New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 114. Time of Harvest (4)

 

A full-scale price war had begun.

 

Carrefour Korea, acquired by Cali Fund, launched various events simultaneously.

 

They conducted ultra-low price discount sales, celebrity invitation events, and even prize giveaway events to attract attention.

 

“Sang-sik, let’s start our events right away too.”

 

“I’ve already finished all the preparations. I was just waiting for your signal to start, CEO.”

 

“Launch all events simultaneously.”

 

“We’ll proceed with free member shipping, double membership points, and same-day free delivery all at once.”

 

Cali Fund invested massive funds to run their events.

 

But we could run various events without spending much money by using our existing infrastructure.

 

Of course, it wasn’t completely free.

 

But in terms of cost-effectiveness, these events were more than twice as efficient.

 

“We’re also starting signature food sales from today, right?”

 

“That’s right. All Rollbook Marts will start selling three types of signature foods at prices cheaper than restaurants from today.”

 

Loss-leader food following loss-leader products.

 

These were foods that could provide satisfying meals at affordable prices.

 

Super-sized pizza, snack sets, and Korean meal sets.

 

We prepared only foods that all age groups would enjoy.

 

The prices were already cheap, but during the event period, we offered them at half price.

 

“Please start the internet shopping mall price discounts right away too.”

 

“We’ve distributed 10% discount coupons to all customers. With free shipping included, we expect order volume to surge.”

 

“Cali Fund won’t sustain their events for long, so let’s push hard during that time.”

 

“I’m actually a bit worried. The mart business is already expected to run at a loss. Of course, we can reduce the loss scale thanks to internet shopping, but running such large-scale events consecutively will cause significant bleeding.”

 

Kim Sang-sik was a developer who also worried about the financial situation.

 

This showed how much affection he had for Rollbook, which naturally made me smile.

 

“Don’t worry about funding. Tiger Fund has secured enough funds to sustain 10 years of losses.”

 

“That’s true. Once market share increases, we can quickly recover the principal, so there’s no need to worry unnecessarily from now.”

 

Right now, we just needed to focus on building name recognition.

 

And thanks to Cali Fund, we were actually getting promotional effects.

 

Dozens of sensational articles about two Wall Street funds clashing were pouring out daily.

 

“We need to row harder while the media is paying attention. If we think of it as including promotional costs, the event expenses aren’t really a loss.”

 

“Indeed, not only the media but Rollbook Mart frequently appears in portal site real-time search rankings.”

 

“We just need to ride the wave that Cali Fund created and move forward.”

 

The wave created by Cali Fund was a tailwind from our perspective.

 

We would suffer losses from the price war, but considering the promotional effects, it wasn’t bad at all.

 

Even existing mart customers visited Rollbook Mart, going out of their way after hearing news of Wall Street funds competing.

 

***

 

This year’s final assignment was finally complete.

 

The luxury hall of Midopa Department Store, designed by Peter Marino, the architect loved by Chanel, finally opened its doors.

 

“You’ve really worked hard.”

 

“Thanks to Tiger Fund’s solid support, I was able to create a work I’d only dreamed of. I’m more grateful.”

 

“If there’s a good opportunity next time, I’d definitely like to work together again.”

 

“I’m always welcome to that. And Chairman Robertson asked me to handle the headquarters building remodeling too. It looks like I’ll continue working with Tiger Fund.”

 

Peter Marino looked at his work with a proud expression.

 

The luxury hall, infused with his artistic soul, was a masterpiece in itself.

 

It was truly Korea’s finest luxury hall, perfectly blending Europe’s classical elegance with America’s modern sensibility.

 

“Tiger Fund has prepared everything for your trip to the airport too.”

 

“Working with funds is really convenient in these aspects. Well, I’ll see you again soon. I still have work left in Japan, so no time to rest.”

 

“Next time, let’s meet in the United States.”

 

Peter Marino got into the luxury vehicle we arranged and headed to the airport.

 

After watching his retreating figure for a moment, I turned my gaze back to the luxury hall.

 

Despite its high completion quality, there weren’t that many customers.

 

This was because we were limiting entry to maintain the luxury hall’s unique atmosphere.

 

Outside the luxury hall, hundreds of people were lined up in a long queue.

 

They too were busy moving only their eyes to admire the luxury hall’s exterior without making conversation sounds.

 

“It’s definitely well-made. The big investment was worth it.”

 

“It’s thanks to General Manager’s strong support from behind.”

 

“What did I do? It’s all thanks to Employee Lee’s hard work.”

 

From selecting construction companies to material supply issues.

 

General Manager directly mobilized Tiger Fund to solve everything.

 

“Thanks to Midopa Department Store gaining a luxury image, Rollbook Shopping can also benefit from the reflection effect.”

 

“Since customers can purchase Midopa Department Store products through Rollbook Shopping, it will definitely help increase sales significantly.”

 

“You can’t purchase luxury hall items through internet shopping, but I’ve set it up so reservations are possible. To buy desired luxury goods, you have no choice but to join Rollbook Shopping.”

 

Rollbook Shopping wasn’t only linked with Rollbook Mart.

 

Rollbook Mart served as a regional hub, while Midopa Department Store took on the role of leading Rollbook Shopping’s brand image enhancement.

 

“Now all businesses are finding stability. The distribution business is sufficient at this level, and Everbed, TwoWork, and airline ticket reservation services have also started.”

 

“Thanks to headquarters’ attention, we were able to secure real-time airline booking information. We’ve already started online reservation services for some routes and plan to expand to all routes soon.”

 

This was a speed that startups could never match.

 

Thanks to Tiger Fund’s reputation, we could proceed with all businesses quickly and didn’t need to worry about money.

 

“Since the Chairman is in contact with American brands, we should be able to secure production rights soon too.”

 

“It really feels like we’ve finished all of this year’s work.”

 

“Next year will be even busier. Once President Bush takes office, we’ll have to start with recovering the 900 million dollar bonds.”

 

“I can handle that kind of assignment anytime.”

 

I could handle any assignment to earn 900 million dollars.

 

Of course, with the condition that I wouldn’t have to go to the Middle East.

 

“And Apple has officially sent an invitation. They asked us to attend Macworld held on January 12th next year.”

 

“They’re planning to unveil a new product that day.”

 

“Very likely. A new MP3 player incorporating Nexfin and Rollbook technology will appear. How about attending?”

 

“Of course I’ll attend.”

 

It’s a new product with technology I created.

 

I’d already seen it at Apple Headquarters, but I wanted to witness the moment of its official debut with my own eyes.

 

“That’s great. Then I’ll schedule the business trip for two weeks.”

 

“I understand the Macworld event period is about 3 days. Is there a need to schedule two weeks?”

 

“You’ll also need to attend President Bush’s inauguration. The inauguration is on January 20th. Tiger Fund has been allocated 3 seats, so it’ll be perfect with Chairman, me, and Employee Lee attending.”

 

“Is it appropriate for me to attend such an event? Aren’t there many people with much higher positions than me at Tiger Fund?”

 

I tried to minimize the business trip schedule.

 

But General Manager firmly shook his head, turning my efforts into bubbles.

 

“If the Chairman chose you, no one can say anything. And there might be discussions about Middle East bond recovery, so Employee Lee must attend.”

 

“Understood. Then I’ll attend the inauguration and return to Korea.”

 

I conveyed my firm will that I would absolutely not go to the Middle East.

 

Whether knowing my feelings or not, General Manager accepted it too lightly.

 

“Do that. I need to stay in the United States a bit longer, so Employee Lee can return first. Oh! And your position will change starting next year.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The ‘Deputy’ will be dropped from Deputy Branch Manager. You’ll officially take charge of Tiger Fund Korea Branch.”

 

“Will Branch Manager Song take complete charge of Asia?”

 

“Branch Manager Song will become Asia Regional Director starting next year. There’s no better news than this. Three executive-level people are being produced from Korea Branch.”

 

The situation had completely changed in just one year.

 

I, who had no relation to Tiger Fund, would take charge of Korea Branch, the former Deputy Branch Manager became Asia Regional Director, and the former Branch Manager even reached the General Manager position.

 

“Honestly, I’m not confident about leading Korea Branch alone.”

 

“Korea Branch staff remain the same, so there won’t be much to worry about. Just set the direction well and that’s it.”

 

“In that case, would it be alright if I recommend someone for Deputy Branch Manager?”

 

“Since we haven’t decided on a Deputy Branch Manager yet, that’s certainly possible. You must have someone in mind?”

 

One person’s face came to mind.

 

There was someone who not only knew exactly what I wanted but also had extensive experience in finance.

 

“I would like Accountant Kim Do-yoon to take the position of Deputy Branch Manager.”

 

“Accountant Kim Do-yoon has absolutely no disqualifying factors. He’s someone who has made great contributions to Tiger Fund, so no one would raise objections. And I was also hoping Accountant Kim Do-yoon would take the Deputy Branch Manager position.”

 

Tiger Fund Korea Branch was already included in my territory.

 

Since it had entered my territory, it had to be controlled the way I wanted, and Accountant Kim Do-yoon was the person who could coordinate best in the middle.

 

“I will work hard to lead the Korea Branch well together with Accountant Kim Do-yoon.”

 

“Honestly, asking you to keep performing like now would be greedy. I’d be satisfied with even half the results, so don’t feel too pressured.”

 

“I won’t let anyone down.”

 

“And it’s a bit early, but shall we do the settlement now?”

 

“What settlement are you referring to?”

 

At my question, the General Manager smiled.

 

Then he pulled out a sheet of paper from his jacket, and it was filled with data I was quite familiar with.

 

“We need to settle the royalties. The 35% royalty from the license agreement is Employee Lee’s share.”

 

“The license agreement was concluded, but I understand the actual royalties received aren’t that much.”

 

“There are already several companies paying royalties. And along with royalties, we need to pay performance bonuses too.”

 

“I’ve already gained enormous personal profits from employee account investments.”

 

“That’s separate from performance compensation.”

 

Wall Street funds had no margin of error in this regard.

 

They had to pay compensation commensurate with performance, and they believed that’s how talented people would flock to the fund.

 

“Can I receive that entire amount through the employee account? I used a lot of funds for the mart business and want to replenish it.”

 

“Of course that’s how it should be. That way you save on taxes and avoid other problems. But aren’t you curious about the amount?”

 

“I’ll accept whatever you give me.”

 

I had already earned a tremendous amount.

 

Over 500 billion won was in the employee account, and thanks to that, I was able to acquire Midopa Department Store, Daehyeon Courier, and several marts.

 

So I didn’t have high expectations for the performance bonus.

 

But the amount the General Manager presented far exceeded my expectations.

 

“We couldn’t calculate it the same as Tiger Fund’s regular managers. So we set the performance compensation with a quite complex structure, and Employee Lee’s performance bonus for this year has been set at 20 billion won.”

 

“As much as 20 billion won?”

 

“That’s the combined amount with royalty income. And the amount you receive this year will be the smallest among all future amounts.”

 

A year-end bonus of 20 billion won.

 

It was such an unimaginable amount that I had doubts.

 

“The amount is too much.”

 

“It’s absolutely not too much. Rather, you should complain that it’s too little. Tiger Fund earned 10 billion dollars from IT short selling. Even at just 10% performance compensation, you should receive over 1 trillion.”

 

“For IT short selling, I only provided the idea. You were the one who led and proceeded with that item, General Manager.”

 

What I actually did wasn’t much.

 

I could say all I did was provide confidence from the sidelines.

 

It was the General Manager who actually executed the short selling and handled all related work.

 

“That’s why the performance bonus is only 20 billion won. Instead, we’re planning to provide part of the Tiger Fund equity shares as stock options that we promised before. Of course, it’s not that much. For this year, the Chairman and I decided to give Employee Lee 1% of the shares.”

 

“It’s more than sufficient compensation.”

 

“If you achieve the same results next year as this year, your annual salary including performance bonus will exceed 1 trillion won. I promise you that.”

 

An annual salary of 1 trillion.

 

It was an amount that even large corporation chairmen could never receive.

 

Yet I, who was no different from a new employee, might receive that amount.

 

Of course, it would only be possible if I reproduced the same results next year too.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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