Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 568

“Why is that guy here?”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo was utterly dumbfounded.

The person who had just entered Movie Mind was someone he knew well. It was none other than that kid from Cinema Paradise.

Why would that kid enter Movie Mind?

And so confidently, even entering the password.

He knows the password?

That means Yoo Seung-il, the owner of Movie Mind, must have told him. Which means Yoo Seung-il handed over the videos to that kid.

‘Could it be?’

If that’s the case, things change.

This was the situation he had been most worried about.

Regular used goods dealers can’t touch Movie Mind’s stuff anyway. Everyone in the video industry knows that already.

But there’s one exception: that kid.

He’s not a dealer, so he’s not subject to any pressure from Movie Mind. Or, more accurately, Movie Mind can’t exert any pressure on him.

Because of his wealth.

If he wanted to, he could shake the thousands of Movie Mind stores across the country.

‘What to do?’

After a moment of contemplation, Chief Manager Park Sun-woo took out his phone and hurriedly started making a call. He decided that he couldn’t make this decision alone.

The phone rang twice before the other party answered.

-Hello.

“Chairman, it’s me.”

The person Chief Manager Park Sun-woo called was Chairman Min Hong-sik of the headquarters.

-What’s going on?

“I think something’s happened.”

-What? What happened?

“That kid just went into Movie Mind.”

-Didn’t you say President Yoo was still in the hospital? How could that kid get into the store?

Chairman Min Hong-sik immediately understood who Chief Manager Park Sun-woo was talking about. That’s why he didn’t ask any further questions.

“He entered the password himself.”

-What? The password? Doesn’t that mean President Yoo taught him the password?

Of course. The fact that he confidently opened the closed door and entered meant that the owner had given him the password.

But Chairman Min Hong-sik was surprised not only because of the password. He knew that giving the password meant something more.

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo felt the same way.

“That’s right. But the important thing is that it’s not just about the password.”

-I know what you mean. Giving the password means entrusting something more.

“I think so too. It seems President Yoo handed over the goods to the kid instead of us. What should we do now?”

-This is troublesome. Let me think for a moment.

Chairman Min Hong-sik was silent for a while, as if deep in thought.

After a while.

Chairman Min Hong-sik spoke again.

-First, we need to confirm. Go into the store. If our prediction is correct, we should just withdraw. There’s no point in getting involved with that kid.

“I think so too. It would be a headache if we provoked him and he decided to fight us. Then I’ll go into the store.”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo hung up the phone and immediately started walking towards Movie Mind.

At that moment.

Hyun-sung was checking the goods at Movie Mind.

Just then.

Clang!

The store door opened and someone came in.

Hyun-sung naturally thought it was a customer and turned his head towards the door. But the person who came into the store wasn’t a customer looking to rent a video.

“Oh, you are…?”

The person who opened the door was Chief Manager Park Sun-woo from Movie Mind headquarters.

Hyun-sung immediately asked.

“What brings you here?”

“Long time no see, President Kim.”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo hesitated for a moment before deciding to drop the formalities. After all, there was a 15-year age difference, so he decided to address him that way.

But the reason for dropping the formalities wasn’t just because of age. He wanted to show that he was above him.

It was childish, but he couldn’t help it.

On the other hand, Hyun-sung couldn’t help but feel awkward. Of course, he had seen him briefly at the opening last time, but they had never formally greeted each other. So, being addressed so casually in that situation felt a bit awkward.

But he decided to ignore it, as making a fuss would be strange.

“Yes? Yes, but what brings someone from headquarters here?”

“I was just passing by and saw the door was open, so I came in.”

“Passing by?”

Hyun-sung almost laughed. It was because of Chief Manager Park Sun-woo’s obvious lie.

Seoul isn’t just the next neighborhood over. How could he just be passing by? But he didn’t want to nitpick.

Hyun-sung nodded and continued.

“Oh, is that so?”

“But what brings President Kim here?”

“President Yoo asked me for a favor.”

“A favor?”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo couldn’t help but be sensitive to Hyun-sung’s words. That’s why he reacted immediately to the word ‘favor’.

Hyun-sung continued.

“Yes, President Yoo asked me to give him an accurate estimate.”

“Estimate?”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo was surprised by the word ‘estimate’ this time. That meant he was going to hand over the videos.

But one question arose. It was about Hyun-sung’s ability. He had only been running a rental store for a little over 5 months. How could he give an estimate?

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo tilted his head slightly and immediately asked.

“You’re going to give an estimate?”

“Why? Is it strange that I’m giving an estimate?”

Of course, Hyun-sung himself knew. It didn’t make sense that someone who had only been running a rental store for a little over 5 months would give an estimate.

But what he believed in was his past life’s experience. After all, he had been running a video store for over 12 years before switching to a book rental store.

“No, it’s not that, but still…”

“Then let me ask you one thing first. What do you think is the most important thing in an estimate?”

“Hmm… Well, wouldn’t it be the number of videos?”

“Really? I don’t think so.”

“Oh? Then what…?”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo looked at Hyun-sung with curiosity. Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“I think it’s variety. To be honest, every store has blockbuster titles. But it’s different for movies that aren’t well-known. Especially dramas made in India, Iran, and Europe. They don’t do well in theaters, so even though the works are excellent, many rental stores don’t buy them, except for a few. Do you agree?”

“That’s true.”

“So, later on, you can’t buy those videos even if you want to. But for mid-hit or blockbuster titles, you can buy as many as you want if you have the money. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right.”

“So, what I value is variety rather than the number of videos.”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo nodded.

Of course. When Hyun-sung asked the question earlier, his own thoughts were the same as Hyun-sung’s.

After all, the content is more important than the quantity.

But he had lied on purpose to see what kind of answer he would give.

It was a kind of test.

This time, Chief Manager Park Sun-woo asked first.

“Then what’s second?”

“Next is the new releases. The estimate will vary depending on how many new releases there are.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? New releases are helpful for sales.”

“That’s right. Then what’s the standard for new releases?”

“It varies from person to person, but I personally set the standard for new releases at 2 years.”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo tilted his head. The reason was that most used goods dealers usually set the standard for new releases at 1 year.

So, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Is there a reason for setting it at 2 years?”

“Yes, of course. I look at it from the customer’s perspective.”

“The customer’s perspective?”

“Yes, as far as I know, most dealers set the new release standard at 1 year, but I think that’s the wrong standard. Because customers don’t think that way.”

He learned this while running the business.

Even people who watch a lot of videos don’t watch every video that’s released. So, unwatched videos keep piling up.

In that situation, new releases are released every month.

Eventually, even unwatched works have to be pushed back because the date has passed.

So, what’s important is that the new release standard doesn’t necessarily have to be based on the release date. But you can’t ignore the release date either. So, what Hyun-sung chose was to set the new release standard more broadly, at 2 years.

He had actually applied it to his business.

Just changing the location of the videos every 3 months was enough to have an effect. When videos that weren’t visible came to the front, customers would rent them. Even though they were released 2 years ago.

Even videos that were several years old were rented that way.

“So, you’re saying that customers might think it’s a new release even after 2 years?”

“Yes, that’s right. I think it depends on how well the owner displays them. So, I’m going to set the standard at 2 years.”

“Hmm…”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo was silent, as if lost in thought.

After a while.

“That makes sense. After all, from the customer’s point of view, anything they haven’t seen is like a new release, even after 2 years.”

“Yes, of course. Instead, the owner has to manage it well. That’s why I change the location of the videos every 3 months. If I do that, even works that are 5 years old are sometimes rented.”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo had no choice but to nod.

Except for people who come every day or two or three times a week, most customers probably watch less than 10 videos a month.

But more than 50 videos are released every month. So, basically, 40 videos disappear from the new release shelf without being watched every month, and more than 480 videos a year.

By changing their location again, you can create a new release effect. According to Hyun-sung, he’s going to set that range at 2 years.

“That’s a very good idea. But how did you know that?”

“I read it in a video magazine.”

Of course, it’s a lie.

In fact, he learned it while running a rental store for a long time in his past life. But he couldn’t tell the truth, so he used the magazine as an excuse.

“Anyway, is there anything else you value in the estimate?”

“Children’s cartoons and martial arts series.”

“Why is that?”

“There’s only one reason. Because they make money. Especially children’s cartoons, you can’t emphasize them enough. When children move, mothers move. In the end, the whole family will move because of the children.”

“Amazing.”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo couldn’t help but be amazed.

Even while running the chain store, what was regrettable was that the store owners were too negligent about cartoons. They thought that children could just watch anything that was available.

No matter how much he educated them during his tours, investing in cartoons was something that was rarely followed.

But Hyun-sung, who had only been running the store for a little over 5 months, already knew that.

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo asked again.

“So, did you come up with an estimate?”

“Yes, roughly.”

“If you don’t mind, can I ask how much it is?”

“Before that, there’s something I want to ask you first.”

“Me?”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo couldn’t help but feel nervous.

After all, the meeting with Hyun-sung was unplanned. But the fact that he wanted to ask something first meant that he had thought about it to some extent in advance.

Out of curiosity, Chief Manager Park Sun-woo asked again.

“What do you want to ask me?”

“Why did you do that?”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“I’m talking about 20 million won. No matter what, how could you ask for 20 million won for this stuff?”

Hyun-sung threw it straight. He thought it would be better to ask honestly and directly rather than talking around it.

“That’s…”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo couldn’t open his mouth easily. Yoo Seung-il could just ask for 20 million because he didn’t know anything, but Hyun-sung, who was asking the question now, was different.

Moreover, judging from what he said earlier, his inner strength was more solid than most dealers, so he couldn’t say anything.

Honestly, if you know the value of the goods, that amount of 20 million won is ridiculous.

“Since you can’t say anything, I guess you know that you went too far, Chief Manager Park.”

“Ahem…”

Chief Manager Park Sun-woo replaced his answer with a cough.

Hyun-sung, who couldn’t possibly not know the meaning, spoke again.

“Since you admit it that way, I won’t say anything more about it. Then I’ll tell you the estimate I came up with.”

Gulp.

Was it because he was nervous? Chief Manager Park Sun-woo swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

Then Hyun-sung immediately opened his mouth.

“My estimate is…”

571