Chapter 124: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (1)
Han-Yeol further discussed his plans with Sung-Jin’s father in detail.
Sung-Jin’s father was not helping Han-Yeol simply because he was his son’s friend or because he had saved his factory a few times. Well, it was a lie to say that those factors completely did not affect his decision, but the biggest reason was still the fact that Han-Yeol was an extremely famous Hunter now.
Sung-Jin’s father knew that his factory’s market isolation due to his relationship with the TK Group was going to greatly improve if he opened a company with a Hunter as famous as Han-Yeol. Simply put, a company owned by a famous Hunter was certainly going to be quite influential.
Besides, he was actually going to have a lot to gain by helping Han-Yeol, so there was no reason for him not to.
“Then, let us proceed as discussed,” Han-Yeol said.
“Sure, but don’t you want to draft a contract first?” Sung-Jin’s father asked in response.
“I think we can take that slowly. I don’t even have a company right now, so we don’t have to rush. Besides, I own fifty percent of Sung Jin Factory, so I doubt you are going to stab me in the back, right?”
“That’s true,” Sung-Jin’s father said and nodded in agreement.
He would have normally at least signed an MOU for now, then tried to get more favorable conditions when signing the contract later on. However, half of Sung Jin Factory already belonged to Han-Yeol, so there was no need to do such a thing. In fact, the new business venture was definitely going to be a huge advantage to Sung Jin Factory.
Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin’s father shook hands to informally finalize the deal.
***
Han-Yeol called a taxi after leaving Sung Jin Factory, and he went straight to a luxury car dealership nearby.
Ring…!
A classical chime rang after Han-Yeol opened the door. Most shops had already replaced the classical chime with something more modern and mechanical, but Han-Yeol still preferred the sound of the chime as he found it to be classier.
Han-Yeol had no way of knowing if it was a calculated move or not, but he couldn’t help feeling that the shop’s overall atmosphere went up a notch simply because of the chime alone.
“Welcome, my name is Yoo Jin-Ah and I will be assisting you today to the best of my abilities,” greeted a staffer who approached Han-Yeol the moment he stepped inside the showroom.
It was a recent trend to hire handsome or beautiful people regardless of their gender as a staffer, because having presentable salespersons was almost mandatory. It was not that there was an outright bias toward good-looking people, but good-looking and well-dressed salespeople definitely helped give customers a good impression.
For example, a customer was bound to be scared and would instinctively run away if a rough-looking burly and muscular man greeted them at the door. On the other hand, a customer was bound to be more inclined to make a purchase if the salesperson looked quite presentable.
There were some shops that employed tactics of matching a saleswoman with a male customer and a salesman with a female customer to boost sales.
Simply put, it was unavoidable for companies to prioritize hiring good-looking salespeople and employ various sales tactics, especially since it was going to directly affect their business. Even if they ended up being criticized for their actions, companies were unlikely to stop using such a tactic to boost sales.
“I will be in your care then,” Han-Yeol replied with a slight bow.
“Do you have a specific model or brand you are looking for? Or would you like me to give you a brief introduction of what we have available?” the saleswoman, Jin-Ah, asked.
Most salespeople at normal car dealerships would not even bother explaining everything one by one as they found it bothersome. One could not really blame them since most normal dealerships had over one hundred models in their catalog, and explaining every single model was going to take a very long time.
However, this dealership was different in the sense that they did not possess a lot of models and most of their models were quite expensive. They were going to get a much bigger profit from selling a single vehicle compared to a normal dealership, so they did not mind having to explain, even if they had to do it for the whole day, as long as they made a sale.
“Hmm… I need a car that is sturdy and can be used daily,” Han-Yeol said.
“Oh, then I suggest that you visit the domestic brand across the street instead…” Jin-Ah replied while thinking that Han-Yeol had come to the wrong place by mistake.
The cheapest car in the showroom was worth two hundred million won, so these were not cars that one could drive without a care.
However…
“No, I want the most expensive car you have in your showroom,” Han-Yeol replied.
“Huh…? Excuse me…?” Jin-Ah was taken aback by his response.
She had clearly heard him ask for a daily use car that he did not have to be too careful with. She now wondered why he was suddenly asking for the most expensive car in the showroom.
‘Is he looking down on our dealership?’?she grumbled inwardly.
The dealership possessed quite an impressive fleet in this showroom, and the most expensive car in their inventory that they could immediately sell was worth an impressive five billion won.
‘So that’s how you want to play it? Let me teach you a lesson. Hmpf!’?she thought with a smirk.
Jin-Ah might just be an ordinary salesperson, but she was quite loyal to her company. She could stand being ridiculed by rude customers, shrugging it off as the rant of a bad customer, but she could not put up with anybody looking down on the company she worked for.
“I understand. Please allow me to guide you this way, dear customer-nim,” she said.
“Sure,” Han-Yeol replied.
He nonchalantly followed Jin-Ah toward another section that had numerous luxurious sports cars displayed.
The other salespeople in the showroom looked on with envy while Jin-Ah the saleswoman brought Han-Yeol to the luxury corner.
Salespeople received a portion of the price of the vehicle they sold as an incentive. Jin-Ah was bringing Han-Yeol to where the cheapest vehicle cost more than one billion won, so she was going to earn a hefty sum upon managing to sell a single vehicle.
However, they were forced to mind their own business as the chime rang again.
Ring…!
“Welcome!”
A female customer walked in this time, and a salesman walked up to her.
Jin-Ah asked Han-Yeol, “Are you looking for any specific models?”
“Hmm… I’m looking for a sports car with a powerful engine and a classic Italian feel. One that is just like the F Company models,” Han-Yeol replied.
“Excellent choice!” Jin-Ah exclaimed before proceeding to introduce the models available to him.
Han-Yeol could not help but be in awe while listening to the saleswoman introducing the different models. He did not know much about luxury sports cars, and the only time he had ever seen any was on the road or in a car park.
While listening to the introductions, he was amazed by how intricately these machines were crafted. He could not help but be impressed by the aura the different sports cars were exuding.
‘Demon Eyes.’?Han-Yeol even used his skill while inspecting the luxury vehicles just in case any of them exuded mana as well.
The saleswoman eagerly explained every single bit about the cars on display while Han-Yeol looked around with his skill.
‘Sigh… He’s only looking around. He’s not even touching the cars… I guess today is a bust again. I guess I should manage my disappointment and think of this as practice for the next customer…’?Jin-Ah sighed inwardly.
However, she was not disheartened. After all, this was a common occurrence in this showroom. There were a lot of people who visited this showroom as it was one of the well-stocked ones in the country, but their heavy traffic of customers did not always translate into sales.
Most of the people who visited the showroom often pretended to be interested buyers even though they had only come to do some window shopping. In fact, almost all of them would say that they would think about it before leaving and never to return again.
It was common to see people driving supercars worth hundreds of millions of won, but it was quite rare to see someone driving a supercar worth more than a billion won. The reason was that South Korea did not have that many wealthy people compared to other developed countries.
“This vehicle is from B Company. Ten of this model have been imported into the country, with nine already sold. This is the last remaining one. It is quite expensive, so not a lot of people can muster the courage to buy it on the spot,” Jin-Ah explained.
“I see…” Han-Yeol muttered.
“These are all of the cars we have in our showroom, so I will be ending my tour here. Did any of them catch your eye by any chance?” she courteously asked.
“Oh…” he muttered once again.
‘He’s probably going to say that he will come back next time,’?Jin-Ah thought.
Since that was a common occurrence here, she had dealt with so many such customers that she did not even have to second guess her gut feeling.
However, she underestimated her customer this time as Han-Yeol had recently developed the hobby of spending money, and he had been looking for something to throw his cash to.
“Then…”
“Yes, customer-nim?”
“I’ll buy one of every model you have in this showroom.”
“Of course, you may go and think about… Huh? WHAT?!” Jin-Ah screamed in shock.
She was so surprised that she was momentarily dazed and had been rendered speechless.
“Excuse me? I said I want to buy one of every sports car model you have in this showroom,” Han-Yeol repeated.
“A-Are you sure, customer-nim? Are you really going to purchase one of every model in this showroom…?” Jin-Ah asked in response while stuttering.
“Yes, is there a problem?” Han-Yeol asked.
While looking at the saleswoman in a strange manner, he wondered, ‘Do they have a limit per customer or something?’
“N-No, not at all. I-I will immediately work on it so shall we go to our office?”
“Sure.”
For the first time in her four years of working here, Jin-Ah felt stunned by a customer.
There had been quite a lot of times in the first three years that she worked here that she had been taken aback by either an unruly customer or a rich customer, but she eventually got used to them. She soon stopped batting an eyelid in those situations.
Due to that reason, her colleagues had given her all sorts of nicknames such as viper, witch, etc., and talked ill about her behind her back. Still, her resilience, level-headedness, and ability to listen attentively to everything a customer said helped her become the highest-grossing salesperson in this branch.
However, even with all her experience, she had lost her composure and had been rendered speechless by the customer in front of her.
‘W-Who is this? This is on a whole new level!’?
This was probably the first time that a customer had ever made a bulk purchase of luxury supercars in history.
Jin-Ah immediately assisted Han-Yeol to the VVIP room. Of course, it went without saying that the other salespeople in the showroom had witnessed the entire scene.
‘What? The VVIP room?’
‘I don’t remember seeing that customer before, but he is already a VVIP?’
‘What the heck? Did he buy that car from B Company?’
‘Argh! I’m so jealous!’
‘How the hell does she sell so many cars?’
The salesmen looked on with envy, but none of them could do anything about it. The dealership had a strict rule that a saleswoman should be the one dealing with a male customer and vice versa at all times, so Han-Yeol was not someone they could have attended to.
‘Ah… It’s that bitch again…’
‘She’s so fucking lucky…’
However, the other saleswomen were different. They were already pissed at Jin-Ah for always being compared to her all the time, but the fact that she had managed to snag a VVIP customer further widened the gap between them. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it.
It was against company policy to try and snatch a customer away from another salesperson. Also, it was not going to give a good impression to the customer if they saw the salespeople bickering among themselves.
“Please have a seat here,” Jin-Ah said after guiding Han-Yeol to a luxurious-looking sofa.
“Oh, thank you.”
“Would you like tea or coffee? We have the best ones available here.”
“Hmm… I’ll go with coffee then. No sugar or syrup, just black, please.”
“Yes, I will prepare it immediately.”
Jin-Ah opened the cupboard in the VVIP room and retrieved a can of Luwak Coffee. This coffee was the second most expensive coffee in the world, and it was also known as the best coffee among Koreans.
At first, the VVIP room had been stocked with the Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha?coffee from Panama. This coffee also known as ‘Geisha’ was the most expensive coffee in the world. However, not a lot of the VVIP customers were familiar with it, so they had decided to change it to the better-known Luwak Coffee.
“This is Luwak Coffee,” Jin-Ah said as she placed a cup in front of Han-Yeol.
Slurp…!
“Wow, this is indeed the real thing. I’m not sure if it’s because you guys deal with luxury supercars, but your service is excellent. Hmm… It would have been better if you served Geisha?instead, but I have that at home, so it doesn’t really matter,” Han-Yeol said casually.
Han-Yeol might be oblivious to brands and luxury goods, but he could not pass up on his desire to drink the world’s best coffee after earning so much money. He loved coffee more than anything else in the world. Although, he had only asked Albert to buy him the most expensive coffee instead of actually knowing what he wanted.
‘Wow… He even knows what the Geisha is?’?Jin-Ah was impressed and surprised for the second time today.
After all, she was the one who had asked the management to replace the Geisha with Luwak in the VVIP room.
Follow current novels on (f)reew𝒆bnovel