TOIGC 58

Chapter 58 …

Luxuries (2)

On the surface, it sounded like ordinary consideration. But Yoongi understood the true subtext of those words better than anyone.

“Am I really allowed to use that conference room?” “Who on earth is going to question it when I say it’s fine? Go right ahead and use it without worry. Besides, group meetings are mostly held at headquarters these days anyway.”

In truth, Choi Kihyeon’s study had stopped functioning as a conference room quite a while ago. While it had barely maintained that status until Yoongi turned ten, the group’s rapid expansion meant that virtually all major meetings now took place at the corporate headquarters. Of course, it was still occasionally used as a venue for private one-on-one talks, but those occasions were rare to begin with.

Grandfather handing over the estate’s conference room to me means…

Just as Yoongi suspected, it was virtually equivalent to officially anointing him as his successor.

Well, if he didn’t actually intend for that to happen, he wouldn’t be investing his personal assets into my ventures—he’d just sit back and watch the department store fail.

Even when you expect it, hearing it out loud is always a pleasant experience. Yoongi dipped his head respectfully toward his grandfather once more.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure my life never strays from your expectations.” “If that’s the case, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Even though you’re still a middle schooler, you’re a business executive running multiple companies behind the scenes. Never forget that.” “I’ll keep it in mind.” “And… this is a rather difficult request to make, but…”

Kihyeon hesitated for a moment before speaking with visible effort.

“Try to become a chaebol who knows how to love his family. Because before we are a business empire, we are family.” “Barring extraordinary circumstances, I have no intention of pushing my family away. To me, family is precious beyond words.”

Having lived through his forties without a family, Yoongi had always yearned for a warm, harmonious household. So the words he spoke to Kihyeon right then were entirely genuine.

As for the extraordinary circumstances Yoongi had mentioned—

“As for extraordinary circumstances, that’s not my place to meddle. I’ll leave that judgment entirely up to you. Besides, even by my judgment, it’s still too early.” “Have you been to the construction site?”

Kihyeon shook his head.

“I haven’t been there myself, but I heard about it from the chief secretary. He said your skin turned a deep, sun-baked bronze? Now you finally look like you’ve got my blood running through your veins.”

There was a strange, hollow undertone to his voice, but the sentiment behind it was fundamentally positive. The fact that he used the distant term “blood” instead of “son” quietly reflected Kihyeon’s current state of mind.

“Even so, people don’t just change overnight, not even in less than a year.” “True enough. Anyway, there’s no need to talk any further about those folks with me—handle it however you see fit.”

With those final words, Kihyeon downed the now-cooled green tea in a single gulp and stood up.

“Let’s go see if Jeongah is awake.”

Watching his grandfather head toward the master bedroom with a bright smile, Yoongi thought to himself.

Even for an executive who operates on the absolute peak of rational judgment, what remains at the very end is still family.

Choi Deokbae’s concluding remark, picked up from Yoongi’s inner monologue, left a lingering, poignant echo.

<That’s a actually assuming bothered cultivate family first in place, proper the though. to you>

Inside the study of the Samwoo Group chairman’s mansion.

Yoongi naturally slid into the head seat at the table. He could have deliberately left the main seat empty and chosen one further down, but he sat right in the center on purpose. That simple action sent a clear, albeit indirect, message to Choi Chulkyu and Ryu Geuntae regarding where Yoongi stood.

Honestly, the bigger Chairman’s ambitions get, the better it is for me. It was bound to happen anyway. It’ll be quite entertaining to watch everyone’s reactions when we hold a family meeting later on.

For Ryu Geuntae, who wasn’t part of the bloodline, the emotional weight was minimal, so his reading of the situation was superficial. Choi Chulkyu, on the other hand, instinctively realized that if Yoongi took the head seat during future family meetings in the chairman’s absence, a great deal was going to change. If any relative dared pull a sour face at Yoongi sitting there, given Yoongi’s personality, they would almost certainly be frozen out 100 percent.

Do we win them over before taking the main seat, or after? That’s the part I’m most curious about.

While Chulkyu was lost in thought, the fourth and final person in the room—Fernandez—spoke up first.

“Chairman, considering the exterior construction will wrap up in under two months, we need to transition into interior design soon. Even though the basic layout zones are already fixed, a specialized VIP floor like the seventh floor requires us to know the specific incoming brands before we can design a matching interior. Do you have anything particular in mind?”

Fernandez’s use of honorifics and the title “Chairman” had become so second nature that it was hard to tell the difference between his vocabulary and a native Korean speaker’s. Being a genius to begin with, his adaptability blew past Aaron and Pike, who had come with him from America.

“I actually called this meeting today precisely to discuss that matter. Fernandez, do you happen to know what kinds of luxury goods wealthy Americans prefer?”

Whenever Yoongi went to school nowadays, he decked himself out in luxury writing instruments, watches, handkerchiefs, and undergarments. But those were strictly “accessible luxuries”—items that ordinary working-class citizens could stretch themselves to buy if they really wanted to. However, a significant portion of the brands slated for the seventh floor were genuine, high-end luxury goods meant exclusively for true VIPs. Even as someone actively studying the luxury market, Yoongi still had plenty of factors to weigh before making his final selections.

“Are you asking which luxury brands Americans favor?” “To be more precise, I’m asking about the brands preferred by wealthy Americans.”

Fernandez stroked his beard for a moment before answering.

“Back when I worked in the States, I saw firsthand what kind of luxury items high-ranking executives and clients used, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that represents America as a whole.” “Fair point. That’s just personal experience, not statistical data.”

As Yoongi nodded in understanding, Fernandez continued.

“I’ll compile and report on the brands I’ve personally observed by tomorrow morning. And while we’re on the subject, there is one thing I’d like to point out.” “What’s that?” “Luxury goods fall into two distinct categories. One consists of brands that rank first in general popularity but lower in exclusivity; the other consists of brands that rank lower in mainstream popularity but take first place in elite prestige. Which of the two types would you prefer to bring into the department store, Chairman?” “Both, obviously. But for the seventh floor, we’ll prioritize the latter.” “Understood.”

As Fernandez nodded, Ryu Geuntae carefully chimed in.

“Chairman, there’s something I’m curious about as well.” “Go ahead.” “As I’ve been involved in planning this department store, I’ve realized both logically and practically that this isn’t a conventional department store. For starters, our primary target demographic is essentially the U.S. military.” “That’s right.” “And while the military is the base target, I also understand we aren’t just selling to soldiers directly, but leveraging the military presence to draw in a wider consumer base.”

When Yoongi looked at him quietly, Geuntae pressed on.

“Does that mean we shouldn’t expect any plans to sell grocery items or fresh produce in this department store?”

Yoongi nodded without hesitation at the question.

“Exactly. We have no intention of running a standard grocery section. While some of the mini-department stores will stock a select range of imported American foodstuffs, our main department store will essentially sell zero groceries. It’s completely different from conventional department stores.”

The cognitive dissonance Geuntae was experiencing was inevitable. Department stores in South Korea wouldn’t hit their golden age until the late 1980s, and even then, proper department stores only began operating in the mid-80s. By 1981 standards, most existing department stores closely resembled the massive hypermarkets of the 2010s, which heavily featured grocery markets. Since Yoongi’s intention was to build a 2010s-style luxury department store in this era, it was only natural that Geuntae found it a bit difficult to wrap his head around. Anyone who had gone shopping at a department store in the ’80s and ’90s would remember buying side dishes in the basement or grabbing a quick meal on the rooftop after finishing their shopping.

“Just in case, let me reiterate: we aren’t just building a department store—we are building a commercial district centered around a department store. There’s a reason we carved out prime real estate allocations for the New Military elite.”

Right now, mini-department stores were springing up one after another around the main department store. The initial blueprint called for single-story structures, but they ultimately ended up mostly as two-story buildings. The rationale was simple: they needed storage space inside the mini-department stores to hold inventory brought over from the main warehouse. Thanks to that, the workload for the construction office personnel skyrocketed—with Pike and Aaron, who had effectively become Fernandez’s direct disciples, screaming under the weight of the tasks—but thanks to their efforts, the commercial district blueprint was falling into place steadily and stably.

“I should have figured that out on my own—I apologize for making you spell it out. I understand completely now.” “Don’t worry about it. It’s always much better to ask and act than to guess blindly on your own. You asked a great question.”

Ryu Geuntae was the kind of talent who made answering worthwhile.

“In that case, we need to secure a dominant first-mover advantage. It’s safe to say there is currently nothing remotely like this department store in the domestic market.”

Choi Chulkyu nodded in agreement with Geuntae.

“I’m of the same mind. Even if it means injecting an additional budget, it would be wise to accelerate the construction schedule.”

On this particular point, however, Yoongi shook his head.

“Pushing the construction schedule aggressively is out of the question. What we have right now is plenty. It’s far better to use the allotted time to refine our operational strategy.”

Faced with Yoongi’s firm refusal, Chulkyu bowed his head. Ordinarily, they would have spoken in casual banter, but with Fernandez—an outsider—present, Chulkyu used formal honorifics. Of course, it was precisely this sharp awareness of public versus private boundaries that made him worthy of being kept close by Yoongi.

“Anyway, once Fernandez brings in his research on premium brands with strong overseas reputations tomorrow, let’s discuss it further then. Director Choi, you can do a light survey of luxury brands with existing domestic awareness.”

Chulkyu bowed his head.

“Understood.” “Then let’s meet back here tomorrow at 10:00 AM.”

The concise, highly efficient meeting wrapped up in a flash.

The morning meeting at 10:00 AM also wrapped up in about forty minutes. Candidate brands for the VIP floor had been successfully shortlisted, with the ultra-high-end tier emerging as the most significant hurdle.

“Securing mid-to-high-tier brands isn’t particularly difficult. Those companies are eager to expand their distribution channels anyway. But once we talk about the ultra-luxury tier, it’s a completely different story. They won’t care much about a department store opening its very first branch. Furthermore, since our name isn’t Samwoo Department Store, nor are we an official Samwoo affiliate, it’s going to be an uphill battle.”

While Fernandez was a construction expert, luxury goods inherently intersected with art and culture, making him a quasi-expert in the field. Recognizing the scale of the challenge, Yoongi decided to take personal responsibility for securing the ultra-luxury tier, while the remaining three would collaborate to handle the rest of the lineup.

With the other three having left the conference room, Deokbae asked Yoongi a question.

<How Why did do handle it? off plan pull this to volunteer you yourself?>

Curious to the core, Deokbae received an answer from Yoongi that, for once, invited trouble.

“Well… using my face…?”