Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: MCN Selection
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Na Kyung-mo popped a piece of gum into his mouth from his pocket and opened YouTube. He checked the recently uploaded ad video on the Sky and Kite channel.
It hadn't been up long, but it already had 100,000 views. At this rate, it would surpass their average view count. The high like ratio and overwhelmingly positive comments made that clear.
But good reactions didn't necessarily mean high purchase rates.
"This one's not going to be easy. Stam is the flagship product in the canned goods industry, but Shine Muscat isn't."
The Shine Muscat handled by Oju Foods was premium quality—better than what you find at regular marts, but priced accordingly. Food was all about taste, but when fruit got expensive, accessibility dropped.
After all, fewer people splurged on fruit than on meat.
That's why Oju Foods' premium Shine Muscat didn't have widespread name recognition.
"Please, just let this one turn out well too."
He kept refreshing the site, chewing his gum vigorously. His legs wouldn't stop shaking from the tension.
He'd acted confident in front of Kim Haneul, but Na Kyung-mo had a lot riding on this ad. Its success or failure would decide if he got promoted next year.
It had to succeed.
Na Kyung-mo refreshed the purchase rates whenever he had a free moment.
The results were a resounding success.
- Total Sales: 280 million won.
It far exceeded expectations.
Na Kyung-mo let out a silent cheer and typed out a message to Sky and Kite.
Hello, Sky and Kite. This is Na Kyung-mo from Oju Foods' marketing team.
First off, thank you so much for promoting the ad so enthusiastically. Not only did you boost the YouTube views, but you even posted extra Stories that weren't in the contract, which greatly amplified the ad's impact.
Getting straight to the point: current total sales for Shine Muscat are 280 million won. Based on the 5% commission, you'll receive approximately 14 million won.
You worked hard on producing the video, and congratulations again on soon hitting 400,000 subscribers. We cheer on your limitless potential and look forward to partnering with you again as your top choice.
Forty-four million won had hit their account from just this one ad. But unlike with the Stam ad, we couldn't celebrate purely.
"Why do all the inquiries keep coming to us?"
"Right? And way too many emails."
There was just too much to handle.
Inquiries about Shine Muscat flooded our inbox, even though we'd posted a notice directing people to contact Oju Foods headquarters directly. We still got all sorts of questions.
On top of that, we had to deal with taxes, malicious comments, and weird replies on the videos.
There was so much to keep track of.
"Never thought channel growth would bring all this."
"Yeah. Maybe we should seriously consider an MCN like you said, Sis."
One ad disrupting our main shoots made us seriously weigh joining an MCN.
MCNs provided creators with various services. In exchange for a cut of the revenue, they handled schedules, external tasks, and even deep operational support to back up creators.
That's why most major YouTubers joined MCNs for the help.
We asked Park Su-han, who knew more about MCNs than we did.
We'd kept in touch with him after Relay Cooking Race, building our relationship. No collabs yet, but we'd shouted each other out a few times on stream.
Park Su-han shared everything he knew in detail.
First up, industry leader Titan had the best infrastructure. They managed dozens of million-sub creators and were massive.
But their contracts were stingy. They supported big names systematically, but smaller ones got almost nothing. Plus, being ultra-realistic, they prioritized current scale over growth potential.
"Negotiating with them would put us at a huge disadvantage."
"Yeah. I heard a 500k sub channel got a really bad deal recently. Though they're getting better support now."
"Pass for now, then."
I was confident I could grow our channel fast. But bad terms and uncertain support? No thanks.
Second, Viper—kinda unique.
Most MCNs made bank on ads and events. Viper focused on merch sales and group buys instead.
Even their contracted influencers earned more from merch and secondary sales than ads.
"The cooking YouTubers under Viper do a ton of meal kits. Wonder if that's profitable."
"Hmm. It's iffy. Steady revenue if done right, but nailing it is tough."
In my past life, I'd dabbled in meal kits. A restaurant I consulted for during a cash crunch ran an ad campaign with them.
I'd thought it'd be easy at first.
I'm a top chef—if I put my mind to it, success was guaranteed.
But meal kits were brutal.
Easy to make, tasty, substantial ingredients, mass-producible, profitable... And even then, if it didn't sell big, you were sunk.
"Third one's quirky."
"Yeah, didn't know there was an MCN doing elite-only."
Last was Ocean.
About 100 contracted influencers—tiny compared to others with hundreds. But they ranked top-tier because every one was a gem.
Especially since the CEO was a chaebol heir with deep pockets for support.
Great terms made it the hottest MCN around.
Problem: insanely selective.
"Heard a million-sub channel applied recently and got rejected."
"Even with their clout and decent views?"
"Yup. Check this—big channels drop like flies, small ones even more."
Sis showed me the roster. No clear pattern. So we asked Park Su-han again.
"Ocean would be ideal if possible, right?"
"Totally. Look—a 100k channel hit a million subs in a year after joining. Best MCN hands down."
"Ocean it is."
We applied to Ocean per his advice. Soon, they replied to discuss terms.
After the reply, we prepped to negotiate favorable terms. Or tried to.
"I'll handle this one solo."
Normally, Sis researched, and I negotiated based on that. She excelled at data, I at deals.
But this time, she wanted to go alone.
"Why? Got a reason?"
"This is our channel. But thinking it over... I'm not really contributing much."
Sis sighed deeply, her eyes heavy with worry.
"Look—we brainstorm ideas together? You shoot and suffer most, lead ad deals? Even external stuff, you're grinding hardest. Me? Just editing."
"Nah, you do research and analysis."
"We do that together."
She had me there; I couldn't argue.
From the start, we'd split roles clearly.
Hers included research and market analysis—but by then, I'd join in out of boredom, and soon we handled most things jointly.
"You sure you can?"
"I've been practicing for this. Don't worry."
She brimmed with confidence. After freezing during the Stam ad, she'd drilled presentations—watching interview vids, reading books in spare time.
But practice and real deals? Worlds apart.
Most aced rehearsals but blanked live.
I wanted to stop her.
Ocean talks were heavier than routine ad deals. Failure would crush her.
'Can't watch that. What to do?'
I scratched my head, trying to persuade her.
But then: 'Shouldn't I trust her too?'
If her closest person didn't believe in her when she was nervous? Brutal.
After agonizing, I nodded.
"Okay. You trusted me plenty; can't not trust you. But we research together. Refuse that, no MCN."
"Deal. Thanks."
Her eyes curved into crescents as she hugged me. I felt her racing heart—nerves, probably. Stroking her back, I caught her warm peach scent.
'Took guts to say that.'
Now fully committed, I'd back her all the way.
Interview day arrived.
"Here's the contract. Take a look."
An Ocean rep handed it over.
We pored over the clauses. Sis confidently sorted demands from poison pills.
A week's grind—no skipped dates, pure practice. Should yield solid results.
But finishing the read, we blinked in confusion.
"Uh... these terms are really good? Normal?"
9:1 split, content support budget, optional ads/events, monthly collab/event lists for opt-ins—better than we'd hoped.
"Not usually. But the CEO loves your channel, and we rate your potential highly."
"The CEO..."
"Yoo Han-seong, the chaebol heir. He says make the terms sweet, and you'll cook him a meal later."
"S-So no negotiation?"
"Pretty much. Hard to sweeten further. Anything else?"
"...No."
No negotiation left Sis sighing in mixed relief and regret. She slumped, then signed.
Our week of hellish prep ended anticlimactically.