TOIGC 85

Chapter 85 …

Who is the Underdog, the Corporation or the Bank? (4)

“No, Manager Ma. What kind of nonsense is this? We put forward the absolute best terms possible—how could you stab us in the back like this?!”

Storming straight into the sales department office to throw a tantrum was Kim Joo-ho, the sales manager for Base Savings Bank.

With a neat 3-to-7 parting and a long, carrot-shaped face, he was the same corporate rep who had tried to cozy up to Ma Seok-il earlier by playing the “we’re around the same age” card. But the moment he heard the virtual rejection notice, he completely lost his grip on his temper and began shouting at the top of his lungs.

“A backstab? You’re breaking my heart phrasing it like that.” “What else do you call it if not a backstab?! I still can’t wrap my head around why you passed on our offer!” “Even if you yell at me, what power do I have? I’m just the messenger relaying instructions from the folks upstairs. It’s unfortunate, but you’ll probably want to try your hand again during our next round of business.” “Didn’t you promise you’d put in a good word for us?!”

Despite Joo-ho’s vein-popping rage, Seok-il didn’t get worked up at all. His tone remained remarkably calm.

Because his composure contrasted so sharply with Joo-ho’s meltdown, the scene was serving as an incredible masterclass for Son Min-gwan, who was sitting quietly nearby and watching the whole thing unfold.

“Manager Kim.” “What!”

Faced with Joo-ho’s snapping glare, Seok-il put on an expression of deep, mournful regret.

“Do you really think I didn’t put in a good word for you?” “If you actually put in a good word, then—”

Seok-il smoothly cut Joo-ho off mid-sentence.

“I put in a truly good word. I even emphasized how competitive your deposit rates were. But the higher-ups just wouldn’t give me a straight answer as to why they chose to pass on Base Savings Bank.”

With a sheen of moisture welling up in the corners of his eyes, Seok-il looked genuinely, heartbreakingly aggrieved.

“However…”

Once again, Seok-il cut Joo-ho off. Seamlessly.

“I tried my absolute best. But just like you’re hashing this out with me right now, it seems there are people with direct connections to even higher tiers of management. I honestly wanted to be of help to you… I’m so sorry…” “Well, I’ll be…”

While Joo-ho stood there stammering in disbelief, Seok-il stood up, walked over to the stack of boxes under his desk, and pulled out the box of red ginseng Joo-ho had previously brought as a gift.

“I’m returning this to you. I simply haven’t got the face to accept it anymore…”

In an instant, all the color drained from Joo-ho’s face.

“No, no, no. I never expected you to give it back.” “Please, take it. I haven’t earned the right to keep this…” “No, really, I insist. You honestly don’t need to return it. Just… please put in a good word for us next time around.” “You have my word. If an opportunity comes up that spells good news for you next time, Manager Kim, I’ll be sure to reach out.” “I’ll… I’ll definitely be waiting for your call.”

As Joo-ho dragged his drooping shoulders out of the office, the door had barely clicked shut before Seok-il puffed his chest right back out with a triumphant grin.

“You are incredible, sir.” “What did you think a real corporate sales liaison does?”

Seeing that the moisture in Seok-il’s eyes had vanished without a trace, Min-gwan felt like he was finally beginning to understand what “true social savvy” really looked like.

“Wait, did the higher-ups really not tell you why our bid was rejected?” “Nope, they didn’t.” “Seriously?”

It was a slightly presumptuous question, but far from getting angry, Seok-il was actually thrilled by Min-gwan’s growing boldness.

“Look at you, kiddo, you’re growing up fast. The old you would’ve been too terrified of my reaction to even ask.” “All thanks to you, Manager.” “Alright, I’ll level with you. Did management actually tell me why?”

Min-gwan leaned in close, fixing his wide, sparkling eyes entirely on Seok-il’s lips.

“Nope, not a word.” “Aw, come on.” “I’m serious. Though, if I actually bothered to ask, they’d probably tell me—I just didn’t see any reason to ask because the answer was painfully obvious.” “You could guess why?” “Of course, you idiot. How are you supposed to survive in the corporate world if you don’t even understand the internal calculus of the people running the show?” “Can you fill me in?” “Oh, look at you! People really do change in the blink of an eye. Say, we’re moving houses sometime soon—think you can come help out?” “You bet.” “Krk, I love that corporate hustle. Alright, I’ll spell it out for you. To put it simply: it came down to the interest rates.” “The interest rates?” “Yeah, the rates.”

Nodding firmly twice, Seok-il continued.

“What do you reckon the deposit rates are like over in tier-two finance?” “Regrettably, I’ve never made enough money in my life to actually open a savings account, so I wouldn’t know.” “Ah, right, your time in the working world has been pretty short. Tier-two savings rates usually sit anywhere from over 20% to just under 40%, depending on the exact type of deposit.” “Whoa… that’s insanely high.” “Right, but interest rates don’t just stop at deposits, do they? There’s borrowing rates too.” “Oh, I follow you there.” “So, how do you think the lending rates look at a tier-two institution?” “Ah…!”

“There you go, it clicks, doesn’t it? Our Yaikai Department Store needs to pull off massive loans. If we went ahead and borrowed through a tier-two outfit just because their deposit payouts looked nice, the borrowing costs would crush us with catastrophic losses. It’s completely out of the question. Tier-two never stood a chance from day one.” “Are tier-one bank rates way lower, then?” “Spot on. Their deposit rates hover just over 10%. Though things dipped hard this year, so some places are offering around 8%. Naturally, that means their lending rates sit just a notch above 10% as well.” “Our bosses are absolute geniuses, aren’t they?” “They’d better be, or we wouldn’t survive long around here. Let me tell you, the amount of suffering I endured back at my old company because of a blockhead boss…” “Wait, does that mean everyone working at a savings bank is a total blockhead?”

Min-gwan’s quip made Seok-il burst out laughing.

“Ha! Look at you flexing your critical thinking skills. Well, sure, there are plenty of blockheads out there, but they didn’t come knocking on our door because they’re stupid.” “Then why?” “To build connections. They knew they stood a snowballs chance in hell of winning the bid, but they came anyway. Well, part of it was genuine sales prospecting, of course.” “Is there really any profit in building connections with us?” “You bet your life there is. Just like how I hopped over from another company to work here, planting seeds and building a network always pays off down the road. You’ve got to realize how valuable it is to have ties with folks who worked at a powerhouse enterprise like this. To put it bluntly, if a personal acquaintance of mine who can’t secure tier-one funding needs a hand, I can turn around and introduce them to a tier-two contact I made right here.” “Society is way more complicated than I ever imagined.” “Ain’t that the truth. But that Kim Joo-ho character who just stormed out? He’s a genuine blockhead. Why? Because he took the rejection personally and threw a real tantrum. That means he was treating the pitch with raw emotional sincerity, and losing his cool right in front of me is the absolute worst blunder you can make when building a professional network. Frankly, if that guy’s mindset is any indication, the president of Base Savings Bank is probably a moron too, so Base is bound to go belly-up sooner or later.” “You say that like it’s a prophecy, not just an observation.” “Because it’s a hard fact. And as you’re starting to realize, even when you’re the underdog getting squeezed like I was just now, there are times when you throw a fit, and times when you keep your mouth shut.” “Was just now a ‘keep your mouth shut’ kind of moment?” “You bet. And because I kept mine shut, this box of red ginseng is still safely ours. Heh, heh, heh.”

Watching Seok-il flash a delightfully sinister grin, Min-gwan felt like he was reading straight out of a textbook. Seok-il’s ability to gracefully swallow a superficial loss to protect his practical interests felt like the ultimate standard of corporate survival.

“Manager Ma.” “Hmm?” “I’ve got a lot to learn from you.”

Looking at Min-gwan, Seok-il felt a deep sense of certainty that the future of the sales department was looking exceptionally bright.

The Study

“Sun-han Bank must have been getting pretty desperate.”

At Yoongi’s remark, Chul-gyu nodded.

“Even I was a bit surprised. Min-guk Bank must be kicking themselves right now.”

Min-guk Bank had lost out to Sun-han Bank by a hair—a mere 0.1% difference in the lending rate. It was down to a single decimal place, but when you’re borrowing 100 billion won, a 0.1% dip translates to saving a cool 100 million won in annual interest. That single factor was why Yoongi had ultimately given Sun-han the green light.

“And thanks to that, my pockets got a nice little workout too.”

As Chul-gyu mimed thumbing through a stack of cash, Yoongi chuckled softly while Geun-tae looked on with a hint of envy.

“Jealous?”

Catching the look, Yoongi’s playful nudge caused Geun-tae to snap back to attention with an awkward, sheepish smile.

“My apologies. It’s just human nature to have a soft spot for instant gratification…” “We can always swap roles if you prefer. President Choi and Chief Ryu, how does that sound?” “Ah—no, no. I quite like holding the title of president.”

After letting out a mock-sinister smile at Geun-tae’s flustered reaction, Yoongi smoothly steered the conversation back to business.

“From our standpoint, deposit interest rates don’t matter all that much anyway. A massive chunk of those funds is going to be rolled right back into reinvestment or inventory procurement. In that regard, Sun-han Bank played their cards brilliantly.”

If they had factored deposit yields alone into the equation, Min-guk Bank would have taken the crown. But Yoongi had kept his eyes locked strictly on the raw loan rates, allowing Yaikai Department Store to successfully secure over 100 billion won in financing at an overwhelmingly advantageous interest rate.

What made Sun-han’s victory particularly remarkable was that they had managed to fast-track the entire underwriting process as a pre-approved courtesy. Even though Yaikai hadn’t handed over a single scrap of internal revenue data for formal auditing, Sun-han’s head office had proactively marched in with the finalized contracts ready to sign. Naturally, they required the department store building to be registered as collateral, but from Yoongi’s perspective, he was giving up nothing of value.

Without me, they wouldn’t even be able to acquire a fraction of this brand portfolio in the first place, and our ties with the new military regime would instantly evaporate. In a way, they’re just hitching a ride on my coattails.

Of course, the underlying commercial value was rock-solid, so Sun-han Bank had no reason to feel hard done by either.

“Indeed. They read our intentions like a book. By the way, Chairman, since you secured this 100-billion-won capital injection specifically earmarked for the second branch, have you locked down a location yet?”

The moment they heard about the scale of the 100-billion-won loan, both Geun-tae and Chul-gyu had instantly guessed a second branch was in the works. After all, they were the ones who spent the most time right by Yoongi’s side.

“My plan is to roll out a total of five branches across Seoul—one in each of the four cardinal directions, plus a central hub.” “Do you really think consumer demand can keep pace with that kind of aggressive expansion?” “People will always flock to cities as the country modernizes. Just look at the States—the urban population influx is astronomical, right? That means demand will scale right along with it, so there won’t be any issues.”

Both Geun-tae and Chul-gyu nodded in unison.

“So, do you have a specific location in mind for branch number two? Though President Ryu just asked the same thing…” “I’d wager Secretary Ryu already has a pretty sharp prediction.”

Sweat dotting his brow at the sudden pop quiz, Geun-tae carefully threw out the most statistically probable region.

“It’s gotta be either Yongsan or Jamsil. If I had to bet, my money’s on Jamsil.” “And why is that?” “Well, we already established a northern anchor, setting up another one right in the central district doesn’t fit the pattern, and among the land plots you currently hold, the residents living around the Jamsil area possess a remarkably high concentration of disposable wealth.”

To someone from the 21st century, the immediate guess would have been Gangnam, but up until the early 1980s, Gangnam was still largely an expanse of open fields. Its explosive development only happened because a torrent of state funding was deliberately funneled into the district. Thus, Geun-tae’s deduction was spot on.

“Spot on. Branch number two is going in Jamsil.” “Are you planning to drop mini department stores out there as well?”

Yoongi shook his head.

“No. Mini department stores are strictly a Jongno game. There’s zero reason to build more out there. We’ve already locked down the vital networks of influential power players in that district; scattering copies elsewhere would likely just rub them the wrong way.” “Understood.” “Tomorrow morning at nine, come back here with a map of Jamsil and the documentation for the land plots I currently hold. Any scheduling conflicts?” “No, I’m completely free.” “I’m good to come too, right?” “Naturally. We’ve got plenty of things to go over together.”

Jamsil was officially designated as the landing ground for branch number two.

Yet, before long, a raging wave of real estate speculation would begin sweeping through Jamsil—entirely independent of Yoongi’s original design.