2. This Is Fate
The afternoon after lunch.
Ho-su opened the office door and walked in.
“Have you all eaten?” “CEO, you’re here?” “Hello, CEO.”
NextStudio, where Ho-su served as CEO, was a company he had founded after working briefly at another firm. He had always loved games, and he started the company because he wanted to make the games he himself wanted to play.
For about two years after the company was founded, they worked as a subcontractor for other companies rather than developing their own games. Then, for the next two years, they focused on developing their own title.
Although the company generated no revenue while the game was in development, it managed to survive thanks to Ho-su’s efforts. At last, his first mobile game was released.
The response to the game was explosive.
Along with media reviews calling its quality “hard to believe for a game from a startup,” the number of users grew exponentially.
Like the celebrity who once said she woke up to find herself a star, Ho-su went to sleep and woke up to discover that his company had become a massive success.
He rewarded the employees who had endured the difficult work for the company to the very end, and they were so happy their smiles stretched from ear to ear.
Then he bought the building they were currently in and moved the company there.
“Could you tell Vice CEO Park Ji-hoon to come to my office, Manager Shin?” “Yes, sir.”
Ho-su made the request as he entered the CEO’s office.
Manager Shin sent a message to Vice CEO Park, and a relatively new employee watched him do it.
“But, Manager.” “Yeah?” “You know the CEO? Why does he run a game company with that face? If he’d become a celebrity instead, he probably would’ve made even more money.” “He’s not someone who needs the money.” “What?” “He’s the only son of Seo Min-hee, the chairwoman of Seowon Construction.” “Wait, Seowon Construction?”
The employee’s mouth fell open at Manager Park’s words.
He really had everything.
A handsome face, a brilliant mind, and he was a chaebol heir to boot.
“Still, isn’t it nice that the CEO comes into work once a week and gives all the female employees something nice to look at?” “That’s true. He seems like someone from another world.” “Okay, okay. Let’s focus on work again. This part needs to be revised.”
Ho-su sat at his desk in the CEO’s office, staring at the monitor.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
The person who opened the door and entered was his friend and vice CEO, Park Ji-hoon.
“Did you crawl in again today, CEO?” “I drove here, Vice CEO.” “I heard you drank with your friends yesterday. You’re supposed to come to work today, yet you stayed out drinking until late. Real responsible of you.” “Please respect my private life.”
Ji-hoon narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Ho-su, who was sitting in his chair.
“So, Vice CEO, what do we need to decide today?” “Okay.”
Ji-hoon held out a document folder.
“What’s this?” “The candidates for the model in our next game ad. We need to decide quickly, or the schedule will be delayed.”
NextStudio was preparing to announce its new game, Eternal Fate. This was the game Ho-su had wanted to make ever since he founded the company. It even included a character he had personally come up with and designed.
Every part of it had been born from his own fingertips.
Now, with the release approaching, all that remained was testing minor bugs and promoting the game.
“The marketing team said we should put a celebrity front and center, so we asked the agency to recommend some models. That’s what they sent us.” “Really?”
Ho-su carefully examined the documents in the folder.
First candidate. A veteran actor with thirty years of experience. Reliable, but not strong for targeting younger audiences.
Second candidate. A top actor in his late twenties. Explosively popular, but his advertising fee was astronomical.
Third candidate. The center of an idol group. Wildly popular with teenagers and people in their early twenties, but with absolutely no acting experience.
“Isn’t the problem that none of them fit our game’s concept? And are any of them even willing to work with us?” “Keep looking. There’s still one candidate left.”
Ho-su frowned at Ji-hoon’s words and checked the documents for the final candidate. At that moment, his pupils wavered.
I found you. Cha Ha-neul.
I never thought I’d find you here.
Ji-hoon watched Ho-su’s expression as he continued staring at the document and spoke.
“She’s the last one, right? The agency recommended this model most strongly. Her name is Yoonseul.”
They said she was a hot celebrity on social media these days. Among teenagers and people in their twenties, she was apparently more famous and influential than most celebrities. Her looks were the best fit for the ad concept, but so far she had only done photo shoots and had never appeared in an advertisement that required acting.
“I asked some of the development team, and even they knew her. I guess she’s practically at the top in terms of name recognition among young people.” “Let’s go with her.” “Huh?” “You said she has the look that best suits the concept, right? And you said she’s highly influential among young people.” “That’s true, but the agency did say she might be the riskiest option.” “The greater the risk, the greater the reward, isn’t that how it works? She’ll fit our company’s image, too.”
For the first time, a positive evaluation fell from Ho-su’s lips, and Ji-hoon stared at him in puzzlement before speaking.
“Then should I set up a meeting with her?” “Yeah, do that. The sooner, the better, right?” “Got it.”
Ho-su never took his eyes off the documents. Seeing this, Ji-hoon narrowed his eyes at him.
Perhaps Ji-hoon’s stare had grown too intense, because Ho-su looked up at him.
“What? Is there something else you want to say?” “No, not really.” “Then let me know as soon as the meeting date is set.” “Why? Are you planning to attend the meeting yourself?” “Yeah.”
Ji-hoon sensed that something about Ho-su’s attitude was strange. Ho-su had never personally attended a meeting when selecting an advertising model before. So why all of a sudden?
“This game must really be important to you.” “Of course it is. It’s the game I’ve wanted to make most.” “That’s true.”
Ho-su handed Ji-hoon the approval folder, and Ji-hoon took it as he left the CEO’s office.
“I’ll set up the meeting as soon as possible, okay?” “Got it.”
As soon as Ji-hoon left the CEO’s office, Ho-su logged on to a portal site and searched for Yoonseul.
Name: Yoonseul (real name undisclosed) Age: Undisclosed (estimated to be around thirty) Occupation: Influencer / YouTube creator Agency: Blooming Entertainment Social media followers: 2 million YouTube subscribers: 1.5 million Field: Fashion, beauty
Strangely, no one knew her real name, age, family background, or educational history.
Ho-su clicked through the photos of her that appeared in the search results, one by one.
Sophisticated fashion editorials. A thumbnail from an elegant makeup video. A social media photo that appeared to feature a luxury brand sponsorship.
Though hidden beneath her glamorous makeup, she was unmistakably the Cha Ha-neul he had been looking for.
“I never thought we’d meet like this.”
As Ho-su gazed quietly at the screen, one corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
On his way back to his office after leaving the CEO’s office, Ji-hoon ran into a member of the development team. He was Choi Yeon-jun, Ho-su and Ji-hoon’s junior from college.
“Let’s grab a coffee, Manager Choi.” “Yes, Vice CEO.”
The two of them went up to the roof. Since the building stood in the heart of Gangnam, the streets below were crowded and lively.
“What’s this about, Vice CEO?” “When it’s just the two of us, call me hyung.” “Should I? Hyung.”
Ji-hoon turned to look at Yeon-jun and chuckled. Yeon-jun had always been good at school, even back in college, and he had shown particular talent for coding. Ji-hoon had never imagined that he would quit a stable job at a major corporation to work with him.
“You’re tired these days, aren’t you?” “Can’t be helped. We’re not far from revealing the new game.” “Yeah. Hang in there a little longer.” “Weren’t you choosing the model today?” “That’s right. We picked one.” “Who is it?”
When the name Yoonseul left Ji-hoon’s lips, Yeon-jun said he’d known that would be the choice.
“What do you mean?” “You didn’t know, hyung? I assumed you would, of course.” “Know what?” “Hyung, did you really not look closely at the character for the launch event?”
“Hyung, you’ve really become a spreadsheet man,” Yeon-jun said, pulling out his phone and tapping on it before holding the screen in front of Ji-hoon’s eyes.
“This is the image we drew according to Ho-su hyung’s specifications when he first worked out the character design.” “Now that you mention it, I’ve seen this before.” “Look closely. It looks almost exactly like Yoonseul.” “Huh?”
Ji-hoon carefully examined the illustration on the phone screen.
A face that was innocent yet strangely sexy, a petite frame, and a slender figure.
‘…It kind of does.’ “You’ve never had much of an eye for aesthetics. Look at this. They’re identical, right?”
Yeon-jun searched through his phone again, then opened another screen and showed it to Ji-hoon.
It was a photo of Yoonseul from the beginning of her career.
“This is one of Yoonseul’s earliest social media photos. They’re identical, right?”
Yoonseul was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, smiling brightly. She looked almost exactly like the character.
“Now that you mention it, she does.” “That’s why I knew it would be Yoonseul. Maybe Ho-su hyung is a fan of hers?” “Hey, no way.”
Ji-hoon laughed as he answered, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Ho-su had never been this fixated on a single model before.
“I saw the image at first and wondered where I’d seen it before, then I realized it was Yoonseul. I never knew Ho-su hyung’s ideal type was such a perfect woman. Is he really planning not to date anyone unless it’s Yoonseul? Hyung, hyung! Where are you going?”
Leaving Yeon-jun on the roof, still muttering as he stared at his phone, Ji-hoon returned to his office.
He sat at his desk and pictured the character design he had seen earlier alongside Yoonseul’s old photo.
“Ho-su, what the hell are you thinking?”
“Sis, what’s going on?”
That afternoon, when Ha-neul arrived at the Blooming Entertainment office after being summoned by Kim Ji-yeon, Ji-yeon greeted her with a bright smile.
Kim Ji-yeon had been Ha-neul’s manager since the beginning of her career. She was also one of the company’s founding members alongside CEO Lee Tae-hoon, and among the managers, she was known as a frightening senior who got things done.
“Ha-neul! Look at this. This is huge!” “Why? What happened?”
Ji-yeon handed Ha-neul a tablet.
“We heard from NextStudio. They want to use you as their advertising model!”