The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 219



Only Krnovel

219. Time to choose (3)

It is time to show sincerity to the Charlotte Group.

As promised, we had to get the Anor family brand into Charlotte Duty Free Shop, but we could move on to the next step.

To do that, I visited Delphine Arnor.

Since she was still engaged in various collaborative projects with Taewoo Electronics at the Korean corporation, it was not difficult to meet her.

“I thought you forgot about me. How can you not come visit me once when we are in the same Korea?”

“I will visit often from now on. That does not mean I am taking the collaboration with the Arnor family lightly. I am receiving reports on related matters every day, and I am directly controlling them.”

“What do I do when I get so many reports? It’s much easier to understand when we talk face to face.”

Why are you so harsh today?

Delphine, the heiress of the Arnor family, complained in an uncharacteristically harsh manner.

“I promise to visit you at least once a month from now on.”

“Only once a month? Make it three times, please.”

“If I don’t have a business trip abroad, I will do that.”

“Well then. Please sit down first.”

Now I had to take a low-key stance.

Because it was what I wanted.

And I didn’t really want to hear Delphine’s complaints.

“How does your family view collaboration with Taewoo Group?”

“I’m looking at it very positively. I heard that the vice president gifted premium products to the Saudi royal family? Thanks to this, good news is circulating among the European upper class.”

Most of Europe’s upper class came from noble families.

Nobles wanted products that matched their dignity, and the products used by Saudi royals were sufficient to protect their dignity.

“We plan to continue promoting through various methods in the future. We are refraining from advertising on media such as TV because it seems to lower our quality.”

“That’s right. Our customers don’t want products that are exposed too much.”

“I’m so glad you liked our collaborative product.”

“We also view the Korean market itself very positively. The number of customers purchasing luxury goods is increasing every year, so we classify it as a market with high potential.”

It was finally time to get to the point.

Full-fledged entry into Korea meant opening various brands in Korea, and I could act as an intermediary.

“I recommend Charlotte Group’s duty-free shop. Charlotte Group is ready to create a special store for the Anor family brand.”

“I didn’t know that the vice president would recommend Charlotte Group. You didn’t sign a contract with Charlotte Group back then, did you?”

Was I too hasty?

Delphine seemed to have noticed something.

In times like these, the best way was to respond slyly.

“This is to help the Anor family advance into Korea. If the value of the Anor family increases, wouldn’t it be beneficial to the Taewo Group?”

“Hmm, any place that Vice President Kim Min-jae recommends is always welcome. The elders of the family also trust Vice President Kim Min-jae.”

“Did you say that the elders of the Anor family trust me?”

“He said he would like to meet you sometime when you come to France. Chairman Kim Tae-jung also said you could come with us.”

It was the Anor family that showed excessive favor to me.

It is said that the project in collaboration with Taewo Group was a huge success, but was it enough to show this kind of favor?

“We will schedule an appointment for France as soon as possible.”

“Don’t be too quick. I still have a lot of work to do in Korea.”

“Do you want to go to France together?”

“Of course. What would be the point of going to France without me?”

I couldn’t understand at all what was being said.

What does it matter?

It is important that the Anor family brand can be opened at Charlotte Duty Free Shop as I wish.

“First of all, I understand. Then, I will build a bridge with Charlotte Duty Free Shop.”

“I will discuss with Charlotte Duty Free to decide which brands to store. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course it’s okay. All choices are entirely up to the Arnor family and Ms. Delphine.”

“Then let’s go eat. I found a restaurant in Seoul that serves proper French cuisine.”

Suddenly.

It was Delphine who naturally linked arms with me.

Is this kind of skinship natural in Europe?

Or maybe you have a selfish interest in me?

Looking at his actions so far, it seemed like he clearly had a crush on me.

When he asked me to go to France with him, it felt like he was trying to say hello to his parents and family elders.

* * *

A few days later.

I met with Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu at Charlotte Department Store.

It was Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu who welcomed me with a very satisfied smile as if the negotiations with the Anor family had gone well.

“Thank you so much. Thanks to Vice President Kim Min-jae, we were able to open five Anor family brands for the first time in Korea.”

“I only acted as a bridge. The Arnore family probably accepted it because of the excellence of Charlotte’s department stores and duty-free shops.”

“No. The Anor family also openly said that they chose Charlotte Group because of Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae’s assurance.”

You went that far?

I didn’t expect that the Arnor family would mention my name in the contract with Charlotte Group.

“I did my best to keep my promise.”

“My father is also very satisfied.”

“Then can we now begin the contract for the Gangnam site owned by Charlotte Group?”

“They say it’s still too early. They say they will sign the contract if all the remaining promises are kept. But can you tell me what the remaining promises are?”

Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu seemed to know nothing.

By the way, Chairman Jin is also a great person. Even though he chose Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu as his successor, he didn’t say anything.

For no reason, I was caught in the middle and ended up in trouble.

Because you can’t tell Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu that you are the next president.

“It was a promise to help Charlotte Group advance into China.”

“Entering into China is a project I am in charge of. So are you saying you will help me?”

“I will work with Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu to help Charlotte Group successfully advance into China.”

It was the Charlotte Group that was risking its life to advance into China.

As expected, the Chinese market was several times larger than the Korean market.

So, you probably think that if you succeed in entering China, you can generate sales several times higher than now.

But will Charlotte Group be successful if it succeeds in entering China?

The Charlotte Group is a Korean group but also a Japanese group.

The Chinese market has a strong tendency to dislike Japanese companies, and this tendency will become stronger as time passes.

That wasn’t all.

The tendency to reject Korean companies also appears a few years later.

In short, this meant that the Charlotte Group would be doubly ostracized.

Even knowing this, I decided to help Charlotte Group advance into China.

What I promised was to help advance into China, but it was entirely Charlotte Group’s responsibility to succeed in China.

“May I ask how I can help you?”

“Taewoo Group has deep ties to Chinese politics. We can assist you from permitting to site selection.”

“Thank you so much! I feel like I want to hand over the Gangnam site to Taewoo Group right now.”

What can’t we say with words?

Until I got my seal on the contract for Charlotte Group’s Gangnam site, I had to turn a blind eye to what was being said.

“I will personally go to China and prepare a position for them. They will be very valuable contacts at Charlotte Group.”

“I’m just sorry that I only receive without giving. I will definitely persuade my father so that we can proceed with the contract for the Gangnam site as soon as possible.”

“Isn’t Chairman Jin the kind of person who would break his promises? It would be enough to sign the contract after everything is finalized.”

Although I only met Chairman Jin twice.

I had a rough idea of ​​his personality, and he wasn’t the kind of person who would sign a contract no matter what anyone said until the work was completed.

Therefore, Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu’s words were literally just lip service.

“Hey, Vice President Kim Min-jae. Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Speak comfortably.”

“I would like to ask whether the reason Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae is helping me is because his father gave him advice regarding management rights.”

“I can’t say anything about that. I think you should talk to Chairman Jin in person.”

“That answer is enough.”

Did my tone have a positive connotation?

Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu smiled brightly and liked it.

“We will contact you once the schedule for China is decided.”

“Please be kind to me. As long as we succeed in entering China, I will personally return the favor. This is separate from the Gangnam site contract.”

“Shouldn’t people who run businesses in Korea help each other? Besides, aren’t Taewoo and Charlotte’s main businesses different?”

“Of course! If you need my help, please feel free to let me know at any time.”

There were several business units that overlapped with Charlotte.

Is there any large Korean company that is not expanding in an octopus style?

Fortunately, the Charlotte Group was able to say this because it has little to do with automobile and electronic product manufacturing.

* * *

After finishing my work with Charlotte Group, I returned to the company.

But my grandfather was waiting for me, leaning against the window of the vice president’s office.

“Did you get the call too?”

“What contact are you talking about?”

“They say the Korea-Russia Energy Cooperation Committee will be held urgently this month. I received a call that representatives from Russian government ministries and energy companies will visit Korea sometime next week.”

“I heard that I would be visiting Korea in the near future, but I didn’t know that I would be arriving next week.”

This was a good thing about dictatorships.

Although Russia was not a dictatorship on the surface, all power was held by Putin.

Therefore, as soon as he made a decision, the people below him had no choice but to move in unison.

Otherwise, I could have been served poisoned tea.

“In Korea, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy and the President of KEPCO decided to respond. And the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy directly told me that Russia had requested the Korean government to attend the Taewoo Group.”

“I will attend. Still, wouldn’t the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy be able to stand up if the vice president level goes out?”

“Are you treating me like someone who doesn’t have this spare money? Didn’t I say I’d take care of all the cleanup after that? Do you know how much importance people in politics place on age in Korea? They might look down on you if you step out for no reason.”

“Is it really necessary to do that?”

“If you speak strongly, they will say that you are cheap, and if you make negative comments, they will say that you are young and don’t know anything. So, I have to go out and calm them down in the pasture to make things easier.”

There was nothing wrong with what my grandfather said.

Consulting with government ministries was my grandfather’s specialty, and no matter how talented I was, it would be difficult for me to catch up with him as I grew older.

“I have already agreed with the Russians.”

“I’ll take care of the rest. Let KEPCO say that they will give up the KEPCO site on their own.”

“If you do that, the date of breaking ground on the new building can be at least a year earlier.”

“I hope the day comes when the scenery by the window changes.”

The grandfather is still looking at the window.

He seemed to be bored with the window view he had always seen.