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| ← Ch.054 | Ch.056 → |
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"What's up, buddy?"
"I'm in Ansan. I called you because I missed you, man. Do you have an appointment in the evening? If not, let's have a drink, " said Paek Sungwoo.
"Great. If you don't have a particular restaurant in mind, come and see Unhye restaurant. Pork belly served there tastes good."
"Okay. I'll see you at 7 pm there."
As soon as he was done mountain climbing, he drove his parents back home and headed to Unhye restaurant.
As if he was waiting for Hyunwoo, Paek was idling away his time before the restaurant, smoking a cigarette.
They went in and sat at a table, having a pleasant chat over soju.
Soon after they had a drink, Paek said something astounding suddenly,
"I think the time has come to find a lifelong job now."
Did he come to himself finally? Or did something happen to his family? Or did he make some woman pregnant?
"Why do you want a job suddenly? What's the matter with you?"
"Well, I didn't think of it out of the blue. I was thinking about ending my current lifestyle when I turned 30. So, I travelled everywhere across the country before I ended my current lifestyle, and this place is my final travel destination in that respect."
That was a fortunate decision for him. Didn't he do everything he wanted to do anyway?
And if he could turn over a new leaf in his life, that would be better for him.
He could manage his life well. Though he hadn't mastered any particular skill, he was good at making money anyway.
"So, do you have any particular job in mind?"
"I'm going to go to the United States. It was my original plan. I think I can make some money for a settlement there if I work hard for a couple of years."
In fact, Paek was not an excellent student. He maintained a B average in high school, but his English grade was exceptional. He really studied English energetically, and he was always the top in English. Hyunwoo thought that he had studied English hard because he loved it, but he was actually planning his life ten years later and executing it now.
Suddenly, Hyunwoo felt he was a terrific guy, with deliberate planning and thinking.
"By the way, Hyunwoo, please introduce me to any company that you know. You experienced a lot of jobs since you were young."
Hyunwoo wanted to help him if he could. As Paek said, Hyunwoo met a lot of people at many workplaces, so he thought that he might be of some help to Paek.
"What kind of job do you want?"
"It doesn't matter. But I want a job that allows me to move around here and there instead of confining myself to any one place."
Come to think of it, Hyunwoo found that there was a good one for him.
What came to his mind first was a company called Real Film.
Real Film was a company making TV programs or commercials, and it sometimes made special investigative reports related to news. Because of this, the staff there travelled around the country almost everyday. One day they were in Cheju island in the morning, and they moved to Ganhwa island in the evening. Though it was a tough job to ordinary people, Paek would welcome it.
But Hyunwoo shook his head, thinking to himself,
"No, it's not a good fit for him."
The problem was its president was Han Kwangsu. Han treated each member of his staff as his family, so he was pretty prudent when hiring someone. Once he hired someone, he tried his best to keep them to the end. Naturally, he hated it when his staff quit.
How could Hyunwoo introduce Paek to such a person? If Paek left the company after a couple of years, he would have to get all the blame from Han.
The next company that came to his mind was a travel agency called Yellow Balloon, but the situation was the same there. As a travel guide, Paek could travel across the country and the world freely, but reality wasn't like that. Paek was supposed to travel the same areas repeatedly, telling the same stories to the travellers every time.
As far as Hyunwoo knew, he would not like it.
"Hummmm.. I don't think you are a good fit there, " said Hyunwoo.
"Don't think of it too seriously. I can work as a salesman if an opportunity comes along. Actually, it's in my element to work as a salesman."
"Salesman?"
At that moment, Hyunwoo's eyes opened wide because he thought of N&C Korea.
If Paek could work as a salesman for him, Hyunwoo couldn't be happier for that.
Hyunwoo asked cautiously,
"Is it okay if you are not making much money? Of course, you could make a lot if you're lucky."
"What kind of job is it?"
Hyunwoo explained to him about N&C and N&C Korea in detail. He added the CEO of N&C Korea was his father Jang Duyoung and that it was virtually his own company.
Paek carefully listened to him without interrupting him, and he then asked at the end,
"Do you want me to find a local dealer on the industrial wheels?"
"Yes. Can you do that?"
"If the quality of the sales product is good enough, I have no problem at all working as a salesman. Basically, I'm a field man. Instead, it's your father's job to take care of the internet cafe and the relevant documents."
"Don't worry about that. All you have to do is pull off the contracts."
"Then, how much do you give me in commission? Can you give me 50% of the profit?"
"Are you satisfied with 50%?"
"That would be great, man."
Hyunwoo thought 50% was not bad. Actually, Paek should take more than 50% as the salesperson, but as Hyunwoo had invested a lot of money in N&C and had some paperwork to do, he thought taking 50% of the profit was fair enough.
"Done. Let me appoint you as the sales executive of N&C Korea. If your sales performance is good, I can make you the CEO of N&C Korea in the USA when I visit there later."
Paek opened his eyes wide suddenly.
"Oh, that's a good idea. Actually, I've been thinking about what to do when I went to the United States, and that is the solution. Ha ha."
Hyunwoo himself was surprised at what he had told Paek. He suggested his idea jokingly to Paek, but it looked as if he was foreseeing a bright future for N&C Korea.
Given the competitive price of N&C products, plus the guaranteed quality, Hyunwoo felt they could have a competitive edge in the US and Japanese markets.
"I think I have to find someone who can represent N&C in Japan, too, " said Hyunwoo.
"Right. The bigger dream you have, the better for you. Ha ha, " said Paek with a hearty laugh.
Pake raised a cup of soju and said,
"Let's drink to our futures, man."
"Sure, cheers!"
Both of them clang their cups cheerfully.
While staying in Ansan for three days, Paek was preparing himself as the sales executive of N&C Korea. He studied the basics about castors and analyzed the companies he regarded as his sales target.
He then left for travel. It was not for pleasure but for sales.
Of course, Paek enjoyed working while traveling, too.
In less than 15 days since he left, he already found a local dealer.
"This is a company called Jinyoung located in Chongju city. I asked them to submit an inquiry on the estimate cost to our internet site."
"Nice job! You found the first dealer."
"I visited that company, but its size was small. Looks like their order will be less than 100 million per year."
"Hey, do you think 100 million won is a small penny? If you negotiate with them about the unit price well, your sales commission is 4 million per year. If we divide it by half, it's 2 million won. And if you find 15 such companies, you can make as much money as the employee with a good middle-sized company."
"Yea, you're right, dude. By the way, give me the direct contact number of the factory in Vietnam. I feel like it's burdensome to go through you like this every time."
Hyunwoo felt a prick in his heart.
Why did he ask for the contact number of the Vietnamese factory? That meant Paek had a feeling of doubt about him.
However, Hyunwoo felt his suspicion was legitimate.
What he knew about N&C Korea was the internet cafe and Hyunwoo's contact number. He didn't know anything about Na. In other words, Paek might have felt that he just kept Na's contact to himself and wouldn't reveal it. Anyone would be suspicious about this.
Hyunwoo might take more profit as an intermediary between Na and me.
For example, if Na notifies Hyunwoo that 10, 000 won is the right price, Hyunwoo could say add a little more when he talks to Paek. If Paek could profit 500 won, Paek could get only 250 won, but Hyunwoo could take away 750 won.
Of course, Hyunwoo had no intention to do so at all. But with no connection to Na, Paek could form such a suspicion of Hyunwoo. On the other hand, it was impossible for Paek to deceive Hyunwoo. If Paek tried to do so, not only Na but also Kwon Sangtaek would not sit idly because they were already Hyunwoo's men.
When Hyunwoo thought as far as that, he blamed himself.
What the heck am I thinking about?
Out of sorriness, Hyunwoo gave Paek the contact number of the factory in Vietnam quickly.
Now, Paek succeeded in concluding the sales contract with Jinyoung in just one week.
Since then, Paek continued to find local dealers. Most of them were small with the imports less than $100, 000, but when combined, they would generate a lot of money.
In the meantime, Paek ran into an unexpected trouble.
Sensing that the trouble was complicated, Paek called Hyunwoo quickly.
Having heard from Paek, Hyunwoo was more than surprised.
"Which company? Art & Hill?"
Art & Hill was the largest office chair company in Korea. It was a strong rival of Aurum in the field of office chairs.
"What should I do? If our sales contract with Art & Hill becomes known to the outside, I'm afraid that you will get into a difficult position. Do you think I should decline the contract with Art & Hill?" asked Paek.
That was true, but the reason Hyunwoo felt uncomfortable was somewhat different from Paek's concern. Business was business, and the workplace was the workplace. Even if Hyunwoo worked for Aurum, that should not be the reason he blocked the transaction between N&C and Art & Hill. Of course, he was sort of uncomfortable dealing with Art & Hill. If the price competition of Art & Hill was better than that of Aurum's thanks to its deal with N&C, it would be like betraying Aurum in some respect. But the two companies were destined to be connected at some point without Hyunwoo's intervention because Mr. Na had been aiming to do business with Art & Hill for a very long time. In addition, this was his father's business, strictly speaking. Hyunwoo was just helping his father.
Then, what made Hyunwoo nervous about it?
It was the production capacity of N&C in Vietnam.
Some time ago, Hyunwoo had to listen to Na's pleasant concerns:
<right now, ="" our="" factories="" here="" are="" running="" at="" full="" capacity="" with="" the="" workers="" working="" double="" shifts. ="" but="" because="" of="" lack="" skilled="" workers, ="" we="" can't="" run="" capacity. <="" p=""></right>
Although Hyunwoo knew it was difficult for N&C to produce additional products than now, he called Na, to be sure.
"Mr. Na, I've found a new dealer here. Can you increase the products?"
"Well, I hired several more a few days ago. As they are beginners, they can produce as many as we expect, but we can increase by 30% more than now. We can produce as many as we supply to Aurum."
Art & Hill was three times as large as Aurum, and office chairs were the main product of Art & Hill compared with Aurum, which produced many kinds of office furniture. If Art & Hill placed an order on casters, it would be at least five times more than Aurum's order. Accordingly, a 30% increase in the products would fall far short of Art & Hill's demands.
"I need a far greater quantity than that."
"Well, we need more time here. We're now expanding factories and hiring more. Mr. Kwon is also trying to find out if he can find used machines in Korea. I think we can increase our production capacity by 100 % after two months, and we will continue to increase our production line in the meantime. Can you put off the contract until then?"
Hyunwoo had no magic solution to this difficult question.
Anyway, Art & Hill would have to test the samples first and try to change their existing parts gradually, during which N&C could buy some time to produce the bulk of their order on time.
"Got it. Let me receive the sample orders from Art & Hill. Please make sure you can process their order on time as soon as possible, " said Hyunwoo.
| ← Ch. 054 | Ch. 056 → |