NOVEL NEXT 87
Every word in the article was provocative.
It implied that the rags-to-riches story was all lies, hinting at collusion. The content directly contradicted the image I had carefully built up until now.
“Hmm. It’s insinuating that I had a privileged background and easily grew my business, but pretended to be a young entrepreneur.”
The article doesn’t explicitly state this, but…
There’s always context formed between words and sentences in writing, isn’t there?
While it’s difficult to sue for defamation since they didn’t directly specify anything, there was a subtle feeling of them tattling, “This person is a complete liar, you know?”
“This must be a welcome article for those who’ve harbored resentment because I’ve been appearing on TV frequently lately.”
I could clearly imagine the comments below without even looking. By now, it’s probably heating up various online communities.
‘Gaining the power of the media is always a double-edged sword like this.’
That’s what it means for everyone to be watching.
It can be a reliable ally, but conversely, it can also become a persistent observer.
Moreover, where there are fans, there are also anti-fans.
Even the most wholesome celebrities always have extreme anti-fans. How could I be an exception?
Although I’ve never deliberately looked for them, there are probably plenty of people who dislike me. They just don’t openly show it.
Such anti-fans usually hide their identities, but when controversies like this arise, they swarm in to attack.
‘This will be good bait for them.’
There were several expressions in the article that were perfect for overinterpretation. It’s as if they deliberately threw them out saying, “Here, take this.”
“Just when the plagiarism controversy was barely forgotten, now this news…”
Jo I-ruk muttered, looking troubled.
Currently, The Song’s image and recognition heavily rely on me, so damage to my image directly leads to a decline in the brand’s reputation.
If the company had grown big first and then I appeared, these two could have been treated separately. Unfortunately, I was too impatient for that.
“Collusion with a major construction company? It’s an absurd rumor. But the problem is that following this article, all sorts of media outlets are pouring out articles with similar tones.”
That’s right.
‘I thought the way they were churning out article titles seemed familiar.’
When it’s not just one or two places putting out attention-grabbing pieces, but multiple outlets simultaneously releasing similar articles, there’s only one reason.
“It means they’re engaging in media play.”
“It seems so.”
Roh Se-hee, perhaps due to her experience in a large corporation, was quick to grasp the situation. Jo I-ruk, on the other hand, looked a bit bewildered.
“Who on earth could it be?”
“Well, there are various candidates.”
While “viral marketing” methods weren’t very diverse in this era, companies were becoming more cunning in promoting their products with each passing year.
“Companies in the same industry who might be jealous of our growth are the most likely candidates. Since we have various brands, we have enemies ranging from restaurants to cafes.”
From soup rice shops, snack shops, to bingsu places and Chinese restaurants. Plus, we have a low-cost cafe launching soon.
It’s enough to make many places feel threatened and attack.
“There are too many candidates. Sigh.”
Jo I-ruk’s shoulders slumped.
“Even if we knew who it was, it wouldn’t mean much. Judging by their ability to manipulate so many media outlets, they must be quite a powerful advertiser. We’re no match for them.”
Roh Se-hee nodded in agreement with my words.
“That’s true. But shouldn’t we at least know who it is to sharpen our blade of revenge?”
Jo I-ruk whined with a dejected expression.
Well, that’s not wrong either.
I smiled silently. I had a pretty good idea of who the opponent might be.
The name of the newspaper in the internet article Roh Se-hee brought was quite familiar. It was a newspaper friendly with Hyeonmu.
I scrolled through the internet articles on my phone. Looking at the names of the media outlets pouring out related articles, it was as I expected.
‘Did Hyeonmu pull some strings?’
I had anticipated they would come at us like this, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth to see my prediction come true without the slightest deviation.
To think I didn’t properly notice such clear malice in the past.
‘Regret is always too late, no matter how early it comes.’
The important thing is that I have a chance to correct my past mistakes.
“I’ll contact CEO Choi Yeo-hae first. By now, they should have heard about this too.”
“Yes, understood.”
Roh Se-hee answered like that, but her worried expression was evident. She seemed concerned that Choi Yeo-hae’s side might quietly withdraw or reconsider their investment because of this incident.
“Don’t worry.”
“Pardon?”
Roh Se-hee was startled when I blurted that out. I continued with a subtle smile.
“I have a way to resolve this issue at once.”
“…Is that so? The public can be colder than you might think.”
Roh Se-hee muttered softly.
“It takes hundreds of pages of evidence to refute one line of rumor. And even then, many people don’t read it properly.”
An accurate assessment of the public.
I agreed as well. People are not generous with explanations. They’re not that interested either.
But nevertheless, I was confident.
“You’ll see.”
As I grinned, Roh Se-hee’s face was covered with question marks.
I swallowed the rest of my words. We have a reliable ally on our side.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Ring ring.
After everyone else had left, I sat alone in the CEO’s office and called somewhere.
The dial tone rang twice.
As if they had been waiting, the other party answered immediately.
Click.
-Oh, CEO Song.
“Yes, CEO Choi Yeo-hae. Have you been well lately?”
As I started with a light greeting, Choi Yeo-hae went straight to the point.
-You saw the news, right?
“Yes, of course.”
-Geez. They just didn’t write our name, but they cleverly maneuvered to specify our company, didn’t they? Mentioning our performance this quarter.
“Haha. Indeed.”
They subtly referred to Han Do Construction in various ways, calling it ‘H Construction Company’, ‘A construction company that hit peak sales this quarter’, ‘A top-tier construction company’, and so on.
I could hear Choi Yeo-hae snorting over the phone.
-This is a challenge to our Han Do Construction.
Whistle. I whistled inwardly. She’s completely fired up.
-CEO Song, you just stay put.
Indeed, the most troublesome opponent when turned into an enemy becomes the most reliable ally when on your side.
And Choi Yeo-hae was one of the people I absolutely didn’t want to turn into an enemy.
“I’ll take care of everything.”
Choi Yeo-hae couldn’t have been more reassuring.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
[Han Do Construction’s statement on investing in promising young entrepreneur… “Serious misinterpretation by the media”]
[A fairytale-like chance encounter, what’s the connection between Han Do Construction CEO Choi Yeo-hae’s husband and Chef Song Woo-yeon?]
[Han Do Construction CEO Choi Yeo-hae unleashes fact bombs… “Trying to discourage a growing company”]
[“Did you get paid?” Han Do Construction CEO causes uproar with harsh words at press conference]
“Wow.”
I couldn’t help but exclaim as I saw the flashy news headlines. How could she so dramatically change the topic?
Until yesterday, the media outlets that focused on ‘Chef Song Woo-yeon’s deception’ were now fixated on Choi Yeo-hae’s direct speech style, reporting articles about her day after day.
A definite attention-grabber!
Thanks to this, public opinion had completely shifted.
I quickly scrolled down to read a few article comments. Of course, there were still comments continuing to criticize, but most were along these lines:
[Ah CEO Choi is so savage lolololol She really has a unique character;; Please start a YouTube channel]
[ㄴ Don’t you know about her previous harsh words controversy? Is that cool? She just seems like a try-hard]
[ㄴㄴ Try-hards are kids like you]
[CEO Choi’s husband was the owner of that failing soup rice shop her husband mentioned in a previous interview? Let’s take another look at struggling soup rice shops…]
[ㄴ What is this, an Aesop’s fable?]
[What an amazing connection. Of all people, Han Do Construction CEO’s husband runs a soup rice shop, and of all people, a talent like Song Woo-yeon works there.]
[ㄴ Song Woo-yeon is impressive, but the people who recognized her talent and supported her are truly amazing too ㄷㄷ]
[The media outlets need to wake up. They were writing articles all day yesterday saying Song Woo-yeon was lying lol Look at how quickly they change their tune]
This seems to have been cleanly resolved. It was possible because Choi Yeo-hae already had an image of being an outspoken critic who always says what’s on her mind.
‘If I had stepped forward myself, it might have backfired by seeming like I was making excuses.’
It seems Hyeonmu had envisioned such a scenario, but I couldn’t let them have their way so easily.
‘If I had done the interview myself, they would have nitpicked every word.’
Doing that to Choi Yeo-hae would obviously backfire. It’s burdensome for the media outlets too.
They might not mind taking on Song Woo-yeon, the CEO of a small company, but they don’t want to risk facing Choi Yeo-hae of Han Do Construction, one of the influential companies.
It’s bitter, but what can I do about my current standing in Korea?
‘I should treat CEO Choi to a meal sometime.’
I owe her one.
Of course, knowing Choi Yeo-hae, she’d probably protest, saying how could I afford to treat her to a meal…
“CEO!”
Hearing someone call me, I snapped out of my reverie and turned around quickly.
Oops. I got lost in thought for too long. I had only meant to take a moment to assess the situation.
As I turned my head, I saw a crowd of customers behind me. They were craning their necks, waiting for the store to open.
The part-timer looked at me, tilting their head in confusion.
“Ah, I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
I smiled brightly as I made a brief excuse.
“Shall we open soon?”
At the question, I stood still for a moment before nodding my head firmly.
“Yes. Please open up.”
“Alright! Preparing to open~”
The part-timer shouted loudly as they flung open the store’s doors.
“Song Cafe main branch, we’re opening!”
Finally, the time had come for our fifth brand,