WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Second Life of the Trade King ◈
Chapter 16: Competition (2)
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Seoul, Daeseong Fisheries & Produce headquarters, president's office.
Lee Dae-jun, the sales director, straightened their clothes once outside the office door before entering.
Inside the spacious office, an elderly person sat with their back to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Without looking up from their papers, they gestured for Lee Dae-jun to sit.
They were the founder who had built Daeseong Fisheries & Produce from a single seafood truck into a company that controlled grain and logistics as well.
“How did it go?”
Lee Dae-jun sat on the sofa and reported nervously.
“...He refused. Kim Hyun-woo of Yeongdo Trading turned down both the acquisition offer and the offer to bring him in as a department head.”
Only then did the president set down their documents and look at Lee Dae-jun over their glasses.
“How much did you offer?”
“One hundred million won for the company, and one million won a month under department-head terms.”
A faint smile crossed the elderly person's lips.
It was impossible to tell whether it was scorn or disbelief.
“What did I tell you? I told you not to do something so hopeless, didn't I?”
“...I'm sorry.”
President Lim Byeong-guk clicked their tongue and rebuked the bowed sales director.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk... Don't you know what happens when young punks that age get even a small taste of success? They think they're the greatest people in the world. They don't know how frightening the world can be.”
“Yes.”
“There aren't many people born humble. Humility is something you learn through life. It isn't carved into your head. It's carved into your bones. That's how you become an adult.”
“...”
“So? What did he say when he refused?”
Lee Dae-jun took a small breath before answering with difficulty.
“He told us to interfere if we wanted. He said the market is competitive anyway, so we should compete freely.”
President Lim's mouth fell open as though they could not believe what they had heard.
“He wants to compete? That little nobody thinks he can compete with us?”
“Yes.”
“Ha. Hahahahaha!”
They threw back their head and laughed for a while in disbelief. Then fire flashed in their eyes.
“The arrogant bastard... Fine. He wants competition, so we'll give him competition.”
At President Lim's sharp voice, Lee Dae-jun straightened up.
“Yes. We'll teach him a lesson.”
“But don't touch Australia. The Department of Trade is involved, and if we handle that wrong, we'll be the ones hurt.”
“I was already planning to strike directly at his weakness.”
“What is it?”
“Foreign-vessel supply work. It is a business that runs on supplies. If we cut off the wholesalers supplying Yeongdo Trading, whether they're seafood dealers in Jagalchi Market or meat dealers in Bujeon-dong, it will deal him the most devastating blow. Without supplies, the provisioning work stops. Once that stops, the Australian shipping lines will turn their backs on him. Given enough time, their Australian headquarters will naturally pull away from him.”
President Lim nodded.
“Remember one thing. Don't take it far enough to shake our Busan ship provisioning business. Burning down a house to catch a flea is something only amateurs do. Keep it clean and unnoticeable. Understand?”
“...Understood.”
Lee Dae-jun lowered their head and left the president's office.
They could feel the elderly person's gaze following them from behind.
The operation moved quickly and quietly.
Manager Jeong went down to Busan and contacted the wholesalers in Jagalchi Market and Bujeon-dong one by one.
What Daeseong offered was on an entirely different level from anything Yeongdo Trading could offer.
First, it offered far better prices than Yeongdo Trading. Yeongdo Trading had promised steady future sales through Australian shipping lines. Daeseong offered more cash right now.
While Yeongdo Trading conducted ordinary credit transactions, Daeseong paid cash the moment it received the goods.
For small wholesalers always short on funds, getting immediate cash without selling on credit was a chance to breathe again.
Daeseong even slipped some of them cash in advance under the name of transaction security deposits.
It was not all carrots, either.
Manager Jeong added a word or two with a smile.
“Think carefully, boss. How many years has Daeseong controlled Busan Port? How long do you think Yeongdo Trading will last? If you turn your back on Daeseong for the sake of that wet-behind-the-ears boss, how do you think we'll look at you after Yeongdo Trading collapses?”
A stable future or cash now.
For the small wholesalers, the scales quickly tipped one way.
On top of that came the fear of what might happen if they earned the hatred of Daeseong, which had ruled Busan Port for so long.
The weight fell heavily to one side.
* * *
“Good work!”
“Seriously, how do you never make a mistake? You work like you've been doing this for five years.”
After I finished the second provisioning run, they patted me on the shoulder and congratulated me.
As I watched Pacific Grain Lines' second grain ship leave Busan Port from the pier, it was clear that everything worked together much better than during the first deal.
Once gears had turned together once, they ran far more smoothly the second time.
That evening, we gathered at a sashimi restaurant near Jagalchi Market to celebrate.
President Park Jong-ho raised his glass of soju high.
“To Boss Kim!”
“Cheers!”
“Damn, I've never seen such a young boss work this well in my life.”
President Lee Jeong-hwan clinked his glass against mine and joined in.
“Honestly, when I first met Boss Kim, I wasn't sure about you because you were so young. But after seeing you work, my mind changed completely. You're someone who sees things old men like us can't.”
“What old men? You two are still in your prime.”
When I laughed and accepted the praise, President Park Jong-ho gave my shoulder a few pats.
“Hyun-woo, us meeting like this was fate, wasn't it? For five years, those Daeseong bastards bled us dry. I ground my teeth over it more times than I can count. Thanks to you, we're finally doing business for a fair price. Let's keep working together from now on, yeah?”
“Of course. Five Australian shipping lines are coming into Busan Port. We're only getting started. Together, we'll secure all five.”
“Did you hear that? Five of them, five!”
“Now all that's left is making money!”
The glasses kept going around.
President Park Jong-ho, his face flushed red, grabbed my hand several times. President Lee Jeong-hwan boasted that next time, he would treat us at his favorite barbecue restaurant.
It was a night when middle-aged presidents lavished praise on a young boss.
For once, I felt at ease too.
For the first time since returning to the past, I felt that I was standing shoulder to shoulder with others and looking toward the same place.
After the celebration, three days of rest flew by.
So when I called President Park Jong-ho to place an order for the supplies needed for the third provisioning run...
“Mr. Park, it's me. I'm calling to place the supply order for next week's arrival.”
There was silence on the other end for a moment. Then came a hesitant voice.
“...Uh, Hyun-woo. Well... I'm a little busy right now. I'll call you back later.”
Click.
The call ended.
I stared at the receiver in my hand for a moment.
Tsk...
I had a bad feeling.
Before returning to the past, I had spent thirty years experiencing all sorts of people and all sorts of situations.
A change in a business partner's voice promises a more ominous result than a change in a lover's voice. That is an eternal truth.
I called President Lee Jeong-hwan.
He was at least honest.
“...Boss Kim. I'm sorry, but I think our next deal will be difficult.”
“Did something happen?”
“Someone from Daeseong came by. Their terms... Honestly, they can't even be compared to yours, Boss Kim. Their prices are better, but they're also extending a huge amount of credit. Even if the Australian shipping lines send us work, I can't compare that to this. I have to make a living too. I'm really sorry.”
“...I see.”
“I know you're disappointed, but you have to understand. I'm not the only one who has to make a living. Don't be so stubborn. Go talk to Daeseong properly. They seem to have made up their minds, but if you ask them to go easy on you, maybe they'll soften up.”
“...All right. I understand. Goodbye.”
“Go and apologize no matter what...”
I hung up before listening to the rest.
There was no point in hearing it. He was only trying to turn me into someone like him to ease his own guilt over betrayal.
The next day, I went to Jagalchi Market myself.
The moment President Park Jong-ho saw me, he was visibly flustered.
Then he avoided my gaze, his expression changing.
“Hyun-woo... You're here.”
“Mr. Park, I came to hear directly that you can't do the next deal.”
President Park Jong-ho scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
It was hard to believe he was the same man who had clutched my hand only days ago and said we should keep going together.
“I'm sorry. I don't want to do this either, but Daeseong's terms are just too good. Honestly, they're on a completely different level from what you offer. I'm not someone who does business for loyalty alone... I have to make a living. You understand too, right?”
I looked at him quietly.
I was not angry.
I had seen scenes like this countless times during the thirty years before my return.
The way large corporations crushed new companies was the same in every era.
They bought their hands and feet with money.
And I knew how companies deprived of their hands and feet collapsed, or how they survived instead.
“I understand, Mr. Park.”
“...Huh? You do?”
“It's only natural for a businessman to follow better terms. Oh, and... you'll probably regret this. I don't take the hand again of someone who lets go of mine first.”
I was not threatening him.
I only wanted him to know the facts.
That I had given him an opportunity.
“Hey, kid! What kind of thing is that to say? Do you really think you can stand against Daeseong? You've made a few deliveries and now you think you're invincible?”
“Thank you for everything until now. Well, then...”
“H-Hey...”
As I turned away calmly, I heard President Park Jong-ho badmouthing me behind my back.
He was no different from President Lee Jeong-hwan.
It was the behavior of someone who criticized another person to ease the shame of their betrayal.
Before my return, something like this would have made me furious. I would have cursed and condemned them right back.
But now, I had already put them out of my mind.
‘Tie up the suppliers and squeeze my throat?’
A typical method.
They intended to isolate me in Yeongdo and leave me to wither away.
When that happened, companies often found themselves under financial and psychological pressure, then destroyed themselves.
That was when it happened.
“Hyun-woo! Hyun-woo!”
On my way home, Mr. Park Man-ho from Dong-yang Shipping Agency spotted me and hurried over, calling my name.
Judging by his flustered face, he seemed to have heard the news.
“Hey, did you hear?”
“You mean the suppliers’ bosses turning their backs on me?”
Mr. Park looked startled.
“You knew? But are you okay?”
“I'm fine.”
“Fine? Do you know what this means? It's not just Dong-gwang Meat and Hae-seong Fisheries. I heard those Daeseong bastards have locked down all of Yeongdo.”
“Is that so?”
“That's what I'm saying! What are you going to do now? Do you have a way out?”
“Yes, I do.”
As I said that and kept walking, Mr. Park, who had been staring blankly at me, hurried after me and asked.
“You have a way?”
“Yes. But did they really lock down all the other suppliers too?”
“That's what I heard. They even lowered their prices. You can't beat them in a price war now. Price competitiveness was the only thing you had over those Daeseong bastards. What are you going to do? Do you really have a plan?”
“I told you, I do. And... is it true they lowered their prices?”
“Would I make that up after eating a hot meal?”
“Hmm...”
“What?”
“Nothing... It just sounds like they shot themselves in the foot.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“It's nothing.”
“But where are you going?”
He tilted his head when he noticed I was not heading home.
“The fish auction market.”
“The fish auction market? What are you going there for?”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose and answered.
“You said they tied up the suppliers, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So I'm going to bid at the auction myself.”
His mouth fell open.
“Uh... Can you do that? Well, I guess there's no reason you can't. Wait, then won't your prices be even lower?”
“If I cut out the middlemen and bid directly at the auction, I'll have the lowest prices in Yeongdo. I'll get meat straight from the slaughterhouse too. How could I not be competitive?”
When I answered with a smile, the corners of his mouth began twitching upward after his look of disbelief.
“Well, why wouldn't you be? So you're going to the auction market for that?”
“Yes. Auction buyer registration. You know what the process is, right?”
“Of course I do. Follow me, Boss Kim.”
He held out his hand smartly and walked ahead.
The bewilderment from moments earlier had vanished, and his shoulders were now full of confidence.
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