucks next Sunday as well at 10 am.”

“I have to attend my friend’s wedding next Sunday.”

“Then, we can meet the following Sunday.”

Young-Eun laughed without giving a firm answer.

“You can take a left turn over there.”

The condo complex looked a bit old.

“I will get off here. I need to stop by a supermarket to pick up something before going home.”

Gun-Ho waved at Young-Eun once Young-Eun got off the car. Young-Eun also faintly and briefly waved at Gun-Ho.

It was Monday. Gun-Ho went to work at GH Mobile.

When Gun-Ho was having a cup of tea that his secretary prepared for him, he received a call from Min-Hyeok Kim in China.

“In order to open a joint venture in this area, you will need at least 60,000 dollars. However, it seems that usually, people start a joint venture with 100,000 dollars as I observed so far.”

“How much do I have in my personal account with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China?”

“You have 1.2 billion Korean won. It’s about 1,200,000 dollars.”

“Okay, then take out 100,000 dollars and establish a company.”

“And, for a straw man, my wife can do it instead of the Chinese team lead here.”

“Sounds good!”

“I will register the company as you own 90% and my wife owns 10%. Since the 10% comes from you as well, I will have my wife sign a statement indicating either that she renounces her share or that she transfers that amount to you.”

“Okay. You don’t need me there when you register the company with the government, right? I will sign the power of attorney.”

“I think so. Everything is possible in China, and everything looks impossible here too.”

“Haha. Okay.”

Gun-Ho was thinking after getting off the phone with Min-Hyeok.

‘If I use my name to do the business there, there is no reason for me to add the name—Dyeon Korea. It would be just a trading company. Maybe I should name the company GH Trade. Maybe I’d better specify what the company will trade. What about GH Plastic and Chemical Compound Trade?’

‘Let me see. If we use Min-Hyeok’s wife’s name, maybe I should let her be the president of that company. I don’t think she is making good money in her current job as a teacher in an international school. Given that she is working in China, she is probably making about 3,000 or 4,000 Yuan. His wife is young and good-looking. She is also a Chinese native speaker, so she will manage the sales activities fine there. Moreover, she studied in the U.S., and she speaks English. She is also sophisticated.’

Gun-Ho made a call to Min-Hyeok.