Chapter 123
“Promoting the franchise is also important. We have to make sure that the first thought people have when they hear of KO.VE.dream is Korea and Vietnam.”
What’s more important was the credibility of the franchise.
Any product with the brand name “KO.VE. dream” should be recognized as reliable. Hence, it was important to select the right companies to be included in the KO.VE.dream list.
Sungwoo asked, “How can we select the right companies? As you know, we don’t have the ability to test anything here.”
“Well, we can have the presidents in Vietnam test the products. I think we have to select companies with the great technical ability like N&C first, and then let them choose other companies with technical reputation.”
It was a good idea. As owners of their own factories, they had a better eye for the product quality of other companies, and as they would be in the same boat, they would have to be very careful when selecting new partners to join the franchise.
When Sungwoo remained silent, Sungrak cautiously continued, “When should I fly to Vietnam, and with whom?”
“Real Film will send a camera crew to Vietnam sooner or later. You can go there with Juhwan. Prepare your passports and be ready. Let me let you know as soon as you have the specific schedule.”
At this news, Junhwan’s eyes were wide. Unlike Sungrak, he was fully surprised about his upcoming trip to Vietnam.
“Can you tell me around when I can go there?”
“You’ll be going in two weeks at the latest. Both of you need to immediately apply for a passport.”
“Okay,” said Sungrak in a dejected voice. It was a bit disappointing to Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo felt a young man’s biggest source of excitement was a reckless challenge. A young man should have curiosity, not fear when he meets with a stranger and steps into the new world. In that respect, he liked Juhwan’s attitude much better. His face was full of thrill.
As soon as he had lunch, Sungwoo left for Kwangju, saying he had an appointment, and Hyunwoo headed straight back home.
There were several strangers in his house, one man in his early 50s and several middle-aged women who looked younger than him.
They were talking with his mother, who had a serious look on her face.
When Hyunwoo arrived, she felt relieved and introduced him to the guests.
“He’s my son. You had better discuss it with him.”
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Ahn Sunwoo, and I’m a teacher at Ansan High School. And these are members of Jamohoe, the mother’s association of Ansan High School.”
Hyunwoo could immediately figure out why they were here, Hummmmm... he did it, after all.
Hyunwoo’s prediction was correct. They were there because of the recent food poisoning incident.
Sunwoo had a long explanation, but his point was simple. He said his school would offer a snack bar option in the school, so Hyunwoo’s mother could supply quality snacks to the students. At a glance, one might think it was a good opportunity to make money, but it was not.
Hyunwoo already had a bitter experience with that before. Doing business with a school while working as an employee of an event host company was really tough for Hyunwoo.
First, it was difficult to make a profit. How could he make the students pay more than they would at the snack houses outside the school?
Second, there was enormous pressure from the school. When there was a school event, they used to ask for something by saying ” why don’t you contribute?”
Third, the mother’s association of the school was a tough presence.
If Hyunwoo’s mother agreed to open a snack bar in the school, she had to deal with all of those headaches. Hyunwoo didn’t hesitate to reject the teacher’s offer.
“Sorry, we can’t do it.”
Hyunwoo made the decision by himself, and his mother Han Jisook didn’t care.
Sunwoo was put on the spot by Hyunwoo’s sudden decision because he had an order from the principal that he should get Hyunwoo’s approval unconditionally.
Sunwoo quickly called Hyunwoo’s mentor, Oh Suyoung, the janitor at Hyunwoo’s company Aurum.
A little later Suyoung picked up the phone, “How are you, sir? This is Ahn Sunwoo, a teacher with Ansan High School. I’m here at Hyunwoo’s Mom’s factory.”
“Oh, are you? Great place, isn’t it?”
Sunwoo explained to him about the situation at the moment and asked him to persuade Hyunwoo. He grinned at that.
Sunwoo was openly asking Suyoung for the favor in the presence of Hyunwoo and his mother.
Suyoung gladly accepted Sunwoo’s request.
When Hyunwoo picked up the phone, Suyoung tried to persuade him hard, saying “This is for the benefits of the students’ safety.’
This time Hyunwoo was put on the spot. He could not reject his mentor’s request right away.
“Yes, sir. Let me tell my mother about your request well.”
“This is my special request, Hyunwoo. Please give it a positive thought for the students.”
“Yes, sir.”
After the call, Hyunwoo scratched his head, looking at Sunwoo who was waiting for his reply with some hopeful expectation.
Sunwoo tried to persuade him again, “Students are the future of this country.”
In fact, supplying good food for the students exposed to bad food is a good thing.
As long as he could make the minimal profits, that would be fine with him.
No matter how hard he thought about it, however, Hyunwoo dared not to do it.
The biggest headache was that he would need a lot of staff. Not only to make the snacks but also in managing the sales and he couldn’t afford to hire just for the brief breakfast sale in the morning.
Of course, he could think of using the students to do the job.
When Hyunwoo thought as far as that, a great idea suddenly came to his mind.
With sparkling eyes, Hyunwoo looked at Sunwoo and said, “I can supply the food with one condition.”
“What is that?”
“Your students should sell the food for themselves.”
“Our students?”
Nodding his head, Hyunwoo explained, “What your school and Jamohoe want is not the food supplied by my mother’s factory. They want safe food, right?”
“Yes, you’re right.”
“What’s important is to make the snack houses receptive to their request for the sanitary inspection. Don’t you think all I can do is to create such an environment?”
“That would be the ideal solution.”
“Got it. Please get the names of those students willing to volunteer to sell. If there are no volunteers, let me know and I will try to find them.”
One of the middle-aged women was still not persuaded, but Hyunwoo explained in a calm manner, “If any student sells safe snacks with the approval of the school, most of the students will trust and buys the snacks. The snack houses will certainly feel threatened. They will have no choice but to accept the proposal of the mother’s association for sanitary inspection.”
It was really a good suggestion, but there was one headache.
“We have only 15 days to go before the winter break. Don’t you think the owners of the snack houses will try to stand their ground until then?”
“Well, you just let out a rumor subtly that if they don’t take action, the students will set up snack bars right inside the school.”
“What a fantastic idea!”
Everyone praised his idea.
And even Hyunwoo’s mother supported it, “We can’t do business like this for profits. Let me supply food only at the price of food ingredients, not for any profits.”
Sunwoo and the middle-aged women all grinned from ear to ear at that, but Hyunwoo and his mother felt a bit heavy.
It was not because they couldn’t make profits.
Actually, Hyunwoo wanted to go big but had to give it up because of his mother’s opposition.
He was thinking of expanding this kind of school snack house to other schools across the country.
It was simple. Reporters were usually crazy about two things: stories that could impress or illicit empathy from the readers.
School snack business belonged to the latter.
If Hyunwoo tipped the press off on this, not only the local press but also big broadcasting companies would scramble to cover and report about it.
In some respects, it could be a bigger event than the Dream Team’s castor project.
If the report on the school snack houses was aired, every school around the country would try to imitate Ansan High School and its mother’s association, and the sanitation standards of the snack bars near schools would naturally improve.
The problem was that not all the schools in Ansan would ask Hyunwoo’s mother to supply the food. No matter how cheaply other snack houses sold food, their price could not be cheaper than that of the food supplied by Hyunwoo’s mother at its cost of production.
By nature, she could not reject the request from all the schools across the country.
After all, she was destined to bear all the burden.
No matter how good the purpose was, Hyunwoo could not let his mother get into hot water.
Hyunwoo cautiously asked Sunwoo a favor, “Please don’t tell anything about this to the press.”
Sunwoo showed an expression that seemed to shout, “Ah!”.
Actually, Sunwoo didn’t think about contacting the press at all.
Hearing it from Hyunwoo, however, Sunwoo seemed to have decided it was a good idea to promote the school snack program through the press.
Hyunwoo grimaced, Damn it! I wish I just kept my mouth shut.
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