OWWHM 11
The Office Worker Who Hears Memories – Episode 11
12. New Wine in New Wineskins
I returned to the rooftop with an americano and a latte.
Assistant Manager Kim Ho-yeon, who was sitting on the bench looking at his phone, quickly stood up and walked toward me.
“I didn’t know what you like, Assistant Manager, so I brought both. Which one do you want?”
“I’ll take the latte.”
I handed him the latte and took out another cigarette.
“Assistant Manager Ho-yeon, you must be very busy these days, right?”
“It’s manageable.”
“From what I see, you look busier running errands for Department Manager Cha than doing actual work.”
“How did you know that…”
“Department Manager Cha was praising you so much, he said the Health Food Team couldn’t function without Assistant Manager Ho-yeon.”
“Department Manager Cha said that?”
This was the groundwork.
Now, it was time to dangle the bait.
“But did you make a mistake with the Department Manager recently?”
“Pardon?”
“I heard about the disciplinary action from Executive Director Kim Ji-young.”
“Ah… I see.”
Assistant Manager Kim Ho-yeon wore a bitter expression.
He was falling for the lure of the bait.
“You wouldn’t have taken a kickback on products from other categories… Why did you take the blame?”
“Ah… No. That’s what I…”
“The Department Manager’s shadow is very wide. But the problem is that there are many people standing under that shadow.”
“…”
“You know Section Chief Ma Seong-geun on our team, right? When he was at BO Food, he held all the right lines. But he kept getting passed over for promotion. He’d think, ‘I’ll get promoted this time,’ but a colleague would go up. He’d think, ‘It’s definitely me this time,’ but a junior would go up. Where do you think you fall in the Department Manager’s order of priority?”
Assistant Manager Kim Ho-yeon’s pupils trembled severely.
He was slowly being swayed by my words.
I took a sip of the americano and stuck out my tongue.
“Ugh, it’s so bitter. I was going to drink the latte originally…”
“Then I’ll quickly go get you one.”
As Assistant Manager Kim Ho-yeon turned to go, I grabbed his arm.
“No, why go to the trouble of getting another one? I’ll just take one sip of that.”
With my right hand, I gripped the cup Assistant Manager Kim Ho-yeon was holding.
At that moment.
<Won Ji-hoon could never do as much for me as Cha Gi-young.>
<30 million is enough, isn’t it?>
<Greed leads to trouble.>
The purchase cost for Cheongjin Group products was at most 200 million won.
Unless he was crazy, no one would hand over a 30 million won kickback.
And the disposable cup I just touched.
The thought I just heard was definitely an answer to the bait I’d thrown out.
As I stood there blankly, Assistant Manager Kim Ho-yeon let go of the latte cup.
“Just drink the whole thing.”
“Haha, thanks. And you know this, but what I said today is an absolute secret. Especially from Department Manager Cha.”
“I know that much.”
“I’m glad you know. Take your time to think about what I said today. There aren’t many people under my shadow yet.”
Of course, I had no intention of making him my person.
And Assistant Manager Kim Ho-yeon probably wouldn’t be able to abandon Department Manager Cha, with whom he was already deeply entangled.
I returned to the office and sat down in front of my computer.
All I could think about was how Department Manager Cha could have given Kim Ho-yeon 30 million won.
After pondering for a long time.
“Yeon-doo!”
Ha Yeon-doo approached me.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Could you organize the contract status items for each team on the intranet?”
“Yes, understood.”
“As quickly as possible, please. Include all duplicate entries.”
“Yes!”
Ha Yeon-doo returned to her seat, stretched her fingers, and started typing on the keyboard. About 20 minutes later, she brought me a well-organized Excel file.
First, I compared the contract details of the Home Appliances, Health Food, and Fresh Food Teams—Department Manager Cha’s line.
QT Food, QT Electronics.
They overlap. Two affiliates of QT Holdings overlap.
And the commission rate is 24%.
That’s a bit lower than our Market Fresh average commission rate.
I immediately opened a web browser.
And started searching for records of QT Holdings products sold at Chain Market.
The Chain Market site was gone, but thanks to their viral advertising, products they had sold were still left on blogs.
Frozen dumplings, frozen pizza, hot dogs, microwave ovens, dishwashers, antibacterial cutting boards, and more.
There were many. Far too many.
Cha Gi-young…
Had he been receiving kickbacks from QT Holdings ever since Chain Market?
Just then.
“Why QT? Are you planning to take their products?”
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun had come over without me noticing and was looking intently at my monitor.
“When did you arrive?”
“Just now. But why are you looking at QT Food? If you’re considering their products, tell me anytime. Their brand manager is a friend of mine.”
“A friend?”
“He was at BO and then left, but he was just promoted to Department Manager this time. Oh, their main product is frozen pizza. I buy it often; it’s quite good.”
“Section Chief. Could I meet him?”
“Of course! When should I schedule it?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Understood. I’ll call him right away.”
Section Chief Ma replied with an excited expression and turned to go back to his seat.
“Section Chief Ma, didn’t you have something to ask me?”
“Oh! Where is my mind. This is the product list to be sold next week. Please approve it.”
.
Three days later.
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun and I visited QT Food.
When we went up to the conference room, the man who was Section Chief Ma’s colleague was already there.
“Hello. I’m Choi Jong-hoon from the Food Business Division.”
“I’m Won Ji-hoon.”
“I’ve been wanting to meet you. Thanks to Seong-geun, I finally have the chance.”
“The two of you seem very close.”
“Yes, very close. Sometimes our families meet up. Please have a seat.”
Section Chief Ma and I sat in the chairs Choi Jong-hoon pointed to.
He stepped out for a moment and came back with a pile of canned drinks.
“I didn’t know what you might like, so I brought everything we have.”
“Thank you.”
“Yes. I hear you are interested in a special sales contract with us?”
At Choi Jong-hoon’s calm voice, Section Chief Ma Seong-geun jumped into the conversation.
“Department Manager Choi. Did you see the news about our 20 billion won in revenue on launch day?”
“Yes, I saw it. Because of that article, everyone here is in an uproar about whether we should prepare a commerce site ourselves.”
“It’s not something just anyone can achieve. Team Leader Won here is the person who hit the top of food commerce. And you know Executive Director Choi Gu-yeol, right? Group-Pon!”
“Of course, I know. I even bought Executive Director Choi Gu-yeol’s book!”
Choi Jong-hoon smiled faintly and rested one hand on his chin.
After a brief moment of thought, he looked at me with a serious expression.
“Hearing Seong-geun’s story made me a bit confused. We already have a contract with BO Commerce, so I didn’t understand why you were discussing another contract.”
“Yes. I expected that. Our Special Sales Team wants to request a new type of contract.”
“A new contract?”
“We will change it from a consignment to a direct purchase model.”
In consignment sales, where payment is made after the product is sold, the sales rate is dependent on the MD’s ability. Therefore, manufacturers and vendors are greatly influenced by the MD.
However, it’s different with a direct purchase model, where the product price is paid upfront.
There is no need to be swayed by the MD’s influence, and the cash conversion time is fast, making it the most preferred method for manufacturers.
Choi Jong-hoon’s eyes widened.
I took out the document I had brought in an envelope and presented it to him.
“These are the items we want. In exchange, we will raise the commission rate to 30%.”
“Our products are already in the Market Fresh category. And you are doing a good job with the promotions.”
“I know.”
“But why the sudden proposal?”
“Because I am confident.”
“Pardon?”
“I will generate three times the revenue you currently see with QT products, or more.”
Choi Jong-hoon lowered his head and checked the document I handed him.
Meanwhile, Section Chief Ma Seong-geun started sweet-talking him.
“Jong-hoon, this is an opportunity. What commerce site is going to directly purchase this much quantity? Right?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Is something worrying you?”
“Whew…”
At Section Chief Ma Seong-geun’s words, Choi Jong-hoon could only sigh deeply.
I generally understood.
He was comparing this proposal I offered with the long-standing kickback contract he had with Department Manager Cha.
I opened a canned drink, handed it to Choi Jong-hoon, and began to speak.
“They say new wine should be poured into new wineskins. The online market continues to grow, so are you planning to remain in the same place at QT forever? Without change, you will only fall behind others.”
“…”
“Think carefully and give me an answer within three days. If there is no answer, I will assume you have refused our proposal.”
.
Two days later.
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun was making a fuss from the morning.
“Team Leader! We got an email from QT!”
“What did they say?”
“Of course, they’re accepting! They said to send over the contract once it’s ready.”
“That’s good news.”
“Do you know how hard I worked to make this happen? Hahaha. I called every night, pulled the sales statistics from our Special Sales Team, and sent them over…”
“Yes. I knew you were working hard.”
“You knew?”
“I know your style now, Section Chief Ma. Haha, you truly did great work.”
I instructed Section Chief Ma Seong-geun to send the reply as politely as possible.
And then I immediately went to Executive Director Kim Ji-young’s office.
“Team Leader Won. What’s up?”
Executive Director Kim Ji-young, who was sitting at her desk, stood up and asked.
“I came because I need your help, Executive Director.”
“My help?”
She got up from her desk and walked toward me.
I showed her the draft contract I had prepared and began to speak.
“I plan to sign a special sales contract with QT Food.”
“A special sales contract? You should discuss that with Department Manager Cha of the MD Division. Why did you come to me?”
“This is a direct purchase contract, not a general consignment, so I need your assistance.”
“Directly purchasing QT Food products?”
“Yes.”
“Why the sudden idea?”
I told her about QT Food and Department Manager Cha’s kickbacks. I also made sure to include that I didn’t have solid evidence yet.
Executive Director Kim Ji-young listened to my story and then spoke with a serious expression.
“I don’t think you’re doing this just to hurt Department Manager Cha, Team Leader Won… I’m right, aren’t I?”
“It started because of Department Manager Cha, but I also believe certain product lines from QT Food have a chance in the online market. If we raise the commission by 6% and increase sales from before, it will be a big profit for the company.”
Executive Director Kim Ji-young nodded and sat on the sofa.
“Okay. I understand that. But what are you planning to do about Department Manager Cha?”
“The company’s slap-on-the-wrist punishment is unnecessary. I’m going to ruin him my own way.”
“Ruin him? Do you think Department Manager Cha will just sit back and do nothing?”
“I have to make it so he has no choice but to sit back.”
“Hmm…”
She didn’t ask any other questions after that.
It was only private conversation, the story about her driving to work herself, the drama that ended yesterday, and local restaurant recommendations.
I returned to my desk and started creating a simple PPT.
Once the rough draft was complete, I used the internal messenger to request a joint meeting between the MD Division and the Strategy Planning Team. I also asked the Strategy Planning Department Manager to ensure Executive Director Choi Gu-yeol would personally attend the meeting.
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