It’s now time to think about handling the explosive surge in orders.
At the meeting, Lee Hyun-woo said,
“Lee Jung-woo, I think we need to get our friends to do part-time jobs again?”
“This time, the volume is incomparable to the last time. If we want to pack and send everything quickly, we might be short on hands.”
“Yes, I’m not sure if our friends will be enough.”
As Lee Jung-woo and Jang Yoo-chul said, the CDs are packed and then shipped via the post office.
Last time, for Shin Sung-hoon’s live album, they solved the issue by giving work to their friends or seniors and juniors.
After packing and addressing, they paid 100 won per CD sent via the post office.
In fact, Lee Hyun-woo had said that amount was too low, but the two insisted strongly on that price.
Some places only pay 10 won to attach eyes to dolls.
Given that, what could he do?
Although there was a sense of guilt for excessively exploiting someone’s labor, he squirmed with joy as he checked the money coming in through the PG company recently.
However, their friends were limited, and these days, because 【One Computer】 was doing well, more manpower was being siphoned off to part-time jobs there, making it hard to find workers.
“So, what should we do?”
Swoosh.
At that moment, someone quietly raised their hand, and Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
“Yoo Jin-young, do you have a good idea?”
“How about my friends?”
“Your friends?”
“Yes, among my high school friends, there are many who are currently not doing anything. If it’s 100 won per CD, they’ll surely be eager to do it.”
“If that’s the case…”
Lee Hyun-woo felt like he was back in the past.
He felt it before too, but to think they would be so eager for just 100 won per CD.
‘If they work on 100 CDs a day, that’s only 10,000 won, isn’t it?’
This is why companies like non-regular workers, but he couldn’t help feeling sorry.
However, on the way home that day, Lee Jung-woo justified the 100 won per CD.
“Hyung, 100 won per CD is not low. A grade 9 civil servant’s salary is barely over 300,000 won, and the fast workers can handle a few hundred CDs a day. If you convert that to a month, it’s over 1 million won.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Anyway, your mind works brilliantly, but you get soft-hearted at times.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled bitterly.
It wasn’t that he was soft-hearted, he just wasn’t used to the labor costs of this era yet.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t underpay Yoo Jin-young or Han Se-jin.
At first, Lee Jung-woo was surprised at the amount they were receiving and even told him that 【Jungle】 would struggle due to labor costs.
“Hyung, what would you have done without me?”
“Haha, indeed. What would I have done without you?”
“So, you better hold onto me tightly, so I don’t go anywhere else.”
“Got it, man.”
Lee Hyun-woo chuckled as he watched Lee Jung-woo, who always tried to highlight his presence whenever he had the chance.
But Lee Jung-woo was indeed a younger brother who exceeded expectations.
‘This guy is really talented.’
Even at home, Lee Hyun-woo would occasionally think of what Lee Jung-woo had accomplished and smile with satisfaction.
No one else could have designed the initial phase of the 【Jungle】 website.
He often listened to Lee Jung-woo and Jang Yoo-chul’s conversations, and unless a search engine was running, it would be difficult to realize online auctions and shopping.
Indeed, users need to enter search terms and view lists within the site to find special items. Initially, Lee Hyun-woo had ordered his brother to create it without even knowing that.
In hindsight, it was unclear whether Lee Jung-woo was originally talented or if Lee Hyun-woo had maximized his abilities.
However, one thing became clear to him as he went to work the next day.
“Hyung, I thought about it all night.”
“About what?”
“Let’s create our own virtual currency. How about that?”
“……!”
“Why are you so surprised?”
“V… virtual currency? You mean Bitcoin?”
“Bitcoin? What’s that?”
“Ah, never mind.”
“Hyung, you sometimes say strange things.”
“Sorry, I think I sometimes misunderstand because I’m thinking about something else.”
Honestly, he was startled.
He thought his brother had the skills to create something like Bitcoin.
But it seemed that the ‘virtual currency’ his brother was talking about was something different.
To understand the meaning clearly, Lee Hyun-woo asked.
“Anyway, what kind of virtual currency are you talking about?”
“I mean, creating currency that can only be used on our site.”
“Currency that can only be used on our site?”
“Yeah, seeing all those messages and calls, many users found it hard to use because the payment process was complex. So, I thought it might be good to create currency that can only be used on our site after the first payment.”
Once again, Lee Hyun-woo was amazed and said,
“Wow… really, you’re a genius.”
“It feels good to be called a genius by a genius.”
“I’m serious. You’re a genius.”
He kept re-evaluating Lee Jung-woo.
He was always brilliant, but his talent was buried in his past life.
The current environment allowed his brother to utilize his brain, making him an even more competent talent.
“Stop it, hyung. It’s embarrassing.”
“What’s embarrassing about calling a genius a genius?”
“Stop it. Ah, now I understand how you feel. It’s really embarrassing to be praised as a genius right in front of you.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled.
‘I get called a genius because I’ve lived twice, but you seem to be a real genius.’
Or maybe great geniuses are born that way, but the environment could also foster such talent.
In that sense, he decided he should also nurture Jang Yoo-chul, Han Se-jin, and Yoo Jin-young well.
You never know.
If they continue to be dedicated to their work, they might come up with brilliant ideas like Lee Jung-woo and turn into near-geniuses.
‘In that case, I should treat my employees even better.’
At this moment.
Lee Hyun-woo decided to bring out the ‘extraordinary’ hidden in the ‘ordinary’ people to the fullest.
As soon as he arrived at work, Lee Hyun-woo overheard his brother discussing virtual currency with Jang Yoo-chul.
“Jang Yoo-chul, I came up with a brilliant idea last night.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what outrageous idea it is this time.”
“It’s not outrageous. Even hyung… our CEO praised it.”
“Really? Then let’s hear it.”
A bitter smile appeared on Lee Hyun-woo’s face.
Listening to their conversation, it seemed he had become a kind of guarantee.
‘So Jung-woo often comes up with outrageous ideas, huh.’
He suddenly thought of geniuses ahead of their time.
How outrageous their ideas must have sounded to ordinary people.
But smartphones, electric cars, and space probes were all ‘artifacts’ of the future, realized after emerging from outrageous ideas.
They were often ignored before realization, but once someone accomplished a dream and passed through that stage, they would be recognized no matter what they did.
At least, like Lee Hyun-woo at 【Jungle】 now.
That’s why, even now, his brother was explaining eagerly, using him as a guarantee,
“Wow, that sounds good.”
And Jang Yoo-chul immediately agreed.
“Right? It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s a very good idea.”
“I agree too.”
Han Se-jin, who had been quietly listening, added with excitement in his voice, raising his thumb.
Han Se-jin didn’t stop there and added,
“If we do it well, we could pull an enormous amount of money from people’s pockets.”
“Really?”
“When you fill up your car with gas, you want to go for a drive. I think virtual currency will be similar. Once charged, people will want to keep using it for auctions or shopping.”
Since he was hired for sales, his thinking was more oriented towards ‘earnings’ compared to Lee Hyun-woo and Jang Yoo-chul.
‘As expected, I should nurture Han Se-jin more towards that direction.’
Lee Hyun-woo thought this as he noticed Han Se-jin’s habit of taking notes.
That was something Lee Hyun-woo could learn from.
In fact, the habit of recording influences actions.
He also wrote down what he wanted to do in this life after drinking last time, which allowed him to sometimes escape from work addiction.
As he thought about this, he noticed Yoo Jin-young hesitating as if she wanted to say something but was unsure.
“Yoo Jin-young, is there something you want to say?”
“What you mentioned yesterday.”
“Yesterday? Ah… about your friends doing part-time jobs?”
“Yes, I contacted them. Does the number of people matter?”
“Of course, it matters. We’re going to pay per CD anyway… But why do you ask? How many are there?”
“Thirty.”
“……!”
“If I contact them today, I might secure more.”
“Do you have that many friends?”
“Well… I have some friends, and I also met people through PC communications…”
“PC communications?”
“I mentioned before that I’m a fan of the hip-hop group ‘Double.’ There are quite a few members in that club.”
“Ah…”
At that moment.
Han Se-jin interrupted again, addressing Yoo Jin-young.
“But Yoo Jin-young, can those people be trusted?”
“What do you mean…?”
“What if the CDs get damaged or lost? Or if there’s a mistake in recording and there’s a delivery error?”
“I thought about that too, and I selected them carefully. There were many applicants.”
“Really?”
“Think about it. If such issues arise, I’d have to handle a lot of phone calls. It all becomes my job eventually.”
Her words were true.
And even if they weren’t, Lee Hyun-woo wanted to trust her.
Compliments may make even whales dance, but trust can draw loyalty from employees.
This was also how Lee Hyun-woo treated his subordinates in his past life.
So he said,
“I trust you unconditionally, Yoo Jin-young.”
Her reaction was visible in her eyes.
Her eyes, as she looked at Lee Hyun-woo, showed gratitude for the trust.
The next day, her eyes were filled with a sense of triumph.
“We finished 25,000 CDs yesterday.”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“Wow, 25,000?”
“Yes, really.”
It seems everyone has a place where their talents are best suited.
While he had to keep watching, he wondered if Yoo Jin-young’s talent might be in silently listening and bringing people to her side.
Lee Hyun-woo thought so with a smile.
“Good job.”
“It’s nothing. We’ll finish another 25,000 today.”
Lee Hyun-woo nodded at Yoo Jin-young’s enthusiasm.
At that moment, he heard another voice.
“CEO, we finished the virtual currency, or as we named it ‘Jungle Money.’ Would you like to see it? We need your approval to start testing.”
It was Lee Jung-woo’s voice.
Once again, Lee Hyun-woo smiled and nodded.
His face was filled with satisfaction, showing he was 120% pleased with his employees who were worth a hundred each.
