Chapter 173: Consideration
A week later.
Thirty minutes before the sample video demonstration.
Park Cheol-jin and Team Leader Jang Hee-soo had already arrived early in the conference room.
Seong-hwan entered behind them.
At the sight of him, Park Cheol-jin and Jang Hee-soo simultaneously burst into applause.
“Congratulations on your promotion, Executive Director Seong-hwan.”
“Wow, you’ve finally become an executive! Congratulations!”
The executive personnel announcement had been posted that morning.
While it had been foreseen within Dojin, it was somewhat unexpected for him personally.
“Haha, I never thought President Tae-joon… no, Representative Tae-joon would issue a personnel order so suddenly.”
“Still, everyone expected it.”
Seong-hwan was a founding member of Dojin Tech and a key figure with a 10% stake.
His executive promotion was somewhat overdue, but no one doubted it.
“I founded Dojin Tech with Tae-joon when I was 26… it’s been exactly 12 years.”
At first, due to his young age, he started as a manager.
But now, with time passing, he had reached an age where being called an executive no longer seemed strange.
“But… about the representative…”
At Park Cheol-jin’s words, Seong-hwan turned his head.
“Why about Tae-joon?”
“No… I just got the feeling that he’s somehow favorable toward Eve Media. Am I the only one who feels that way?”
Technofilm were definitely the bad guys, but in fact, Dojin Frontier hadn’t really suffered any damage.
“Still, it’s true that Eve Media was prevented from making the video.”
At Jang Hee-soo’s words, Park Cheol-jin shook his head.
“But does that mean the representative should personally step in and portray Technofilm as the axis of evil?”
Seong-hwan laughed and continued speaking.
“From my perspective, having observed Tae-joon for a long time, his gaze toward Representative Yoon Ha-jin doesn’t seem ordinary.”
“Not ordinary? Didn’t you first see Representative Yoon Ha-jin at the demonstration a week ago?”
“Right. But for someone who usually views women like stones on the roadside, he kept glancing at her.”
At the mention of viewing women like stones, the two people nodded simultaneously, seemingly in agreement.
“It’s definitely true that the representative is more interested in work than in women.”
“Even in our design team, there are many who have a crush on the representative, but he never even glances their way.”
Seong-hwan replied with an excited voice.
“That’s why it’s strange. It’s definitely true that this is the first time he’s seen Representative Yoon Ha-jin. But when selecting the company, he immediately chose Eve Media, which was at the very bottom of a list of dozens.”
“Hmm… then, was criticizing Technofilm last time also in that context?”
“I’m not sure, but it definitely had some influence.”
At Seong-hwan’s words, Park Cheol-jin, as if finally understanding, spoke to everyone.
“Then, is what we have to do today decided?”
“…What do you mean?”
Seong-hwan expressed confusion.
“No… I mean, when we check the sample video later, shouldn’t we praise Eve Media’s video and first criticize Technofilm’s?”
“I also somehow feel that’s right.”
“…Still, just in case, let’s be cautious.”
At Seong-hwan’s words, Park Cheol-jin and Jang Hee-soo also reacted favorably.
…
…
…
A moment later.
Jo Pil-jae, entering the conference room, sensed a strange atmosphere.
‘What… why is the atmosphere like this?’
Representative Kang Tae-joon, who had severely criticized the video they made last week, showed no reaction.
But Park Cheol-jin and Executive Director Seong-hwan looked at him somewhat differently than they had last week.
And then.
As soon as the door to the conference room opened and Representative Yoon Ha-jin of Eve Media entered.
The corner of Representative Kang Tae-joon’s lips seemed to… no, definitely curled up.
‘…Am I imagining things?’
Turning his head to the side.
Park Cheol-jin and Executive Director Seong-hwan whispered, seemingly discussing business.
Even Team Leader Jang Hee-soo of the design team exchanged glances, as if sharing some important signal.
The one to clear the atmosphere in the conference room was Representative Kang Tae-joon.
He spoke to Representative Yoon Ha-jin in an extremely businesslike voice.
“Have you brought a proper video this time?”
“Yes, thanks to the extended deadline, we were able to complete the work.”
At Representative Yoon Ha-jin’s answer, he nodded, then asked Team Leader Jo Pil-jae of Technofilm.
“Technofilm also revised the video, right?”
Jo Pil-jae, still looking confident, nodded.
“Based on the feedback you gave last time, we supplemented the main points and improved the CG overall.”
“Good. Then, let’s check the Technofilm video again.”
At my gesture, the person in charge displayed the prepared video on the screen.
As the screen enlarged, the video began, more dazzling and splendid than before.
The camera moved quickly, as if crossing a battlefield, and with each gunshot, explosions and flashes were added, giving the feeling of watching an action movie trailer.
As the video ended, Jo Pil-jae looked up at me, seeming proud.
“This time, we definitely highlighted AGE’s performance more strongly. We also paid a lot of attention to the direction to attract buyers’ attention.”
“…….”
A brief silence.
As I silently tapped the table with my fingers, Seong-hwan spoke first.
“It’s flashy… but that’s all there is to it this time, too.”
“Yes?”
Jo Pil-jae’s face showed confusion.
Jang Hee-soo continued.
“This isn’t a product video but just a CG showcase. What’s important is how the weapon operates and what it means, but none of that is visible.”
“But isn’t it also important to give a proper impact to those who want to buy the weapon?”
Jo Pil-jae retorted.
Park Cheol-jin shook his head and joined the conversation.
“In my view, the aspect of ‘message delivery’ that our representative mentioned wasn’t considered at all. There’s no sense of what kind of weapon AGE is, how it differs from existing weapons, and why it should be noted…”
As the negative comments continued, Jo Pil-jae’s face showed tension.
He forced a smile and added a word.
“…Of course, impressions can be subjective, so perhaps it would be good to watch the other video as well and make a judgment.”
Jo Pil-jae’s gaze toward Representative Yoon Ha-jin was still filled with disregard.
‘Somehow, we persuaded Neoatlas, but no matter how good a video hastily made by a new company is…’
“Play Eve Media’s video as well.”
At my words, the person in charge removed Technofilm’s video.
They played the video file submitted by Eve Media.
“Ohh. It starts well.”
Neat and restrained direction.
Seong-hwan briefly exclaimed.
Un exaggerated colors.
Realistic backgrounds.
And scenes meticulously showing the operating principles of AGE continued.
Especially in the middle, the entire reaction sequence from ‘enemy detection ⇒ threat analysis ⇒ strike’ visualized in real-time numbers made everyone in the conference room focus, not even breathing.
After the video ended, the first to break the silence was Jang Hee-soo.
“……It’s really good.”
Hee-soo’s quiet words completely changed the atmosphere in the conference room.
Seong-hwan showed a slightly surprised expression.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen Team Leader Hee-soo make such a definitive statement?”
“Really?”
Park Cheol-jin next to him asked, seeming puzzled.
“It’s usually at the level of ‘not bad.’”
As I turned my head to look at Yoon Ha-jin, she slightly bowed her head and cautiously spoke.
“With Neoatlas’s help, we were able to improve the video’s completeness.”
“CG is, after all, just an additional element.”
After a moment’s pause, she continued speaking.
“What’s important is the direction’s intent and the message’s clarity. In my view, this video clearly shows AGE’s core values—accuracy, response speed, and operational efficiency.”
“Especially the way the reaction sequence was visually expressed is something even our team wants to reference.”
At Jang Hee-soo’s addition, Jo Pil-jae’s expression hardened even more.
A moment later, I slowly opened my mouth, looking alternately at Jo Pil-jae and Yoon Ha-jin.
“To conclude……”
At the word ‘conclude,’ everyone’s gaze focused on me.
Especially Jo Pil-jae, his fists clenched, showed a considerably tense expression, unlike before.
“I set the evaluation criteria for this sample video on whether it could explain ‘what is different.’ Flashiness or impact comes after that.”
Turning my head, I looked at Yoon Ha-jin with a calm gaze.
“Eve Media’s video perfectly met the criteria I had in mind. It was very impressive.”
Jo Pil-jae’s eyes shook.
He forced a laugh and spoke.
“Then, we…”
“Technofilm seems to need to re-examine the overall direction.”
Park Cheol-jin, listening, nodded and continued.
“In my view, even before technical skill or quality, it doesn’t fit this project’s intent.”
Seong-hwan also supported.
“Technofilm tends to overconsume CG technology. But the AGE we made isn’t a movie—it’s reality. It needs to show things as they are.”
Silence flowed in the conference room.
Jo Pil-jae couldn’t continue speaking and eventually lowered his head.
I stood up and made the final decision.
“For AGE-01’s future advertising videos, we’ll proceed in consultation with Eve Media. As for Technofilm……”
Jo Pil-jae looked at me with a glimmer of hope, but the answer he wanted didn’t come from my mouth.
“We’ll see it again next time.”
Of course, if there is a next time.
＊＊＊
After the sample video demonstration ended.
Only I and Seong-hwan remained in the conference room.
“Hyung, about today’s executive personnel announcement… what’s going on?”
Seong-hwan awkwardly laughed and spoke.
“What?”
“There was no mention of promoting you to executive director.”
At Seong-hwan’s words, I raised the corner of my lips.
“If I had told you in advance, the joy would have been halved. And it’s time for you to find your proper place.”
Despite being a major shareholder, he had remained at the manager level under the pretext of age, but now he would finally receive treatment befitting his stake and contributions.
“Anyway, thanks, hyung. I’ll work even harder from now on.”
“That’s a given. There’s still a long way to go.”
Seong-hwan paused for a moment, then opened his mouth with a playful expression.
“In that sense… shall I set up a seat?”
“What seat? Are you talking about a celebration for your promotion?”
At my question, Seong-hwan shook his head.
“No… I mean Representative Yoon Ha-jin.”
At Seong-hwan’s words, my eyes widened.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“No, you can tell me the truth. Hyung, you’re interested in Representative Yoon Ha-jin, right? That’s why you were so favorable toward her.”
Wow……
I thought he was usually oblivious, but he had a subtly sharp side.
But.
What he said was somewhat different from what I intended.
The favor I showed wasn’t interest.
It was merely consideration for an irretrievable past.