“It’s no use. I’ll go check again.”
Kim Yoon-su, after confirming the order with his eyes, looked urgent.
Lee Hyun-woo didn’t bother to stop him.
“Yes, see you again then.”
“Sure, take care. Oh, thanks for the commission.”
“Oh, come on. It’s nothing, really.”
Originally, the commission for 【Jungle】 is 2.5% of the profit.
However, for auctions, it was set at 3% of the basic sales amount for online shopping.
But since Kim Yoon-su was the first customer, it was lowered to 2%.
“No, you see, the more you sell, the more beneficial it is to lower the commission by 1%. It didn’t seem significant to reduce the 30,000 won per unit to 20,000 won when selling one unit, but if you sell a hundred or a thousand units, it’s a difference of a million won.”
“Now that you mention it, I’ve incurred quite a loss. Should we rewrite the contract?”
“I’m out of here.”
Looking at Kim Yoon-su’s quick retreating figure, worried that they might actually rewrite the contract, Lee Hyun-woo laughed.
‘Anyway, it feels good to hit such a jackpot.’
It seemed like profitable returns were coming in right from the start.
Of course, this was Lee Hyun-woo’s thought; his younger brother was calculating on a different front.
“Wait a minute, if it’s a million-won computer and you sell a thousand units, that’s 10 billion won in sales!”
“What did you say the total cost of the parts was?”
“600,000 won?”
“Then you’re making a profit of 4 billion won? Wow, President Kim… must feel rich.”
“You have to subtract labor costs and commissions.”
“Even so, it’s not that much. We’re making 20 million won, but that guy is making billions.”
“Lee Jung-woo, you’re so greedy.”
While talking with Jang Yoo-chul, Lee Jung-woo expressed his regret, and finally, Lee Hyun-woo chimed in.
“In reality, labor costs are much higher. Also, we bought a truck, and there’s rent. Initially, there would’ve been a deposit, and future operating costs won’t be a joke. Finally, think about this. What if companies like 【One Computer】 start using 【Jungle】 ten or a hundred or a thousand times? We’ll be making more than from just one company.”
“Oh, that’s true.”
Platforms always start small.
However, as time goes by, they grow like a snowball.
Realizing this, his younger brother’s expression brightened again.
“Shall we also do an event for 【Sangil Industries】?”
“Not a bad idea. Let’s approach it once 【One Computer】 achieves definite success.”
“But at this rate, won’t everything be sold out within this week?”
“Probably? The issue is the supply.”
“Right. That seems like the most urgent thing.”
What if they couldn’t produce a thousand units within the set period?
“What was the status when you stopped by earlier?”
“I counted. Producing more than a thousand units a week didn’t seem impossible. Still, since it’s the first week, we shouldn’t let our guard down.”
“Well, then it should be fine.”
“Yeah, it should be. And we have something equally urgent.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t we need to bring in a mid-sized server? It seems like the number of users is continuously increasing.”
“You’re right. We can’t delay any longer.”
At his older brother’s question, Lee Jung-woo nodded without hesitation and answered.
And then he asked,
“Boss, after we bring in the server, can we do the event again, limited to another thousand units?”
“Lee Jung-woo, are you getting greedy?”
“Is it not possible…?”
“Of course, it’s possible. Don’t we have to row when the tide comes in?”
Hearing Lee Hyun-woo’s words, not only Lee Jung-woo but also Jang Yoo-chul, who was listening nearby, brightened up.
As mentioned, there is a time to row.
To put it bluntly, if you save, it’ll turn to waste.
No one knows when and where something might happen.
Especially with the merchants of the Yongsan Electronics Market, who knows what they’ll do,
‘Run at full speed while you can.’
Now was the time to run straight ahead like a racehorse, without looking to the sides.
After deciding, it was time to act.
Lee Hyun-woo soon started looking for the second server.
‘Not a PC server, but a mid-sized server….’
Upon checking, the price was 9 million won.
After hard bargaining, he lowered it by 500,000 won, but the cost of 8.5 million won still seemed significant.
‘I need to earn enough so that this amount feels trivial.’
Four more days passed since then.
“Boss! We just sold all thousand units!”
“Wow, really! How did we sell all thousand units? Even I find it hard to believe!”
“That’s proof that the price was reasonable. The issue is that we haven’t finished making all of them yet….”
In succession, it was the voices of Lee Jung-woo, Jang Yoo-chul, and Lee Hyun-woo.
Although all units were sold online, not all products were made yet.
“In this case, shouldn’t we urge them a bit? How about making a call?”
“No. It was initially set for a week. We need to recruit customers within that period and then deliver in order, so we should wait three more days. Instead, post a notice with what I said.”
“Yes, boss.”
At that moment,
The phone rang.
There were two phones in the office, but since this wasn’t the service phone, Lee Hyun-woo quickly picked it up.
(This is Director Lee.)
“Oh, President.”
(It looks like we can finish making everything by tomorrow, so I’m contacting you in advance.)
“By tomorrow? Did you work overnight or something?”
(We did extend the working hours a bit. I said I’d pay extra. But as our hands became more experienced, the speed picked up tremendously.)
As expected, Koreans are amazing.
Wherever they go, they meet deadlines within the limited time, and 【One Computer】 proved that once again.
(Still, just in case, we’ll carefully check and start shipping gradually.)
“That would be great.”
(We’ve also secured AS technicians. Wow, the labor costs are no joke. Of course, we’re earning a lot too, but… Oh, I don’t know. It’s chaotic.)
If the cost-performance ratio is good and there are no defects, it would be perfect.
Of course, they promised to handle AS, refunds, or returns properly if any issues arose.
‘So, we set a rare record by selling a thousand limited edition computers in an instant?’
This also indicated that the number of website users was exponentially increasing.
In the meeting the next day, Lee Jung-woo once again showed off his calculation skills.
“Not just for us, but selling a thousand computers at 1 million won each and making 10 billion won in sales is incredible.”
“I heard there’s a pretty smart guy working there. When they divided the work, they needed fewer people for simple tasks like attaching cases, so they reassigned the staff. Then the supply increased significantly. Oh, they hired a few more people and are running three lines.”
“I heard that too.”
Following his younger brother, Jang Yoo-chul added more explanation, and Lee Hyun-woo nodded.
It was good news for both sides.
Especially considering the business had just started, it was very promising news.
While thinking this,
Knock, knock, knock.
There was a sound of someone knocking.
Then a man opened the door and peeked in, greeting them.
“Is this the place operating the 【Jungle】 website?”
A familiar yet unfamiliar face of a man in his thirties entered Lee Hyun-woo’s view.
With his amazing memory, he recalled the man’s identity.
‘Huh? That guy runs a shop at Yongsan Electronics Market, right? Yes, 【Strawberry PC】, that’s it!’
As Lee Hyun-woo remembered, the man, who was the president of that place, was the most proactive and resourceful.
He was also quick to catch new trends.
Last time, didn’t he join in and heat up the competition after 【One PC】 entered the auction site?
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Oh, I’m Hwang Il-ho… Here’s my business card.”
“Yes….”
Lee Hyun-woo accepted the business card.
As expected, it said 【Strawberry PC】.
Since he already knew the place, he quickly glanced at it and then said to his staff,
“Let’s end the meeting here.”
“Yes, boss.”
Then he looked at Hwang Il-ho and asked about his business.
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on the site. After seeing the pop-up for One PC last week, I felt I couldn’t stay idle, so I came over. You have no idea how much I pestered President Kim Yoon-su.”
“I see.”
During that time, Lee Hyun-woo had to lower himself a lot to attract auctions to the website from the stores in Yongsan Electronics Market.
But not anymore.
He realized there was no need to do so for the store owners from Yongsan Electronics Market who would come because of the 【One Computer】 event.
‘Maybe before, but now I’m the top dog.’
As expected, when he gave a short reply, the other person grew more eager and said,
“I’ll get straight to the point since you seem busy. We’d also like a pop-up like 【One Computer】.”
“……”
“I heard about the commission. President Kim Yoon-su told me it was 3%…”
“5%.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s 5%.”
For a moment, Hwang Il-ho seemed at a loss for words.
Then, his expression turned into that of someone who felt they were being scammed.
But being a businessman, he controlled his emotions and responded,
“I came here knowing the commission rate. How can you suddenly raise it?”
“It’s not ‘suddenly.’ It was always intended to be 3% for the first customer only. Go ask President Kim Yoon-su again. It was originally 5%.”
“He didn’t mention that…”
“The business is doing so well that he’s probably only sharing the good news. Honestly, the fact that President Kim Yoon-su shared it with you shows his great character. If it were me, I wouldn’t have told you.”
Once again, Lee Hyun-woo rendered him speechless.
Since these were facts, the other person made a frustrated expression.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-woo thought of Kim Yoon-su’s face.
‘Why can’t you deceive others?’
While 【Jungle】 was grateful for the customer introduction, it was a loss for Kim Yoon-su.
Moreover, who knows how Hwang Il-ho swayed Kim Yoon-su, but it seemed he spilled all the beans about the commission.
At least Kim Yoon-su didn’t reveal that he was getting a 2% benefit, seeing how Hwang Il-ho thought it was 3%.
‘Since it’s come to this, I should make him feel like he’s getting more benefits.’
That’s why Lee Hyun-woo just quoted 5%.
Eventually, Hwang Il-ho raised a white flag and tried to negotiate.
“Is there no room for a discount?”
“Sorry.”
“You’re quite strict. Usually, negotiations benefit both parties.”
As expected of a good businessman, he didn’t give up easily.
It was understandable since such matters were sensitive in the Yongsan Electronics Market.
Rumors about a thousand computers being sold within a week would have spread by now.
Words travel fast.
‘Considering the number of people using our site, they wouldn’t be unaware.’
Anyway, good businessmen read the flow and trends well.
Hwang Il-ho came here, following the roots to the source, determined not to return empty-handed.
However, in his past life, Lee Hyun-woo didn’t get by easily, so he had the traits of a tiger, a hyena, and a sly snake.
“Then let’s discuss it later. I’m busy right now.”
“Oh, don’t be like that… I won’t ask for 3%, just lower it by 1%. In return, if anyone asks me, I’ll refer them here.”
Though tempting, Lee Hyun-woo chuckled.
“President Kim Yoon-su will tell everyone anyway.”
Momentarily speechless, Hwang Il-ho,
But still stubbornly added,
“Then… if someone asks, I’ll tell them the commission is 6%. You can keep President Kim Yoon-su quiet, and as I said, it’s mutually beneficial.”
