chapter 4
[Episode 4] Future Poetry
There was a saying, ‘To find a forklift driver is to pick the stars in the sky’.
It was difficult and arduous work, and it required skill.
No young people came to learn such a thing.
Like Siwoo Lee, unless his father is a junk dealer, he doesn’t even have a chance to learn.
There were fewer and fewer manpower available to work.
Therefore, the pay of the knights was quite strong.
Almost at the level of a head of a large corporation.
Nevertheless, their existence was well worth the money.
“Thank you, knight.”
“I do it if I can be a force. Thanks again for accepting me, boss.”
“Please feel free to speak in private.”
Kang Pil-joong said in awkward respectful words.
It wasn’t awkward at all to be respectful to someone who was always talking nonsense.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t keep talking nonsense to Siwoo Lee.
Now he was the boss of this junk shop, and he deserved to be treated like that.
However, contrary to Kang’s intention, Siwoo Lee was uncomfortable.
I was grateful to Kang Pil-jung, who came to ask me to let him stay like this, and I didn’t want to be overbearing with him.
“Is that okay?”
“sure.”
In response to his carefully asked question, Siwoo nodded his head.
Kang Pil-joong was a person who knew enough to distinguish between public and private.
He speaks so comfortably now, but he was the one who spoke politely in public again.
“It makes me feel better when you do that.”
“Then I’ll talk comfortably except when I’m working.”
“yes.”
“therefore? When do you plan to reopen the junkyard?”
“Well, when the change of CEO is finished by the end of this week, I will do it then.”
Si-Woo Lee remembered the conversation he had with Woo-Chul Shin yesterday.
He promised to deal with the change of CEO as quickly as possible.
Therefore, Si-woo Lee believed that the problem would be resolved by the end of next week at the latest.
“Isn’t it okay if I open the door before I become the CEO?”
“Nevertheless. I’m just going to take one more week off. What’s more, I got a notice that The-K was going to stop trading. So I have to find a new business partner… Let’s start with the important things first.”
“The Kay? Seriously, they’re like children who don’t care. But do you know that too? They said they were going to work as director Jang and The K. I was offered an offer to be a forklift driver there, but I said no. I don’t want to see that person’s face again.”
Jang Seong-woo.
He was truly a man of no end.
How do you pick only the things that make you so angry?
But on the other hand, there was something strange about it.
The reason why Si-woo Lee hates Seong-woo Jang is that this place of business belongs to his father.
However, I couldn’t think of any particular reason why Kang Pil-joong, an ordinary employee, disliked Jang Seong-woo.
“Why the knight?”
“Ugh, I don’t work, I just call every day, and see how much heat I get when I see them nagging. The same goes for a writer who doesn’t have the ability to believe in the boss’s halo and run wild.”
After all, people’s thoughts were there.
Or Jang Seong-wu is the one who is always annoying.
It was a passage that showed how badly he had a bad reputation at work.
“okay.”
“The train is also open-ended… Because I was a person who hated working without thinking, well. Even as my boss, I still don’t understand why the boss wrapped up the director so much.”
That part also coincided with Siwoo Lee.
I only expected that it would be difficult to shake off the friendship of 10 years.
“It must have been because we had been together for so many years.”
“Anyway, I wish you all the best in the future. Oh, and Mr. Park and Mun-seok will come back too. They’ll come if I ask you to join me. Don’t worry too much and just focus on running the junkyard.”
“Really?”
It was a way to solve the problem of severance pay, which I was worried about right away.
Of course, there was a salary for the employees, but it was an amount that had to be accepted from the perspective of running a junk shop.
“If it wasn’t for director Jang, I wouldn’t have applied for resignation in the first place. I should have listened to your doctor first and decided, I’m sorry.”
As if he was really sorry, Kang Pil-joong bowed his head and apologized.
Lee Si-woo waved his hand saying it was okay, but when he received his sincere apology, it seemed that the core he had been holding in his heart was unleashed at once.
Since then, Si-woo Lee and Pil-joong Kang broke up after small chats.
Si-woo Lee, who looked at the back of Kang Pil-joong as he opened the door and left, quickly hardened his expression.
‘If the number of employees increases, maybe someday my abilities will be exposed? I hadn’t thought of that.’
However, it was not possible to overturn a decision that had already been made.
I couldn’t blindly refuse the employees’ wishes to come back.
‘That’s the problem, what… Can’t we close the door early?’
A daily routine that starts at 7 in the morning and ends at 6 in the evening.
In order to fully utilize his abilities, he had to make scrap metal in a yard where there were no employees.
‘Let’s cut down on working hours. Whether it’s a late start time or a pull-up time. I’ll have to stay in the junkyard anyway.’
Si-woo Lee, who came out of the office, moved to a blind spot not covered by CCTV.
As long as the amount of scrap that can be produced per day was limited, they had to utilize their abilities without skipping a day.
‘It’s all money. There are already financial problems, so be prepared. That’s how I pay my employees’ salaries and buy stuff.’
Siwoo Lee used his abilities in the same way as yesterday.
It’s still early in the morning now.
There were no customers and there were no staff, so I was able to use my abilities with confidence.
Shortly thereafter, reinforcing bars appeared.
Si-woo Lee, who watched the scene happily, got back into the excavator cockpit.
A text message from The K Besteel was sent to Si-woo Lee’s cell phone, which returned to the office after tidying up the reinforcing bars.
― 3. 24, (Thursday). Starting today, all grades will be reduced by 10 won. Please refer to your work.
It was a common system on this floor for the steel mill to notify the subject of changes in the scrap metal price, and for the subjects to notify the middleman.
And the middle junk dealer would also notify the floor junk dealer below the unit price schedule.
However, Siwoo Lee regarded this text as a warning from The K Besteel to him.
As the price of scrap metal is falling, I warn you not to think about taking over the junk dealer.
‘In less than a month, at least 20 won should rise… Ah, the future city!’
Another ability that has been awakened besides the generation of scrap metal.
future city.
It was stated in the description that the unit price of scrap metal would be notified in advance on a monthly basis.
‘therefore… How do you use future poetry?’
While thinking about how to use it, words suddenly appeared in front of Si-woo Lee.
―――――――――――――――
<Future City> (lv. 1)
You can see the rise and fall of scrap metal on a monthly basis.
Registered Steelworks : [Daehan Steel]
[Current scrap metal price]
Weight B grade: 320 won.
Weight Class A: 325 won.
Lightweight Class B: 280 won.
Lightweight Class A: 300 won.
[Future scrap metal price]
Weight B grade: 350 won.
Weight Class A: 355 won.
Lightweight Class B: 310 won.
Lightweight Class A: 330 won.
―――――――――――――――
Two days later, if the price of scrap metal is cut by 10 won, it means that the price of heavy grade B is 310 won.
And when exactly one month has passed, it means that the price will increase by 40 won.
‘Now it’s done! You have a chance.’
Siwoo Lee clenched his fists and nodded his head, then got up from the office.
Currently, the remaining money in the corporate business account is 10 million won.
The fact that the remaining balance of the corporate company was only this amount was equivalent to saying that there was not enough finance.
At least, in order to buy and stock things, you had to have at least 100 million.
It was a passage that showed how much Lee Do-woon suffered because of Jang Seong-woo’s stubbornness.
‘I’m glad I don’t have any debt. Whoo, will you be able to survive a month with 10 million won? I probably can’t We need to find a company that can accept our goods quickly.’
While Si-Woo Lee was anxious with an anxious expression on his face, a text message came from Woo-Chul Shin.
– I have an appointment for tomorrow evening. It was a target to enter Daehan Steel, and the CEO readily allowed it. I’m going to the junk shop tomorrow evening, so make time for it.]
‘thanks. uncle… … .’
Like scratching an itchy spot, Shin Woo-cheol has found a new business partner at the right time.
Now it was entirely up to him to convince the representative he brought in.
But Siwoo was confident.
‘Because my father never did anything dishonest.’
I have heard the saying that trust comes first, not money.
The junk yard was a place where they did their best to make money with all sorts of expedients.
There was a lot of garbage mixed with scrap metal, and there was a lot of dirty scrap metal.
However, only the items of Nuri Recycling were clean.
There was no deliberate mixing of non-scrap items.
‘If you see our scrap metal, you’ll want to make a deal with it. It’s okay to open a deal.’
What was needed was done roughly.
After taking a shower after changing into work clothes, Siwoo Lee put on clothes and left the junk shop.
Since I decided to become the president, I had to deal with college issues as well.
He grabbed the resignation letter he had pulled out beforehand and started the car.
Small and medium-sized domestic.
It was my father’s car.
My father owned one small and medium-sized domestic car and one foreign car.
The vehicle I usually drove was a domestic car.
However, when meeting important people or in need of preemptive control, he used a foreign car to go out.
However, in the case of a foreign car, it was just a light apricot.
When doing business, it was most important not to look shabby.
So, despite the difficult financial situation, it was necessary to purchase a foreign car.
‘It’s been said before. When the bosses of junk stores with shabby behavior come home from work, they say that they take a luxury foreign car to work… … .’
It was literally an old saying.
When there was no perception that scrap metal was money, there were many cases where the goods were given to junk dealers for free.
However, most of the unit prices of steel mills were now publicly available.
Pedestrians often knew the unit price better than the owner of the junk yard.
Due to factors such as tax tightening and other factors, the junk dealer was gradually losing its place.
‘So no one comes here to learn this hard work.’
Fortunately, the installments of vehicles, forklifts and excavators ended, reducing fixed expenses.
That fact was of great comfort.
‘I don’t know how long an old excavator will hold up… … .’
It’s a 1992 model year.
It was a Samsung excavator that is no longer in production.
He was a guy who had endured a long time of 25 years.
After organizing his thoughts, Siwoo turned on the car and headed to the university.
* * *
University arrived in 4 days.
Si-Woo Lee, who showed up with his car where the students were walking around showing their freshness, parked in the building where the department is located.
It was a situation in which I had informed the school in advance that I was applying for dropout.
Siwoo Lee went up the stairs of the building to meet the professors of the department.
“senior!”
Someone called Si-Woo Lee standing in front of the department office in a loud voice.
It was seen in the appearance of her junior, Yuna Lee, running with big eyes as if she was about to cry.
“Oh, it’s Yuna.”
“… it’s okay?”
sudden father’s death.
There was no one in the department who did not know about Si-Woo Lee’s situation.
“it’s okay.”
“Aren’t you supposed to rest a little more? Why is school… … .”
“I want to submit an application for resignation.”
“yes?”
“I thought I had to run the business my father was doing.”
“ah… … .”
Those days when I was busy working part-time and taking classes.
The only junior who came close to Lee Si-woo was Lee Yeon-ah.
Lee Si-woo was popular in the department because of his good looks, sincerity, and easygoing personality, but he did not feel that way.
Rather, I thought that my juniors and myself were blocked by an invisible wall.
“Thank you for that time.”
“Don’t talk like you’ll never see your face again. I will visit you often wherever you are.”
“Thank you for the words. When do you come to Yongin to play? I’ll buy you some food when you come.”
“yes… … .”
Si-woo Lee greeted Yuna Lee briefly and went into the department’s office.
When I opened the door and entered, I saw the face of a familiar teaching assistant.
“I’m here?”
“Yes, sister.”
“Wow, you will be surprised to learn how sad the professors were when they heard that you were dropping out. Even if it’s not, while the next head of the department was talking about it, what the hell… … .”
“I’m sorry. Because the situation is… … .”
“Yeah, what’s your fault for that? I understand. I just do it because I’m sorry. Have you processed your resignation letter?”
“Not yet. I’m here to say hello to my sister and professors.”
The professors liked Siwoo Lee.
It was because he had a talent for acting and his looks.
Finally, a famous actor would come out from among the students, and he fluttered a pleasant flutter at the drinking party.
But then, until I was sassy and not like a student.
I tried to hate it, but I couldn’t hate it.
However, when the news of Si-woo Lee’s resignation became known, the professors had to fall into disappointment.
“I am really sorry. I was also looking forward to seeing an actor during my teaching career.”
“… I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for? I am not paying attention.”
The instructor did not hide his disappointment.
As I was meeting a lot of people for no reason, Siwoo Lee’s feelings of regret grew bigger and bigger.
Once you’ve made a decision, you shouldn’t be procrastinating.
Si-woo Lee greeted the professors and submitted his resignation letter and left the department office with a sad expression on his face.
Then I slowly walked around the university and looked around.
‘I’m sorry. But it was my dream… … .’
He wanted to be recognized by people as an outstanding actor.
He was talented, and he thought that if he worked a little harder, he would be able to make his face known to people.
However, the junk dealer that his father had kept was more important to him than his lifelong dream.
Si-woo Lee walked to the department building where he parked his car.
Familiar faces passed by and greeted him, but Si-woo Lee only waved his hand lightly and did not talk further.
Because it seemed like it was going to be awkward.
Eventually, when I put the key in the car and opened the door, Yuna Lee ran from afar.
“senior.”
“It’s Yuna.”
“I want to say hello. If you are a senior, you can do anything well.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
“Hey, next time… Can we see you again next time?”
It’s not like she’s leaving for another country at all, but at the sight of Yuna Lee crying as if she was parting forever, Siwoo laughed.
Then he placed his hand on her head and stroked it gently.
“Then of course not. And how long are you going to call me senior? All the other kids call me oppa, but do you know that only you call me senior?”
“… Seniors are special to me.”
Juniors who are less close than Yuna Lee also used the title of brother to Siwoo.
And Lee Yeon-ah also used the title of brother or sister to seniors except for Lee Si-woo.
It was Lee Yeon-ah, who only called Si-woo Lee “senpai”, but he knew that she wasn’t calling her that way to keep distance.
“Now don’t call me senior, call me oppa.”
“… yes, brother.”
“Have a good school life, and if there is anything you don’t know, feel free to contact me. See you next time you have a chance, Yuna.”
“Yes, see you next time.”
Yeon-a Lee smiled hard and waved her hand to Si-woo.
It was he who grew more and more resentful every time he saw her, but he shook his head to shake off the thoughts and got into the car and started the engine.
At some point, Siwoo Lee’s car drove out of the university.
Yuna Lee, who had been watching him blankly until then, bowed her head.
“After all, I couldn’t say… … .”
Yuna Lee muttered to herself as if lonely, then moved back to the department building.