Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 512

514

Movie Heart Headquarters.

“What are you talking about?”

Chairman Min Hong-sik was questioning Director Park Sun-woo about some strange information he had just received.

He wanted to confirm what he’d heard.

Director Park Sun-woo responded, “All the rental shops in that neighborhood have handed over their management rights to him.”

“What do you mean? How could such a thing happen unless they’ve lost their minds?”

“I don’t understand it either. According to my investigation, these rental shop owners have been in the business for 5 to 10 years. It doesn’t make sense that they would entrust their shops to a young man who is just starting out.”

“Hmm…”

After a moment of thought, Chairman Min Hong-sik asked again, “What were the conditions?”

“Conditions?”

“They wouldn’t have handed over the management rights without any conditions, would they? What I’m curious about is what conditions he offered.”

“Well, that’s…”

Director Park Sun-woo hesitated.

Chairman Min Hong-sik immediately asked, “What are the conditions that you can’t say?”

“It’s just too absurd. The condition he offered is…”

Director Park Sun-woo began to explain the conditions Hyun-sung had presented. As he explained, Chairman Min Hong-sik repeatedly tilted his head, as if he couldn’t understand. When Director Park Sun-woo finally finished, he asked, “So, he’s basically offering to pay their average net profit every month?”

“Yes, that’s right. In exchange, he asked for the management rights, including the right to decide rental fees and video purchase costs.”

“So, he’s basically taking over the management.”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s why I don’t understand it. Someone who has never run a rental shop before is now going to manage a total of six shops, including his own.”

“Well, I’ll be…”

Chairman Min Hong-sik couldn’t understand it no matter how much he thought about it.

How could this be possible?

A person with no experience is going to run six rental shops?

‘How…’

After a moment of thought, Chairman Min Hong-sik asked again, “The others are paying rent, so I can understand that, but what about that owner Choi? He owns the building and has 10 years of experience. Why would he entrust his shop to that young man?”

“The last thing he said was decisive.”

“The last thing he said? What was it?”

“He said he wanted to protect their precious everyday lives.”

“Protect their everyday lives? Ha…”

Chairman Min Hong-sik couldn’t help but laugh. The statement sounded absurd to him.

Director Park Sun-woo continued, “And before they parted, he also said that he wanted to create a world where people live together, not alone.”

“What, a world where people live together? He’s full of hot air.”

“That’s what I’m saying. He’s still young and doesn’t know the world.”

“What kind of world is it… Anyway, he’s opening tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Smirk.

A strange smile spread across Chairman Min Hong-sik’s face as if he was thinking something.

He immediately opened his mouth again, “He ordered 300 copies, right?”

“You mean ‘Hit’? Yes, that’s right. I confirmed that he placed an order for 300 copies with the sales representative.”

“He must be crazy. How long does he think he can last operating like that?”

“That’s what I’m saying. He’ll probably be pulling his hair out when it’s time to pay for the videos at the end of the month. If he keeps ordering other videos like that, it’ll easily be 60 million won [approximately $45,000 USD].”

“60 million won a month… He’s definitely insane.”

Chairman Min Hong-sik shook his head.

Chairman Min Hong-sik, who had no idea that Hyun-sung would be selling the items as used goods ten days after their release, was reacting as expected.

Nowhere else in the world would a video rental shop pay 60 million won for supplies.

After that, the two men continued to badmouth Hyun-sung for a long time before leaving the office.

***

-300 Copies of ‘Hit’ Arrived!

A smile spread across Hyun-sung’s face as he looked at the banner hanging in front of the shop.

At that moment, his employee, Lee Myung-hoon, asked, “Boss, are we really getting 300 copies of ‘Hit’ tomorrow?”

“Why? Don’t you believe me?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that it doesn’t feel real. I’ve been to many video stores, but I’ve never seen a store with more than 10 copies of even the biggest hit.”

That was true. Usually, it’s not easy to buy more than 10 copies of a single title, no matter how big of a hit it is.

In fact, most rental shops buy about 2 to 5 copies, even for blockbusters.

Of course, in the case of very large stores, there are occasionally cases where they buy more than 100 copies. However, that is extremely rare, even among the top stores in the country.

In that situation, it was naturally difficult for Lee Myung-hoon to believe that 300 copies were coming.

Hyun-sung smiled and continued, “It’ll be quite a sight to see 300 copies lined up.”

“I think so too. But I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Will all 300 copies actually get rented out?”

“That’s why the kids are working so hard to advertise, right?”

The reason why the four delivery employees were going around the apartments within a 3-kilometer radius distributing flyers was precisely that. They couldn’t handle that volume by just waiting for customers to come to the store.

Lee Myung-hoon asked again, “And I have another question.”

“What is it this time?”

“You said that you’re going to sell 250 of the 300 copies as used goods after ten days, right?”

“I did. So what about it?”

“You said that by then, we’ll have made back the cost of the videos and even made a profit. I’m wondering if that’s really possible.”

From Lee Myung-hoon’s point of view, it seemed impossible no matter how he thought about it.

Hyun-sung smiled and immediately opened his mouth, “Myung-hoon, answer the questions I’m about to ask you.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

“How many deliveries do you think we’ll make in a day?”

“Hmm… Well, we’re open from morning until 2 AM, so we might make as many as six deliveries, or maybe only one. So, on average, wouldn’t we make about three deliveries?”

“Okay, of course, it would be great if we made more, but let’s say we make an average of three deliveries. How many deliveries would that be in ten days?”

“Hmm… Three deliveries a day, so that would be thirty deliveries in ten days.”

Lee Myung-hoon said confidently, as if it were obvious.

Then Hyun-sung asked again, “How much is our rental fee?”

“2,000 won.”

“No, it’s 1,500 won because we’re renting them out with the condition that they’re returned immediately. We agreed to give back 500 won.”

“Ah, that’s right. So, the rental fee is 4,500 won a day. That’s if we average three deliveries.”

“Then, finally, if we multiply 4,500 won by ten days, we’ll get the total rental fee, right?”

“Ah…!”

Clap!

Lee Myung-hoon slapped his knee and immediately continued, “45 times 10 is 450, so that’s 45,000 won.”

“How much did I say the video cost?”

“22,500 won.”

“Okay, now calculate how much is left over.”

“There’s no need to calculate. There’s exactly 22,500 won left over.”

“Wrong!”

Hyun-sung smiled and lightly tapped Lee Myung-hoon’s head.

Lee Myung-hoon looked at Hyun-sung and immediately asked, “Why? That’s what you get when you calculate it.”

“Where did the money from selling the videos go? You have to calculate that too.”

“Ah! That’s right. You said we’d sell them for 11,000 won… If we calculate it exactly, there’s 33,500 won left over. Wow! In just ten days. Then, if we multiply that by 250…”

After calculating for a moment, Lee Myung-hoon looked at Hyun-sung and opened his mouth wide.

“Boss, that’s amazing. It comes out to exactly 8,375,000 won [approximately $6,300 USD].”

“Wow, you can do that in your head?”

“Haha, I learned abacus when I was in school. Oh! Boss, but that’s not all, is it? We still have 50 copies left, right?”

“How much does it come out to if you calculate that too?”

“Just a moment… So that’s… Wow!”

Lee Myung-hoon covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes widened as he opened his mouth again.

“Boss, this is really amazing. If you calculate the rest, it comes out to exactly 9,500,000 won [approximately $7,100 USD]. And since we’ve already made back the cost of the 50 copies, we still have the videotapes.”

“How is it? Isn’t the video business worth doing?”

“If we just calculate 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD] per title and get 5 hit titles, that’s 50 million won [approximately $37,500 USD] in net profit alone. And that’s in just ten days. Wow! These are really possible numbers!”

Lee Myung-hoon was at a loss for words, with a surprised expression on his face.

Seeing that, Hyun-sung spoke again, “How many videos do you think will come out in a month?”

“Well, about 30?”

“More than 50.”

“That many?”

“It’s not about how many come out, it’s about choosing the ones that make money.”

“I guess not everyone watches everything that comes out.”

Back then, the video market was so active that there were a huge number of videos being released every month. There were more than ten sales representatives, so what more explanation was needed?

But the important thing was to find the titles that made money, which was essential for rental shops.

The important thing was that Hyun-sung already knew that.

Hyun-sung continued, “You know Jin Do-yi, right?”

“Jin Do-yi? Of course, I know her. She’s the actress who starred in ‘The Milking Cow Wife is Having an Affair,’ right?”

“How many episodes do you think that will have?”

“Well…”

“It’ll have 13 episodes. It’ll keep coming out for years to come.”

At that time, there were a huge number of erotic videos being released every month. Of course, it started with the ‘Milking Cow Wife’ series, but as that video became a hit, the erotic video market quickly expanded.

The titles were also impressive.

Numerous imitations were made, such as ‘The Twisted Wife is Relaxing,’ ‘The Turtle Wife is Flipping Over,’ and ‘○○ Wife ○○ed.’

In addition, the ‘Eojjugu-ri’ series and the ‘Sister-in-law’s Diary’ series were also popular. The erotic video market was truly in its golden age.

Lee Myung-hoon immediately asked, “Oh? How do you know that, Boss?”

“Huh? Uh… I just know.”

Smirk.

Hyun-sung just smiled lightly, feeling awkward, and then continued, “The important thing is that it makes money.”

“The ‘Milking Cow Wife’ series?”

“No, it’s not just that. Erotic videos themselves are a huge boon for video rental shops. In my opinion, erotic videos are more profitable than major hit videos.”

The reason is simple. There’s no burden on the purchase price. They are cheaper than general release movies in terms of price, and when you buy one, they give you several as a service.

Of course, it’s on the condition that you return them in 2 weeks to a month.

Even so, the rental fee is the same as other movies, so it’s naturally more profitable than famous release movies in terms of income.

Lee Myung-hoon asked again, “Don’t a lot of erotic videos come out every month?”

“That’s what I’m aiming for. The people who watch them watch them no matter what. Maybe, just maybe, erotic videos will account for 40% of our store’s sales.”

“That much?”

“Just watch. I’m sure I’m right.”

“If that’s the case…”

After thinking for a moment, Lee Myung-hoon asked again, “How much monthly sales do you think we’ll make, Boss?”

“Two hundred million.”

“Two hundred million… It can’t be two thousand, could it be… two hundred million won [approximately $150,000 USD]?”

“Yeah, you calculated it earlier, but one title makes a net profit of 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD]. And that’s in just 10 days. If you calculate it that way, wouldn’t we make at least that much?”

“Hmm…”

After pondering for a moment, Lee Myung-hoon looked at Hyun-sung and suddenly bowed his head.

“Boss! I’ll work hard!”

Lee Myung-hoon’s voice was full of energy. It was clear that he was excited.

How could he not be? He was told that the video store would make 200 million won in sales.

But the reason he was excited was different.

That’s because Hyun-sung, the boss, didn’t set a salary at the time of hiring, but said that he would pay a salary in proportion to sales.

Tap tap.

Hyun-sung lightly tapped Lee Myung-hoon’s shoulder and continued, “Myung-hoon, look forward to it.”

“Honestly, I’m nervous. I wonder how much my salary will be in a month.”

“I don’t know either. But what’s certain is that I don’t know how much you’re imagining, but it’ll be more than that.”

“Ah!”

Lee Myung-hoon covered his face with both hands, as if he couldn’t control his emotions.

Seeing him, Hyun-sung spoke again, “That’s the price you paid for trusting me.”

In fact, he didn’t offer a salary when he first hired him.

It was perhaps an absurd situation. Is it possible to hire an employee and say that you will pay a salary in proportion to sales later?

That meant that if sales were low, the salary would naturally be low.

Nevertheless, Lee Myung-hoon willingly said that he would work.

I don’t know why he made that choice.

Lee Myung-hoon continued, “Do you know why I made that decision that day, Boss?”

“Well, honestly, I’m curious about that too. It wouldn’t have been an easy decision.”

Smirk.

Lee Myung-hoon smiled instead of answering, and then opened his mouth again, “It’s because of your first question.”

“First question?”

“Yes, you asked me that day, ‘Have you eaten?’ I was so grateful for that. I’ve been to many places, but you were the first person to ask me that question. So I made that decision right away.”

“……!”

Hyun-sung tapped Lee Myung-hoon’s shoulder once again instead of saying anything else. There seemed to be no need for any other words.

It was then.

Lee Myung-hoon pointed to the other side of the street with his chin and continued, “Who is that person? He’s been watching us since earlier…”

Hyun-sung’s gaze naturally turned to the other side of the street, and a bitter smile immediately began to spread across his face.

After a while.

Thud!

Hyun-sung’s footsteps began to head towards the other side of the street.