Chapter 46: Our meeting was a coincidence (4)

Chapter 46: Our meeting was a coincidence (4)

He wasn’t the CEO of Yoo Sung Electronics at this time, but Lee Chul Ho would become the CEO of Yoo Sung Electronics in the future. Do Wook had no idea he’d meet the guy he’d seen on the economy-related news in person.

It was something that a typical agency PR employee could never imagine.

Yoo Sung Electronics was the nation’s leading conglomerate, the nation’s undisputed leader in home appliances and related electronic devices. They were still the best even now, and they would maintain their number one spot for the next decade.

They had also started investing in the cell phone business early on, so 70% of cell phone users in the nation used Yoo Sung Electronics’ products.

The company that recently gave the KK members cell phones while giving phones to Milky Way and Monster was Yoo Sung Electronics.

Do Wook bowed his head as he accepted the slightly cracked cell phone.

“Ah, Thank you.”

“You dropped it because of that woman right? Our mangnae* was always a bit of a tomboy since she was little...I apologize on her behalf.”

(TL note: mangnae is the youngest)

President Lee Chul Ho said as he raised the edge of his horn-rimmed glasses. Do Wook shook his head.

It was later discovered that the woman was the president of Yoo Sung Fashion. Yoo Sung Fashion was a company under Yoo Sung Electronics. It was also the company that gave Lucas the investment money and made it possible for him to launch his brand.

Yoo Sung Fashion’s President Lee Yoon Min was President Lee Chul Ho’s youngest sister.

“Pardon? Not at all. I’m ok.”

“That’s right, you were on the runway right? Your name was...”

“Ah, sorry for the late introduction. I’m Kang Do Wook.”

“I was late introducing myself too. I’m Lee Chul Ho.”

All he did was tell him his name, but Lee Chul Ho smiled brightly when Do Wook nodded his head. It seemed like he knew Do Wook recognized him right away. Diiscover new stories at novelhall.com

Lee Chul Ho was wearing a blue suit and horn-rimmed glasses. Contrary to the image that came to mind when he was on the news, he had a slightly more relaxed vibe. It might be because he was a middle-aged president and not a CEO yet.

During his days as an office worker, Do Wook didn’t think he would be able to have a proper conversation with him. He surprised himself when he realized that he was able to converse more casually than he expected.

It was true, though, that he was overwhelmed by Lee Chul Ho’s soft but serious charisma.

“I enjoyed the show. Anyways, that’s unfortunate about the crack on your phone...it cracked when all you did was drop it.”

Lee Chul Ho frowned slightly. When he realized there was a flaw in his product, he was upset. Once he frowned, Do Wook felt the fierce Lee Chul Ho of Yoo Sung Electronics that he had expected.

Before Do Wook could reply that it was ok, a person who looked like President Lee Chul Ho’s secretary approached them.

“Mr. President, there you are.”

You could tell immediately by looking at the man that he was pressed for time. President Lee Chul Ho’s schedule had the 24 hours of the day broken down to the last minute. As the person in charge of such a schedule, it was a given that he was always in a hurry.

The man was even more taken aback over the fact that the person President Lee Chul Ho was speaking with wasn’t someone important, but just a young model.

“Director Yoon.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Please send this person a new phone of our best product series.”

Chief Yoon replied without question.

“Ok, Understood.”

Having given the order, Lee Chul Ho asked Do Wook.

“Black like your old one? White?”

“I’m really ok, but if that will make you feel better...”

“You get it.”*

Do Wook also got into position after starting the melody. The six of them sang “Windy Day’ in sync while in plank position. This was the rehearsal for the live performance.

Do Wook thought that instead of his morning workout, he should find a fitness center and sing while running on the treadmill.

It happened when everyone was heading out after dripping in sweat during rehearsal.

The members, who were in rehearsal clothes, gathered after Oh Baek Ho called them over. Kwon Heung Jo, the production director, ordered a meeting.

“Do you think he’s mad because the bill for the beef came out so high?”

Ahn Hyung Seo muttered as they walked in a single file line to the conference room. Oh Baek Ho and the members looked at Ahn Hyung Seo, dumbfounded. Ahn Hyung Seo said, “Nevermind,” and scratched his head.

Still, the members were more comfortable with Director Kwon now compared to before, and they even had the company dinner together recently.

Actually, during their trainee days they had no reason to meet with higher ups. So much so that as far as they were concerned, the Rookie Development Team Leader Im Sung Ahn was the highest ranking person in the company. To the members, Production Director Kwon Heung Jo wasn’t someone they could meet with easily.

Once they entered the large conference room, of course the Album Production Team Leader Shim Joon was there, but also the Fan marketing Team Leader Jo Anna, PD Yong Soo Chul, and the employees in charge of KK-related things were all gathered.

The members couldn’t help but be surprised that the meeting was bigger than they expected.

“Please, come in.”

Today’s meeting was to announce to everyone that on top of having the repackage album coming up, they signed a contract with Yoo Sung Electronics, and to tell the members the truth.

Director Kwon continued to speak once the members got settled in their seats and the conference room atmosphere calmed down again.

“The new song ‘Windy Day’ is actually also a sample song that will be included in the new model of Yoo Sung Electronics’ Apollo cell phone series.”

Since they were still in the contract stage, it was something only the Team Leaders and PD Yong Soo Chul were told.

The Yoo Sung Electronics marketing team recently released many versions of smartphones. They used aggressive and direct marketing to compete with foreign companies looking to enter the Korean market.

Among them, the project they were pushing the most was the project involving music.

‘As more and more people listen to music on their smartphones, products like CD and MP3 players are starting to disappear. It’ll be even more so moving forward...’

Do Wook thought as he listened to the explanation.

One of the projects involving music was putting in a song from a famous singer as part of the basic music for checking sound quality etc. However, picking a singer was quite difficult due to royalties and other issues. Obviously, singers with greater promotional pull would cost marketing a fortune.

During their search for singers, KK was the group that had the promotional pull they wanted with a reasonable fee.

HIT Entertainment welcomed Yoo Sung Electronics' proposal with open arms.

Honestly, you could say Yoo Sung Electronics’ main goal with this project was to engrave into the public’s opinion that the Apollo smartphone was also a good device to listen to music with.

It was clear that KK would benefit more from this promotional partnership if their song was put in all Yoo Sung Electronics Apollo series models. Therefore, HIT Entertainment signed the contract without being picky about the music fees and other issues.

Marketing Team Leader Jo Anna played a large part in closing the deal after getting confirmation from the HIT Entertainment board members.

As he listened to the short briefing on the process and outcome, Do Wook admired the administration and management’s decision-making skills.

‘HIT Entertainment was a small company, but there’s a reason for their continued success.’

The KK members looked down at the cell phones they had been using. Their song would be in every cell phone that would come out in the future.

“Furthermore, Yoo Sung Electronics has one more project they’re working on...”

Director Kwon started to speak.

“They said artists from different fields will be included in the advertisement. That is, based on each of their work.”

Do Wook opened his eyes wide.

‘Could it be THAT ad...?!’

Do Wook remembered the Apollo advertisement that was widely popular at one point.

It was an ad that was so popular that many parodies of it were continuously made.

—