ACTSV chapter 24

Since the boss knew it was hot today, he didn’t say anything about finishing work an hour early.

While Jingyeom was organizing the flyers he received, he wanted to get home quickly due to his dizzy head from the air conditioning.

“I’m heading out first.”

As Jingyeom bowed and said goodbye, Sanghoon quickly followed him.

“Are you going straight home today too?”

“Yeah. I’m going to rest a bit.”

“Oh… you said you were feeling dizzy, right?”

Sanghoon, who seemed to have something on his mind, cautiously opened his mouth as he observed Jingyeom’s reaction.

“You mentioned you need money, right? Do you need a lot?”

“It’s always better to have more money.”

“Then why are you working part-time with flyers? There are other options.”

“There are circumstances that make it hard for me to work long-term. So I chose something I could do for a short period. What about you?”

Their conversation continued naturally on the way to the bus stop. Usually, they would part ways in front of the shopping center, but today Sanghoon followed Jingyeom.

“I’m in a similar situation. I usually do other work, but I started this side job because it was feasible. …Jingyeom, since you’re like a younger sibling to me, I’ll let you in on something…”

Sanghoon leaned in closer. Jingyeom, feeling the heat, tried to distance himself but stayed still due to the surrounding noise and Sanghoon’s quiet whisper.

Sanghoon glanced around as if revealing a secret and spoke in a low voice.

“I’ve started a pretty good business recently. It’s a startup, and with a bit of initial capital, you can get it going. I’ve been at it for about two months… I recovered the initial capital this month and made an extra 400,000.”

“Wow…”

“I haven’t even told my closest friends about this…”

“Can you really share this with me?”

“Of course. My younger brother is in the military and is the same age as you. I’m thinking about him and I noticed you could use some money too, so I’m letting you know.”

Jingyeom looked up at Sanghoon with a wistful expression at the mention of his brother.

Even though Jinwoo wasn’t his real brother, Jingyeom didn’t want to make him suffer any more and wanted to work.

He wanted to do proper work if possible, but with the timing of his re-surgery coming up, he had no choice but to take on short-term part-time jobs.

Even though earning only 45,000 won a day wasn’t enough to pay off his debts or give Jinwoo a luxurious life, he could at least buy a nice dinner. For now, he was content with that.

He was steadily saving the money he earned from the Carrot Mart.

With the bank app now available, he could use his account for transactions, which allowed him to sell more shoes and clothes.

As a result, he had accumulated quite a bit of money in his account. He planned to give most of it to Jinwoo, keeping just a small amount for himself.

“How does that work? Can I do it too?”

“Of course. Although it requires some initial capital, you can recover it within a month or two and earn additional income like me. Instead of me explaining, I have someone who introduced me to this. Would you like to attend a lecture from them?”

“A lecture?”

“Yeah. A business lecture. Let’s go together after work tomorrow.”

Jingyeom smiled back at Sanghoon, who was grinning, and nodded in agreement.

*

Normally, Jingyeom would have kept his distance from Sanghoon and handed out flyers, but today they were sticking together.

For three hours, Sanghoon went on and on about the advantages of his business.

He mentioned how running his own business instills a sense of responsibility and assured that it was bound to succeed because the prospects were excellent.

Jingyeom, who had never considered starting a business himself, was more focused on something else.

Office workers.

From the dramas and movies he had seen, the sight of office workers in their suits every time Jinwoo went to work seemed subtly impressive.

Jingyeom strolled slowly through the towering buildings.

Even though lunchtime had passed, there were still many office workers on the streets.

If he passed the interview today, he might soon be one of those office workers, dressed in a suit, wearing an ID badge around his neck, and carrying a takeout cup they referred to as “life-giving water” instead of coffee.

Could it be that I’ll soon be an office worker too!

With an excited flutter in his heart, he quickly checked his watch.

Perhaps it was psychological, but his heart rate was normal.

“That building over there.”

Sanghoon’s finger pointed to a row of similar buildings. It was a complex where several companies were located.

If he had come alone, he might have been confused by the exterior, but he followed Sanghoon closely.

Since today was the day to listen to a business presentation, he had resolved his hunger with a tuna and vegetable porridge from a porridge shop before coming, hoping not to have his stomach growl during the meeting.

His stomach was full, and with the gentle breeze, it was a very pleasant day.

“The person who introduced me to this place is the Director. He’ll explain everything well.”

For some reason, Sanghoon seemed more excited than Jingyeom.

Moreover, he had just handed over a screenshot of his resume from a job application app when it was mentioned that a resume was needed.

Though he wondered if it was acceptable, he was told it was fine, so he sent it as is.

Sanghoon pressed the button for the 18th floor.

Jingyeom clutched his canvas bag tightly on his shoulder and then let it go.

Even though it was described as a lecture, he was still nervous, thinking of it as a sort of interview.

At their destination, there was a sign reading ‘HMTM Marketing.’

“This is it.”

As they cautiously opened the door, they saw quite a few people working inside.

Most of them were wearing headsets and talking while looking at their monitors.

It made sense since phone calls were a major part of the job.

Sanghoon, who had been here a few times, led Jingyeom to a man inside.

“Director, we’re here.”

“Oh, come in. The friend we talked about yesterday?”

“Yes. You saw the resume, right?”

“Yeah, I did.”

The man openly scanned Jingyeom from head to toe.

His gaze seemed evaluative.

But nervous Jingyeom could only take shallow breaths.

“Hello, I’m Baek Jingyeom.”

When Jingyeom bowed and greeted him, the man responded with a smiling face.

“Nice to meet you. Take him to the meeting room. I’ll join you soon.”

“Yes. Jingyeom, come this way.”

Sanghoon led Jingyeom to the meeting room set up inside the office.

The room with the long table was quite sparse.

It was Jingyeom’s first time in a meeting room, so he looked around, taking in the surroundings.

The staff members who were on the phone or handling office work exchanged glances.

As soon as Jingyeom and Sanghoon entered, they began whispering as if they had been waiting.

“Wasn’t the person coming today a man?”

“Yeah, he was a man…”

“He’s quite good-looking, isn’t he? Wow…”

Fortunately, the whispers did not reach the meeting room.

The man retrieved the resume and a file with a lengthy description of the company from the bookshelf.

Then he put his finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

“Everyone, keep quiet.”

The man who entered the conference room closed the door, sat down at the front, and set the documents he was holding on the table.

“Are you really twenty-four years old?”

“Yes.”

“You look quite young. I’d believe it if you said you were a student.”

Jingyeom didn’t know how to respond, so he glanced at Sanghoon before simply smiling.

The man smiled back and pushed the printout he had brought forward.

“I need to explain this, so is it okay if I move to the side?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Although there was plenty of room next to them, Jingyeom found it odd that he was asked, but he moved his chair to the side.

The interviewer, smiling, moved to the seat next to Jingyeom.

Sanghoon also moved his chair closer. They seemed to have been wedged into a tight space.

“You might have heard from Sanghoon, but… I’m this kind of person.”

The man pushed his business card in front of Jingyeom. The thick white card was engraved with [HMTM Marketing Sales Director Im Gipyo].

Im Gipyo spread out the printout so that Jingyeom could see it well and picked up a red pencil, as if he was going to draw a very neat circle.

“You know what our company does, right?”

“Yes, I heard it’s a network marketing company.”

“That’s right.”

He looked at Jingyeom as if he were a teacher who had just heard the correct answer from a student.

With a smiling face, he circled ‘HMTM Marketing’ written on the front page of the printout.

“Our main business is marketing, that is, sales.”

Jingyeom nodded. Im Gipyo’s smile grew wider.

“So what kind of sales do we do?”

The printout turned to the next page, showing a family tree-like diagram of people.

“Look here, this is you, Jingyeom.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You’re in the middle. Above you is Sanghoon.”

“Sanghoon hyung?”

“Yes. And below you, you see more people? These are the ones who will come under you.”

As the red line was drawn, Jingyeom’s eyes followed it.

“If you make sales here and people trust you and use our company’s products, you get a 10% incentive from that revenue.”

Im Gipyo continued explaining in the kindest voice he could, watching Jingyeom’s focused expression.

“So these people will also do the same sales, right? Then, 4% of the revenue generated there will go to you.”

“Wow…”

“Our job is simple. We have a company site where we sell products. Of course, you’ll also consult with people buying in bulk and negotiate prices. It’s easy, right?”

Jingyeom nodded as if spellbound.

“Moreover, all sales are done online, so you won’t have to meet customers in person.”

“So if the people I make sales to buy products from the site, I get 10%?”

“That’s right. You catch on quickly.”

“Since Sanghoon hyung brought me…”

“Then 4% of the sales of the products you buy will go to Sanghoon.”

Im Gipyo turned to the next page of the printout and showed a list of the items for sale.

Most were daily necessities, and there were also cosmetics and dietary supplements.

There was quite a variety.

“You might have seen these kinds of products in stores. They sell a lot.”

“Uh…”

Not being able to answer immediately because of some unfamiliar items, Im Gipyo hurriedly turned to the next page of the printout, where the profit structure was detailed.