Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 525

527

Returning as a Building Owner

“What, five trucks?”

“Yes, five truckloads arrived at Movie Heart this afternoon,” Lee Myung-hoon, an employee, reported. He was saying that five truckloads of videos had been delivered to Movie Heart in the afternoon.

Hyeon-seong snickered.

Hyeon-seong nodded as if he understood, smiling slightly without saying much. He knew that the number ‘five trucks’ didn’t really mean much.

However, Lee Myung-hoon, unaware of this, tilted his head, seemingly puzzled by Hyeon-seong’s reaction, and asked directly,

“Huh? Are you smiling, sir?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, I’m telling you this because I’m worried, but you’re smiling as if it’s nothing.”

“Worried? Why?”

Hyeon-seong asked Lee Myung-hoon as if he didn’t know the reason.

Lee Myung-hoon stared at Hyeon-seong for a moment, looking puzzled, then asked again,

“Why? Isn’t it obvious? They’re our competitor, and we’re about to go to war with them. Shouldn’t you be concerned that they received five truckloads of videos?”

“So, why should I be concerned about that?”

“Sir, what’s wrong with you? Are you really asking like that because you don’t understand what I’m saying?”

Lee Myung-hoon looked at Hyeon-seong, frustrated.

How could he not be? It was a competing rental store, less than 100 meters away. And it was opening in just three days.

Five truckloads of videos had been delivered to such a place. Of course, he should be concerned.

But Hyeon-seong was asking why he should be concerned, so Lee Myung-hoon couldn’t understand.

Hyeon-seong looked at Lee Myung-hoon for a moment, then quietly called him,

“Myung-hoon.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Of course, I understand why you’re like that, but what I’m saying is there’s no need to be.”

“What? What do you mean there’s no need to be…?”

“The reason is simple. I already know what those items are like without even looking.”

“You know? What do you mean by that?”

Lee Myung-hoon couldn’t understand what Hyeon-seong meant.

Hyeon-seong’s answer followed immediately.

“Of course, since it’s five truckloads, there must be about 40,000 videos. Because one truck can carry about 8,000 videos.”

“Ah, really? I didn’t know that, but so what?”

“Of course, 40,000 isn’t a small number. But how many useful videos do you think are among those 40,000?”

“Huh? Are you saying there are unusable videos among them?”

“Of course, it’s not that those videos don’t work or are broken. But I’m talking about how many videos are actually worth watching for the customers.”

“Well, that’s…”

Lee Myung-hoon seemed to think for a moment, then immediately opened his mouth.

“Are you perhaps saying that those 40,000 videos are simply to fill the quantity?”

“Almost certainly.”

“Almost?”

“Yes, of course, I can’t guarantee 100%, but as far as I know, at least 40% of those 40,000 were simply to fill the numbers.”

Of course, Hyeon-seong didn’t know this at first either.

But he naturally learned it from doing video rentals for a long time.

How chain stores, especially Movie Heart, open their stores.

Since it’s a large chain store, they have a separate warehouse for storing videos. They usually have warehouses on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province [a province in South Korea surrounding Seoul]. The reason for being on the outskirts is, of course, the burden of rent.

To open numerous chain stores across the country, they must secure video inventory in advance. Therefore, when a store closes down, they rush to secure the inventory first.

The parts where chain stores can make the most profit are interior construction and providing videos.

That’s why the interior construction period inevitably increases unnecessarily.

The same goes for video inventory.

Among the video titles on the market, customers only look for a limited number of movies.

In that situation, there are only two ways to increase the quantity.

One is to put in multiple copies of the same title, and the other is to put in videos that customers don’t even watch.

So-called quantity filling.

Small and medium-sized rental stores have less space, so the quantity is less, but when opening a large store with a large area, the trickery is inevitably more severe.

That’s why even titles that are several years old are stocked with at least three or four copies, and sometimes more than ten, because they were blockbusters.

Also, there are videos that never go out and just collect dust even after several years.

But almost no entrepreneurs know this fact.

They just think that having a lot of videos is the best thing.

But as time passes and they learn more about videos, they realize that they are filled with useless videos.

Of course, by then, all the statutes of limitations have passed.

Lee Myung-hoon tilted his head and asked,

“40%? Are you saying that about 16,000 videos are just for filling the quantity?”

“That’s right, and what’s even more absurd is that those videos are all included in the initial inventory cost.”

“Ah, I see. But the novice entrepreneur probably doesn’t know that fact right now.”

“Of course, that’s what the headquarters is taking advantage of.”

“Wow! They’re really bad guys. In the end, only the entrepreneurs who don’t know anything suffer?”

“But they’re making that much income for that investment, so it’s not all bad. It’s just that CEO Yoo up there was unlucky enough to get caught by me.”

In fact, in his past life, Movie Heart was also successful. They were ripped off at first, but they eventually took over the video market in this neighborhood.

He chuckled.

Lee Myung-hoon covered his mouth and laughed for a moment, then opened his mouth again.

“But, even if that’s the case, what I’m really curious about is you, sir.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Last time, you said that you only occasionally helped out at a rental store, right? But I don’t understand how you know everything from the business methods to this kind of thing.”

“I was lucky, the owner told me all sorts of things…”

Hyeon-seong had no choice but to lie. Otherwise, there was no other way to explain it.

Lee Myung-hoon asked again,

“Then what about our stuff?”

“Ours is completely A-grade. The first thing I did after taking over this store was to throw away the useless videos. I threw away almost 6,000 at that time. And then I brought in more from Yoon-soo hyung [older brother/friend], a used dealer, and filled it up to 35,000 until yesterday.”

“So, in the end, we have almost 10,000 more than Movie Heart? Since 16,000 of theirs are almost unnecessary videos.”

“That’s right, but as I said last time, the important thing is the battle of new releases. We’re getting at least ten times more than them, so there’s no comparison when it comes to inventory. So, don’t worry about that.”

Compared to his past life, it was completely the opposite. Back then, he couldn’t even dare to fight Movie Heart.

Lee Myung-hoon nodded as if he understood, then asked again,

“How will Movie Heart come out?”

“They’ll hold out for now.”

“Holding out means they’ll charge 500 won [Korean currency] like us?”

“That’s right, as I said last time, they have no choice but to follow us. And they’ve already finished talking with the headquarters.”

“Are you saying the headquarters will decide that way?”

“That’s right, they’ll try to watch the situation for now. Then they’ll make a decision again. But the important thing is that they’ll try to make excuses to squeeze money out of them.”

“Squeeze money out? What?”

Lee Myung-hoon stared at Hyeon-seong, looking puzzled.

Then Hyeon-seong chuckled and continued,

“What else but money? They’ll make any excuse to squeeze money out of that person until they run out of money. If that’s not enough, they’ll even force them to take out a loan.”

“So, the headquarters’ goal isn’t for the chain store to do well? Only…”

“No, that’s not it.”

Hyeon-seong interrupted Lee Myung-hoon. Then he immediately continued,

“Of course, it’s good if they do well, because they’ll take more. But if the business doesn’t do well, they’ll continue to stick a straw in them like vampires in any way possible. They’ll even take the inventory at a cheap price when they go bankrupt.”

“Wow! This is completely…”

Lee Myung-hoon shook his head as if he had nothing to say.

At that moment.

Ding-dong!

A girl popped into the store as the door opened.

“Uncle~~~”

That’s right, it’s Yoon Soo-jeong, the daughter of Lee Se-yi, who runs the bakery. Lee Se-yi came by almost every day after work, so they had become this close.

“Soo-jeong!”

Hyeon-seong greeted her happily, and Yoon Soo-jeong handed him a plastic bag.

“Uncle, this.”

“Huh? What is this?”

“Hehe, it’s bread. Soboro bread [streusel-topped bread] that Uncle likes. I’m giving it to you.”

Then Lee Se-yi came in from behind and greeted him happily.

“Hello!”

“Yes, welcome. But you’re a little late today?”

“There were some customers at the end… Oh? But the side dishes…”

Lee Se-yi’s expression soured as she saw that there were no side dishes in the side dish refrigerator.

Then she continued,

“It’s not even 10 o’clock yet, and the side dishes are already sold out?”

“The response was good on the first day. About 50 customers came all at once around 8 o’clock. The side dishes were all sold out then.”

“Oh my… I should have called in advance if I had known… By the way, how much did you prepare to sell out?”

“200.”

“Yes?”

Lee Se-yi couldn’t close her mouth in surprise.

But only for a moment, then she immediately continued,

“The side dishes must have tasted good? Seeing that all 200 you prepared were sold out on the first day…?”

“Yes, fortunately, the customers’ reactions were good. Almost everyone who tasted it bought it.”

“Oh my! Was it that good? It makes me even more sadder to hear that.”

Lee Se-yi’s expression clearly showed her disappointment.

Hyeon-seong couldn’t help but smile as he looked at her.

Then Lee Se-yi, who saw that, couldn’t stay still.

“Huh? What is it? I’m upset right now…”

“Here.”

Hyeon-seong couldn’t hold back any longer and took something out from under the counter and handed it to Lee Se-yi. It was a side dish.

Lee Se-yi’s expression brightened instantly as she checked the side dish.

“Oh my! This is…”

“Actually, Soo-jeong’s mother told me in advance this morning, so I set it aside. But I don’t know if you’ll like the side dish.”

Lee Se-yi’s eyes sparkled as she checked the side dish.

“How can this be!”

“Why?”

“All three side dishes are so perfect. And especially this sausage and vegetable stir-fry is Soo-jeong’s favorite. And this *kkwari gochu* [Shishito pepper] stir-fry and egg roll are my favorite side dishes.”

It was already something he knew. In his past life, he had a meal with her out of regret a few days before she quit the bakery and moved.

And that day, she ate only three more side dishes among the ones that came out as side dishes. That’s why he remembered it.

Because of Yoon Soo-jeong, who followed him so much, that memory must have remained longer.

“Mom, I want to eat this.”

Soo-jeong, who had already found the sausage, reached out as if she would eat it right away.

Then Lee Se-yi quickly put it in a plastic bag and said,

“Soo-jeong, we’ll eat this at home.”

“Okay~~”

Yoon Soo-jeong pouted as if she was sad.

Looking at that, Hyeon-seong couldn’t help but smile. Whatever the reason, he was just happy to be able to see such a cute side of her again.

“By the way, what about the Slam Dunk I borrowed this morning?”

“I already took it home. If you call me after you’ve seen it, our employee will come to pick it up again.”

“No, I’ll just return a few as I watch them. And here’s the money for the side dishes.”

Lee Se-yi, who was about to pay and leave, hesitated and asked again.

“By the way, you said you’re running a deposit system from today, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. If you deposit money, we’ll add 20% more to the service amount. And you’ll also earn points as you watch.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yes? What is?”

“The rental fee is 500 won, and there’s a deposit service and points, are you sure it’s okay to do business like this?”

“Haha, of course.”

As Hyeon-seong laughed, Lee Se-yi tilted her head for a moment, then nodded and continued,

“I like that confidence. Okay, then I’ll just watch videos hard when it’s 500 won. I feel like that’s helping, here’s the deposit.”

Lee Se-yi took out three 10,000 won bills from her wallet and handed them over.

Then Hyeon-seong immediately continued,

“Thank you, it seems like this war will end quickly thanks to Soo-jeong’s mother. And 10,000 won will be added to the service, so 40,000 won will be deposited.”

“Huh? You said it was 20%? But why 10,000 won…”

“You gave me 20,000 won this morning. I processed that as a deposit as well.”

“Hoho, really? You didn’t have to do that…”

Lee Se-yi’s face was full of smiles.

At that time, Yoon Soo-jeong grabbed Lee Se-yi’s hand and shook it, saying,

“Mom, sausage…”

“Oh? Oh, yeah. Soo-jeong, let’s go eat sausage quickly.”

“Uncle~~”

Yoon Soo-jeong waved her hand as soon as Lee Se-yi finished speaking.

Hyeon-seong’s lips were already smiling as he looked at the two mothers leaving the store.

Ding-dong!

Yoo Young-seok came in as the door opened. Then he immediately started taking out videos from his bag.

“Myung-hoon hyung! Here are twenty videos to return!”

Yoo Young-seok’s voice was full of energy.

Then Hyeon-seong looked at him and asked directly,

“Is there something good going on?”

“I sold out?”

“Sold out? Ah! Side dishes?”

Hyeon-seong seemed to understand why Yoo Young-seok was so energetic this evening.

Perhaps it was natural. It was the first time he had made and sold side dishes, and he had sold out.

“Hehe, it’s like a dream. The fact that people are buying the side dishes I made. It’s all thanks to you, sir.”

“What thanks… You’re just talented. Anyway, congratulations. But don’t be too greedy.”

At that moment.

Beep!

Hyeon-seong’s cell phone rang.

“Hello.”

-Sir, it’s… me.

The person who called was Park Cheol-ho, one of the employees. But the strange thing was his voice.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you trembling?”

-I’m here at… Bupyeong Police Station.