God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 164

"Haha. Surprised? I'm your supporting role!"

I couldn't spit in Do-kyung's face as he spoke brightly. I responded with a wide smile for now.

"Wow~! What? So you were the 'acquaintance' PD mentioned?"

Come to think of it, I remembered Do-kyung mentioning something about a broadcast when he contacted me last time.

-Ah, can I contact you again later? There's something I want to ask.

-Something to ask?

-Yeah. Among the filming offers I've received recently...

The call was cut off abruptly then, so I couldn't hear the details. Could this broadcast have been the filming offer he mentioned?

Seeing my puzzled face, Do-kyung spoke first.

"I received an offer to appear even before the program content changed. When I heard about the program content then, I thought it would be helpful to get advice from you. I didn't know you'd end up appearing directly though."

"Ah, I see."

"I wanted to surprise you, so I asked them not to tell you I was appearing. Looks like the surprise was successful?"

"Yeah. Completely."

Just thinking about being chewed out by this guy's fandom was already giving me a headache.

Of course, even if I had known Do-kyung was appearing, the result wouldn't have been different. There's no reason to kick away a program that's going to be a massive hit.

Still, I could have at least prepared myself mentally, couldn't I?

As I was inwardly grumbling at Kim Hui-seong, someone approached and spoke.

"Oh my. It seems you two are already close?"

Turning my head, I saw a beautiful woman with a neat impression standing there.

Isn't this what they call a 'meet-the-parents pass' face? Her smiling face was clear without any wrinkles.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Im Hye-eun. I'm also the MC who will be filming <Alley Secrets> with you two."

"Ah~"

Do-kyung let out a short exclamation.

Come to think of it, they did say it would be a team of three. It seemed Im Hye-eun was the person taking the last role of MC.

Although we had only exchanged brief conversations, her pronunciation was clear and articulate. It was diction that seemed to pierce the ear, you could say.

Even without saying it, she had the air of someone with an announcer background.

'There are many people these days who declare themselves free after working as announcers.'

I cautiously speculated that Im Hye-eun might have followed a similar path.

'I don't think the original composition of <Alley Secrets> was like this. The people have changed a lot.'

It seemed that as the format itself changed, the cast also changed drastically.

"Hello. I'm Song Woo-yeon."

As I greeted her first, Do-kyung next to me hastily bowed his head as well.

"I'm Do-kyung from <Black Out>!"

"Haha. You two are so famous, of course I know you~ I look forward to working with you. <Black Out> even won first place on a music show recently, didn't it? I always listen to your song on my way to work."

"Oh! Thank you!"

Im Hye-eun continued the conversation, praising the other party just enough without going overboard.

"I'm looking forward to Chef Song Woo-yeon's act... oh, right. You don't like being called chef, do you?"

I nodded awkwardly.

"Then how about I call you CEO-nim from now on? How does that sound?"

"CEO-nim?"

"Yes. There will be many store owners appearing from now on, so it would be confusing to call everyone sajang-nim. Since you're also a company CEO, wouldn't it be better to call you CEO-nim?"

It was a familiar title before the regression. As the company grew larger, I heard 'CEO' more often than 'sajang'.

It seemed the time had come to be called that again.

"Please call me whatever is comfortable. It's not that I dislike being called chef, but I'm concerned viewers might misunderstand."

"Then I'll call you CEO Song Woo-yeon."

Starting with title arrangement gave off the vibe of a skilled professional. It's a minor point, but we'll be calling each other often on the broadcast from now on.

To avoid any hurt feelings, it's good to establish it well from the start.

Im Hye-eun turned her head slightly to look at Do-kyung and asked.

"Is 'Do-kyung-ssi' okay for you?"

"Yes, yes. You can just call me Do-kyung too."

"Then I'll go with Do-kyung-ssi."

Im Hye-eun had asked both of us, so now it was our turn. But Do-kyung seemed quite unfamiliar with this kind of 'business', looking blank-faced.

In the end, I stepped in to arrange the titles once more.

"Is it okay if we call you Im Hye-eun-ssi? Or MC Im Hye-eun-nim?"

"I'm fine with either, but since 'MC Im Hye-eun-nim' is too long, shall we go with Im Hye-eun-ssi?"

"Yes, let's do that."

"Alright!"

Just as I thought the introductions were roughly over, Im Hye-eun looked at Do-kyung and me alternately with a peculiar smile.

"I heard beforehand that you two are the same age. But the atmosphere is completely different."

"Haha. Is that so?"

I suppose it can't be helped.

Even if our outward age looks the same, the inner contents are completely different. It couldn't help but show when we're placed side by side. People who don't know my secret would probably just see me as an old soul.

"I think there will be an interesting chemistry on the broadcast~! The chemistry between Chef Ahn Derek and CEO Song Woo-yeon was such a hot topic on <Cold Noodles>, right? As the rivals of the century!"

That's right. They edited it so provocatively.

"This time, let's create same-age chemistry on <Alley Secrets> that surpasses that!"

As Im Hye-eun spoke enthusiastically, Do-kyung also nodded with shining eyes, seemingly inspired.

"Sounds good. Fighting!"

What's good about it? If we get entangled like that, I might really get beaten to death by that guy's fans.

But I couldn't show such feelings in front of the two people shouting "Fighting!".

I reluctantly joined in the cheer.

"Fighting...!"

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The place chosen for filming was a slightly secluded area of Seoul, an alley that took more than 10 minutes on foot from Sewol Station.

I heard it took longer than expected to secure locations because the broadcast still had no recognition, and most ordinary people were reluctant to appear on TV.

After much difficulty, three stores nestled together in this 'Sewol-dong Alley' accepted the offer to appear.

Producer Kim Hui-seong gave a brief explanation before we started filming.

"I did tell them we'd start filming within this month, but I didn't specify exactly when. So they probably don't know we're coming today. That way we can get natural reactions and see their usual appearance."

I nodded. If we gave advance notice, it would be easy to get artificial scenes.

Like only paying attention to hygiene when appearing on TV, or serving food of different quality than usual.

"First, when CEO Song enters the store and greets them, the store owner will just give you the menu and then we'll escort them to this situation room. After that, they'll watch through cameras from the situation room as CEO Song eats and evaluates."

It wouldn't be comfortable for me to say harsh words to their face either. If there are problems, I can criticize freely this way.

"Then you can point out various areas for improvement. This part is CEO Song's specialty, so please proceed comfortably."

"Yes, I understand."

"Im Hye-eun-ssi, please make the store owners feel as comfortable as possible to react naturally when they arrive, and Do-kyung-ssi, please provide good reactions from the side."

"Yes!"

"Alright~"

Producer Kim Hui-seong smiled and shouted "Fighting!"

"Then let's start filming~!"

It was finally time to begin.

I held my personal camera and headed out, accompanied by a couple of camera directors following me to film.

We were heading to <Mother and Son Army Base Stew Restaurant>, the first store to appear on <Alley Secrets>.

It wasn't the actual business name, but seemed to be a nickname given because a mother and son run the army base stew restaurant together.

Even while walking out from the situation room, I carefully observed the surroundings.

"What are you looking at so closely?"

One of the camera directors asked.

"It's important to observe the commercial district of the alley too."

"Commercial district?"

The camera director asked back, sounding slightly puzzled.

It was an alley lined with old buildings with distinctive red bricks. There wasn't much that could be called a commercial district.

Most of the commercial spaces were occupied by a supermarket, a hardware store, and a hair salon with old, faded signs.

"With little floating population, it's a commercial area that has to rely solely on regular customers."

"Ah~"

"In places like this, it's hard for people to visit unless the food is really delicious."

"I suppose a bustling area would be better for business, right?"

"That's generally true, but not always."

I added a brief explanation.

"The more bustling an area is, the higher the likelihood of expensive premiums and burdensome monthly rent. Even with high sales, the store owner might not take home much."

"I see."

"And the bigger the scale, the bigger the hit when business falters."

That's why I actively recommend small-scale, one-person stores. Many of our company's franchise brands also start small.

"When you're self-employed, there might be a few months where business isn't good. Like during an economic downturn. At times like that, places with high rent and a high ratio of fixed expenses can't hold out for long."

They become anxious under the pressure of having to consistently generate high profits every month.

When people become impatient, they tend to make hasty decisions. At such times, if they raise menu prices to avoid losses, sales can be irreparably damaged.

As we walked observing the surroundings like this, before long an old-looking store came into view.

<Uijeongbu Army Base Stew Restaurant>

Sewol-dong and Uijeongbu are quite far apart.

'They said a mother and son run it, so maybe the mother is from Uijeongbu?'

That was entirely possible. Deciding to ask about it later, I opened the door of the store.

"Hello~"

As I entered with a greeting, the first thing I saw was an empty store hall.

The next thing that caught my eye was...

"Welcum~"

The son, speaking with a half-mumbled pronunciation of 'Welcome'.

He couldn't take his eyes off his mobile phone. Sitting in a corner of the store, fiddling with his phone while casually greeting, he belatedly raised his head and continued speaking.

"Please sit wherever you're comf... Gasp!"

He looked back and forth between me and the cameramen, and gradually an expression of shock spread across his face.

Wow.

He's wearing shorts and slippers.

'Well, his customer service is a complete zero to start with.'