The Price of Craftsmanship
On the way back to the company after lunch, Park Manager-Assistant came over without even bothering to think about it and asked, “Team Leader Kang. Aren’t you drinking coffee?”
I gave a small laugh. “Ah, I’m going to have hand drip back in the office.”
“Cano? Nice. Maybe I should save some money today too?”
“Why, did your coin game go badly today?”
“I told you, I quit coins.”
“Right, stocks.”
“The Nasdaq’s been hurting a lot lately.”
“...I see.”
If he’d made money, he would have called the whole team out and said he was treating them, maybe even dragged people in from neighboring departments too. The fact that he was quietly trailing along with me said everything I needed to know.
Ping!
Duri Bank
- Deposit: 18,235,000 won (Choi Kang-san)
“...Huh?”
I was instantly awake.
“Should I go in first, Manager-Assistant Park? I think I need to make a call.”
“Sure. If you’re going to smoke, come to the smoking area.”
“Got it.”
Leaving him behind, I hurried up to the rooftop.
The moment I got out of the elevator, I hit the call button.
Beep-beep-beep-
Why isn’t he picking up?
If he’d just transferred money, that meant he’d been holding his phone.
I waited anxiously, and after a while, just before the line cut off, I finally heard his voice.
“Yes, Hyung-nim. What’s up?”
“Kang-san. The money you just sent me was for the dining table, right?”
“That’s right. Looks like it went through.”
“No, I think you sent the wrong amount.”
“Oh? Did I?”
“Looks like you added an extra zero.”
“Whoa, really?”
He sounded genuinely flustered when he asked back.
“Did I send 180 million won?”
“No. 18.23 million.”
“Ah, then I sent it correctly.”
“...?”
Now that he said it, I went blank instead.
“The table you bought was originally 18 million won?”
“Yes. I told you I’d hand it over as is.”
“...”
I was stunned.
“No, I figured it would only cost, at most, one or two million... This is way too much.”
“Hey, it’s fine. You said you’d match the quality, Hyung-nim.”
“If I’m going to match that, I’ll have to jam jewels into it.”
“Aha-ha! You’re really kidding around.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“...”
“Send me your account number. I’ll send it back.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I already transferred it.”
Choi Kang-san added it coolly.
“Instead, please engrave a signature on the table. If you end up more famous than me later, I’ll flip it for resale. Hahaha!”
“...I don’t think that day’s ever going to come.”
“Anyway, I’ve paid for the table, so don’t feel pressured. Just work on it comfortably. I need to get back on set, so I should hang up. I’ll call you again.”
“Oh, right. Sorry, you’re busy. Let’s talk again later.”
“Yeees!”
After I hung up, another dry laugh slipped out of me.
“18 million won.”
That probably wouldn’t be enough to buy all the furniture in my apartment combined.
It was a reminder, all over again, that he and I lived in different worlds.
Judging by the look of it, there’s no way I’m getting that money back.
Still, if I really stuffed it with jewels and coated it in gold, that probably wouldn’t suit Choi Kang-san’s taste either.
Which meant the only thing I could do was.
I’m going to have to make it ridiculously, genuinely good.
At this rate, it looked like I’d be living in the workshop after work for a while starting today.
***
Scrape, scrape, scrape-!
Whirr-!
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
The sound of wood being cut and the drill spinning echoed nonstop through the workshop.
It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel the pressure, but since he’d paid so much, I wanted to do a good job.
I didn’t want him to look at it and think, “What a waste of money,” or “I should’ve ordered this somewhere else.”
I’d even ordered extra lumber on purpose, along with equipment that would let me handle finer, more detailed work.
That was the only way I could produce a finished piece with even a little more quality.
I’ve already drawn up the design, but the engineering is a lot tougher than I expected.
Honestly, leather goods like bags and wallets were simple enough; as long as you could carry them around and store light things inside, that was the end of it.
But a dining table had to bear heavy loads by default.
People leaned on it while eating.
And if the couple was in the middle of a passionate spree, there were times when an entire person ended up on top of it.
So I had to make it sturdy enough to handle the weight.
Since I’d never studied structural engineering, it was harder than I’d thought.
Especially because if a dining table collapsed even once, hot food or kimchi broth would splatter all over the wallpaper and create a disaster.
So before starting the actual build, I’d gone through the design several times, then made a miniature model based on the blueprint and tested it.
Still, thanks to my talent, I won’t be fumbling around forever.
Fortunately, I was getting the feel for it quickly.
By next week or so, I should be able to start the real work.
Of course, because of that obnoxious craftsman spirit, I had no idea how many prototypes I’d have to destroy before I got the final result.
Still, that also meant the finished product would be solid, so in a way, it was reassuring.
Ping!
Duri Bank
- Deposit: 47,800,000 won (Willow Publishing)
“Oh?”
Just in time, more money came in.
This was the prize money for the grand prize in the contest.
They’d said it would arrive after a 4.4 percent deduction, and sure enough, that was exactly what came through.
Once again, I found myself grateful to Willow Publishing.
They’d received the prize money at the end of the year, but only transferred it after the new year began.
Which meant they’d covered the tax burden for me during the previous year.
I’d felt bad and asked again whether they were sure it was okay.
“Of course! We’re just glad we can do even this much for someone who signed with us!”
That had been their spirited answer.
Since I worked at a company myself, I knew not every publisher would go out of their way to think about tax issues like this, so I was sincerely grateful.
I’m glad I signed with Willow Publishing.
As long as things stayed like this, it was win-win.
“Anyway, now that it’s the new year, the money’s piling up again.”
Between Choi Kang-san’s commission fee and the prize money,
Side Hustle Account
- Balance: 95,462,000 won.
Even after buying more equipment, it was still almost at 100 million won.
“Suddenly I feel really calm, and the whole world looks beautiful and all that...”
At this point, maybe I wouldn’t have to worry about taxes after all.
Buzz-!
My phone rang again.
“Hello?”
“Hello. This is the coffee machine technician. I called to say I’d arrive at 2 p.m. today, but I came a little early. Are you home?”
“Yes. Come on up.”
“I’ll be right there.”
The coffee machine Yu So-ra had given me was finally here.
The once chilly, empty workshop was slowly filling in.
Buying equipment myself was great, of course.
But receiving gifts and watching one thing after another get added to the space also made me feel like I’d been living well, somehow.
Ding-dong-!
Not long after, the doorbell rang.
After hearing Yu So-ra’s advice, I’d installed the bell just the day before, and it worked fine.
“Technician. Just leave it out front.”
I was still wearing the bear suit for the YouTube shoot, so I’d planned to take my time installing it later.
“Pardon?”
But a rather flustered voice answered back.
“This...?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“Not a problem exactly, but I think it’d be better if I installed it for you.”
“...?”
“You probably won’t be able to do it alone.”
How hard could it be to install a coffee machine?
Still, I figured maybe this was the service the company provided, so I stopped filming, took off the bear suit, and opened the door.
Then.
“...What is that?”
When I stepped outside, I found a tank sitting there.
Its width was wider than my shoulders, and its height looked to be at least 80 centimeters.
“It’s the coffee machine you ordered.”
The technician tilted his head, checked the order sheet, then nodded.
“Yes, this is it. Changsin-dong.”
“...”
I was dumbfounded.
I was expecting a cute little compact coffee machine, something about the size of one or two handspans...
Instead, something bigger than the water dispenser in an office had arrived.
“This is a workshop, not a house. Would you mind if I bring in the dolly?”
“Yes, yes. Come in.”
The technician pushed the cart carrying the coffee machine inside.
“You’ve already checked where you want it installed, right?”
“I was going to put it here...”
I’d picked out a two-handspan gap beside the refrigerator in the kitchenette.
“That won’t even come close, will it?”
“...Looks that way to me too.”
“Where do you think would be better?”
“Then...”
After a bit of thought, the place I eventually pointed to was.
“Could it go next to the draft beer machine here?”
“Oh, yes. It fits perfectly. I’ll get it ready.”
Thud-!
Just watching the technician install it was enough to make me laugh dryly.
How much did this thing cost?
I asked him for the product name, then looked it up.
Lowest price: 8,574,200 won.
“...”
Why was everyone around me so unhinged?
By now, I was close to enlightenment.
The draft beer machine alone had already felt excessive.
Now that the coffee machine had joined it, all I could do was laugh helplessly.
Is this a workshop, or a lounge?
If I told Yu So-ra it was too expensive and made me uncomfortable, she’d probably show up again in a panic, then end up bringing something even more over the top.
I should just use it gratefully.
And just like that.
My workshop gained one more tank-sized appliance.
***
Unlike my other kinds of handcrafting, woodworking generated a tremendous amount of dust.
In particular, cutting, shaving, and sanding wood kicked up so much sawdust that it was terrible for the respiratory system.
Of course, when I was doing serious work cutting raw lumber, I handled it up on the rooftop, so it was a little better.
But the smaller tasks had to be done indoors, which meant the workshop inevitably collected plenty of dust too.
Even though the bear suit means I’m automatically wearing a mask, after a few rounds of work my nose and mouth still get raw and stinging.
The only relief was that the living space and the workshop were separate, so after work, if I cleaned up and opened the windows to air things out, the dust would clear out quickly.
That meant when I came back the next day, it didn’t interfere with my work.
But after repeating that a few times, one thing had become crystal clear.
“I’m going to have to separate my living space from my workspace.”
When my lease on the rental apartment ended, I’d even thought about staying here for a while.
That really wouldn’t work.
Here we go again. The house problem again.
There were so many homes in Seoul, and yet I still didn’t have a place to live. It was pretty bitter.
I should start checking neighborhoods for the move and looking at listings soon.
If I waited until the renewal period was too close, I’d end up scrambling and fail to find a decent place.
Let’s just assume the money in the side hustle account will eventually get eaten by taxes.
I had to leave the workshop deposit alone, so that was out.
What remained was the money in my main account and the jeonse deposit tied up in the rental apartment.
If I add the jeonse deposit to cash, I’ve got maybe 120 million won...
I could say with some confidence that I’d saved a fair amount for my age.
Even so, it wasn’t enough for a proper home.
I need to make more money?
YouTube was a future-facing business, so it would take a long time before it produced any real income.
And since our company wasn’t some giant conglomerate, getting an internal loan was impossible.
I need to calculate this properly, after stripping out what’ll go to taxes.
I logged into the National Tax Service Hometax site and started plugging in numbers to estimate my comprehensive income tax beyond the year-end settlement.
But while I was browsing the tabs, I found something rather surprising.
Why is my card spending in the hundred-million-won range?
I hadn’t spent that much.
When I checked the detailed breakdown, I saw that 70 million won had been spent just on academy tuition.
Wait a second, does this mean...
the money I paid to learn languages through my talent is being counted like this?
Otherwise it made no sense, since I’d never actually attended any academy in the first place.
So money spent because of my talent counts as a deductible expense?
If that was true, then the air suddenly felt a lot easier to breathe.
There did seem to be a minimal amount of flexibility in this damn system.
Of course, I’d still have to pay tax on anything else I’d earned, and on anything I hadn’t actually spent, like the workshop deposit.
This might be manageable.
It was still a burden, but the amount had dropped far below what I’d originally feared.
Of course, my total income has still risen, so the fact that I need to move hasn’t changed...
Taxes and housing. One of the two worries was already lighter.
And if the tax issue gets solved, I can also use some of the money in the side hustle account more freely...
Add in a bank loan, and I could probably afford something respectable, if not an apartment.
Then all I need to do is find a place to move to.
A smile tugged at my mouth on its own.
I finally felt at ease.
I should be able to work comfortably for a while now.
***
Sunday, 9 p.m.
Click-.
Tap-tap-tap-!
Click-click-.
Inside the workshop, the sounds of the mouse clicking and the keyboard clattering never stopped.
I was editing the video I’d filmed myself, and it was turning out to be far more labor-intensive than I’d expected.
I wasn’t just editing.
I’d spent the day doing woodworking, then sat down in the evening to do the editing myself too, so it felt like a huge amount of work.
Still, there was one thing that made me proud.
Watching the edited footage, it does feel good.
Compared to the video I’d shot in New York, this one was much more fun and immersive.
And the act of leaving behind a record of my own experiences on video also felt deeply satisfying, because it meant I could revisit those memories any time I wanted.
If things keep going like this, I should be able to upload my first video next week.
The table still had a long way to go before it was finished.
But I felt like I’d already made it about a third of the way there.
Maybe I should stop here for today.
I stretched out with a long, heavy sigh and closed the editing program.
“Let’s rest for ten minutes and head home...”
I collapsed onto the sofa.
After closing my eyes for about five minutes, I took out my phone.
My hand automatically opened the YouTube app.
Over the past few days, I’d been watching all kinds of things for reference while editing, so I was probably using it more than usual.
Shorts definitely have better accessibility than long-form videos.
I flicked through a few shorts.
I’d been thinking that maybe I should make not only full-length videos but also one-minute shorts alongside them.
Still, in the end, what really matters is the algorithm.
From what I’d learned while researching, I’d say about 80 percent of YouTube’s success came down to whether the algorithm chose you or not.
But that’s not something I can control...
I was still young, but trends were changing so quickly these days, especially among people in their teens and twenties, that it was hard to keep up.
Swipe.
After a few more reference shorts, an overseas busking video appeared in the algorithm.
[Busking in Central Park, NY]
- ♬ : At the End of the World’s Road.
“Oh, that’s one of my favorite songs.”
The background was familiar too.
The title was “Busking in Central Park.”
It was such a great place.
Winter in New York was brutally cold.
But the sunlight was warm all the same.
I want to go back.
I was watching, letting the memories wash over me, when a familiar figure appeared on screen.
Huh, that’s the guy who was there when I was busking...
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.
Before long, among the spectators, East Asian people stepped forward one by one, each carrying an instrument.
The first was a Japanese man with a guitar.
He looks familiar.
Then the second man who came out was so familiar he was beyond familiar.
“Huh...”
That height, that black hair.
Even the Hawaiian shirt with I Love New York printed on it under the long padded coat.
“...”
Heavy silence pressed down on my shoulders.
“That’s me, isn’t it...?”
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