After a while, Clonez left the office, and Lee Hyun-woo, treating them like stars, followed them out to see them off.
An unofficial countermeasure meeting was held in the office.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Naturally, it was led by his younger brother, Lee Jung-woo, who sensed the gravity of the situation.
“What do you all think?”
“They have no star quality at all.”
“They can’t sing well either, can they?”
“They can’t. I felt it from the first time we went to Nine Sound and listened to the recording tape, and just now when they sang the part Lee-sunbae asked them to, their voices sounded like they had drunk a lot of makgeolli.”
Han Se-jin was the last to speak.
People were aghast, listening to Clonez sing only the important parts, just in case.
The employees, who had gotten used to the song because Lee Hyun-woo had been making them listen to it so much lately, were full of disappointment.
It was a mess to their ears.
“What should we do?”
“How about persuading the president again?”
“He will never back down. I know my brother, and he is very stubborn, even if he doesn’t seem like it.”
“I also heard from Lee Jung-woo that he started a business despite getting a job at a large company.”
Han Se-jin and Yoo Jin-young, who didn’t know such details, widened their eyes as they listened to Lee Jung-woo and Jang Yoo-chul.
“What should we do?”
“Yeah, with that level of stubbornness, he won’t listen to us at all, will he?”
“Sigh.”
“He’s been getting along well with CEO Kim Yoon-soo lately. How about asking him for a favor?”
“What kind of favor?”
“To persuade my brother.”
“As you know, he’s even more easily swayed. Who do you think will win if those two have a conversation?”
“Ah, indeed…”
“Sigh.”
“Sigh.”
As their sighs grew deeper, Lee Hyun-woo reappeared.
Unlike them, his face was full of satisfaction, as if he had accomplished something.
No, he even said it out loud.
“If we do well, we could save on advertising costs at a low price, right?”
“Ad… advertising… you say?”
“President, there are categories of celebrities that people like and dislike….”
“How about we decide once the album comes out?”
“I agree.”
When the four employees spoke in unison, Lee Hyun-woo just laughed.
He had lived for 50 years.
He couldn’t have missed what their hearts were feeling at the moment.
‘They must be disappointed after hearing the song just now.’
There was no choreography, they weren’t prepared for a live performance, and they didn’t even sing along to the accompaniment.
Decisively, Clonez weren’t strong with live performances.
Lee Hyun-woo nodded with a bitter smile as if he had no choice.
“Alright, then. But if Clonez becomes a big hit this time, please follow my lead without any objections later.”
“Of course.”
“Absolutely.”
“President, more urgently, we need to deal with the 50,000 returns. Should I go and renegotiate right now?”
“Do you want to?”
“My heart is eager, but I don’t think you’ll approve.”
“No, I won’t.”
His stubbornness was indeed impenetrable.
The four employees could only share their anxious feelings through eye contact.
Was there any consolation?
Soon after, with the release of Shin Sung-hoon’s live album, 20,000 copies sold, generating a profit.
That was thanks to pre-orders, which sold out instantly.
The album sold for 8,000 won.
Initially, it was said to be close to zero profit, but when all costs, including labor and shipping, were added, the first 10,000 copies left 300 won per copy, amounting to 3 million won.
The second 10,000 copies were received at a wholesale price of 5,900 won from Nine Sound, leaving a profit of 4 million won.
‘Now the problem is this Clonez or whatever their name is.’
All four employees shared the same thought.
Should it be said that they had a high sense of ownership?
Instead of thinking about leaving if the company failed, they worried together.
Especially, Lee Jung-woo, who had devoted himself almost as if he were a co-founder, couldn’t even sleep at night.
Unaware of this, his brother hurriedly instructed him to launch the event page.
“Alright, next after Shin Sung-hoon is Clonez. Let’s make a big hit this time and enjoy working at the company. Got it?”
He created an enthusiastic atmosphere.
This was truly impressive.
‘He’s my brother, but he’s really a man of will.’
Whether it worked or not, he was deeply impressed by his brother’s attempt to move towards the goal with all his might once he made a decision.
Moving people, moving an organization; this is something only an excellent leader can do.
‘Yes, as his younger brother, I should take the lead and help.’
Of course, seeing the Clonez CDs pile up at home, Lee Jung-woo sighed even deeper, but as the bowstring was already drawn, he followed his brother’s instructions without complaint.
When his father worried, he defended his brother.
“Can we sell all that?”
“Of course, Dad. Don’t you know my brother? Our company’s monthly profit has exceeded 20 million won in just a few months.”
“That’s true, but aren’t those singers we’ve never heard of? Are we doing this right? Won’t we lose all the money we made?”
“Absolutely not. If they don’t sell, they’ll all be returned.”
“Is that so? I see.”
Although he didn’t provide a detailed explanation, his father’s concern, seeing the CDs pile up at home and roughly guessing the situation, was understandable.
So, he made this resolution to himself.
‘If we can’t sell all that, I’ll somehow return it.’
Then Nine Sound would cut ties with them, right?
Thinking this, Lee Jung-woo shook his head.
Now was not the time to think about others.
If they couldn’t sell and couldn’t return them, it would directly lead to the company’s loss.
As he pondered this and that, the release date of Clonez’s album approached quickly.
On that day, Lee Jung-woo watched TV with his brother at home, feeling nervous.
- Now, let me introduce two men who will heat up the summer. Clonez!
It was KBC’s popular music show.
As it was their debut stage, he earnestly hoped for a successful performance.
Soon, the song started,
“What’s that? Why is one guy’s hairstyle like that? And the other guy is bald?”
His father, ever so straightforward, frowned.
His mother felt the same.
“I don’t understand why kids these days come out like that.”
“Just listen to the song. As long as they sing well, it’s fine.”
“The song isn’t great either.”
“I could sing that better myself.”
“Seriously, I can’t live with the generation gap between you two. Right, hyung?”
Lee Hyun-woo just smiled at his younger brother’s question, who had been defending them until the end.
He was utterly carefree.
After a while, he even started singing along to the chorus.
“Kungdakkari Shaba! Kungdakkari Shaba!”
Interestingly, by the time the song ended, his father and mother were also singing the repeated chorus like his brother.
“Kungdakkari Shaba! Kungdakkari Shaba!”
“Kungdakkari Shaba! Kungdakkari Shaba!”
The evaluation after the song ended was quite different.
“I can’t follow the part they were mumbling at first, but the ‘Kungdakkari Shaba’ part is quite fun.”
“The song doesn’t seem difficult.”
“The simpler, the better. Who listens to complicated and difficult songs? That’s something you experiment with at home and share with your fans. Look at trot music. Is that a difficult song?”
Defending the song, Lee Jung-woo started talking about the factors of its success.
His brother, who had been just smiling, nodded and agreed.
“You’re right. To appeal to the public, nothing should be complicated. If this song becomes a hit, we can use it as an opportunity to revisit our website.”
“Haha…”
Lee Jung-woo gave a hollow laugh, feeling a bit guilty.
Lately, he had been cluttering the homepage with various things.
It stemmed from the desire to expose too much, and the customer board had accumulated some complaints about it.
‘My brother is right. I should fix it tomorrow.’
Anyway, listening to the whole song felt quite strange.
He couldn’t say it would be a huge success, but it felt fresh in its own way.
‘The song was fun. It was simple and catchy.’
In this complicated world, a simple song like this might easily capture the public’s heart.
Perhaps that’s why?
The next day on his way to work, in the most sensitive area for trends, Yongsan Street…
- Kungdakkari Shababa! Bbababbabba!
Clonez’s song was already ringing in his ears.
In fact, from a commercial perspective, the ‘gilboard’ is quite ruthless.
Since they don’t receive any extra advertising or promotion fees, they only put out what sells.
If a debut singer’s song is playing on the streets the next day, isn’t that a good sign?
When he entered the office, the evaluations of the others were similar.
“Did you watch the broadcast yesterday?”
“Yes, I did. I think they did quite well.”
“What do you mean ‘did well’? I heard Clonez’s song on my way to work today.”
“I also heard it while commuting.”
“If this goes well…”
“Ms. Yoo Jin-young, wait!”
“What?”
“If you predict success prematurely, it will jinx it. Just keep it to yourself.”
“I disagree. If you chant for success like a spell, it always works out.”
“By the way, where’s the president?”
“He said he was stopping by 【One Computer】 for a moment.”
Listening to the employees’ voices, which were quite different from the day before, Lee Jung-woo couldn’t hide his inexplicable anticipation.
‘If this goes well…’
Maybe they could handle half of the Clonez CDs stacked at home?
Thinking this, he sat down at his computer and started working.
“Huh?”
He was surprised.
To be precise, he thought he had misread the numbers when he turned on the algorithm that automatically tallied the order quantity.
“Twenty-five thousand?”
“What?”
“More than twenty-five thousand orders have been automatically processed.”
“What sold so much?”
“We’ll have to see.”
Though they said that, Lee Jung-woo and Jang Yoo-chul could roughly guess what the item was.
Wasn’t it probably Clonez’s album?
Han Se-jin and Yoo Jin-young, too, seemed to guess, approaching the two and holding their breath.
When they confirmed there were more than 25,000 orders,
“Twenty-two thousand six hundred eighty….”
“Is this the order that came in from last night to today?”
“Really?”
“Wow, is it true?”
Suddenly, they heard the office door open and turned their heads.
Lee Hyun-woo entered with a relaxed expression.
They all called out to him in unison.
“President!”
“What? Why?”
When Lee Hyun-woo asked back, the content they each blurted out was different.
“Over 20,000 Clonez CDs sold overnight!”
“Did you hear Clonez’s song on your way here? It’s playing everywhere.”
“This looks promising. Shouldn’t we place additional orders?”
“More importantly, didn’t Clonez promise to do free advertising if they became popular?”
The last voice belonged to Han Se-jin.
Hearing that, everyone’s pupils dilated erratically.
Seeing that, Lee Hyun-woo asked leisurely,
“Mr. Jang Yoo-chul, can you take a photo and do some Photoshop work?”
“Of course.”
“We need to start verifying Clonez as well. People change their minds when they get popular.”
“I’ll handle that.”
“Alright, Mr. Han Se-jin, please take care of it. If they come out saying they won’t do it, tell them we’re not trying to use them for free. There’s no need to create bad blood.”
“Yes, understood.”
People’s minds change between when they enter and leave the restroom.
There’s no rule that Clonez should be any different.
But shortly after, Han Se-jin, who had gone to Nine Sound, called.
(President, Clonez said they don’t want any money. They live and die by loyalty.)
The smile on Lee Hyun-woo’s face deepened.
