# Chapter 46
Noona’s expression was blank as she held the sales report.
It was only natural for her to be surprised.
Despite its not-so-low price range, the kitchen appliance that was released two months ago had achieved the remarkable feat of selling 30,000 units in just two weeks.
It was an incomparable amount to the 2,000 units sold in the first month after release when various promotions were conducted.
No one would have predicted such tremendous success.
After seeing that hiring Crop Five for advertisements didn’t lead to increased sales, the industry had judged that consumers were evolving intelligently.
They believed people had begun to enjoy content but reserve judgment on products, starting to separate their affection for advertising models from product selection.
As articles with such content were repeatedly reported, it almost felt like this idea was being implanted in people’s minds, but the results of the live commerce completely reversed the situation.
It was such an incredible success that one might wonder if any product in the industry had ever recorded this level of sales in such a short period.
Moreover, backed by the overwhelming success domestically, export inquiries had also increased.
Meanwhile, I was too busy to even properly contact the members and barely managed to say thank you.
I had suggested we talk more when we meet, but I didn’t even have time to go see them.
While there had been rumors of discontinuation due to sluggish sales for a while, now we had reached a situation where we couldn’t sell because there were no products, and I had to rush around busily to urgently expand production lines.
Seyoung Media had greatly benefited from live commerce and decided to expand into related fields.
They were actively sending me love calls, hoping I would come over to their side.
Not only Noona but also Hyung and my uncle welcomed this development.
Seyoung Media’s interest meant they recognized my abilities.
And if I could take over Seyoung Media, it meant our faction would become stronger in the future.
Seyoung Media was a field where I could exert influence and grow in any way going forward, and my uncle often called me to try to persuade me.
I was wavering, but I hadn’t firmly decided yet.
In the midst of all this, I received a call from Han Sijin.
He said he urgently needed to talk and wanted to meet me no matter what.
‘What’s going on? Did these guys cause trouble?’
That was my first thought.
I figured there was no other reason Han Sijin would speak in such a low voice.
“Stay right there. I’m coming right away!”
I shouted impulsively and rushed out.
As much as I wanted to just go back to the members, I couldn’t act so irresponsibly.
I went to find Noona and said to her as she looked at me in surprise.
“Can I disappear for about six hours and then come back?”
Noona looked dumbfounded but eventually nodded.
“You don’t seem to know what’s going on either, but you don’t have to come back today. I hope everything gets resolved well.”
“Thanks, Noona.”
My steps toward the parking lot were getting faster and faster.
There were so many tasks I needed to handle, and so many people waiting for my decisions.
But right now, I could only think that I needed to be by their side.
* * *
What should I do with these guys?
Should I kill them?
Do they know how busy I’ve been?
How hard it was for me to get away?
And why are they whining that I won’t grant their wish?
While asking who came in first?
Surprisingly, Lee Dagyeong was the one who placed first.
Really surprisingly.
When Lee Dagyeong said with a proud face, “I came in first, Hyung,” I blurted out, “No way,” which made him look hurt all over his face.
“Ah, sorry, Dagyeong. But you, just don’t make a wish. I don’t think I can grant it even if you say it.”
I spoke firmly to Lee Dagyeong, and he made an aggrieved face again.
“Even if someone else had won, the wish would have been the same anyway.”
“…Huh?”
“Our wish. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
I looked at Lee Dagyeong, wondering what he was talking about.
“Be our manager. Come back to us. That’s our wish.”
While listening to Lee Dagyeong, I first looked at him and then slowly at the others.
“…”
The members didn’t say anything, but I could tell what they wanted from the look in their eyes.
“Please do this for us, Hyung. That would be nice.”
Lee Dagyeong said, grabbing my arm.
“Everything you can get at Seyoung Electronics. Everything you want and dream of. I’ll make sure you get it all. I’ll make you get it faster than at Seyoung Electronics. Please come on the world tour with us. That would be nice. Really.”
The reason other members couldn’t easily say those words was probably because they weren’t sure what I wanted.
They must have thought there were reasons beyond money for me leaving Grand Tamer for Seyoung Electronics.
“We all want you to come back, but we also know that if you can’t, there must be a reason. The reason we contacted you suddenly is because our departure has been moved up. We’re leaving on an early morning flight tomorrow. So I just contacted you impulsively because I wanted to see you before that.”
Han Sijin said quietly.
Even though I already knew they were going on a world tour and it was just the timing that had changed, hearing those words made my heart sink.
“…Why? There was still some time left.”
“Yes. But it seems like the sales figures from the live commerce has stimulated many people. We’re being flooded with requests to become advertising models on the condition that we do live commerce. Even high-end overseas luxury brands are sending love calls? I didn’t think they’d want to do live commerce too, but it seems they want to sell their diffusion brands that way.”
“So… that’s why you’re going?”
It was a good thing.
It was definitely a good thing.
But I couldn’t help feeling empty.
“Hyung. It’s just because we wanted to see your face, so don’t think too deeply about it. Plus, I did want to let you know that we’re now able to take good care of you. It seems like we might earn tens of billions of won with just one advertising contract.”
Seo Irun quickly said.
He seemed to think I was flustered by their story.
As if that wasn’t what they wanted, all the members, even Lee Dagyeong, tried to comfort me.
“Do you have to go back right away, Hyung?”
When Cha Yeonwoo asked cautiously, everyone waited for my answer.
Their faces looked anxious, hoping to stay together for the remaining time.
“No. No, I don’t.”
When I said that, huge smiles spread across their faces.
“Great. That’s a relief. That’s good.”
I looked at each of the members one by one.
“Now you’ve really become top stars. No one in Korea can catch up to you guys. It hasn’t even been a year since your debut, but how did you…”
After saying that, I recalled the time when I first met these guys.
When I talked about it, saying they were really hopeless in the audition program, Jeong Chan asked Cha Yeonwoo to find it, saying let’s watch that after a long time.
Telling him to look for it.
Cha Yeonwoo grumbled but found and played “Tomorrow’s Perfect All-kill.”
“Hey, how anxious must the producers of that show be? They could have discovered them too. But they missed them all, and Grand Tamer caught every one.”
“It wasn’t Grand Tamer, it was you, Hyung. Grand Tamer benefited thanks to you. The CEO is amazing too. I wonder what made him believe you and listen to what you said.”
Cha Yeonwoo said with a laugh, and I just laughed too.
“But looking at that, it’s hard to blame the production team of ‘Tomorrow’s Perfect All-kill.’ Hey, honestly, wasn’t it really hopeless back then even from your perspective? It was hard for me to watch even with fan bias. Ugh.”
When I covered my face with both hands as if I couldn’t bear to watch, peeking through the gaps between my fingers, all the members laughed.
“That’s true. I could barely stand to watch it either.”
When Seo Irun said that, all the other guys agreed, but only Han Sijin maintained a dignified expression.
He looked as if it didn’t apply to him.
How could he be so confident?
“You don’t think so, Han Sijin?”
“Hyung, don’t you think that was my peak period? How could I have been so innocently handsome? My voice was so fresh too. Ah… you must really regret it. You should have met me then.”
“What have you guys done to him? Why has he become like this?”
“Hyung, you shouldn’t say that. We tried to stop him somehow, but it was beyond our power.”
When I burst into laughter at Seo Irun’s serious expression and solemn voice, the other guys laughed together.
Even just smiling silently with expressions was comfortable.
I thought that perhaps the only place where I could fully feel this kind of comfort was with these guys.
“Hyung, if it’s okay with you, shall we have a drink?”
The person who said that was also Seo Irun.
As the oldest, he was diligently fulfilling his role as the leader.
“Sure. Sounds good. Shall we go out to drink? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever bought you guys drinks before.”
