Chapter Index

    Chapter 49: Can you please introduce me to that person?

    The Sehwa Department Store Group.

    It was a ‘department store of prestige’ that boasted a long history in the domestic distribution industry.

    Starting with the first store built in the heart of Myeongdong.

    Over the next 50 years, it rapidly expanded by establishing luxury department stores in major cities across the country.

    During the industry’s heyday, it overwhelmed competitors with its luxurious exterior and service, and seized VIP customers.

    But in the 2010s, when the market atmosphere rapidly changed from offline to online.

    Many traditional distributors failed to respond properly and fell into crisis.

    The Sehwa Department Store Group shined once more here.

    It changed the landscape of the e-commerce market by launching the online platform ‘Sehwamall’ faster than anyone else.

    At first, it was a simple online store based on the existing brand image.

    Gradually, it grew rapidly by building a variety of products and promotions, and a convenient UI.

    In particular, it innovatively improved the delivery service represented by ‘rocket delivery’.

    By quickly catching the trend and attracting small and medium-sized brands, young consumers were naturally attracted.

    In that way, Sehwamall established itself as one of the largest e-commerce sites in Korea.

    The person at the center of all these innovations was Chairman Jeong Gihun.

    As the major shareholder and longtime manager of the Sehwa Department Store Group, he was a person who keenly read the market trends, despite being in his late 60s.

    Despite his position as chairman, I had vaguely heard that he even took care of detailed strategies while meeting directly with the management team or the marketing team.

    …Even so.

    ‘The chairman is directly taking care of even the pre-emptive contract for an underwear brand…?’

    Lee Hyeon-i, the sales manager of Freerose Lingerie, organized documents and laptops in front of the conference room table and took a tense breath.

    VIP meeting room on the top floor of the Sehwa Department Store main store.

    The neat and luxurious interior sparkled under the bright lighting, but Hyeon-i, who was quite nervous, couldn’t see anything.

    ‘Even though our Freerose Lingerie is number 1 in the industry…’

    Is this class? Even if I look at it with the company love buff on, it’s definitely not.

    I didn’t even receive a prior notice that Chairman Jeong would come in person. If I had known in advance, the top person in charge would have moved directly from Freerose Lingerie.

    At least, all the sales department employees except the lowest-ranking employees would have been mobilized.

    A mixture of doubts and expectations was intricately mixed in Hyeon-i’s head.

    There must be another reason.

    While Hyeon-i sighed and pondered over and over, a formal knock was heard.

    The door opened and an old gentleman in a dark-colored suit came in.

    Six or seven secretaries and employees who followed quickly took their seats.

    Hyeon-i stood up from her seat and bowed politely.

    “Nice to meet you, Chairman. I’m Lee Hyeon-i from Freerose Lingerie.”

    “Hmm, I made you wait a long time.”

    Gihun gave a short greeting and immediately sat down in his chair.

    The age of the late 60s did not hesitate in his movements, as if to show that he was still active.

    There was a sense of leisure in his expression.

    But his eyes did not hide their sharpness.

    “Then, is it okay to proceed with the presentation right away?”

    “Try it.”

    Hyeon-i operated the laptop that had been connected in advance and displayed the prepared data on a large screen.

    “The new brand that we will be introducing has a system that allows customers to select and purchase underwear on their own without a counselor.”

    On the slide, the outline of the ‘customized underwear completely non-face-to-face ordering process’ that the sales department, including Hyeon-i, had prepared over several days and nights was neatly organized.

    “AI recommends underwear presets that are tailored to each individual’s chest shape and preferences based on minimal and non-private body data.”

    The executives of the Sehwa Department Store Group who were sitting on one side of the table had quite interesting expressions.

    But Gihun was only listening to the presentation with a consistently blank face.

    “I’ll show you a short video for a moment.”

    Hyeon-i swallowed dry saliva and pressed the play button.

    A short advertising video featuring VTubers Summer and Winter, who belong to Cosmo Live, filled the screen.

    Naturally, I brought the advertisement with the least amount of exposure.

    All Summer with a confident expression and Winter with a haughty expression were doing was standing back to back with a thin dress shirt over their underwear.

    Of course, no one in this place would be erecting their stiffly during work hours… But there is such a thing as business manners.

    In the first place, these people don’t even get erect well these days because of their age.

    The advertisement easily introduced the technology.

    On the other hand, despite being a virtual underwear model, it emphasized that it was as realistic as seeing it with your own eyes in an offline store.

    This is why I used Summer and Winter as the main advertising models.

    They were the most realistic and beautiful models among the existing virtual 3D people models, along with Han Ari.

    “VTuber advertisement, huh… Interesting.”

    As the advertisement video ended, Gihun took his eyes off the screen and muttered briefly.

    The reaction doesn’t seem bad, so Hyeon-i breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

    At the same time, I was nervous.

    It was difficult to guess what that sharp chairman was thinking.

    The presentation was also nearing its end.

    Hyeon-i wrapped up the presentation by pointing out practical cooperation plans such as initial quantity management and marketing collaboration.

    “…That’s all. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.”

    Gihun seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then smiled kindly.

    “Good. Let’s proceed with the pre-emptive contract. Let’s form a separate team to discuss the minor details.”

    The conference room buzzed for a moment.

    Hyeon-i was just as embarrassed.

    There is still a lot of persuasion data prepared for this place.

    But… this easily?

    ‘Did I miss something? Or… is there something else?’

    Still, I can be happy because the conclusion was a good one…

    Something is unpleasent.

    “…Thank you, Chairman. If you need it, we’ll send you more of the separate data we prepared.”

    “I understand. Then let’s end the meeting here…”

    Gihun slightly raised his body from the chair and swept through the executives and secretaries who were with him.

    “Manager Lee. Can you take a moment? I have some, private business.”

    People around him were busy looking at his face at Gihun’s words.

    They seemed quite embarrassed, as if it were an unexpected schedule.

    “Yes, of course. Do you want to have a separate interview?”

    “That’s right. Let’s talk in the next reception room for a moment.”

    Hyeon-i felt a sense of tension, but tried to maintain a calm expression.

    Still, the dissatisfaction that had been in one corner of my heart disappeared.

    After all, there was something else.

    Hyeon-i was guided by the secretary and entered the small and cozy reception room next to the conference room.

    The furniture, including the dark wood-tone table and the reddish-brown velvet sofa, created a classic atmosphere in harmony with the interior decoration.

    Gihun, who came in late, passed Hyeon-i and sat on the sofa.

    The secretary brought coffee, and everyone around them stepped back and closed the door.

    Gihun and Hyeon-i were the only two left in the reception room.

    “It seems like the story will be long, sit down.”

    Gihun lowered his voice by one tone and recommend to Hyeon-i.

    Hyeon-i sat down carefully opposite Gihun.

    Are you going to change the contract conditions? Or… is there something else?

    Various scenarios passed quickly through my head.

    “First of all… I enjoyed today’s presentation very much. It was very interesting.”

    “You flatter me, Chairman.”

    Gihun lifted the coffee cup and sipped it lightly.

    He looked away for a moment, then looked at Hyeon-i again.

    “But you see, the reason I came out here today was… because I personally have some questions.”

    Of course, it’s also for business support, he added, and Gihun continued.

    “The models in the advertisement you showed today, were they VTubers named Summer and Winter who belong to an MCN called Cosmo Live?”

    “Yes, that’s right… You know VTubers well.”

    “Why, is it surprising that an old man like me knows VTubers?”

    “It’s not that…”

    To be honest, I was quite surprised.

    No matter how quickly Gihun, unlike a 1st generation manager, followed up on the latest trends, I didn’t think he would have come into contact with VTuber culture.

    “Anyway… What I want to ask is how you came to have a business partnership with Cosmo Live.”

    It was quite a hot topic that Freerose Lingerie, which is more complicated than anyone else in selecting advertising models, put VTubers at the forefront of the new product line.

    Of course, in official settings, I said, “I wanted to show a more realistic model than real people.”

    The reality is.

    “The researcher who designed the core AI technology that went into the customized underwear creation process that I introduced today is also the person who created Summer-nim and Winter-nim’s avatars.”

    “That’s how it’s connected.”

    Gihun nodded and immediately went to the core.

    “Can you introduce me to that researcher?”

    Hyeon-i’s expression hardened subtly.

    The problem is that the researcher is ‘Jina’.

    I’ve talked to her a few times and watched the working process.

    This person lives too freely.

    First of all, not being able to contact her well is secondary.

    No matter who asks her to meet, she rarely tries to come out.

    It was a great concession for Jina to come to Freerose Lingerie’s headquarters and have a meeting.

    This was because she felt sorry for not eating money on a project that was already done, and she crawled out because she felt even a little guilty.

    “I’ll contact her… but it’s difficult to give you a definite answer because she’s so busy and her personality is a bit unique.”

    “Please try it at least once. You don’t have to meet in person, it doesn’t matter if you see it on a video call.”

    Thinking about it, it would be better to see her non-face-to-face, Gihun brought the coffee cup to his mouth.

    “That… my granddaughter is quite interested in VTuber avatars. In particular, she’s immersed in Cosmo Live VTubers who recently started broadcasting, or VTuber named Han Ari.”

    He wanted to introduce the person who made those avatars to his granddaughter, Gihun sighed deeply, as if exhaling cigarette smoke.

    Gihun’s voice contained a strange desperation rather than the chairman’s unique authority.

    ‘After all… it was my granddaughter’s problem.’

    Almost everyone in the industry knows about the unfortunate accident that befell Jeong, the chairman of the Sehwa Department Store Group, and his granddaughter.

    A terrible traffic accident that occurred on a rainy day.

    Due to that accident, Gihun’s son and daughter-in-law passed away.

    Only Gihun’s granddaughter survived, losing both legs.

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