The Pitiful SME?
"……."
For a moment, Fernandez had no choice but to remain silent.
"……."
Fernandez’s silence continued. It was only after Yoon-gi called his name a second time that he managed to break it.
"Ah, I apologize. For a second, I think I momentarily forgot who I was working for."
In truth, this wasn't Fernandez's fault. Yoon-gi’s social status was, after all, that of a minor. Because of that, even his closest aides sometimes found themselves grappling with the disconnect between his age and the reality of his power. This was one such case. Fernandez had been agonizing over how to handle the manufacturing, but in reality, there was no reason for such concern.
Yoon-gi was an incredibly wealthy individual with personal assets exceeding 1 trillion won, and he was the Chairman of the YK Group, a company where he didn't even have a reason to spend that money. Since the entire group was privately held and, excluding the 10 percent stake in YK Department Store, everything else was owned by Yoon-gi, the entire group was effectively his personal property. Of course, he had promised to take the Shin-sang Group public later, but that would happen about a year from now, so it had little to do with the current work.
[I understand what you're worried about, but please don't worry at all about the manufacturing. Just tell me the materials needed, and I will simply buy the factories that handle and process them.]
Once Yoon-gi’s firm commitment was given, there was no need for further hesitation. Even though he was on the phone, Fernandez nodded his head vigorously.
"Then, I will handle it without any worries."
Fernandez was certainly competent. As soon as the manufacturing issue was resolved, he sent over the draft.
"Don't you think this looks pretty decent if it’s actually made?"
At Yoon-gi’s words, Ryu Geun-tae nodded.
"Indeed. By the way, I’ve long known of Fernandez’s design skills, but his drawing ability is truly immense. It’s a drawing, but it feels like looking at a photograph."
Many people had probably seen it before—works that were clearly drawings but looked so much like photos that people were shocked. Fernandez had realized his imagination like a photograph, and it was a huge help for Yoon-gi to intuitively grasp the finished product.
"Honestly, it’s almost a waste to use it for this job. Hmm……."
Yoon-gi fell into thought for a moment, then nodded as if a good idea had just struck him.
"Secretary Ryu."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Find a company that can make these items. And check if that company has metal processing capabilities."
"Metal processing capabilities?"
"Yes. Keep the shape the same, but for the general product, the material can just be cheap junk jewelry sold on the street."
"Does that mean there will be a version that isn't a general product?"
Yoon-gi nodded.
"Yes. We should make a product that uses real metal so we can sell it for a much higher price. We went to the trouble of getting a good design; it would be a waste not to use it, wouldn't it?"
To Ryu Geun-tae, it looked as if the pupils of Yoon-gi’s eyes had turned into '$' signs.
Why do large conglomerates use subcontractors? There are two main reasons. One is when the subcontractor is effectively a subsidiary. In particular, South Korea’s chaebol families had very strong blood ties even entering the 2010s. Normally, the founder's influence should weaken through inheritance, but that influence was passed down intact to the descendants. As a result, they would entrust subcontracting companies to their own blood relatives and funnel all the volume to those subcontractors. A prime example was snacks. The reason why South Korean snack packaging was unnecessarily large was precisely because the packaging company was owned by the owner’s relative.
Choi Deok-bae was eating a snack that had already been offered to him, wearing a very satisfied expression. It was a mushroom-shaped chocolate snack. The mushroom cap was covered in plenty of chocolate, and in this era, if you opened the inner packaging and poured it into the outer box, the amount was so generous that it filled more than half the box. But by the 2010s? You could buy three boxes, put all of them into one, and there would still be space left—the packaging had become very loose.
"The snack packaging of the future is very generous. It would have been nice if they were that generous with the snacks instead of the packaging."
Yoon-gi also enjoyed the taste of 80s snacks, popping them into his mouth one by one.
"Snacks really are best when they’re this sweet and stimulating."
"People say sweet things are bad for your body, but whether it’s sugar or rice, once it enters your body, it’s all the same glucose."
"Back in the day, I was quite easily swayed by the people around me."
In his days as a laborer, Yoon-gi was quite prone to being swayed by what others said. Of course, that attitude wasn't limited to just Yoon-gi. It was safe to say that most, if not all, of his fellow laborers were the same. From the classic "Eating meat makes you fat" to "Fruit is always good for you." Furthermore, starting in the 2010s, as the health craze on the dining table began, people had to suffer. Pineapple in soybean paste stew, rice that was nearly half lentils, kimchi made with celery instead of cabbage. The ones who suffered the most from these "dining table destroyers" were the "ignorant people." Meanwhile, the ones making money were the "knowledgeable people" who used TV to induce the sale of such products.
"Come to think of it, did Samwoo put pineapple in soybean paste stew back then?"
Choi Deok-bae’s words pierced the reality of the situation.
"Exactly. A small number of people might have that taste, and it can be respected, but it was really hard when they tried to force it on others. Ugh. I once went to a colleague's house during my laborer days to eat, and they served kimchi made with mackerel salted seafood! They even said it was their first time making it."
For a moment, Choi Deok-bae’s expression clearly conveyed the word 'yikes'.
"……I said my stomach didn't feel well that day so I didn't eat it, and I heard the next day that the colleague and his wife went to the hospital together."
Choi Deok-bae, who had been shaking his head, opened his mouth again toward Yoon-gi.
"Do I not use subcontractors?"
Yoon-gi asked, thinking of his own aides, and Choi Deok-bae added a bit more, knowing what Yoon-gi was thinking.
"Are you worried?"
The second reason why large conglomerates use subcontractors spilled out of Choi Deok-bae’s mouth.
"Do you think I would use subcontractors?"
"Well, I suppose so."
Yoon-gi ate a snack and smiled at Choi Deok-bae.
"If I’m going to use them as subcontractors anyway, wouldn't it be better to just keep them under my wing?"
"If I take 100 million won less, I can gain the loyalty of 10 people."
"If I only wanted to take the easy path, I wouldn't have built a department store in the first place. Do you want to see me only taking the easy path?"
Finally, Choi Deok-bae smiled as well. He began to wear an expression filled with anticipation for how Yoon-gi would select his factories.
In the YK Group, which was operated by a small elite force, who would usually step up when sales-related tasks arose? Internal insiders could easily guess. Although the number of people doing related work had increased a little these days, there was no one in the YK Group who could surpass Chief Ma Seok-il. Furthermore, Ma Seok-il was a close aide to Ryu Geun-tae. There was no reason for him not to be put into this job.
"Chief Ma. This job is something the Chairman is paying special attention to. So you must proceed with extra care."
Ryu Geun-tae said this while having Ma Seok-il sit on the sofa in the president's office. As soon as Ma Seok-il heard it, he burst into a hearty laugh.
"Hahahaha! Don't worry. I will definitely make it a success. YK is a place that gives certain rewards for success, so how could I fail?"
"Good, that’s the kind of confident attitude I like."
Ma Seok-il liked YK too much. The atmosphere where merit was clearly rewarded was great. At his previous company, if he handled work well, his superiors would steal the credit or just end it with empty praise.
"Ah, President. Have I ever told you about my old company?"
"That’s right? You haven't told me the details."
"Do you know when I most wanted to hand in my resignation when I was working at my old company?"
"When was it?"
Although it was a relationship between president and chief, they were also close aides, and furthermore, friends with a slight age gap. If Choi Jong-hyo, who had been by Ryu Geun-tae’s side in the past, hadn't betrayed him, Ma Seok-il’s current position might have been split between him and Choi Jong-hyo. But now, Choi Jong-hyo was gone, and only Ma Seok-il remained, enjoying Ryu Geun-tae’s favor.
"When I first got a job as a salesperson at that company, they said if I brought in 30 million won in sales, they would give me 300,000 won as a performance bonus."
"That’s not a bad condition?"
Converted to the 2010s, that was roughly 1 million won in bonus per 100 million won in sales. It certainly wasn't a bad condition.
"Yes, it’s not a bad condition. The problem is, I hit the 30 million mark in the first month I joined, right?"
"Oh, as expected of Chief Ma!"
Ma Seok-il gave a bitter smile at Ryu Geun-tae, who was admiring him.
"But I didn't get it."
"Why?"
"Because I was a trainee. They said I wasn't a regular employee during the 3-month probation period. So I kept trying and hit 30 million in sales every month until the 4th month."
"Wow, that’s truly amazing! But somehow, this sounds like a worrying story."
Ma Seok-il nodded.
"Yes, that’s right. Naturally, I didn't get it."
"What was the excuse?"
Ma Seok-il sighed with a bitter smile, as if it were absurd.
"They said the company’s situation was difficult. And they said there were a lot of refunds, so it was hard to say I had actually hit the 30 million mark?"
"Wow, what trash. So what did you do?"
Ma Seok-il’s expression turned bitter.
"If I were alone, I would have handed in my resignation and left right away, but I had a family, so how could I do that? I just worked. Instead."
"Instead?"
"From then on, I deliberately kept my sales just barely one rank above the bottom. So the president started acting like a jerk again."
"Naturally, he would."
"Who am I? So I made a deal that if he paid my salary, including the performance bonus, in advance, I could generate good sales."
"And then?"
"That guy reduced the bonus to 150,000 and accepted it. So anyway, I did it."
"But looking at the fact that you were fired now……."
As Ryu Geun-tae trailed off, Ma Seok-il nodded with a bitter expression again.
"After I grew the company for several years, he must have gained confidence, so he found an excuse to fire me."
"There are so many stupid people in the world. They fire employees who would lay golden eggs if they just left them alone, all because they don't cater to them?"
"Well, looking at how that company is struggling now, that says it all. In a way, it was a blessing in disguise."
"Because you had those ups and downs, you are the Chief Ma you are today. YK never ignores performance. So, it’s a waste of breath to say it twice, but do a good job!"
"Yes!"
The meeting of minds took place in the president's office. A few days later, Ma Seok-il confirmed that the president of his old company had applied for this factory selection.