Byeong-ju Jeong and Byeong-jin Jo listened to the story of last evening and stared at Seong-ho Kim with startled faces.
“Is that really true? DS Furniture is connected to Ilhyeon Fashion?”
“It must be, since Sister-in-law tried to connect me with the DS Furniture president.”
Byeong-jin Jo looked at Seong-ho Kim’s composed face with wonder and asked,
“Is it boldness or numbness? Doesn’t any of this surprise you?”
“It surprises me. But I found myself thinking it was interesting before anything else.”
“Interesting? What’s interesting about it?”
“It occurred to me that more people might be tangled up in this than we thought.”
Byeong-ju Jeong, listening to the two of them, nodded and said,
“So not just a few Ilhyeon Hotel executives — possibly all of them, or even more, could be connected to DS Furniture.”
“Wait, if it’s not just executives… you mean even the staff might be tangled up in it?”
At Byeong-ju Jeong’s words, Byeong-jin Jo looked startled, and the corners of Seong-ho Kim’s mouth rose.
“That’s the feeling I get.”
“But why? Why would DS Furniture need to win over the staff too? What power does an ordinary employee have over vendor selection?”
“You’re right that they have no power over vendor selection. But there are other things they can help with.”
“Other things?”
Byeong-jin Jo looked at Seong-ho Kim, waiting to hear what those other things might be.
“Let me give you an example — shampoo, one of the things DS Furniture supplies.”
Recalling a case of corruption he’d uncovered in his past life, Seong-ho Kim said to Byeong-ju Jeong and Byeong-jin Jo,
“One bottle of shampoo is placed in every room, and guests are meant to use what’s provided.”
“Right. What’s the problem with that?”
“Now, what if a housekeeper cleaning a room pours a perfectly good bottle of shampoo down the drain and reports that it’s run out?”
“That’s…”
Byeong-jin Jo tried to say such a thing could never happen, but the words wouldn’t come.
Because he couldn’t honestly claim it was impossible.
“Or — what if they just throw the shampoo away and say there’s none left? Or write down that a bottle is empty when it’s actually nearly full?”
“…We’d need to check the gap between actual guest usage and what’s recorded as used.”
Seong-ho Kim nodded and said,
“If ten guests stayed in a day, even accounting for bottle size, at most thirty bottles should be used. Thirty-one, thirty-two — that much we could understand and let pass; guests often ask for extras and take them home. But if the number climbs to fifty, sixty, over a hundred — that becomes embezzlement.”
“If they’ve been skimming like that, the losses must be enormous…”
Byeong-jin Jo said, his face startled.
Since Seong-ho Kim had used shampoo as just one example, it occurred to him that every single item in the hotel could be tied up the same way.
Seong-ho Kim told Byeong-ju Jeong and Byeong-jin Jo what to focus on going forward.
“From here on, this isn’t simply about trimming Ilhyeon Hotel’s fat — we need to focus on identifying exactly who’s caused the hotel harm.”
“Understood. I’ll go straight to the hotel’s books.”
“Then I’ll check with the staff on how work’s been done up to now. Something like this can’t stay hidden forever — if it’s there, we’ll find it easily enough.”
Byeong-ju Jeong and Byeong-jin Jo, understanding Seong-ho Kim’s point, worked out on their own what needed doing.
Seong-ho Kim nodded and added one more thing.
“For something like this, it’s better to get help from the inside. While you’re looking into the staff, find someone willing to talk to us from within, like I mentioned before, and bring them to me.”
“Got it. We’ll get moving right away.”
The two of them left the office to examine Ilhyeon Hotel from this new angle, following Seong-ho Kim’s instructions.
Once word spread that Ilhyeon Hotel was moving every item to a bidding system, numerous vendors rushed to compete for the contracts.
With the business that had been DS Furniture’s exclusive domain now thrown open, the industry began looking at Ilhyeon Hotel as a sign of fresh winds blowing through.
But some also wondered whether an attempt like this could really succeed.
Ten years was no small span of time, and people questioned whether the hotel could simply disregard all of it and move straight to a bidding system.
On top of that, plenty of people were likely tangled up with DS Furniture in ways no one could see, so people watched Ilhyeon Hotel with curiosity, wondering how internal resistance could possibly be contained.
But amid everyone’s doubts, the bidding schedule and details were announced.
Once the bidding for cleaning supplies like shampoo and conditioner was confirmed first and the notice went out, even the skeptics had no choice but to believe the shift to a bidding system was real.
Still, they didn’t fully set aside their doubts.
Because internal backlash did, in the end, break out at Ilhyeon Hotel.
—Director Seong-ho Kim, who’s pushing this restructuring, step down!
—Step down! Step down!
—Director Seong-ho Kim, who wants to drive out the staff, step down!
—Step down! Step down!
—Director Seong-ho Kim, who wants to drag Ilhyeon Hotel into the mud, step down!
Seong-ho Kim stood at the window, looking down at the hotel staff staging their protest.
Knock, knock.
The office door opened and Manager Byeong-ju Jeong came in.
He stated his reason for coming to the office to Seong-ho Kim, who was still looking down at the scene outside.
“We’ve reported it as an illegal protest, and the police are ready to be dispatched. What should we do?”
Seong-ho Kim looked down at the Ilhyeon Hotel union staging its protest in front of the hotel and said,
“Have the police come out.”
“But even if they’re taken in, they’ll be released right away… what if they protest again tomorrow?”
“Then report it again tomorrow. If they keep protesting the day after, and the day after that, report it every single time they do.”
“You want us to keep doing this?”
Byeong-ju Jeong asked Seong-ho Kim with a worried face.
“A day or two might be one thing, but if this keeps up, even the guests won’t be able to stand it and will leave — will that really be all right?”
Looking down at the protest, Seong-ho Kim turned to face Byeong-ju Jeong and said,
“For any guests currently staying who’d like to move to a different hotel, help them find one, and for anyone who wants to check out early, refund them the difference.”
“Even refund their money?”
“Yes. And explain the situation to guests with reservations too, and treat them the same way as the current guests.”
Manager Byeong-ju Jeong’s eyes went round with surprise at Seong-ho Kim’s instructions.
Seong-ho Kim continued giving him instructions.
“For guests who stay with us, give them a 50% discount on their bill, and provide a separate one-night stay voucher they can use anytime within the year.”
“Even a one-night voucher? Are you serious?”
“I’d like to give them a meal voucher too, honestly, but the food and beverage division is shut down right now, so we can’t. Let’s just give them the lodging voucher.”
Byeong-ju Jeong nodded at Seong-ho Kim’s words.
“Right. Well, guests who stay with us despite all this are exactly the loyal customer base we should be taking care of. But we can’t let this go on forever, can we?”
Knock, knock.
Just as Byeong-ju Jeong was speaking, a knock sounded.
Seong-ho Kim put a hand on Byeong-ju Jeong’s shoulder and said with a smile,
“There’s the solution now.”
Seong-ho Kim smiled at Byeong-ju Jeong and looked at Byeong-jin Jo, who opened the door and came in.
Byeong-jin Jo gestured to Managing Director Jong-dae Choi, who’d come with him, and said to Seong-ho Kim,
“Our Managing Director Choi here has something he’d like to say.”
“Good work.”
Seong-ho Kim smiled at Byeong-jin Jo, then turned to Byeong-ju Jeong and said,
“I have something to discuss with Managing Director Choi — would you mind giving us a moment?”
“Ah. Sure.”
Byeong-ju Jeong immediately understood and gestured to Byeong-jin Jo.
“Assistant Manager Jo, let’s step out.”
“Ah, right. I actually had something to take care of anyway. Let’s go.”
Byeong-jin Jo nodded at Byeong-ju Jeong’s words and shot Seong-ho Kim a look.
Seong-ho Kim smiled quietly at Byeong-jin Jo’s look and showed Jong-dae Choi to a chair.
“Managing Director Choi. Please, sit and let’s talk.”
“Yes.”
Jong-dae Choi, who’d been staring at the floor, walked all the way to the chair without lifting his head.
And even after sitting in the chair Seong-ho Kim had pulled out for him, he kept his eyes down, unable to look up.
Sitting across from Managing Director Jong-dae Choi, Seong-ho Kim watched him quietly for a moment before speaking first.
“You said you had something to tell me?”
“I…”
Unable to continue for a moment, Jong-dae Choi lifted his bowed head.
Then, with a face on the verge of tears, he said to Seong-ho Kim,
“My son is starting his senior year of high school this year.”
At Jong-dae Choi bringing up his son out of nowhere, Seong-ho Kim smiled lightly.
He understood exactly why Jong-dae Choi had led with his children, having seen this exact pattern often enough in his past life.
Seong-ho Kim settled into a more relaxed posture, and Managing Director Choi kept talking to him.
“I also have a daughter younger than him. She’s starting high school this year.”
“How are they doing in their studies? Are they both doing well?”
When Seong-ho Kim naturally brought up their schoolwork, the tearful look on Jong-dae Choi’s face eased somewhat.
“Yes. They’re both doing quite well.”
“That’s good to hear. But why are you telling me about your children?”
At Seong-ho Kim asking the reason, Jong-dae Choi couldn’t easily open his mouth.
He’d come here having made up his mind, but now, sitting in front of Seong-ho Kim, he seemed to have lost his nerve to speak.
Seeing through Jong-dae Choi’s heart, Seong-ho Kim spoke first.
“Managing Director Choi. Would you care to look at this first?”
Seong-ho Kim pulled one of two sheets of paper sitting on the desk toward him and set it in front of Jong-dae Choi.
Jong-dae Choi looked down at the paper and asked Seong-ho Kim,
“What is this?”
“Why don’t you look at what’s inside first. Once you have, you’ll know what it is.”
At Seong-ho Kim’s words that he’d understand once he looked, Jong-dae Choi picked up the paper with a puzzled expression.
Reading through the contents, Jong-dae Choi couldn’t hide his shock.
His eyes went wide, and sweat ran down his temples.
His hand trembled so badly around the paper that he had trouble turning to the next page.
Watching Jong-dae Choi’s reaction quietly, Seong-ho Kim slowly spoke.
“It really is a strange thing. The number of guests in January was just over 3,000, so why did the hotel use up enough shampoo for 100,000 people? Guests stay an average of three days — even washing their hair morning and night, that’s 6,000 people’s worth a day. Over three days, that comes to 20,000. And yet five times that — 100,000 people’s worth — was used.”
Tap, tap.
Seong-ho Kim tapped the desk in front of Jong-dae Choi and said,
“Isn’t that terribly strange?”
Jong-dae Choi lifted his head.
His eyes wavered, and his mouth hung half open.
Watching him, Seong-ho Kim smiled thinly and said,
“That’s just for shampoo. I plan to look into conditioner and every other cleaning product as well. And bedding, of course, needs to be examined too.”
“Director…”
“Managing Director Choi.”
When Managing Director Choi called out to him in a trembling voice, Seong-ho Kim took hold of his hand.
Jong-dae Choi looked down at his own hand, held in Seong-ho Kim’s, and Seong-ho Kim said to him,
“Your children do well in school, you said? Then we should help them be able to study without a worry in the world, shouldn’t we?”
“Director…”
“If you help me, Managing Director Choi, I’d like to help make sure your children can study without any worries. What do you say? Would you be willing to help me?”
The hand Seong-ho Kim held trembled.
In truth, Seong-ho Kim could have used the documents he was showing now to threaten Jong-dae Choi outright, and there would have been nothing Jong-dae Choi could do about it.
And yet Seong-ho Kim was asking for his help instead.
At this side of Seong-ho Kim, Jong-dae Choi couldn’t help but come completely undone.
“Director…”
Jong-dae Choi had said nothing but “Director” for a while now, but the meaning packed into those two words kept shifting.
And in the very last utterance of them, a clear resolve to follow Seong-ho Kim could be felt.
Seong-ho Kim silently patted Jong-dae Choi’s hand, then wordlessly set the second sheet of paper, which had been sitting on the desk, down in front of him.
(End of Chapter 39)