Chapter 1506 Taking Place (1)

“Sir, I’m not gonna pretend that I know how you feel about this situation. And I really don’t know how to make you feel better.”

In the end, Seong Ju-Chan chose to be honest.

“But the truth is, many people in the Assembly trust you and depend on you. Me included.”

Bang Jin-Hun tutted. “I’m not interested in lip service, Ju-Chan.”

“No, sir. I’m serious. It’s not just some lip service. Let’s be real here, what benefits would I get for kissing your butt now? I’m not an Assembly member anymore, after all.”

“...Oh.”

Seong Ju-Chan was right. Leaving the Assembly had pretty much severed the relationship between him and Bang Jin-Hun, meaning there wasn’t a lot the latter could do for him. In short, buttering up to Bang Jin-Hun wouldn’t reward Seong Ju-Chan in any shape or form.

Seong Ju-Chan firmly spoke. “I left the Assembly on my own, sir. That’s why me saying all this might sound weird, but I’m relieved about you being our former Assembly Master and still holding a high-enough position in the organization. It’s not just me, but others also feel this way. Because that gave us hope that one day, one of us could become a director, maybe even the Assembly Master.”

A wry smirk floated up on Seong Ju-Chan’s lips just then.

“Of course, I wouldn’t have dared to become the Assembly Master.”

Bang Jin-Hun smiled weakly. “Don’t sell yourself short like that. It wasn’t as if you didn’t have the skills, no?”

“Eiii, let’s be honest here, sir. I was a weakling back then, after all.”

Seong Ju-Chan shook his head. It was all water under the bridge now, which allowed him to be honest and objective with himself.

“Also, I still vividly remember what you told us when we were leaving the Assembly, sir. You told us that this path isn’t everything, that there are alternatives.”

“I never imagined you’d end up as a cafe owner, though.”

“Thanks to you, I found enough courage to do this, sir. Maybe the Assembly Master found the inspiration for the cafe franchise from my situation. The possibility is there, don’t you think?”

“It’s not a possibility, but a ‘definitely’, okay?”

“Of course. In other words, we all got this far, thanks to what you told us, sir.”

Bang Jin-Hun chuckled in dismay.

Well, I’ll be. And they say it all depends on how you interpret the situation.

With mental gymnastics of this level, it seemed Seong Ju-Chan could make a living as a con artist if this cafe thing didn’t work out in the end.

“In any case...” Seong Ju-Chan stared directly at Bang Jin-Hun’s face. “Please stay strong, sir.”

“...?”

“Many people see the Assembly Master as their ultimate goal. But a goal is just that, a goal. Sometimes, we all need a wall to lean on. Without you, the Assembly members won’t have anyone to rely on.”

“Huh? What kinda cringe nonsense is this?” Bang Jin-Hun grumbled, although he was obviously trying to hide his awkwardness right now.

Seong Ju-Chan grinned at this sight. He wasn’t saying all these things just to make Bang Jin-Hun feel better, though.

Seong Ju-Chan also set Kang Jin-Ho as his goal, but knew it was an unrealistic goal, as well. Right now, the Assembly was teeming with the Demon Cult believers. And the elites among the believers were also treated as the Assembly’s elites. Meanwhile, Wiggins and Vator were nurturing their own disciples. In a setting like that, the existence of Bang Jin-Hun was incredibly important.

Only a few were capable of distinguishing themselves and leading the Assembly. However, most of the Assembly members were incapable of distinguishing themselves. And all those people needed a pillar of support, someone they could look up to. Bang Jin-Hun was that pillar.

“You must endure, sir.”

“Endure?” Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head.

“Yes, sir. All you have to do is to endure, and that will be enough. Many will take solace in the fact that you’re one of the directors. You don’t even have to do something special, either.”

“What the heck, man! You think I’m some kinda totem? I don’t give out buffs just by being there.”

“Oh? A totem is a good analogy, actually,” Seong Ju-Chan chuckled affably. “Sir, you thinking of doing something in the future for us is a wonderful thing. However, please don’t forget everything you’ve done until now. People like me exist, after all.”

Bang Jin-Hun slowly shook his head at the sight of Seong Ju-Chan grinning like that. “You know what? You are too much of a smooth talker for your own good.”

“But that’s one of my charming points, sir.”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Bang Jin-Hun tutted before tossing the cigarette on the ground. However, when he stubbed it out with the sole of his shoe, Seong Ju-Chan whined unhappily.

“Sir! I’m the one who must clean this place, you know?!”

“Then clean it already, you dummy! Can’t you see all the cigarette butts on the ground?”

“That’s because people like you always smoke here!”

“Aren’t they your customers, then? Why didn’t you set up a smoking area in your cafe?”

“Urgh...”

Bang Jin-Hun obviously wasn’t backing down, now was he? Seong Ju-Chan ruefully shook his head in silent defeat. As for Bang Jin-Hun himself, he grinned as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

“Ju-Chan, you guys are in contact with each other, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Cool. How about everyone getting together sometime? Let’s go out for a meal and a drink.”

“Of course, you will be the one paying for everything, sir?”

“Obviously. Why? You thought I’d leech off you idiots?”

Seong Ju-Chan instantly grew a little worried just then. “But, sir? Since this isn’t an Assembly-related matter, I don’t think you can use the company card to pay.”

“I can use my own card.”

“There are a hundred of us, though. And every single one can eat a whole pig in one sitting, too. Will you be able to handle that, sir?”

“...!” Bang Jin-Hun’s eyes subtly quaked just then. Unfortunately for him, backing out now would only make him look like a coward. “You idiot! I make a lot of money, I tell you!”

“Then, uh, I’ll talk to everyone, see when we can get together.”

“Sure. But take your time, okay? At least, after I get my paycheck this month.”

Seong Ju-Chan chuckled wryly.

Bang Jin-Hun waved his hand. “I’m off. Take care of yourself.”

“You too, sir.”

“I’ll stop by every now and then. To help you with your revenue and stuff.”

After leaving those words behind, Bang Jin-Hun quickly walked away like the passing wind.

Seong Ju-Chan watched the former Assembly Master’s distant back and muttered to himself. “In that case, you could’ve paid for the shaved ice, sir.”

***

“President Hwang, sir! Our sales projection is not lining up.”

When Gu Jeong-Beom said that, a grin wide enough to reach his ears bloomed on Hwang Min-Su’s face.

“You think so, too? So I wasn’t seeing things, then?”

“Although the sales figure did fall after the initial opening day boom has died down, we expected that outcome, anyway. Didn’t we forecast that the fall would be at least twice as bad? But the sales remain stable even after a week, sir! At this rate, we should seriously consider revising the projected sales figures and the target value!”

Hwang Min-Su animatedly nodded away.

We’ve hit the jackpot!

Since they didn’t have a lot of stores, their sales figure was still a long way off from claiming the top spot in South Korea’s competitive cafe market. However, it was still three times better than what they had expected. If they continued to increase the number of cafes while maintaining this momentum, becoming a major cafe franchise would no longer be a pipe dream.

Compared to the investment...

The overall funds invested into the venture seemed excessive considering the number of stores, but with this level of success, worrying about recouping the investment seemed no longer necessary. This sales figure would’ve still qualified as unbridled success even if the funds invested had been five times higher, after all!

Hwang Min-Su urgently said, “No, no! Let’s all calm down, okay? We gotta calm down!”

“I think you’re the most excited person here, sir.”

“N-no, not true. I’m calm.”

Even as he said that, Hwang Min-Su’s face was flushed with excitement.

Noh Tae-Gwang chuckled at this sight.

Yeah, I’m sure President Hwang is over the moon right now.

This wasn’t the first time he had achieved this level of success. However, those feats were only possible because he was in Jaegyeong, and the halo of Hwang Jeong-Hu had been shining on him back then.

But Hwang Min-Su pulled this miracle off without those two elements supporting him. In a way, one could say this was the first genuine triumph in Hwang Min-Su’s life. In that case, how could he not be excited?

“Good, good! With our sales increasing... We’ve discussed this before, right? Let’s readjust the profit sharing ratio between the franchisees and the head office.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju suddenly chimed in. “I’m against it, sir.”

“...? Eh?” Hwang Min-Su turned around to look at her. “Against it? Why? We’ve been discussing it since the beginning, haven’t we?”

“Of course, sir. I agree that we will have to adjust the ratio at some point.”

Was Hwang Min-Su talking about demanding a higher share of the profits now that the franchisees were seeing improved revenues? No, that wasn’t it.

The Caffe Luogo differed from other cafe franchises in that the franchisees enjoyed a greater share of the profits. It was a temporary measure Kang Jin-Ho wanted to put in place, since there was a significant risk during the initial opening period.

However, with such healthy sales projections, it didn’t seem necessary to stick to this unusual profit sharing ratio.

Lee Hyeon-Ju explained her reasoning. “When ships are traveling in favorable conditions, I believe it is unwise to hinder them. Even if we adjust the ratio, the franchisees will still enjoy profit margins greater than the initial projections. But you know how human hearts work. It’ll feel like their money is being snatched out of their pockets.”

“Mm...”

Hwang Min-Su scratched his chin. He wanted to agree with Lee Hyeon-Ju, but a company’s job wasn’t to humor the individual franchisee’s moods. And it shouldn’t be doing that, either.

“It has to be done, Miss Lee.”

“But, sir. I...”

“No, I get why you’re saying this. But let’s make one thing crystal clear. Miss Lee, are you running a charity organization for the franchisees to make a living? Or are you here to ensure that our company continues to grow?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju clamped her mouth shut.

She couldn’t bring herself to answer that. If someone put a gun to her head and forced her to say it, then her answer would be something along the line of maintaining a middle ground between those two goals. However, she knew better than anyone that that wouldn’t be the right answer.

No matter how much she wanted to stay in the middle ground, a company still required one clear goal.

Hwang Min-Su continued to lay out his case. “It’s not like we’re exploiting the franchisees here. And our share ratio is at least twenty percent higher than our competition. Even if we cut that down in half, the franchisees will still enjoy a ten percent-higher share.”

“Yes, you’re correct.”

“The cost of interior fitting and renovations is one thing, but we’re also supplying the beans nearly at cost price, aren’t we?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju slowly nodded.

Hwang Min-Su grew even firmer in his tone.

“Yes, exploiting the franchisees is unacceptable, but the head office can’t sacrifice itself for the franchisees, either. The number of franchisees will only increase in the future, but our revenue won’t stay the same. When that happens, our abnormal share ratio favoring the franchisees will become a serious stumbling block for us. The re-adjustment must happen when the going is good, Miss Lee. If we do that when things are tough, it’ll be the franchisees who will suffer the most.”

“Understood, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju accepted Hwang Min-Su’s opinion without any further questions. This was why a professional was necessary when running a business, or so she thought. Without a doubt, she was trying her best, but even then, matching Hwang Min-Su’s vision still proved difficult for her.

Hwang Min-Su glanced at the others. “I’ll speak to the chairman and get this approved ASAP. Then, any other issues we should be aware of?”

Gu Jeong-Beom quickly chimed in. “You’re forgetting something, sir.”

“Something? Like what?”

“You know, that thing. The thing!”

When Gu Jeong-Beom tried to remind his boss without explicitly stating it, Hwang Min-Su went, “Ah!” and began nodding away.

“Right, right! That thing.”

“We got confirmation from that side. They say they’ll proceed.”

“Ohh?” Hwang Min-Su grinned brightly. “Looks like we can look forward to another boost in our sales soon.”

“Yes, sir. If it proves successful, it’s gonna be another massive jackpot for us.”

“And it’ll be quite entertaining on a more personal level, too.”

Just as Hwang Min-Su sat forward and got ready to explain, Lee Hyeon-Ju pulled out her phone after sensing it vibrating. She then declined the call and shoved the device back in her pocket.

However, the phone began buzzing again.

Hwang Min-Su tilted his head. “Is it a personal call?”

“No, sir. It’s from a subordinate.”

“Shouldn’t you answer it, in that case? We won’t mind, even if you have to leave the room for a bit.”

“No, it’s... Please excuse me.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju answered the call. But then, her brows began furrowing noticeably.

“I’m in the middle of a meeting, so call me later... What did you say?”

Her expression turned into a full-on scowl as she urgently barked at the phone.

“Got it! Call them in, right now! Right now!”

After ending the call with some force, she gazed back at Hwang Min-Su while chewing on her lips.

“Sir, we have a problem.”

“A problem, you say?” Hwang Min-Su replied, his expression stiffening. He was not blind, so he could see how serious Lee Hyeon-Ju was.

“Sir, we have an incident of assault in one of our stores. The problem is... It sounds like the franchisee was the aggressor.”

Hwang Min-Su squeezed his eyes shut. Forget a wet blanket, this was like dumping a frozen blanket on the proceedings, instead!

“Please report this to the chairman immediately.”

“Understood.”

Hwang Min-Su sighed deeply. And he thought the heavens must’ve blessed them since things were going so well! Unfortunately, all good things were bound to end eventually.

He instinctively realized the fate of their business venture now depended on how they dealt with this situation.