I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 48

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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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048-Remodeling
48.
‘This is really inconvenient.’
Every time I move, Scott scans the surroundings.
It seems like he’s trying to protect me.
But that actually makes me more uncomfortable.
He might be good at fighting, but bodyguarding? That’s different.
As someone who once worked as an ace for a security firm, I can say that with certainty.
As I left the hospital room, I sent a message through a messenger app to Kevin, a drug dealer from the Philippines.
[Kevin. Can I get some drugs too?]
– As long as you’ve got money, I can sell to anyone. Plus, your identity is already verified. There’s no reason I can’t sell to you. But can I ask where you’re planning to sell?
[Probably South Korea?]
– South Korea? You picked a place with excellent margins. Where in South Korea?
[I don’t want to sell for now, but if I do end up selling, maybe around Gunsan?]
– Gunsan? Never heard of that city. So you can penetrate there? South Korea isn’t an easy place to get drugs into. You’re really something. If it’s Gunsan, I don’t care how much you sell.
I could almost hear Kevin’s hearty laugh.
The reason for buying drugs was simple.
To catch the Geumho Gang.
To force the Geumho Gang out of their home.
In Gunsan, the Geumho Gang’s headquarters,
Dae-hun has no chance of winning if he goes up against the Geumho Gang’s tight grip on distribution, construction, gambling, and loan sharking.
And it seems like all the public authorities are on the Geumho Gang’s side too.
Continuing to charge forward is like hitting a rock with an egg.
So I need to change the game or change the rules.
A category the Geumho Gang is interested in but has no experience with.
A category unrelated to location.
That was drugs.
Fortunately, talking with Dae-hun, the Geumho Gang seemed very interested in drugs.
There were recordings of them preparing something while going back and forth between Hong Kong and the Philippines.
That’s 100% drugs.
They wouldn’t be smuggling rice bowls in like the old days.
Listening to the recordings, they visit the Philippines, Hong Kong, China and such,
so it seems like they’re trying to source drugs, but they’re failing.
If they’d cracked the drug route, they probably would have focused on just one place.
Since they haven’t cracked it, they keep probing here and there.
But it’s probably not going to be easy.
Drugs can be bought by anyone, but not easily.
Especially not buying 1kg at a time wholesale.
First, it’s hard to even find people selling drugs.
And even if you find them, they don’t sell drugs to just anyone.
If they slip up, they risk exposure, so they’re extremely cautious with new customers.
How would they know if you’re a detective or Interpol?
They only sell drugs to those they have absolute faith in.
Second point.
You have to respect your existing distribution channels.
For example, if there’s a dealer distributing in South Korea, would you sell to another dealer in the same area?
That would be breaking the code.
Even chicken restaurants guarantee minimum distance when expanding their chain.
Of course, you can’t control if another chicken restaurant opens nearby, but you won’t have another location of the same brand.
Drug dealers operate the same way.
I don’t know about other factories, but
they prefer to give exclusive rights to a region.
You could call it a basic agreement.
Though it might be different in major cities.
In my case, thanks to Lafei, I could contact them easily,
and because I’d been making deliveries for a long time, we’d built mutual trust.
You can’t just walk up and ask if they’ll sell you some drugs.
Kevin seemed to want to verify that as well.
[Then I’ll take 1kg.]
– Just that little? Buy more. You’ve got plenty of money.
[How much for 1kg?]
– Normally I’d need 400,000 pesos (10 million won), but I’ll give you a special price of 300,000 pesos (7.5 million won).
Huh?
Drugs were this cheap?
I’d never actually bought drugs before.
Never even tried them.
I’d only ever made deliveries.
I’d heard that buying locally was cheaper, but I never imagined it would be this affordable.
Seeing those small paper packets go for 10 million won each, I’d only assumed it was very expensive.
I thought even at the cheapest, it would cost 50 to 60 million won.
At this price, I might as well buy a bit more.
It’s not like it spoils.
[Then I’ll take 3kg.]
– Okay. Order confirmed. You really won’t regret it. Our stuff is genuinely top quality.
[Really?]
– You ordered without knowing? That’s disappointing. I thought Lafei at least recommended us. Our product is the best in this business. Once you try it, you can’t escape. Hehehehe
[If Kevin’s selling it, it’s obviously good.]
– I appreciate you saying that. I’ll have the goods ready, so come pick them up. If you need more, just contact me anytime.]
******
I arrived in Seoul.
I had been wanting to stop by the Office in Seoul for a while.
Of course, things were running smoothly without me, but I still wanted to see it.
I rarely came into the Office, but I was still the CEO.
The Office I entered after so long was vastly different from what I had imagined.
Back then, I had wondered if I’d rented the space too large,
but now the Office seemed cramped.
Desks were packed everywhere,
and people filled the spaces between them.
When I was told that new employees had been hired, I simply acknowledged it,
but it seemed like more than just one person.
Looking at the volume of work processed daily now, it was absolutely impossible for just one or two people to handle.
All the employees were busily working on their tasks.
Answering phones, writing documents, conducting meetings.
I watched the scene quietly.
“Manager Kim. You’ve confirmed all the teams departing on the 14th, right?”
“Yes. I’ve confirmed everything.”
“Since Manager Kim is an experienced hire, I’m not too worried, but we run luxury tours, which are different from standard tours. We need to be meticulous with care. If we get caught on something trivial, it’ll be difficult.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Just remember one thing. Our client is eight years old.”
“Pardon? Eight years old?”
“Our client is eight years old. So they might be moody, complain about food, or get lost.”
“Ah~~”
Manager Kim seemed to understand immediately.
“And on the other hand, could you leave an eight-year-old alone?”
“No, you couldn’t.”
“So you need to be meticulous with care.”
“Now that you mention they’re eight, I understand all at once.”
“Good. Then let’s give it our best shot.”
“Yes.”
I was watching their conversation in a daze.
“Oh my? Who is this? The CEO???”
Jang Yun-mi greeted me warmly.
We called each other several times a day and messaged constantly,
but seeing her face in person felt different.
It was nice.
“What brings you here? You didn’t mention coming.”
“I had business in Seoul and stopped by briefly.”
“You never come when I tell you to. Did you come to meet your girlfriend or something?”
“A friend was ill, so I came to visit them.”
Jang Yun-mi looked flustered.
“How did your friend get injured? Was it serious?”
“No, it’s fine now. He’s recovering.”
“That’s a relief. Should I start with the work report then? Or would you prefer to greet the staff first?”
“Neither. There’s something I need to discuss first.”
I led Jang Yun-mi into the conference room.
“First, what I wanted to tell you is that I’m thinking of promoting you to CEO.”
“Pardon?”
“Initially, I mentioned the director position to you because I was planning to go back and forth between the Philippines and here, but circumstances have changed, so I thought we should adjust accordingly.”
“That’s quite sudden, isn’t it?”
Jang Yun-mi looked genuinely flustered.
“Nothing really changes. Just keep doing what you’re doing. The only difference will be the title. Oh, and your salary.”
“Boss!”
“You can handle it, right?”
“Of course. And I’ll do it brilliantly.”
“Ah, and the office seems a bit cramped…”
“I was planning to mention that later, but it does seem like we’ll need to expand soon.”
“Do you have a place in mind? We could move there.”
“Actually, the third floor here has been vacant. It’s empty right now. What if we used that space? I’ve thought about it.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll meet with the building owner.”
“I can do that.”
“Director. Or should I say CEO now? You’re busy, so I should handle this. Just leave it to me.”
“Hahaha.”
When I called the building owner to ask if we could use the third floor, he was very welcoming.
It made sense—the vacant space had been empty for quite a while.
When I asked if I could see the third floor, the owner came right over and showed it to me.
It was the same size as the second floor.
But the atmosphere was completely different.
It was nothing like the second floor’s clean wood-tone interior.
Exposed concrete covered the walls.
It was a stark contrast to the second floor.
I told the owner we’d use it.
The monthly rent was 2,000 for 80 pyeong.
Since the second floor was 2,000 for 100 pyeong, it wasn’t an expensive rate.
But this time, I signed a new contract combining both the second and third floors.
The deposit was 30 million won with a monthly rent of 170.
Now it was time to renovate.
“Hello?”
“Kang Jae-ho?”
“Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”
“Hello. When I rented the office in Yugang-dong last time, about the furniture and fixtures that Teacher was using…”
“Ah~~ So you’re the one who rented our old office?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I see. But what brings you here? If this is about refunding the fixtures, that’s not happening, you know?”
“Ha ha ha. No, nothing like that. I wanted to ask about interior design work.”
“Interior design?”
“The second floor office was designed by the Teacher, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’d like to do the third floor with the same concept. Would that be possible?”
“Hmm… let me think about it.”
Kang Jae-ho’s interior design firm had gone under, so he’d abandoned design work and was now laboring on construction sites.
The request to take on design work again seemed to trouble him.
After deliberating for some time, Kang Jae-ho said,
“So I just need to match the second floor concept?”
“Yes. If you can do that, that’s all I need.”
“Alright, let’s give it a shot.”
********
I returned to the Philippines.
To pick up the medicine I’d asked Kevin to prepare.
“Boss. I found the person you mentioned last time.”
“Who?”
“The one you asked me to find to build an online gambling site.”
“Oh. Right. Where is he?”
“I set him up with a small office and told him to get started.”
“Good work. Let me see him for a moment later.”
.
.
.
“His name is Nam Yong-woo.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Alex. But you’re Korean?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How did you end up doing this here?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I see. Not that it matters much anyway. We can get to know each other as we go. Can you build an online gambling site?”
“That’s my specialty. That’s actually why I came here.”
“How long will it take?”
“I already have all the source code and everything, so about a week should do it.”
“Excellent. If you need anything, just tell Patrick here and he’ll take care of it. Make it well for me.”
“Then, CEO, what odds should I set for the customers?”
“Odds?”
“The probability of customers winning. Basically, all online gambling sites manipulate the odds. Honestly, it’s impossible for anyone to come here and walk away with winnings. A physical casino is far more likely to pay out. Even if someone somehow wins, they won’t be able to withdraw it. Eventually, we blow up the site and reopen under a different one.”
“Do all clients get the same treatment?”
“Every single one.”
“Then could you increase the odds a bit?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Let customers win some money. Not much—just enough to keep them on the site longer. Is that something you can design into the system?”
“So you’re saying you want them to win small amounts consistently, giving them satisfaction and keeping them engaged on the site for extended periods?”
“Exactly. Most gamblers never know when to walk away with their winnings. They just sit there until every last coin disappears.”
“Right! Eventually they lose everything anyway—it’s just a matter of how long it takes.”
“So I want you to design it so people stay longer. Make it feel like their problem, not the site’s. Make them feel like they’re just short on funds, not that the system is rigged.”
“I’ve been in this business a long time, but I’ve never met an operator like you. Are you sure about this? You might make less money than expected.”
“What if we scale up? Then the commissions alone should cover operating costs, right? Let’s minimize illegal elements and think globally instead of just targeting South Korea.”
“A global gambling site… suddenly I’m feeling inspired.”
“Then I’m counting on you.”
“I’ll create an amazing site for you.”
.
.
.
Back in Gunsan, I showed the online gambling site to Dae-hun.
The flashy gambling site gleamed on the screen.
“You’re really giving this to us?”
“Who said giving? It’s consignment management.”
“Still.”
“This is just the beginning. We need to market it. People won’t just stumble in on their own.”
“We should set up PC bangs first. Make it easy for people to access naturally.”
“This is a legitimate site, no scams. Make sure withdrawals are processed smoothly.”
“Really?”
“It’s a long-term operation. So do it right.”
“I’ll really do my best.”
“Here’s the manager’s contact information. If anything goes wrong with the site, call and get it fixed.”
I handed over the well-crafted gambling site to Dae-hun.
Now it was time to visit Chairman Yun Ki-hwan of the Geumho Gang to sell the medicine.

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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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