The Startup Dilemma (2)
Kim Chirok returned to his studio apartment, but sleep would not come. The question of whether to join Factory Manager Ma in starting a new company was weighing too heavily on his mind.
If we could just get our hands on those molds, this would actually be a business worth trying.
If the seven founding members could generate 1.2 billion won in revenue, he figured they had a real shot. Even with raw materials running close to fifty percent of sales, it could still work — labor costs wouldn't exceed fifty million won a year per person. And if all four injection molding machines were running at capacity, they could pull in 2.4 billion won annually. That would leave even more on the table.
Should I go for it?
Factory Manager Ma was looking to put up 200 million won as startup capital. The most he could actually scrape together, though, was 150 million. He was fifty million short, and that gap was eating at him.
I've got the money from cashing out my savings. Should I try to come up with another fifty million on top of that? I don't have any debt — maybe I could take out a fifty-million-won employee loan?
Neither Factory Manager Ma nor Manager Cho ever mentioned employee loans. Chirok suspected Ma had already borrowed against his employment and spent the money on something else. As for Manager Cho, he was a credit delinquent — he couldn't get a worker's loan even if he wanted to.
If Chirok took out a fifty-million-won employee loan and combined it with the sixty million from his cashed-out savings, he would have 110 million. He could leave ten million sitting in his account and put a hundred million toward the company. The equity would break down like this:
That would give him a legitimate claim to the presidency. He would be the one putting in the most money, after all. Even without that, Factory Manager Ma had already said he was fine with Chirok taking the top seat. Ma seemed to figure that as long as his own paycheck came through, it didn't much matter whose name was on the door.
Another week went by. Kim Chirok picked up the phone and called Factory Manager Ma.
"Where did you come up with the remaining fifty million?"
"Nobody wants to invest. They all say starting a company's too risky."
"Can't you take out an employee loan, sir?"
"I already took one out the year before last. I had credit card loans outstanding, so I used a relief loan to pay those off. If I could still borrow, what would I have to worry about?"
"I'll invest a hundred million won."
"W-what did you just say?"
"I'll put together a hundred million. But the money only goes in once we've got those molds."
"We'll get the molds one way or another. And around tomorrow, I'll tell the president I'm taking the four injection molding machines."
"The company's not even officially shutting down yet. Are you sure that's all right?"
"Last night the president gathered every manager at department-head level and above. He told us to prepare ourselves — it looks like we'll have to start winding the company down."
"I see. I don't know how much useful life those machines have left, but he's not going to just give them away, is he? He'll want money for them."
"We'll have to ask him to cut us a deal. The president's been hurting for cash lately, so he'll want to offload them fast — dump them before the creditors come swarming in after the shutdown."
"Then there's a real chance we can take them over."
"I'll pay the president for the machines myself. And you — like you said, once we've got the molds, you have that money ready."
"Understood."
"I can't thank you enough, putting up a hundred million like that. I feel like I've got some real backing now."
"I'll say it again — this only happens if we secure the molds."
"I hear you."
Chirok had just come back from the restroom when the phone rang. It was Manager Cho, the production manager.
"Kim Chirok? It's me! Manager Cho."
"Ah, yes, sir."
"You're a real class act, you know that?"
"A class act?"
"I hear you're putting up a fortune. With that kind of money you could open a fried chicken place right here in Hyangnam-eup. I really appreciate it."
"Ah — you're talking about the startup investment."
"If you're coming in, you put up the most money, so of course you'd come in as president. Plus you've actually done management work."
"Factory Manager Ma should be the president."
"I just talked to him a minute ago, and he said if you're in, of course you should be president. You're really something, you know that?"
"The most important thing is still the molds. If we can't get those, I am not investing. I mean it."
"Don't you worry about that. Throwing a fit is my specialty! If the Mitsutech people show up demanding those molds, just watch how I raise hell."
"And if Mitsutech calls the cops?"
"Then I run. If I take off without handing over the molds, they're the ones left holding the bag. Right?"
"Well. I hope it works out."
Lunchtime arrived. Kim Chirok was eating in the company cafeteria when Ayako, the Japanese woman, came over with her meal tray and sat down beside him.
"You're a little late for lunch today."
"Ho-ho-ho. A truck came in to load pallets."
"Please, eat up."
Ayako was about to start eating when she smiled and spoke again.
"It's confirmed — Yoshiko's coming in mid-December. Ho-ho."
"Hirosue Yoshiko? Is that true?"
"She said she wants to come to Korea and get a change of air. There's some complicated business at the okiya — the geisha house. She said she'd come sightseeing, to clear her head."
"Complicated business? What happened?"
"This is just between us. The otokoshi at the okiya has taken a liking to Yoshiko, so she's coming to Korea for a while to get away from him."
"Otokoshi? Is that someone's name?"
"Ho-ho-ho. No, no. An otokoshi is the man at the okiya who dresses the geisha in their kimono. He helps with their makeup sometimes, too. He's the only man in the house."
"Is that so?"
"A geisha can't put on a kimono by herself, or do her own geisha makeup. And the man who works there is supposed to be under the okasan's — the madam's — control, so he's not supposed to fall for any particular geisha. But apparently that's exactly what's happened."
"Doesn't sound like Yoshiko cares for him."
"She said he's disgusting, that she can't stand him. An otokoshi isn't supposed to have feelings for a geisha in the first place... I suspect it's because this one is the okasan's own younger brother."
"It'd be wonderful if Yoshiko came. Please show her around. Tell her to visit the Secret Garden at Changdeokgung Palace — it might help her clear her head."
"Ho-ho-ho. I will. But Kim Chirok — you will help carry my friend's and Yoshiko's luggage, won't you?"
"If that's what you'd like, I'd be happy to. Haha."
"All right. I'll mention it to my friend. Ho-ho."
Chirok found himself thinking that Yoshiko suffered more than her share of hardship simply because she was so beautiful.
Yoshiko seems to go through an awful lot. First it was some steel company owner's son who fell for her and then killed himself. Now even the man who works at the okiya is making her life difficult.
He suspected she felt much the same way he did. He had Oh Ha-young chasing him whether he wanted her or not, Bang Mihee doing the same, and even his Japanese language instructor seemed to have a quiet thing for him, which made him uncomfortable. But in Yoshiko's case, the men who liked her turned aggressive — and that was a different kind of problem. It occurred to him that she must be frightened.
The next day arrived. Kim Chirok was at his desk working when Factory Manager Ma came up to the office. Chirok assumed Ma had come to see him. He hadn't. Ma walked straight into the president's office.
He didn't even glance at me. Went right into the president's office. What's going on? Ah — he must be in there to ask for those injection molding machines.
Ma did not come back out anytime soon. This was clearly not a routine approval. He had gone in to request a transfer of the machines, and he was almost certainly haggling over the price with the president. He would only talk about taking the machines, though. He wouldn't mention walking off with Mitsutech's molds. That would put the president in an impossible position too.
A good while later, Factory Manager Ma emerged. He walked past Chirok's desk, squeezed one eye shut in a tight wink, and kept going. Judging by his expression, the talk with the president had gone well.
Chirok pulled the injection molding machines' history cards from the office files. The useful life looked to have expired, but they hadn't fully written off the residual value yet. On the balance sheet, the machines were all still listed as tangible assets.
No free transfer, then. We'll have to pay something for them.
Around four in the afternoon, Factory Manager Ma called.
"Kim Chirok? Can you talk? The fire fox is right there next to you, isn't she?"
"You mean the Accounting Manager? She stepped out for a moment."
"Talks with the president went well. The machines we wanted were originally going to an engineering firm, but he's agreed to let me have them."
"What price did you settle on?"
"We're taking two of the hydraulic vacuum injection molding machines at ten million each. The other two at five million apiece."
"So thirty million in total."
"That's still a bargain. If we tried to buy those on the used market, we'd be looking at sixty million or more."
"You didn't tell him we're taking the molds, did you?"
"Couldn't say a word about that. The mold storage contract is between Mitsutech and Hyangnam Tech. If we don't hand them over, the president would be in a tight spot too."
"You haven't signed a lease on the new factory yet, have you?"
"Not yet. Now that the president's giving us the machines, we need to sign. Luckily the factory we had our eye on is still available."
"Then you'd better sign it."
"I'm thinking of doing it as soon as tomorrow. But you're still in, right? We're counting on you. If you back out now, we'd be in serious trouble."
"I already told you. I do this if we get the molds."
"You don't need to worry about that. Mitsutech doesn't want the production line going down either. When you come on board, you're going to be representative director. That's non-negotiable."
"I don't want it. You should do it, sir."
"That's not happening. I may be an uneducated bastard, but even I know that in a corporation, the person with the biggest stake becomes representative director. I'll call you back once I've signed the factory lease."
Kim Chirok hung up and looked out the window for a moment. He was going to be the president of a tiny factory. Life, he thought, really was a strange and unpredictable thing.
Then the phone rang. It was a number he didn't recognize. Still, it was a personal mobile number, so he answered.
"Hello?"
It was a young woman's voice.
Who is this?
"This is Kim Chirok, right?"
"Yes, it is. Who is this?"
"Hello. I'm a friend of Oh Ha-young's."
The moment he heard Oh Ha-young's name, it felt as if his blood had reversed course in his veins.
"Would you happen to be the one who works at a corrugated box company in Bucheon?"
"Yes, that's me. So you remember."
His guard went up at once. What kind of scheme were these women cooking up now?
"What do you want? Do you have any idea how thoroughly that bitch Oh Ha-young has wrecked my life?"
"I know. I know you left H Group. And I hear you're working at a small company in Hyangnam-eup?"
What? She knows I work at a small company in Hyangnam-eup? How far does these women's information network reach? They already know I'm here.
A chill crawled over him. Oh Ha-young seemed to know everything about him, as clearly as the palm of her own hand.
"How did you know I was here? Have you been digging into my background?"
"We found out because you filed documents with the court. I don't know much about the law, but I heard you submitted something called a defense brief."
Right. So they found out through the lawyer? Or did the court show them the defense brief — here's what the defendant claimed, go verify it? Either way, these women get their information fast.