A grand celebration was held to commemorate the 100th day since the birth of the first grandson of a mid-level chaebol family.
Everyone gathered to admire how adorable the little boy looked, appearing very calm in his traditional Korean attire.He looked extremely cute, especially when he smiled at everyone, causing many family members to give him cash gifts, with some even giving twice simply because he was too adorable.
The celebration went smoothly until it was time for the toddler to be allowed to choose the item that caught his interest the most, and this would also serve as a sign of what the child might desire in his future. On the tray were several items placed, such as paper money, a stethoscope, a judge's gavel, a microphone, a miniature soccer ball, and many other things.
Everyone urged the toddler to choose from the various items, but he was not disturbed in the slightest by all the chatter until, with full confidence, he lifted the paper money placed by his grandfather using both of his hands. Everyone immediately cheered and burst into loud laughter, because they were a family of businesspeople deeply involved in the financial world, making the entire family overjoyed, especially since he was the first grandson in the family.
His father happily began boasting about his toddler, who was also laughing like the happiest person in the world while still holding the money in his hands.
His mother, who had been happy at first, now looked uneasy, until one of her sisters-in-law spoke up to her.
"Hey, Hye-rin, what's wrong? You don't look well."
Hye-rin immediately adjusted her expression.
"It's nothing, Unnie. I just feel that a boy might become very obsessed with whatever he chooses at this moment,"
she explained with a long sigh.
Hearing that, her sister-in-law crossed her arms under her chest, her gaze fixed straight at the father and son who were busy laughing together with the other family members.
"Stop worrying about something that hasn't happened yet, at least he likes what his family does right now, which is money!"
she said, ending her words with very loud laughter.
Hye-rin let out another sigh, realizing that her husband's family was indeed very obsessed with the very thing she was worried about.
Five years passed, and now the toddler was five years and eight months old. Han Seo-jun was the name of the boy his mother worried about so much.
Now the child had become very good at socializing, and he could even learn basic mathematics with his mother, who happened to be a former family accountant and was extremely skilled at her job.
As a result, Seo-jun always got the answers he wanted when working on the math problems he wished to learn, while other children would give up whenever they studied calculations, he instead made his own mother give up and force him to play outside because he was too absorbed in learning.
While at the park, his mother looked very pleased because Seo-jun could socialize well, with all the children gathering around as they watched him play, unaware that her child was not only playing, but also conducting transactions with children his own age.
"Hey, did you remember to bring the money I asked for yesterday?"
said Seo-jun, the five-year-old boy.
The boy he was talking to immediately slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a 5,000-won bill with full confidence.
Seo-jun nodded his head.
"Wow, you brought more money than the price of the item you want. With this much money, you won't just get slime and clay. You can also get a spinner. You know, there's only one spinner as good as this. Handmade, you know? Only one in the world, made by me!"
Seo-jun explained confidently.
The boy looked unconvinced by what Seo-jun said.
"Are you sure it can spin?"
he asked while frowning.
Seo-jun, who hated it most when his merchandise was underestimated, immediately demonstrated the spinner spinning at high speed without any damage at all.
"See! Do you still not believe in the product I'm selling?"
Seo-jun said irritably.
The boy immediately smiled and agreed, and in the end he decided to buy it, with the 5,000 won slipping into Seo-jun's bag pocket.
All the children who had been waiting to buy Seo-jun's homemade slime gathered and bought out all of his products, leaving some who didn't get any crying in disappointment, while Seo-jun had deliberately brought limited stock so that those who missed out would keep waiting for his products and buy more next time to avoid running out again.
"This marketing trick is called Scarcity Marketing or limited-availability marketing.This strategy utilizes consumer psychology, where people tend to value or desire things that are rare or difficult to obtain. Its purpose is to create a sense of urgency and fear of missing out (Fear of Missing Out or FOMO) among customers, encouraging them to make immediate purchases."
How could a child so young learn things that were difficult even for adults to understand, and that was because he was always taken by his father to attend marketing meetings at the company he ran. As a result, Seo-jun, who was naturally quick at learning, was able to grasp many new concepts, and his father did not hesitate to teach him these things, even though his wife often scolded him for explaining matters that were far too complex for a child Seo-jun's age.
However, due to his father's stubbornness, Seo-jun managed to fill his savings up to one million won through doing business with children his own age, and his mother was even shocked when Seo-jun invited her to count the money inside his piggy bank.
"That's amazing, you were able to save up this much. I'm happy, but I hope you don't suppress your own desires too much, okay?"
his mother said, half pleased and half worried.
Seo-jun nodded his head.
"But this isn't from my allowance, Mom."
"Isn't it?"
his mother asked with clear confusion.
"Yes, it isn't. This is from selling the slime I made and the spinners too!"
Seo-jun answered confidently while showing the neatly packaged slime and his handmade spinner, which looked truly impressive.
At that moment, his mother finally realized that every time she took her child to play at the park,instead of merely socializing, her son had been doing business with children his own age, even though she had previously advised the other mothers there on how to manage their children's allowance after they complained about how excessive their spending had become.
Three years passed, and now Seo-jun was already in the second grade of elementary school, and he had gained so many customers that even upperclassmen often came to his classroom to trade Pokémon cards that he had been selling since the introduction event in his first year.
All of his business knowledge continued to grow, to the point that upperclassmen who tried to cheat during transactions were completely outmatched by Seo-jun's sharp responses to everything they said.
"You know, I'm the strongest person in this school. If you don't give me extra cards, you'll receive punishment from this hand that's as big as your face, kid!"
Seo-jun let out a sigh and smiled at the upperclassman who tried to rely on physical strength, but Seo-jun, unwilling to suffer losses, proved to be far braver mentally than the large-built boy standing in front of him.
"I know that with the money Hyung has right now, it would be difficult to get two cards at once, especially since the card you want is the Pokémon Inferno X—Rocky Helmet SR. It would be better for you to save the money you have now and join a raffle with me; if you win, I'll give you a discount, but the condition is that you must pay 5,000 won first to participate—and others can join as well, with just 5,000 won you can get a discount or even a free card!"
Seo-jun said enthusiastically as he climbed onto his desk so everyone could hear and see who was speaking.
Everyone immediately gathered around Seo-jun, who had already neatly arranged the playing cards he had chosen, three special cards for this raffle, with three chances in total, two correct guesses would earn a discount of up to 55 percent, and if all were guessed correctly, they could get any card they wanted, but if all guesses were wrong, they would only receive 1,000 won as compensation to lessen the disappointment.
The playing cards Seo-jun chose were the King (K), Queen (Q), and Joker (J), cards that looked very easy to guess due to their clear symbols, causing everyone to underestimate them, yet in reality only three people managed to guess correctly across the three chances, and one of them was the upperclassman from earlier.
As a result, Han Seo-jun avoided any losses and also escaped potential trouble from the upperclassman who could have made his school life difficult in the future.
To be continued….