Chapter 45
The main banquet hall of a five-star hotel in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul.
From early morning...
The venue was overflowing with dazzling lights and a massive crowd.
The event had been organized by Han Danghyun, CEO of DD Franchise Consulting.
A huge banner hung across the hall.
[Bongau-tang Nationwide Simultaneous Launch and Franchise Contract Completion Convention]
At the entrance...
Endless flower wreaths bearing the names of political and business figures created an impressive sight.
[Bongau-tang: 130 Stores Opening Simultaneously Nationwide]
[A New Legend in the Restaurant Industry!]
The massive screen behind the main stage flashed those words brightly over the crowd.
Inside the hall...
Prospective franchise owners from around the country filled plates with luxury hotel buffet food while dreaming of enormous success.
Investors were everywhere.
Reporters from the distribution industry had also arrived after receiving massive advertising payments.
There was barely enough room to walk.
Into the very center of that spectacular yet dangerously fragile bubble...
Entered CEO Jeong Seonghan of WG Food.
Manager Kwon Seunghun.
And finally...
Assistant Manager Choi Inwoo.
“CEO Jeong.”
“Manager Kwon.”
“You must have had a tiring trip all the way to Seoul.”
Han Danghyun approached and greeted us.
“Not at all.”
“The train from Gwangju to Seoul is quick these days.”
“Exactly.”
“CEO Han, this launch event is incredible.”
“You really did something impressive.”
They each praised him.
On Han Danghyun's wrist...
There was now an even larger luxury watch than the one he had worn when we signed the contract.
Its entire surface glittered with diamonds.
Blinded by the extravagance...
CEO Jeong smiled so widely it looked like his mouth might split as he clasped Han Danghyun's hand.
“The scale is beyond imagination.”
“Ha ha.”
“Thank you.”
“Bongau-tang could only hold an event like this because of WG Food.”
“Seeing this enormous crowd and energy in person today...”
“I'm proud to know WG Food is the core partner and exclusive manufacturer behind such a huge project.”
Han Danghyun laughed loudly.
“Of course, CEO Jeong.”
“Once DD Consulting builds a stage, we shake the entire market.”
CEO Jeong raised his thumb.
Han Danghyun proudly continued.
“This month alone, we're burning through several hundred million won on advertising.”
“Main terrestrial television slots right before the evening news.”
“Billboards along Gangnam-daero.”
“Distribution advertising.”
CEO Jeong's eyes widened.
“Sales must be unbelievable once the stores open.”
“They should be.”
“Major portal sites and social media are already flooded with Bongau-tang preview content.”
Han Danghyun lifted his shoulders proudly.
“It's only a matter of time before the money starts pouring in.”
Then...
He looked toward the person standing furthest back.
Choi Inwoo.
“WG Food should stop worrying about unnecessary risks.”
“Just make sure you produce every quantity we push through the purchase orders.”
“Understood?”
His tone was confident and arrogant.
It was obvious he still resented Choi Inwoo.
But by now...
The balance of power had completely shifted toward Han Danghyun.
Despite his rude tone...
CEO Jeong and Manager Kwon could only nod repeatedly.
While everyone was distracted by the scammer's glamorous celebration...
Han Danghyun glanced back at Choi Inwoo, who stood quietly organizing documents one step behind the others.
Ever since the contract meeting...
He had kept watching him.
His eyes were filled with the condescension and mockery of someone looking down on a low-ranking employee from a small company.
Han Danghyun stared at Choi Inwoo again.
“Assistant Manager Choi.”
“Yes.”
“I heard you added some extra clause with our planning team last time.”
“Something about distribution rights and trademarks if payments were delayed.”
He stepped closer.
Then spoke quietly.
“Now that you've seen this place...”
“What do you think?”
Choi Inwoo said nothing.
Han Danghyun stepped one more pace forward and whispered.
“DD Consulting's capital and planning ability are on a scale that a little assistant manager from a small company like you can't properly evaluate with a few sheets of paperwork.”
He patted Choi Inwoo's shoulder dismissively and snorted.
But Choi Inwoo remained completely calm.
He was the only person here who already knew the true nature of their scam.
The person who felt uneasy about the conversation...
Was not Choi Inwoo.
It was CEO Jeong.
Worried Han Danghyun might become offended...
He hurriedly stepped in.
“Assistant Manager Choi simply takes responsibility for company matters very seriously.”
“He tends to be overly cautious.”
“CEO Han, I hope you'll understand that with your usual generosity.”
CEO Jeong apologized on Choi Inwoo's behalf.
“Yes, well.”
“For CEO Jeong's sake, I'll let it go.”
“After all, I'm doing business with you.”
“Of course.”
“We'll make sure the supply is delivered without any problems...”
At first...
Han Danghyun had approached WG Food and asked us for the contract.
We had begun as equal partners in a supposedly win-win relationship.
But now...
The relationship had twisted.
No longer equals.
Han Danghyun had placed himself above WG Food.
And CEO Jeong...
Blinded by the first huge payment and the enormous scale surrounding him...
Had naturally lowered himself into the weaker position.
Even beneath Han Danghyun's insulting mockery and the sneering atmosphere around him...
Choi Inwoo did not blink.
Instead...
He wore a foolish, overly polite smile that made him look submissive and harmless.
He even bowed his head along with CEO Jeong.
Because he intended to crush Han Danghyun...
At the moment the man stood highest.
At the moment he was most arrogant.
And most careless.
Choi Inwoo was deliberately lowering himself.
A psychological game designed to make his opponent climb even higher.
“After coming here today and seeing a scene this extraordinary...”
“I realize I may have been a frog at the bottom of a well.”
Han Danghyun folded his arms, smiling faintly as Choi Inwoo's tone became more submissive.
“This really is a huge brand with enormous capital and a proven nationwide distribution network.”
“I was overly cautious.”
“I apologize for my narrow judgment.”
“Like you said, I'll focus entirely on production and keeping our factory operating at the scale you require.”
Choi Inwoo's submissive answer filled Han Danghyun with superiority.
He laughed proudly and reached into his jacket.
Then he pulled out several 50,000-won bills.
He shoved them directly into Choi Inwoo's pants pocket.
“There.”
“Young people need to learn how to read the room if they want to survive in society and get ahead.”
Choi Inwoo said nothing.
“You've probably worked hard managing documents and going back and forth to the factory.”
“Consider that spending money for your trouble.”
“Go buy yourself something good to eat.”
It was not kindness toward a young employee.
It was an act meant to crush him.
To show complete contempt.
Choi Inwoo understood that perfectly.
He was angry.
But he swallowed every word trying to rise from his throat.
Because he wanted to destroy Han Danghyun even more completely.
Han Danghyun turned back toward CEO Jeong.
“Next week, we'll finish collecting the final logistics deposits and remaining interior payments from every franchise owner nationwide.”
“After that, we move to the next stage.”
“So make absolutely sure there are no problems with kitchen supplies.”
“Of course.”
“You don't have to worry, CEO Han.”
Han Danghyun had reached the peak of arrogance.
He led CEO Jeong and Manager Kwon toward the VVIP table at the center of the hall.
Brilliant spotlights and grand classical music surrounded them.
The prospective franchise owners erupted into applause as Han Danghyun stepped onto the stage.
But among the enormous crowd...
Only one person was thinking about something completely different.
Choi Inwoo.
He stood among the cheers with cold eyes.
Inside his pocket...
He clenched the 50,000-won bills Han Danghyun had shoved there.
Han Danghyun's business model is a textbook short-term scam.
That "next stage" he mentioned isn't brand expansion.
It's fleeing overseas in the middle of the night.
A franchise headquarters needed a proper food distribution infrastructure.
A franchise management system.
But Bongau-tang had neither.
And the tens of billions of won collected from franchise owners were probably already being routed through borrowed-name accounts or paper companies.
Choi Inwoo knew the exact date from the future message.
He had to stop them from taking even more money from the franchise owners.
And so...
He began thinking.
When the headquarters CEO runs away and the company files for bankruptcy...
The court will immediately appoint a bankruptcy specialist from a major law firm as trustee...
Choi Inwoo watched Han Danghyun shouting confidently onstage.
But inside his mind...
He was already planning the next move.
The trustee's job will be to gather whatever remains of the failed corporation, turn it into cash, and repay major creditors such as banks.
And what happens if I never inserted that special clause?
Suppose Choi Inwoo had not added the special clause.
Suppose Bongau-tang simply declared bankruptcy.
If WG Food then tried to save the franchisees by directly supplying sauce...
Legal action would immediately follow.
WG Food might have manufactured the product...
But bypassing Bongau-tang headquarters would violate the original contract.
On top of that...
All one hundred and thirty franchise owners could be sued for violating exclusive logistics rights and double payment obligations.
In other words...
WG Food and the franchisees would both suffocate.
Han Danghyun would be the scammer.
Yet the legal responsibility and crushing debt would fall entirely onto the honest manufacturer and franchise owners.
That was the cruel reality of the distribution industry.
But there was one thing capable of overturning everything.
The special clause Choi Inwoo had inserted.
He stared toward Han Danghyun beneath the brilliant spotlights.
Then whispered quietly.
“That clause is the one key that can unlock every chain you've wrapped around them.”
“I'll free all of them with it.”
At that moment...
Bzzzt.
His phone vibrated heavily in his pocket.
When he checked it...
A message had arrived.
[Sender: Bongau-tang Sangmu Branch Owner]
It was the owner of the Gwangju Sangmu Branch.
He should have been somewhere inside this banquet hall.
Choi Inwoo tilted his head.
“What happened?”
He quickly scanned the crowd.
He wanted to find the Sangmu Branch owner.
But the man was nowhere in sight.
His eyes returned to the message.
[Assistant Manager Choi, could you meet me for a moment near the emergency stairwell on the right side of the banquet hall?]
Choi Inwoo frowned.
“Why all of a sudden?”
He began typing a reply saying he would come.
Then...
Bzzzt.
Another message arrived from the Sangmu Branch owner.
[Headquarters gathered only the franchise owners a little while ago and passed around a strange written pledge.
Something about it feels wrong.
I'd like to talk to you for a moment.
Can you come now?]
The moment Choi Inwoo read it...
His expression hardened.
“Shit...”
“What else are these bastards planning?”
He immediately turned away.
Without looking back...
Choi Inwoo hurried toward the emergency exit.
