IWSF – Ch 235

South Korea is the Republic of Chicken.

Few would dispute this. In this small country, there are more chicken restaurants than McDonald’s stores worldwide. Seeing five or six chicken restaurants lined up on a single street is not an unusual sight.

In this fiercely competitive chicken market, the company that has risen to the top is none other than Master Chicken.

Master Chicken has approximately 2,300 directly managed and franchised locations combined. They are so widespread in every corner of local shopping districts that it’s difficult to open more franchises.

The profit margin and royalties they earn from exclusively supplying raw materials to their franchisees are enormous. However, Korean franchises have an odd urge to endlessly increase the number of franchise locations.

Therefore, as the chicken market became saturated, they ventured into the pizza market.

Chae Dae-ho, the chairman of MCK Group, created a new corporation under his son, Chae Myeong-ho, and launched a new pizza brand. They then heavily advertised on TV while recruiting franchisees.

Backed by over a decade of franchise know-how and capital, Meister Pizza, despite being a latecomer to the pizza industry, was able to quickly seize market share.

They established directly managed stores in the heart of the city and franchise locations in every bustling neighborhood. As rumors spread that business was booming, franchise inquiries poured in from everywhere.

At this rate, they could reach the top 3 in the pizza industry within a year.

After his university class ended, Chae Myeong-ho headed to the company in a car driven by his chauffeur.

“When will I ever be done with this damn university…”

After what happened during his freshman year, he didn’t really want to go back to school. He wasn’t particularly interested in studying, and he could learn management from his father anyway.

Then, the head of the business division, who was also in the car, said, “The Chairman has high expectations.”

“I know. That’s why I’m going.”

Chairman Chae Dae-ho of MCK Group didn’t even graduate high school but built his empire from the ground up by selling chicken. Perhaps because he regretted not being educated himself, he wanted his children to graduate from top universities.

So, to please his father and to smoothly inherit the company, he needs to get a degree from Korea University.

Returning to school after a long break wasn’t very interesting. The only thing he liked about it was running into Shin Yuri again.

He had met countless women during that time, and still was seeing some…

‘She really is beautiful. If it weren’t for what happened back then, she would have been mine a long time ago.’

While thinking about Shin Yuri, the head of the business division was reporting sales figures beside him. Chae Myeong-ho nodded absentmindedly and then asked, as if something had just occurred to him.

“How are the sales at the 15th Pajoo location?”

The head of the business division looked up the sales report.

“Last month’s sales were 1,657,300 won.”

This meant they weren’t even selling one or two pizzas a day.

Meister Pizza inherited Master Chicken’s franchise management know-how as is. That know-how included how to handle franchisees.

One of the easiest ways for the head office to make money was to encourage successful franchisees to relocate to a larger space, forcing them to redo the interior.

They even called him directly and made several requests, but the franchisee consistently refused. So, they defiantly opened a directly managed store right in front of it.

One might wonder if it was really necessary to go this far, but it was a kind of warning. It was to clearly show other franchisees what kind of disadvantages they would face if they refused the head office’s instructions, thereby disciplining them.

“Tell them to extend the discount event at the directly managed store for a few more months.”

“Understood.”

How much longer can they hold out?

Chae Myeong-ho smirked.

‘They should have just listened when they had the chance.’

As the car entered the company headquarters, he saw a man lingering in front.

Recognizing him, Chae Myeong-ho said irritably, “Stop the car.”

***

The Meister Pizza headquarters was located in Sadang-dong.

Leaving the subway station, Kim Jae-hak talked with Kang Jin-hoo on the phone while walking.

[Are you there already?]

“Yeah.”

[I just left. It’ll take about 20 minutes, so let’s meet in front.]

“Okay. Take your time.”

Arriving at the headquarters building, Kim Jae-hak stood on the street and smoked a cigarette.

The Meister Pizza store occupied the first and second floors of the building. Perhaps because it was lunchtime, the store was filled with nearby office workers and housewives. Everyone looked happy as they ate pizza.

When he came for the franchise agreement and training, he was happy to see this. The fact that the headquarters’ directly managed store was doing so well meant that franchise locations could also succeed.

But now, he felt strangely bitter.

While waiting for Kang Jin-hoo, he wandered around the front for a moment when a car entering the parking lot suddenly stopped.

The back door opened, and Chae Myeong-ho, the CEO of Meister Chicken, got out.

“Oh! It’s the franchisee again.”

He had seen him during the training and when he came to protest the opening of the directly managed store. He was even dragged away by employees last time.

Chae Myeong-ho said with a welcoming tone, “You must be uncomfortable, so what brings you all the way out here without even a word?”

“Well, that is…”

For some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.

Chae Myeong-ho affectionately took his arm.

“It’s chilly out here, don’t just stand on the street, let’s go inside and talk.”

“Ah, no…”

Before he could say anything, Chae Myeong-ho took Kim Jae-hak inside. As they entered the building, the employees in the lobby stood up and bowed.

The two went up to the CEO’s office with the employees.

Chae Myeong-ho continued to speak with a smile.

“If you were going to come all the way here, you should have contacted me beforehand. In the future, if you have anything to say, contact me directly. Ah! Let me put my number in your phone.”

Kim Jae-hak absentmindedly handed over his phone. Chae Myeong-ho took it, glanced at the screen, and instead of dialing, tossed it onto the desk.

“Luckily, you didn’t have the recorder on. These days, if you say anything, everyone yells about abuse of power.”

“Excuse me?”

With a gesture, the employees locked the door. And at that moment, his expression changed drastically.

Chae Myeong-ho glared at Kim Jae-hak with a chilling look and said,

“What makes this cripple think he can come crawling back here again? I warned you last time not to come back, didn’t I? I said if you came one more time, I’d shut down your franchise. Do my words mean nothing to you?”

Startled, Kim Jae-hak instinctively backed away.

“I, I…”

Like a rat cornered, he looked around for a way to escape, but the door was locked, and the employees in front seemed to be blocking the way.

Backing away further, his back hit the wall.

Chae Myeong-ho sneered as he approached, grabbed his collar, and tapped his prosthetic leg with his toe. He probably knew it was a prosthetic.

Was he doing this while knowing it wasn’t just to inflict pain, but to humiliate him?

***

The car was heading towards Sadang-dong.

Taek-gyu was with me, and bodyguards were also accompanying us. The driver was a new bodyguard, and Team Leader Lee Cheol-jin was sitting next to him.

As I finished my call, he said,

“So, you’re visiting the franchise headquarters because of your senior from your military service.”

“Yes. He’s a close friend.”

“Indeed, the bonds of friendship forged among men in the military are some of the longest-lasting.”

I asked casually, “Speaking of which, Team Leader, where did you serve in the military?”

He suddenly clamped his mouth shut, having been talking animatedly just moments before.

“Was it the Marines or Special Forces?”

He still didn’t answer.

Taek-gyu, looking curious, kept pressing.

“Could you have been a North Korean infiltrator or a secret agent? Or maybe a foreign mercenary?”

Faced with the persistent questioning, he reluctantly opened his mouth.

“I was a public service worker.”

We were all taken aback by his words.

“A public service worker?”

“How can someone with a body like a Terminator be a public service worker?”

Team Leader Lee Cheol-jin said, almost defensively,

“I, I injured my back while working out back then, so I had no choice.”

Anyone who has had a military physical knows that if your overall condition isn’t great, you get a Grade 3, but if one specific part of your body is bad, even if the rest is fine, you get a Grade 4.

Athletes who seem healthier than the average person often end up with a Grade 4. It seemed like a similar case.

Taek-gyu was overjoyed.

“Wow! Team Leader, you were a public service worker too. Come to think of it, you’re my public service senior. As a fellow public service worker, I’m proud.”

For some reason, his face seemed to turn a little red.

I patted Lee Cheol-jin’s shoulder and said, “Serving as a public service worker is also faithfully fulfilling your duty to defend the nation. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“…Yes.”

While we were talking, we arrived in front of the Meister Pizza headquarters.

We got out of the car. But even after looking around, Kim Jae-hak was nowhere to be seen.

That’s strange. He definitely said he was here already…

“Maybe he went to the bathroom. Call him.”

I called, but he didn’t answer.

Suddenly, a bad feeling flashed through my mind.

Could it be…?

“Let’s go inside.”

We entered the headquarters building with the bodyguards. Like most office buildings, you needed to scan a keycard to pass through the speed gate to get to the upper floors.

An employee in the lobby greeted us and asked, “How may I help you?”

Another employee, who had been staring at my face for a moment, said in a surprised voice, “Are you perhaps CEO Kang Jin-hoo?”

I smiled and said, “Yes, that’s right. Is the CEO here right now?”

“He is here, I’ll let him know right away.”

I stopped him as he reached for the phone and asked, “Is he with a guest right now?”

“Yes. He just went upstairs with a franchisee.”

I knew it…

I said to him, “Please take us to the CEO’s office immediately.”

Sensing that something was wrong, he reached for the phone again.

“I, I need to inform him first…”

Then, Team Leader Lee Cheol-jin stepped forward, snatched the phone from his hand, and picked up the keycard lying on the table.

“We’ll borrow this for a moment.”

“Yes, yes?”

Lee Cheol-jin instructed another bodyguard, “Stay here and make sure they can’t make any calls upstairs.”

“Understood.”

Before the employee could stop us, we scanned the keycard and passed through the speed gate. Fortunately, the elevator was on the first floor, so we got on immediately.

“Where’s the CEO’s office?”

“It’s usually on the top floor.”

I pressed the button for the top floor, the 7th floor.

Luckily, the CEO’s office was indeed on the 7th floor. We tried to open the door, but it was locked. Lee Cheol-jin stepped forward.

“I’ll open it.”

He backed up a bit and then kicked the door hard.

Thwack!

It wasn’t a steel door, but a plywood one. With one kick, the doorknob shattered, and the door flew open.

The young man inside turned around in surprise.

“W-Who the hell are you?”

At Chae Myeong-ho’s question, Taek-gyu said as if he had been waiting for this moment, “It’s me, you son of a bitch.”

When I looked at Taek-gyu with a “what the heck was that?” expression, he looked thrilled.

“I’ve always wanted to say that line at least once in my life.”

“……”

Yeah, good for you. A person should do what they want to do in life.

“Who are these guys? Get them out of here!”

“Yes, sir!”

Then, the employee in front rushed forward. Lee Cheol-jin grabbed the employee by the collar and lifted him effortlessly, as if it was nothing.

“Gah! Gah!”

The other employees, seeing this, seemed shocked and froze in their spots.

I went inside and looked around. As expected of a CEO’s office, the interior was well-furnished with expensive imported furniture.

But what caught my eye first was Kim Jae-hak, his back against the wall with a terrified expression, and Chae Myeong-ho standing in front of him.

He was grabbing the other man’s collar with his right hand and stepping on his right foot with his left. He probably knew it was a prosthetic leg.

Was he doing that while knowing to inflict not just pain, but humiliation?

Taek-gyu, who followed me in, said, “This birdbrain is still soiling himself out of fear.”

Chae Myeong-ho finally recognized me and looked flustered.

“K-Kang Jin-hoo?”

I said as calmly as possible, “I’ll give you five seconds to explain what’s going on.”

Chae Myeong-ho looked utterly incredulous. I guess he wouldn’t have expected me to suddenly appear in this situation.

I didn’t expect to run into him like this again either.

I walked over to Kim Jae-hak. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m okay.”

Thankfully, it didn’t look like he had been hit.

I looked at Chae Myeong-ho and said, “Five seconds are up. We’ll head out for today, but I’ll see you later. You can look forward to what happens next.”

As I was leaving with Kim Jae-hak, Chae Myeong-ho shouted from behind.

“W-Wait a minute, Senior.”

I turned around and said, “Who’s your senior? Submit your resignation letter like you promised before, you bastard.”