Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: A Hectic Departure and a Lowball Offer
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It was the day Lee Yoo-ah was departing for the United States.
Lee Yoo-ah's parents and several employees from JD Entertainment came to the airport to see her off, and many entertainment reporters were there filming.
“You memorized the numbers to call if you get lost, right? And the embassy number, too.”
“Oh, Mom. My English is better than you think, so don't worry.”
“That's right, ma'am. Besides, I'm going with her. Don't you worry!”
Despite the opposition from Director Lee Sun and Manager Ji, CEO Park Jae-yong had decided to accompany her to America and assist with her week-long schedule.
“Please take good care of Yoo-ah. We’re so worried about all the gun violence in America.”
“Hahaha. Sir, ma'am, don't worry. The places Lee Yoo-ah will be going for her schedule aren't like that. It seems common because it's always in the news, but it doesn't happen often in affluent areas like New York, so please don't worry.”
While the CEO spouted useless information at her parents, Yoo-ah glanced around, just in case, and then gave a bittersweet smile.
She knew the busy Min-jun wouldn't have time to see her off, but she couldn't help feeling a pang of disappointment.
“I’ll definitely come back successful.”
Lee Yoo-ah muttered to herself.
“Hahaha! Whose student is our Yoo-ah? Isn't she Park Jae-yong's prized pupil? Don't worry! You'll kill it over there!”
Startled by Park Jae-yong's bluster after he overheard her, Yoo-ah felt some of the tension from her first flight begin to dissipate.
“I'm so glad you're coming with me, Daepyo-nim.”
“Hahaha! Of course, you are.”
Park Jae-yong laughed, seemingly oblivious to the underlying meaning of Yoo-ah's words.
“Alright, let's get going.”
There was still plenty of time before boarding, but as it was her first time flying, Yoo-ah figured there must be a good reason.
“I'll be back. Don't worry, and take care of your health.”
As her parents' eyes welled up, tears came to Yoo-ah's own eyes.
“*Sob*. Our amazing daughter, have a safe trip.”
“Why are you crying? This is a good thing.”
“Then why are you crying? It’s a happy day.”
“Because you and Dad are crying.”
After a long hug, the two of them entered the departure hall.
“*Hic… sniffle*.”
“……”
Yoo-ah's sobs didn't subside easily after parting with her parents, and Park Jae-yong wore an awkward smile, looking both concerned and troubled.
A moment later, Yoo-ah thought it was a true blessing that CEO Park Jae-yong had come with her. From the security checkpoint through immigration, the moment she faced the vast airport terminal, which seemed to stretch on endlessly, she felt a wave of dizziness.
Countless duty-free shops. Dazzling lights everywhere. It was enough to blur the sadness she felt from parting with her parents.
“Come on, let's hurry.”
At Park Jae-yong's urging, Yoo-ah followed him so quickly she was breathing heavily.
‘KAL Lounge?’
“Hoo! We finally made it.”
From cup ramen to various cookies and breads, a few dishes reminiscent of a buffet, and several types of alcohol, Yoo-ah's eyes widened in amazement.
At the same time, the quietness of the lounge, despite the number of people, felt strangely incongruous.
“Yoo-ah. Have you ever had ramen with cognac?”
“Cognac? You mean whiskey?”
“Just try it. We're flying Prestige Class, you have to try this.”
Park Jae-yong said as he poured hot water into two cup ramens.
“This would cost you almost a million won at a bar. It's unlimited here, so drink up.”
“Huh? Oh… okay.”
Yoo-ah finally understood why CEO Park Jae-yong had been in such a hurry. But thanks to him, she was able to shake off most of her sadness and anxiety.
“Kyah. It’s breathed nicely. Try it.”
Park Jae-yong said with a goofy grin, creating an anticipation she hadn't felt before.
“But am I allowed to drink?”
“Of course. What's the point of flying Prestige otherwise! Drink up. Drink up and get some good sleep.”
Yoo-ah smiled with interest at the sight of her CEO encouraging his artist to drink rather than stopping her.
Although she wasn't particularly interested in whiskey, hearing how expensive it was made her take a small sip. She had expected it to be incredibly strong, but the cognac, with its notes of fruit and chocolate, went down surprisingly smoothly.
“Whoa… It’s not as strong as I thought!”
“That's why people drink good liquor.”
Yoo-ah found the unimaginable combination of cup ramen and whiskey to be unexpectedly pleasant.
Then it occurred to her that perhaps CEO Park Jae-yong was a more thoughtful person than he let on.
She had only just realized that the gloomy and overwhelming feelings she’d had until a moment ago had completely vanished.
A modest but surprisingly varied selection of food. The two of them, caring little whether people recognized them or not, happily passed the time indulging in delicious food and various kinds of alcohol.
“Kyah. Madeleines and milk, a classic.”
“…Aren't you eating a bit too much?”
Although Yoo-ah was pleasantly tipsy, she couldn't help but worry as she watched a drunk Park Jae-yong devour his tenth madeleine and fifth carton of milk.
“The ultimate combination where savory and sweet coexist. Madeleines and white milk.”
Watching CEO Park Jae-yong marvel at the food, Yoo-ah felt a sense of unease and discreetly checked the time.
“By the way, when do we board our flight?”
“Hmm… We have 40 minutes left, shall we start heading over?”
With flushed faces, Park Jae-yong and Yoo-ah left the lounge.
“Oh, wait! The foreign reporters will be waiting for us when we land… Yoo-ah, let's go buy some *sunglasses*. I'll get you a pair, too.”
“I'm fine, really…”
Yoo-ah said, trying to stifle a laugh at the way Park Jae-yong had deliberately exaggerated the pronunciation of ‘sunglasses’.
“Hmm. Ah… this one makes my head look a bit big.”
“Hmm… The nose pads on this one are too hard.”
“Ah… you can’t beat the classics. Should I go with Ray-Bans?”
Despite saying he would buy sunglasses for Yoo-ah, Park Jae-yong was only looking for ones that suited him. It wasn't until after they had scoured three more shops that he was finally able to pick a pair he liked.
“Let's go. It's right around the corner.”
But contrary to his relaxed tone, Park Jae-yong’s pace quickened, and Yoo-ah grew anxious as well.
“But this is gate 27. We're supposed to be at 37.”
“Ugh. I guess this isn't it. The other way!”
Finally dropping his leisurely pretense, Park Jae-yong started moving at a near-run, and Yoo-ah's anxiety mounted.
As they walked at a brisk pace, almost jogging, a loud announcement echoed through the terminal.
-Will passenger Park Jae-yong and passenger Lee Yoo-ah, traveling on KAL flight 747-8 departing for New York JFK at 10:15 AM, please come to gate 37.
“That's us!?”
“It… it is.”
Yoo-ah’s face turned pale at Park Jae-yong’s flustered expression. He snatched Yoo-ah's bag from her and started running.
“Phew.”
“S-Sorry.”
A sigh of exasperation escaped Yoo-ah's lips, causing Park Jae-yong to sweat even more.
The two of them ran for a long time in the opposite direction, but Incheon Airport's terminal was enormous.
-Will passenger Park! Jae! Yong! and passenger Lee! Yoo! Ah!, traveling on KAL flight 747-8 departing for New York JFK at 10:15 AM, please come to gate 37 immediately.
Park Jae-yong and Yoo-ah, now sweating and ashen-faced, kept running.
“Over there!”
Fortunately, airline staff who recognized them guided them, and the two managed to board the plane just before departure.
“*Gasp. Gasp*. We’re so sorry. So sorry.”
Having caused a mental disturbance to the departure, Park Jae-yong and Yoo-ah bowed their heads repeatedly to the flight attendants and passengers who were staring at them.
“Phew. Safe.”
The two of them collapsed into their seats.
“*Pant. Pant*.”
“Haa… haa… Pfft.”
A small laugh suddenly escaped from Yoo-ah, who had been catching her breath while looking out the window. Now that it was over, she found that the dynamic boarding experience wasn't so bad after all.
Whether he intended it or not, thanks to Park Jae-yong, all of Yoo-ah's worries and stress had vanished. With an ecstatic expression, she began to enjoy the view of the bright, cloudy sky.
***
The ratings for ‘We Live Together,’ which had been plummeting due to its forced plot and clichés, saw a major rebound thanks to the episode featuring Answer and Seol-ah's younger brother, Ye-jun, at a theme park. The decision to minimize scripted elements and embrace a more natural style had paid off.
The response to Answer and Seol-ah's family, who had finally found popularity after a long struggle, and especially to Ye-jun's first-ever hamburger mukbang, was incredibly enthusiastic.
“Wow!? Nom nom, it's so yummy!”
-4.5-year-old Ye-jun experiences hamburger ecstasy for the first time.
-His mom was too harsh. A kid his age having a hamburger for the first time? lol
-Well, they live in the countryside, so it was probably hard to get him one.
-Hey! Even the sticks have at least one hamburger joint, you know?
-His mom said she didn't give him fast food on purpose so he wouldn't ruin his palate.
-Still, he goes to daycare and has never had a hamburger? lol
-lol Ye-jun is so cute.
-Here to share my story of visiting another dimension after eating a hamburger.
-Of course he'd make that face. It's his first cheeseburger.
-This is 100% gonna become a meme lol
“When Seol-ah was in middle school, her father suddenly passed away, and I was pregnant with Ye-jun at the time… Seol-ah had a really tough time.”
“She was originally planning to go to an arts high school for vocal music, but she had to give up on that dream. I'm so proud of my daughter for auditioning, determined to succeed no matter what, and making it this far.”
“I want to bow a hundred times to the fans who have loved all of Answer and helped them get here. Thank you so much.”
An interview with Seol-ah's mother, her eyes glistening with tears, aired during the show.
-Answer went through a lot. It's nice to see them doing so well.
-I know, right? The pressure on Seol-ah must have been immense. She knew her mom would struggle even more if she didn't succeed.
-True. If you debut and then flop, you have no other skills, you're just screwed.
-I don't usually worry about celebrities, but I'm glad things worked out for Seol-ah. I hope she, her brother, and her mom can live happily.
Once Seol-ah's unfortunate family situation was revealed, the comment section was remarkably clean, without a single malicious comment, and it felt like they had gained even more fans.
But sometimes, things didn't go as planned.
With the CEO on a business trip to America to help Yoo-ah settle in, the weekly meeting was led by Director Lee.
“Min-jun PD, any updates?”
“In addition to the progress I mentioned at the last monthly meeting, we have a new hamburger commercial offer.”
“Heh. I knew we'd get an offer for that. Ye-jun ate it so deliciously.”
Manager Ji said with a wide grin.
“But the terms aren't great, so I plan to negotiate.”
“How much did they offer?”
“55 million for a one-year contract, with Seol-ah and her brother.”
Manager Ji's expression soured as he grumbled.
“Answer is getting up to 200 million for a single ad right now. Even if it's just Seol-ah and her brother, 55 million is ridiculous. Is this a take-it-or-leave-it offer?”
At Manager Ji's grumbling, the Director spoke up.
“Didn't any other companies make an offer?”
“A competitor offered 110 million for the same terms.”
“…A bit of an ambiguous amount to take on the ethical risk, isn't it?”
“Yes. That's why I'm going to try and negotiate.”
“Right. It's tricky since it's tied to the show they appeared on. Min-jun, you follow up on it.”
“Yes, Isa-nim. Also, Answer is moving to a new dorm tomorrow. We don't have to move furniture, so Yoo-jun and I should be able to handle it with our two cars.”
“Good. Well then, let's all do our best today.”
“Yes, Isa-nim!”
The people, who had a more family-like atmosphere than at other companies, shouted energetically.
I returned to my desk, organized my schedule for the day, and contacted the advertiser directly to attempt a negotiation.
“You can check with the agencies, but our current average rate is 200 million a year. I think 50 million is a bit unreasonable.”
-Let's be frank. We've already more than achieved our goal with the PPL. We only made this ad offer out of a sense of obligation since you promoted our product so well. If you don't want to do it, that's fine.
I knew that a company's stance was what it was, but the same words can be said in different ways. The advertiser's attitude, implying we were the desperate ones, really ticked me off.
They were clearly confident that we wouldn't be able to ethically accept a higher offer from a competitor.
That was because consumers would likely view us negatively for choosing a competitor's ad that paid more over the company that had provided the PPL.
The fact that Ye-jun's expression of discovering a new world in a single bite of a hamburger was already spreading as a popular meme, and that this would continue to contribute to this hamburger company's profits for a long time to come, was incredibly bitter.
“I understand. In that case, we'll consider this deal off the table.”
-What? Are you serious?
Not only was the advertiser shocked, but Director Lee, who had been listening from her desk, also had a surprised expression. It could easily look like I had just thrown away a deal out of pride.
But I'm not the type of person to throw away a profitable deal just because of my pride.