Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: A Truckload of Snacks
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“When you suddenly started singing live over the background music earlier, Unni, I got serious goosebumps!”
“Yeah, yeah! And then Ro-si unni joined in with the harmony. I think that was the coolest moment of the whole fan sign today.”
Yi-na chimed in, agreeing happily with Seul-bi.
“Seol-ah unni, that Italian hat you received as a gift earlier was so pretty.”
“It is pretty, but it's a little much to wear around, don't you think?”
At Ro-si's words, Seol-ah, who rarely showed excitement, seemed to be imagining places where she could wear the hat for a photo.
“What's wrong with wearing it out? We're not ordinary people anymore. We're practically celebrities.”
“…No. We're not quite celebrities yet.”
Seol-ah chuckled at Yi-na's comment.
“Did I not tell you? We've ranked within the top 100 in advertising agency power rankings.”
“Huh? There's a ranking for that?”
Seol-ah asked, her face full of curiosity at my words.
“Of course there is. There's a table for appearance fees.”
“But… isn't being in the top 100 not that great?”
“Number 99 is actor Kim Hyun-soo.”
“Wow!”
A short gasp escaped Seol-ah's lips at the news that they were on par with a famous actor.
“And if you only count pure event appearance fees, not including commercials, we're in the top 20.”
“We're amazing!”
As the eldest, Seol-ah was usually quite prim and proper, but she seemed to become a different person whenever money was mentioned. I wasn't sure why, but I really liked that side of her.
“Haaah. It still feels like a dream.”
“Unni, maybe it'll feel more real if you flex a little when you meet Ye-jun and your mother this time?”
“You're right. I should look up some nice restaurants.”
“Why look it up? I'll pick one for you.”
“Okay. Let's take advantage of our food expert, Seul-bi.”
Although Ro-si, who had received the fewest gifts, seemed a bit down, all the Answer members were happily chatting, satisfied with their successful first fan signing event.
*Vzzzt.*
“Yes, Isa-nim.”
- The fan sign went well, right?
“There was a small disturbance, but no major issues. Yoo-jun went to the police station.”
- What? Then there was a problem. Did Yoo-jun bite someone?
“Haa…”
It seemed the Director's image of Choi Yoo-jun was still that of the mad dog who had mauled Seol-ah's assailant.
“It's not like that. He went as a witness on my behalf. I caught a pervert.”
- Haaah. None of the girls were traumatized?
“No. I subdued him before he could make contact.”
- Good job. That kind of trauma can last a very long time...
I was certain the Director had some bad memories of his own.
- And what's this? A truck came and dropped off a mountain of snacks. Wangkkulsora?
I chuckled, looking at Seul-bi through the rearview mirror.
- Isn't that the company whose event Answer went to last week?
“Yes. I'll explain when I get there. I have to drive.”
- Right, of course. Okay.
After I finished the call with the Director, Seul-bi asked with a curious look on her face.
“What were you talking about? Why were you looking at me and laughing?”
“You know that event where you were the star, Seul-bi?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Seopyeong Confectionery.”
“Ah! Oh, Wangkkulsora! I did do pretty well there.”
The Answer members giggled as they recalled the events of that day.
“The chairman said he'd send a gift, and it looks like he sent snacks to the company. Do you want to go straight to the dorm and rest? Or go to the company and…”
“Company, yes! Snacks, yes, yes, yes!”
“Did he send a lot?”
“Well, it's from a corporation, so shouldn't it be enough to brag about on a live broadcast?”
Following Seul-bi's lead, Ro-si and Yi-na were also excited about the massive amount of snack boxes.
*Why are they so happy? It's not like they can even eat them.*
Since they were in light makeup and not wearing sponsored outfits, we arrived at the company quickly.
When I first came to JD Enter, I would only occasionally see Kim Sung-hoon's fans, but now a good number of Answer's fans were camped out too.
And I could see a huge number of boxes by the company entrance. Surely that couldn't all be snacks, right?
CEO Park Jae-yong also seemed amazed, counting the boxes as he walked out from inside the entrance.
I parked the car and walked up to the entrance.
“Whoa.”
“This is all snacks?”
“This is a bit much.”
The Answer members each commented with wide, surprised eyes.
“Welcome, girls. Did the fan sign go well?”
“Yes, Daepyo-nim.”
“Anyway, Head PD. What is all this?”
I didn't know why the title "Head PD" gave me such goosebumps… The Director also walked out from inside, looking bewildered.
“The truck just left.”
“It came in a truck?”
“Don't even get me started. It wasn't some one-ton delivery truck, it was a 3.5-ton wing-body truck, completely full. I thought they were just dropping off a few boxes, but they unloaded hundreds of them.”
The CEO explained the situation with an exaggerated expression.
How much would you have to send to fill a 3.5-ton truck? Even a delivery truck's worth would have been surprising, but this was on another level. It was as if they were saying, 'Eat until you drop dead.'
A confectionery company chairman could certainly afford such a display of extravagance. He might even be happily imagining our dumbfounded reactions.
“At the Seopyeong Confectionery event, Seol-ah and Seul-bi really went above and beyond.”
“Didn't he give you a hefty meal allowance last time? Wasn't that what you used to buy the budae-jjigae? What on earth did you talk about?”
*He also gave us department store gift certificates, but that's a secret.*
“The chairman there is a man with a true artisan's spirit and a lot of pride. But Seul-bi knew so much about Wangkkulsora. The chairman was so moved by it that he nearly cried.”
“…I'm hearing this and I still don't get it. Crying while talking about Wangkkulsora? Can that really be a tearjerker?”
“Right? Seul-bi, tell us in detail.”
Seul-bi recounted the events of the event in detail, and the Director and the CEO looked impressed.
“So you can get emotional over snacks.”
“Wow, this kid Seul-bi, we really need to get her on a mukbang show.”
Seul-bi smiled happily at the praise from the Director and the CEO.
“As I mentioned before, I've informed the dance program of our intention to withdraw, and we've arranged for her to appear on 'Idol of Cooking' in that time slot.”
“Good work. You handle things so well. The pillar of our JD!”
“And its owner…”
The Director whispered at the end of the CEO's sentence, so only I could hear.
We walked past the hundreds of boxes piled up from the entrance, down the hallway, and in a corner of the practice room, heading up to the office.
“Whoa. There are even snacks inside the office.”
The Answer members looked both bewildered and delighted.
“Who wants to read the letter?”
The Director handed me an envelope that was on the table.
“I'll read it.”
It was a long letter, handwritten with a brush pen.
- It has been many years since I built this company with my late father...
The letter vividly expressed the detailed events of that day and the emotions the chairman had felt. The CEO and the Director, despite hearing the story again, nodded in agreement.
- …Therefore, I have prepared 120 boxes of Wangkkulsora and 180 boxes of our other popular products and new items. I look forward to the day when the four-member girl group Answer becomes the face of our company, and I wish you all infinite prosperity in your future endeavors.
“Wooow!”
As CEO Park Jae-yong clapped, a few nearby staff members who had overheard the contents also applauded.
“Hearing it like this, it's really touching. But how are we going to deal with all this? Even if we give a few boxes to each of the staff and trainees, we'll still have half of it left.”
“Wouldn't it be best to get the chairman's permission and donate it? There's an orphanage nearby, isn't there?”
“I agree with Producer Min-jun. Even though it's a gift we've already received, it doesn't seem right to just pass it on without asking.”
Just then, Seul-bi timidly raised her hand.
“Um… If I may be so bold, I would also like to say a word.”
“…”
“It is a gift received for a meaningful occasion and should be covered in the news, but in order to keep our promise to deliver the first news via live broadcast…”
It was Seul-bi's very roundabout way of saying they should take a few boxes to their dorm.
“Are you girls confident about your InBody results?”
“Yes! We are confident!”
Seul-bi and Yi-na shouted loudly in response to the Director's question.
“Alright, since we're on the topic, let's make a rule.”
“?”
“Take as much as you want. But.”
“But?”
The Answer members tensed up.
“If you deviate from your target weight, you'll be fined 10% of your individual earnings.”
“Gasp! T-Ten percent?”
For the members of Answer, whose individual earnings would soon range from tens of thousands to six figures, 10% was an enormous amount of money.
“We'll collect that money and donate it in some form. And the company will match the fines you pay with our own donation.”
“Ughhh.”
“Are you in? The four of you discuss it and decide. We'll even write up a legally binding agreement.”
Contrary to their initial shocked reaction, the members nodded without much discussion.
To have a long career, building a good public image was essential. Securing donations this way was a perfectly good thing to do.
Of course, all the members were also sincere about doing good deeds.
***
I went through a customer service agent at Seopyeong Confectionery and was passed through several people before finally being connected to the chairman.
“…For that reason, after distributing as much as we can to our employees and artists, we were thinking of donating the rest to the Sadang Orphanage. In the name of Chairman Gyeon Sang-heon of Seopyeong Confectionery, of course.”
- Hahaha! You people are so kind-hearted. In that case, I can't just sit back and do nothing. If we're going to donate, we can't just give to one place and not others. Give me a day. We need to arrange for dispatch.
“By dispatch, you mean…”
- There are about 50 orphanages nationwide. We should send a truck to each of them.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
Factoring in the production and logistics costs for the snacks, it would be a significant sum of money.
- Don't thank me. My late father and I also went through the Korean War...
I listened to Chairman Gyeon Sang-heon's life story for quite a while, but in the end, a donation was arranged that would be a win-win for both Answer's and Seopyeong Confectionery's public image.
“Well then, I look forward to the day we might meet again, and I wish you good health and a prosperous future for Seopyeong Confectionery.”
- Hahaha. You young people have such a nice way with words.
After I ended the call and relayed the situation, the CEO, the Director, and the Answer members all had expressions of surprise and fulfillment.
“Answer has a busy schedule tomorrow, so it would be best if I go deliver it, right? It'll be good PR for JD Enter, too.”
“I'll contact the orphanage and reporter Shin Dong-min.”
“Okay. Then shall we start distributing the snacks?”
Snack boxes were given to the roughly 40 people at JD Enter, including the trainees.
“What's all this?”
Siljang Ji and Timjang Lee, who had returned to the office late, asked with surprised faces.
“Ah, well. Answer went to a Seopyeong Confectionery event the other day… and the chairman was so moved… he gave them an envelope… you took some of the budae-jjigae then too, didn't you, Siljang Ji?… They must have given him our address, because do you know what a 3.5-ton wing-body truck is? One just pulled up right in front of the company and I was wondering what was going on… I thought they'd just drop off a few boxes, but they unloaded everything on it, you know? Wow, it was insane…”
The CEO gave Siljang Ji and Timjang Lee his own summarized version of the story.
“My kids are going to love this!”
“Please, take as much as you can carry. Many people only took one box, so there's plenty left.”
At my words, Siljang Ji and Timjang Lee grinned from ear to ear.
“Wow, our Answer girls. We'll really enjoy these!”
The staff and trainees left for the day carrying anywhere from one to three boxes each. With the price of snacks being what it is these days, it seemed to be a rather significant gift.
We still had a lot of snack boxes left, so we gave one to each of the twenty or so fans who were waiting outside to see Sung-hoon hyung and Answer.
“Thank youuu!”
“Waaah! JD Enter is the best!”
The fans, who had waited until evening, went home happily, each carrying a box.
“Our Answer is amazing.”
A smile spread across the Answer members' faces at my words.
It was amazing to think again how a single, casual comment at an event could come back in such a wonderful way.
*Vzzzt.*
It was a call from Lee Yoo-ah.
“Hello, Yoo-ah.”
- What are you doing after work?
“Going home to do more work.”
- Let's have dinner. With my parents.
The thought of having dinner with her parents felt a bit burdensome for some reason.
“You're leaving the country in a few days. You should spend some quality time with your parents.”
- Everything that's happened to me is thanks to you, Oppa. At least let me treat you to a meal.
There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Lee Yoo-ah's voice. I had no choice. *I'll accept the dinner as a way of cheering her on.*
“It'll probably take me about an hour.”
- I'm already home from my schedule. Oppa, what do you like to eat?
“I like everything; I'm not a picky eater. If you're treating, pick somewhere delicious rather than expensive. And I'll stop by in my car, so we can go together.”
- Ah… no, that's okay. Let's just go separately.
For a moment, I forgot something I should have remembered.
Yoo-ah's father was in a wheelchair due to a delivery accident, and that seemed to be on her mind. Her father would probably be more comfortable using accessible transportation anyway.
“Alright. Just send me the address.”
It had been a while, and I found myself missing a family atmosphere.
I need to heal sometimes, too.