WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Second Life of the Trade King ◈
Chapter 31: Eccentric or Pervert (1)
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Thursday morning.
The black Hyundai Grandeur carrying Executive Director Park Young-seok was leaving Seoul and entering the Gyeongbu Expressway.
Driver Kim, the division head’s dedicated chauffeur, was at the wheel. Park Young-seok sat in the right rear seat, while Song Jae-jun sat on the left.
For Manager Song, traveling with Executive Director Park was not exactly comfortable.
Park might have once been his mentor, but he was an executive now. There was always an invisible wall between executives and employees, making things awkward.
So Song stared out the window, lost in his own thoughts, until Executive Director Park casually asked him a question.
“Are you nervous?”
“Pardon? No, sir.”
“Right?”
“Of course not. Why would I be nervous about meeting the president of a company with 1 billion won in annual sales?”
The people they dealt with were all executives or higher at small and medium-sized companies. Presidents of companies with annual sales in the tens of billions of won were as common as stones by the roadside.
Even presidents running companies with annual sales in the tens of billions watched their words and bowed before them. This president was only twenty-seven and ran a company making around 1 billion won. It would have been strange to feel nervous.
“Did you look into him?”
“President Kim Hyun-woo?”
“Yeah.”
Based on the material he had prepared, Manager Song began explaining step by step.
“First, he’s a Busan native. He’s lived in Busan for a long time and graduated from Pusan National University. But from around graduation season, he seems to have focused more on work than school. Since last year, he’s been using his father’s trade registration certificate to get into foreign-vessel provisioning, and he’s making a pretty decent profit. But this is where things get mysterious.”
“What is?”
“The main line for foreign-vessel provisioning is Australia, and apparently he has the Australian Trade Commissioner completely won over.”
Geumhwa International had not focused much on grain until now, and even when it handled grain, the volume had been small. Unlike Il-sung Corporation, it had been difficult to quickly obtain information on Yeongdo Trading.
They had learned this through the president of a partner company. At first, they had doubted it, but after considering how Yeongdo Trading had secured a place at the meeting with the Canadian Wheat Board, they realized it was true.
“Really?”
“Yes. So he’s not only handling Australian ship provisioning, but importing substantial quantities of corn and soybeans from Australia. His annual sales may be 1 billion won, but that figure alone is misleading. He made 1 billion in his first year, and he’s still growing...”
“Ah, so instead of inheriting something, a twenty-seven-year-old is building a company from the ground up?”
“That’s exactly right.”
Executive Director Park frowned as he looked out the window.
“This is more than just being good at business, isn’t it?”
“The more I dug, the more surprised I became.”
“How did he win over the Australian Trade Commissioner?”
“That isn’t known. But it definitely wasn’t through a personal connection. There’s a story that President Kim of Yeongdo Trading personally visited the embassy to meet them.”
“So he met them in person and won them over, but no one knows how?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, if he had the skills to seduce a beauty capable of toppling a kingdom, he wouldn’t want to share the secret.”
“What’s even more surprising is that this happened just one month after he became president. And apparently, he secured Han-il Feed and Dae-il Sugar through that deal as well. Even now, Yeongdo Trading supplies part of Dae-il Sugar’s feed.”
That news left Park Young-seok dumbfounded.
“Ha! Really? Il-sung let that slip away?”
Dae-il Sugar generally imported its own grain. But when it lacked something, it normally procured the needed volume through a trading affiliate within the same corporate group.
Yet it was using Yeongdo Trading rather than Il-sung Corporation, and had maintained that line until now?
That could only mean the client had considerable trust in Yeongdo Trading.
“They could have looked favorably on Yeongdo Trading before, since it filled the gap caused by last year’s severe drought in the United States. But now this has happened again, so between Il-sung Corporation and Yeongdo Trading...”
“Exactly. That bothers me too. Unless he has some powerful backing, how does he screw over Il-sung so easily in South Korea? It wouldn’t be easy even for us...”
More than anything else, Park really wanted to know.
He was certain the young man had backing from some politician.
After more than four hours on the road, they arrived in Jungang-dong, Jung-gu, Busan. The docks of Busan Port could be seen in the distance.
“Wow, we came all this way to meet a twenty-seven-year-old. My son, who only knows how to play guitar, is just entering university.”
“You got married early, sir.”
“Yeah, and you’re at the age where you have to work your ass off. Is your kid starting middle school now?”
“Next year.”
“Oh, a hard road is waiting for you. Still, that twenty-seven-year-old you’re meeting earned your kids’ academy fees for you. You ought to be grateful.”
“Of course. My wife went to the temple last week and lit a candle in prayer for Kim Hyun-woo of Yeongdo Trading.”
“That’s why you came all the way here. Be thankful.”
“Of course.”
After getting out of the car, the two men looked up at the old building that appeared to be their destination.
“Wow, the young man has it rough.”
Anyone who saw the old four-story building would probably think the same thing.
But Manager Song knew that Executive Director Park did not mean it sincerely. This was not a situation that called for genuine pity. He was simply tossing out jokes as usual.
“Let’s go up. Watch your knees.”
“You want my knees to give out, don’t you? Then an executive position opens up.”
“How could you say that? There are plenty of executives besides you.”
“Ha. One day you’ll probably put poison in my coffee.”
Trading jokes, they reached the third floor. When they knocked and entered the door marked Yeongdo Trading, they found a small but tidy office.
There were only two desks, a set of reception sofas, and a few small cabinets along one wall. The only thing that looked particularly good was the unobstructed view of Busan Port’s docks through the window.
“Hello. We’re from Geumhwa International.”
“Ah, yes. Please come in. I’m Kim Hyun-woo, the president.”
After shaking hands and exchanging business cards, Hyun-woo showed them to their seats. The two men sat awkwardly on the sofa.
“One Bacchus each.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once a small bottle of Bacchus had been placed in front of each of them, Executive Director Park barely held back a laugh.
Il-sung Corporation had been screwed over by a company like this, and he had driven four hours to come here in person.
That only made him more curious.
“Our young president is quite remarkable, I think.”
Hyun-woo grinned at that.
“Is that so?”
“I’m not normally someone who gets up and goes places this easily. But I was so curious that I had to come in person.”
“...”
Kim Hyun-woo wore a strange smile, as though inviting him to ask anything. Executive Director Park let out a hollow laugh.
He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but the air he gave off did not belong to someone that age.
“Why us?”
Originally, Park had not planned to be so direct from the beginning.
He had intended to ease into the real matter with idle questions. What did his parents do? What had he studied in school? There were several Pusan National University alumni at Geumhwa International, did he happen to know any of them?
But after sitting across from the young president for only a few seconds, he realized there was no need.
He could scarcely believe it himself, but he felt that if he handled this poorly, he might get swallowed whole.
Manager Song glanced sideways in surprise at Park’s sudden directness, but quickly composed his expression and looked at the young president as though nothing had happened.
“You mean, why Geumhwa International instead of Il-sung Corporation?”
“That’s right.”
The answer to that question contained the entire essence of today’s meeting.
It would explain why they had come all this way, how Yeongdo Trading intended to manage its relationship with Il-sung, and its future moves regarding Canadian Wheat Board wheat distribution.
But then Hyun-woo said,
“Why are you in such a hurry? Have your Bacchus first.”
The young president grinned, opened the Bacchus in front of him, and drank it down in one refreshing gulp.
As if unwilling to lose, the two middle-aged men opened their Bacchus and drank theirs as well. Then the young president spoke.
“Would you like the long answer or the short answer?”
Executive Director Park burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Wow, I’m very glad I came down here today. Hahaha!”
His eyes even welled with tears. Manager Song was instead flustered and did not know what to do.
He had no idea where the laughter would lead.
But he did not dare get ahead of himself without knowing what his superior was thinking.
After dabbing at his eyes, Executive Director Park stared at the young president with burning eyes.
“The long answer is the official one, right?”
The young president nodded very slowly.
“Something like that. It also reflects the Canadian Wheat Board’s intentions.”
“And the short answer?”
“It’s nothing much. But...”
“But?”
“It’s fun.”
This time, Park Young-seok did not laugh as hard as before, but he still gave an incredulous laugh. For a long while, he continued the staring contest with the young president.
“Ah... do I have to choose only one?”
“Isn’t life about choices? There’s no fun in getting both.”
Watching this, Manager Song felt like he was going insane.
It was frustrating and absurd to watch the superior he treated with utmost respect get led around by a mere twenty-seven-year-old. Worse, they had not come here from a position of strength, so there was nothing he could do.
“Won’t we learn the long answer anyway as our working-level staff discuss the details?”
Executive Director Park tested him casually. The young president answered with an ambiguous expression.
“Of course. That’s right.”
That response only made the two men from Geumhwa International more confused.
By openly agreeing, was he hiding something truly important elsewhere?
“I never thought I’d have to solve a riddle after coming all the way to Busan.”
“Really? Work is supposed to be fun.”
At those words, the corner of Executive Director Park’s eye twitched slightly. The faint smile on his lips deepened.
He gave a tiny nod, then looked at the young president again.
“That’s right. It’s supposed to be fun.”
Manager Song did not understand what they meant. Just as he was about to say something,
“Let’s go with the short answer.”
Manager Song was startled by Park’s response.
He had chosen something other than the practical answer.
The young president seemed just as surprised. His eyes widened before he spoke.
“Huh? It really won’t be anything special. Are you sure?”
“Isn’t this supposed to be fun?”
The young president smiled gently.
“That’s right. It’s supposed to be fun. The reason is nothing special. I’m the protagonist type.”
Manager Song turned toward Park in disbelief, only to be shocked.
At this ridiculous answer, Executive Director Park had furrowed his brow and fallen into thought.
What was going on? Had he been the only one who heard wrong? It was too awkward to ask them to repeat themselves. In that lonely moment, Park spoke.
“So those people didn’t know that you were the protagonist type, President Kim.”
“Exactly.”
“Ah, this is why people should have a drink together before doing business.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t drink...”
“Oh, dear. What a shame. Then, the practical matters...?”
Manager Song was finally somewhat relieved. It seemed they were getting to the real point at last.
“I’ll send a fax to Geumhwa International reflecting the Canadian Wheat Board’s requirements.”
“And the explanation?”
“Come on, you made your choice.”
It was absurd, but Executive Director Park laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! All right. You say you don’t drink, and we’ve said everything we came to say, so we’ll leave it at that.”
“I won’t see you off far.”
“That’s fine. Then...”
When Executive Director Park rose, Manager Song followed him out despite his confusion.
As they went down the building, Park wore a blank expression. Song spoke to him.
“Isn’t that guy crazy? Who does he think we are...?”
But Park’s voice was cool enough to feel cold.
“Jae-jun.”
“Yes?”
“Thinking the way you do is why Il-sung Corporation got passed over.”
“Excuse me?”
“He said he’s the protagonist. He’s telling us not to make him into a supporting character.”
“I understood that much. But isn’t it a bit excessive?”
“It is. It’s excessive. But he still did it. Why do you think that is?”
Manager Song’s eyes shifted.
“Well...”
“You don’t know? You heard it earlier.”
Park hurried down the stairs, leaving behind Manager Song, who swallowed hard.
Song quickly caught up, remembered their earlier exchange, and spoke.
“You mean when he said it was fun?”
“Yeah. If you hadn’t figured it out, I was about to smack you on the head.”
“What does fun have to do with it?”
“Do you go to work for fun? Does anyone do business for fun?”
Only then did Manager Song’s expression turn serious.
“He said he does it for fun, not money.”
“And?”
“It was a warning. Don’t throw your weight around because of your company size. He’s saying he runs his company for fun.”
“Crazy...”
Park Young-seok strode with long steps toward the car where the chauffeur was waiting and got in.
“Find us a good restaurant nearby before we leave.”
As the chauffeur answered that he would, Manager Song climbed into the seat beside Park and spoke.
“Even so, isn’t this too much? He didn’t even give us a proper explanation...”
“I know. The materials he sends us will have all the explanations we need for business. But the truly important core will be missing.”
“What is that?”
“What else? The Canadian Wheat Board representative’s heart.”
“I’m worried... What if he sends us incomplete materials?”
Executive Director Park snorted.
“Hmph! Didn’t you see him earlier?”
“Pardon?”
“That bastard is more than ordinarily strange. He says he works for fun, not money. Put nicely, he’s an eccentric. Put badly, he’s a pervert. A pervert who finds work fun is going to botch the job?”
“...”
“Let’s go. I’ll explain the rest over food. I need to sort out my thoughts too.”
The car carrying the three people left the harbor area and drove away.
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