I received the extended smart phone and briefly turned it over in my hands.
The screen looked like a different version of Van Gogh’s painting, The Starry Night.
You could even name it ‘Repair Cost Starry Night’ because the harmony of black and white was quite convincingly etched.
“It’s completely wrecked.”
I heard that it shattered when it slipped from my hand on the way home.
Pressing the side button firmly, the light comes on, but the screen is completely unrecognizable.
No matter how I look at it, the screen was clearly beyond recovery.
I’ve had it for a long time.
Now that I think of it, I haven’t even once mentioned wanting to change it.
“Can’t it be fixed…?”
As I was turning the phone back and forth, a question came from Shiyeon’s direction.
Are we really going to try to fix this again?
If we liken the lifespan of a smart phone to that of a person, it’s like someone whose back is broken undergoing surgery, only to be sent back out to pull a cart of junk.
Realistically, it seemed better to just buy a new one than to try to fix this, so I shrugged my shoulders and casually said.
“Let’s buy a new one, it’s been a long time.”
The others said it’s a problem because they change their phones too often, not lasting even a year, but the real issue was Shiyeon not considering changing hers at all.
By this point, it was clear the repair center would refuse to take it in due to a lack of parts.
“I like my old one…”
“Fixing this would take longer than buying a new one.”
As I pointed out that it was an unavoidable choice in response to her softly voiced complaint, Shiyeon slightly lowered her head and let out a small grumble.
A Computer turned on by pressing the power button.
These days, it seemed I had more reasons to turn it on for tasks other than gaming.
Carefully poking a toothpick into the small hole at the top of the smart phone, the SIM card popped out.
In addition, connecting the computer and the smart phone allowed me to extract photo data as well.
As long as it’s not completely broken, it’s easier to transfer photo data directly.
Often when I see stories about how dealers retrieve data, it’s really unsettling, and I can’t leave it entirely to them.
You have to go to the dealer thoroughly prepared so you don’t get backstabbed.
Contracts, installment payments, penalty fees, plans, add-on services, and so on….
It’s not a fish market, so why does the consumer have to be aware of all this?
“Ah, isn’t the fish market weird too?”
Realizing anew that the fish market is indeed strange, I shifted my gaze to the clock hanging on the wall.
Considering the usual time I’d return from academy, it would be pretty late, but since it’s vacation now, Shiyeon was back at 4 PM.
Not that late, and most stores would still be open.
I set the broken smart phone next to the SIM reader I took out and stopped by a nearby dealer to find a new smart phone for Shiyeon.
Two students, looking like they just got out of elementary school without an adult accompanying them.
The staff would surely look at us like two good marks waiting to be exploited.
“Hello, we came to change our phone.”
“Yes, which one would you like?”
“Do you want any specific smart phone?”
The staff member directed the question towards me.
I turned my head slightly to ask Shiyeon if she wanted anything, but she seemed to have no interest in smart phone models.
“No, not really…?”
She shook her head as if unsure, giving me a vague reply of disinterest.
With brightened eyes at such naïve targets, the dealer staff suddenly shoved a model phone in front of us.
“How old are you two students?”
“I’m in 1st year of middle school.”
“Ah, that’s the best age, let’s see…this one would be good for students!”
It seemed they were trying to build rapport by abruptly asking our ages.
As soon as I answered that we were in 1st year, they made a comment on how it was a great age, trying to establish forced familiarity.
Then, while discussing what smart phone would be good for students, they suddenly picked up a smart phone from inside the case.
“Please sit here.”
The staff member sat down at a seat with a computer in the back of the store, gesturing for us to sit across from them.
As soon as we sat down, they thrust a thick stack of papers at us and started spitting out a long spiel without pause.
“This is a model commonly used by students lately, with a 2-year contract, this plan allows for 5G with 12GB, and after usage, you can use it on 4G without limits. It’s only been 6 months since this phone was released; do you have any thought of returning the smart phone you used before?”
The relation between phones and insurance is similar.
If customers who don’t understand the complex terms just nod along with “yes, yes,” they end up getting duped even while awake.
The subtle technique of sneaking in the word “unlimited” to recommend the most expensive plan, or the question about returning the old phone.
I hadn’t even managed to extract the data yet, and I felt no allegiance to hand over my memories to a dealer who would repair and sell my old phone.
“No.”
“If you return it, the discount on the 2-year contract will be this much.”
When I answered no, the staff finally explained the benefits of returning it.
I must remember that the person opposite me is merely a businessman trying to extract every penny they can.
There are rumors of places that repair old phones to sell as new ones.
“No, it’s fine. Just change the plan to B and put me on a 2-year contract.”
I closely checked the documenation for necessary handwritten sections and contracts.
I pointed out that the excessively high plan trying to take 110,000 won monthly should be reduced to 50,000 won, and that while the contract was normally for 24 months, it had printed 36 months.
In the end, I managed to lower the expected total monthly cost of 180,000 won to 120,000 won.
Why should the customer have to catch these discrepancies?
“Yes, so once you complete the activation, you’ll need to use the add-on services for three months, which will bring your total monthly cost to this, and after that period, you can cancel any time.”
“Wait a moment, will the add-on services be cancelled automatically?”
Add-on services that provide a bunch of store coupons every month.
While I could accept that this was originally part of the contract, the important part was whether it would be cancelled automatically around the time it gets forgotten.
“After three months, you can cancel at any time—”
“So, will it be cancelled automatically after three months?”
Even when asked if it would be cancelled automatically, the staff confidently provided an unrelated answer, acting as if they didn’t understand the question.
It felt like they couldn’t comprehend Korean, so I repeated the important point once more.
While we both were writing in Hangul, the strange inability to communicate was uncanny.
This trick was all too familiar.
They enroll you in strange add-on services and suck you dry like a mosquito until you realize something is off, and only then do they let you wiggle out.
“Uh, then… I’ll ensure it’s cancelled automatically after three months.”
Surprised that a mere first-year middle school student had caught them off guard, the staff stammered out the desired response late.
Yes, you need to do that.
As the phone replacement process went smoothly, we approached the end of the contract.
“Is Mary not changing her phone?”
“Huh?”
In that moment, Shiyeon’s few words changed my attention from something I hadn’t been worried about to my own phone.
Now that I think of it, my phone was older than Shiyeon’s, wasn’t it?
Still, as Shiyeon said, being familiar is nice, and I didn’t feel much need to change it.
Occasionally, it would be rejected by the latest game apps for compatibility issues, but…
“It’s fine, it isn’t really broken…”
“No, let’s change it! This time, I’ll get a phone for Mary!”
Shiyeon, who had been passive about changing her own phone, suddenly became aggressive about mine.
“Eh….”
“That phone, you’ve had it longer than I have.”
“That’s true, but…”
Even though I showed reluctance to change my well-loved phone, for some reason, she was eager for me to switch mine.
I thought she might pick something new for herself, but she selected the same smart phone as mine.
I vaguely remembered hearing that homes with twins buy similar items to avoid fights… is this similar?
The installments are alike, the models are the same, and the plans are identical.
Even the assorted rubber cases and extra screens were thrown in as bonuses, it seemed like this deal was definitely a win.
I don’t know how it ended up with me changing my phone too, but if Shiyeon looked satisfied, that was good enough.
After pressing the data transfer button and stashing it in my pocket, the smart phone began to warm up slowly.
On the way back home from the dealer, Shiyeon turned around while walking backwards, facing me and asked.
“What’s for dinner?”
“The aunt from Taehyun’s house brought duck stir-fry, I tasted some earlier and it was delicious.”
“Oh! I love duck!”
“It’s a bit early, but should we go eat right away?”
“Yeah!”
Walking backwards again, Shiyeon suddenly sped up as if she had become quite hungry during her time at the academy and hurried toward our apartment building.
In pace with Shiyeon’s short and quick strides, I found myself walking faster too.
Having changed our smart phones, a peaceful day awaited with the steam rising from the duck stir-fry in the cozy kitchen.
…That’s what I thought.
