Chapter 165 : About the Ad Model
Chapter 165: About the Ad Model
When people think of a fourth-generation chaebol, they typically imagine—
Someone who habitually promotes their own family, treats people like parts of a machine, says one thing and means another, enjoys bossing people around everywhere they go, torments others with a sociopathic level of nastiness, and looks down on everyone with a sense of superiority.
That might be a prejudice planted by the media.
Or it could be a cold reality rooted in someone's experience.
But one thing was certain.
At least Kim Minsoo wasn't like that.
Not because he was an illegitimate child.
Though his mother was different, he was officially registered under his father's name as an out-of-wedlock son and possessed a share and assets anyone would envy.
His network was stronger than it seemed.
He didn’t even meet with just anybody.
The fact that he could meet Kim Jinsoo, the next-in-line successor, without an appointment could be taken as proof of that.
Then why didn’t Kim Minsoo make use of such a background?
The reason was simple.
He was the kind of person who couldn’t stand losing face.
Throwing away all his pride and groveling just to land some trivial job?
Just imagining it was unpleasant. It wounded his pride. And there was no reason to do it.
However—
‘If the time ever comes, it’s not like I won’t.’
If it was for someone he truly cherished, he was prepared to put aside such pride.
It just wasn’t that moment yet.
Taeyoon’s expression noticeably brightened.
Would it be fair to say he ‘suddenly beamed’, as people say these days?
At a reaction cuter than expected,
Kim Minsoo barely suppressed the deep inner joy welling up from his core.
He quickly adjusted his chuckling expression and feigned a blank face.
‘Kid’s got it. I knew I had a good eye for people.’
There wasn’t much reason behind it.
If he showed it now, it would really feel like he’d lost to that Seo Taeyoon kid.
Although truthfully, he had already lost several times.
And yet—
“Pffft.”
He laughed like that...
“Then shall we talk in earnest about the CF? What’s the official project title? Any guidelines? I’d like to take a look, CEO.”
“You’re not happy? Why’re you suddenly talking about guidelines and project names~ I’m so thrilled I want you to show some joy.”
Probably because he didn’t mind losing.
When he brought up Orbit’s CF instead of the Almond Young campaign song a moment ago—
He had flinched at Taeyoon’s stiff expression.
For a guy who was always smiling to put on such a serious face—it wasn’t normal.
A hundred thoughts crossed his mind.
‘Is he mad? He’s not the type, though.’
‘Is he disappointed? That’s possible. He probably worked hard on the song.’
‘What if he says he won’t work with KIM Entertainment anymore? That would be too sad.’
But he let out a sigh of relief at Taeyoon’s response.
When Taeyoon said, “I want to be acknowledged for my skills, fair and square,”
Kim Minsoo saw the firm resolve flash across his face.
That resolve resembled his own early days.
‘I was exactly like that too.’
When he first decided to pursue music, Kim Jinsoo had recommended an agency under KW Entertainment.
He had declined.
Not out of some grand ambition.
He just figured that if he accomplished something with his own hands, he’d be able to accept such favors more lightly.
Because he wanted recognition, not goodwill.
Besides, a dropout from Berklee suddenly taking an executive role in an affiliate company with no real skill?
No one would see that as a good look.
These weren’t the old days.
Such outdated management would help neither him nor KW.
If he just kept walking forward, someday he’d be recognized.
Even if it took a while—well, so be it. Surely it would happen before he died.
And yet, contrary to those expectations—
He was now achieving that goal faster than he’d thought.
Thanks to that admirable Seo Taeyoon kid.
When Kim Minsoo looked at Taeyoon with proud eyes, Taeyoon smiled again and said,
“Okay. I’ll show it a bit, like you said. First off… did you know? When you look at me like that, CEO, I feel really proud.”
“Huh? Me? What did I do?”
“Come on, you’re thinking, ‘He’s doing great, he’s impressive, he’s precious, what should I gift him?’ That kind of stuff, right? I can feel it, and it fills me up inside.”
“…This punk’s getting sharper, huh? You got me!”
Ahem.
Times like this, he could’ve pretended not to notice.
Feeling awkward, Kim Minsoo scratched his nose bridge.
We talked for a long time.
To be honest…
It felt like my ears were going to bleed.
For some reason, CEO Kim Minsoo explained everything to me from start to finish.
Said the person involved should be informed.
He started by explaining what a major company’s marketing strategy team did, and at that point, I kind of wanted to run away.
“…They came down from headquarters, and they’re amazing! KW Electronics is the best! Long live KW Group!”
“You weren’t listening properly, were you? I was criticizing them.”
“Ah, a-ah.”
“Well, let me tell you the interesting part now.”
Why KW Electronics chose the DJ version.
How the staff managed to persuade an old higher-up.
Those stories were certainly interesting.
It felt like I was right there in that room.
And he even looked cool saying them.
“In the end, I think it scored high because it was ‘something no one had tried before’. Everyone’s doing emotional, retro, MZ trends—same old stuff. But <First Spark> was different. It kept the emotion but completely flipped the format.”
I listened to Kim Minsoo’s words with fascinated eyes.
“DJing wasn’t just used as a sound effect—it changed the entire song. The narrative, the message. In a way, it’s not just ad music but a performance piece. And…”
After finishing a can of Zero Soda, Kim Minsoo continued.
“They judged that it could deliver the brand’s message clearly and freshly. DJs are like that. Feels like youth club culture, but actually, it might be more familiar to the older generation.”
“Like the DJ at the tteokbokki place in Sindang-dong?”
Ah… maybe I shouldn’t have said that?
Kim Minsoo flared his nostrils.
Sensing a chilly vibe, I quickly changed the subject.
“So originally, KW Electronics wasn’t even looking for a song?”
“Nope, it was the opposite. They saw the song and felt the spark. It didn’t quite match Almond Young’s vibe, but for the electronics side, it hit the mark.”
At that point, I had a question.
Since they’re in the same group, do they try to keep the ad music tone similar?
But Almond Young and KW Electronics felt completely different…
“Even if they’re affiliates, isn’t the song vibe too similar? Is it okay to go that way with a campaign song? Everything sounds luxurious.”
To that, Kim Minsoo snapped his fingers.
“Great question.”
“Huh?”
“Almond Young’s track from Daebak Sound doesn’t have a DJ break, right? Let them do their usual luxury thing. We’ll walk our own path! That’s the idea. And Taeyoon, let’s be clear.”
He firmly wagged his finger and continued.
“It’s not a campaign song, it’s a CF. This is a CF! It’s not just the song—you’re the main star of the CF!”
Me? The main star?
Stay, the main star of Orbit?
This was no small matter.
Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe.
It was only now sinking in.
“Whew…”
Kim Minsoo brought over a bottle of water and handed it to me.
I emptied the 500 mL bottle in one go.
“Feeling a bit clearer now?”
“I don’t know if this is a dream or reality.”
Only then did I start to gradually accept this situation as real.
Outside, dawn was already breaking.
“CEO, wait a sec. Would you like some coffee?”
“Hold on. How could I ask our soon-to-be star to make coffee?”
Before I could even stop him,
Kim Minsoo jumped up and quickly mixed two cups of instant coffee.
The sugar and caffeine snapped my mind awake.
Something felt missing, though.
Ah, right. The ad fee, the leap forward—none of that mattered.
What mattered most here was the discussion about the song.
“Will they ask for a lot of revisions? They probably have a clear vision. I heard when you work with big corporations, they make you revise things hundreds of times.”
“Who told you that?”
“Gibong-hyung.”
“Pwah-hah-hah-hah!”
Kim Minsoo burst out laughing, nearly doubling over.
“Why? Hasn’t Gibong-hyung ever worked with a major company?”
“He almost did one car campaign.”
“Almost? What happened?”
“It’s a famous story, didn’t you know? After a few revision requests he said, ‘I could write ten idol songs in this time, bye,’ and bolted.”
…Well, he wasn’t wrong.
That was just like Gibong-hyung.
Right, endless revision requests could make anyone lose all their hair!
“But you don’t need to worry.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The condition is to use the original song as is. The cuts are already edited, so we’ll probably just tweak the mastering a little. Why, do you want to change something?”
“I was thinking maybe the DJing could be a bit bolder.”
“I’ll bring that up at the next meeting. You can come along too if you want.”
Since the confirmation was done,
we now had to decide who would do what.
“By the way, who’s shooting the CF?”
“Of course, Blackhole.”
“Not Stay?”
“Can I brag for a moment?”
“As much as you want.”
Anyone would think he hadn’t bragged at all till now.
Well, if it’s Kim Minsoo bragging, I could listen all night.
Ah, wait—it already was morning.
“When we had the meeting, we hadn’t actually decided on a model yet.”
“Huh?”
“But after the meeting, they seemed hesitant. They liked the song but said it lacked that final punch. So I boldly declared—I’ll bring in Blackhole!”
“Oh?”
At that, I hesitated for a moment.
It was about revealing my face.
It was one thing to greet the staff on set,
but I didn’t want my face plastered across TV screens.
It wasn’t about confidence or anything like that.
I just wanted the first people to see me unmasked as DJ Blackhole to be the Sierra audience,
not random ad viewers.
While I was lost in that thought, Kim Minsoo muttered,
“Looks like KW Group really is changing. Betting everything on a project with DJing, huh.”
A KW Electronics ad, huh.
I felt an odd surge of patriotic pride, like I could shout Long live Korea! at any moment.
“Long live Orbit Phone! Let’s go, Gu-tup Electronics!”
“You use Air Phone, don’t you?”
“I’ve made up my mind. Starting tomorrow, I’m switching to Orbit Phone. I’ll buy an Orbit Watch… and Orbit Earphones too.”
“Good. I like that attitude.”
We decided to talk more once morning fully broke.
After that, Kim Minsoo and I each had a bowl of bone-hangover soup and went our separate ways.
But even after I got home, I couldn’t sleep at all.
Orbit Phone instead of Almond Young…
Was this really happening?
CF model fees were insanely high too.
What would I even do with that money?
Like someone who bought a lottery ticket and spent a whole week imagining every possible joy,
I lay there turning those thoughts over and over until I fell asleep.
At this rate… maybe I could buy a car?
No, a house even?
I was just… so happy, truly.
Meanwhile, unlike Taeyoon, who was enjoying the happiest time of his life,
a cold wind was blowing that very morning in KW Electronics’ marketing department.
A disturbing rumor was spreading.
Something about “the higher-ups arbitrarily choosing an ad model and simply announcing it.”
In the KW Electronics staff lounge,
everyone was quietly making coffee, reading the room.
Then someone finally spoke.
“Did you hear the news?”
At that, everyone seized the chance to unleash a storm of complaints.
“They say something about an ad model—was that real?”
“I heard it was finalized yesterday. Executive Director Kim Jinsoo came down from HQ.”
“Then who is it? Why’re they hiding it even from us?”
“They’ll probably announce it soon.”
“Ha… I knew it’d be like this again.”
Just as voices grew louder and emotions started to rise,
the youngest staffer burst breathlessly into the lounge and asked the seniors,
“Oh, you’re all here! Did you hear the rumor?”
“We were just talking about it.”
“Ah, so you’ve heard.”
“…Huh?”
“You were talking about the ad model selection, right?”
“What? How do you know?”
“I just heard from a friend at HQ… The next Orbit model is none other than…”
Gulp.
Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the junior’s mouth.