The Divine Genius’s Game Broadcasting Chapter 363

Episode 363 – Payment in Yen (2)

Early morning, Shop Fandom building.

The MD team leader arrived at the office building earlier than usual. It wasn't just because he was diligent.

“Oh my, you’ve worked hard!”

Last night, ShopFandom announced the launch of its Japanese service. The announcement was made late at night to minimize disruption, but development team members were on duty to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

The MD team leader came out a little early to give them this word of encouragement.

“No, nothing much happened.”

“Oh, then you must have worked even harder. It means you prepared so perfectly.”

No matter how kind the words, it was rude to drag on and drag on a tired person. The team leader, having finished his speech, immediately checked the situation.

The staff who arrived one after another quickly organized the data.

"Okay. I'll report to the CEO, so everyone, have a cup of coffee. I'll have a two-shot, okay?"

“Yes! I understand!”

The team leader smiled, sent the employees down, and entered the CEO's office.

“Oh, you’re here. I was so annoyed I couldn’t even bring myself to go see you.”

The representative greeted him with a lighthearted joke, but the anticipation in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

The team leader immediately reported by displaying a hologram graph.

"As you can see, our efforts to attract Japanese members have been incredibly successful. Less than half a day after the announcement, we've already surpassed 100,000 members."

"As expected! This level of demand is more than enough! Idols are definitely different."

The representative burst into laughter.

The team leader also nodded and smiled.

“Yes, it is expected that the Japanese profit breakout point will be easily surpassed with just Sweeties.”

The reason Shopfandom didn't support international shipping was simple: none of the influencers it had previously partnered with were willing to take on the risk of expanding overseas.

But now things are different.

"Ha, I feel a little relieved now. I thought this wouldn't be a problem, but it was definitely a huge challenge for me."

“Of course. I couldn’t sleep at all last night either.”

"Still, it's Director Jang, after all. The Japanese network he connected us with has definitely been effective. Thank you for your hard work, Team Leader."

The representative nodded with satisfaction. It was a signal that he could leave, but the team leader rolled his eyes for a moment.

I was wondering why, but the team leader spoke first.

“One, there was an unexpected situation.”

"yes?"

The representative's eyes widened. But it didn't seem like a bad thing. If there had been a problem, wouldn't he have been able to smile and talk about it like he did just a moment ago? But his expression was too odd to call it a good thing.

Soon the team leader brought up a new graph.

“Orders for Purple goods have skyrocketed again.”

“…Purple?”

The CEO's eyes flicked between the graph and the team leader. He frowned slightly, as if he couldn't understand.

"No, aren't there already a backlog of domestic orders? Even if the factory operates at full capacity, it'll take a while to process them."

"Yes, that's right. That's why we even posted on the information page that it would take at least a month for delivery… but orders are still piling up."

“Surely it wasn’t announced in Japanese?”

The representative asked back and went to the website to check for himself.

But the warning remained prominently even when the language was changed to Japanese. It was printed in large, red letters at the top, making it impossible to miss.

“No, what the heck is this…”

“So, I took a quick look at Purple’s recent activities.”

The representative's eyes grew wider as the team leader continued his explanation.

“Japanese advertising? And emoticons too?”

"Yes, we're not missing out on the Japanese Twitter trend. We opened our doors while Purple's popularity was rising."

It would be great for Lee Kyung-bok, but the shop fandom had a slightly different opinion.

“Well… I think it would be better to postpone the Japanese orders.”

The team leader spoke cautiously, his voice filled with worry.

"Even without that, most of our production is currently focused on Purple. To handle the Japanese orders, we'll likely have to give two or three months' notice, not just one, or delay production of goods for other influencers."

It was a situation that was bound to cause dissatisfaction on both sides. The CEO, too, stroked his chin with a serious expression.

“This is… I thought the number of orders would decrease a bit after the Metal Punch competition ended, but it’s definitely a situation that requires some consideration.”

I thought everyone who wanted to buy had bought it, but new customers came from across the ocean.

The representative rolled his eyes and then lightly clapped his hands.

“Let’s turn this crisis into an opportunity.”

"yes?"

"To be honest, even though we were entering the Japanese market, there were some regrettable aspects. While Sweeties served as a bridgehead, isn't their brand recognition actually higher than ours?"

“That’s… right.”

Shop Fandom entered Japan with Sweeties at the forefront. In other words, it was overshadowed by Sweeties.

But Shop Fandom isn't just about selling celebrity merchandise. It features even more influencers.

“Let’s get started with the second Perfect Goods project.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Let’s take this opportunity to make our name known in Japan together with Purple-nim.”

Lee Kyung-bok was the perfect influencer to make that fact known.

"Please explain the situation and set up a meeting as soon as possible. I'll be happy to accommodate any time."

* * *

Early in the afternoon, Team Perfect was holding a regular meeting.

The atmosphere in the conference room was very friendly.

“I’m glad the renewed emoticon is okay.”

“So, you’re welcoming them both domestically and internationally?”

Choi Byung-hoon raised the corners of his mouth at Jo Dae-han and Madman's words.

"Wow, look at the membership sign-ups getting more and more popular. I guess we need to offer regular benefits, right?"

"No one dislikes new products. It seems the emoticon creator found it quite rewarding."

Park Joo-ho moved his hand as he heard those words.

“Huh? What is this?”

"This is the storyboard the author sent me last night via email. He said he wanted to try out the emoticon set and wanted to hear your opinions."

What appeared before everyone was a holographic image. It was a simple sketch, but no one took it lightly.

“No, when did you draw this?”

“Weren’t you busy renewing the emoticons?”

It was not easy to come up with a new concept emoticon while working on renewing the emoticon.

Park Joo-ho immediately gave an answer, as if he had expected the reaction.

"I heard you started sketching and planning from the moment the proposal came in. Furthermore, thanks to the black company theme Mr. Daehan mentioned at our last meeting, he said his worries were alleviated."

“Oh, so that’s why you’re wearing a suit.”

Lee Kyung-bok nodded.

The character depicted in the sketch was dressed in a suit, seemingly representing a company employee. Everyone's attention immediately shifted to the concept explanation beside him.

"It was originally 'common sense for black companies.' But you changed it."

"Well, you thought about it too late. I could use it as a perfect common sense meme again, but it's a bit redundant."

“So, instead of common sense, you used the keyword ‘four rules’.”

Ultimately, the new emoticon was named 'Black Company's Four Rules'.

“Oh, so it’s Black Sachikcon?”

“Unlike Gemalcon, it is not used alone, but two are used together.”

Park Joo-ho said that and then displayed an example emoticon image after the character sketch.

Soon, the team members who saw the list burst into laughter.

“Oh, is this me?”

A character sitting at a desk with a nameplate on it, and a lot of work piled up around him.

[The boss should have the most work.]

And the speech bubble read:

“And here we put the four basic arithmetic signs.”

Next to it was a character with a raised index finger and some text attached to it.

[Isn't that the four rules?]

The team members who had just glanced at another example burst into laughter.

"Oh, that's funny too. 'The moment I arrive at work, I think about leaving. Isn't that the four rules?' Every office worker can relate to that."

“No, I like it better when the four basic arithmetic operation symbols are added to the four basic arithmetic symbols.”

Choi Byeong-hun smiled and pointed to the arithmetic cone. Around the character, there were floating '+-×÷' symbols.

“You must like these kinds of puns.”

“Because you are the one who originally created Gemalcon.”

While everyone was laughing, Madman glanced around.

“Um, but… wouldn’t this kind of code be difficult for Japanese fans to understand?”

It was obvious that it would be difficult for Japanese people to understand it, as it was conceived based on Korean pronunciation.

Lee Kyung-bok thought about it for a moment and then smiled.

“That’s a good point, but I think the author’s judgment is correct.”

Everyone turned their heads at his words.

"This Black Sachikcon isn't just for selling loglines, is it? GameCon wasn't created with that intention in mind from the beginning. It would be best to focus on broadcasting as the main focus."

“Oh, I think so too. And our emoticons are a bit different in nature from regular emoticons, right?”

Cho Daehan agreed and accepted the words.

"Usually, products are tailored to the customer's understanding, but goods are a bit different. They're sold on the premise that the customer already understands the relevant meme, and the more they understand, the more valuable they become."

“Oh, right… that’s true. I guess I was worrying for nothing.”

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's better to just point it out and move on."

Everyone nodded at Choi Byeong-hun's words, and Lee Gyeong-bok clapped his hands lightly to draw their attention.

"Okay. We'll proceed with the emoticon concept as is. Jooho, once the storyboards are all done, organize them and send them to NEVER."

“Okay. I’ll pass this on to the author.”

“Okay, then we’ll end the meeting here.”

Everyone cleared their seats at the declaration of the meeting's conclusion. However, work still remained.

“Byeong-hun, please finish this up here.”

“Oh, have a nice trip.”

“Fighting!”

The remaining three quickly left the conference room, leaving Choi Byung-hoon and Madman behind.

“Advancing into Japan? That’s unexpected.”

“That’s right. I didn’t know you’d be preparing the second batch of goods so quickly.”

Lee Kyung-bok got into the car with a smile and looked back at the back seat.

“Mr. Daehan, I would appreciate your advice on Japan.”

Unlike the previous goods project, this time we brought along Jo Daehan.

“Yes! Just leave it to me!”

His enthusiasm began to burn, fueled by the expectations of both people.

* * *

Upon arriving at the office, preparations for the meeting proceeded swiftly. The three were greeted by the CEO and the MD team leader.

“Thank you so much for taking the time to do this!”

With warm greetings, the two began to speak.

“I explained it to you via email, but you are incredibly popular in Japan right now.”

"As expected, you truly deserve the title 'world-class.' We were truly amazed."

Lee Kyung-bok responded to the two people's admiring compliments with a smile.

"Thank you. I heard Shop Fandom's expansion into Japan is going smoothly. Who would have thought Sweeties would open a store there?"

"Well, it was understandable. The previous merchandise vendor had a lot of problems. There were frequent misdeliveries, and the quality was often disappointing for the price. Fan-made goods were better than official ones, so that says it all. Oh, of course, I'm sure ShopFandom would be different."

Everyone turned their attention to the sudden outpouring of words. The man who caught their attention, Park Joo-ho, immediately coughed awkwardly.

“Oh, sorry. I got a little excited…”

“Because this guy is also a Sweeties fan.”

The CEO and team leader nodded as if they finally understood Lee Kyung-bok's explanation.

“Oh, of course! That would be really upsetting.”

“Since you’re a fan, we’ll prepare some Sweeties goods separately.”

At the next words, Park Joo-ho immediately waved his hand.

"No, it's fine. I'll make sure to buy it properly. That's how it's called BRICs."

“You really are a true fan.”

“Ahem, I’m sorry for delaying the conversation. Let’s start the meeting.”

Park Joo-ho seemed a little embarrassed, but no one thought it was a problem. In fact, the atmosphere seemed to have softened before the meeting.

“Before we get to the main point, let me confirm this again, but there is nothing related to goods in your contract with NEVER Japan, right?”

"Oh, of course. Since I only signed a contract for emoticons, you don't have to worry about duplicate contracts."

The two smiled in relief at Lee Kyung-bok's answer.

"Okay. I sent you an email, but to explain briefly, I'm planning to explore the Japanese market with Purple."

"I don't know about other influencers, but Purple has a solid customer base. In fact, your Japanese fans are already purchasing a significant amount."

As he was about to continue his explanation, Park Joo-ho raised his hand and drew attention.

“Oh, there’s something we’d like to confirm first.”

“Yes, yes, go ahead.”

"For sales received in foreign currency, is settlement only possible in Korean Won? Or, in a case like this, can I also receive settlement in Japanese Yen?"

Both the CEO and the team leader's eyes widened at that question. Fortunately, they quickly realized the question's intent.

"Oh, I see. You might get a better exchange rate from Purple than from us. I hadn't thought of that."

Unlike the Korean Won, foreign exchange is affected by exchange rates. While small amounts aren't a major concern, larger amounts can lead to significant losses.

The representative immediately bowed his head.

“I’m sorry! I was so focused on advancing that I didn’t pay attention.”

An apology alone wouldn't do. The CEO's mind was spinning quickly.

"We will change the system so that influencers who have signed up can directly choose between Korean Won and foreign currency settlement."

This was an issue that could be problematic not only for Lee Kyung-bok but also for other influencers.

Fortunately, there was time to build the system.

“Oh, then that’s no problem.”

"Yes, this is truly… embarrassing. This is something we should have prepared in advance and provided guidance on, but we actually received help."

“I believe you will take that much more care.”

The representative nodded repeatedly at Lee Kyung-bok's nagging.

"Yes, of course! This Japanese expansion will be entirely focused on you, Purple."

"However, demand for Perfect Goods is currently saturated. Under these circumstances, it's difficult to smoothly enter the market."

The team leader cautiously intervened.

Everyone was puzzled by this. Even if it showed positive hope, why would it be difficult to sell a hat?

"Of course, we've prepared a solution for that. I mentioned it to you before, but I'm not sure if you remember. We also informed you that we're working to expand our product offerings."

“Oh, yes, yes. You mentioned that when you were deciding the price of the Gemalcon figure.”

"Yes, yes, that's right. We've been working on various projects related to figures. And the decision to enter the Japanese market wasn't made overnight."

The representative said with a confident smile.

“We are preparing a direct contract with a Japanese company rather than producing domestically.”

"As you know, Japan is quite well-developed in this industry. Even in the case of figures, we can aim for both quality and mass production. We plan to handle Japanese demand internally and even pursue reverse imports."

The team leader added a detailed explanation. Lee Kyung-bok then turned his gaze to Jo Dae-han.

Realizing it was his turn, he quickly rolled his eyes.

"That's certainly true. The larger the market, the more frequent the related events and the more professionals there are. You'll have a wider range of options, not just in technology but in variety."

Lee Kyung-bok thought about it for a moment and then displayed the photo as a hologram.

“Is something like this even possible?”

The photo was of a Biocrisis figure made by a fan, Pugmalion. The CEO and team leader's eyes widened at the sight.

“This is… of incredible quality.”

"That's actually good. It makes it easier to give a quote when you have specific examples like this."

The eyes that were filled with surprise soon turned into those of a businessman.

“Actually, we were thinking of making a figure with the renewed Gemalcon, but this will expand our options.”

"Well, maybe we could create a new line of premium goods? I think it could be a basic model as well as a premium model."

The representative said that and then quickly shook his head.

“No, that was a slip of the tongue. I’m not saying it’s possible.”

He corrected his words with a determined expression.

“I'll make it possible! Because that's what I'm going to do.”

Those who leave it to chance are not businessmen, they are gamblers.

Lee Kyung-bok was able to feel anew that he was a great businessman.