The Famous Millionaire

When he thought as far as that, Jaeyol wanted to be more generous. He called somebody. It looked like he was talking to somebody in talent donation broadcasting because he asked about how to submit the animation work and the process of selecting the top prize.

After he got several tips, Jaeyol ended the call with some nice words about Ani & Funny.

After the call, Jaeyol had a satisfied smile on his face.

“According to him, you have to submit five animation pieces by the end of March, but any piece that has already been used for commercial purpose can’t be submitted.”

“Thanks so much!”

Jaeyol had another surprise for Hyunwoo. He knew how to be benevolent to Hyonwoo without paying even a single cent.

“By the way, I don’t see any office of Ani & Funny. It looks like the Anifan kids are working at the orphanage alone.”

“The rent is too high, but I’m going to hire several staff members and rent an office. I want to produce some quality animation from now on. Since you have recommended that I submit some animations to be reviewed, I think I really have to make them the best.”

“Well, you don’t have to pay too much for the rent. Let me find out if there are any good offices for rent at a cheap price.”

“Really? How?” asked Hyunwoo with a curious look on his face, but Jaeyol didn’t tell him about the secret. Instead, he gave Hyunwoo strong reassurances.

“Hahaha. As a veteran reporter, I get to know lots of useful tips on that, so just trust me and wait.”

***

After he parted with Jaeyol, Hyunwoo hastened the animation work. In order to submit the animation candidate for Children’s Day, he had to finish the work by the end of April. That meant he had only two months to go.

Hyunwoo met Kyungsu first, his friend and animation expert. To improve the quality of the animation to be submitted, Hyunwoo needed Kyungsu’s help above all.

Kyunwoo opened his eyes wide to hear from Hyunwoo about the talent donation broadcasting, and said with a serious look, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You shouldn’t miss it.”

Hyunwoo saw eye to eye with him on that, “Yea, I want to win it by all means.”

“Let’s try to make a 3D animation then. We should do our best. I can gather talented experts.”

“How many experts do you think we need?”

“At least 15 people. We need them in not only the story writing but also modeling, mapping, writing, FX and even rendering fields. Though there are many fields, only two or three experts in each field.”

“How much do I have to pay?”

“It depends on their talent and skills. The three experts I have in mind are the top class in the field, so you have to give them at least 2.5 million won per month, plus their nightly pay.”

“What about other experts?”

“Well, you can pay about 1.5 million, given the bad economic situation these days. Instead, you have to pay them well for their nightly work.”

A rough estimate of their combined salaries amounted to 25 million won, and more than 30 million won when their nightly pay was added.

With the addition of the workforce, he would have to buy additional computers and programs.

Money was not a big problem. He could get a loan easily with his stocks in N&C company in Vietnam as the collateral.

Hyunwoo thought of the best way to tackle the staffing issue.

“Can we hire them on a contract basis? For about three months.”

“I doubt they can do their best in that case,” said Kyungsu with a skeptical response.

Hyunwoo came up with an alternative idea.

“If our animation is selected as the final candidate, let me hire half of them as regular employees.”

“Not a bad idea,” said Kyungsu, nodding his head.

Now, Hyunwoo felt he could solve the staffing problem. The real problem was how to find a space to rent. He needed quite a spacious office to house as many as twenty people, equipped with a new interior.

Time, not money, was the issue.

Let me ask brother Sangyun for help. It’s important to rent a big office as soon as possible even if I have to pay a premium. Sangyun Oh has lots of information about real estate in Ansan city, he can get the right information within a week, Hyunwoo thought.

Okay. Let me rent an office by the end of next week.

Hyunwoo clenched his fist and said, “Okay. Let’s stake our future on the talent donation broadcasting company. Please gather the experts, Kyungsu. Let me secure the money.”

“Great. Let’s give it a try. We can make it.”

Hyunwoo immediately called Sangyun, owner of a real estate company and explained his situation, “Hey, brother, please get me an office quickly.”

Sangyun replied negatively, “Well, I can find you a big space if it’s a restaurant, but I haven’t seen any big offices listed for rent yet. There used to be lots of such offices, but I don’t see them these days.”

“You have to find me one, by all means, brother. Please do me a favor. You know I wouldn’t be asking you for this under normal circumstances.”

“Oh my god! Let me try my best.”

Hyunwoo felt worried.

Hearing what Sangyun said, the chances were that he would not find one.

Hyunwoo thought he had better prepare Plan B in case Sangyun could not find one.

This time he called the director of the House of Happiness.

Kyungsu hardened his face suddenly, “Oh, you can’t be serious!”

Hyunwoo, too, had a bitter look on his face.

The director asked as if he thought Hyunwoo’s idea was a surprise.

“Are you sure you want to use our space here? And the number of staff is almost 20?”

“Yes, that’s right. I have no other choice this time,” said Hyunwoo, explaining the situation.

Hearing Hyunwoo’s explanation, the director could understand.

“I think I have to empty a large room for the time being. Though the kids might feel uncomfortable, let me have them use a small room, but I wonder if you can use the space as your office.”

The space that the director mentioned was pretty limited. Nonetheless, Hyunwoo asked him for it as a last resort.

In some respects, however, Hyunwoo thought this might serve as a dramatic event. Namely, if they work in an adverse situation like this and make their animation work selected as the final winner, that could be big news anyway.

Hummmm. Can this be a news item? If it is, let me inform reporter Jaeyol Song on this first. When Hyunwoo thought as far as that, he burst out laughing, What the heck am I thinking? I should totally concentrate on animation work.

On Monday morning the staff of Space Design got together for a staff meeting.

Minhye Park, the CEO, led the discussion after analyzing the scripts of the sitcom ‘Wolf and Fox.’

The topic of the discussion was about which studio would be the most effective for their sales strategy. As Producer Mansoo Kim said, he would let Space Design choose the setting first, they wanted to make the best use of it.

“The studio I’m most interested in is the main character’s room,” said Minhye.

Her idea made a lot of sense. The main character, Yongjun Park, was a very famous Korean star not only popular in Japan and China but across all of Southeast Asia. If Space Design sponsored furniture for the main character’s room, that would bring about great promotional effects.

Yonggu, however, presented a different idea, “I think actress Nami Yu’s room is also a good choice. In some respect, her room can be more effective.”

“Why is that?”

“Because it’s a woman’s room. Don’t you think women, not men, are more sensitive to the mood of the room? Nami plays the role of the CEO’s daughter. This means the studio set should be luxurious, above all. In a way, that’s the best target we can choose,” said Yonggu.

Hyunwoo was confident that Nami’s popularity would go up when the sitcom was on the air. She was not only beautiful but also excellent at acting and entertaining.

Minhye nodded her head, showing she saw eye to eye, “Good idea. Any other ideas?”

Hyunwoo presented his own, “Checking out the scripts, I notice there is a newlywed’s room. I think it’s a good idea for us to target that room.”

Wondering a bit, Minhye said, “Newlyweds are played by supporting actors. Do you have any reason for that?”

“Don’t you think most newlyweds are obsessed with thinking about their room decorations? I guess they’re going to be the consumers with the most active desire for purchasing of our products.”

“Oh, that sounds good. Though their room is a bit less attractive than Nami’s room, I think that’s also worth making an investment.”

Minhye was a good manager. She listened to her staff’s opinion instead of insisting on her own.

The staff meeting ended like that.

She choose Nami Yu’s room as the first priority. Though the main character’s room was as attractive, that would be taken by Design Room, the rival company.

If offered another chance, Space Design would surely choose the newlyweds’ room.

As soon as the meeting was over, Hyunwoo’s cell phone buzzed. It was a call from a stranger.

Hyunwoo picked up the phone on the hallway. It was an unexpected call from someone in the accounting section of the municipal office.

“I just talked with reporter Jaeyol Song. I hear you’re looking for an office for your animation business, right?”

Hyunwoo’s eyes popped up. Suddenly, he thought what Jaeyol said before. He said he would try to find one, boasting he had lots of tips about it, based on his long reporting experience.

Actually, Hyunwoo heard it inattentively at that time. And as he had to find one so soon, Jaeyol’s offer to help might not work.

It looked as if Jaeyol solved his headache faster than Sangyun Oh, the most authoritative informant on real estate listings in Ansan city.

Hyunwoo replied quickly, “Yes, I need it. Very much, of course.”