As the delivery became more efficient, the already popular Clonez album sold even faster through 【Jungle】.
【Jungle】, which had been generating significant income from computers, home appliances, and other products, finally discovered another product category.
Moreover, this was a good situation for Clonez as well.
With the supportive environment, they seemed to be enjoying even more popularity than in Lee Hyun-woo’s previous life.
Their popularity soared vertically in a short period and led to appearances on talk shows.
Even on the talk show, their conversational skills were impressive, like fish in water.
The same was true now.
When 70,000 out of 100,000 copies were sold and another 50,000 copies were ordered to be stocked at home.
On a talk show, the voice of a member of Clonez with reggae hair was vividly ringing in Lee Hyun-woo’s ears.
- “There was someone who foresaw that our song would be a hit. He heard it just once.”
“Really? He heard it just once?”
“Yes, he heard it just once, memorized it, and sang it everywhere.”
“That’s amazing. Doesn’t that mean the song ‘KkoongDdakDari Shaba’ is that impressive?”
“It could be, but he even guaranteed the success of ‘KkoongDdakDari Shaba’ from the beginning and ordered 100,000 copies, saying he could sell them all.”
“100,000 copies?”
“Wowwwww.”
Amid the audience’s exclamations, the host continued to ask questions.
“100,000 copies? It doesn’t sound like a small record store. Is there a place in our country that can handle that?”
“Actually, we’re talking about an internet site.”
“An internet site?”
“I can’t say the name on the broadcast, but this site does auctions and sells goods online.”
“Sells goods online? Where could that be?”
“Can we say it on the broadcast?”
“Somewhere similar to a jungle?”
Finally, the bald member chimed in.
Upon hearing the word “jungle,” Lee Hyun-woo thought that anyone would immediately think of 【Jungle】.
Of course, “anyone” here meant “reporters.”
‘Thanks to those two, our site will get good publicity in the entertainment section tomorrow.’
Lee Hyun-woo smiled contentedly, imagining various reports on TV entertainment news.
Meanwhile, Clonez continued to share good stories.
“Anyway, we were so grateful that we shot the advertisement for that site without receiving a single penny.”
“Oh, so it will soon be on TV commercials.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not a big company, so TV commercials are not possible.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, what we shot was not for TV but for flyers. And later, they said they would advertise online too, but I’m not sure how effective that will be.”
“Personally, I hope that place does really well.”
At this point, Lee Hyun-woo’s father, who was watching TV with them, started a happy family conversation.
“Aren’t those people talking about your company?”
“Yes, father.”
“They’re advertising for you for free. Did they really do flyer ads for free?”
“Yes, they kindly did that.”
“Honey, it seems our kids are doing something. Popular singers are promoting them on TV.”
“We have to watch till the end. And don’t get too cocky just because you’re doing well. Got it?”
“Yes, father.”
“Father may not know this, but my heart feels like it’s going to burst these days.”
Finally, Lee Jung-woo spoke with excitement.
“Do you know how much money we get every time we sell one of their albums?”
“How much?”
“Jung-woo, that’s enough.”
“Huh? Hyung, shouldn’t we tell our parents so they can be happy?”
“Father just told us not to get cocky. We need to be humble.”
“Is that so?”
Lee Hyun-woo tried to calm Jung-woo’s excitement and showed a smile to his parents, indicating there was no need to worry anymore.
In reality, the profit from selling 100,000 copies served as a stabilizing factor for the website 【Jungle】.
After deducting various costs, a profit of about 1,500 won per copy remained, so they were expected to earn a whopping 150 million won.
If an additional 50,000 copies were disposed of, a total of 225 million won would be left in the bank balance.
Lee Jung-woo, who roughly knew this figure, probably had an irregular heartbeat, so sometimes Lee Hyun-woo had to act as his defibrillator.
It wasn’t just Lee Jung-woo; other employees felt the same way.
The next day, during the meeting, excitement was evident on everyone’s faces.
“Thanks to Clonez’s appearance on the talk show yesterday, record sales surged, and the number of users increased significantly.”
“It looks like we need to add another server.”
“Boss, other entertainment agencies are contacting us for meetings. How should we handle it?”
At least these three could say a word during the meeting, but at this moment, Yoo Jin-young was handling work while holding the phone.
“Yes, yes… we’re very sorry for the inconvenience caused by using our site.”
Her voice was filled with embarrassment, almost breaking off.
It seemed that the place that needed manpower the most might be over there.
When Lee Hyun-woo showed an interest in her voice, the topic shifted among the people.
“It looks like we need more people to answer the phones.”
“That’s right. Once Jungle Money is integrated, there will be a lot of inquiries initially.”
“Shall we post a notice?”
“Hold on.”
Lee Hyun-woo made the three quiet down for a moment and quickly spoke to Yoo Jin-young, who had just finished a phone call.
“Yoo Jin-young?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Do you have any friends looking for a job?”
“Pardon?”
There wasn’t anyone who didn’t understand what Lee Hyun-woo meant by his words.
He was implying that he would hire Yoo Jin-young’s friends.
“If you work with your friends, it might be easier to manage phone calls and occasional delivery part-time jobs. It would be good if you could introduce a suitable person.”
“Oh, yes…”
“Is it possible?”
“Of course. My friends are so envious that I work here.”
“Then, please take care of it.”
“Yes, I will. I’ll carefully select someone to introduce.”
When the word “carefully select,” which Yoo Jin-young often used, came out, Lee Hyun-woo and the other three laughed.
It was a term she frequently used while handling phone calls.
The cheerful atmosphere was interrupted by the phone ringing again, and as soon as Yoo Jin-young answered, another phone rang.
Since it wasn’t a customer service call, Han Se-jin quickly got up and picked up the receiver.
“Yes, this is the site 【Jungle】 that sells everything in the world. Yes? Where? 【Sejong Daily】? Oh, please hold on.”
Han Se-jin took the phone away from her face and looked at Lee Hyun-woo.
Then she said.
“【Sejong Daily】 wants to interview you, boss.”
“An interview?”
“Yes, it’s a reporter from the culture department.”
Perhaps they called after watching Clonez’s talk show yesterday?
Lee Hyun-woo knew well that the more they appeared in newspapers and on TV, the more users would flock to the site.
So, just like when he interviewed with the entertainment news reporter from 【KBC】 last time, he immediately scheduled the interview.
When the reporter requested to do the interview that afternoon, he accepted without hesitation.
‘Once the interview is done and the article is published, things will go well again.’
As someone mentioned earlier, they might need to consider another server.
The same goes for manpower.
‘It seems like hiring one or two people won’t be enough.’
【Jungle】, growing much faster than Lee Hyun-woo expected, needed to prepare in advance to avoid issues with scale, equipment, and manpower.
After finishing the interview in the afternoon, Lee Hyun-woo went to Yongsan.
“Did you go to look at servers?”
“Yes, among other things. But seeing you bring up servers as soon as you see me…”
“No, no. We can still manage for now. I was just asking because the more servers we have, the more we can do.”
Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes sparkled at his younger brother Lee Jung-woo’s words.
“If you mean things we can do?”
“To be precise, things we want to try. Both I and Mr. Jang Yoo-chul, as computer science students, have various dreams.”
“You mean various programs.”
“Yes, that’s right. After applying Jungle Money, we want to try something else, but we plan to do it once we secure more servers.”
The part about having various dreams made Lee Hyun-woo’s expectations rise.
However, he thought there might be more things to prepare.
“It’s not just servers, is it?”
“Pardon?”
“Aren’t we short on developers?”
“Oh… yes, of course. We can’t manage like before. More developers, the better.”
“Then find some.”
“Really?”
“It seems two developers are not enough. Use your connections, Jung-woo. There will be your department and clubs, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll look into it.”
No matter how much these employees grew to be versatile, there was a fundamental limit to the amount of work they could handle.
If the company grows but lacks people, it’s like pushing them to overwork.
‘That’s not acceptable.’
Moreover, to realize the dreams Jung-woo mentioned earlier, the workload had to be lightened.
It was now time for manpower expansion, and the next day, Lee Hyun-woo interviewed the person Yoo Jin-young introduced.
Although Yoo Jin-young said she would carefully select someone, how much could a twenty-year-old newcomer show their abilities in an interview with the boss?
She seemed slightly nervous, so Lee Hyun-woo smiled and made her comfortable.
And finally,
“Jung Joo-hee, please start from tomorrow.”
He immediately informed her of her acceptance.
The decision was so quick that she seemed a bit dazed, and after she left, Yoo Jin-young cautiously approached and spoke in a small voice.
“Boss, did you hire her because of me?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Jung Joo-hee was carefully selected by you, wasn’t she? So I trust her more.”
In reality, it wasn’t just because of Yoo Jin-young, but because it was a position not related to specialized tasks, he made the decision quickly.
He suddenly remembered Yoo Jin-young’s interview.
She was more nervous than Jung Joo-hee just now.
But she’s doing well answering calls now, so why hesitate?
Unaware of this, Yoo Jin-young’s eyes were filled with gratitude.
People work harder for those who believe in them.
Could he expect that effect too?
It was more than that from the next day.
While helping her friend Jung Joo-hee adjust, Yoo Jin-young was also diligent in her own work.
In other words, she set an example while taking good care of her junior.
Hence, Lee Hyun-woo couldn’t help but smile.
Around that time, Jungle Money was applied to the site.
Soon, notes and calls flooded in.
Seeing this, Lee Hyun-woo went to Yongsan again and brought back something,
“To handle work more efficiently, I prepared this. Please take one.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Seeing the curiosity in the eyes of the people looking at the items in the box, Lee Hyun-woo smiled and said.
“These are mobile phones.”
