"... Alright! Everyone, start working on the posters and ads to put on the screens! Hurry! Even if it's simple, make something with Almond's face!"
The sudden command left the advertising team baffled.
"But... is it okay to produce them? The contract is different..."
"Contract! Ah...! The contract!?" Manager Jeong stuttered momentarily and exclaimed, "It's almost done! Almost!"
The employees' heads tilted in confusion. Wasn’t a contract either done or not done? What did almost mean?
"So! What I mean is you guys should almost finish making the posters and ads too! As soon as the contract is signed, we'll launch them immediately!"
The somewhat mysterious statement meant that they had to prepare ahead of time for the contract.
"Wow. He’s a god of logic."
"The logic of a god."
"Rightly said..."
Unintentionally, the employees nodded in agreement.
Manager Jeong had a reason for hurrying. The boom of the Almond challenge could end at any time. It could cool down as soon as tomorrow or the day after, so he wanted to proceed immediately if they signed the contract tomorrow.
"Is it really almost finalized?"
The designers had a different perspective. Their morale would plummet if they worked hard for nothing, so they wanted to confirm the contract.
The manager waved his head and hands emphatically.
"Yes! It will happen! Almond just said he needed to consult with his manager first and then he’ll sign! I have a feeling, man. Trust me! Unless there's a falling out with the manager, it will happen!"
"It will... happen?"
"It will! Unless there's a falling out, it will happen! It shall be so!"
***
"Ha."
Thump.
Ju-Hyeok flopped onto the bed after returning to his hotel room.
"Ha... Ha..."
The unnecessary running left his breath all rough.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His heart throbbed like a drum on a battlefield. He felt his blood pressure spike as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
“If it had been us, we could have resolved it more smoothly. Indeed, there would have been no room for misunderstandings.”
Something felt like it was piercing deep into his chest. Ju-Hyeok knew better than anyone the implications of those words. The situation simply becoming an issue in the first place was a massive risk due to its potentially negative associations.
'It’s because of that clause.'
He suddenly got up and rummaged through his briefcase to unfold the advertising contract.
Rustle.
Sure enough, there was such a clause.
[If the Second Party causes social controversy that is deemed to negatively affect the First Party’s image in a socially acceptable manner, the First Party may terminate the contract with the Second Party and the Second Party shall compensate the First Party for the penalty.]
It was a common clause attached to advertising models. If the advertising model caused social controversy that damaged the company's image, they would have to pay a penalty which was usually twice the contract amount.
Flutter...
Ju-Hyeok’s hands trembled. Paying such a sizeable penalty fee would almost mean starting over from scratch.
"Crazy son of a... what then?" Ju-Hyeok muttered to himself, annoyed as his hand fumbled for something in his pocket. He was reaching for his phone. "It worked out in the end, right? The risks didn't materialize, so isn't that good enough?"
No one answered the question. He was talking to himself.
An imaginary adversary in his mind responded, "The risk was greater than the return we received."
Ju-Hyeok frantically searched his pockets and grew even more irritable. His phone wasn't there.
"What the... did I leave it behind?"
Flipping over the bedsheets, he found his phone by the headboard. It appeared that he had tossed it there while changing clothes and forgot about it when he went downstairs.
Turning on his phone, he saw two missed calls.
[Missed Calls ×2]
Both of them came from the same number.
[Manager Jeong Min-Cheol of Hitman]
It was Manager Jeong Min-Cheol.
'What?'
He tried calling back, but the Hitman manager was probably busy. The manager would probably call back later since he left a missed call.
'He'll call back soon.'
Then, Ju-Hyeok logged into the community where he could most vividly see the results of his efforts. There, posts about Almond still lined up plentifully.
1. The Identities of Those Badmouthing Almond.avi
2. I Worship the NUT
"Ah, no. I said we'd sign the contract after talking to you..."
"Not that! An exclusive model!? It’s really an exclusive model contract!?"
Ju-Hyeok's eyes widened.
‘Is he kidding me?’
How could it be so coincidentally perfect? Ju-Hyeok wondered if Sang-Hyeon had noticed his condition and was just lying to comfort him.
Of course, Sang-Hyeon wasn’t such a person. He absolutely wouldn’t catch on, and even if he did, he wouldn’t lie to offer comfort. That was unimaginable.
The more unimaginable thing was that what Sang-Hyeon told him could actually be true.
"An exclusive contract... it really happened, huh?"
"Yeah."
Ju-Hyeok took a moment to cool his head.
"Phew."
An exclusive model contract? That was great. Ju-Hyeok felt glad to have something to say to that arrogant kid from Navi Entertainment.
'Did they decide on this because of Almond?'
Ju-Hyeok pondered for a moment and pointed out a risk, "Being exclusive also means selling and risking your image, you know?"
"Ah, the contract we're talking about is different. It's short term."
"Short? How short?"
"One month."
"... One month?"
"Yeah."
A month? That was exceedingly short, wasn’t it? Typically, exclusive model contracts lasted at least three years.
This one was just for a month. It seemed they just wanted to use Almond until the challenge hype died down. That greatly reduced the risk of damaging his image, which almost became negligible.
However, another issue still existed.
"What about the pay?"
If the period was short, would the pay be significantly low?
"Here."
Sang-Hyeon handed over the contract. Surprisingly, it already had the amount written on it.
"... Is this a scam?" Ju-Hyeok half-joked as he asked.
The amount certainly didn’t disappoint considering the duration.
"They specifically proposed that because they're grateful."
A contract given out of gratitude was like a major sponsorship.
"With this much, it really seems like they're giving it out of gratitude. Of course, I'll need to see the whole contract as a PDF or something."
"Ah. That's..."
Sang-Hyeon sent the contract to Ju-Hyeok's phone, who read through it and nodded.
"It's not any different from the explanation."
"Right, I think it would be good for me."
If Sang-Hyeon also wanted to do it, they had no reason to hesitate.
"So, should we sign it?"
"... Hmm."
"Yeah, it might not be the best idea to sign such a contract on the same day. Let's think about it one more day before handling it."
"Ah. Um... that's not it."
"Today then?"
"No, we'll do the contract tomorrow. What are you going to do when we get home?"
"What do you mean? You live with me, man."
"Will we get home around dinner?"
"That's right. After sorting things out... let's go out for some beers."
Ju-Hyeok cocked his head, "Why are you suggesting drinking first?"
It was rare for Sang-Hyeon to propose drinking first.
"Just to celebrate a little, you know. You coming?"
"I thought we were handling the contract tomorrow?"
"It’s not for that. We've also secured many other ad contracts. You coming?"
Ju-Hyeok paused to think. His schedule was relatively free after G-Star.
"Alright. There’s no reason not to go. Let's go. I've been craving some chicken and beer."
Ju-Hyeok thought of their usual pub in front of the Ah-Sung headquarters, but Sang-Hyeon planned on heading somewhere completely different.