Chapter 172: Will It Be Alright?
After everyone left, Seong-hwan and Park Cheol-jin surrounded me with puzzled expressions.
“Hyung, I don’t think the Technofilm video was that bad… Why did you criticize it so much?”
Park Cheol-jin nodded in agreement.
“Honestly, I thought it was fine too. There was nothing technically wrong with it.”
I shook my head, looking incredulous at their reactions.
“You two don’t have an eye for this at all, do you? What exactly do you think was well-made about it?”
Seong-hwan looked a bit taken aback at my harsh response.
“No, hyung, it’s not about being emotional… Objectively, the quality of the video was good, wasn’t it?”
“Quality? Is that all that matters? You have to look at the essence of the video. Technofilm focused too much on making it flashy. And that’s what bothers me the most.”
Seong-hwan still seemed unconvinced, shrugging his shoulders.
“Then what is it that you want?”
I gazed out the window for a moment before slowly turning back.
“You both saw the video made by Eve Media, right?”
Seong-hwan chuckled in response.
“That was an unfinished preview without any CG…”
I cut him off.
“I actually prefer that video. In my opinion.”
“What?”
This time, even Park Cheol-jin looked surprised.
“Boss, isn’t that too biased? The Eve Media video is unfinished, so it’s not even at a level where it can be evaluated.”
“No, even that preview clearly conveyed the message I wanted. It wasn’t technically flashy, but it accurately captured the essence of the AGE.”
“But still…”
As Seong-hwan trailed off,
I continued in a lower voice.
“Eve Media understood exactly what I wanted. It wasn’t just about budget or CG; they intuitively understood and tried to express the true charm of this weapon.”
This wasn’t favoritism, but genuine belief.
…Really.
After a brief silence,
Park Cheol-jin spoke cautiously.
“…But isn’t it true that the Technofilm video was superior in terms of completion?”
I took a sip of water from the table and responded calmly.
“Speaking of that company, I did some research, and it’s quite serious.”
Seong-hwan’s eyes widened.
“Problems? What do you mean?”
“Squeezing subcontractors on prices, delaying payments—that’s common. And if they’re involved with competitors… It’s really dirty. No, it stinks so bad.”
Perhaps I used such strong words that both of them just listened with stunned faces.
I continued.
“It also seems common for them to use their industry influence to relentlessly harass small companies.”
Seong-hwan and Park Cheol-jin looked at each other in surprise.
I spoke, sounding exasperated.
“If you don’t believe me, check it out yourself. See what kind of place Technofilm is. Just visit a few subcontractors, and you’ll get a sense of it. Decide for yourselves if we should really be working with a place like that.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected instruction, the two were at a loss for words, but eventually nodded.
“…Alright, we’ll check it out.”
“Understood, boss.”
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…
…
Exactly one day later.
Seong-hwan and Park Cheol-jin brought Design Team Leader Jang Hee-soo into my office.
“Hyung, Team Leader Hee-soo seems to know quite a bit about Technofilm’s situation.”
At Seong-hwan’s words, I slapped my knee.
“Well, if it’s Team Leader Hee-soo, she’d know the media industry situation better than anyone.”
Hee-soo, who had personally designed not only the Quantum but also appliances like TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines, had the closest relationship with advertising companies in our company.
“So, did you look into it?”
“Like you said, hyung, their reputation isn’t good. They’re really abusive.”
Hee-soo added to Seong-hwan’s words.
“I also heard this while going around for the Quantum 3 ad video recently. It seems like Technofilm has been particularly abusive to CG companies lately.”
“CG companies?”
Seong-hwan’s voice rose, as this was new to him.
“They seem to have forced other companies to break contracts by making unreasonable demands.”
“You don’t say…”
Seong-hwan, realizing something, glanced at me before asking Hee-soo again.
“Team Leader Hee-soo, can you confirm if the company whose contract was broken was Eve Media?”
“Of course.”
Hee-soo, holding her phone, immediately called someone. After a moment, she spoke with a serious expression.
“It’s Eve Media. Technofilm called every company that was commissioned for CG work and pressured them.”
I looked at Seong-hwan.
“You heard that? Technofilm is that kind of company.”
“Wow, so that’s why Eve Media couldn’t even apply CG and brought an unfinished sample video—it was because of Technofilm’s interference.”
“Now do you see why I wasn’t satisfied?”
Seong-hwan nodded deeply in response.
“In this situation, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
I shrugged lightly.
“If I told you beforehand, you two wouldn’t have seen it for yourselves and realized it.”
It also seemed like I was helping Eve Media too obviously…
“Anyway, a company this dirty doesn’t deserve to work with us.”
Hee-soo, having grasped the situation, agreed with a serious expression.
“I feel the same way. In the long run, working with a company that disrupts the industry like this won’t be good for our image either.”
“Right. We need to approach Technofilm more cautiously.”
Park Cheol-jin, standing beside me, spoke cautiously again.
“But boss, about Eve Media’s video… Could we take another look at it?”
Seong-hwan nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, since Team Leader Hee-soo is here, it would be good to hear her opinion.”
I smiled warmly and gestured immediately.
“Play it.”
At my words, Seong-hwan opened his laptop and displayed Eve Media’s submitted preview video on the screen.
Even though the video hadn’t been processed with CG yet, Hee-soo’s expression turned serious.
As the video ended, Hee-soo spoke sincerely.
“It’s definitely well-made. It’s concise yet accurately conveys the characteristics of this weapon. I think the core message of the video comes across even better without the CG.”
Seong-hwan scratched his chin, unable to take his eyes off the video.
“Seeing it again like this… It’s definitely different. Technofilm seems to have missed the true charm of the AGE because of the flashy visuals, but Eve Media definitely focused on the identity of the weapon itself.”
Park Cheol-jin nodded.
“I regret underestimating it as unfinished when I first saw it.”
“People watching the video need to instinctively feel why this weapon is special. Just flashy appearances won’t win their hearts.”
Of course, Eve Media’s video wasn’t perfect yet.
Being a new company, there were some shortcomings.
I asked Hee-soo.
“What direction should we take to complete Eve Media’s video?”
Hee-soo answered without hesitation.
“If we keep this tone, minimize the CG, and maintain a realistic and restrained feel, it would be perfect. Especially by only showing the moments when the core functions operate with impact.”
Her opinion perfectly matched mine.
“Good. In that case, I’d like the design team to help with this video.”
Hee-soo immediately responded with a bright expression.
“Yes, I will.”
Eve Media.
Main PD Min Ji-ho visited Representative Yoon Ha-jin.
“Yesterday was really unexpected.”
“I feel the same. I visited Dojin thinking it was the last time, but I ended up getting an additional week.”
“But even though we bought time, the CG companies are still a problem. Not a single one is willing to work with us…”
As Min Ji-ho looked troubled, the phone suddenly rang.
[Neoatlas]
It was the large CG company that was first commissioned during this project but had refused.
Min Ji-ho hurriedly answered the phone.
“Yes, this is Min Ji-ho from Eve Media.”
The voice of the person on the other end came through.
-Hello, PD Min. I’m really sorry for suddenly saying we couldn’t work on it last time.
Min Ji-ho, looking confused, glanced at Representative Yoon Ha-jin and responded.
“Oh, yes… But what’s this suddenly about?”
-We had to cancel due to internal circumstances, but if it’s okay with you now, we’d like to proceed again.
Min Ji-ho’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…Really?”
-Yes, since it seems urgent, how about we set a schedule as soon as possible?
Min Ji-ho quickly looked at Yoon Ha-jin, who responded quietly.
‘Say yes.’
Neoatlas was one of the larger CG companies.
If they were willing to work with us, there was no reason to refuse.
Min Ji-ho responded brightly.
“If you set the schedule right away, we’ll do our best to accommodate.”
After hanging up, Min Ji-ho couldn’t hide his excitement.
“Boss, why did they suddenly change their minds? Technofilm must have pressured Neoatlas too.”
Yoon Ha-jin was just as puzzled.
“Well, I don’t know either. What’s going on?”
Min Ji-ho opened his laptop to reorganize the project files and continued.
“Anyway, it’s a relief. With this, we should be able to bring a video with high completion this time.”
Yoon Ha-jin also smiled, seeming slightly more relaxed.
“The sample video submission deadline has been extended, and now we can even do the CG work properly.”
“Being connected to Dojin, it feels like unexpected luck is pouring in.”
…
…
…
At the same time, at Neoatlas.
CEO Lee Jung-tae paced his office with a nervous expression.
“Did you call Eve Media?”
Planning Team Leader Joo Ji-hoon quickly nodded.
“I just finished the call. Fortunately, they agreed to let us handle the work again.”
Lee Jung-tae sighed in relief and slumped into his chair.
“Hah… Thank goodness. We almost ended up on bad terms with Dojin.”
“The pressure from Technofilm was so intense. All the other companies pulled out…”
Lee Jung-tae looked at the Dojin Frontier brochure on his desk.
It featured a prototype image of the AGE-01 with the phrase ‘Next-Generation Personal Combat Platform’ prominently displayed.
“Who would have known that Dojin Group’s Kang Tae-joon himself was overseeing this project?”
“If Team Leader Jang Hee-soo hadn’t tipped us off, the outcome would have been bad.”
Lee Jung-tae’s face suddenly turned red as he listened.
“What grudge do Technofilm have against us that they told us not to work on it?”
“Obviously. They wanted to handle everything themselves, even the work Eve Media was doing. This project is quite big.”
“Anyway, it’s a huge relief that it’s resolved.”
Planning Team Leader Joo Ji-hoon looked at Lee Jung-tae with a puzzled expression.
“But, now that Dojin knows what we did, do you think Technofilm will be okay?”