CH27

I was in my office, eyes closed, leaning back on the sofa, lost in thought.

"Maru, can you please sit still? You're making me anxious."

"Are you calm? It's been almost a week since you sent the money. Why haven't we heard from him?"

Maru was pacing back and forth, fidgeting restlessly.

The post office had said the express delivery would arrive in three days, and it had been a week since then. We hadn't heard from Park Jong-bum since his last call confirming he had received the 470 million won.

"Let's wait. He must be busy."

"Since when were you so patient? Ugh, I can't sit still. I'm going to go work outside."

Maru abruptly stood up and left the office. Silence descended upon the room.

"Sigh, this is frustrating."

I wasn't feeling any better. The money was already out of my hands, and all I could do was trust Park Jong-bum.

Various scenarios flashed through my mind, but none of them felt certain.

"Ah, I can't focus on work if I keep worrying about this. I should go and do something."

Just then, a shiver ran down my spine, and my intuition tingled. At the same time, my cell phone started ringing.

I swallowed nervously and answered the call.

"Hello?"

—Sir, it's Team Leader Park.

I tried to sound casual.

"Team Leader Park, I was getting worried because you haven't been in touch."

—I'm sorry for not contacting you sooner. Things have been very hectic here.

"Anyway, how did things go with the smelter? I'm dying of curiosity."

—Sir, I'm sorry.

My heart sank, but I held back and asked,

"What are you sorry about?"

—They're only offering a one-year exclusivity contract. It's a shame.

Fireworks exploded in my head.

We agreed to discuss the details after Team Leader Park returned to Korea. And so began the discarded circuit board business in earnest.

"From now on, we're focusing all our efforts on collecting boards. The price is increased to 200 won per kg."

I summoned Maru and the first batch of employees who had been assigned to the branches to Seoul.

"All of you are being promoted to branch managers. Your salaries will also increase. So prioritize collecting boards. Now, look closely. This is a computer motherboard, a memory module, a CPU…"

After explaining about the boards for a while, I said,

"I know you're not familiar with boards. So write the names on them, take ten of each type to your branches, and distribute them to your employees."

The Chungcheong-do branch manager raised his hand.

"What should we do if we come across boards other than the samples you gave us?"

"Buy them all. The price for any board not shown here is fixed at 100 won per kg. If they're mixed, adjust the price accordingly, 150 won or 130 won, based on the ratio. Assistant Manager Lee, bring me what I asked for."

Assistant Manager Lee struggled to carry in stacks of paper with printed photos of boards.

"Distribute these to the junkyards. Tell them we're buying anything that looks similar to these. Come on, what are you waiting for? Let's get moving!"

***

"Oh, Team Leader Park, welcome back! I was waiting so anxiously."

"You're making me blush with such a warm welcome."

I hugged Team Leader Park tightly and went into the office with him and Maru.

"We can't have a celebration like this without soju. We have makgeolli and soju, so drink whatever you like."

"Sir, it's the middle of the day."

"Come on, Team Leader Park, when else will we get to drink during the day? Let's have a drink and talk."

We filled our glasses and toasted.

"I'm dying to know. What did the smelter say?"

Team Leader Park took out a pamphlet from his briefcase and placed it on the table.

"This is the pamphlet the Japanese smelter's salespeople are using."

The pamphlet was entirely in Japanese, but the photos and illustrations were self-explanatory.

"Boards, IC chips, electronic components, and… gold!"

"Yes, gold. They're saying they have the technology to extract gold from boards, so we should supply them with our boards."

"Is this smelter reliable?"

"It's one of the top smelters in Japan."

I nodded vigorously and asked,

"How much gold is actually in the boards?"

"On average, a motherboard, after removing the heatsink, plastic frame, and other components, assuming it has a CPU, can yield at least 1 gram of gold per kilogram."

"1 gram? That's 10,000 won in gold value alone. Good. This is much better than I expected. How do they want to handle the transactions?"

"They said we should collect similar types of boards, remove as much foreign material as possible, shred them, and deliver them. They'll take samples from various batches, and based on the gold content, they'll make a 70% upfront payment. The remaining 30% will be paid after the smelting process is complete and they've confirmed the final yield of gold, silver, and copper."

"I see. It's a reasonable system, considering the final yield might differ from the initial samples."

I smiled and took a sip of soju, and Team Leader Park suddenly said in a serious tone,

"But the boards aren't the main point. The real value is in the IC chips and CPUs attached to the boards. Most of the gold in the boards comes from the semiconductor integrated circuits inside these chips."

He pointed at a diagram of an IC chip in the pamphlet and continued explaining.

"So what are these semiconductor integrated circuits? You know those semiconductor factories you see on TV, with workers in white suits and round wafers with grid patterns? Have you seen them?"

I had seen them.

"I think I saw them during the national anthem on TV."

Maru clapped his hands, as if remembering something.

"Right, I've seen those scientists in white suits working with machines during the national anthem."

Park Jong-bum nodded.

"That's it. That's where the gold comes from. And most of the companies that manufacture those semiconductor integrated circuits and the IC chips that use them are large corporations in Korea."

My eyes gleamed.

"Are you suggesting…"

"That's right. It's time to target the electronic components from large corporations. And the conditions are perfect. Electronic scrap is usually collected by large junkyards for a disposal fee due to environmental concerns, and then sent to incineration or landfill companies. But we're offering to pay for it. And most importantly…"

Team Leader Park tapped a document he took out from his briefcase.

"We're the only company with a contract with a renowned Japanese smelter. No worries about technology leaks! We'll safely escort your scrap to the furnace. We're a specialized electronic scrap company, not some shady junkyard or incineration company. Doesn't it sound appealing?"

"Wahahahahahaha!"

I laughed so hard that the building shook.

"This is amazing. Absolutely amazing. I'm already scared of what you'll ask for once this project takes off, Team Leader Park."

Park Jong-bum grinned.

"Well, those Chunha Trading shares look very appetizing."

"Have another drink first."

I poured him a glass of soju and said,

"Don't worry. Once we get this project rolling, I'll definitely give you what you deserve. Then we'll be family."

"Family, you say. So the other employees aren't family?"

"Of course not. Family, in my definition, is a relationship built on shared interests. Does a wife get jealous when her husband earns a lot of money? The opposite is true as well."

I emptied my soju glass and continued,

"But I can't just keep saying I'll give you shares and make you wait indefinitely. Let's set a deadline. How about when we make our first delivery to the Japanese smelter and see the results? We'll have a better idea of the potential profit then. What do you think?"

Team Leader Park agreed.

"Alright, waiting that long is nothing."

"Then let's finish these drinks and go for round two! My treat!"

"Damn it, was that too reckless?"

After that day's work, I immediately started researching domestic semiconductor manufacturers. The first one I targeted was Sasung Semiconductor.

Their factory was located in Giheung, relatively close, so I headed there without thinking.

"Get out of here. You can't just barge in like that."

"But I have a great offer for the person in charge of waste disposal."

"Then make an appointment. Do you think this is a neighborhood store?"

"Can you at least call him for me? Please?"

"Get out. Get out. We don't do business with small-time junkyards."

I was kicked out by the security guard at the entrance. I had been acting like a big shot, running a large company, but I was suddenly reminded that I was just a junkyard owner.

I had never been turned away at the door like this, not even in the early days of my junkyard business.

The security guard glared at me, so I made a tactical retreat.

When I returned to the company, I saw Park Jong-bum entering the office with slumped shoulders.

"Team Leader Park, weren't you supposed to go to Yeondae Electronics? How did it go?"

Park Jong-bum sighed and said,

"I was treated like a peddler and kicked out."

"Damn it."

What was the point of coming up with a great plan if they wouldn't even meet with me?

"We need to change our approach. If they want an appointment, we'll make an appointment."

***

"Wait a minute! Just listen to me…"

Beep-beep-beep-beep.

This was ridiculous. They hung up as soon as they heard the words "waste" and "disposal."

It wasn't just Sasung Electronics, it was all the companies.

"Hey! At least listen to what I have to say before hanging up!"

"This isn't working, sir. They don't even want to hear us out."

"This is driving me crazy. They should at least listen and decide whether it's beneficial or not. How can they just hang up without even listening?"

They did transfer me to the person in charge of waste disposal when I asked for them.

But as soon as I mentioned our company name and started talking about waste, they hung up.

Maru, who was sitting next to me, suddenly raised his hand.

"Hyung, maybe it's like what we did in the beginning. We bribed the people in charge of waste disposal at those companies, right? Maybe they're doing the same thing."

It hit me like a ton of bricks. The amount of waste generated by large corporations was enormous, so the competition for it was fierce. It was inevitable that bribery would be involved in this cutthroat world.

"I didn't think of that. What should we do? If there's already bribery going on, it'll be incredibly difficult to break into their network."

Park Jong-bum said dejectedly,

"Maybe we started too aggressively? There are mid-sized and small companies that manufacture IC chips and boards using integrated circuits. Maybe we should start with them and work our way up?"

I said in a firm voice,

"No, we can't. We do have a one-year exclusivity contract, but that's only for Korean companies. There are junkyards in Japan too. I don't think it's likely, but Japanese junkyards could come to Korea and collect the scrap. And other Japanese smelters could develop their own urban mining technology."

"Then what should we do?"

I thought for a moment and said,

"Fax. Yes, let's send them a fax. We'll summarize everything on one page: how we'll handle the disposal, the price we're willing to pay, and the fact that we have a contract with a Japanese smelter. We'll bypass the waste disposal staff. If we're lucky, it might catch the eye of their superiors. I don't know if it'll work, but let's try it."