Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 530

Returning as a Building Owner – 530

532

Returning as a Building Owner

2 AM.

Tap!

After wrapping up for the day, Yoo Seung-il entered the date and hit the Enter key one last time to check the day’s sales.

The screen whirred to life, processing the data.

A moment later, the final number appeared: the total sales for the day.

[285,500 won] [Approximately $215 USD]

“Hoo……!”

Yoo Seung-il sighed deeply. It was opening day, yet the total sales didn’t even break 300,000 won.

His fixed monthly expenses hovered around ten million won: three million for rent, six million for video costs, and one million for utilities.

This didn’t even include the cost of a part-time employee.

The head office had suggested hiring someone from the start, but he’d decided to try operating solo first. He simply couldn’t justify the extra expense.

But problems arose from day one.

With sales like these, he wouldn’t even cover his own labor, let alone the fixed monthly expenses.

In other words, he’d be operating at a loss.

Running a business for a month and *losing* money? What would be the point?

“This is a headache.”

Yoo Seung-il shook his head, his gaze returning to the monitor. His eyes locked onto another number beside the sales figure.

[571]

This was the total number of videos rented out that day. 571 rentals, totaling 285,500 won in revenue.

He was still new to this, but judging by the rental numbers alone, it didn’t seem *too* bad.

The problem was the rental fee. At 500 won per video, there was a hard ceiling on potential revenue, no matter how many videos he rented.

If he’d charged the initially planned 1,000 won per rental, revenue would have exceeded 500,000 won. Not a fortune, but enough for him and his wife to live comfortably, with their children grown and gone.

But to do that, he needed to solve one problem.

The closure of Cinema Paradise, the rental store closest to him.

In this commercial district, only one of them could survive charging proper rental fees and operating normally.

If that happened, he could charge 1,500 won per rental and easily make over 800,000 won a day.

With that kind of revenue, he could hire a part-timer and run the business comfortably.

He just had to endure and overcome until then…

Tsk.

Anyway, that was it for today. Tomorrow was another day, another chance to work hard.

“Things will get better tomorrow.”

Yoo Seung-il reluctantly began closing the rental program, trying to feel optimistic.

Just then…

Ring!

His phone rang.

Yoo Seung-il tilted his head, surprised. Who would be calling him at this hour?

“Hello.”

– Mr. Yoo, it’s me.

The caller was Section Chief Park Sun-woo from the head office.

“Oh, Section Chief Park, what brings you here so late?”

– Didn’t you say you’d be open until 2 AM? I’ve been waiting until now.

“Oh, why?”

Yoo Seung-il asked, confused. He couldn’t imagine why Section Chief Park Sun-woo would be calling so late.

– Why else? I was curious about today’s sales. It’s part of my job to plan for the future, and I need to know how things are going.

“Ah, yes, I see. I didn’t realize the head office was paying so much attention.”

– Oh, come on. How much do we…

Section Chief Park Sun-woo’s words trailed off.

He wanted to emphasize that the head office was *always* paying attention, especially during a store’s opening. He made sure to mention it was their job.

Then, he finally asked:

– So, how many videos did you rent out today?

“Huh? You’re not asking about the sales, but the number of rentals?”

It was unexpected. He’d assumed they’d ask about revenue, not rentals.

Section Chief Park Sun-woo replied immediately.

– What’s important now isn’t the sales, but the number of rentals. After all, the rental fee is artificially low right now. In this situation, quantity is what matters.

“Ah, I see. It’s my first time…….”

– So, how many did you rent out today?

Section Chief Park Sun-woo interrupted, pressing for the number. It was clearly important.

Yoo Seung-il answered immediately.

“Exactly 571.”

– What? Is that true?

Section Chief Park Sun-woo’s voice suddenly grew louder.

Yoo Seung-il, puzzled, asked:

“Why are you so surprised?”

– Because that’s better than I expected.

“Is it good? I don’t know, it’s my first time…….”

– Of course, it’s excellent. Especially considering you’re in the middle of a price war. You’ve done well, working hard all day without any part-timers.

Yoo Seung-il’s lips curved into a smile.

He’d been worried after seeing the sales figures. It was clear he’d be in the red within a month at this rate.

But hearing the compliment from the head office, a smile spread across his face.

Then, Section Chief Park Sun-woo continued:

– And starting tomorrow, the videos I mentioned last time will be arriving from all over the country.

“Ah, you mean the videos that Movie Heart branches across the country are contributing?”

– Yes, that’s right. I got a call today. They’ll be arriving tomorrow. So, keep up the good work. Don’t forget the head office is behind you.

“Yes, Section Chief. I will. And I’m sorry about this morning. I made a mistake because I’m inexperienced. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

– Haha, I’ve already forgotten about it. Don’t worry about it. Well, get some rest, and I’ll contact you again tomorrow. Goodbye…….

Click.

A smile remained on Yoo Seung-il’s face after he hung up.

Although he lacked business experience, he knew he needed a lot of videos, especially with the low rental fee.

He couldn’t help but smile, knowing videos were on their way from branches across the country.

But there was something Yoo Seung-il didn’t know: that many of the videos being sent were unwanted stock.

That those rental stores were sending videos they no longer needed as part of clearing out their inventory.

And one more thing.

That the head office wasn’t that interested in the sales of the chain stores. They just needed a way to siphon off funds, and that’s why they called at that early hour.

***

As soon as Section Chief Park Sun-woo hung up, Chairman Min Hong-sik asked:

“He rented out 571?”

“Yes, Chairman. It’s the opening day, and with a rental fee of 500 won, I thought he would rent out at least 1,000 or more with that size…….”

Section Chief Park Sun-woo shook his head, feigning disappointment, then emptied his glass.

It was a completely different demeanor from the complimentary tone he’d used with Yoo Seung-il.

He continued:

“I had to lie to Mr. Yoo and tell him he rented out a lot, but if it continues like this, it’s going to be a problem.”

“I know, only a little over 500 on opening day, even with the low rental fee.”

“Exactly. If it goes like this all month, it’s a guaranteed loss.”

“That’s right, the Bupyeong branch spends about ten million won a month. He’ll lose at least two or three million.”

Chairman Min Hong-sik said, emptying his glass with a serious expression. He took a piece of sashimi and chewed thoughtfully.

Munch munch.

Chairman Min Hong-sik, looked at Section Chief Park Sun-woo and asked:

“What are you going to do?”

“The only way is to give him false hope. That’s why I praised him earlier.”

“You’re going all in on this?”

“That’s the plan. Mr. Yoo has about 100 million won in cash, so he can last for about two years. And if he takes out a loan using his house as collateral, he can extend that even further.”

“Hmm…….”

After a moment, Chairman Min Hong-sik spoke:

“What about our share?”

“Once we get started, we can take out about 30 million a year.”

“30 million a year…… In the end, it depends on how much Mr. Yoo trusts us, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s why I emphasized the head office on the phone. We’ll keep sending him the national inventory as support from the head office.”

“Since quality doesn’t matter to him, only quantity.”

“Yes, that’s right. And fortunately, Mr. Yoo is ignorant about movies, so it will be easy to manipulate him.”

“Okay! That’s good. Of course, it would be even better if the store does well, but even if it doesn’t, we just need to achieve our goal. After all, there will be another sucker next time.”

Chairman Min Hong-sik’s expression changed completely. The worry about losing money vanished.

He filled his glass with alcohol and said:

“Okay, let’s have one last drink and go to the third round [a common term for going to a third bar or establishment in a night of drinking]. There’s nothing we can do even if we worry about it. Section Chief Park, how about that place last time? The madam was pretty good.”

“Haha, our chairman’s taste…… Yes, that’s good. Then, I’ll take you to Cheongnyangri today [a district in Seoul known for its red-light district].”

It was the moment the two men’s eyes gleamed with malicious intent.

***

Yoo Seung-il returned home.

“Honey, I’m home!”

Yoo Seung-il’s voice was full of energy, reflecting his good mood.

His wife, Han Mi-sook, who was waiting in the living room, asked:

“You sound energetic. Was business good today?”

“Not exactly, but I got a compliment at the end.”

“A compliment? From whom?”

“The head office.”

“The head office?”

At the mention of the head office, Han Mi-sook’s voice rose in surprise. It was unexpected.

She asked again:

“What does that mean? What compliment did they give you?”

“Well, actually…….”

Yoo Seung-il recounted his conversation with Section Chief Park Sun-woo.

Perhaps because he was in a good mood, his story was longer than he intended.

After a while, when Yoo Seung-il finished, Han Mi-sook asked:

“So, that means it’s okay?”

“It’s not just okay, they said it’s excellent. And they said quantity is more important than sales right now.”

“But Section Chief Park deliberately waited until this late to call?”

“Yeah, that’s what he said. I was surprised at first. But after listening to him, I realized the head office is paying a lot of attention to us. When that kid left this morning and told me not to trust the head office, I was a little worried, but it seems like he was trying to drive a wedge between us.”

“Of course, that’s why I said it was a divisive tactic.”

“Anyway, that young kid…….”

Yoo Seung-il smiled, shaking his head in disbelief.

Han Mi-sook, seeing his expression, said:

“Okay, it’s late. Go wash up and rest.”

“Okay, let’s do that. Working for 17 hours at my age is no joke. Oh! They said the videos will be arriving from tomorrow.”

“Videos?”

“Didn’t I tell you a few days ago that Movie Heart branches across the country would be sending videos to our store?”

“Ah, that. Because the head office gave instructions…….”

“Yes, exactly. It seems like the head office is there for a reason. They help when we need it.”

“It seems like we only have the head office to rely on. Okay, quickly wash up.”

“Okay, I will.”

Yoo Seung-il headed to the bathroom.

***

Hyun-sung was eating ramen at a late-night snack shop with his employees after work.

They were almost finished when Lee Myung-hoon looked at Hyun-sung and asked:

“Boss, how much do you think they made today?”

“You mean Movie Heart?”

“Yes, I thought they would have made a decent amount since it was their opening day.”

“Well, I don’t know exactly, but it wouldn’t have been easy. It’s tough to do business with a rental fee of 500 won.”

The youngest employee, Yoo Young-seok, added:

“How was our store?”

“When I checked while closing, there was a difference of about 250,000 won.”

“Then we know the answer.”

“Answer?”

“Yes, that means Movie Heart’s sales are about that much.”

Hyun-sung nodded.

“Young-seok’s probably right. Looking at our sales today, there’s not much difference in delivery, and only that much difference in store sales. That means our customers went to their store today.”

“Even so, that means they didn’t even make 300,000 won today?”

“Probably…….”

That was what Hyun-sung expected.

Lee Myung-hoon smiled.

“Boss, isn’t this game over? You predicted they would have to spend about ten million won a month in fixed costs, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then this is obviously over. Even with a rough calculation, they’ll lose two or three million a month.”

“It’s too early to say for sure. The head office will intervene somehow.”

Hyun-sung smirked.

Anyway, Yoo Seung-il will be the one to suffer. He specifically told him not to trust the head office. The problem is how quickly Yoo Seung-il will realize that. The longer it takes, the more painful it will be.

But what can he do? That’s the karmic retribution he earned in his past life.