As a matter of fact, Yonggu's response was unexpected to him.
Hyunwoo knew that Yonggu didn't like him, but hadn't Hyunwoo averted his crisis? Hyunwoo saved him from a difficult situation last time. If Hyunwoo hadn't stepped in at the right time recently, Yonggu would have found himself in a very difficult position in the president's presence. In a way, Hyunwoo saved him as a way to reconcile with him. He didn't know why Yonggu hated him so much. Still, he reached out to him first.
Nonetheless, Hyunwoo could not find any trace of appreciation from him, which made him regret having treated him so nicely.
Hummmm… maybe I should have let him get axed? Hyunwoo thought to himself.
But it's all water under the bridge now. He erased everything about Yonggu from his memory.
What he was faced with at the moment was how to persuade the suppliers.
However hard he thought about it, it was still something challenging. Could they accept a new hire like him making such a request out of the blue?
He felt that it wouldn't be easy. Come to think of it, the team manager made sense when he talked like that. Hyunwoo was mistaken when he asked a favor of the manager even without trying it by himself.
"Okay, sir. Let me wrestle with it harder," Hyunwoo said.
Taking back the file, Hyunwoo sat down at his desk.
There was no other way for him to claim the refunds without obtaining the certificates from the suppliers.
'Okay, let me confront them first.'
Hyunwoo obtained a list of suppliers and called them one by one. What he requested was simple.
"Can you issue a certificate on your company's material supplies to us?"
Their response was what he had expected. They had no knowledge of it at all.
"Certificate on material supplies? What is that?"
Hyunwoo explained it to them calmly. Skipping all the complexities involved, he told them in a way that all they needed to do was issue just one certificate.
The presidents of the suppliers consented without any objection.
But the real problem was they need to go through the process first before issuing the certificates, and that was not as easy as one thought. They just shook their heads when they were faced with joining Unipass with the company's certification letter.
"Certification letter? Unipass? Customs? Why is this so complicated? Do you want us to do it on our own? Why are you asking us, who know nothing about it, for it? You should ask us for something we're familiar with."
"Once you process it for us, you can do it easily next time."
"Next time again? Do you mean we have to continue to do it? You won't raise the unit price even if we do it for you, right? Oh, I don't know."
He felt that it was not easy to persuade them over the phone.
"I have to go out for a business trip, manager," Hyunwoo said.
"Business trip? Where?"
"I can't persuade them of the certificate over the phone. I think I have to meet and persuade them directly."
Yonggu then suddenly raised his voice, challenging,
"You're not going out for your own business, right?"
"How could I? If you check with the suppliers, you'll find out immediately if I'm lying or not. Let me come back as soon as I'm done."
"By what time can you come back?" Yonggu asked as if he were pressing him.
The manager raised his hand to stop him. Even though he trusted Yonggu, there was no reason for the manager to stop Hyunwoo, who said that he was going out on a business trip for the refund.
"Okay. Just go ahead. You can come back late, so persuade them well."
"Got it."
Hyunwoo went out of the office, heading directly to the suppliers to persuade their presidents.
"It's not that difficult as you think. All you have to do is just apply online and fill out the form."
"It might be easy for someone like you who knows about it. I don't know. I'm so busy."
At Hyunwoo's mere mention of the certificate, they just got cold feet. Even though he said he would help them process the application, they just refused it. He felt that there was no other choice but to seek the team manager's help. That was the last resort. But he felt it was not good to dump it on the manager at this point. He wanted to resolve the problem without any misunderstandings between him and the manager.
What should I do? Who should I ask?
Suddenly, one person came to his mind. The best expert on this kind of matter would be the customs officer in charge of the refund.
The following morning, he visited the customs office. Though Yonggu complained again about his business trip, he came out of the office confidently. As a matter of fact, it was Yonggu who had him go out for a business trip to the customs broker and customs office. If Hyunwoo could not handle it properly because of Yonggu's bluffing, it would drive him into a more difficult situation. Even if Yonggu stood in the way, he would have to deal with it to the end and get things done.
When Hyunwoo visited the customs office, Kwak greeted him with a bright smile. Kwak had already got the burden of the refund collection off his chest, and he seemed to feel closer to Hyunwoo after he stopped by with snacks the other day. The same was true for Hyunwoo. Though he felt Kwak's first impression was icy, the more he saw Kwak, the more he felt this customs officer had a tender heart.
"Watermelons are in season these days. I bought a cold one, so you can have it right now."
"Wow, why is this watermelon so big?"
A manager behind Kwak asked, looking at them, "What the heck is that watermelon?"
"I'm an employee with Aurum, sir."
The manager made an embarrassing expression and said, "Oh, we can't take it carelessly."
Kwak hesitated for a moment. He could not disobey the manager's apparently disapproving remarks, but it was discourteous to return the watermelon to him.
Come to think of it, he never said hello to the manager despite his several visits to the customs office. Hyunwoo approached the manager quickly, saying,
"I'd like to introduce myself to you. My name is Jang Hyunwoo with the purchasing team of Aurum."
"Oh, are you? My name is Kim Sungwoo, assistant manager of auditing."
Kim returned his greeting reluctantly.
Hyunwoo didn't care. More often that not he felt that the first meeting with someone was awkward. In Kim's eyes, Hyunwoo must have been thought as someone who was there to ask some favor.
But his misunderstanding would disappear soon. If they meet and talk several times, they will get along naturally after that.
"Thanks to Mr. Kwak's help, I can receive a refund, so I bought a watermelon to repay him. I'm not here to ask a favor, so don't feel burdened."
"Really? Come and join us, then. Hey, guys, come over and enjoy this watermelon."
When Kim pulled out a chair and asked him to sit down and have some watermelon, Hyunwoo did so politely.
"Let me have just one piece of it, then."
Kim asked Hyunwoo about various things such as Aurum's situation and difficulties, though the other employees stayed silent.
Hyunwoo briefed him about some positive and challenging aspects of the company. Though Aurum was expanding rapidly, it was sort of in a difficult situation because of its excessive expansion efforts. His conclusion was the company could grow big when given a leg up.
"Well, there is meaning in our existence when companies are doing well. Feel free to contact us anytime you need our help."
"In fact, Mr. Kwak is helping us very much, so I can't sit idle. That's why I stopped by today."
Hyunwoo cheered up Kwak inconspicuously.
Kwak grinned bashfully, and Kim also praised him, saying he was a competent man.
After some chatting, they finished the watermelon. Kwak went to his desk, and Hyunwoo sat down before him.
Only then did Hyunwoo begin to tell him about his troubles. Namely, the suppliers felt it too burdensome to issue the certificates on material supplies.
At that moment, Kwak checked out the other employees in the office secretly. Right next to him were Lee Yuri and other colleagues, and Kim was behind him.
Looking back at Hyunwoo, Kwak abruptly asked, "Do you smoke?"
"Well, I don't…" Hyunwoo was going to shake his head. He had never smoked since he was born.
But he nodded instantly, sensing instinctively that what Kwak wanted was not to smoke but to tell something else.
"Do you have a smoking room here?"
"How about going out for a moment?"
They went out of the customs office, which was a two-story building with a large parking lot in the front. There was also a small garden around the building, and there was a bench under a wisteria tree.
It was under the wisteria tree that Kwak took Hyunwoo, and they could talk freely with nobody present.
Kwak offered a cigarette to Hyunwoo.
Grinning, Hyunwoo said, "In fact, I don't smoke."
"Really?"
Lighting a cigarette, Kwak said casually, "Don't tell anybody that I tipped you off on this."
At that moment, Hyunwoo's eyes were glittering.
It was clear there must be some expediency. Also, it was not illegal because a public servant like Kwak had mentioned it.
"Of course not! I'm currently surfing the internet to find the way," Hyunwoo responded skillfully.
Whatever tips Kwak gave him, it would be something that Hyunwoo found out by searching on the internet, not through Kwak's lips.
"Some companies have been handling it this way. Namely, they're issuing the certificates by themselves on behalf of the suppliers that aren't using Unipass."
"Substituting the suppliers?"
"Yes. The firms specializing in the refunds are obtaining the official certificates on behalf of the suppliers to process the job from start to finish."
Hyunwoo felt a new world was opening before his eyes.
Why hadn't he thought about this before?
Come to think of it, this was not great advice. However, it was a great piece of advice to someone who hadn't expected anything like this at all.
In particular, the company's official certificate was very important because it was off limits except to a very few involved. Accordingly, he hadn't thought of it at all, and he would not have carried it out even if he had known about it.
Kwak also served a similar caution.
"The company's official certificate is like one's legal seal. Some refund firms download suppliers' official certificates on their own computers to process the job, but that's very dangerous."
Hyunwoo agreed with him, too. If they were found in violation of internet fraud, the mere possession of suppliers' official certificates could make them criminals.
However, Kwak offered a solution. It was sort of a compromise.
"Just download the suppliers' official certificates and then go and apply on behalf of them on the day when you have to obtain the certificates on material supplies. One caveat here is you have to make sure you go with an employee of the supplier."
That was the perfect solution. Because Aurum was not far from most of the suppliers, he didn't have to feel burdened when he had to go out for a business trip.
"Thanks. Thanks a million."