The Famous Millionaire

“What? Are you sure?”

Hyunwoo’s eyes widened. He was so surprised that he shouted out of the blue before he realized it.

“Yes, the products passed our tests. In my opinion, our products compare favorably with the Japanese products. Mr. Sangtaek Kwon said our products with their current quality are competitive enough in any market around the world,” said Sungji Na, the president of N&C Vietnam.

“Even Mr. Kwon said that?”

Hyunwoo felt that if Sangtaek agreed, then there was no question about the quality of the products that Sungji mentioned. Sangtaek’s analysis meant that the N&C products were of the same grade as the Japanese products even if they could not surpass them.

Hyunwoo wanted to shout in joy, and he had no reason to suppress his feeling because he was outside the office.

“Hooray!”

“Let me ship the samples by air within three days,” said Sungji.

“Got it.”

As soon as he came to the office the next day, Hyunwoo informed Youngsu, the manager of the news about N&C’s new products. It was good news to Youngsu.

“Really? Are you sure they can pass our new quality standard?” asked Youngsu.

“Yes. I think the dream team played a big role.”

“How wonderful! When will they deliver the samples?”

“They will be delivered before the end of this week.”

“Great. Let me report to the president, so he can order the research team to prepare the tests.”

Youngsu rushed to the president’s office as if he couldn’t waste even a second which made Hyunwoo excited all the more.

Then, someone called Hyunwoo’s cell phone. It was his mother.

Suddenly, Hyunwoo’s heart sank because it was extremely rare she would call him casually at this time. His father’s face came to his mind.

Hyunwoo picked up the phone immediately thinking that something bad had happened to his family.

“Yes, mom. This is Hyunwoo.”

“I have no idea what’s going on now, son!”

Her tone was rather high, suggesting she was pretty much excited about something.

Hyunwoo’s face turned pale momentarily, “What’s the matter? Is there anything wrong? Where is Dad right now?”

“Dad? He is at home, I presume,” said she in a tone that asked why he was mentioning his father. If that was the case, then he had no reason to worry about his father which was good.

When Hyunwoo breathed out a sigh of relief, she continued, “What is Kisan Industry? And where is Kyongguk Factory?”

“Kisan Industry? Kyongguk Factory?”

They were not that strange to Hyunwoo. Both of them were located in Ansan. Though Hyunwoo had no direct ties with them, he went there lots of times while doing chauffeur service.

Why would his mother mention these firms?

“Do you have any ties with the presidents of those firms?”

“No, mom. Why?”

“Well, I got a call from them asking me to prepare breakfast for their employees. They want me to prepare soybean, rice balls or kimbap (seaweed ball) the way I do for Aurum. I had as many as six calls from factories today.”

“Really? Six factories?”

Hyunwoo just felt dumbfounded at the thought of the multiple orders.

Assuming that each of the six firms had at least 50 employees, it would 300 meals in total. As for Kasan Industry, it was a rather big factory with at least 150 workers. If half of the workers wanted breakfast, his mother would have to prepare breakfast for over 300 people with Aurum employees included.

What time would she have to get up in the morning to prepare breakfast for such a huge crowd?

Even though the muscular Hyunmin had started working for her, such a big order would be pretty tough for both of them to prepare. Hyunwoo was afraid that she would overwork because of the meager income, but she didn’t think that way. Her high tone suggested that she was not worried but excited as if she was saying, ‘I feel we might be rich sooner or later.’

Actually Hyunwoo wanted to tell her like that they were already very rich, and if he sold his stocks in N&C Vietnam, he could make several billion won.

Instead, he got suspicious.

How did they get her phone number and call her? Oh, I see!

Suddenly, someone’s face came to his mind.

The only company that gave others tips about supplying breakfast was Aurum. Obviously, neither Suji Min nor Youngsu Park were responsible for it because this kind of business could not be done quickly by an ordinary employee.

Hyunwoo remembered that he had been called to the president’s office and felt something strange about President Park’s actions at the time.

President Park did it!

After the call, Hyunwoo was troubled because he had to figure out how he could lessen his mother’s burden. As soon as he was done with work, he headed home and discussed matter of breakfast supply with her.

In fact, Hyunwoo didn’t have to worry about it. His mother said that Hyunmin gave her a simple solution.

“Two boys from the House of Happiness have offered to help us.”

“Really? They would have to get up very early in the morning to help you.”

“Well, I’ve decided to give them 600,000 won per month for their work. As we’re not busy on weekends, they’ll be paid 30,000 won per day. They’re making good money as high school boys, aren’t they?”

“Good job! I feel very relieved to hear that, Mom.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, son, just take care of your health. Working all the time, day and night, like that will ruin your health”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Mom.”

It was three days later when the new product samples of N&C were delivered to Aurum. The research team put aside their main job and tested the quality of the samples.

The tests were a great success. There was not a single one that failed the test in terms of the quality requirement. The manager of the research team even said that the samples exceeded the new quality standards in every respect.

Daebong gave the order immediately, “Keep using the existing casters of E65 Series but replace them with the new N&C products starting with the K65 Series.”

That accounted for about sixty-five percent of all parts used by Aurum. The purchasing team moved quickly to replace the casters, but things didn’t work out as they had hoped because the large difference between Aurum and N&C’s unit price was still a problem, .

Hyunwoo scratched his head, “I heard they wouldn’t accept our unit price. They’re asking for more because they’ve invested a lot in improving the quality of the parts.”

Youngsu was a bit surprised that Aurum increased the unit price. Based on the C65F Series, Aurum imported existing parts for 320 won a piece. They offered 370 won for the new part which was a little over a fifteen percent increase, but Aurum wanted more.

“How much more do they want?”

“They want at least 420 won per piece.”

Park’s jaws dropped at the new price.

“If that’s what they want, there is little difference between their unit price and that of domestic parts.”

Hyunwoo nodded his head and said, “Right. Some are cheaper and others are more expensive in the domestic market, but there is no other company than Castor that can compete with N&C products. In terms of the quality, what they’re asking for is not that high.”

This time Youngsu looked at Yonggu and asked,”What do you think, Yonggu? Do you think their demand for the higher unit price is justified?”

Hyunwoo checked Yonggu’s countenance. Yonggu virtually had the final say when it came to determining the unit price. If he okayed it, Youngsu would report it directly to the president, but if he rejected it, Hyunwoo would have to wage a difficult persuasion war with them.

Yonggu considered his answer carefully. He checked the test results of the N&C parts as well as the same parts produced by other companies and said, cautiously, “Comparing the quality only, I think N&C products are cheap, but we have to take into account the efforts we made for the creation of the dream team. We took the lead in pioneering the N&C products in Vietnam. In that respect, I think we have to meet halfway on the unit price.”

Youngsu hummed, “You mean we have to lower the unit price even though we can raise the selling price, right?”.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then, what do you think is the right price baseline?”

“If I could have my way, I’d like to lower it below 400 won, but it seems a bit difficult. As they have improved the quality, they could find any buyer other than us. I think we have to negotiate 400 won as the Maginot line.”

“I wonder if the president will approve it, though.”

“We have no choice. As things stand now, N&C has the upper hand. We’re in a situation where we have to beg them to sell their products to us.”

Youngsu seemed to be troubled by Yonggu’s remarks a bit but soon nodded his head.

“Okay, then. You are responsible for negotiating with them on the unit price, Yonggu. Lower it to 400 won without any condition, and don’t drag it too long.”

It was rather challenging demand, but Youngsu had to get it done to prove his performance to the president.

“Got it, Manager Park.”

Listening to Yonggu and Youngsu’s conversation, Hyunwoo felt a bit guilty because he felt like a spy, but there was nothing he could do. He felt that guilt was misplaced so long as he made good use of his position toward mutual benefits rather than abusing it for his own interests.

The perfect scenario was for Hyunwoo to pose as a mediator between N&C and Aurum, so that he could get them to sign a contract for the price that Aurum wanted, but it was a question of whether or not Yonggu could assign that task to him.

How can I talk to him on this? Can I just ask him to have me negotiate with N&C?

Hyunwoo had been thinking about it when Yonggu called him, “How about coffee?”

Hyunwoo checked his countenance a bit. He was going to ask Yonggu to go out for coffee.

Hyunwoo stood up quickly from his seat, “Sounds good.”

Both went up to the rooftop because it was perfect for a quiet conversation. There were some other employees there, but it was large enough that they could talk comfortably without being overheard.

Hyunwoo waited for Yonggu to bring up the topic first.

Yonggu opened his mouth, “Please help me, dude. Try to persuade Mr. Dohyun Kim.”

Hyunwoo smiled brightly at that. After all, Yonggu was on the same page with him.

Hyunwoo nodded without any hesitation, “Sure, will do. Don’t worry. Let me persuade Kim to accept the unit price at 400 won without any conditions.”

“If you feel it’s hard, let me know. I’ll ask the old guard to do me a favor.”

“Got it. Can I get his reply this week?”

Yonggu smiled in satisfaction, “Of course. I’m sorry to say this, but let me turn in the report. Manager Park asked me to do this, so I just feel awkward if you do it. I would like to give a strong impression to the president on this occasion. Please understand me.”

Hyunwoo felt grateful that Yonggu asked a favor like that of him. It meant that Yonggu thought they were pretty close.

“Of course, man. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Thanks! I think I’m lucky to have a good friend like you.”

After he left the office that evening Hyunwoo called Vietnam. He had to be very careful in the office all the time so that he wouldn’t mention the commission fees of N&C Korea in the middle of his conversation with Sungji Na.

Hyunwoo felt comfortable talking to Sungji about the unit price.

“In terms of the value, I know the new product is not worth 420 won but more than 500 won, but could you make it 400 won in consideration of my situation right now? Instead, I won’t receive any commission the products you supply to Aurum.”

The original product’s price was only 340 won per unit, and the new product to replace it was 70 won more expensive, but most of the upcharge was a technology transfer fee that went to the dream team who worked on it. Without the transfer fee, the price was a bit over 300 won per unit; thus, if the new product was priced at 420 won per unit, it would mostly be a mostly value added product.

However, without the commission fees that N&C Korea was supposed to take, N&C Vietnam would actually make more than 420 won per piece.

After he asked for Sangtaek and Dohyuk’s opinion, Sunji agreed without any hesitation, “Got it, but I expect that you’ll raise the unit price for other new dealers.”

“Of course. I guarantee that I will get more than 450 won from other dealers by all means. Let me send you a contract.”

After he hung up the phone, Hyunwoo clenched his fist. He felt as if he crossed a big mountain, but he could not be satisfied with that. He had to seize the golden opportunity to promote the new products.

He worked through the night to draft a press release and submitted it to manager Park.

“Manager, this is a draft press release on the new product.”

Park reviewed it. It was a press release about the dream team’s work on the caster, and Dohyun was the central player. The content was something like this:

<The best technicians in Korea who led the efforts on the innovation of casters formed a dream team led by Dohyuk Kim at N&C. However, they could not secure price competitiveness due to the cost of labor in Korea, so they relocated to Vietnam to continue their work. Finally, the first fruit of the dream team’s efforts was created.

Recently Aurum, the leading company in the domestic furniture industry, improved its own quality standard. The new caster developed by the dream team passed the test and led to the N&C signing a contract with Aurum. All eyes are on the success story of the dream team now producing new casters in Vietnam.>