Chapter 143: Double-Edged Sword
Chapter 143: Double-Edged Sword
“Ah, this is pissing me off.”
Han Seungwoo frowned and set his spoon down.
But not even a second later, he picked the spoon back up.
“Why is this good? Am I so drunk my taste buds went numb?”
Nice.
He looked like the world wronged him, but since he didn’t stop scooping, it wasn’t empty talk.
“This taste is seriously infuriating.”
“What did I tell you. I said it was good.”
Han Seungwoo complained the whole time, but he wiped the bowl clean.
If it worked even on Han Seungwoo’s picky palate, there was a high chance it would work on the public too.
Then there was no reason to hesitate.
Singgeut headquarters.
Ice Cream Marketing Team office.
Only the dry clatter of keyboards echoed in the room.
Breaking the silence, an assistant manager with dark skin spoke cautiously.
“Team Leader.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Are we really okay doing nothing like this?”
“Just trust him and wait. It’s Ryu Sunho.”
It’s Ryu Sunho.
At that simple line, he couldn’t argue and just nodded.
And it made sense—everything Ryu Sunho showed so far was the kind of work that made even a marketer marvel.
The vegetarian ad he showed on “Two Table.”
The pop-up store performance that promoted “Doctor Princess.”
Even the organ donation campaign that linked the Ministry of Health and Welfare with another drama.
They were all dazzling ideas, and the results were massive successes.
“If we interfere by pretending to give guidelines, we might just end up limiting his creativity instead. He stepped up and said he would handle it himself, so he’s definitely cooking up something brilliant.”
“Ah… yeah, that’s true. This is my first time seeing a case like this… I guess I worried for nothing.”
“Right. So the hardest work we can do is just trust him and wait. Don’t rush him for no reason.”
At the team leader’s confident words, the assistant manager nodded again.
Yeah. If it was Ryu Sunho, he would definitely bring something refined, moving, and high-end.
Ring ring—
Just then, the phone rang at the team leader’s desk.
When he checked the caller information, his eyes lit up.
“They say speak of the tiger and it appears. He called right away.”
He cleared his throat, then picked up the receiver in a gentle voice.
“Yes, hello. This is Team Leader Seo Dongju from Singgeut.”
Team Leader Jo Sehun’s voice came through the receiver.
Team Leader Seo Dongju pulled a memo pad closer, ready to jot the idea down.
But.
As he listened, Seo Dongju paused.
His relaxed smile slowly started to warp.
“…Pardon?”
He doubted his ears, thinking he misheard.
But when the clear word came again, Team Leader Seo Dongju’s pupils shook violently.
“Chili oil ice cream…?”
Singgeut headquarters, main conference room.
Several employees were tasting ice cream, each wearing a different expression.
“Slurp… why is this good?”
“Th-that’s what I’m saying. What is this?”
“I’m bad with spicy food, so it’s a little spicy for me, but Only One’s vanilla taste neutralizes the heat, so it weirdly matches. It’s kind of addictive.”
“…Wow. This is a truly surprising combination. I never would’ve imagined it.”
They poured out honest reactions.
But their faces still looked confused.
As for how this happened…
Through Team Leader Jo Sehun, I delivered the idea to Singgeut.
Then they made an urgent request, saying they wanted to meet me in person and hear the explanation, and it ended up turning into a tasting session.
Well, I understood the reaction.
If you only heard it in words without tasting it yourself, you couldn’t picture it.
“It’s much better than we worried it would be. But… Sunho, I think you need to think about this more carefully.”
Team Leader Seo Dongju wiped his mouth and spoke cautiously.
“The first impression from the name and visuals of ‘chili oil ice cream’ is too strong. Once you actually try it, it’s tasty and it’s a fun idea, but the risk burden is just as high. I don’t think we can carry the possibility of negative issues on our side. I’m sorry, even though you put in the effort.”
I nodded.
It was the reaction I expected.
From the standpoint of a conservative food company, it was a natural concern.
“Right. There’s some risk.”
Everyone in the conference room looked at me at the same time.
They looked more flustered because I admitted it so easily, when they expected me to get defensive.
“So what I’m saying is, I’m not suggesting we use this as an official ad.”
“Then if it’s not an ad?”
“It’s content.”
“…Pardon?”
“More precisely, content that won’t injure the brand even if it fails.”
I looked at the ice cream on the table.
“Only One is already a proven brand. That it’s good, that it’s smooth—every Korean knows that.”
“That’s true.”
“The problem is that teens and people in their twenties don’t have a reason to eat Only One right now. It’s too familiar.”
The team leader nodded without speaking.
He was probably thinking of the sales graph he showed at our last meeting.
“So I’m not saying to change the product. I’m saying we shake up the way people eat it once.”
“Shake up the way they eat it?”
“As you already know, these days, rather than simply recommending, ‘This is delicious,’ showing a new combination spreads faster. Because it creates curiosity.”
“Mm… that’s true. The way our Singgeut banana-flavored milk and hazelnut coffee got mixed and spread lately was like that too.”
The team leader continued, quickly finding the right example.
“But even so, if consumers take it the wrong way, there’s still risk to the brand image—”
“No. Usually, they’ll think this.”
I added lightly with a small laugh.
“Ryu Sunho, with his unhinged palate, made something weird again.”
“…!”
The air in the conference room clearly changed.
The team leader’s gaze wavered.
Seeing that, I laughed to myself.
He probably didn’t expect me to say that out loud.
What the team leader pointed out was correct.
A company that was already on track had to pursue stability.
A company guarded against a single mistake more than a hundred wins, and the team leader’s job was to carry that responsibility.
And even I thought this chili oil ice cream was a high-risk, high-return idea.
This kind of noise marketing was inevitably a double-edged sword for a company.
But what if the risk was carried by an individual, not the company?
Then it changed.
If there was no risk on the company side, it was simply a powerful sword with a razor-sharp edge.
And strictly speaking, there was no risk for me either.
Ever since appearing on “Two Table,” a frame like “unique palate” or “weird-food eater” already stuck to me.
People fundamentally found someone with some flaws more approachable and lovable than someone who seemed too perfect.
It wasn’t like I committed a crime.
It also didn’t interfere with my main job, acting.
A weird palate was the kind of cute flaw people could laugh off.
In the end, with this double-edged sword, nobody got cut.
So as long as nobody criticized the taste, it was a success.
“You all tasted it and felt it, right? That it’s actually pretty good. If even just a few people try it out of curiosity and share that it tastes good, it’ll blow up.”
I added one last line.
“And when that happens, Only One will go from ‘old dad ice cream’ to ‘the ice cream everyone mentions the most these days.’”
After a short silence, Team Leader Seo Dongju let out a hollow laugh.
“…It’s a really weird proposal… but I can’t help agreeing with all of it.”
He looked back and forth between the ice cream and me, then made his decision.
“Fine. Then let’s do it.”
Nice.
Tap—
I made a simple short-form video and uploaded it right away.
I felt like I was getting nervous.
In front of them, I talked big.
But if people completely rejected my palate, I thought I might feel a little sad.
As expected, the early reactions were exactly what you would think.
???????
Is this a deepfake?
└ It’s on Ryu Sunho’s real account though..?
…Who told Ryu Sunho to do whatever he wants;;
…Sunho, sorry. No matter how much I love you, I can’t shield this one
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You went to England and came back with your taste buds gone?
└ No, Ryu Sunho’s palate was kind of weird to begin with
└ Then this is just Ryu Sunho being Ryu Sunho?
└ Yeah, maybe British food awakened Ryu Sunho’s Black Flame Dragon;;
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ How far does the lore go
└ I knew it back when he made and ate yuzu donggeurangttaeng
└ Now I get Go Junhyeok’s reactionㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Let me correct myself.
The reaction was even more intense than I expected.
The comments were plastered with shock.
But if I set emotions aside and analyzed it coldly, it was a very good situation.
Indifference was the scariest thing.
This kind of loud uproar meant the noise marketing was landing.
All it needed was one trigger, and this negative reaction would flip to positive fast.
When I stopped paying attention to the reactions for a bit, after some time passed, the situation reversed.
The starting point was Park Juwon.
Without me even asking, maybe he saw my post, because he uploaded a video to his own Instagram.
…Huh? It’s better than I thought?
I’m not praising it because I’m close with Sunho. I was going to be honest and say no if it was no, you know?
But why is this good?
He even had the sense to use Only One ice cream as-is, showing it clearly.
Once Park Juwon, who was recognized as having a normal palate, said it tasted good, public opinion began to stir.
Is it real?
Did Ryu Sunho threaten him or something?
└ Park Juwon is a senior by a lot though?
└ And Park Juwon isn’t the type to watch a junior’s moodㅋㅋ
I should try it too, just to see?
I’m buying Only One on my way home today, yeah. If it’s bad, I’m suing Ryu Sunho—later, bye.
People got curious and started trying it one after another.
Review videos started going up on YouTube and TikTok.
“Chili Oil Ice Cream Review with a Subtle Flavor (feat. Ryu Sunho Recipe)”
“The Visual Is Extreme Disgust but It’s Surprisingly Good Weird Food?!”
“We’ll Eat It for You Instead – Chili Oil Ice Cream, What Does It Taste Like?”
Then Lee Sunja dealt the finishing blow.
The young village head Lee Sunja, who was now a big YouTuber with 700,000 subscribers, uploaded a tasting video with familiar faces—Ganghwa grandmothers.
“Conservative Grandmothers Taste Chili Oil Ice Cream! (Profanity Warning)”
I dragged the playback bar to the segment people watched the most.
…What the hell is this! Why are you pouring bright red oil on ice cream!
That visual looks nasty as hell! I’m not eating it!
They say this is ice cream Sunho made! They say it’s a trend! Try it!
…Yeah? Our Sunho?
Then I gotta at least taste it. Even if it’s poisoned, if Sunho gave it to me, I gotta eat it.
The grandmothers frowned hard and took a bite.
Then their eyes rounded.
…Huh? Why is this tasty?
It’s not greasy at all, it’s just right. Looks like Bachelor Sunho cooks pretty well too!
I don’t think that’s it!
The grandmothers’ raw reaction video, which didn’t look like it had a single lie in it, climbed into YouTube trending and poured fuel onto the trend.
If the grandmothers approved, isn’t it over? Sunja’s grandmothers can’t do empty talk
This is actually good; I just made it and it vanished instantly
What kind of life did Ryu Sunho live to come up with weird food like thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The mood kept heating up.
While my lips were curling upward at the sight of negative opinion turning into curiosity and interest, an unexpected person dropped a nuclear bomb.
“Spicy Chili Oil Ice Cream Challenge!”
A dazzling, gleaming plate.
On it sat a rough-looking scoop of ice cream and chili oil.
The person who uploaded this video, filled with dissonance, was—
None other than—
“Uuumm!”
Princess Shupi.
A mega influencer, and a princess of the British royal family.
This is going global?