Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Shinwoo Department Store was the largest department store in Gwangju.

And Shinwoo Group was a major conglomerate famous throughout Korea for having numerous affiliates.

When the CEO of such a department store told me they wanted to reward me, refusing was not exactly easy.

No matter how large or small it was, the reward would probably be tempting.

But this was not something I should end with department-store gift certificates or money I could spend at Shinwoo affiliates.

Ever since I was young, whenever I stood at a crossroads, there was something I always reminded myself.

Do not become so lost in your emotions that you only see what is directly in front of you.

In other words...

Do not look only at the tree.

Look at the entire forest.

The person sitting in front of me was Shinwoo Department Store.

More precisely, he was not merely some high-ranking executive.

CEO Park Donghun himself had personally met me to express his gratitude.

This was my opportunity.

Of course, just because I asked for something did not mean he would grant it.

If I asked and he refused, then that was that.

I had nothing to lose.

It would be better to make the proposal and get rejected than to say nothing and regret it later.

There would probably not be many chances in my life to meet Shinwoo Department Store CEO Park Donghun face-to-face.

“Then... may I ask you for just one favor?”

At my question, Park Donghun raised his eyebrows with a gentle smile.

“If it is something within my power, I’ll grant anything I can.”

His answer gave me confidence.

I pulled my business-card holder from my pocket.

Then I took the card at the very front and placed it in front of him.

“I’d like to supply my company’s products to the Shinwoo Department Store food hall. Would that be possible?”

Park Donghun did not look surprised.

But he did not accept it casually either.

With an unreadable expression, he picked up my card.

He stared at it for a long moment.

At some point, the smile had disappeared from his face.

Seeing that expression made me nervous.

I swallowed dryly.

Had I asked for too much?

No.

It was not like I intended to cause a scene if he refused.

This was something I was allowed to propose.

After studying the card for some time, Park Donghun finally spoke.

“Assistant Manager Choi Inwoo from WG Food?”

“Yes.”

“Is WG Food a family business of yours?”

It was a strange question.

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Hmm... Then you’re simply an ordinary employee at the food company WG Food here in Gwangju?”

“That’s correct.”

What was this about?

Was there some problem?

Did he know CEO Jeong Seonghan of WG Food?

While I remained serious, Park Donghun suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

He put down my card and looked at me.

“If I were the CEO of WG Food, Assistant Manager Choi... I don’t think I would leave you at the assistant-manager level.”

“Excuse me?”

“You had personal profit sitting directly in front of you, but instead, you chose something that benefits your company.”

The corners of his lips rose.

“It isn’t easy for an ordinary employee to think that way. I find it impressive.”

“You’re giving me too much credit. I’m simply doing my job as a salesman.”

At my response, Park Donghun made a thoughtful sound.

“Suppose you succeed in selling to me like this and secure a supply contract with Shinwoo Department Store’s food hall. The personal reward I could give you would probably be worth much more than whatever salary or incentive WG Food gives you.”

I did not know how valuable the reward he had intended to give me was.

But that had not been why I chose sales instead.

“I don’t know what kind of reward you intended to give me, but I decided that supplying WG Food products would benefit me more than receiving something I would simply spend by myself.”

He leaned forward in his chair, clearly interested.

“Why? Does your company pay a large commission if you secure a contract like this?”

“No. Nothing like that.”

“There’s no immediate incentive even for landing Shinwoo Department Store?”

“There may be an incentive later depending on the results, but I don’t receive anything immediately.”

“Then I’m even more curious.”

I adjusted my posture before answering him.

“Ever since I started working at WG Food, I’ve always wanted to supply products to Shinwoo Department Store. Of course, I know WG Food is still growing, so getting into a department-store food hall isn’t easy.”

Park Donghun nodded.

The fact that he had stared at my business card with curiosity when he first saw the company name already told me how recognized WG Food was.

We were not yet one of Korea’s best-known companies.

But I believed the company had enough potential to become one.

“But I wanted consumers to see WG Food’s products.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m genuinely confident in our products.”

I was not saying it merely to make a sale.

I truly believed in them.

My department at WG Food was sales.

And I was a salesperson.

But my job was not limited to selling finished products.

Employees participated from the stage of developing ideas for new products all the way through production until the final product was completed.

Our products had gone through countless rounds of trial and error.

Every single one of them felt precious.

When I sold those products, I did not simply think about how much money would remain after the sale.

Take fish cake, for example.

There could be Product A, which contained a high amount of flour.

And Product B, which contained more fish meat than flour.

Someone might think the only difference was the unit price.

But from my perspective as a salesman, that was not true.

It was not simply a difference of a few hundred won.

It was a difference in use.

A fish cake with more flour softened and swelled more easily, which could be a disadvantage.

But that also gave it a softer texture.

On the other hand, a product with a higher fish content held its shape better, making it ideal for fish-cake soup.

But it was also firmer, and some people disliked that texture.

Every product had different uses.

Every product had clear advantages and disadvantages.

That meant you could not simply rank products by price.

Park Donghun smiled warmly.

“You seem to have a great deal of pride in the products you sell.”

“Yes. We participate from the initial idea all the way until the product is finished. That’s why I’m confident in them.”

There were not many companies where sales employees participated in new-product ideas and production.

Usually, new-product development, production, and sales were strictly separated.

Of course, some employees at WG Food complained about the system.

But I did not.

When a new product was developed, I learned why the product idea had been proposed in the first place.

During production, I learned the exact ingredients and proportions.

I learned every strength and weakness.

Only after understanding all of that could I properly identify what a customer or client needed and recommend the right product.

That was my sales strategy.

My experience.

Sales was not simply about offering the cheapest product for the lowest possible price.

True sales meant understanding what the buyer wanted...

And giving them the product that fit that need.

Park Donghun seemed to think deeply while listening.

I quickly took out the product catalog I always carried in my bag and handed it to him.

“Our company’s products are...”

His eyes seemed slightly unfocused.

They simply followed the movements of my hands.

Even so, I did not stop explaining.

“...So if we match the product to your needs, I can arrange the supply...”

I had been explaining for quite a while when Park Donghun raised his right hand.

I immediately stopped.

“All right.”

“Yes?”

“Go ahead and supply them.”

My eyes widened.

“Are you saying... you’ll approve a supply contract?”

Only then did Park Donghun grin and nod.

“Yes. If these are the products of a company like this, then I, Park Donghun, can confidently sell them to the customers of Shinwoo Department Store.”

The moment he finished speaking, my voice rose.

“Thank you!”

“No. I’m the one who should thank you. Thanks to you, we avoided a major disaster.”

Park Donghun slowly looked around the department store.

“I was prepared to grant almost any request because of how grateful I am. There’s no reason I would refuse something like this.”

He picked up the phone on the side table beside him.

“Hello. Regarding the food hall downstairs...”

The forest, not the tree.

Instead of chasing the immediate personal benefit sitting in front of me...

I had chosen to think about my future.

Because that choice could create something much bigger for my life.

As I listened to Park Donghun speaking on the phone, I clenched both fists.

I did it!

Beep.

The moment I locked my car after parking, someone came running toward me.

“Assistant Manager Choi!”

It was Im Sanghyeon.

“Oh, Assistant Manager Im. You came back early.”

“I was planning to visit a few more clients, but everyone said they were busy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It almost feels like they’re avoiding me because they’re afraid I’ll try to sell them something.”

“Come on. Surely not.”

He let out a long sigh and shook his head.

“When I try to visit clients we already do business with, they all make excuses. They’re avoiding me because they think I’m going to sell them more products.”

He continued talking while we walked toward the office.

“If they want us to lower the unit price or adjust delivery dates, they call immediately and tell me to visit. But the moment I’m the one trying to go there for sales, they do everything they can to avoid seeing me.”

There was nothing I could really say.

Im Sanghyeon was not asking me for advice.

He was not asking me to comfort him either.

He was simply complaining to a coworker who had joined the company at the same time.

I patted his drooping shoulder and opened the office door.

“We’re back.”

The first thing I saw after entering was Lee Sejun in the distance.

Standing beside him was Manager Jang Woojin.

It was a familiar scene.

Manager Jang Woojin was leaning against Lee Sejun’s desk with a huge smile on his face.

“Assistant Manager Lee, isn’t that the new gold watch that just came out?”

Manager Jang Woojin clicked his tongue in admiration and touched Lee Sejun’s arm.

“That’s right. I knew you’d recognize it immediately, Manager Jang.”

“Wow. You can’t even buy this thing just because you have money. How did you get one?”

“Ah... As soon as it came in, my personal sales associate contacted me...”

Lee Sejun began talking about luxury brands to Manager Jang Woojin, who stuck close to him.

Manager Jang listened with great interest.

Watching them, Im Sanghyeon leaned close to my ear.

“Aren’t those two the most perfectly matched pair in all of WG Food?”

“Seriously.”

“Manager Jang doesn’t own that watch, that car, or any of those luxury goods. How does he know so much about luxury brands?”

Im Sanghyeon shook his head while watching him.

Manager Jang Woojin earned more than the assistant managers because of his higher rank.

But unlike Lee Sejun, he had not been born with a golden spoon in his mouth.

If anything, his financial situation was probably ordinary...

Or even below average.

He was simply one of the people who envied a wealthy young master like Lee Sejun.

Perhaps because of that, Manager Jang Woojin desperately wanted to become close to him.

And the method he had chosen seemed to be praise and flattery.

It was so obvious that employees sometimes joked that the positions between the two men had been reversed.

Even today, the employees occasionally glanced at the pair and smirked.

Then...

“Assistant Manager Choi, are you back?”

CEO Jeong Seonghan suddenly threw open the door to his office and shouted.

At his call, every employee in the office flinched and turned toward me.

“Yes, sir. I just got back.”

I raised my hand and walked toward him.

“Is something wrong...?”

Before I could finish, CEO Jeong Seonghan clenched both fists and shook them excitedly in the air.

“Is it true that our Inwoo secured a supply deal with Shinwoo Department Store’s food hall?!”

The moment he said it...

Every employee in the office reacted in shock and immediately began whispering.

And Lee Sejun, who had been glancing toward me...

Suddenly had an unsteady look in his eyes.