Year-End Donation
Year-End Donation
After the Director's thank-you speech ended, I went inside with the volunteers, escorted by staff.
The mart, already packed with weekend shoppers, had
descended into chaos as people swarmed in after hearing the rumors that had spread like wildfire.
Of course, since taking videos or photos was prohibited as a violation of portrait rights,
agency staff began blocking anyone who tried to film.
We ourselves wouldn't have had a problem, but some of the volunteers
didn't want their faces exposed in the media, and the reporters who had agreed to volunteer alongside us
were allowed in only under the condition that their faces would be thoroughly blurred.
If we let outsiders
take photos and upload them, what would happen?
It could damage our company's credibility.
And the main purpose of the photo shoot wasn't about us; it was the interviews with the volunteers and
the sponsored organizations.
The people gathered here came to see celebrities, not volunteers,
so the restriction was both natural and justified.
"From now on, you'll enter the mart and load your carts with items you think
you'll need for daily life, then come out front!"
"Expensive items like electronics will be selected by the staff separately, so please don't bring them out!"
Then Lee Min-ho also loudly announced the precautions one by one.
For reference, it was decided that the electronics would be chosen jointly by me, A-ra, the Director, and Jeong Hwan-yi.
I wondered why Jeong Hwan-yi was included, but apparently it was because they thought women's perspectives alone might not be objective enough.
Well, if the Director and A-ra roamed around together,
there's no telling what might happen in the electronics section.
If I go with A-ra and Jeong Hwan-yi goes with the Director, that would be perfect.
And then, questions from the volunteers began to pour out.
"As I mentioned earlier, all the items that have been paid for will be loaded onto carts and
transported to the trucks outside.
Women, please show your strength!"
Of course, there were no sighs or groans after the staff's answer.
Because even though it was called volunteer work, it wasn't entirely without compensation.
They said they planned to give department store gift certificates
along with official merchandise from the celebrities that had been released earlier this year as a thank-you gift.
Actually, I heard many say they didn't need the gift certificates and that the merchandise was what they were really after.
Still, since it's a thank-you gift, I hope they'll accept it graciously.
What was it they said about the goods?
I heard that only a very limited quantity was released, so the premium is huge.
And among the volunteers this time, there were also special exclusive goods only given to some,
so they recruited people by using that as bait...
Sure enough, it was worth participating for,
and people could think the work was worth doing.
"Are there no more questions?"
When the Director called out at a moderately loud volume,
the volunteers began to nod their heads.
It seemed they had finished all the questions they wanted to ask.
After confirming that, I raised my hand.
"But how much are you planning to buy in total?"
"How much does our Seong-hwan-ssi want to buy?"
"Well... since there are many organizations..."
I wanted to use this chance to completely overhaul the living essentials for the organizations we'd decided to sponsor.
The places we decided to sponsor are 'real' welfare centers that the residents, children, and senior citizens
have praised endlessly.
I heard that at some places, the director even buys items out of her own pocket
to give as gifts.
Anyway, what were the amounts the two of them had in mind?
A-ra donated 300 million won worth of goods last year, so if I said I'd spend about 50 million...
Hmm... The Director is a CEO too, so her earnings must be no joke.
"500 million?"
"Then let's do as Seong-hwan says! Let's increase it to 500 million!"
My share to pay was only 50 million won,
but she ended up shouting out an amount ten times that.
The Director, delighted, loudly agreed with my words,
and A-ra, chiming in, looked at the staff and shouted to increase it to 500 million.
Small ripples of applause started,
and soon the onlookers, staff, A-ra, and volunteers were all cheering loudly together.
They were cheering for the absurd amount of 500 million won.
"Like Seong-hwan-ssi said, if we're doing this, shouldn't we do it big?"
"Unnie, since it's come to this, shall we clean out the other marts too?"
"That sounds good. Did you hear that, Jeong Hwan-ssi? Contact the nearby warehouse-style marts and even the local marts—contact them all."
"Ah... understood."
Jeong Hwan-yi and a few staff members, who suddenly had to contact all the marts,
pulled out their phones and began searching for the numbers.
Seeing that, Lee Min-ho approached us, grabbed my shoulder, and
started laughing out loud.
"Whoa... 500 million won is going up in flames with just one word from you?"
"My share is only about one-tenth of that, though."
"I can understand A-ra-nim, but the Director was really unexpected."
"That's true."
I didn't know the Director's fortune,
but was she wealthy enough to act immediately on a single remark blurted out by me, someone who didn't know much about the ways of the world?
Even if she had enough assets to afford that,
making that decision on the spot would have been incredibly difficult.
Still buzzing with excitement, and perhaps having calmed down a little, the Director walked over and
began to cool down the heated atmosphere.
Seeing how flushed she was, with sweat beading and trickling down,
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to her.
"Director, please use this."
"Thank you."
"But are you really okay with this?"
"With what?"
"The 500 million won."
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine. Seong-hwan-ssi, you still don't seem to know how rich this noona is, do you?"
Sure enough, she's the Director, so she must be rich.
But didn't she give all her stocks to A-ra? Doesn't she only have real estate and cash?
I know that the reason CEOs or heads of corporations usually have large fortunes
is because of their stock holdings.
"Seong-hwan-a, the Director noona's father is the chairman of Kyunghwa Group."
"What? Director, you're a chaebol?"
"Hey~, that's embarrassing, why do you have to say that~."
"What's embarrassing, you brag about it so well all the time."
So that's why she was able to become the CEO of a major corporation before even turning thirty.
It seems her father is incredibly wealthy.
Kyunghwa Group is one of those conglomerates that owns several companies
with market caps high enough to rival Saemsung.
I remember hearing talk that they're going to do a joint oil business
with a country somewhere adjacent to the Middle East this time.
"The walking corporation, A-ra, shouldn't say things like that."
The Director shot back at A-ra, and hearing that, I burst out laughing.
Considering A-ra's revenue, it's safe to say she generates the sales of a major corporation,
so it was an incredibly apt comparison.
"Is my husband laughing at me? Shall I turn you into a walking corporation? If noona just gives you a few buildings as a gift..."
"Th...that's scary, noona..."
"Does our Seong-hwan-i prefer Jongno? Gangnam? Apgujeong?"
"S...stop it..."
"No, how about an apartment in Hannam-dong? The monthly rent alone there is 30 million..."
"A-ra, your husband is going to piss his pants from fright."
Fortunately, the Director grabbed A-ra's shoulder and stopped her,
so we prevented A-ra's fall to the dark side.
I almost inherited buildings I couldn't possibly handle.
"This is all because of the Director..."
"This isn't the time for that, let's get inside the store and help out!"
The Director cut off my words, dragged Jeong Hwan-yi along, and went inside the store.
A-ra looked at me with a slightly piercing, hamster-like glare,
her cheeks puffed out.
"Is it okay for a husband to laugh when another woman teases his wife?"
"N...no..."
"In exchange for forgiving you, tonight, noona will do whatever she wants."
"Y...you do that every day anyway."
"Nope? I'm going to do it harder tonight."
A-ra said firmly.
Just what was going to happen to me tonight?
It's hard to even imagine.
***
"Since there are many kids there, you need at least three washing machines."
"Then what about dryers?"
"No, you only need one dryer. Instead, you'll need a fridge..."
Reading the pamphlets the employees brought over, I selected the necessary electronics one by one.
From what I remembered, the washing machine was old and its performance had dropped significantly,
the fridge door wouldn't close properly, and there were various other issues.
"TVs too... Three TVs... one each for the living room, the teachers' room, and the kids' room."
"Give us three 50-inch Saemsungs."
"Yes! Understood."
The employees kept running off, finding the items, pulling them out, and filling out the paperwork as soon as we ordered.
Well, what we were buying in a single day could exceed their monthly sales,
so they had to go to this much effort.
"And do you remember anything else?"
"Hmm... I don't think there was a mixer either..."
And so, I spent a very busy time
combing through my memories that were already three years old.