However, the window was frosted, so Do Wook couldn’t see inside.
He could probably see if he looked closer, but Do Wook stepped back. It could be a casual drink between friends, Do Wook might be suspecting him for no reason. He shouldn’t interfere in Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung’s private life.
‘I’m uneasy, but…it hasn’t been long since I decided to trust him,’
Do Wook thought as he entered the room he, President Lee Yoo Min and Branch Manager Jung Jin were in.
He had decided to trust him. From the day he had moved to HIT Entertainment until now, Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung had worked as hard as he could.
‘You have to show trust if you want the other person to trust you,’
Do Wook thought.
It wasn’t that he trusted the person Lee Dae Hyung. He was trusting in the passion and ambition that made Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung move to HIT Entertainment.
Once Do Wook returned to the room, President Lee Yoo Min and Branch Manager Jung Jin, who had finished the cocktails they had ordered, called over the cocktail bar manager.
As the second son of an electronics company that was one of the top 100 companies, Branch Manager Jung Jin had maintained a close relationship with President Lee Yoo Min ever since they had met at an entrepreneurial meeting when they were young.
They were both very interested in as well as well versed in fashion and art, so they were able to bond easily despite having an age gap. It was also President Lee Yoo Min who helped her close friend Jung Jin in various ways to join Coco.
Jung Jin was the second son in his family, but his family strongly insisted he inherit the electronics company. It was President Lee Yoo Min who had convinced his parents, saying that someone like Jung Jin had to be in fashion.
They wanted to say it was regarding their child and that she had to mind her own business, but they couldn’t just ignore what she was saying because it was very important for them to keep a close relationship with the Yoo Sung family.
In the end, his parents decided to think of it as he liked what he liked, and they conceded.
Hearing the details of their relationship, Do Wook thought about the world of ‘the upper class’.
They had their own dreams and goals like anyone else. But at the same time, it occurred to him that they had more strong opposition than the average person and that their lives were complexly tangled and flowed in one direction because of others’ decisions.
‘It’s the same for me too. To defeat the entertainment mogul Director Seo Joong Won, I’ll have to make good use of the wide network of like-minded people.’
While Do Wook was briefly in thought, the cocktail bar manager quietly opened the room door and entered.
Now that the manager was here, the two of them ordered their preferred cocktails. There were many items that you’d see at any cocktail bar, but at this establishment, if you told them the taste or fragrance you’d like in your drink, the bartender would make a cocktail tailored to your taste.
Do Wook ordered another glass of a fruity cocktail with the lowest alcohol content.
“Hmmm…where were we? Mmmm. In Asia these days, the Korean market has become one that cannot be ignored in the fashion industry.”
President Lee Yoo Min crossed her legs and nodded her head at what Branch Manager Jung Jin said.
President Lee Yoo Min was dressed very extravagantly today as well. Around her neck, a pumpkin-colored jewel the size of a thumb was shining subtly under the light. Branch Manager Jung Jin had a tiny Coco brooch on his white shirt that looked very luxurious even at first glance.
He felt like he was learning about fashion by just being in the presence of two bigwigs of the fashion world.
“In terms of capital power, Japan or China…isn’t it too small compared to China? China is getting bigger by the day. Our Yoo Sung Fashion profit is now controlled by Chinese sales too.”
“That’s true everywhere…mmm. But among the Chinese customers, there’s a very large number of people who like Korean actors or singers. In that sense, Korea has gained some influence.”
As he said that, Branch Manager Jung Jin looked at Do Wook.
“It’s thanks to Hallyu stars like you.”
President Lee Yoo Min also looked at Do Wook and laughed. The sudden gaze made Do Wook put down the glass he was holding.
“Ah…not at all.”
“This guy is way too humble,”
President Lee Yoo Min said as she deliberately frowned.
“Dear, you’re a top star now no matter what anyone says. You should act arrogant.”
“Haha, If you say so I’ll take your word for it. It’s thanks to me, right? All of Korea’s influence in the global fashion market.”
Both President Lee Yoo Min and Branch Manager Jung Jin burst out laughing at Do Wook’s joke.
“If you go that far, I have nothing to say.”
President Lee Yoo Min shook her head.
Branch Manager Jung Jin continued once he stopped laughing.
“On that note, Do Wook.”
Do Wook waited for Branch Manager Jung Jin’s next words. Branch Manager Jung Jin’s dark eyebrows moved slightly.
“Coco HQ is looking for a new F/W male muse this year. Someone Asian.”
“…Is that so?”
By ‘muse’, Branch Manager Jung Jin was referring to the main model for the new advertisement campaign that would be released in the F/W season.
A single fashion brand has numerous advertisements in different countries and for different lines. Among them, the one that becomes the main advertisement and showcases the brand’s style and purpose is an advertising campaign.
Do Wook, who thought it would only be at the level of a Coco Korea picture model, quickly blinked his eyes. It was a bigger scale than he expected.
“Mmm. The Korean branch will also recommend a model. To expand the Korean branch’s influence as well as for the sake of my promotion, I’ll do everything I can to get the Korean model selected,”
Branch Manager Jung Jin said cautiously but firmly.
“As long as you’re ok with it, we would like to recommend you, Do Wook.”
Any top star wouldn’t turn down becoming Coco’s muse. Therefore, rather than this being a meeting to ask Do Wook’s opinion, it could be seen as a setting for Branch Manager Jung Jin to test Do Wook.
Do Wook looked at him. He seemed confident, as he said, that he could make the Korean branch recommendation become Coco’s muse.
And honestly, even from Branch Manager Jung Jin’s perspective, there was no better candidate.
“Thank you. If you give me the opportunity, I’ll make sure you don’t regret your decision.”
Branch Manager Jung Jin relaxed his expression and laughed. Do Wook was definitely humble, but he wasn’t the type that lacked confidence. He liked that very much.
“Good. Mmm…President Lee said there was no better person than you for the ad model. That there’s no concern about you causing trouble either.”
President Lee Yoo Min made a gesture with her chin towards Do Wook implying, “it’s true, isn’t it?” Do Wook responded by laughing.
“I look forward to working with you for the time being. For both our sakes.”
“Yes, I understand.”
***
Do Wook gave Manager Oh Baek Ho a simple summary about the Coco muse situation.
Fan Marketing Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung was informed through Manager Oh Baek Ho, but Do Wook briefly ran into him while passing by the office.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung exclaimed he didn’t have to do any work because Do Wook was the embodiment of marketing strategy.
“It’s not set in stone yet.”
“They wouldn’t have said what they said if they didn’t believe in it. We decided to keep this information between me, Manager Oh, and Department Head Jo.”
“Okay…”
“It could get leaked like the project with LIL last time and cause issues.”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung said with a pleasant smile.
Do Wook suddenly recalled seeing Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung at the cocktail bar a few days ago, but he shook his head soon after. At least at this moment, he didn’t feel any suspicious vibes from Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung.
Still, there was always that ‘what if’.
‘If this event becomes known to the outside world, then I have no choice but to suspect Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung.’
He didn’t discuss this with Manager Oh Baek Ho at all either, but Do Wook was being lightly cautious.
If he became the Coco muse, it would be a unique opportunity for Do Wook. However, even if something went wrong and they’d say he couldn’t be the muse, there was nothing for Do Wook to lose as a singer or actor.
That’s why he was trusting Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung and taking a gamble. In a way, he was testing Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung so he couldn’t say he trusted him completely, but he was able to test him with this because he trusted him.
“Is working on the song going ok? I saw ‘Call you the love’ is still topping the Pineapple chart…I think KK’s next album will do even better.”
Do Wook replied to what Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung said.
“I’d like that too. I’m in the process of discussing many things with Team Leader Shim and the members.”
“The goal is to have the comeback in May, right?”
“Yes. If it can be done by then…”
“Well, the KK fan base is solid now, but it’s not good to have a long hiatus…”
Do Wook agreed and nodded his head. The reason they were preparing for the comeback as quickly as possible was to prevent fans from leaving.
“I’m not saying to rush it. But our team is regularly uploading behind-the-scenes videos once a week!”
Perhaps feeling that he shouldn’t have brought it up, Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung quickly changed the subject. After telling each other to take care of their health as they worked, Do Wook headed towards the Album Production Team.
Today was the day they were having a meeting regarding the title of KK’s next full-length album.
There had been several meetings, and they were finally deciding the title from the few candidates today.
***
“Team Leader! This is the interview article that was posted today.”
Fan Marketing Team member Nam Hyo Jin organized the articles she had printed and brought them to Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung.
There were so many online articles that Nam Hyo Jin, an employee, clipped them and pretty much only sent the links to the Team Leader, but on days like today where there were many articles with important content, she would print them and report to him on them.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung, who had been focusing on other tasks, thanked Nam Hyo Jin and accepted the documents.
The article posted today was an exclusive KK interview with News Patch, a leading entertainment newspaper.
[(Exclusive) KK-LIL Collaboration Project Behind The Scenes Story “LIL Contacted Us First, It Feels Like A Dream.” (1)]
[(Exclusive) KK-LIL Collaboration Project Behind The Scenes Story “I’m So Proud To Be A KK member…”(2)]
[(Exclusive) KK-LIL Collaboration Project Behind The Scenes Story “Entering The Global Market? I Think If We Focus On Korea We’ll Succeed One Day…”(3)]
It was an interview series that ran on three pages. It was also proudly displayed on the portal site home page.
With the LIL collaboration project and the success of ‘Call you the love’, the public’s attention was focused on KK again. To keep this momentum until the comeback, Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung had arranged an interview with News Patch.
News Patch was completely onboard with it since they would be able to write an exclusive article. HIT Entertainment provided pictures from their activities in America and it was posted on the front page.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung read the carefully printed interviews thoroughly. He had already checked the brief question and answer outline via email, but he had to check that nothing problematic came up as the details were added to the article.
“Huh?…”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung, who had been reading the article, stopped his gaze when he got to Do Wook’s part of the answer.
[We were able to do the recent project with LIL because of our company’s efforts, actually. Our company’s Marketing Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung put in a lot of hard work. LIL does enjoy KK’s songs, but that means he had to have heard it first. In that regard, I want to express my sincere thanks to the Marketing Team.]
His own name was mentioned.
“Haaaaaaaaaaa…”
He felt a range of emotions.
He recalled meeting up with Director Seo Joong Won a few days ago. Director Seo Joong Won had directly contacted Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung to scout him back. His goal wasn’t simply to scout him.
“My goodness.”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung picked up his cell phone that was on the desk and found Manager Oh Baek Ho from his contact list.
As an employee of HIT Entertainment who would be running side by side with KK for their success, it was time he voiced the questions he had.
—
Next chapter:
Thanks for the translation