Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Do-Jin had hit another home run, and this time, it wasn’t a fluke. The footage was split into seven videos, released one per day. The fire had been lit, and now they were fueling it daily.Thanks to that, another meeting was underway at Rael Entertainment. Team Lead Ju Kang-Hee was joined by the marketing department and a task force they’d thrown together across various divisions. Internally, they called it the “Do-Jin TF Team.”
“What happened with the community reaction report I asked for?” Ju Kang-Hee asked.
“It’s still being compiled,” one of the staff members reported. “Honestly, this has blown up so much that we keep getting new posts and mentions in real time. We’re trying to keep up with all of it...”
“Then keep updating it. Don’t worry too much about the positive stuff. Just track the general tone, but go through every single negative comment one by one and break them down.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ju Kang-Hee turned her gaze elsewhere, causing another staff member to tense up. “He’s quite in demand, huh?”
This was a question without a subject, but nobody needed her to spell it out. Everyone knew exactly who she meant.
The employee she looked at gave a sheepish, half-desperate smile. “To be honest... we’re kind of at our limit just trying to hold off the flood of requests and offers. I get that Rael’s stance is to respect the creator’s wishes and give them space to focus, but the people on the other end... well, I think they’re starting to see us as snobs. Maybe even arrogant.”
“Yeah, we’re probably past the point of holding back. I was hoping things would cool down a bit first, but at this rate...”
She hadn’t planned for things to drag out this long either. To be fair, the original plan when they signed Do-Jin was to cash in on the buzz. That was why they’d tried to set up interviews and schedule appearances so quickly. But when he blew up after his big win in the New Continent update, everything changed. She shifted gears, scrapped the media blitz, and let him dive fully into the game instead.
Back then, I figured if I just let him do his thing, the payoff would be huge. Now it’s too big for our own good. Who the hell hits a home run like this? Can’t he take a breath between swings?
She should’ve adjusted course somewhere along the way.Moderation was key, but this guy didn’t seem to understand what “moderate” even meant.
I can’t exactly tell him to tone it down either, can I?
Ju Kang-Hee let out a bitter smile and shook her head. “So, who’s the most desperate right now?”
The moment she asked, half the room jumped in with answers. One of the major broadcast stations had promised airtime and production support without even asking for details. A cable channel had also offered to squeeze two of their guys into a high-profile audition show.
The internet side of things was even more insane. MeTubers, streamers, and anyone else who had a role in content creation were all begging to collaborate or co-host with Do-Jin. Some even went as far as asking if they could leave their agencies and join Rael Entertainment just to be associated with him.
“Organize all the proposals into a clean summary. Prioritize the ones that clearly benefit the creator, not just the company. And make sure you lay out pros and cons clearly for each one. Don’t write it like you’re reporting to me. Write it like it’s a pitch directly to him.”
With that, the team lead clapped her hands lightly and moved the meeting forward.
Today was the release of the seventh video, which contained the final boss fight of the underwater dungeon. Things were only going to get more hectic from here. They needed to deal with the task at hand as quickly as possible.
***
It was 11 a.m., a time when Do-Jin would already be off doing something in the game. But today was different. He was still in the real world, talking to someone other than Chun Ji-Hyun, his assistant.
“The video that was uploaded at midnight already has twenty-eight million views. That’s in just eleven hours. I’m not even exaggerating when I say it’s K-pop idol music video numbers. So, how does it feel to be this damn popular?” Ju Kang-Hee’s voice came from the tablet, sounding half-playful.
She had been the director of the video in question.
Hearing that, Do-Jin responded with a sheepish smile. “Are you messing with me?”
“Of course not. You’ve brought in so much profit for Rael Entertainment already. Honestly, from my point of view, I should be the one walking on eggshells around you, not cracking jokes. And I mean that.”
With that, her voice trailed off, obviously on purpose. Right on cue, Ji-Hyun stepped forward from behind Do-Jin and quickly slid something in front of him, then backed off again.
Do-Jin glanced down to find a contract before him.
“This is a revised version of your contract. Everything’s the same as before, except we’ve adjusted the revenue split a bit. For personal activities like your MeTube channel, we will not take a cut from anything that is not co-produced with the company, such as ads or merch sales.”
That meant the original ninety-to-ten split just became one hundred percent in Do-Jin’s favor for those specific income streams.
“You don’t see companies often that manage your channel, edit your content, do the backend work, and not take a single penny of the profits.”
Do-Jin agreed. “Is this even sustainable? I’m already costing you a ton.”
“You know how much Rael Group spends on PR and marketing in a year? Just the exposure we’ve gotten from your name being all over the place means we could run pro bono for five years and still come out ahead. So, no, we’re not worried.”
“That sounded suspicious... like you’re trying to lock me into a long-term deal.”
“I won’t lie, that’s definitely part of the plan.”
Ju Kang-Hee nodded, then gave Ji-Hyun another subtle signal, prompting her to step forward and set down another stack of documents in front of Do-Jin.
“And what’s this?”
“It’s a compilation of the offers we’ve received. They’re not for Rael Entertainment. They’re for you.”
When Do-Jin picked it up, Ju Kang-Hee explained, “It felt like the right time to start thinking about how you want to handle your public activities. Don’t get me wrong. We’ll turn all of it down if you’re not interested. We’re just doing this so the company knows how to respond if anything comes in. We won’t force you into anything.”
As he turned the first page, he saw a clearly organized list. Each item came with notes explaining where the request had come from and what potential benefits the activity could offer. He didn’t know who had compiled the document, but judging from the level of detail and the overall volume, it was obvious that someone had put in a considerable amount of effort.
Do-Jin flipped through the pages quickly, not paying much attention, until he read, “Special Activity Bonus: 25 million won.”
This line caught his eye. The appearance fee had already been listed separately, so he didn’t understand what this other one was.
“What’s this special activity bonus supposed to be?”
“It’s basically a bonus from the company if you accept the offer and actually follow through with it. It’s a little extra for your trouble.”
Do-Jin was speechless. Sure, he knew his name had gone viral and the company was riding the wave with him. The exposure Rael was getting was off the charts. Still, it seemed a bit much from where he stood. In this industry, the usual deal was that creators put up with the hassle, the company handled the logistics and then they split the profit. That was how it was supposed to work.
Right now, they were saying they would manage the hassle and throw bonus cash at him on top of it. The whole thing felt more like they were bribing him to just keep being himself.
“I’ll be honest with you. As you can see, you’re getting a hell of a lot of offers, Do-Jin. And some of those places are dangling deals that would be very tempting for Rael Entertainment. Even if we put that aside, just you showing up on a few high-profile gigs is enough to boost our reputation in the industry. So yeah, we want in.”
“So... adjusting the revenue split and tossing in weird stuff like ‘special activity bonuses’ is basically Rael saying they’ll use me as a walking billboard, huh?”
“If that’s how you want to interpret it, sure. But it just means we think your value is that high. I hope you take it as a compliment.”
“And even with all that, you’re saying if I say no, that would be the end of it?”
“Of course, without hesitation.”
For Rael, just having their logo on Do-Jin’s videos was worth the time, money, and effort it took to support him.
When she noticed he was hesitating a little, she asked, “Do you need some time to think about it?”
“Nope. I’ll pick one or two to do.”
Although Ju Kang-Hee’s face lit up, she didn’t push further. Since she got a yes, she knew better than to ruin the moment by pressuring him. Instead, she transitioned to a more casual subject.
“So, how’s everything been? Are there any issues with the apartment, or anything else?”
Ji-Hyun, standing behind Do-Jin, immediately stiffened. If he complained about anything, it would be on her.
“Any issues...” Do-Jin repeated, thinking it over.
She could feel the way Ju Kang-Hee was staring at her through the screen, as if to say, He’d better say everything’s perfect.
Ji-Hyun was basically praying in her head at this point. Come on, Do-Jin. You’ve been fine, right? Even if something sucked, it didn’t really suck, right...?
“I can’t really think of a single thing. Ji-Hyun’s taken care of even the stuff I wouldn’t have thought of myself.”
She nearly cried out in relief.
“Chun Ji-Hyun,” the team lead called out to her with a satisfied smile.
“Y-yes?!” she snapped to attention like a soldier.
“Starting now, you’re Assistant Manager Chun. Keep doing your best to make sure your creator has everything he needs to focus on his work.”
“A-assistant manager?!” she squeaked out, trembling.
“Thanks for the positive answer today, Do-Jin.” Ju Kang-Hee quickly moved on.
“Not a problem.”
“If anything else comes up, just let us know anytime. Take care.”
With a nod, she ended the call. A staff member announced the termination of the video call and the screen faded to black.
Meanwhile, Do-Jin stared at the monitor and thought to himself, She really knows how to work people.
The fact that Ju Kang-Hee even bothered to ask if there were any issues in a setting like this, or brought up Ji-Hyun’s promotion right in front of him, was all a performance meant to puff her up and make her shine.
“Thanks, Do-Jin! Seriously, when she asked if anything was wrong, I thought my heart was gonna drop right out of my chest. But you said all that nice stuff and then boom, I got a promotion! Not even to team lead, but straight to assistant manager! Am I dreaming?” She bounced around like an overexcited puppy.
Do-Jin naturally felt good that someone he saw every day was that excited because of him. He couldn’t help but smile as well, since she was the one who always made sure there was food on the table and everything else handled without a word. However, being whipped side to side by an overenthusiastic manager was starting to make him a little nauseous.
“Ji-Hyun, you can stop shaking me now.”