TOIGC 80

Chapter 80 …

The Easiest Service Industry in the World (1)

March 2, 1982, at 10:00 AM.

Yaikai Department Store finally celebrated its grand opening.

“Congratulations! You are our very first customer!”

The very first customer of Yaikai Department Store.

As it turned out, it wasn’t an American GI, but a South Korean army major who happened to be off duty. In the commemorative photo, he stood wearing a flower garland around his neck, holding a bouquet in his left hand and a 300,000-won gift certificate in his right.

Looking at that scene, Choi Deok-bae muttered.

<I career completely guarantee guy’s is military over. that you,>

Hearing that, Yoongi chuckled inwardly and nodded.

My thoughts exactly. There must have been countless people who wanted to be the first customer, but out of all the possible options, it’s a major—near the bottom of the military pecking order. He’s probably going to have to do a lot of knee-bending in front of his superior officers.

Aside from that major and a few dozen other customers who poured in right at opening, “military” customers abruptly stopped coming.

That made complete sense, given that at this hour, both American and South Korean troops were hard at work doing their daily duties. The wave of military shoppers wouldn’t flood in until roughly 6:00 PM or later.

True enough, even now, crowds of people were lingering outside the main branch entrance, throwing tantrums and demanding to be let in. But seeing the armed soldiers guarding the doors, they didn’t dare force their way through, instead scattering in different directions toward the mini department stores.

<The Come afternoons, and are be branches business department do going great in it it, main mini must nights of on owners probably rakes store stores the think those thrilled. to weekday weekends. while> Pretty much, yeah. <Evenings are be going pretty quiet, though. to> As if. You’re seriously underestimating human ingenuity when it comes to finding loopholes. <Ingenuity?> Just wait a bit.

By 10:30 AM, three well-dressed women in their forties appeared at the main entrance, accompanied by a single American soldier.

“We’re allowed to go in, right?”

Since the soldier’s US military ID was verified, the trio waltzed right into the department store without a hitch, leaving the onlookers watching with burning envy.

[Ugh, why doesn’t anyone in our family serve in the military?] [Hey, call Mija. She was bragging to us before about dating an American soldier.] [They broke up last time.] [God, why is that girl so useless when we actually need her?] [Didn’t Gyeong-hee’s husband say he was in the military?] [He’s only a staff sergeant, so he’s not allowed in.] [Oh, seriously.] [Nothing we can do about it. There’s a mini department store nearby, so let’s just go check that out instead.]

Those with no ties to the military drifted off toward the mini department stores, while those with connections marched right into the main department store with heads held high.

There was no question whose purchasing power was higher. But because the crowd arriving for the grand opening was so massive, the entire surrounding commercial zone—known as the “Yaikai Department Store district”—was completely flooded with people, much like a rushing tide.

<Look are at ear from grins. mouths owners—their split store those to with>

Thanks to the cozy relationships Yoongi had built with newspaper reporters, flattering articles about Yaikai Department Store frequently popped up in the corner of the papers. Combined with Yoongi’s promotional efforts through the school, goods were literally flying off the shelves.

<Come 11:00 Labor PM are be costs department didn’t even going it, of on open roof. say stays store the think this through to until weekdays? you> It’s fine. I pulled in a massive dividend.

Microsoft’s revenue for 1981 hit $35 million. Because Yoongi held roughly 80% of Microsoft’s stock, his payout amounted to about $1.7 million in dividends—just under 5 billion won in 2010s purchasing power.

Arriving right on cue, this influx of cash proved immensely helpful in hiring additional staff for the main department store branch.

Besides, we don’t need a massive crew at the main branch during the day anyway. Team B, coming in starting at 3:00 PM, consists of the absolute elite of Yaikai. <Since 11:00 Money PM, a at closing curfew even hours. is leave manages midnight. national past people really stretch terrifying the thing—it to until won’t>

Curfew laws were still very much a reality in this era, but certain designated zones enjoyed officially relaxed regulations. Thanks to Yaikai Department Store being located in one of those special zones, both shoppers and employees could enjoy late-night shopping with complete peace of mind.

<Heh, at guy—his is look mouth open splitting this too.>

Despite Deok-bae’s comment, Yoongi kept a straight face. In reality, Yoongi’s own expression was on the verge of splitting open from grinning too hard. After all, he was watching his meticulously laid plans succeed right before his eyes.

<Anyway, aren’t head school soon? supposed to you> I am.

Ryu Geun-tae was the face of the department store as its president. Right now, Geun-tae was running around in a frantic blur, greeting high-profile figures from all walks of life who had come to celebrate the grand opening.

I’m really looking forward to after school.

With a light heart, Yoongi set off for a late arrival at school.

“Ah, Brigadier General Colson!”

At the department store entrance, Ryu Geun-tae shook hands with Brigadier General Colson and smoothly let the group of students trailing behind him pass right through with a VIP free pass.

“Is business good?”

“The main branch really kicks off after 6:00 PM. But moving extra inventory over to the mini department stores is keeping us run ragged. It would’ve been a disaster if we hadn’t built that large warehouse district nearby.”

A massive warehouse hub had been constructed near the Yaikai commercial district to handle all the logistics for the area. Trucks were constantly rolling in and out of the zone, and the amount of revenue piling up in the main branch’s vault was astronomical. Bringing in fresh inventory essentially meant trucks returning packed to the brim with cold cash.

“Glad to hear business is booming. Anyway, these are my grandson and his friends, so look after them well.”

“Oh, absolutely, sir. They’ll be well taken care of. Just let them shop in peace and head out whenever they’re done.”

“Does it matter if they leave separately?”

“Of course not.”

At Geun-tae’s words, Brigadier General Colson turned around to look at the dozens of students who had followed Yoongi there.

“Go on and shop in whatever groups you like, and leave whenever you want. You have permission.”

[Thank you, sir!]

Cheering happily, the kids swarmed back around Yoongi, and the group slowly began strolling through the expansive interior of Yaikai Department Store.

“Whoa, this seriously feels like being in a foreign country.”

At Jinsu’s remark, a classmate asked with a curious expression.

“Hey, Jinsu. Have you ever even been abroad?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“What? The way you said that made it sound like you’ve actually traveled.”

“Hey, do you need to physically go abroad to know what it looks like? You can just look around and tell it’s totally foreign.”

“Well, I guess that’s true.”

Not wanting to waste a single second of their time, the kids started wandering off in different directions to explore the massive store. With so many fascinating things to gawk at, sticking together as a rigid pack was out of the question. Thanks to that, Yoongi was left walking around with just Won-hee and Jinsu.

“Whoa… so this is Yoongi’s department store…”

Once the other kids had completely scattered, Won-hee’s first reaction was pure, unfiltered awe.

“Pretty amazing, right?”

“Why are you the one answering?!”

Seeing Jinsu puff out his chest with a smug grin, Won-hee shot him a fierce glare, and Jinsu happily fired right back.

“I’m just proud of having a friend like this. Got a problem?”

“Good grief…”

Even now that they were in their second year of middle school, Won-hee and Jinsu’s dynamic hadn’t changed one bit. Looking at it another way, it was a minor miracle that the two of them could bicker 365 days a year without their relationship actually fracturing.

“Is it amazing?”

This time, the question came from Yoongi.

[[Yeah, it’s seriously incredible!]]

Tossing an arm around each of their shoulders as they nodded without hesitation, Yoongi spoke up.

“So you guys better study hard. If both of you study hard and graduate from Seoul National University, I’ll personally make sure you get set up with great jobs. You know where those jobs will be, right?”

“Right here, obviously.”

At Jinsu’s reply, Yoongi shook his head.

“I’m going to build a place way better than this.”

Hearing that, Jinsu wore a ‘figured as much’ expression, while Won-hee clenched her fists with renewed determination to hit the books.

“Man, there are so many people here. This is my first time seeing this many foreigners in one place.”

It was currently 6:20 PM. True to the main branch’s concept as a “department store tailored for US soldiers,” the building was packed tight with American servicemen. What’s more, they hadn’t come alone; many were accompanied by their families or local girlfriends, meaning their spending per group was several times higher than if they had shopped solo.

“Man, if you hooked up a vacuum cleaner to suck up money, it’d probably feel just like this.”

At Jinsu’s spot-on analogy, both Yoongi and Won-hee burst out laughing, and the trio happily continued exploring the department store.

A little while later, the three of them stumbled upon one of the world’s greatest spectacles. They say the three most entertaining sights in life are floods, fires, and street fights. Since a department store wasn’t about to flood, and a massive fire was unlikely in a building packed this tightly, that naturally left only one form of entertainment: watching people fight.

“What do you mean you can’t give me a discount?!”

A sharp, piercingly loud female voice echoed across the entire floor. It was loud enough to catch anyone completely off guard. Yet the sales clerk maintained a polite demeanor and replied in a soft, even tone.

“I apologize, ma’am, but our department store operates on a fixed-price system. Therefore, discounts are not available unless there is a special promotional sales event.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m buying something this expensive and you won’t even knock a little off the price? Do you guys actually want to run a business here or what?”

Standing right beside the woman was her military husband, a company-grade officer sporting a single gold star pin on his uniform, sweating profusely as he frantically tried to quiet his wife down.

“Honey, please, you can’t make a scene here…”

“What do you mean I can’t?! I’m a customer!”

The woman’s high-pitched tirade finally cut off when a new voice intervened.

“Major Park, isn’t your wife being a bit too loud?”

A one-star general suddenly appeared right behind Major Park with a deeply displeased expression on his face. Major Park looked like he had just lost his entire country, tears literally welling up in the corners of his eyes.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the angry wife finally bothered to look around her. The area was practically swarming with rank insignia. There were hardly any single-star pins in sight—most people wore two or three stars, and high-ranking generals practically outnumbered the regular shoppers. Seeing all this, Major Park’s wife turned pale and nearly fainted on the spot.

“Honey!”

“Tsk tsk. Report to my office tomorrow after work. You know which headquarters I work out of, right?”

Major Park’s ordeal didn’t end there.

“Swing by my office after you’re done there.” “And then come see me right after that.” “Ah, then come to my office after you’re done with him.”

Superior officers ranging from lieutenant colonels to major generals lined up to request visits, forcing a weeping Major Park to piggyback his stunned wife out of the department store.

“There is zero chance of any unruly customers ever surviving in this place…”

Won-hee nodded in wholehearted agreement with Jinsu’s observation.

“I think you’re right. Everyone probably missed it because it was so loud over there, but earlier today some American soldier was throwing a fit about the prices being too high, and Yoongi’s maternal grandfather literally grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him off somewhere.”

“Man… a service industry with zero unruly Karens.”

“Look at our little Jinsu. They say even a dog living near a village school can recite poems after three years, and look how smart you’re getting, using big words like that.”

“You want to die?”

After dropping off the bickering pair of Jinsu and Won-hee at their homes around 9:00 PM, Yoongi headed up to the 7th floor of the building to wrap up his final objective of the day.

The 7th floor of Yaikai Department Store.

Yoongi quietly stepped into the exclusive domain reserved strictly for VIPs.