episode_0127

“Why are you here, Chief Yuk?”

-Tap tap

On the way to the conference room, I asked Chief Yuk with a voice full of anxiety.

“Ahem. Well, I want to tell you, but it’s a very delicate matter, you see.”

Why is he moving so secretly about this matter?

I asked him several times until we arrived at the conference room, but he never satisfied my curiosity.

In the end, I arrived at the door of the conference room without knowing what was going on.

Chief Yuk and I straightened our clothes before entering the conference room.

-Knock knock

“I am Chief Yuk Jung-hyuk. I will go in.”

The door to the meeting room opened.

A spacious room of about 30 square meters came into view at a glance. A long table divided the center of the room, with tables set up on either side.

It wasn’t my first time entering the conference room. Meetings attended by executives were not so frequent, but I had been here a few times a quarter, so it wasn’t a completely unfamiliar place. However, every time I came, I couldn’t help but feel unfamiliar and overwhelmed. In fact, with this changed body, it was my first time coming here.

As I entered the conference room, I quickly scanned the faces of the people inside. Our company’s executive team consisted of one executive director, eight senior directors. Among them, four directors and my supervisor, Chief Kang Chan-hyuk. Only five people to deal with. The number of people in the conference room was far from justifying its name.

Seeing that, I felt embarrassed by my own extreme tension. Of course, four directors were not a small number, but Chief Yuk was making such a fuss that I was scared to death. I even thought of a scene where the CEO and the directors were all present, but reality was less than that, so my tension eased a bit.

Anyway, once again, since half of the directors were gathered for a matter, it was definitely not a small matter, so I gathered my resolve and took a step forward.

“Hello. I am Jung Doyeon, Team Leader of Food Development 1 Team.”

In fact, having worked for 15 years in the company, I was not unfamiliar with the directors, but since it was a formal occasion, I greeted them politely.

“Oh, come in. Jung Dohyun… Oh, right. You got promoted, right? Changed your name to Doyeon too. Hmm. It’s not easy to adapt.”

The person who first greeted me was an executive from the sales department. Let’s call him Manager Kwak.

“Haha, I feel the same way. It hasn’t been long since I was promoted.”

Despite that, the time I spent staring blankly at my reflection in the mirror while showering had almost disappeared, and I often put on makeup and even heard from Manager Kim from the sales department that I was almost indistinguishable from a real woman, and yet, if that’s what my boss says, then that’s what it is.

Because… that’s life in society.

-Nodding

“Hehe, the conference room brightens up when you come in, doesn’t it?”

The man sitting right next to Manager Kwak said. He was Manager Park, also from the sales department.

“Haha… Thank you for your kind words.”

“He was really a talented person in his work…”

The director sitting across from Manager Park, Manager Go Jaewon, whom I had seen at a wedding before, said in a deep voice.

Ah, is it starting? Is it the disciplinary committee after all? What’s going on? What did I do wrong?

“Now he’s good at his job and pretty, so it’s hard to scold him. Well.”

It seems like trouble is brewing after all…

As she was speaking passionately, in this picture, there was a red dot. Manager Gong Jiyoung interrupted his words with a cold tone. And it turned out that Manager Gong Jiyoung was also from the development department. Not from our company, but from a larger company.

“Let’s stop the gossip and start slowly.”

She, who looked to be in her late 40s, had a sharp impression every time I saw her. And with glasses on, she gave off the vibe of a successful elite career woman, right? She was actually a Golden Miss. She was also the youngest among the directors present.

“Yes, yes. Then let’s begin. Manager Jung, please sit next to Manager Kang for now.”

Manager Yook pointed to the seat next to Manager Kang.

I pulled the chair next to Manager Kang and sat down.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Manager Kang turned to me and pretended to know me.

“What’s the matter?”

But Manager Kang would surely give me a proper answer.

However, that was my careless thought.

“Hehe, let’s wait and see. It’s a very interesting matter.”

By now, I was starting to get annoyed. No, it was more like suddenly calling people in without explaining the reason and unnecessarily dragging it out, making me worried.

But well, what can I do. If I want to continue working in the company, I have to endure it, as my rank is low and I have learned nothing else.

I made a distressed expression for no reason.

Seeing my expression, Manager Kang just smiled. Maybe I was wrong to think I had done something wrong.

Anyway, without my questions being answered, Manager Yook started his PPT.

“Ahem. As this university cafeteria meal kit involves the development and launch of 10 products simultaneously, we can say that it is a project that our Woosung is putting a lot of effort into.”

I don’t know, when I see presentations like that, I have to admire the person’s mental strength.

“Currently, 6 out of the 10 menu items have been developed, and the remaining 4 are in the final stages.”

It was all information I knew. I was in charge of coordinating the remaining parts of the development. It was all because of someone who, as soon as I was promoted to manager, seemed to be waiting to delegate their work to me.

I glanced at Manager Kang, but he was laughing heartily for some reason. A laugh that couldn’t be held back.

What was so funny?

I wanted to ask, but anyway, if I asked, he would just say, ‘You’ll see.’

After that, the presentation continued with the details of the project that I was already familiar with.

At some point, the discussion shifted to product promotion, which was necessary for collaboration, but it was a topic that I didn’t think I needed to be involved in.

The decrease in demand for student cafeterias due to rising prices, and the demand for various menus due to diversified tastes. An explanation of the self-meal kit cooking culture that can satisfy all of that and more. Why we had no choice but to do this project, which should have been discussed before the project started, and a summary of the already discussed content on one page.

And the next section. Promotion.

Starting with how to promote, it quickly transitioned to a discussion about the promotional model.

When Manager Yook pressed the remote control with a ‘click,’ a huge picture appeared on the PPT screen.

“Oh, she’s pretty, isn’t she?”

Director Kang muttered as he looked at the photo.

What’s on the screen!

“This is a rookie actress who has recently started gaining attention. Her name is Go Eun-ah. In her mid-20s, her unique innocent charm makes her a perfect fit for the college student image.”

She was the one I saw at the recent premiere, enjoying a secret meeting with Director Kim Sion. She was actress Go Eun-ah.

Even as I blinked in surprise, Director Yook’s presentation continued.

After briefly introducing her filmography, he casually threw out her image.

“She also appeared in Director Kim Sion’s recent film ‘Alone Rider’ as a college student and made a name for herself as a rising star.”

“One of the advantages of using Go Eun-ah as a model is not only that her image matches well with this product, but also because she is still a newcomer, we can save on promotional costs.”

In an unusual turn, Director Yook calmly continued with the introduction and appeal of the promotional model.

After finishing the introduction of Go Eun-ah’s profile, Director Yook was about to finish when Manager Kwak, who was sitting at the front, raised his hand.

“Yes, Manager.”

“Well, that’s good. Do we only have one model candidate? I heard there were a few others being discussed.”

Of course. It wouldn’t make sense to choose a promotional model without considering other potential plans like B or C.

“Oh, we did have about three more candidates… but…”

Director Yook seemed hesitant to say something.

“Oh, come on. Speak up. We’re all busy here. Why? Are they all unavailable?”

Using a celebrity as a model requires careful consideration. Especially since there was an incident where a famous actor was embroiled in a marijuana rumor, causing all the movies and ads he appeared in to suffer. So, it’s even more important to be cautious given the sensitive timing.

“No, it’s not that they were unavailable, but rather, a perfect model candidate caught our eye at the last minute. So, after discussing, we decided to drop everyone else except Go Eun-ah.”

Upon hearing this, Manager Kwak looked intrigued and asked.

“By the way, who was the other candidate?”

Although Go Eun-ah was expected to be a rising star to the point of dropping the other candidates, the remaining person was someone with a decent level of recognition.

“Wow~ Go Eun-ah is impressive as a rising star, but I’m really curious about the other person. Who could have caught our attention so much? Tell us who it is.”

“Alright then.”

With his response, Director Yook moved on to the next slide on the PPT.

And there.

“Eeeeh?!”

Why are you there!

That’s right.

On the 100-inch project screen in the conference room, there was a photo of my body profile that I had no idea where it came from.