Han Yojung's Condition
The next day, the company erupted into chaos all over again.
Employees who had somehow tracked down the airport footage had spread the rumors once more.
"Clap clap clap clap!"
"Oh! So cool! Airport hero!"
"I was truly moved! Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin!"
The moment I arrived at work, I received a standing ovation from the staff as I made my way to the office.
Embarrassment washed over me, but I had been through this once before, so it felt somewhat familiar by now.
I could especially feel the female employees struggling to hide their excitement, their eyes sparkling as they watched me.
At this rate, am I going to end up with a fan club?
I gave an awkward smile and stepped into the office, where the team was already waiting for me.
"Ah! I should have seen that scene myself! There was nowhere to park."
Junior Associate Kim Seungho let out a lament.
"As expected, good deeds can never stay hidden no matter how hard you try. More interview requests are going to come pouring in, aren't they? Ah! Or better yet, why not make Assistant Manager Noh our exclusive model??"
Employee Kang Bitna gushed with excitement.
"You never do the work you're supposed to… tsk. What on earth are you running around doing?"
Manager Park Heegon clicked his tongue and grumbled.
"Hahaha! Well done, Assistant Manager Noh. Not just anyone can pull off something like that. Thanks to you, LK Telecom's image is looking better too. Think the president might drop by again? Heh heh!"
Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi hurriedly checked himself in a mirror and adjusted his clothes.
And Assistant Manager Jo Cheoljeong, no matter what anyone was chattering about, remained completely absorbed in his work.
Truly a consistent man.
"No, Deputy Manager. If you keep praising him like that, he'll pick up bad habits. At times like this, you need to give him a sharp talking-to."
Manager Park Heegon walked over to the deputy manager's desk and spoke as if scolding him.
Talk about holding a grudge.
Whether the leftover bad blood from the Heo Seongtae incident was still festering, or he was simply jealous that I was doing well, I honestly couldn't tell.
And it wasn't as if I could really argue back.
The truth was, I hadn't actually done any real work since coming to the company.
When Manager Park pressed hard, Deputy Manager Jeon scrubbed his face dry with his hands. He clearly found Park just as tiresome.
Rrrring— rrrring—
Just then, the phone on the deputy manager's desk rang. The different ringtone meant it was a direct line from higher up.
Deputy Manager Jeon pressed a finger to his lips, gesturing for Manager Park to keep quiet. Then he cleared his throat and answered.
"Yes. This is Deputy Manager Jeon Yonggi. Ah, yes. Executive Director. Good morning! Yes. Yes? Is that really true? Yes. Yes. Yes? Wait, why? Ah, understood. Yes. I'll do my utmost to produce a good result. Yes. Thank you, Executive Director."
After hanging up, Deputy Manager Jeon let out a long sigh and looked at us.
"What kind of call was that to make you look so shocked?"
Manager Park asked, curiosity plain on his face. Deputy Manager Jeon still wore an expression of pure disbelief as he opened his mouth.
"Han Yojung's agency contacted us. They want a meeting about an exclusive model contract."
"What?!"
"Holy crap!"
At the deputy manager's words, Junior Associate Kim Seungho and Employee Kang Bitna both cried out in shock. Manager Park, flustered, asked again.
"What? Really? No, why? All of a sudden like this? And why contact us? We haven't even started anything yet. Marketing Team 1 or 2 should be…"
"They attached one condition."
Deputy Manager Jeon cut him off.
"A condition?"
"Yes."
He suddenly looked straight at me and continued.
"The condition is that Noh Hoojin has to participate in the meeting."
"What?"
"Huh?!"
"What?! Assistant Manager Noh? Why?"
In that instant, every team member turned to stare at me with baffled expressions.
"Me? Why me?"
I was just as stunned as the rest of them.
Time flew by after that.
We ran ourselves ragged putting together meeting materials for a successful pitch with Han Yojung, feet practically steaming from the effort.
With upper management taking an interest, we had no choice but to present mutually beneficial terms and lock her in as our exclusive model no matter what.
Deputy Manager Jeon was being unusually careful; it had been a long time since the team had landed such an important contract.
This wasn't a simple model hire. We needed a "story" that would directly elevate the brand image.
Something like a public safety campaign with Han Yojung, or a concept around "LK Telecom's future of protecting lives through technology."
The fact that they specifically wanted me almost certainly meant the two recent good-deed videos were connected.
That was why we needed to show something clearly differentiated from existing marketing approaches.
I planned to steer the atmosphere in that direction naturally.
Countless methods already filled my mind.
I was confident I could persuade her.
The old me would never even have dreamed of it.
The next day.
At last, the decisive moment arrived.
The conference room had already been meticulously prepared.
On the wall, a screen displayed photos of Han Yojung seamlessly blended with the LK Telecom logo. On the table sat carefully arranged presentation materials and refreshments.
We sat lined up along one side of the long table, ready for the meeting about to begin.
"Everyone, don't be nervous. Just do what we prepared."
Deputy Manager Jeon adjusted his tie as he spoke, yet he himself looked the most tense of all.
He's usually so boisterous. Why is he like this?
Ah! Come to think of it, didn't he say at a company dinner once that he was a Han Yojung fan?
I glanced sideways. Manager Park wore a rather stiff expression as he reviewed the prepared materials, while Assistant Manager Jo calmly checked the slideshow on his laptop.
On the opposite side, Junior Associate Kim Seungho was fussing with his hair in a mirror, and Employee Kang Bitna met my eyes and clenched her fist tightly.
"Assistant Manager Noh, fighting!"
She whispered.
Why is she sending me a fighting cheer of all people?
Knock knock!
Right then, a knock sounded and the conference room door opened.
The first to enter was none other than Han Yojung.
Snow-white skin and yellow hair set against a soft blue blouse and simple black pants.
It wasn't the flashy style she usually showed on stage.
But her presence was impossible to hide.
Ah, so this is what a real celebrity is like.
I was surprised, but I didn't let it show like an amateur.
Following behind her were her manager and the agency's CEO.
Both of them had extremely sharp eyes—not simply here for a meeting, but clearly here to thoroughly "evaluate."
As the face of the company, it seemed the CEO had come in person. I'd heard he accompanied her to every global event as well.
Because of that, the atmosphere began to grow heavier than expected.
Then I instinctively felt her gaze. When I looked at her, she didn't avoid my eyes and met them head-on.
Completely unflinching. As if we had known each other for a long time.
What is this? Did she see my videos?
I thought to myself but calmly offered a silent greeting with my eyes.
"Good morning. I'm Deputy Manager Jeon Yonggi of Marketing Team 3. And this is…"
The meeting began with Deputy Manager Jeon's introductions, then moved straight into the overall brand explanation.
Assistant Manager Jo's hands moved quickly, advancing the slides.
"LK Telecom aspires to be more than a simple telecommunications company. Under the philosophy that technology must serve humanity, we have steadily developed services over the past two years with 'human-centered connection' as our keyword."
At that moment, a video began playing on the screen.
An AI-based emergency rescue system, a real-time text conversion call service for the hearing-impaired, a voice assistant UI exclusively for seniors, and more.
Han Yojung and the other two watched the screen in silence.
Then the manager lowered his eyes to the materials, while the CEO crossed his arms with a sullen expression, as if something didn't sit well with him.
A direction different from previous presentations.
Because of that, the atmosphere was far from good.
But I was certain this contract would succeed.
The presentation we were giving right now contained exactly what Han Yojung needed.
A public-friendly image.
The truth was, while Han Yojung was a global star, her cold and haughty aura had kept her distant from the public.
That had led to all sorts of misunderstandings. Whether the minor suspicions were true or not didn't matter.
What mattered was that the public found her difficult to approach.
Which meant she needed a change for an image overhaul.
I wanted to present the possibility of that change.
As the explanation was wrapping up, Deputy Manager Jeon shot me a look.
An SOS to break the growing heaviness in the room.
The moment the screen went dark and the conference room brightened,
I looked at the three of them in turn and quietly began to speak.
"I heard you sought me out before deciding on this meeting. I'll be honest. If the reason you came looking for me was those two videos from a few days ago, then you came to exactly the right place."
In an instant, all three pairs of eyes locked onto me.
And their expressions shifted to ones of interest.
This is it.
With conviction, I continued without missing a beat.
"Our LK Telecom is not looking for an advertising model. We are looking for a partner to move forward with us. If what you seek is a partner to walk alongside you in reinventing Han Yojung's image, then we can give it our absolute best. To that end…"
My words continued after that.
And for a while, silence settled over the room.
A moment later,
Han Yojung was the first to break it.
"Alright. Let's do the contract."
The agency CEO's eyes went wide.
"Yojung, we haven't even reviewed the contract yet…"
"I'm fine. Whatever the terms are, I'll do it. I could feel the sincerity in the presentation and in what you just said. You really prepared thoroughly."
She looked straight at me as she spoke.
"Thank you."
I answered simply.
"Heh. Then set the next schedule and contact us. We'll do the final signing then."
She gave a light smile and rose from her seat first.
The agency CEO and manager hurriedly followed after her.
Junior Associate Kim Seungho quietly closed the wide-open conference room door.
A brief silence followed. Everyone looked at one another's faces without a word.
"Wow, we did it."
Employee Kang Bitna was the first to speak.
"We really did it, right?"
Deputy Manager Jeon asked again, still as if he couldn't believe it.
"It seems we did, Deputy Manager! As expected! Thanks to your leadership, we succeeded! You're truly amazing!"
Manager Park quickly latched onto the deputy manager and began heaping praise.
At the sight, Junior Associate Kim and Employee Kang Bitna frowned, about to say something, when Assistant Manager Jo suddenly closed his laptop, stood up, and spoke.
"We haven't even opened the contract yet. It would be better to celebrate after the final signature. I'll go over the contract one more time."
With that, he left the conference room quickly.
Manager Park wore an awkward expression.
Junior Associate Kim and Employee Kang silently marveled at the departing Jo Cheoljeong, then turned to me and gave a thumbs-up.
"I was completely moved, Assistant Manager Noh."
"You were really cool today. Looks like even Han Yojung fell for you."
The two whispered to me, then began clearing the conference table.
And the next day,
the agency CEO visited the company, roughly skimmed the contents, and signed the final contract. Without a single complaint or objection.
Han Yojung's influence had clearly been at work.
And so we began earnestly conceptualizing and pushing forward the project known as "LK Telecom with Han Yojung."