Episode 108. Encounters with the past.
I asked Oh-chan Jung, president of Hongin Media.
“100 million dollars? Wow! When did sales go up like this?”
“It has risen significantly since I signed a contract with three major US record labels last year.
haha. A perfect virtuous cycle has been created: MP3 players are selling well thanks to the P store, and the sales of the P store are also increasing thanks to the MP3 players sold out.
“What about net profit?”
“It’s about $80 million, excluding platform management and publicity costs. And half of them have come out in the last three months.”
“If it’s 44 billion won in three months, that’s close to 15 billion won a month. That’s great. Mr. Jung. Now, Hongin Media’s revenue is the highest among subsidiaries. haha.”
“I am stunned too. It’s amazing how a single platform can generate so much revenue.”
“So the idea is important. And this business still has a long way to go.”
“Hmm… all the big American labels have already taken it in. Is there anything else you can do more than this?”
“yes. You have to grow the pie. We will expand this music sales business, which is currently only available in the US, to the world.”
“haha. The whole world… just thinking about it makes my heart race.”
In particular, since P-Pod, a new MP3 player, is scheduled to be released in Europe, I planned to introduce the P store at this opportunity.
“yes. However, if the scale becomes that large, it will not be possible to manage it with a few people like now. So, President Jung, please create a separate division dedicated to the P store.”
“If you are in charge, how far should you consider your work? Can I just take charge of site management and promotion like before?”
“no. When I launched the P Store platform in the United States, there was no foundation, so I moved on my own, but from now on, I will also be in charge of negotiating with record companies around the world on my behalf in the P Store division. So, when forming your division, include experts who know the world record industry well.”
“yes. And how far has the search engine project gone?”
“The production is already over. However, we are checking to see if there are any problems when actually uploading it to the server, so it will be possible to open the actual search site by the end of this month.”
“Already? I thought it would take a couple more months, but it worked out. But have you decided on a site name?”
President Jung hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“..it’s a personal greed, but since it’s based on a search engine that I developed with a friend named Ji-hyeok in the past, I want to call it DAJI after the first letter of that friend. As long as you are okay with it, sir.”
“Ah, the younger one who died?”
“All right. We do that.”
Jung’s face brightened.
“Haha, that person named Ji-hyeok is also a developer of the engine, so he can do that. Then, prepare the DAJI portal well, and let me know when it is ready to open.”
#end of February.
evil!
As I was returning to my seat, someone bumped into me and I fell backwards.
“sorry! Director. Are you okay?”
When I looked up, I saw a new employee who had just joined the company, looking at me with a bewildered expression.
“..yes. it’s okay. Are you Hoon Yoo? Where is he injured?”
“Yes. I am fine too.”
I put my hands up and stood up and said.
“Are you so busy these days that you can’t even see properly?”
To that, the new employee responded with an even more bewildered face.
“no. I’m still a little clumsy. I was in a rush because I couldn’t get things done quickly, so I made all these mistakes.”
“haha. I didn’t ask you what to do. If you’re busy with work, you can. I’m fine, so go and work.”
The new employee bowed his head and left.
A sharp pain remained in the side of the shoulder that I hit, and while I was kneading for a while, I realized that there was a serious problem in the office.
I immediately called Daewon hyung.
“brother. Why is the office aisle so narrow?”
At the beginning of the move, the space that was wide enough for three or four people to pass through is now small enough for two people to pass through.
I didn’t know that my seat, which was widely held on one side, had not changed until now.
If you look closely, you can see that the size of the staff seats has also been greatly reduced.
It was only then that even if one of them opened their eyes a little, it was easy to bump into each other.
I thought that I might not have been the first to have had an accident like the one before.
“Why? Our business has grown a lot. The number of people has increased that much, and I was told that the seating arrangement was efficient, but this is the limit. The staff are a little uncomfortable, but it’s unavoidable. That doesn’t mean I can’t move.”
As he looked at me while saying that, he seemed to want to move inside too.
“What about the other floors?”
“It’s all the same. Fortunately, there was plenty of room on the 5th floor, where the entertainment was located, but the Nyworld business team on the 3rd floor grew too big, so we moved there. Would Hongin Media be more serious? You’re probably renting an office somewhere else temporarily. The sixth floor is almost saturated now.”
I sighed.
“brother. When you’re done with this, you’re talking about moving, why didn’t you say anything?”
“…there should be one or two places where the money goes. Even now, money is constantly being spent on preparing an online mart, especially the telecommunication company that you acquired recently, the acquisition price is said to be 900 billion won? I was surprised that it made a trillion-dollar profit, but I was even more surprised when I spent that money at once. Anyway, I think it will be like this in the future, so how do you say we should move?”
“..but it is. This is inconvenient, so where do you want to work? At the very least, there must be a passage for people to pass through. Besides, D-Tab is selling well. Last month and this month alone, the profits came in close to 300 billion won, so what were you shaking so much?”
Daewon hyung had a sullen expression on his face.
“You said you don’t touch the D-Tab sales, because there is a place to use them all?”
“..haha. Did I?”
In fact, the proceeds from the sale of D-Tab were intended to be used as an investment to increase my stake through a rights offering after the World Telecom takeover process was completed, skip 3G, and install 4G communication facilities.
However, since the building that can be called the office building looks like this, it seemed that it would not be bad to prepare a decent office building in advance.
“..At that time, I did not know that the office situation was this serious. That’s good. Take this opportunity to buy a skyscraper!”
After all, the price of land and buildings in Seoul will skyrocket over the next 20 years.
So, it was a good choice to buy a building when you can afford it.
“A skyscraper? How many floors do you think it is?”
I continued to think of Chairman Kang-Jin Joo’s Taesung Group headquarters building.
“yes. It’s supposed to be at least 35 stories high.”
Daewon hyung looked frozen and couldn’t say anything, but he barely opened his mouth.
“..35th floor or higher?”
“..it would be very expensive.”
“it’s okay. Are we now capable of that?”
Daewon hyung nodded after thinking for a moment at my words.
“Well, it’s a company that makes hundreds of billions of dollars a month, so there’s nothing you can’t buy.”
“So. We are no longer the same dacha of the past when we were trembling with billions of dollars. Keep that in mind, and let’s find out right now.”
Daewon hyung clenched his fist.
“okay. lion. skyscrapers! How much are you doing?”
We found real estate right away.
After that, I went to see various buildings for three days.
I couldn’t decide because I couldn’t find a building I liked.
Teheran-ro, Seoul.
Daewon hyung grumbled at me as I followed a real estate agent who said they showed me another building.
“Hey, I hate it because it’s too low, I hate it because it’s in a bad location, and I hate it because it feels ominous. Can we move out?”
“..I don’t like it, what should I do? It’s not about spending a penny or two, you have to choose the right one.”
“..moan..”
At that moment, as I passed by the 45-story building that seemed to have just been built, my eyes involuntarily turned towards it.
At that moment, the memories of his previous life flashed before his eyes.
After I was framed and went to prison while I was working at Hwansung Display, I went back and forth.
One of them was involved in the remodeling of the 38th floor of the Gangnam Phoenix Center.
At that time, I wore work clothes and rode the elevator.
The men in suits I was riding with frowned.
I got off the 38th floor and went to the workshop, and about 30 minutes later the site manager found me.
“Mr. Kang. Did you ever take the staff elevator when you came up here?”
“Oh, really, I told you so many times not to do that. Our work is very dusty and the paint smells bad, so don’t take the staff elevator. I just got a call from the Phoenix Center Security Office. How do you manage your staff? Do I have to listen to this because of Mr. Kang?”
“..sorry. The freight elevator was so slow that I took the staff car in a hurry, but I didn’t know it would be a problem.”
The manager made a surprised expression.
“At that age, you still don’t know that? This is Gangnam Phoenix Center. It is said to be the most expensive building in Seoul. There are only elites from all over the country, so of course you have to be careful. If this happens one more time, you’ll never come to our workshop again. I know?”
To be told that I’ve been to the staff elevator once.
I had a lot to say, but I quickly bowed my head.
“..sorry. There will be no such thing in the future.”
I was sad and angry, but there was nothing I could do at the time.
I drank a bottle of soju all night long.
I thought I just let it go, but the ‘Gangnam Phoenix Center’ appeared in front of me.
I asked the real estate agent.
“president. This building here! How old is this building?”
“Ah, the Milky Way Tower?”
It seems that the name is now Eunha Tower.
“Your name is pretty.”
“yes. This place hasn’t been put up for sale yet, but it will be at least 600 billion won.”
Daewon made a strange noise as if he was surprised by his brother.
“Ugh!”
I asked the broker again.
“Eunha Tower, how do I buy it?”
“Well, these buildings are usually traded with people who know each other. If you want to buy it, I think you should talk to the owner directly. Can I find out who the owner is?”
“Yes. Please.”
After that, Daewon hyung grabbed my arm and led me to a corner.
“Jaewoon! What is it? It’s not 60 billion, it’s 600 billion. It’s also the least.”
“We have about 500 billion won in our spare funds. More than 150 billion won each month from D-Tab sales, but next month, we can make 600 billion won. brother.”
“…it’s not that I don’t have money, it’s that I just need to pour that much money into the building. It could be a lot better if you put that money into a business.”
“It is, but I want to buy it, what should I do?”
Daewon looked at me with his brother looking at a crazy person.
“..People usually consider the price when choosing clothes. If this is a car, I’ll understand. But this is a building. That’s a 600 billion-dollar building! Does it make sense to pick it up at once just because you want to buy it?”
“The reason. If that’s the case, there’s one more.”
