Corporate Villain
Copyright© 2025 by K.W
Chapter 21
“Have you arrived at work, Director? Good morning.”
“Indeed. Good morning.”
Secretary Joo Dong-jin.
As if he had been waiting just for my arrival, he reported that about 30 minutes ago, there had been a call from the Madrid branch.
“The branch manager there wants to connect with you regarding the olive farm re-contracting matter. He asked to convey the message once you arrived.”
“Alright, I’ll call them. Dong-jin, please see to your duties.”
Entering the office, I first set down my briefcase on the desk and turned on the computer monitor.
While it was booting up, I took off my jacket, hung it up, and then took out my phone.
Sending Chief Oh Ji-won there is already showing its effects.
The branch manager hasn’t left the office yet at this hour?
I dialed the Madrid branch manager’s number and, once I heard the dial tone, switched to speakerphone.
-Yes, Director. I’ve taken your call.
“You called?”
-Yes.
“If it was urgent, why didn’t you just call me directly?”
It was proof they were wary of me.
Even if it were the branch manager’s grandfather, if it was important, he would still be stuck in the office at this hour.
But to start questioning old organizational practices means they’ve only just realized who I am, the person who sent Chief Oh Ji-won there as soon as the olive farm re-contracting issue arose.
When the issue first came up, he wasn’t someone who rigidly stuck to procedures.
He would have called me directly.
-Today, or rather, yesterday in Korean time, I met with the olive farm owners.
His voice carried a pride as if he had accomplished something significant.
-Going straight from 3.3 to 4.5 euros is too much, even considering the overall inflation rate. After maintaining a good partnership for four years of a five-year contract, suddenly doing this doesn’t seem right, so I strongly conveyed our stance.
“Yes, and?”
-We both made some concessions, and I proposed extending the contract for five years at 4 euros per liter. They said they would consider it positively.
“Yes.”
-Of course, even at 4 euros, there will be a considerable loss on our margin, but that can be covered by adjusting consumer prices, can’t it?
“Are you telling me there’s such a method, or are you asking if it’s okay to proceed that way?”
For a brief moment, a stifled groan came through the phone.
“Adjusting the consumer unit price and passing the marginal burden we should bear onto the consumers could also be a method, as the branch manager suggested. But if we were to do that, why not just give the full 4.5 euros they asked for? Why propose to lower it to 4 euros in such a petty manner by cutting 50 cents?”
-···
“How does that strongly convey our position, Daeyoung’s stance, to the farm owners? It seems to me that instead of conveying a position, you were pleading for a price reduction.”
-But Director, even if we look at the margins from the Alentejo region of Portugal, which produces a similar volume to Andalusia, the current standard is over 3.5 euros per liter. Considering the cost of living and wages are different, yet Portugal still achieves a unit price of 3.5 euros, we must agree that 4 euros is an acceptable margin for us.
“Alentejo olives. I’m not sure which farm you’re basing this on, but do they have a client who purchases the entire output like we do?”
-···
“Aren’t they all small-scale clients who take less than 10 tons each? That’s what I understand about Alentejo. Guaranteed minimum volume. We take over 700 to 800 tons annually, and we even blend all the olives from every farm to standardize the taste and perform the cold pressing ourselves. It’s not a fair comparison. If we must compare, it should be based on product quality, not margins. Don’t you agree?”
I couldn’t help but ask.
“Whose side are you on, Branch Manager? Are you working from Daeyoung’s perspective, or are you on the side of the farm owners?”
I fully understand.
The branch manager must be in a situation where he can neither do this nor that.
Right after being assigned to Madrid, he had to clean up the mess left by the previous manager, secure the necessary projects for the branch’s operation, and normalize the secured projects. He must have been overwhelmed.
He probably hasn’t even properly looked at the olive farm’s re-contracting, which is still a year away, only thinking it’s something that naturally needs to be done when the time comes.
If I didn’t like the projects the current branch manager initiated after moving there, would I have any reason to pressure him this much?
I could just replace him.
But from what I see, the current branch manager definitely knows how to work.
If we can remove the sly part, he might be just the person I need right now.
That’s why I’m showing him who I am.
I don’t want to say it twice, I don’t want to explain myself through tiresome words.
-So, what’s your bottom line, Director?
“Branch Manager.”
-Yes, Director.
“They say they’ll raise it from 3.3 to 4.5 euros per liter. That’s a loss of 1.2 euros. Is that 1.2 euros significant?”
No.
At most, it’s about 1800 Korean won.
Considering the consumer price of the finished product we’ve measured, it’s a loss within an acceptable range.
As the branch manager said, we can raise the consumer price a bit more.
After all, the extra virgin olive oil we’re currently distributing under our own brand is positioned as a high-end concept, priced at 25,900 Korean won for a 280ml bottle.
Olive oil is a category where we’re making more than ten times the profit.
No matter the category, when you attach ‘high-end’ to it, assuming that product power, promotion, and marketing are supported, the higher the price, the more the sales increase.”
“Even if I were to raise the price by 2 euros instead of 1.2, if the situation calls for it, we must continue the project without giving up, matching the price. But the problem lies in the incorrect method of renegotiating the margins.”
On the other end of the phone, the branch manager was silently listening.
“Without being able to articulate a concrete reason for the margin increase, you focused on the impact it would have on the Madrid branch if the re-contracting fails? Wasn’t it them who brought it up first, not our branch crying for understanding?”
- ... Yes.
“That’s what you call an abuse of power, Mr. Branch Manager. Where in the world do you get bullied into submission when you’re the one paying for goods? The headquarters didn’t establish a branch with such a huge investment just to endure that.”
-...
“If the partner is only of that level, do we have any reason to continue the project with them?”
-But, Director...
“If it were my own business, of course, I’d have to proceed. I’d kneel and beg, appease them in any way to carry on. But we are conducting business under the name of Daeyoung. They are currently abusing their power against Daeyoung. Are we to promote those who, while receiving a salary from Daeyoung, bully Daeyoung? I cannot do that.”
After taking a breath, he continued.
“We still have a year left. There’s also the volume we need to receive. Tell the farmers that the headquarters is quite regretful of the situation, and unless they say something special first, do not contact them.”
- ... Yes.
“I will personally go over and finalize the re-contracting myself.”
-The Director himself?
“Yes.”
-When might you be coming?
“After the wedding, I plan to bring the executive director and head over there immediately.”
-You don’t mean to say you’re coming here for your honeymoon?
“Yes, I’ve decided to spend my once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon there. To also see the wine-related matters in person. I trust you’ll prepare so that the decision made by me and the executive director won’t be regretted.”
Snap!
“Wow!”
At the home stadium of Daeyoung Monsters, in the skybox’s exclusive parking area.
Is the second inning underway by now?
Seems like there’s a lot of traffic.
It took me over an hour to get here, caught in the Friday evening rush.
I was waiting for the executive director, puffing on my e-cigarette in the car.
Tap. Tap.
At the owner’s skybox request, several front staff members had already come out to the parking space early to prepare for Executive Kang Moon-jung’s arrival.
While keeping an eye on them, I was puffing on a cigarette when, unbeknownst to me, Club Owner Kang Cheol-jin tapped on the car window.
Startled by his unexpected presence, I hadn’t realized he would come down personally.
Kang Cheol-jin, the club owner.