[The Multiplex Strategy]
Instead of finishing his sentence, Yoon-gi pulled a stack of photographs from the brown envelope on the table and began distributing them to everyone. Once the photos were laid out before them, Yoon-gi asked, "Looking at these, does anything come to mind?"
The photos Yoon-gi had shown them were, quite simply, pictures of movie theaters. If one were to distinguish a person's generation based on the 90s, the difference would lie in whether they called it a cinema or a theater. Up until the 80s, the phrase "Hey, let's go check out the theater!" was universal. While the term cinema began to be used properly in the late 90s, the word theater remained common well into the early 2000s. After all, many places that screened movies were named "OO Theater." The photos Yoon-gi had just handed out clearly displayed the name "Ilchul Theater."
"I'm not asking for a correct answer. I want you to tell me what kind of business comes to mind when you look at these."
At Yoon-gi's prompt, Choi Chul-kyu raised his hand first. "Are you thinking of jumping into the film business?"
"Could you be more specific?"
"Film production?"
"That's not a bad thought, but unfortunately, no. Even if I had the talent of a director, there's no reason to jump into it now. Even if I made a massive hit, it wouldn't catch up to the revenue of YK Department Store."
"Hmm..."
"But that was a great answer. You know I like that kind of proactive attitude, right?"
Yoon-gi's words sparked a desire in everyone to answer, but because the question was harder than they expected, no one easily raised their hand. They wanted to respond, but they couldn't think of the right "angle." In the midst of this, Kang Seok-ho cautiously raised his hand.
"Are you thinking of operating theaters?"
"Could you be more specific?"
"Franchising the theaters... that is my thought."
Yoon-gi gave a light clap. "Half right. But you haven't reached the core yet."
Still, satisfied that he was half right, Kang Seok-ho wore a pleased expression. Several other answers followed, but none were the correct one. How much time had passed? Fernandez, who had been quiet until now, suddenly let out an "Ah!" and slapped his left palm with his right fist, nodding.
"Are you thinking of operating a 'multiplex'?"
"Perfect! Correct!"
As Yoon-gi clapped, everyone looked at Fernandez with envious eyes.
"Fernandez, explain to the others what a multiplex is."
"Understood."
Fernandez looked at everyone and held up a photo. "I didn't get this because I'm smart; I got it thanks to this photo. If you look at this, there's only one movie playing in one theater, right?"
"Isn't that how it's supposed to be?" Ryu Geun-tae asked, and Fernandez shook his head.
"It's not like that in the United States. They screen five, or even ten or more movies simultaneously in one theater complex. This is called a multiplex—'complex screening hall' would be the appropriate term in Korean."
"What? They screen over ten movies at once in a single cinema?"
Ryu Geun-tae asked, clearly fascinated. It was understandable; as someone who had spent his 20s studying and job-hunting, and his 30s grinding away for Yoon-gi, it was virtually impossible for him to have encountered foreign culture.
"Yes. Where else is capitalism as developed as it is in the U.S.? If you operate a theater of this small scale, maintenance costs will surely be low. However, there is always a ceiling on the money you can earn when a hit movie comes out. That's why there are so many multiplexes in the U.S. You have a Korean proverb, 'Row when the tide comes in,' right? A multiplex is a method optimized for exactly that kind of operation."
Seeing Fernandez, who had only ever done design work, show such sharp insight, the aides who already knew him were all left speechless.
"That's a truly concise and easy-to-understand explanation. By the way, Fernandez, you use proverbs so well—are you sure you aren't Korean?"
At Ryu Geun-tae's question, Fernandez seemed to think for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Hmm, perhaps I have some Korean ancestors? Come to think of it, this morning I had kimchi fried rice with kimchi as a side dish, and kimchi bean sprout soup for the broth."
"...Who makes you eat like that?"
"I had a drink with Pike and Aaron last night, and Pike made it for me, saying this is the 'real deal' in Korea."
"I guess they hang out with you often since they can't play with me these days."
"Actually, Pike said he was bored because President Ryu got married. Last time we went over, he said he couldn't go anymore because he was scared of the way Hana-ssi glared at them after 9 PM?"
"9 PM is the time for important business, after all."
At Ryu Geun-tae's serious reply, everyone in the room except Kang Seok-ho burst into laughter. Kang Seok-ho, however, looked fascinated rather than amused.
"Secretary Kang, is something strange?"
Kang Seok-ho shook his head. "No. It's just that I've never actually experienced a meeting like this. There's certainly a lot of small talk, but it seems much more efficient than the meetings at the Shin-sang Group, where people just pick at things unnecessarily."
"It's good to have an atmosphere that forms naturally according to the agenda. Right now, we have plenty of room to breathe, don't we?"
At Yoon-gi's reply, Kang Seok-ho nodded. "It certainly seems so. I wonder what it would be like to introduce this at our Shin-sang Group."
However, this thought of Kang Seok-ho's remained a mere consideration due to Jung Dong-yoon's realistic remark.
"Hmm... Chairman Kang, it is certainly a good thing to introduce new things, but it probably won't be easy. In our case at YK, the meeting is a place where the Chairman presents an agenda and distributes tasks. But in most companies, a meeting is a place where the bottom submits agendas and the top decides. Especially since they are busy tearing apart the agendas of rivals or other factions, it will be difficult to create this kind of atmosphere."
Certainly, as someone who had been a veteran at SESS for a long time, Jung Dong-yoon had a knack for grasping the essence, and this advice was firmly planted in Kang Seok-ho's mind.
"Ah... so that was the problem. Then, in the end, it means that even if I can't be as good as the Chairman, I at least have to try to emulate him for this atmosphere to be possible."
"I suppose so, wouldn't it?"
Sincere advice and an attitude of tolerance to accept it. Thanks to this, the atmosphere among the aides was warm.
"Ah, this kind of meeting is good, but when I worked as a designer in the U.S., there was another meeting method."
At Fernandez's words, Ryu Geun-tae asked curiously, "What kind?"
"We just hold the meeting in a 'push-up' position. Then the meeting ends in 5 to 10 minutes."
The meeting room erupted in laughter once again.
"Ho-ho, shall we try that once?"
Even Yoon-gi joined in, and Kim Jung-sun shook his head with a pained expression. "Please spare me. I'm too old now; if I did that, I'd get a chill in my bones."
It was a truly pleasant atmosphere. Sensing that the swamp of small talk might be endless, Yoon-gi deliberately cleared his throat to quickly refresh the atmosphere.
"Now, the task from here on is simple. Secretary Ryu."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Secretary Ryu, think about the locations among the land I own that are suitable for operating a multiplex. First, there must be a high floating population. It's not important that many people live nearby. Second, the financial status of that floating population. After considering these two things, select the most suitable place and report to me."
"Understood."
Although nine aides participated, the distribution of work was limited to Ryu Geun-tae. It was understandable, as most of the people present already held their own positions. Thus, the meeting ended with the task given to Ryu Geun-tae, and the aides all stood up and left Yoon-gi's mansion in pairs.
"Chairman Kang, do you have a moment?"
It was Choi Chul-kyu who spoke to Kang Seok-ho. "Ah, of course."
"Then, how about a cup of tea?"
"Would I refuse?"
The place Choi Chul-kyu took Kang Seok-ho to was the café where he had first spoken with Yoon-gi. Although it was a bit worn with time, it still retained its old appearance. Of course, Choi Chul-kyu hadn't brought him here to pressure him. It was simply for the scent of the past. Feeling that, Choi Chul-kyu ordered two cups of tea, and once the tea was placed on the table, he began the conversation again.
"How was the atmosphere?"
"Ah, it was truly fascinating. I often feel stressed due to the tension when I go into meetings, but today it felt like I was at a class reunion."
"In fact, such meetings shouldn't exist. It's called a meeting, but it's effectively a gathering. In a way, having the talent to turn a place that should be an official setting into an unofficial one without creating any discord is truly remarkable."
Kang Seok-ho agreed with Choi Chul-kyu's praise of Yoon-gi.
"I can see why Secretary Ryu has been loyal beyond his years. Honestly, I've only just joined, but Secretary Ryu must have joined much longer ago, right?"
"He joined when Yoon-gi was ten."
"Whoa... that's truly amazing."
As Kang Seok-ho expressed genuine admiration, Choi Chul-kyu feigned a pained expression. "Damn, I joined around the same time, too."
At the somewhat comical sight, Kang Seok-ho chuckled and nearly spat out the tea he had in his mouth. Thinking the atmosphere had ripened, Choi Chul-kyu began his work.
"Ah, I'm telling you this just in case, but if you leak what happened in the meeting room today to the outside, you will be in real danger."
"Ah, that goes without saying."
"I'm saying this because I'm worried you might look into other places to help with the work. If you run around yourself, information leakage might be less, but if you have your subordinates investigate and it gets spotlighted externally..."
At Choi Chul-kyu's words, who made a gesture of slitting his own throat with his hand, Kang Seok-ho nodded with a serious expression. "Ah... there could certainly be such a problem. It's a matter of excessive loyalty."
Choi Chul-kyu shook his head. "No. Excessive loyalty doesn't matter. What I'm talking about is 'loyalty that cannot take responsibility.' It would be good to keep in mind that our foundation is, after all, an information war."
Feeling the sincerity, Kang Seok-ho bowed to Choi Chul-kyu. "I will keep that in mind. Thank you very much for the good advice."
Kang Seok-ho had actually been thinking of looking for good locations himself, but after hearing Choi Chul-kyu's advice, he blew that thought away completely. In truth, he wasn't confident he could block information as well as Yoon-gi could.
"I feel like I get along well with President Choi."
At that moment, Choi Chul-kyu gasped and shook his head. "Ah, I'm telling you this just in case, but I'm not trying to form a faction. You'll be in big trouble if you form a faction. It's just that since Secretary Ryu got married, I've been bored, and I just wanted to get close."
Kang Seok-ho, understanding what he meant, smiled and nodded. "I understand. If it's alright with you, would you like to have a light drink this evening?"
"That sounds good."
While Choi Chul-kyu and Kang Seok-ho were cementing their friendship over their new meeting, Yoon-gi was out checking out theaters himself.