I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 149

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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149 – The Wedding Ceremony
149.
In front of a luxury hotel in Jangchung-dong, Seoul.
“Get control of the traffic signals! Control them now!!”
A Police Officer gripped his radio, his voice booming across the chaos.
The traffic light turned red.
But the red light proved utterly useless.
The entire signal system had collapsed.
Once the vehicles began surging forward, they wouldn’t stop—the hotel entrance had transformed into a massive parking lot.
Police officers had emerged to direct traffic, but they were hopelessly outnumbered by the endless stream of cars converging from all directions.
The area in front of the hotel was completely paralyzed.
The reason Jangchung-dong had descended into such pandemonium?
It was Geun-su’s wedding.
Geun-su’s wedding ceremony was being held at a luxury hotel in Jangchung-dong.
People had rushed to the hotel early in the morning to attend Geun-su’s wedding.
Geun-su had wanted to keep the ceremony as quiet as possible and hadn’t spread word beforehand.
But the rumors had already spread far and wide.
Everyone who’d heard the news raced toward the venue.
Everyone who wanted to make a good impression on Geun-su and the Dae-hoon Faction had headed to the wedding hall.
Gangsters from across the nation, along with people from related industries, had all flooded into the hotel.
Of course traffic would be gridlocked.
Police had arrived to manage the situation, but they were overwhelmed.
Then it happened.
Men in black suits quietly walked out onto the road.
They formed a human chain along the street.
Moving with perfect coordination at their leader’s command.
The suited men naturally formed their formation,
and forcibly separated the tangled flow of vehicles, creating clear lanes.
The congestion momentarily worsened, but only briefly.
The jumbled vehicles began sorting themselves out in sequence,
and cars that had been stuck started flowing into the hotel.
Inside the hotel, men in black suits directed traffic with hand signals.
The chaos dissolved in an instant.
Faster than the police, and far more decisive.
The turmoil that had gripped Jangchung-dong subsided as if it had never been.
Inside the hotel, meanwhile, bustling preparations for the wedding were underway.
Floral wreaths lined the entrance to the ceremony hall in an endless procession.
There were so many it was impossible to count them all.
The crowd was immense, yet remarkably orderly.
Gangsters from across the nation had gathered, yet the atmosphere remained hushed.
There was no sign of trouble brewing.
While the Dae-hoon Faction’s power was certainly formidable,
the messages of peace they had consistently sent played an even greater role.
After expanding to a certain degree, the Dae-hoon Faction refrained from interfering with other organizations.
Instead, they helped other organizations establish themselves.
They organized the landscape.
An organization above organizations.
A conglomerate of the criminal underworld.
A god-like existence that governed order in the gangster world.
Perhaps because of this, the gangsters were grateful to the Dae-hoon Faction.
The older organizations were thankful they weren’t crushed and absorbed,
and the newer gangsters were grateful for being helped to grow.
Though no formal contract existed, everyone in their hearts regarded the Dae-hoon Faction as their “elder brother.”
Geun-su, the action commander and Secretary General of the Dae-hoon Faction, was getting married—there was no way they could simply ignore the fact that an invitation hadn’t arrived.
They couldn’t offer congratulations from afar.
Though uninvited, they had to attend the wedding as a matter of principle.
They sat quietly, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Outside the hotel, riot police stood ready in case of emergency,
and plainclothes officers were stationed inside.
The police were already on high alert.
But contrary to the police’s concerns, the venue was filled with excitement and blessings like any other wedding.
Soon the ceremony began.
“The groom and bride, please enter.”
At the voice of a famous announcer, Geun-su and Eun-seo took hands and began walking down the aisle.
Before them, Ha Yul-i, dressed beautifully in a gown, scattered flowers as a flower girl and blessed their wedding.
The grand banquet hall filled with the guests’ cheers and applause.
“Next, we will hear the ceremonial address. The officiant will be Chairman Seo Dae-hun of Dae Yeon Development.”
Dae-hoon, impeccably dressed, made his way to the podium to deliver the ceremonial address.
Dae-hoon took out the prepared address he had brought in his pocket.
But he didn’t look at the prepared text.
He began the address in a calm voice.
“When Geun-su first asked me to officiate, I refused. It seemed wrong for someone who hasn’t even married to serve as officiant. So I declined. But he insisted it had to be me.”
It was true.
Geun-su had persistently asked me to officiate.
He said he would have the wedding without an officiant if I wouldn’t do it.
He convinced me that I was the only person who could offer him guidance in his life.
After continued persuasion, with just three days before the wedding, I reluctantly agreed.
“What should I say? I thought about it a lot. I even read books I hadn’t read before.”
The guests laughed at my words.
“But then I thought to myself: Did Geun-su really need advice? That’s what I wondered.”
“At least, I have no such memories.”
“I have never doubted Geun-su. I have never worried about what he does.”
“This marriage is no different. I don’t worry, I don’t doubt. He will do well. The Geun-su I know is that kind of person.”
“That’s why, instead of this grand ceremony of officiating, I wanted to say just one thing as his older brother.”
“Geun-su. Be happy!”
Dae-hun stepped down from the podium with those words.
The guests rose to their feet, moved, and applauded.
After that, famous singers and idols came out to perform congratulatory songs.
The Dae-hoon Faction had expanded their business and owned several entertainment agencies.
The wedding ended without incident, and we took commemorative photos.
With so many people, it took quite a while to take the photos.
And finally, at Geun-su’s request, we took one separate photo.
Me and Dae-hun, Geun-su and his new bride. And Ha Yul-i as well.
In the photo, we were all smiling brightly.
But it wasn’t just the photographer capturing us like that.
It seemed there was an uninvited guest behind us.
*******
Geun-su sent them off on their honeymoon with a car.
He even prepared a private jet.
He’d already spoken to Ho Gu-hyung in China.
Our Ho Gu-hyung takes care of things quite well.
There’s nothing to worry about.
Dae-hun and I left the banquet hall and went to the suite room located on the top floor of the hotel.
We were scheduled to meet the Triad Society members there.
When we entered the suite room, the Triad Society members were already waiting.
One woman, two men.
“You arrived early? I apologize for being late. The wedding ended later than expected.”
We apologized as soon as we entered.
“Not at all. It’s still before the appointed time. I simply came early. And thank you for inviting me to the wedding.”
The other party greeted us with equal courtesy.
“Thank you for attending. Did you have a meal?”
“Yes. It was delicious.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried since there were quite a few people.”
“It was excellent.”
We sat on the sofa and introduced ourselves to each other.
“I’m Seo Dae-hun of the Dae-hoon Faction. And this is Alex, who will be handling this matter.”
“Hello. I’m Alex.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Mao Qin of Zhonglian Tongda Trade Co.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
We exchanged brief greetings and immediately got down to business.
“You mentioned you wanted to distribute something?”
“That’s right.”
Mao Qin pulled a package of Disand from his bag.
“This is it.”
I examined the candy he handed me carefully once more.
It’s definitely Disand.
I wondered if it might be Assand instead, but it’s definitely Disand.
The shoddy craftsmanship screams Disand.
If you made Assand like this, you’d be arrested on the spot.
The quality is that poor.
Whether she knew my thoughts or not, her confidence in the product was remarkable.
“You’ve probably heard of Assand. It’s the candy causing a sensation in China right now—it relieves fatigue, enhances concentration, and supposedly provides new inspiration and psychological stability. It’s become wildly popular in China. Chinese people are hoarding and consuming it. They say it sells out so fast you can’t even buy it. Hehe.”
We nodded along to Mao Qin’s words, pretending to know nothing.
“Really?”
“We’ve heard the name Assand before.”
“So this is Assand.”
This woman was starting her con.
Anyone could see it was Disand, yet she was passing it off as Assand.
But we played along, pretending to be fooled.
Perhaps our naive act worked, because Mao Qin became even more animated and continued talking.
“The Chinese government has classified this as a critical national technology, so it can’t be exported. Not a single piece of this candy leaves China. But because we have deep connections with the Chinese authorities, we’ve been able to secure a certain quantity for distribution. I’m offering the Chairman this opportunity right now.”
“Ah… I see.”
Deep connections?
Could anyone have deeper connections than me?
There was so much I could refute in what Mao Qin was saying, but I simply listened quietly.
Now wasn’t the time to object.
Rather, this was the time to listen more.
We nodded continuously, listening intently to Mao Qin’s words.
As if we were genuinely interested.
Let’s see how far this goes.
“So this is the Assand that’s causing such a sensation in China?”
“Yes, that’s right. Since it can’t be exported, people from overseas are desperate to get it. From artists to writers, scholars, and business executives.”
Mao Qin spoke with pride.
“I think I saw something about it on the news. How China’s tourism industry has grown tremendously.”
“Exactly. That’s all because of this Assand. If you just distribute this, you’ll probably become a billionaire in no time. Hehehehe.”
“But how did you manage to distribute Assand when it can’t be exported?”
I knew full well they were manufacturing counterfeits and selling them, but I asked as if I knew nothing.
“Well… that part is a trade secret. We’ve secured our own channels to bring it in.”
Mao Qin answered with an awkward smile.
“So what would the price be?”
“To be honest, this sells for 5 yuan—about 1,000 won—in China. I’d like to match China’s pricing, but the Chinese government provides it at that rate with almost no margin for the people’s welfare. Since we need to cover distribution costs and make some profit… I’ll give it to you at 8 yuan per unit, about 1,700 won. You can add your own margin and sell from there.”
After hearing Mao Qin’s explanation, Dae-hoon naturally looked at me and asked.
“If we’re getting it for 1,700 won, how much should we sell it for?”
“If it comes in at 1,700 won, we should be getting at least 20,000 won per unit.”
I answered Dae-hoon respectfully.
Right now, I was playing the role of someone assisting in Dae-hoon’s business.
No one speaks casually to the Boss of an organization.
“Shouldn’t we be asking for more? I think we could get 50,000 won without any issues.”
“If the effects are good enough, we could ask for 500,000 won, not just 50,000. But since we don’t know this drug’s efficacy yet, we need to see how things develop.”
Mao Qin’s eyes widened at our conversation.
Watching us inflate the Assand that Mao Qin was handing over for 1,700 won by 10, 20, or even 200 times before selling it, greed seemed to bloom in her heart.
She probably thought she could make money just by passing it to us.
Desire flickered in her gaze.
“You won’t regret making this contract.”
Mao Qin spoke with conviction.
“But I’m curious about something.”
I asked Mao Qin a question.
“Yes. Ask me anything.”
“If the product is so popular in China that it’s out of stock, why did you contact us instead of a large corporation? Wouldn’t distribution through a major company be much faster and more stable?”
Mao Qin answered my question smoothly, as if she’d prepared for it.
“As I mentioned earlier, the Chinese government has deep connections, and Assand is prohibited from being exported overseas.”
“Ah, I see. So it’s smuggled goods?”
“I’ll have no comment on that matter.”
“Since it’s smuggled, you can’t distribute it officially, so you’re planning to push it through the black market with us? That’s quite a clever idea.”
“We consider it an honor to have this opportunity with the Dae-hoon Faction. Isn’t the Dae-hoon Faction the greatest organization in South Korea? We were confident you could distribute it beautifully. The Dae-hoon Faction was the organization we most wanted as a partner.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of us. So how much volume can we receive?”
“Volume… how much do you need?”
“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure.”
“Pardon?”
“We don’t have experience distributing something like this, so we can’t quite gauge how much we’d need.”
“That’s understandable. But once you try the drug yourself, you’ll understand why it’s so popular.”
Is this woman insane?
Now she’s trying to get us to consume the drug instead of just selling it.
“For now, we’re not confident.”
“Pardon?”
“We understand it’s popular in China. But that doesn’t guarantee it’ll be popular in Korea too.”
“That’s true.”
“If you could give us some samples, we’d like to gauge the market reaction.”
“Samples?”
“The tastes of our people and the Chinese differ quite a bit. It would be ideal if the flavor profile matched perfectly, but there are many areas where it doesn’t align. Would it be acceptable to distribute some samples, gauge the market reaction, and then determine the order quantity?”
“This isn’t something you eat for taste—I’ve already told you the effects are guaranteed.”
“Regardless, it’s still candy. How it feels in your mouth matters. Honestly, fatigue recovery products are all pretty much the same.”
Mao Qin felt somewhat frustrated.
This isn’t just candy.
There’s a reason why it commands this price…
But I can’t say that.
The Dae-hoon Faction right in front of me—they block anything labeled as medicine without hesitation.
I can’t call this medicine in front of them.
I had to stick with calling it a fatigue recovery product.
In that case, providing samples was naturally what any trading company would do.
You need to gauge market response.
“Then I’ll provide 3,000 units as samples.”
Mao Qin spoke as though making a difficult decision.
“Excuse me? 3,000 units? Just one serving per person? Is this a tasting booth?”
“What?”
“Aren’t you underestimating the Dae-hoon Faction? Once we distribute something, it goes nationwide instantly. 3,000 units? Even if we only supply ten establishments, that’s only 300 units per location.”
“That’s…”
“We need to conduct systematic testing before making a purchase. Isn’t that right? Wouldn’t you do the same if you were in my position? Would you blindly buy something just because the salesman told you to?”
“You have a point. So how many do you need?”
“To conduct nationwide testing, I’d say we need at least one million units.”
“One million? Did you say one million?”
“That’s the bare minimum. Honestly, I’d like to demand ten million or more, but since we want to maintain a good relationship, I’m only asking for exactly 10% of what we were thinking.”
“That’s impossible. One million units? Absolutely not.”
“Then how many would work? Think about it. We’re distributing nationwide. With just thousands or tens of thousands, we can’t conduct proper testing. Do we give five units to each establishment? When people are sitting at the same table, some eat it and others don’t? We give it to some places but not others? Do we divide by region? You’re not someone who discriminates by region, are you?”
“…”
“One million units. That’s the minimum we need for domestic testing.”
“Hmm…”
Mao Qin, who had been contemplating, finally answered.
“Honestly, one million units comes to 1.7 billion won. That’s too large a quantity to distribute as samples.”
“I understand.”
“So?”
“We’re cautious people. It’s difficult for us to purchase items without field testing simply because they’re popular in China. We appreciate you coming all this way, but I apologize.”
“No, don’t say that. What if we adjust the terms through negotiation?”
“We believe one million units is the appropriate quantity, but the gap between our positions is too wide. One million versus 3,000—I don’t think we can bridge that.”
“We can increase the amount somewhat.”
“But it won’t be one million, will it?”
“One million is a bit much.”
“So we’re calling it off.”
“What?”
“You said you were confident in the product. You said it came from China. So it’s going to sell tremendously going forward. Why are you hesitant about that? You’d become a tycoon in no time too. Shouldn’t you be pushing it forward with even more confidence? Seeing you worry like this makes me think the effect isn’t that great. That’s why you keep pulling back, isn’t it?”
Only then did Mao Qin realize he’d been far too defensive.
His mind had been consumed with the thought that he needed to earn money quickly because the Triad Society’s situation wasn’t good.
One million units.
Just hearing the number was staggering.
He was giving away that many for free?
It would certainly be a blow to the Triad Society, which was already struggling.
But.
It was necessary to establish a foothold in South Korea.
It sounded like 1.7 billion won.
But the actual cost was far less than that.
And he felt this level of investment was necessary
to truly establish himself in South Korea.
Mao Qin made his decision.
“One million units. We’ll provide them.”
“You’ve made a wise choice. I’ll do my best to distribute them.”
We shook hands with each other.
Then Dae-hun and I left the Suite Room.
.
.
.
With everyone gone, Mao Qin and his associates remained.
Mao Qin asked.
“Think we fooled him?”
“Yes. He had no idea we were part of the Triad Society.”
“He completely believed we were Zhonglian Tongda Trade Co., didn’t he?”
“I think it helped that we’ve only stayed in Chinatown.”
“Right. He doesn’t know our faces.”
“But will you really provide one million units?”
“We have to.”
“Isn’t that too many?”
“Think about it—we need to saturate all of South Korea. How else would we market it without that volume?”
“That’s true.”
“And when you calculate it by production cost, it’s not that large an amount.”
“Understood.”
“Hahaha. I’m in a good mood.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Do you think the Dae-hoon Faction will find out?”
“What do you mean?”
“That they’re going to end up distributing the very drug they locked down so tightly with their own hands. Hahahaha.”
I became a black market magnate through my inventory.
149 – Epilogue
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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