After spending hours at the MG Osan factory, I came out to find that it was already past 6 p.m.
"The employees must be getting ready to leave work."
Considering the rush hour traffic from Osan to Ansan, it would take at least an hour to get back.
"I should have a drink with Maru and discuss this."
Maru had finished decorating his new apartment in downtown Ansan and moved in, commuting to the company.
He seemed to love his new house so much that he would often leave for home right after work.
I called him immediately.
"Hello? Maru."
[Yes, where are you? You left for lunch and haven't come back yet.]
"Where else would I be? I was checking out the factories on the bid list."
[Until this hour? I thought you would be back by now. You're surprisingly hardworking.]
"Yeah, so how about some soju tonight?"
[Soju… soju… I was planning to relax at home tonight.]
"I have something to discuss and something to tell you. Let's have a drink, Managing Director Kim."
[Then bring the soju to my place. I'll make some pajeon (Korean savory pancake).]
"Alright, I'll be there soon."
***
"You're here? Come in."
Maru's apartment was a spacious 40 pyeong (132 square meters) unit, tastefully decorated and exuding a luxurious ambiance.
He was usually a penny-pincher, reluctant to spend money, but he had spared no expense on his home decor.
He had a state-of-the-art TV, a solid wood dining table, an air conditioner, and even a brand new Pentium computer, even though we had plenty of computers at the company.
"Why are you so late? The pajeon is cold."
"I showered at the dormitory. I was covered in ash. Go and reheat the pajeon, I'm starving."
While Maru reheated the pajeon, I put the soju I had just bought in the refrigerator and sat down at the dining table.
"I went to two factories today. Doha in Yongin and the MG factory in Osan."
"The MG Osan factory? The one with Daeho Metal?"
"Yeah, that one."
Maru flipped the pajeon in the pan.
"How was it?"
"Doha was a bust because they only had plastic parts. But the MG Osan factory is an electronics factory, so it seemed promising."
"What's their main product?"
"Video cassettes."
"Video cassettes? VCRs?"
"VCRs? Is that what they're called?"
Maru pointed at the space below the TV, where a state-of-the-art VCR was placed.
"I didn't see that last time. Did you buy a new one?"
"It's the latest MG Electronics VCR. I learned that the official name is VCR when I bought it."
"Really?"
Maru brought the reheated pajeon to the table and sat down.
"But aren't VCRs bad for electronic scrap? They don't have many boards."
"That's right."
"Then why are you interested in buying them? You should look for other things."
I emptied my soju glass, took a bite of pajeon, and said,
"I have a good feeling about it."
"You're talking nonsense again."
"Remember when I sent money to Director Park in Japan?"
"What about it?"
"You were trying to stop me, and I said I had my reasons."
Maru thought for a moment.
"I think so, but I can't remember clearly. It was a hectic time."
"I have a knack for sniffing out money. And I smelled money at the MG Osan factory today."
Maru looked at me incredulously.
"You're asking me to believe that?"
"It's true. I knew you wouldn't believe me."
"Let's say that's true. Are you really going to bid on the VCRs? How much are you thinking?"
I took out the notebook where I had jotted down notes while touring the factory.
"Hmm, the warehouse was about 3,300 square meters, and it was filled with pallets taller than a person. There must have been at least 100,000 VCRs. Each one weighs about 4 kg, so even if we lowball it, it should be worth at least 50 million won."
"That's not bad."
"But that's not the only factor. There might be some working VCRs that we can sell secondhand."
Maru shook his head.
"There was a fire. You think there would be any working machines left?"
"It's not like they used a flamethrower. They might not be completely destroyed. We might be able to salvage some parts and combine them like we do with the discarded computers."
Maru emptied his soju glass with a skeptical tone.
"I don't think there's much hope. So how much are you going to bid?"
"Hmm, about 200 million won?"
"200 million won? Isn't that too much?"
"I think it's necessary to secure the deal. It's difficult to buy that much scrap for just the metal value."
Maru groaned and pondered for a while.
I also doubted there would be much to salvage from a fire, but I couldn't ignore my intuition.
And I had seen some items in the MG Osan factory that were relatively undamaged by the fire, which fueled my greed.
"We won't lose money. Let's do it."
"Sigh, you never listen to me anyway."
"Alright, let's do it! This is exciting. It's like a treasure hunt."
Seeing me smiling, Maru chuckled.
"At least you seem to be in a better mood now. Did this help? You look more lively."
"Of course it did. It feels like I'm actually working."
As the company grew, we hired more salespeople, so I rarely had to go out myself unless it was a major deal.
It was physically easier, but I was used to working with my hands, so I often felt bored. And the frustration of not having complete control over the smelter contract, unlike my other businesses, had been weighing me down. But just spending half a day touring factories had energized me.
"I guess I'm a hands-on kind of guy. Let's get to work. Maru, when's the deadline for the bid? Let's buy those VCRs."
We successfully won the bid for the MG Osan factory for 213.51 million won.
I was thrilled and mobilized the trucks to transport the goods. It took 20 full truckloads and another half truckload of 5-ton trucks.
We unloaded the goods at Chunha Resources, which was located in a remote area with minimal traffic.
It was a small junkyard, only 660 square meters, but we had cleared the space beforehand and managed to pile everything up like a mountain.
I put on the dustproof suit I had prepared and said,
"We can't spray water on these because they're electronic products. We'll use air guns to remove the ash. Let's get started!"
The employees looked reluctant, but when I, the CEO, took the lead and started removing the ash with an air gun, they had no choice but to put on their suits and join me.
Since the waste came from a finished goods warehouse, we just had to remove the ash from the burnt packaging boxes, and the VCRs would emerge.
As twenty people started removing the ash from the mountain of debris, the air filled with dust, as if a fire had just been extinguished.
"Wow, if we had done this at another factory, we would have been flooded with complaints and reports."
"That's why I brought it to Chunha Resources. There's nothing around here."
We had bought the land cheaply at the foot of a mountain near Ansan Industrial Complex to save money when we first started the business, and it was proving to be beneficial now.
"We won't be reported for starting a forest fire, will we? There's a lot of ash flying around."
"Don't be ridiculous. No one ever comes here."
After five hours of removing ash, the VCRs started to reveal themselves. But my face fell as I saw their condition.
They were mostly warped and twisted from the heat of the fire.
"This is bad. They're in worse condition than I expected."
"We'll lose money if we can't repair and sell them. This isn't good."
"This is strange. I had a good feeling about this. Let's keep working."
In the end, we only managed to salvage about 2,000 VCRs in decent condition.
Even considering the defect rate, we were definitely going to lose money.
"Hyung, it seems your intuition was wrong this time."
"…Yeah, I have nothing to say."
I said dejectedly,
"At least most of the salvaged units are the same model, so it'll be easier to repair them."
Computers were unique in that they could be customized. Most electronic products had specific components that were only compatible within the same model. It was a small consolation.
"But these are MG Electronics VCRs, right?"
"Yes, why?"
Maru tilted his head.
"This is strange. I've never seen this model before."
"Never seen it before?"
"I looked at all the MG Electronics VCRs when I bought mine. I even checked the models from a year ago before choosing the latest model. But I've never seen this one."
Maru examined the VCR closely.
"There's no model name either. This is strange."
"Maybe it's an old model from their inventory. Let's try to repair them first. Take a few units and disassemble them."
We disassembled the VCRs and found that the internal structure was simple and modular, allowing for easy assembly. I sighed in relief.
"We can repair and sell these. Tell the employees to collect all the units of this model from the burnt ones. We'll use them for parts."
"We should be able to repair about 70% of them, considering a 40% defect rate and combining parts."
Inside the office, we were busy testing the repaired VCRs.
"We've repaired 100 units so far."
"Where should we sell them? They're practically new, it's a shame to sell them to CEO Wu as secondhand goods."
CEO Wu's prices were based on old appliances, and these were brand new, even though they came from a fire-damaged warehouse. It was a shame to just give them away.
"Should we renegotiate the price with CEO Wu? And maybe try selling some at the Cheonggyecheon secondhand market? The domestic prices are higher."
The secondhand market in Cheonggyecheon was thriving.
Usually, secondhand goods were categorized as either domestic or export quality. Chunha Trading handled the export side, while the surviving secondhand traders were all operating in the domestic market.
And Cheonggyecheon was their hub.
"Should we? Let's sell 10 units to CEO Wu as a sample and another 10 units at Cheonggyecheon as a test. We'll sell the rest to whoever offers the higher price once they're all repaired. Speaking of which, are you delivering secondhand goods to CEO Wu today?"
"Yes, three truckloads."
"Perfect. I'll go and talk to him. I hope we didn't lose money… Sigh."