Chapter 642 - High School Friend— Suk-Ho Lee (5) – Part 1
Gun-Ho sensed that Suk-Ho Lee was feeling very uncomfortable and awkward. Even if Suk-Ho had bullied Gun-Ho when they were in high school, he could just let it go because it was all in the past, and they were young. Moreover, Suk-Ho helped Gun-Ho when he opened his very first business— the Vietnamese noodle soup restaurant— in Noyryangjin Town. He even visited Gun-Ho’s restaurant to congratulate Gun-Ho on it. Gun-Ho didn’t want to treat Suk-Ho badly. He now wanted to ease Suk-Ho’s tension.
“Suk-Ho, how is your business in Shenyang City?”
For some reason, Suk-Ho Lee felt pressured that he had to be honest with Gun-Ho.
“It’s not doing well. I want to sell the stores, but it’s hard to find a buyer.”
“What are you selling at your stores?”
“I own three stores. I placed two of them on the market for sale, and I’m running the third one. I sell Korean products mostly that I import.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Suk-Ho Lee added, “The area is not fully developed yet offering the low foot traffic, but the city is planning to develop that specific area soon.”
“Really? That’s good then.”
Gun-Ho sipped his tea, and the silence filled the air again.
Suk-Ho Lee smiled and said, “Some of our friends from high school talked about you saying that you are in an awkward position, and they are feeling sorry for you. You have heard about it, haven’t you?”
“Me? No, I haven’t.”
“They said that they don’t understand why you hired people like Min-Hyeok Kim and Jae-Sik Moon to work for you.”
Gun-Ho frowned by reflex without any intention to show how he was feeling. What Suk-Ho Lee just said annoyed Jong-Suk Park as well, and that made him frown too.
Suk-Ho Lee continued, “Frankly, Min-Hyeok Kim and Jae-Sik Moon were not very smart when we were in high school; they were even a bit slow, unlike Jong-Suk Park here.”
Gun-Ho didn’t respond to him but took a sip of his tea instead without saying a word. He wanted to hear what Suk-Ho Lee wanted to say.
Gun-Ho gave an envelope to Suk-Ho Lee.
“Oh, you shouldn’t do this.”
“It’s okay. Many people give an envelope to a person on their business opening day. I’m just one of those people who want to congratulate a friend on his business opening with an envelope. You don’t have to feel burdensome about it.”
Gun-Ho quickly slipped the envelope into Suk-Ho’s pocket and stood up from his seat.
“It would be really nice to spend more time with you and listen to your interesting stories that you probably have from your stay in China, but I have to go to work in Asan City; I have another company there called Dyeon Korea. Why don’t you have lunch with Jong-Suk Park before leaving? I’m sorry that I can’t join you.”
Gun-Ho extended his hand to Suk-Ho for a handshake. While having a handshake, Gun-Ho looked at Jong-Suk and said, “Director Park! Since Suk-Ho bro is here, take him to your favorite restaurant. He is your favorite bro after all.”
“Of course I will. Don’t worry about it. I know which restaurant I want to take him to. I’m so glad to see you, Suk-Ho bro.”
Gun-Ho could have had lunch with Suk-Ho Lee that day, but he intentionally avoided extended stay with him by saying he had to go to work in Dyeon Korea. Suk-Ho Lee was not a person who he wanted to spend a prolonged time with.
After walking out of Gun-Ho’s office, Suk-Ho stopped by the restroom and opened the envelope that Gun-Ho gave to him. He wanted to check how much he put in that envelope. He expected to see about 100,000 won, but surprisingly there was 500,000 won in it.