It Must Ring (2)
I proposed inviting Kim Junho's grandmother as the first guest of the Super Day Tour.
"Isn't that too ordinary?"
The Marketing & PR Team's Team Leader, Shin Miyoung, immediately voiced her concern.
"After reviewing all the stories, I liked the idea. There might be positive evaluations like that. But would people want to watch it in the first place? A grandmother and a theme park... My opinion is that there's nothing about it that would catch the attention of content consumers. That's..."
"If you have more thoughts, please share them. I'm listening carefully."
"I'm not sure about the exact theme yet, but as soon as you include a grandmother and a theme park, you're aiming for an emotional angle, right?"
"That's correct."
"I'm not even sure this would help promote the theme park. And going blatantly for an emotional concept tends to leave only a negative first impression."
I couldn't help but nod.
We were planning to make the Super Day Tour into a YouTube video.
The purpose was to create a viral topic that would naturally promote us.
According to Team Leader Shin Miyoung's opinion, not only was it hard to catch attention in the first place—it meant people might even react negatively based only on the subject.
Choi Hyena raised her hand high.
"Can't we just bring along Yunjung? That would guarantee a certain number of views."
"Ugh! *Cough!* *Cough!*"
Lee Yunjung, caught off guard, started coughing for a long while, having choked on her coffee.
Once Lee Yunjung settled down, I opened my mouth.
"That opinion is dismissed."
"Why? Our adorable Yunjung isn't enough? No way. If Yunjung's face is on the thumbnail, people would definitely click."
"That's the problem. The purpose is to showcase the Super Day Tour, but wouldn't it just turn into a Lee Yunjung 'emotional' vlog?"
"Oh! I see your point."
"And Yunjung's forbidden from appearing on YouTube for the time being."
"What! That can't be. Why... I have an obligation to let the world know about my adorable looks."
"Yunjung's not a celebrity. Let's let her focus on her job. Also, since her image is already being overused with the Strawberry Fairy concept, showing her too often will only trigger negative public opinion."
"Phew... what a relief."
Lee Yunjung breathed a sigh of relief, clutching her chest.
Team Leader Shin Miyoung adjusted her glasses and spoke.
"I agree with the division director's opinion. Let's only have Yunjung appear a couple more times in the future, when it's really necessary."
Kim Junho timidly raised his hand.
"I'm really grateful you want to invite my grandmother... but it's a burden for me as well."
"Burdens are there to be overcome. Why are you being so weak-hearted?"
Choi Hyena immediately snapped, and I had to stop her. She always got more emotional than usual with Kim Junho involved.
I glanced at Lee Yunjung. The corners of her mouth were twitching.
"Let's calm down for now. Junho-nim, I have a favor to ask."
"Yes, division director."
"If my idea convinces everyone in this meeting, then will you allow us to invite your grandmother as the first guest of the Super Day Tour?"
Everyone perked up their ears.
They realized I was about to play my trump card. Did they really think I wouldn't consider Team Leader Shin Miyoung's concerns?
I had it all prepared.
"And Junho-nim, you'll need to appear in the video as well."
"What? Me too? That's even harder."
Kim Junho looked around, shaking his head.
Everyone watched him with anticipation. Most decisively, Lee Yunjung clenched her fist and said,
"I was super embarrassed being the Strawberry Waffle Fairy, you know. Now you have to know how I felt back then."
"If you put it like that, I can't say anything... Understood, I'll follow the division director's proposal."
"In that case, Junho-nim, please step out of the meeting room for a bit."
Kim Junho looked flustered at my words.
"My idea needs to be a secret from Junho-nim. That's the only way to achieve the effect we want."
"But if we do that..."
"What you need to know isn't my idea. It's simply whether everyone agrees, or not."
"Well, that's true... Still, I feel like I'm being tricked here."
Kim Junho, shoulders slumped, walked out of the meeting room.
Immediately, everyone looked at me with curious eyes. Even the typically stoic Event & Performance Team Leader, Park Seok-min.
"First off, I don't plan to run the YouTube promo video as an explanation about what Next Planet is or what the Super Day Tour program involves."
Team Leader Shin Miyoung fiddled with her glasses as she spoke. That habit was addictive.
"So, is it really going to be a promo video? Division director, you're blatantly ignoring the basics of promotion and marketing."
"It can't be helped. If we go that route, it won't be fun. These days, boring content gets ignored by consumers. Our promo video is content, too, isn't it?"
"Fun... Fun, huh... You are right."
I thought about this a lot.
Our budget wouldn't allow us to invite a celebrity host.
But making one of those government office or corporate challenge videos, with employees appearing to induce humor, didn't feel right for us.
"The video will have two parts. One, I'll accompany the grandmother and run the Super Day Tour. The other, Kim Junho's perspective as he watches those scenes on video."
"So: explain Next Planet and Super Day Tour through you and the grandmother, add an emotional point by focusing on Junho and his relationship with his grandmother, and blend both into a kind of short drama, is that right?"
"Exactly. Next Planet didn't have much of a 'story,' so I came up with this as a complementary idea."
"I like it, for now. We got great results with emotional videos before, like in the recruit promotion or the 115km project. But isn't it still a bit weak? There's no strong hook."
"Right. That's why I plan to use Kim Junho's image."
Once again, she adjusted her glasses.
The others cocked their heads as well.
Naturally, it hadn't clicked yet.
"What kind of image does Kim Junho have?"
This is important. I needed to check if my sense was correct.
"He's diligent. Pure-hearted, too."
"Junho-oppa feels reliable."
"He's an exemplary young man."
Shin Miyoung, Lee Yunjung, and Park Seok-min said, and then Choi Hyena opened her mouth.
"Good-looking... I mean, not, like, extremely so. Just, cutely handsome?"
It wasn't blatant, but her face definitely turned red.
If you exaggerated it, Kim Junho is like a baseball player, Ohtani Shohei—pure, sincere, and an honest, solid guy.
In fact, Kim Junho has a good build, and his face isn't bad either. I know he's quite popular among the in-house female staff.
"That's right, everyone. So, what if we lock in an image of such a man shedding hot tears as the promo video thumbnail, and build related content around that?"
I explained my detailed plan.
Team Leader Shin Miyoung took off her glasses, eyes wide.
"A man's tears. And the relationship with his grandmother. Emotional, human, theme park. That combination works. I feel sorry for Junho, but I think this could work. Let's try to make our Junho cry."
***
"Mom is sorry. I'm coming home late today. Oh... already late? And I was late yesterday, too. It's just that Mom has something really important to do. I'm really sorry. Tomorrow, no... the day after tomorrow, I'll definitely come home early. I love you."
It was 10 p.m.
Out in the hallway, I overheard Team Leader Shin Miyoung on the phone.
Hearing that made my heart heavy. In the end, she was working overtime because of me.
Tomorrow was the first Super Day Tour. So, she was making final arrangements now with the filming director and me.
Thanks to my tight schedule, she couldn't help but work this late.
Team Leader Shin Miyoung caught sight of me.
"Division director, you have to make it a success tomorrow. I'm trading tomorrow's filming for precious time with my own kids."
"Yes, no matter what..."
"You're oddly human at times like this, director."
"Not at other times?"
"There are times when you seem ruthless during meetings with other divisions."
Is that really my image...?
She smirked.
"I totally get the ruthlessness; it's to save Next Planet. And you don't have to feel so bad. I calculated everything realistically before working."
She shrugged as she continued.
"I'm not like Junho or Hyena-nim. Or like Yunjung. I don't run on pure passion or self-development or whatever, like those kids do."
"Can you tell me what kind of calculations you run on?"
"The welfare at Next Planet is good. They pay for my kids' tuition and all. My goal is to stay at Next Planet until my kids graduate college. If I want the welfare—like tuition support—to stay, I have to work hard to make Next Planet thrive."
"If that's your goal, then we might see each other for another 10 years."
"Not just 10, but even 20 would be fine, so make tomorrow work. Do whatever to make Junho cry."
She had to write the script for the shoot without Junho knowing. That meant she couldn't entrust the script to Junho or the other staff.
Kim Junho only knew he would be filmed watching the video. He had no idea we were trying to capture and use his tears on camera.
We never told him that. Why not? Because we needed genuine emotion. What moves people? In the end, it's sincerity, right?
Of course, if Kim Junho refuses permission to use the footage of his tears, we won't use it.
But with his personality, he'll probably accept it. That's what I calculated.
I do feel sorry for Junho, but I'll use whatever assets I can.
It isn't going to harm him anyway. If anything, there'll be benefits.
A day passed.
It was only 7 a.m.
In my office, I looked in the mirror and read over the script. I didn't have to stick to it 100%, but I wasn't a professional broadcaster.
I needed to memorize it for smooth progress.
The script came out late, so I practically stayed up all night memorizing.
10 a.m.
I waited at the entrance with the filming crew, awaiting Kim Junho and his grandmother.
"Grandmother, thank you so much for coming today."
"Oh, it's nothing special. Thanks to my grandson, I get to enjoy such luxuries at my age."
"Division director, please take good care of my grandmother today."
I escorted the grandmother and gave a brief introduction about Next Planet at the entrance.
After that, we went to Lee Yunjung's famous strawberry waffle stall.
"Oh? They're filming! Is this a drama?"
The visitors gave us curious looks.
Although we had informed them beforehand, most didn't seem to know what kind of shooting was happening.
"Who's that male actor? I've never seen him. So handsome."
"I don't know. First time for me, too."
"He's not an actor. He's the division director of Next Planet."
"Division director that young and handsome? Crazy. Employees here must love coming to work."
"At that age, he must be a silver spoon, like a chaebol kid or something?"
I'm thankful for such positive reactions, but... I'm not a chaebol's son.
When we arrived at Lee Yunjung's strawberry waffle stall—
"Hello, grandmother! I'm Lee Yunjung, working together with Junho-oppa. Today I prepared the best strawberry waffle with all my soul just for you. If you enjoy it, I'll be so happy today."
Lee Yunjung greeted the grandmother with even more enthusiasm than usual.
"Oh my, such a lovely young lady. Made this strawberry waffle with those delicate hands."
To the grandmother's cute response, she already seemed delighted. The moment she took a bite of strawberry waffle, I spoke.
"Grandmother, Yunjung's family is from Japan, but she chose to live in Korea to make the best strawberry waffle here at Next Planet. Isn't she impressive?"
"Oh my! Living so reliably alone in a faraway land at such a young age? How admirable."
"How's the strawberry waffle that Yunjung made?"
"It's delicious. So delicious. I visit a teahouse regularly, and I really like the yakkwa they sell there. This strawberry waffle tastes even better than that yakkwa."
"If you say that, your regular tea house owner will be upset."
"Can't help it if this tastes better. How did such a young lady make something so tasty? You know that famous bakery in Daejeon? This is even better than their strawberry waffle."
"Grandmother, that bakery doesn't sell strawberry waffles, actually."
"Is that so? My memory's a bit spotty at my age, you know. Please understand. Anyway, it's really delicious."
The film crew burst out laughing.
I didn't give the grandmother a script.
I needed her raw, genuine feelings. And she was so happy to play along. I guess she was just in a good mood.
As we were leaving the strawberry waffle stall—
"Division director."
Lee Yunjung called me.
"You look really cool today. Even the women watching say so. They're saying you're not just handsome but also very caring."
"My looks... are thanks to makeup for filming. Besides, I have to be caring when escorting Junho-nim's grandmother."
"Ehehe! Good luck today! Fighting!"
After that, we went on three attractions. Because the grandmother enjoyed them like a child, the atmosphere was great for filming.
We took over a hundred pictures at the photospot.
She said she loved ox bone soup. I had previously told Head Chef Kim Minhye.
The Head Chef guessed that since the grandmother lived in Nonsan, she'd love the Daejeon-style soup from the nearby area, and re-created it perfectly.
Now the grandmother began telling stories from the old days, making the Super Day Tour atmosphere even more heartwarming.
Just then, I got an urgent message from Choi Hyena.
[Division director, we have a problem. It's a crisis.]
"A crisis? The Super Day Tour atmosphere is good. What do you mean, a crisis..."
[Junho-nim looks like he won't cry at all.]
"I thought Junho-nim was an easy crier. Didn't you guarantee it would work?"
[Well... he said this: Seeing the division director treat his grandmother to the Super Day Tour alone moves him to tears. But if he cries, he'll just be a burden during filming. So he absolutely won't cry.]
What should I say to that? I'm speechless.
Junho, don't think that way. Just let yourself cry. That would actually help us out.
Why do you have to feel like that?
I can't say this directly to Kim Junho. That would ruin the authenticity, and it would show on camera.
How am I supposed to solve this?
[Division director... I can't think of any ideas. I'm really sorry.]
"It's all right. Don't worry."
[You always have to suffer because of my shortcomings.]
"Don't say that. Have we ever had it easy?"
[Never...]
"We're basically always one misstep away from falling off a cliff at work. And not once have we stumbled. We'll figure it out this time, too."
Who knew trying to make Kim Junho cry would end up feeling so heroic.