Jeon Seongryeol was involved in the agricultural distribution business.
He mainly purchased high-end food ingredients from various regions and supplied them to hotels, department stores, and upscale restaurants.
He didn’t deal with common ingredients like rice or potatoes.
That day, he woke up early and headed to his newly acquired mid-sized car for work.
Although he owned a delivery truck, he employed staff to drive it instead of doing it himself.
He was just about to start the car when…
“Excuse me, are you President Jeon Seongryeol of Seongryeol Distribution?”
“Who?”
Hearing a youthful voice, Seongryeol turned around, slightly tense.
The young man, who seemed to be about twenty, had a friendly demeanor and had just shed his boyish look.
He smiled brightly and extended his hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ha Suyoung.”
“I think this is our first meeting…?”
“Yes, that’s right. I found out about you through some connections. I heard you supply high-end food ingredients?”
When the topic of work came up, Seongryeol’s expression brightened a bit, and his speech naturally became more casual.
“Who introduced you? Are you looking to work under me?”
“I’d like to try that if I get the chance someday.”
“You’re a promising young man. Do you have a business card? No, I guess you wouldn’t at your age. Contact me later. I have to get to work now. But who introduced you?”
“I wasn’t introduced, but I have something to show you. Could you spare a moment? It’s over there.”
When Ha Suyoung pointed to a vehicle parked on one side of the parking lot, Seongryeol felt a bit hesitant.
No matter how young the person was, he felt uneasy about following someone he just met.
“I anticipated that, so I brought a sample with me.”
“A sample?”
“Take a look.”
Ha Suyoung removed the cover from the box he was holding.
Underneath was a pristine white styrofoam box.
When he opened the lid, Seongryeol’s eyes widened in surprise at the contents.
“This, this is…!”
“As you can see, these are premium-grade matsutake mushrooms.”
“You brought this to show me?”
Seongryeol asked, his voice trembling with astonishment, and Suyoung grinned, pointing his thumb at the truck.
“Are you interested now?”
The small truck was loaded entirely with identical styrofoam boxes.
Each box was neatly packed with matsutake mushrooms.
After checking nearly a third of the boxes, Seongryeol muttered in a drained voice.
“…They’re all premium-grade.”
“Do you like them?”
“Like them? These are truly rare matsutakes. Where did you get these? It’s not even matsutake season…”
Suyoung just smiled brightly without saying a word.
Seongryeol instinctively realized that Suyoung didn’t want to reveal the source.
The amazement in his eyes faded, and he returned to being a seasoned distributor who had seen it all.
“Do you want to sell these matsutakes to me?”
“That’s why I brought them.”
Seongryeol once again scanned the matsutake mushrooms.
Matsutakes were recognized as a top-tier ingredient in Korea, Japan, and China.
While their texture was ordinary, their unique, universally appealing intense aroma drove gourmets wild.
Especially this level of premium quality was rarely consumed domestically.
It’s more profitable to supply them exclusively to luxury hotels or upscale restaurants or export them to countries like Japan or China.
“These could be considered top-grade matsutakes. They’re literally worth whatever price you name.”
“Is that so?”
From his tone, it wasn’t that he didn’t know.
It felt unmistakably like he was testing the waters, fully aware of their value.
Seongryeol, while fiddling with the matsutakes, fell into doubt.
It’s not even matsutake season, so where did he pick these from?
It’s not the season for harvesting matsutakes.
Harvesting wouln’t start until at least September.
Moreover, matsutakes couldn’t be picked without a permit.
Violating the law could result in imprisonment or fines.
No matter how he looked at it, this young man didn’t seem like someone who had obtained a formal permit to pick matsutakes.
His long experience in the field warned him so.
“Do you have a permit to pick matsutakes? Are these matsutakes legally harvested?”
“They’re not illegal.”
“I find that hard to believe. If you were me, would you trust this?”
“If you don’t want to buy them, I’ll leave. I don’t like wasting time either.”
“Wait!”
As Suyoung seemed about to turn away, Seongryeol quickly called out.
It was an almost instinctive reaction.
“What if I don’t buy them?”
“I’ll have to find someone else who will. Fortunately, I do have other potential buyers.”
Suyoung waved a piece of paper as if to show off.
Seongryeol caught a glimpse of a familiar name on it.
It was a friend and competitor in the same industry as him.
His gaze sharpened.
Whether they were illegally harvested or not, that’s not the issue right now.
“How much for all of them?”
“It’s 50kg. When I weighed it, it was exactly 50.32kg. There might be a slight margin of error.”
“How much do you want to sell them for?”
“How much can you offer?”
“For this quality, you could easily get 400,000 won per kilo in Japan. Even in the domestic market, you could get 300,000 won per kilo. Of course, I’m talking about the distribution price, not the final consumer price.”[1]
“But it’s not matsutake season in our country right now. There shouldn’t be any available in the market, except for frozen ones.”
“Who would freeze and distribute such top-grade matsutakes? They sell them off immediately.”
“Then you know well how much you should pay.”
Seongryeol’s mind was racing with calculations.
Finally, after finishing his thoughts, he looked Suyoung straight in the eye.
“I’m still suspicious about how you acquired these matsutakes. To purchase and distribute them, I’d have to fabricate the acquisition route. I would have to rack my brains with my tax accountant. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”
“I understand that.”
“And you, you want a cash transaction, right? You can’t issue a cash receipt or tax invoice, can you?”
“Well, this time, that’s a bit difficult.”
This time?
Seongryeol didn’t miss the peculiar nuance in those words.
“How about 450,000 won per kilo? I need to make a profit too, and there’s some risk in disposing of them.”[2]
“Sounds good.”
Surprisingly, Suyoung agreed readily.
Seongryeol, who expected a bit more back-and-forth negotiation, felt somewhat deflated.
At least he’s not someone who negotiates recklessly.
In fact, 450,000 won per kilo was a price set considering all the circumstances, ensuring neither side was particularly disadvantaged.
If he understood and accepted that, he wasn’t an ordinary person.
He had a basic sense of negotiation.
“Then can I check all the goods? I need to do that to feel assured.”
“Of course. Feel free to check.”
After sending a text to his employees, Seongryeol opened and checked all the remaining boxes he hadn’t yet inspected.
He examined the shape and aroma, holding them in his hands.
They’re all premium-grade.
As he meticulously inspected the matsutake mushrooms, he glanced at Suyoung.
He seemed bored, occasionally yawning while playing a game on his smartphone.
No matter how he looked, he seemed like an ordinary young man of that age.
Where did he get so many matsutake mushrooms?
He doesn’t seem like a country boy, more like a city person… Did someone ask him to sell them on their behalf?
That didn’t make sense either.
If it were him, he would never entrust such a valuable and expensive item to a young person like Suyoung alone.
“Since it’s 50kg, I’ll give you 22.5 million won. Should I transfer it to your account, or would you prefer cash?”[3]
“I’d appreciate it if you could give it in cash.”
“Wait here. I’ll go withdraw it.”
“But aren’t you going to weigh them?”
[1] 400,000 won = $270, 300,000 won = $200
[2] 450,000 won = $300
[3] 22.5 million won = $15,500
