NOVEL NEXT Chapter 84
After enduring a hellish lunchtime workout, I returned to the office where an unexpected visitor awaited me.
Suyeon, with a dour expression, was staring at me.
Leaning back with her arms crossed, sitting on the sofa while gazing at me, she seemed to have much to say.
“President, what brings you here…?”
“There are a few things I need to ask Ho-jin.”
“If you’d called, I would have come up.”
“It’s fine; we’re only a few floors apart after all. Anyway….”
Suyeon paused mid-question, as if contemplating something.
After a moment’s thought, she resumed speaking.
“So, just asking in case—”
“Rumors?”
“Have you recently received or considered any job offers elsewhere?”
Given Suyeon’s sudden inquiry, I could only tilt my head in confusion.
Since transferring from NDSoft to Enson GT, I’d never so much as considered moving elsewhere.
Of course, I had received a few offers, but none were tempting enough to leave given the benefits here, so I had flatly refused every time.
“Not at all.”
“You’re lying.”
Upon my reply, Suyeon shot me an incredulous look.
This expression from Suyeon was unprecedented, leaving me equally uneasy.
“As a matter of fact, didn’t someone see Ho-jin exchanging business cards earlier today?”
…Was that it?
At Pajero Techno Valley, one of the most famous gyms in the area, news like this was sure to spread quickly.
After all, the Techno Valley itself, home to Enson GT’s headquarters, was populated by top-tier figures in the gaming industry.
Internally reflecting on my complacency in the past, I began to speak.
“Indeed, there were a few people trying to recruit me at the gym initially.”
“And?”
“After clearly refusing a few times, they stopped proposing.”
“…Then what about the rumors going around recently?”
“Well, given that our game has been doing well, we’ve received many collaboration proposals from various places.”
“Collaborations…?”
Suyeon looked thoroughly taken aback by this unexpected response.
“Yes. Likely, those you saw were people coming specifically to propose collaborations. Here’s a proposal I received today.”
To provide proof, I handed Suyeon a business card I’d received an hour prior.
On the card was a mouthwatering image of a chicken burger alongside the name “Fathers Touch.”
“You’ve never heard of Fathers Touch?”
“It’s a brand that’s started exploding in popularity for its value-driven chicken burgers.”
“Hmm… But why would a fast food company approach you, Ho-jin?”
“Apparently, the company’s president is a fan of our game and sees positive synergy potential with this collaboration.”
“Is that so? What do you think, Ho-jin?”
“To me, it seems like a good opportunity, so I’ll listen before making a decision.”
Although I said that, I was already inclined to accept the proposal unless the terms were unreasonably poor.
Collaborations between fast food companies and games were one of the ultimate cheat codes that never failed in the original timeline.
Fast food, the perfect match for young, male-oriented subculture mobile game users, was an unbeatable combination.
Granted, this was quite early in the timeline compared to my original regression, but I was not overly concerned.
The perception of subculture mobile gaming had significantly evolved since then, and most importantly, I had full confidence in our game’s popularity overcoming any resistance.
“By the way, there’s a collaborative meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Would you consider attending, President?”
Caught off guard by my sudden suggestion, Suyeon blinked.
“If it helps, I don’t see a problem.”
“As long as our counterpart doesn’t discover you’re the president, it should be fine.”
“Very well, then, I’ll accept your request once, despite the inconvenience.”
As Suyeon reverted to her usual self, I nodded in response.
***
The next day, at the conference room of Fathers Touch’s headquarters.
Suyeon and I arrived together.
Fitting for a fast food company, the conference room was adorned with chicken legs and burgers as tall as humans, and unexpectedly, they were realistically presented and looked delicious.
“For the meeting, President, you just need to summarize what we discuss appropriately.”
Suyeon gave a slightly nervous nod in response to my explanation.
As I tried to ease her tension, the chairman of Fathers Touch, Hyeonseok Choi, entered shortly.
In his two hands, he carried a tray piled high with items from Fathers Touch’s menu.
“What an honor to meet you, Director Ji Hojin!”
Hyeonseok placed the tray at the edge of the table and extended his hand for a handshake.
“I truly consider it a great honor to collaborate with Fathers Touch this time.”
After shaking hands, the official collaboration meeting commenced.
First, selecting the collaboration menu.
“As Director Ji emphasized, we compiled only our store’s best-selling items.”
Indeed, inside the tray Hyeonseok brought was an assortment of set menus comprising cost-effective and popular items.
Burgers that were only expensive for show and poorly rated were passed over.
Instead, these were steady sellers: chicken burgers paired with popular side dishes.
Had I still been in my original timeline, I might not have paid such attention to each menu item, but here, I couldn’t afford mistakes.
Messing up the first collaboration could damage our image and complicate future contracts.
“By the way, Director Ji, we have an idea from our side that we’d like to introduce.”
“An idea?”
“Yes, the concept is—”
Hyeonseok explained an idea conceived by one of the junior marketing officers.
“So, an event where if customers mimic the gestures of our staff after ordering the collaboration set, they’ll receive extra goods?”
“That’s exactly right.”
“Would it be possible to get some examples of the call-and-response phrases?”
“They’re not finalized yet, but in the process, we’ve narrowed it down to this shortlist.”
Upon checking the note Hyeonseok handed over, there were five selected phrases, as though filtered down from many options.
Starting from simple ones like “Reverse Arcadia, Let’s Go!”, to slightly challenging ones such as “Enjoy it even in the underground city—Delicious Chickenburger from Fathers Touch!”
After briefly contemplating the options on the note, I nodded.
While this could pose entry barriers for our introverted user demographic, it was undeniably helpful for generating hype around the collaboration.
Considering the instances from my previous timeline where similar concepts became memes, it was evidently effective.
Thus, with everyone unanimously approving, the cryptic slogan event for the collaboration was successfully finalized.
Two collaboration burger sets and one chicken set featuring only popular items.
Lastly, the cryptic slogan event where players could earn extra items.
It was the beginning of a mutually beneficial collaboration trend that would elicit enthusiastic responses from both the food and gaming industries.
***
Inside a certain Fathers Touch store located in Seoul.
The current time was 9:00 AM, and even though the store hadn’t opened yet, the inside was bustling more than ever.
This commotion was due to the start of a collaboration event with the mobile game, Reverse Arcadia.
Arlin, an employee at Fathers Touch, complained to the store manager about the endless stream of tasks after showing up early.
“Manager, isn’t there just too much work?”
The manager, who had been moving around quickly, sighed and replied, “There’s nothing we can do. The headquarters mentioned this collaboration isn’t a joke, and we should be prepared for this level of activity.”
“Since it’s already like this, can you at least ask the owner for 1.5 times the pay for all of this? Got it?”
“Sure, sure. I’ll talk to the owner, but please bear with it for a few days. Alright?”
“Alright.”
Despite muttering under her breath, Arlin hurried with the opening preparations, and thanks to her efforts, all prep work was completed before the collaboration officially began.
The warmers were piled high with hamburgers and chicken.
And there were mountains of fries too.
It was literally a feast for the eyes, but to Arlin, it was almost nauseating.
After all, the smell of oil since morning had almost numbed her sense of smell.
“And if we don’t sell all this preparation, what then…?”
“Well, the owner will cover it somehow.”
Though the manager appeared nonchalant, the sweat on his forehead revealed his unease.
If there were losses, even the instructions from the headquarters couldn’t prevent him, as the manager, from facing some disadvantages.
“Anyway, manager, is the game we’re collaborating with really famous?”
“It sure seems so. Though I’m not into games, it seems popular since all my game-loving siblings are playing it.”
“Is that so? It’s strange that I’ve never heard of it, considering how famous it is.”
“That’s because you’re like me—no interest in games. Anyway, stop chatting and let’s wrap it up. It’s almost time to open.”
“Understood~”
.
.
.
Thirty minutes later.
“Do we have any more special edition posters?”
“Where are the limited edition collectibles—”
“Can we change the collectibles to feature another character…?”
[Minwon Delivery Order!]
[Minwon Delivery Order!]
[Minwon Delivery Order!]
In no time, the store was filled with customers, and the delivery orders and customer requests were a constant stream.
After the storm of the lunch rush, Arlin leaned against the counter, utterly spent, and finally understood why the stingy owner had insisted on bringing her in with the promise of extra pay.
Looking at the now-empty warmers, which had been piled high with food just that morning, she muttered quietly to herself.
“Twice the hourly rate would’ve been better…”