Cheat day

Sugar Man (1)

Sunday.

Exhausted, I was lying down while Ju Ji-seung, Cha Ji-chan, and Baek Woo-jin were chatting about various things.

“The shorts are really burdensome. The consumption speed is unbelievably fast.”

Cha Ji-chan, who started making shorts first among us, expressed his struggles.

“Aren’t you filming separate videos for the shorts?”

“There’s a limit to pulling from old videos, you know?”

“That’s true. But you seem to be doing well. What’s it like?”

Cha Ji-chan asked Ju Ji-seung.

Ban Ya-sikgyeong has been uploading one-minute cooking videos, and it’s almost a given that each video gets hundreds of thousands of views.

“I’ve gotten used to editing, but it’s become a bit simpler. There are so many people doing cooking shorts that it’s hard to stand out.”

“There are a lot, for sure.”

“I’m struggling too. For ‘White Rice Talk,’ I share the workload with Chan-yong, so what I can post gets cut in half. When I shorten knowledge-related videos, there’s room for misunderstanding, and I feel like people are satisfied with the shorts instead of watching the full versions. My views have dropped a bit lately. How about you?”

Baek Woo-jin asked me, resting his chin on the table.

“If it were me, I’d rather watch shorts than a 60-minute video.”

“Me too.”

“Same here.”

Ju Ji-seung and Cha Ji-chan agreed, and it seemed that Baek Woo-jin’s worries deepened.

“But after driving during the last holiday, I realized nothing compares to Woo-jin’s content. The voice is pleasant, and the topics are interesting.”

“It’s surprisingly long, which is nice.”

It really seems like there’s no answer on YouTube.

On one side, people are worrying about how to shorten and compress videos to trigger dopamine.

On the other hand, sometimes a longer runtime is beneficial.

“But why are you like this? Didn’t you get enough sleep?”

Cha Ji-chan asked me.

“I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I’m way too busy.”

“That’s good, though; you’re making a lot of money.”

“Must be nice.”

Cha Ji-chan and Ju Ji-seung expressed their envy.

It’s ironic to be envied for having a job that makes one’s daily life nonexistent due to busyness.

“I’m serious. I’m taking taxis everywhere because I’m worried about getting into an accident while driving.”

“How much are you making?”

“Are you making so much that you can leave your car and take a taxi?”

Ju Ji-seung and Cha Ji-chan brought up the topic of money again.

“It’s not about the money, though.”

“So how much are you making?”

“Just tell us.”

“…I haven’t calculated it.”

“Does that even make sense?”

“Don’t joke around; just spill it.”

Feeling awkward, I tried to dodge the question, but it didn’t work at all.

“Umm… about 1 billion?”

There was no reaction.

“I’m serious. Why would I lie?”

“Wow.”

Cha Ji-chan raised his head with a sigh, and Ju Ji-seung held my hand tightly.

“Chan-yong, let’s do the next advertisement together.”

“Me too!”

“I told you I mention it every time a proposal comes in.”

I hoped the entire Namsadangpae would shoot together, but not every company accepts that request.

They have to consider various factors like cost and image, so I can’t just force my thoughts onto them.

“I really don’t get it.”

Baek Woo-jin, who had been quiet, finally spoke up.

“Why are you living like this when you’re making so much? Is this really living? You’re going to get into big trouble if you keep this up. You should at least cut back on the personal broadcasts. You looked almost like a corpse yesterday.”

“Woojini’s right. You look like you’re going to collapse every time I see you lately.”

“You’re telling us to be happy, but you’re the one suffering.”

Ju Ji-seung and Cha Ji-chan chimed in.

I have to admit, I really have been busier lately than during my prime.

“It’s because I filmed the Dove commercial the other day. I finished at 2 and couldn’t sleep.”

“Then why are you even mentioning that you’re doing the Dove ad?”

Baek Woo-jin scolded me.

“In the end, I’m doing something good while making money, so it’s fine, right?”

“Yeah. You brought it up thinking of the people who’ll receive the soap.”

I rebutted, and Ju Ji-seung defended me.

“You could just say you forgot. Look at you; you’re juggling so many things and doing Dove ads, but you don’t have time to sleep or eat.”

“Hey, people like us need to save money during times like this.”

Cha Ji-chan sided with me.

“It’s better to earn a decent amount without being too busy. What good is it if you’re too busy to even spend it? Didn’t you lose your health just working all the time? Work-life balance is important.”

Thinking it over, Baek Woo-jin wasn’t wrong.

Of course, making a lot of money is great, but I shouldn’t lose my health in the process.

Even if it means cutting back on some jobs, if I can continue steadily, that could actually be a good direction.

“My point stands. How many times did you manage to rest easily in February?”

“Hmm.”

“I’d say not even once. What good is earning a billion if you’re dying? If you’re not planning to gather some cash and retire comfortably, adjust your schedule reasonably. And be careful with what you say. What if Dove had taken issue with that?”

Every word he said was spot on.

Ju Ji-seung and Cha Ji-chan seemed to agree with Baek Woo-jin, sipping their iced Americanos in silence.

Buu-wooong—

My smartphone vibrated.

Looking around to see whose phone was ringing, it turned out to be Baek Woo-jin’s.

“It’s Director Kim Ki-tae?”

It was a call from Kim Ki-tae, the director from WH Electronics, who sponsored “Walking to the Sky.”

“Why is Director Kim calling?”

“I don’t know.”

Baek Woo-jin answered the phone.

“Director Kim?”

“Woo-jin, how have you been?”

The call volume was loud enough that I could hear Director Kim Ki-tae’s voice clearly.

“I’ve been doing really well. But I’m tired.”

“Haha. I can imagine. It seems like things have gotten bigger.”

“Did you watch ‘Happiness’?”

“Of course. Nowadays, it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t seen a Namsadangpae video. I’ve seen all of them.”

Baek Woo-jin smiled widely.

The fact that ‘Happiness’ has become a nationwide phenomenon accepted by society made him very proud.

“Kim Yoo-jung’s video was especially impressive.”

“Right? Her hard work is really admirable.”

“Yes. It also reminds me of our WH advertisements.”

“Exactly. I found out while looking for materials on how to make it enjoyable. It’s absolutely the best.”

“There were discussions about whether it was a parody of our company’s CF or whether it was plagiarized.”

Baek Woo-jin’s face turned pale.

We were also surprised, but for those of us in the content creation business, copyright issues are the most concerning.

While thinking about how to ensure that the lonely Kim Yoo-jung could be respected as a member of society for even a moment, he discovered the campaign advertisement video that WH had conducted.

In the advertisement featuring a hearing-impaired person encountering someone using sign language in daily life, he created a parody video using only the realistically possible parts.

“I don’t believe that you copied it with bad intentions, Woo-jin.”

“Exactly! It’s not plagiarism! It’s a parody!”

“However, I can’t help but feel a bit hurt. You have to click ‘Show More’ in the video description to see WH’s name.”

“I’ll move it to the top right away. Please help me out here. I beg you.”

“I wonder if that will persuade the higher-ups.”

Baek Woo-jin’s head went blank at Director Kim Ki-tae’s words.

The misunderstanding that a content creator had copied a video without the original creator’s permission, the subsequent backlash, the fear that the wave of support for the ‘Happiness’ event would collapse because of him, and the guilt towards the campaign video director all hit him at once, leaving him unable to think clearly.

“If you feel responsible, I’d like to make a small request.”

“I’ll do it!”

I accepted before even hearing what it was.

I had reacted just like that when I got contacted by Dove.

“We are developing applications for hearing-impaired and visually-impaired individuals, and we are starting to implement them with our new products. The main features include showing text of the other person’s speech or converting text to speech. We support 17 languages, including Korean, English, Japanese, and French.”

“Is that possible?”

“We had to prepare it as quickly as possible.”

Without needing further explanation, everyone sitting here understood the situation.

Last year, Baek Do-bin, the grandson of WH Electronics Chairman Yoo Jang-hyuk and a world-renowned musician, experienced temporary visual impairment, prompting WH Electronics to develop products for visually and hearing-impaired individuals.

Through various media outlets, there were expectations for progress in technology development for people with disabilities.

“Director Baek Do-bin mentioned you, Woo-jin. He said since you’re doing good things and gaining recognition, how about collaborating with ‘Happiness’ this time?”

“I’ll do it. Of course, we should. But are you saying Baek Do-bin pointed me out?”

“I’m not too familiar with celebrities, but he insisted on contacting you.”

Baek Woo-jin had been recognized for his expertise in classical music, proficiency in foreign languages, and hosting ability, and he had participated as a host in a program related to the Daejeon Orchestra, where he had interviewed Baek Do-bin before.

During that time, he had interviewed Baek Do-bin but, as far as I recall, it had been quite embarrassing for Baek Woo-jin, so it was a bit of a dark chapter for him.

“Anyway, I’m relieved that you accepted without hesitation. I was worried since you said you were busy.”

“…You didn’t bring up the CF plagiarism issue on purpose, did you?”

“You reminded me of our campaign; it’s not a bad thing. Hahaha!”

Baek Woo-jin felt a mix of being deceived and wanting to shake his fist.

Even though he had revealed that he drew inspiration from WH’s advertisement, it was a relief that, in the end, thanks to WH being accommodating, no issues arose.

“So when does this start?”

“We’ll set a specific date soon. Can you spare a few days?”

“Uh?”

“Since there’s a lot to prepare. Is three days okay?”

Even with limited time, since we were in a position where we had to create, Baek Woo-jin readily answered and finished the call.

“Good news.”

“Yeah…”

“What’s the difference between you and side dishes?”

“Shut. Up.”

“Wow, Baek Woo-jin must be busy. Huh? To take three days off, he needs to film the videos in advance.”

“You said you need to maintain work-life balance. Shouldn’t you turn it down?”

As Cha Ji-chan and Ju Ji-seung teased him alternately, Baek Woo-jin’s face crumpled up in frustration.