Chapter 14
[Gwangju Metropolitan Orchid Club]
[President Ma Juncheol]
The small rectangular card Ma Juncheol handed me was a business card with his name and phone number.
But it had nothing to do with the food-supply mart.
It was not even related to his normal business.
It was for the Gwangju Metropolitan Orchid Club.
President.
Ma Juncheol.
The moment I read those words, my mouth opened in surprise.
So he liked orchids this much.
But something else surprised me even more.
Ma Juncheol had just given me a business card with his personal contact information.
When I first came to meet him, I had given him my own card.
Yet he had not given me one in return.
He had not even told me his name or phone number.
And now...
One orchid was enough for him to hand me his card.
A smile spread across my face.
It seemed he had finally opened his heart a little.
I nodded while looking at the card.
“You’re even the president of an orchid club?”
He smiled.
“Yes. There was a time when my business almost collapsed.”
Ma Juncheol sat down and began telling me about his past.
“Back then, everything I tried kept going wrong. Strangely enough...”
I focused on every word.
Partly because I was curious about his past.
But more importantly...
I wanted to know whether there was anything useful inside his story.
Anything that could help me in sales.
“One day, after everything in business had fallen apart and my personal life wasn’t going well either, I discovered orchids.”
Ma Juncheol turned his head and looked over the plants.
“At first, I wondered how plants like these could possibly help me. But they didn’t just calm my mind. From that point on, my work started going smoothly too.”
“Sounds like fate.”
“Fate... Yes. Orchids became fate for me.”
He pointed toward the orchid I had brought.
“That’s why I was surprised when you brought me an orchid, Assistant Manager Choi. No one outside the orchid clubs or related circles has ever given me one as a gift before.”
Ma Juncheol looked back and forth between the orchid and me with genuine amazement.
I gave him a bright smile.
“Maybe meeting each other was fate too, CEO Ma.”
He burst into hearty laughter.
“That might actually be true. I was already surprised when you said you came here just from looking at the site before I had even announced the store opening. I thought maybe this was some kind of connection. Now it feels almost like fate. Haha.”
My hands tightened slightly against my thighs.
I could feel it.
I was almost there.
“I’m honored you think so.”
“I’m honored too.”
Ma Juncheol looked at the orchids again.
“If you’re interested in orchids, join our club sometime. I’ll personally get you in.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Of course. It’s not like just anyone can join our club even if they want to.”
He stood and walked toward the water dispenser.
“Look at me. I invited you in for coffee and we’ve just been talking this whole time.”
“It’s fine.”
“No. This isn’t how you treat a guest. Wait here.”
With his huge body, Ma Juncheol poured coffee into a colorful cup decorated with flowers.
The sight made me smile.
“Here. Have some coffee.”
“Thank you, CEO Ma. That’s a beautiful cup.”
“The flower painted on this cup is one of the Western orchids...”
I snapped my fingers.
“Could it be... Oncidium?”
Ma Juncheol’s eyes widened.
He clapped his hands together.
“How did you know?”
How did I know?
After learning from the future message that he was obsessed with orchids...
I had studied orchids like I was preparing for an exam.
Coming here with only shallow knowledge would have been worse than knowing nothing at all.
It felt as though I had answered a test question correctly.
I clenched my fist under the table.
“Wow, was I right?”
“Yes. You really are interested in orchids.”
“The yellow flowers are so memorable, so I recognized it.”
By now, the way Ma Juncheol looked at me had completely changed.
He made a pleased sound.
“It feels great talking about orchids with a young man like you. Come on, drink your coffee before it gets cold.”
“Yes, CEO Ma.”
I took a sip.
Ma Juncheol immediately returned to the topic of orchids.
“Western orchids have their charm, but personally, I prefer Oriental orchids. They have a calm feeling to them...”
We spent quite a while talking about orchids.
Perhaps because his guard had now completely fallen, Ma Juncheol eventually brought up business first.
“Assistant Manager Choi. So you said you came today because of the prices we discussed before?”
The fact that he brought up work himself already made this visit worth far more than I had expected.
“Yes. I brought prices even lower than the ones I showed you last time.”
“Really?”
Now he actually looked interested in my sales pitch.
I quickly pulled out the documents from my bag and placed them on the table.
“I selected products that can stand apart from what the large corporations offer. And compared to other smaller companies, I’m confident our prices are competitive.”
Ma Juncheol carefully studied the papers.
He seemed to be checking each product and price one by one.
While he thought, I quickly continued.
“I’ve never offered prices this low to any client I personally manage. That’s how exceptional these conditions are. If you trust WG Food and sign with us, I promise we’ll supply you with good products.”
“Hmm...”
He remained deep in thought.
Then he suddenly asked something else.
“Assistant Manager Choi?”
“Yes, CEO Ma.”
“What do you think about opening near the end of August?”
“The end of August?”
I had not asked because I failed to hear him.
The messages from the future.
The flyer.
The news article about the grand opening.
They had pointed to September 1st, not the end of August.
This meant the date on the flyer really was September 1st.
If he was currently considering the end of August, even if the schedule changed, there was almost no chance it would be pushed all the way to December.
“Yes. I’m thinking about opening near the end of August. I wanted to hear your opinion.”
I answered immediately.
“What about September 1st?”
He frowned.
We were close to discussing a contract, yet I had directly challenged his idea.
Naturally, he had probably expected me to agree with him.
“Why?”
“Usually, when a store opens, there’s a grand-opening promotion. That’s when you get what people call the opening boost.”
He nodded.
I continued.
“I think those first few days are extremely important. The customers who visit during that period might come back again. Some may even become regular customers.”
“That’s true. That’s why I plan to make the opening promotion big.”
“Exactly. And for a short opening event to be effective, you need as many customers as possible to visit during those few days.”
“Then why specifically delay it until September 1st?”
I did not need to look at a calendar.
I already knew exactly what day September 1st was.
I had read and memorized the future messages again and again while preparing for this sales opportunity.
“I think about three days is a good length for a grand-opening event. If you continued it for something like a month, customers would stop feeling that the discounts were special.”
“Hmm... that makes sense. Three days is short, but enough time for a lot of customers to come.”
By now, Ma Juncheol was listening closely.
“So during those three short days, you want the highest possible number of customers. That means Friday, Saturday, and Sunday would be ideal.”
“Then opening during a Friday-to-Sunday weekend would definitely be better.”
I met his eyes and nodded.
“And September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fall exactly on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”
When I finished, Ma Juncheol smiled in amazement.
“Wow. Assistant Manager Choi, you actually thought that far ahead?”
He probably felt I had considered his store more seriously than he had expected.
And perhaps that was true.
In a way, I had also become attached to this food-supply mart.
I wanted its sales to do well.
“Good opening sales will help the store succeed later too.”
Ma Juncheol smiled.
“So this is why choosing the right business partner matters. You’re thinking about this as if it were your own store.”
“Even though it’ll be the largest food-supply mart in Honam, this location is somewhat remote. I thought it would be better to advertise heavily during the opening. And if you open at the end of August, it might overlap with people’s summer vacation schedules.”
“It feels like you’ve thought about this more than I have.”
I waved my hands.
“Not at all.”
Then I snapped my fingers.
“If you open on September 1st and start with a grand-opening event, then once things settle down, you can run a Chuseok promotion about a month later.”
Ma Juncheol looked satisfied.
I did not miss the opportunity.
I handed him another catalog.
“These are holiday products WG Food supplies to businesses...”
Now he no longer seemed resistant to the products I showed him.
He stared closely at the catalog.
“Oh. This is very good. Next time, tell me the pricing for these too.”
“Yes, CEO Ma.”
After showing him everything I had brought, I packed my bag.
“I’d appreciate it if you could review the products and prices. I’ll wait for your call.”
I was preparing to end the conversation when he waved his hand as though stopping me.
“Honestly, I think prices and products are all fairly similar in the end.”
“Excuse me?”
“Some people might say school ties and hometown ties are outdated. They might even call me an old-fashioned man. But personally, I still think those kinds of connections matter.”
He was exactly the kind of man I had thought he was.
“I value finding common ground with people. Communication matters a great deal to me.”
“I agree. When you work together, few things are more important than that.”
Ma Juncheol extended his hand.
“I look forward to working with you.”
“...Excuse me?”
I had just handed him a newly adjusted price sheet.
I had expected him to take at least a few days to decide.
So when he suddenly offered his hand, my mouth fell open.
“We talked earlier, didn’t we? About connection and fate.”
He smiled brightly.
“You care about this mart as much as I do, maybe even more. And you and I communicate this well. Of course I should try working with you, Assistant Manager Choi. Don’t you think?”
He extended his hand again.
I had no reason to hesitate.
I immediately grabbed it and shook it firmly.
“Thank you. I’ll take responsibility for providing good products at good prices.”
“Good. Let’s work well together.”
Our clasped hands moved up and down.
The contract had effectively been decided.
At the same time...
The phone inside my pocket began vibrating violently, as if desperately trying to get my attention.
Bzzzt, bzzzt.
