Chapter 16

Chapter 16

[K-POP Fever Spreads Across the World... Boycott Movement Begins at the Same Time...]

Just from the headline, I had no idea what the article was about.

First, there was the part about the "K-POP fever spreading across the world."

That much was easy to understand.

K-POP was already famous worldwide.

Korean movies, dramas, and other media had also spread across the globe.

There was hardly anyone who did not know how much Korean culture was influencing other countries.

A few years ago, some foreigners would tilt their heads when Korea was mentioned.

But these days, all you had to do was mention the name of a famous Korean singer or movie, and people immediately reacted.

Korea's influence was growing around the world.

That was exactly why the second half of the headline bothered me.

If K-POP is booming... why is there a boycott movement?

The moment I saw the headline, I jumped up from my seat.

“Where are you going?”

Im Sanghyeon widened his eyes when I stood up.

Manager Kwon Seunghun had still been talking about WG Instant Rice and its possible discontinuation.

Naturally, Im Sanghyeon was surprised that I suddenly stood up before the conversation ended.

I had never deliberately interrupted a superior before.

But this time, I had a reason.

A message from the future.

I needed to check it immediately.

I still knew almost nothing about how long these messages remained.

Whenever one arrived, I always opened it right away.

And after I read it, it disappeared from my inbox.

What if I don't open it immediately?

Would it disappear?

Or would it remain until I checked it?

I desperately wanted to know the rules.

If messages from the future kept coming, I needed to understand how they worked.

Still...

I did not want to test that right now.

If I put the phone away and waited until I got home, there was a chance I would never see the message again.

And I was far too curious about the article on my screen.

I had no idea how it would help me.

I did not know what kind of change I could create with the information.

But I had to read it.

I quickly changed my serious expression and spoke.

“I'm really sorry. I've had a lot to drink, so I urgently need the bathroom.”

Im Sanghyeon chuckled.

“No wonder. You've been drinking pretty hard tonight.”

Then he jokingly turned to Manager Kwon.

“Manager, look at this guy. Our great Manager Kwon is talking, and he dares to run off to the bathroom.”

“Yeah. Go quickly.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed.

Im Sanghyeon continued in his usual joking tone.

“Manager, don't you like me more than a guy who runs off to the bathroom in the middle of your speech?”

Manager Kwon laughed.

“Sure. Assistant Manager Im is the best.”

“Exactly. So please take better care of me instead of Assistant Manager Choi, Manager...”

Thanks to his joking, I managed to slip away to the bathroom.

The moment I entered, I looked at my phone without hesitation.

The message was still there.

I quickly opened it.

[K-POP Fever Spreads Across the World... Boycott Movement Begins at the Same Time...]

[South Korea continues to write new history.]

[At the center of that success is K-POP.]

[The five-member boy group VTC recently completed its world tour.]

[VTC successfully finished its world tour...]

...

[A post made by a member of C Group, which is highly popular in China and Japan, has recently become a major issue.]

[The member repeatedly criticized VTC's world tour concerts, angering VTC fans who saw the posts.]

[Eventually, a so-called boycott movement began spreading in Korea, with people declaring that they would no longer use products from China and Japan, the countries where C Group members were active.]

[Comments on social media included reactions such as:]

["This isn't just insulting VTC. It's basically insulting Korea itself."]

["I'm not buying Chinese or Japanese products that support C Group anymore."]

["If you love VTC, let's use Korean-made products only!"]

I slowly read the article.

The moment I finished, my eyes widened.

“What the hell is this?”

I normally did not pay much attention to entertainment news.

Even so, I knew VTC very well.

They were currently the most famous boy group in Korea.

They were also globally famous.

I closed the message and immediately opened the internet.

“VTC...”

I searched for the group.

And, as expected...

[VTC Successfully Completes U.S. Concert... World Tour Still Underway]

[VTC Proves World-Class Status During U.S. World Tour]

The current articles all said VTC was still in the middle of its world tour.

In other words...

The message I had just read was definitely from the future.

VTC still had quite a while before finishing the tour and returning to Korea.

As for C Group, which was active in China and Japan...

I could not find any article or post related to the controversy.

It seemed they did not have much influence in Korea.

“So this blows up around the time VTC finishes the world tour...”

I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

“Why would they post something attacking VTC in the first place? One social media post is going to create a huge wave.”

Then I frowned.

“Wait.”

I looked at the now-empty message inbox.

“Why did this message come to me?”

Until now, every message had eventually been connected to me.

The first message had been about the department store fire.

Thanks to it, I had saved myself.

And I had even secured the Shinwoo Department Store account afterward.

The later messages had also been related to my sales work.

They had allowed me to land the largest food-supply mart in Honam.

“Every message ended up being connected to my work somehow.”

But today's message was different.

“This doesn't save my life... and it doesn't have anything to do with sales, does it?”

I worked in the food industry.

But K-POP, VTC, C Group, China, Japan, boycotts...

None of those things had anything to do with me.

I was not even a VTC fan.

Nor was I planning a trip to China or Japan.

“What is this trying to tell me?”

The alcohol had pleasantly loosened my head.

But no matter how much I thought, I could not connect the article to anything.

“Did it just show me some random future event?”

Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“Don't tell me... stocks?”

I immediately shut my eyes.

I had never invested in stocks before.

“I'm not starting stocks just because of this.”

I had seen several friends ruin their lives through reckless investing.

I had already decided long ago that I would never touch stocks.

“Then what does this article mean...?”

Weekend morning.

I had been sitting at my desk since early morning, thinking deeply.

Once the weekend ended, Monday morning would bring the meeting.

But even without the meeting, I often studied at this desk on weekends.

When I was in school, I studied for tests.

Some people thought studying ended after graduation.

They were wrong.

If anything, I felt like I studied even more after joining a company.

After entering WG Food, I had constantly studied food.

I also could not stop studying sales.

For exams, there was a defined range.

Once you studied it, you were finished.

But studying sales never ended.

Food trends.

Sales strategies.

Consumer preferences.

Changes in the market.

Sales was not just about meeting people and building relationships.

You had to keep studying the industry and follow changing trends.

The moment you stopped...

You fell behind.

That was society.

“WG Instant Rice... how can I stop it from being discontinued?”

I wanted to oppose the discontinuation at the meeting somehow.

The only person who clearly wanted to save WG Instant Rice was CEO Jeong Seonghan.

Of course, many employees probably wanted to support him.

He was the highest-ranking person in the company.

Supporting him could earn his favor.

But that reason alone was nowhere near enough to save a failing product.

Just as Manager Kwon had said yesterday...

What if WG Instant Rice continued losing money?

Everyone who supported keeping it alive might be held responsible.

That was why most people could not openly support CEO Jeong.

Emotionally, they wanted to stand with him.

Rationally, they had to think about performance.

To save WG Instant Rice...

I needed something that could support my argument.

A way to promote it.

A way to create sales.

Production.

Sales.

Distribution.

Profit.

If I made the wrong call, the company could suffer a massive loss.

“I need evidence... something strong enough to justify keeping the product alive.”

I thought for hours.

Nothing came to mind.

“Damn... but is there really anything?”

I sighed over and over.

“Honestly, even our own employees don't buy WG Instant Rice.”

I bit my lip and thought.

Then I snapped my fingers.

“Let's think in reverse. Instead of thinking about how to save our product, let's first figure out why it isn't selling.”

I needed to identify the cause before I could find a solution.

I searched for instant rice products from famous major companies.

If I wanted to understand why WG Instant Rice was failing, I first needed to understand why the major brands were selling so well.

And it did not take long to find the reasons.

“Brand recognition, lower prices, advertising, promotions...”

The strengths of major-company products seemed endless.

What about WG Instant Rice?

“Small-company product. Higher price. Sales too low to run proper promotions... The reasons we're failing are painfully obvious.”

I sighed the moment I listed them.

Then I crossed out each cause with my pen.

“Fine. Now that I know the causes, I just need to find a solution.”

To sell our product, studying the competition might actually be more important than studying our own product.

If I found out why their products sold well...

And, more importantly, what weaknesses they had...

I might find an opening.

I began digging into every major-company instant rice product I could find.

And before long...

I found an answer.

“...Found it.”