Young-hoon's Business Plan (2)
Ever since he had inherited the ring of the Archmage Hains, Young-hoon had known that his abilities had improved by leaps and bounds.
And perhaps because he occasionally drank the Magic Additive Wine, his skin had grown smoother and firmer, and his face seemed to have become a little more handsome as well.
Most of all, he could feel a wellspring of confidence he had never possessed before.
Of course, he hadn't stopped there. To bring Hains's talents fully to life, he had been running experiment after experiment.
The first of these—music—was already proving itself through Five Girls. Melodies and lyrics that struck straight at people's hearts were sending ripples of excitement across the entire country.
And in the literary realm, his achievements were about to be recognized as well. Once the script he was writing passed muster and drama production began, another cultural sensation would sweep the whole of South Korea.
He also toyed with the idea of using the Magic Additive and the Magic Seasoning to charge into the liquor and beverage markets and go head-to-head with the world's most formidable companies.
But launching a liquor and beverage business would cost an astronomical sum of money, and he still lacked the manpower it would require. So he had been planning to hold off and make his move once a certain foundation was in place.
And yet here were the two Cash Kings, men who had nothing but money, practically begging to hear about his plans for the future.
If the pieces fell into place, he thought, the things he had been planning might just get pulled forward a little.
"Then, humble as it may be, let me lay out my plan.
First, success in the entertainment industry. The truth is, I already run a small company called Girin Entertainment, but I have no intention of settling for where we are now—I intend to build it into a world-class company. Alongside that, I'll be producing dramas and films to sell both domestically and abroad."
"Oh, now that's good. Hallyu, eh?"
"Quite so, quite so. With pretty young ladies at your side, work would never feel like work."
Buoyed by the unexpectedly positive response, Young-hoon pressed on with renewed vigor.
"Second, I plan to expand the elixir business. The elixirs you gentlemen currently take are a VVIP-only operation. I intend to release a downgraded version and sell it to the whole world. I'll add it to wine, cognac, whiskey, baijiu, and so on—then, under our own brand, export it across the globe and conquer the liquor market."
"Quite right. Not just anyone gets to drink what we drink. No, sir."
"Exactly. Men like us deserve to be specially looked after. Downgraded, my foot."
"Beyond that, I plan to enter the beverage and food markets using the Magical Herb Powder. I'll start by applying it to tea and coffee, then gradually broaden the reach into food. And alongside that, I'd like to build a chain of restaurants spanning the entire globe."
As he laid out his ambitions, his confidence seemed to feed on itself, and more and more force crept into his voice.
"And finally, I intend to build a mixed-use shopping complex. Not just simple retail—I'll bring in drama and film set stages, entertainment facilities, shopping centers, lodging, and more, and turn it into a world-class tourist mecca. That way we can draw in tourists from every corner of the globe and rake in foreign currency by the boatload. None of these ventures will operate separately—they have to mesh and turn together like the teeth of a single gear, moving as one organic whole."
The two chairmen were truly astonished to hear Young-hoon's plan.
It was staggering enough that a man so young was thinking on this scale. But more than that, they felt a powerful conviction that if anyone could pull it off, it was Young-hoon. And it even seemed as though there might be a distinct role for the two of them to play.
Chairman Jang, steadying his startled heart, asked quietly.
"Do you have a concrete plan for all this?"
"Not one hundred percent yet, no. As you know, Chairman Jang, I'm going to raise the Five Girls I have under my wing into singers with international renown."
"Five Girls?"
"Eh? Have we heard of them?"
"Yes. Right now they're what you'd call the hottest act in South Korea. They've already made a name for themselves not just with new digital singles but with drama OSTs as well, and they're only going to get bigger. I've already written and composed more than fifty songs for them, so they'll be on solid footing for at least ten years."
"Huh. Young-hoon, I had no idea you were involved in something like that. I thought you were just a company man—turns out you've had your own ideas all along."
"Indeed, I've known you were no ordinary fellow for quite some time now. Speaking of which, those Five Whatsit girls—fine young ladies, are they? Might I get to see them sometime?"
"Why, you cursed old goat? Don't you even think about pulling any of your sleazy tricks. So that's it, is it—trying to get your grubby paws on the girls Young-hoon is raising?"
"Paws, he says. Who's putting paws on anything? I merely find them admirable and wanted to slip them a little pocket money, that's all."
Sensing the conversation careening off the rails, Young-hoon hurried to mediate.
"I'll introduce the girls to you when the opportunity arises. But right now, establishing our position firmly comes first. And for that, the drama currently in production at Sinabro Production absolutely must succeed. If it becomes a hit overseas, everything after that is a foregone conclusion. People will come flocking to our girls who sang the OST. That's where things stand for now. Chairman Jang, since you're an investor as well, I'd ask you to do everything in your power to help the drama sell well abroad."
"Leave it to me. I'll give it everything I've got."
"And as for drama production… I'm currently writing a twenty-episode series, thirteen episodes done. I plan to produce it independently with my own capital, and I'll be composing the OST as well. If the drama is a hit, it'll be smooth sailing from there. I'll also make a film or two a year and go toe-to-toe with Hollywood. And for that, Chairman Jang, your help is absolutely essential."
"Of course! I'll mobilize every connection I have, so don't you worry."
Perhaps feeling left out, Chairman Choi cut in with a sullen look on his face.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Well, of course I have things to ask of you as well, Chairman Choi. If you'll let me get to my next plan, your role will become clear naturally."
"Oh, will it now? Well then, what are you waiting for? Out with it."
"First, the VVIP elixir business will be entrusted entirely to the two of you. Since we'll be proceeding on the strength of your connections, I'd ask you to exercise full authority over the sale of the elixirs. I will simply devote myself to supplying them."
"Indeed, naturally. Nobody but men like us—rich, and with credit to back it—could handle a thing like that."
"True enough, that. Young-hoon, you needn't give that side of things a moment's thought."
"Thank you. I'll leave that part in your capable hands. Now, the liquor business using the downgraded elixir also involves a great deal—permits, sourcing raw materials, building factories, operations, and so on. It will require the two chairmen's capital, expertise, and manpower. You will help me, of course?"
"Naturally. With our lives, if need be."
"Say no more. My blood's already boiling. I feel like I've gone back to my younger days."
"The same goes for the plans after that. The chain restaurants, the theme park—all of it will require a great deal of help from you two. I'm quite certain of success myself, of course, but I believe your experience and counsel will prove an enormous aid."
Moved by Young-hoon's flattery, Chairman Jang flushed and seized both his hands in a firm grip.
"Young-hoon, my boy. Thank you. I'd been waiting for nothing but the day they'd lower me into a coffin, and now you've not only given me a new lease on life, you've let me dream a dream again. Just thinking about everything we're going to do—I'm trembling like a young man again."
"Same here! My days were just one meaningless stretch after another, but now I'm so worked up I could have a heart attack. My heart's pounding—this feels wonderful! You're a far better son than the ones I've got."
"Thank you. But there are still many mountains to climb, so I intend to take our time and move forward slowly."
Chairman Jang nearly leapt out of his seat.
"What nonsense! How much longer do you think we've got to live? We push forward now—you hear me!"
"No, sir. Give me a little more time."
Even for Young-hoon, it would have been impossible to launch everything right this moment. Above all, the things that needed preparing were far too numerous to count.
In the end, Chairman Jang offered a compromise.
"Then how about this—we'll handle the groundwork in advance. That'll do, won't it? Choi, my friend, you and I will set aside some time separately and work with Young-hoon to flesh out his plans."
"Agreed. Though in the end, the key to every one of these businesses rests in Young-hoon's hands, doesn't it?"
"I don't know much about music, but I can read a script well enough—bring it to me the moment it's finished. And the elixirs and the herb powder—how will you supply those?"
Young-hoon judged that he was now riding on the tiger's back, and there was no putting it off any longer. Before these two chairmen burning with enthusiasm, dragging things out any further would have been plain cruelty.
So he made up his mind to get the business underway as soon as humanly possible.
Only, he couldn't very well admit that he'd been making the elixir and the herb powder with magic circles. So he brought out the story he had prepared in advance.
"The truth is… I got in touch with the Taebaek Mountain Taoist Master yesterday. By great good fortune, he says it's now possible to cultivate the herbs needed for the elixir on a large scale. So mass production of the elixir should be feasible—except there's one small problem. The taste doesn't matter, but he says it doesn't produce quite the potency we're looking for. So the elixir made from the mass-cultivated herbs will be used entirely for the liquor business. As for the elixirs for our VVIP clients, he'll prepare those separately from wild-grown herbs and supply them to us."
"Then what about the herb powder?"
"Ah, thankfully the raw materials for the herb powder aren't all that hard to come by. The blending ratio simply has to be precise, and the Taebaek Mountain Taoist Master has agreed to supply it to us regularly."
"Well then, game over. All that's left is to gather the money and the people, and there's nothing left to sit and wait on. Jang, my friend—how much can you muster? I can put up 2 trillion won right this minute, and another 3 trillion within six months, so 5 trillion or so all told."
"I can manage 3 trillion on the spot, and another 2 trillion within half a year—so 5 trillion for me as well."
"Then you and I each put up 2.5 trillion right away, and we're set. But say—can 5 trillion really cover everything Young-hoon is planning to do?"
"If not, you and I can always scrape together another 5 trillion, can't we. And worst case, we borrow from the banks. That'll be that!"
"Wait—did you say 10 trillion won?"
Young-hoon was left utterly speechless at the sheer scale of the two chairmen's thinking.
When they could mobilize this kind of capital at will, no wonder they'd questioned why he wanted to move so slowly.
Come to think of it, they hadn't blinked at paying 100 billion won for the elixir not long ago, and hadn't they been tossing around hundreds of billions like they were buying gum at the corner mart?
Five trillion won was an astronomical sum—the equivalent of saving every single won of his salary for a staggering hundred thousand years at the company he currently worked for.
And yet he simply could not fathom what, exactly, they saw in him that made them willing to invest 5 trillion won apiece.
Watching Young-hoon's flustered state, Chairman Choi flashed a grin and let his confidence show.
"What, think it won't be enough? Don't you worry your head about money. That's our responsibility."
"But if we're borrowing, the interest alone will be enormous."
"Tsk, none of that worrying, I tell you. We've never been attached to our money anyway. We only need the principal back. Besides, you just watch how well that old fox Jang sniffs out the scent of money and snaps it up. The business you're talking about will succeed one million percent. You have my word."
Long after that, the two chairmen kept firing off meticulous questions about every detail of Young-hoon's plan, and Young-hoon answered each one faithfully, within the limits of what he could reveal.
By the time Young-hoon made it home late that evening, he collapsed face-first onto his bed. The two old men had drained him dry, and his body felt as heavy as lead.
Until the moment Young-hoon had risen from his seat, Chairman Jang and Chairman Choi had carried on a heated debate. Judging by appearances alone, no one would have taken them for men of their years.
Like two young bulls locking horns, they had argued their positions fiercely, each trying to win the other over—a war that was no war at all. Meanwhile, the very man who had lit the fuse had quietly slipped away.
Lying in bed, Young-hoon turned the day's events over in his mind.
By his own nature, he never revealed a plan to anyone unless he was certain it was flawless. Yet today, the two chairmen had completely run him over. He'd felt his plans were still lacking in many ways and had intended to refine them step by step—and then he'd gone and snapped up the bait the two of them had dangled.
Still, all he had to do was supply the raw materials, so nothing could really go wrong. The rest the two chairmen would see to, commanding the front lines themselves.
Either way, he was riding the tiger's back now, and there was no dismounting. The only thing left was GO.
All he could do was throw himself into it, headlong and hell-bent, without looking back.