The True Power of the Magic Seasoning
While Manager Kim ran the meeting with Marketing Team 3, Deputy General Manager Cho sat facing Managing Director Kim.
"I looked into it separately, and just as you said, Deputy Cho, the mood at the electronics market isn't good. So here's what I'm thinking—it would be better to hold off on this TV delivery until the end of the month. Let's wait until the market quiets down a bit before shipping. Then there won't be any problems, right?"
In that instant, Deputy Cho felt the something that had been wedged tight in his chest finally slide down and away. The anxiety and restlessness that had been gnawing at him eased, if only a little.
"Yes, sir. I'll handle it that way."
"You do understand that the only reason I'm telling you to take these measures is because I care about you, Deputy Cho?"
"Thank you, Managing Director!"
"I'll have a word with President Jung myself and make him see reason. There's no need for you to call him as well. Anything else you need from me? Then get out there and work."
Deputy Cho left the managing director's office with a bitter smile.
So he never once suggested canceling the fake deliveries after all. I've bought myself a month, at least. If only the phone mess would blow over, I'd be set. Not that it changes the fact that my life just got a one-month reprieve...
The moment Deputy Cho returned to the office, he handed out work assignments to Manager Kim, then read through and approved the emails and documents waiting for his signature.
When Young-hoon shot him a glance, Park Dae-ri took the hint and rose from his desk. The two of them settled into the break room, brewed themselves a cup of coffee each, and got down to business.
"Deputy Cho's face looks a lot better than it did this morning. You noticed too, right?"
"Yeah. You think he got some kind of assurance up in the managing director's office?"
"I caught a bit of the instructions he was giving Manager Kim—sounded like he was telling him to execute something at the end of the month, though I can't be sure."
"Hmm. Then wouldn't that mean he's told him to push the fake deliveries to month's end?"
"We could just ask Manager Kim and know for certain, but that's probably it, isn't it? He's dodging the rainstorm that's falling right now. The market mood has to settle down first, after all."
"Even so, isn't it just a time bomb in the end? Still, at least we've bought ourselves about a month."
"December is when the personnel reshuffle happens. Do you think there'll be trouble?"
"If the bomb goes off after everyone's transferred out, the only people who'll suffer are the poor souls left behind to clean it up. Still, doesn't it make sense to prepare in advance?"
"I'd say so. Imagine getting transferred to another team and then having an explosion go off in your old one—you'd have to march back over and fix it. How embarrassing would that be?"
"Exactly, so let's get ready early. I wouldn't bet against an audit coming."
"Right, there's the regular audit too. When that happens, they'll dig through three years' worth of records, every last page."
"Probably, yeah. Let's head back in. Deputy Cho's in the office..."
By the time Young-hoon and Park Dae-ri returned to the office, Deputy Cho's chair was already empty. He had no doubt headed straight for the sauna. When Young-hoon asked Manager Kim, it turned out to be exactly as he and Park Dae-ri had guessed during their coffee break.
Even so, a month was a month. His life had simply been extended by thirty days.
There were noticeably fewer complaint calls today than yesterday. None of the callers could get a clear answer about their claims, and it seemed they'd figured that shouting the same things over and over wouldn't accomplish anything, so they were holding back.
Young-hoon was just steeling himself and refocusing on work when a text arrived from his cousin's husband.
Around that hour, Chairman Jang finally dragged himself awake.
He'd played another four-round match with Ji-hye the night before. They'd gone through the first and second halves, then extra time, and just as they were lining up for the penalty shootout, the opposing side raised the white flag first. Tsk. So he'd waited until morning, then prepared to finally play the postponed shootout.
The other side, having apparently recovered her stamina, had agreed to the shootout with real enthusiasm. And she'd fired off a harpoon shot, no less. Which was why he was still sprawled across the bed, groaning and boneless.
But something was strange. He clearly remembered drinking five or six glasses, and according to Young-hoon, the elixir's effects were supposed to run out on Sunday—yet he'd felt as spry as ever yesterday. A touch weaker than the first day, admittedly.
So the effects didn't vanish overnight; they tapered off gradually. Which meant that with two glasses, he could probably play at full throttle for a good seventy-two hours at least.
That worked out to roughly three weeks of matches per bottle of wine, even playing every single day. Of course, unless he turned into a seal, daily matches were out of the question. But if he trimmed the match time down a bit, he could easily keep playing for a month straight.
Eureka! Young-hoon, my boy, thank you so much!
He figured if he told Choi about this, the old man would say a hundred billion won was a bargain. It wasn't like he could take the money with him to the grave—and the man had given him back the joys of life. What was a hundred billion between friends? Hehehehe. And thanks to that old buzzard Choi, he'd get to taste the elixir again today.
Suddenly, energy surged below his belt. Ji-hye was still sprawled on the bed, limp and moaning—maybe it was time to go find himself another sweetheart? He indulged in the pleasant fantasy, grinning to himself.
At that very same hour, Chairman Choi, too, was belatedly rising from his bed.
He'd run all night with his young lover again yesterday. His stamina had dipped a little, but he'd been good for a solid two or three hours. His young lover claimed three hours was her limit and was telling him to go find another woman.
Honestly, the nerve of her...
But something was strange. If Jang's claim that the effects lasted one day were true, they should have worn off by Sunday—yet he'd galloped away merrily last night too. That meant the effects lasted well beyond forty-eight hours, no question. He figured seventy-two was about right.
A bottle of wine poured roughly fourteen glasses, so that worked out to seven times three—twenty-one days. There were limits to his stamina, so galloping every single day wasn't feasible. Even so, he was confident he could keep it up for over a month.
And Jang had said his body's age would grow younger, too. The elixir was the real deal.
The hundred billion won Jang had quoted didn't sting in the slightest. Money never ran short no matter how much he spent anyway—so if not now, when was he supposed to spend it? Excellent. He'd have the three hundred billion ready today.
And maybe his young lover had a point—should he take on another sweetheart? His sons were guaranteed to raise hell about it... he'd worry about that later. For now, he had one more penalty shootout to settle with the young lady.
Young-hoon spent his time compiling the November sales targets. November's targets were modest, and with the mess Deputy Hong had caused, things were relatively relaxed. Even if he did absolutely nothing, they'd blow past the three-billion-won sales target without breaking a sweat.
The single greatest source of stress for anyone working in a marketing department was hitting the sales target. Take away that stress, and a marketing job would be the most comfortable life a salaryman could ask for. The working environment was free enough that even if you overdid it the night before, you could just sneak off on a field assignment and pass out. The people stuck doing desk work all day couldn't run wild—tomorrow existed for them too. They could only cut loose on a Friday or so. But the marketing crowd could gallop any day of the week. The only things they lacked were time and money.
That was why, when most people requested a transfer, they wanted to land in a department that churned out sales—plenty of free time, and all the drinks they wanted on the house. Of course, when supply is scarce and demand is high, the price goes up. Which was exactly why Marketing Team 3 was, without question, a plum posting.
Except for that slug Deputy Hong, of course.
The morning drifted by, and before anyone noticed, it was lunchtime. Young-hoon coaxed his teammates into eating out, and after some back-and-forth—he'd buy the coffee if someone else picked up the lunch tab—Manager Kim agreed to foot the bill.
They had a simple lunch of kalguksu noodles at a place near the office, then headed to a coffee shop. They ordered four coffees, and the bill came to about what a decent lunch for four would cost. Coffee in this country was absurdly expensive.
Amid such musings, the coffee arrived. Young-hoon carried the cups to the table, passed them around, and made a show of his generosity.
"Before you drink, I have something to tell you. Last Chuseok, back in my hometown of Inje in Gangwon Province—you know where that is, right? Anyway, there's this Taoist master on Mount Taebaek I've known for years, and he gave me a bit of his herbal powder. He said if you stir it into tea or coffee, the flavor becomes incredible. I've tried it a couple of times myself, and honestly, it's out of this world. So, for my hardworking teammates, I brought some of the herbal powder along. Just add a pinch and give it a try."
"Whoa, seriously? They say people will even drink floor polish if it's free—but powder from a Taoist master has to be good for you, doesn't it?"
Young-hoon added a small pinch of the magic seasoning—the herbal powder—to each of the four coffees, then let everyone have a taste.
The moment the members of Marketing Team 3, Manager Kim included, sipped the coffee laced with the herbal powder, their eyes went wide. None of them knew much about coffee connoisseurship, but the brew went down smooth as silk. They had never tasted coffee this good in their lives. Ordinary coffee could never produce a flavor like this. It was simply delicious—the kind of drink that would ruin every other coffee for them forever.
True to form, Park Dae-ri was the first to lose his composure.
"Hey! Kim Dae-ri, this stuff is insane! I've never tasted coffee like this in my life. This isn't coffee—it's like drinking a bottle of herbal tonic. It's so good I shouldn't gulp it down. I need to savor this, sip by sip."
Then Lee Ji-young chimed in.
"Kim Dae-ri, I fancy myself something of a coffee drinker, and I've never tasted anything like this. Like Park Dae-ri said, it's almost too good to drink. Any chance you'd be willing to sell me some of that herbal powder?"
And last but not least, Manager Kim wasn't about to be left out.
"Kim Dae-ri, I'm not much of a coffee man, so I don't drink it often—but if it tasted like this, I think I'd buy it every day. This is genuinely incredible."
That was when Young-hoon realized his magic seasoning was perfectly suited to coffee. It had never been meant to be stirred into food. But he did wonder why it hadn't tasted this good when he drank it last night. Most likely, drinking coffee after alcohol meant the booze masked the coffee's true flavor.
At any rate, if these three were this satisfied with the taste, anyone else would be too. Hehehehe. Young-hoon was fighting hard to keep a grin from splitting his face.
"It really is that good, huh? The thing is, I only got my hands on a small amount... So please just enjoy this for today, and I'll bring back plenty more when the chance comes up."
"Hold on... does this coffee have some kind of awakening effect? Why do I suddenly feel energized? Is it the herbal powder?"
"Thank you, Kim Dae-ri. For letting me taste coffee this delicious..."
"Kim Dae-ri, I'm thinking of taking up coffee as a hobby now, so count on me next time!"
All three of them were already showering Young-hoon with thanks.
Watching their reactions, a premonition bloomed in Young-hoon's chest: if he built a coffee business and a tea business around the magic seasoning, it would be a colossal, monster, once-in-a-lifetime hit.
Yes!! Another business item for the list! But when do I start this one? It'll take serious capital... maybe I should start small, with a coffee shop first?
Thanks to the brand-new business idea, Young-hoon was already brimming with drive.