Chapter 12
Ding-dong.
That specific notification sound rang again.
There was no mistaking it.
It was the sound of a message from the future.
I quickly raised my head and checked the employees beyond the partition.
Especially Im Sanghyeon, who had just stepped away to answer his phone.
I already knew that messages from the future disappeared after I read them once.
So I wanted to make sure no one would approach before I finished reading everything.
“Whew...”
After confirming that no one was nearby, I quickly picked up my phone.
Just as I thought.
It was another message from the future.
The sender had no visible number.
And just like the first message, it contained an online news article.
[Long lines form as Honam’s largest food-supply mart opens in Gwangju...]
[On September 1st, Honam’s largest food-supply mart opened at Donggil-ro 100 in Gwangju Metropolitan City...]
[As the largest store of its kind in Honam, it drew attention from the very first day.]
[Located in Gwangju Metropolitan City, the store is expected to provide high convenience for both restaurant owners and ordinary consumers when purchasing food supplies.]
[CEO Ma Juncheol stated, “I hope the opening of Honam’s largest food-supply mart will satisfy the needs of many consumers. We plan to provide various services every month, so I hope you’ll continue to show us your interest.”]
[Meanwhile, a grand-opening event will continue until the 4th.]
[Event details include...]
[Photo]
My eyes raced through the article.
At the same time, my hand quickly wrote information down on paper.
“So the owner’s name is CEO Ma Juncheol.”
I nodded while capturing every useful detail.
“Opening on September 1st... right. And the event runs until the 4th...”
After writing everything down, I clicked the photo attached at the bottom.
It showed the completed food-supply mart.
The picture was high quality, so even when I enlarged it, the image remained fairly clear.
“Wow... there are so many congratulatory flower stands.”
Rows and rows of them lined the entrance.
I clicked my tongue in amazement.
“CEO Ma Juncheol really does care about school ties, hometown ties, and family ties, huh?”
It certainly looked that way.
Most of the writing on the ribbons was connected to those kinds of relationships.
[From all members of the 71st graduating class of XX Elementary School, Yeosu.]
[Gwak Hangi, President of the XX Elementary School Alumni Association, Yeosu.]
[46th Graduating Class Association, XX Middle School, Yeosu.]
[Kim Yeonghan, President of the XX High School Alumni Association, Yeosu.]
[From all alumni of XX High School, Yeosu.]
[XX Family Clan Association.]
[XX Youth Association.]
There seemed to be no end to the flower stands.
“I guess that’s what happens when you open the largest food-supply mart in Honam.”
I continued reading the ribbons one by one.
“How many are there? But there seem to be more flowers from acquaintances than from business partners... Huh?”
Then I noticed two familiar names.
[CEO Jeong Seonghan, WG Food.]
[Assistant Manager Choi Inwoo, WG Food.]
“That’s... me.”
Even though I already knew the message came from the future...
Seeing a flower stand sent by my future self gave me goosebumps.
“This is seriously strange.”
But there was something else I needed to focus on.
“What is this?”
One section contained many names connected to Yeosu, the place where Ma Juncheol had grown up.
Next to those were flower stands from various companies.
And off to one side...
There were several ribbons that seemed connected to one of his hobbies.
[From all members of the Honam Orchid Club.]
[From all members of the Gwangju Metropolitan Orchid Association.]
[President of the Korea Orchid Association.]
[President of the National Plant and Orchid Lovers Club.]
The moment I read those ribbons, I tilted my head.
“Orchids...?”
It was completely unexpected.
I raised my eyebrows at such a random hobby.
Then...
“Assistant Manager Choi!”
A loud voice echoed through the office.
“Assistant Manager Choi Inwoo!”
I jumped out of my chair.
“Yes!”
“What are you doing? I called you several times.”
I had been so focused on the photo that I had not even heard him.
“Sorry. I was working on something.”
“Really?”
Manager Kwon Seunghun nodded and curled his finger at me.
He was motioning for me to come over.
I quickly picked up my diary and pen and walked to his desk.
“You called me?”
“Yeah. Assistant Manager Choi, this is the price sheet.”
He handed me a product pricing sheet.
“And are you busy right now?”
I shook my head.
“No. Do you need me to do something?”
Come to think of it...
His expression seemed darker than usual.
I looked at him carefully.
“Manager Kwon, did something happen?”
He lifted his chin.
“Want to step outside for some air?”
“Sure.”
We went up to the rooftop.
Manager Kwon and I came here often.
The moment we arrived, he put a cigarette in his mouth and let out a long sigh.
“Whew...”
That single sigh was enough to tell me something had happened at the company.
Manager Kwon rarely shared personal matters with employees.
If he called me separately like this, it was almost certainly related to work.
I asked worriedly.
“Manager Kwon, did something happen at the company?”
“Hmm... Before that, Assistant Manager Choi, you’re building your third-quarter performance properly, right?”
His question was actually about me.
I raised my eyebrows.
“For new clients, Shinwoo Department Store is still the only major one. But I’m planning to continue increasing them.”
“Good. Since you landed such a big account, Assistant Manager Lee must have gotten nervous. He brought in a new food-supply mart account.”
He was probably talking about the one in Damyang.
“Yes. Assistant Manager Im told me about it.”
“It’s a small neighborhood mart, so the sales won’t be huge. But you know what it means when Assistant Manager Lee suddenly starts going out and doing sales.”
“Yes. It means he’s nervous.”
“Exactly. Shinwoo Department Store alone isn’t enough. You know that, right?”
I also knew I had to bet everything on this third quarter.
I could not lose to Lee Sejun even after obtaining a card as powerful as Shinwoo Department Store.
If I wanted to lock down the quarter completely, I did not need many tiny clients.
I needed another major one.
Something like the largest food-supply mart in Honam.
I needed to create a gap so wide that Lee Sejun’s little mart in Damyang could not even be compared.
I nodded.
“Yes. This time, I’ll raise my sales properly.”
Perhaps because of the determination in my eyes, Manager Kwon smiled in satisfaction.
“With that attitude, you can definitely do it. Haha.”
He blew out cigarette smoke and changed the subject.
“Assistant Manager Choi.”
“Yes, Manager.”
“We’ve got a demarketing meeting next week.”
“...”
The smile disappeared from my face.
Demarketing.
Just as the name suggested, it was the opposite of marketing.
Usually, a company worked hard to sell more products.
Demarketing meant intentionally reducing purchases.
There were several reasons companies used demarketing.
If you labeled a product as [Sold Out] or [Limited Edition], showing customers they could not always buy as much as they wanted...
People might actually want it even more.
It could be used as a marketing technique.
But at WG Food, demarketing had a different meaning.
It meant making a product unavailable to customers.
In other words...
Discontinuing it.
Creating one new food product required countless meetings.
Many people poured effort, sweat, and time into developing it.
Then the product finally reached the market.
But that did not mean every product succeeded.
In fact, failure was much more common.
A company could develop Product A and release it.
But what if Product A failed to produce the expected sales?
Eventually, the company had no choice but to discontinue it.
The moment Manager Kwon mentioned the meeting, I bit my lip.
He continued with a bitter expression.
“They said we’re holding the meeting next week. Check every client that currently buys the product and submit a report. The product is...”
Before he could finish, I asked.
“Is it WG Instant Rice?”
He wrinkled his nose slightly.
“That’s right.”
“...I knew it.”
I had guessed immediately because of the product’s sales.
Its numbers were especially terrible.
“Whew... Just thinking about that meeting already makes me feel suffocated.”
“Yeah. It won’t be a pleasant meeting.”
“Exactly. And that product was something the CEO pushed really hard.”
I clicked my tongue softly.
“That’s why I thought we would keep producing it even with poor sales.”
“No matter how much he likes it, if it keeps losing money, even the CEO can’t do much.”
“I saw how hard CEO Jeong worked to release WG Instant Rice. I never thought he would actually discontinue it.”
“Same here.”
Manager Kwon put out his cigarette.
“The CEO probably doesn’t want to discontinue that product either. That’s why I’m already stressed just imagining the meeting next week. We’ll all feel guilty because we couldn’t revive its sales.”
He sighed several times.
In the end, a discontinued product meant one thing.
It had not sold.
And that also meant the sales department had failed to sell it properly.
WG Instant Rice was a product CEO Jeong Seonghan had poured enormous effort into.
When large corporations first released instant rice products, consumers had not reacted as positively as expected.
Back then, the idea of paying money for already cooked rice instead of buying raw rice seemed strange to many people.
But CEO Jeong Seonghan had watched those products and seemed to realize their future potential.
After that, he invested a great deal of time and effort into developing WG Food’s own instant rice.
At the time, not only Manager Kwon Seunghun and Manager Jang Woojin, but many other employees had been skeptical.
Large corporations were already becoming established in the instant rice market.
WG Food was only a smaller company.
Launching another similar instant rice product did not seem very competitive.
And just as people feared...
After its release, WG Instant Rice produced weak sales.
There were even many months when it lost money.
It gradually became a painful problem for the company.
And now...
It was facing discontinuation.
I knew better than most employees that WG Instant Rice was the product CEO Jeong had worked hardest on since I joined the company.
That was why I could not help feeling bitter too.
“That’s true. We did try hard to sell the instant rice, but the large-company products are just too strong.”
“There’s nothing we can do. Honestly, how is our product supposed to beat those major brands?”
“Exactly. We need some kind of competitive advantage, but our product is much more expensive.”
Manager Kwon shook his head and shrugged.
“Anyway, before next week’s meeting, organize all the clients currently buying WG Instant Rice and submit it.”
“Understood.”
“Want to head back down?”
Just then, I snapped my fingers.
“Ah, Manager Kwon. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah. What?”
“That price sheet you gave me earlier.”
“Right. The higher-ups rejected it because the prices were set too low.”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“I really need to sell at those prices. Is there any way we can make it work?”
“What?”
“I need you to approve those prices for me.”
