Coffee, Games, and Contracts
I don't think of myself as someone with a perfectly smooth, flawless personality. If I were, I wouldn't have spent all those years cooped up in my room, tapping away at a keyboard and living a life of lies. Sometimes I let my emotions get the better of me and made mistakes; other times, I fell into delusions of grandeur and acted incredibly arrogant. But then, who in this world is perfect? Everyone has their own embarrassing secrets they keep hidden away.
"...Shit."
Every time I saw my yawning meme plastered all over the internet, I was reminded of just how rotten my personality could be. More than anything, I had to shake my head at the sheer malice of Hye-yeon, who had gone out of her way to broadcast that scene in a tight close-up. If there was any saving grace, it was that my current face was handsome enough to make even such an embarrassing moment look somewhat cute. At least the comment section wasn't reacting too badly.
"Should I wear a mask?"
Did I have celebrity syndrome? Absolutely not. If I had to sum up my current status in one word, it would be 'semi-celebrity'—a mix of a celebrity and an ordinary person. I wasn't a professional entertainer, but my public recognition was higher than most actual celebrities. If I went out like this and a crowd gathered, it would not only be a public nuisance, but above all, incredibly embarrassing. The attention I received online was more than enough for me.
"What should I wear?"
Yu Minha. I hadn't known at first, but apparently, she was a rising actress who was currently all the rage. Since she was a former idol, she had a rock-solid fandom, and with her stunning looks and solid acting skills to back it up, her acting career was soaring. Recently, she had also joined Na Honza Sanya as a regular, playing a scene-stealing role and emerging as a blue-chip prospect in the variety show world. I had thought she was someone I would never have any connection with, but to think we were college classmates.
"Still got two hours left."
On top of that, today was the day we were meeting one-on-one. I'd been feeling this lately, but meeting people was actually more enjoyable than I'd thought. Relishing the flutter of excitement, I finished getting ready to head out.
I drove out for the first time in a while. Since I had rushed through my preparations, I arrived much earlier than our scheduled meeting time. The meeting spot was Cafe Athena, the exclusive private cafe where the pre-interview for Na Honza Sanya had been filmed.
"There's really no place like this."
I sat down, sipping freshly brewed coffee as I leisurely waited for Yu Minha.
"Seongwoo-ssi!"
Hearing a cheerful voice, I turned my head to see Yu Minha waving at me.
"I thought I was being early... Just how long have you been waiting here?"
"I didn't have much to do, so I just came early to drink some coffee and relax."
"Ah... I should have just come early too."
She slumped into the opposite seat with a pout. Bathed in the sunlight filtering through the window, her skin sparkled like a gemstone. How can a person be this beautiful?
"You've almost finished your coffee."
At her words, I looked down at my cup. The once-full mug was indeed nearly empty.
"I'll go order some coffee and dessert!"
"No, it's on me."
"Excuse me, I have plenty of money, okay? Just sit tight and wait."
I chuckled. Contrary to my expectation that our first meeting would be awkward since we had initially connected through work, being with her was surprisingly comfortable. I passed the time by looking out the window at the cozy, elegant streets of Cheongdam-dong.
Clink.
With the refreshing sound of ice cubes clinking together, she set down the coffee and desserts she had ordered.
"Do you come here often? It's the nicest private cafe I've ever been to."
"Well, I own this building, so I do end up coming here quite a bit."
"Whoa, really?"
She took a pleasant sip of her coffee, her eyes locking onto mine.
"Can I ask you for a favor?"
"...?"
The corners of her lips curled upward as she spoke.
"Can we speak casually?"
"Casually?"
"We can't keep calling each other 'Seongwoo-ssi' every time we meet. It's so cringey. Is it okay if I call you Oppa?"
"..."
Isn't calling me 'Oppa' way cringier? But she had a point. We were around the same age, and we couldn't keep using awkward, formal honorifics forever. I gave her a willing nod.
"Hehe. By the way, there's something I'm curious about."
"What is it?"
"Why are you returning to college? You don't really need to, do you, Oppa?"
That was true. Honestly, I didn't have any grand reason for deciding to return to school.
"Just thought it might be fun."
"Fun?"
"Life was getting a bit boring, I guess. There's no deep reason behind it."
"I suppose that makes sense for someone like you, Oppa."
Nodding in understanding, she poked a piece of dessert with her fork and popped it into her mouth. She sure had a healthy appetite.
"You know, I haven't had a single boring moment at home lately."
She picked up her phone and showed me her character screen in Epic of Seven. Her character was level 80, the level where one could finally start entering raid content. And judging by how she was decked out in the recently released rare avatars, she must have whaled hard on the game.
"Well, E-O-Se is definitely worth it."
"I seriously did nothing but play this at home for a whole week."
"Since you're level 80, have you tried joining any blind progression raid parties?"
"Hehe, I actually just paid for a carry."
"Well, that is the most efficient way. Your gear setup looks pretty solid too."
"They wouldn't let me join regular parties because I don't have any clear counts. So for now, I'm just buying carries."
"That's because you're playing a DPS class. Buffers get accepted even without clear counts."
As Epic of Seven became the topic of conversation, my excitement naturally spiked. With my energy up, the slightly awkward atmosphere melted away completely.
"How high should I enhance this weapon?"
"You should aim for at least +12. And make sure to stack all your sub-stats into attack speed."
"Is movement speed not good?"
"Normally, people do a fifty-fifty split, but your class has a self-buff that increases movement speed, so you don't need it. It's much more efficient to just max out your attack speed and squeeze in as much damage as possible."
The last shred of wariness lingering in my mind vanished. Before I knew it, the original purpose of our meeting was forgotten, and we were completely absorbed in talking about Epic of Seven.
"Seriously, I've never seen a game this popular that doesn't even do celebrity marketing."
"Celebrity marketing?"
"Yeah. Usually, games hire celebrities for promotional collaboration events."
Ever since I acquired Epic of Seven, we hadn't run any official celebrity collaborations. The benefits of collaborating with a celebrity were substantial, the biggest being the influx of their fandom. In Korea, a fandom was practically a force of nature. And among those countless fandoms, idol fandoms reigned supreme. My eyes drifted to Minha, who was sitting across from me, blinking blankly.
"Huh?"
Why were idol fandoms considered the absolute best? It all came down to their productivity and purchasing power. You only had to look at their culture of bulk-buying albums to sweep photocards to realize just how devastatingly high their spending power was.
"Minha, you used to be an idol, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"So your fandom is a mix of fans from your idol days and those who joined after you became an actress?"
"Probably?"
Jackpot. Grinning, I looked at her and spoke.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"How about doing a collaboration with Epic of Seven?"
"Eh?"
I smirked. It looked like I'd be seeing a lot of her in the future. Now that Epic of Seven had hit the mainstream, it was about time we did a celebrity collaboration. Though she seemed taken aback at first, she quickly ran the numbers in her head and let out a sly grin of her own.
"Deal?"
"Deal."
With our mutual agreement locked in, we shook hands.
[Yu Minha Teases Epic of Seven Collaboration? Set to Be an Unprecedented Scale of Celebrity Marketing]
[From Variety to Acting... All-Rounder Idol Yu Minha Signs Exclusive Ad Model Contract with Epic of Seven]
[Epic of Seven's First Celebrity Collaboration: Who is the Star?]
Since this was Epic of Seven's very first celebrity collaboration, I laid the groundwork with extra care and precision. To achieve the most explosive marketing effect, building up anticipation was absolutely crucial.
She posted the announcement on her official social media, and it was only a matter of time before the news spread like wildfire. Somehow, I had met up with Minha and parted ways without discussing a single thing about returning to college. But in the heat of the moment, I had signed a contract with her, and more than anything, we had become close enough to call each other Oppa and Dongsaeng.
I let out a soft chuckle.
Naturally, it was a yes.
Epic of Seven's first collaboration event was just around the corner.