Chapter 21: This is Kim Jang-bung, a manager at a web novel company.(Complete)

Jangbung stood in the office, adjusting his tie.

“I’m Manager Kim Jangbung, who just joined the company. Say hello.”

“Hello. This is Manager Kim Jangbung. Nice to meet you!”

A colleague grinned.

“Ah~! You were hired in the broadcasting department because you were so good at doing that deer voice, right? The VR equipment is here right now, so you can put it on right now.”

Jangbung blinked.

“Huh?”

Another colleague intervened.

“No, no!! The person in charge of the deer isn’t coming this week. Manager Kim Jangbung joined our department as a career employee.”

The first colleague laughed.

“Oh~ I guess I was mistaken. Do your best, Manager Kim Jangbung.”

“Nice to meet you.”

A coworker leaned over.

“Manager Kim Jangbung, I wonder if you’ve been overworked since you first arrived.”

“No. This is easy.”

“Isn’t it because you’ve been working so much? Aren’t you a little thirsty?”

Jangbung perked up.

“Huh?! Should I replace the water tank?”

The coworker looked confused.

“????? Huh?”

“??? Water purifier water tank replacement.”

“Our water purifier doesn’t have a replaceable water tank?”

Jangbung scratched his head.

“Oh! At my old company, that meant replace the water tank, so I was mistaken.”

“Are there companies like that these days? It’s not like that for me. Our company cafeteria is nice, so if you want to drink or eat something, go and have it.”

“Haha. Thank you.”

“You must have had a hard time at your previous job. Let’s do our best.”

“Okay.”

Jangbung approached a colleague.

“Where should I commission the cover for the special award-winning piece?”

“The art team will handle it.”

“The art team?”

“Yes. Since it’s a cover, it’s the art team. Did the author outsource it?”

“Oh, no. I’ll go.”

At the art team’s desk, Jangbung spoke.

“Hello. I’m here to commission the cover for the special award-winning piece. Who is in charge of it?”

“I’m in charge. Did you receive the storyboard?”

“Huh? The storyboard?”

“Yes, it’s the storyboard the author requested. Did you not receive it by any chance?”

“No. I just thought I’d figure out the content of the novel, choose an illustration that fits the concept, and you’d put it together.”

The art team member raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, what company doesn’t do covers like that, so it’s not like they’re factory-made?”

“Yes.”

“?????”

Jangbung laughed.

“Haha, no. I’m not used to the work here yet, so there was a mistake. I’ll contact the writer and get a storyboard that reflects your opinion as much as possible.”

“Okay, okay.”

On the phone, Jangbung smiled.

“Hello, writer. I’m Manager Kim Jangbung.”

[Long time no see.]

“How have you been? I’m contacting you about this event.”

[I have no plans to serialize there. I’ll hang up…]

“Oh! I recently changed jobs. I moved to the place where the writer is currently serializing.”

[Oh! I’m asking for your help!]

“Haha, yes. I need to make event emoticons this time, and I’d like to incorporate your ideas.”

[I have an idea, but I’m not confident I can fill them all!!]

“Then, since it’s my first emoticon project, let’s work together to come up with ideas.”

[It’s an honor that my first emoticon after changing jobs is my work!!]

“I’m honored too. I’ll be in your care in the future.”

[By the way, is it possible that my novel, which is tied to that company, can’t be transferred like you?]

Jangbung chuckled.

“Well, I worked really hard back then, haha.”

[Past is past. Future is future. That’s how it is!]

“Yeah, that’s how it goes.”

[But you’ve got to put a lot of effort into these emoticons!! This summer, I want to run the AC without worrying about the electric bill!]

“Let’s do this together!”

An email popped up.

“Kim Jangbung, I sent the external site ads via email. Contact the writer to confirm.”

“Yes, I’ll check and get back to you.”

Jangbung scanned the ads:
[If you’re done looking, get lost!]
[What did you see?]
[Come here, and I’ll let you touch!]
[Where are they going?]
[Childhood friends shouldn’t do this.]
[What did they do?]

Jangbung turned to his manager.

“Uh, Manager?”

“Yeah?”

“I checked the content, and this writer—any history of frequent serialization breaks or bad relations with the company?”

“Huh? No, it’s fine. Is the content weird?”

“Yeah…”

“That’s the trick—slightly edgy but sparks imagination. It’s proven to work, so just get the writer’s confirmation.”

“…Yes, understood.”

In a meeting, the director nodded.

“The emoticons Kim Jangbung planned are doing pretty well in sales.”

Jangbung smiled.

“Thanks to the great works.”

“There’s a lot of usable stuff, so the sales are solid. Where’d you get these ideas?”

“I brainstormed with the writers and studied popular memes in online communities, and some good ones came up.”

The director grinned.

“Kim Jangbung’s got a knack for this.”

“Thank you.”

“But you need to work on your ad sense.”

Jangbung nodded.

“I had no idea ads like that would work.”

“Right? Our company’s the expert at this. You’re a career hire, but still a junior manager, so you’ll get better with time.”

“Yes, I’ll work hard.”

A colleague waved.

“Jangbung-ssi, let’s go get snacks.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Don’t want to go with me?”

“No, no, let’s go.”

As they walked, she spoke.

“I was worried you’d be overwhelmed starting when the company’s so busy.”

“Nah, I think it’s manageable.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. I barely have time to go to the salon these days.”

“Getting a haircut?”

“That, and I need to keep up with root touch-ups.”

“Your blonde bob looks great, but that must be a lot to maintain.”

“Hehe, it suits me?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Then I’ll make time for the salon this week.”

“????”

“Anyway, it’s nice seeing you do well here.”

“Thank you.”

“I had a feeling you’d get hired that day at the interview.”

“I felt good about that day too.”

“Oh, we must’ve clicked then.”

“Really feels like it. Honestly, switching jobs has made life worth living.”

“You look like you’re enjoying work these days.”

“You can tell? At my old company, all my proposals got shot down, but here, they don’t. That’s what’s fun.”

“What was your old company like?”

“For example, a contest-winning work is getting a webtoon adaptation here. My old company did something similar. A male-oriented writer won, but they rejected the award to aim for a bigger deal. I convinced them for a webtoon, but…”

“But?”

“The company threw together a shoddy prologue, saying they’d do the first chapter if it got enough views. I felt so bad showing that to the writer.”

“How could they do that?”

“Right? Compared to that, this place shows what real investment and planning look like. It feels great.”

“My dad—uh, I mean, the company’s got some guts, right?”

“????? Other than worrying the capital might run dry, it’s a great company.”

“I heard we got billions in investment recently.”

“Wow, I didn’t know. This company’s amazing. Aggressive ad exposure, making extra revenue with emoticons kids these days love, drawing in people new to web novels, growing the market. I thought the subscription market was shrinking no matter how hard I tried.”

“They say early aggressive investment creates a virtuous cycle.”

“Yeah, a virtuous cycle. My old company was a vicious cycle every day… Thinking I’m contributing to a virtuous cycle here makes work fun.”

“Hehe, that’s the spirit. So, no flaws in our company?”

“The server needs some work. I saw a response saying a female employee spilled tteokbokki sauce in the server room, crashing it. Probably a joke, but it’s a bit much.”

“…Not a joke.”

“Huh? By the way, what snacks are we getting?”

“Tteokbokki.”

“…Tteokbokki?”

“Yeah, my favorite tteokbokki.”

Jangbung paused.

“So, the main character…”

She turned.

“Oh! Let’s go!”

At the shop, Jangbung ordered.

“Ma’am, tteok-twi-soon set, please.”

“Sorry about earlier…”

“Jangbung-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“Here, ahh~!”

“Huh? Mmph?”

“Eat this fried snack, and from now on, the server room story is off-limits.”

“Mmph, yes, yes!”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely.”

“It’s here. Let’s carry it together.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Come on, we’ll carry it together.”

“Okay.”

The director clapped.

“Kim Jangbung’s emoticon plans are selling really well.”

A colleague nodded.

“Jangbung-ssi’s proposal this time was awesome.”

“Kim, about the meeting dates with the partner companies… Already contacted them? Good job!”

“Taking Thursday off? Why take just Thursday and come back Friday? Take Thursday and Friday!”

“Kim’s ad proposals are getting more clicks every day. Doing great.”

“Jangbung-ssi, let’s leave together later.”

The manager turned.

“Jangbung-ssi, we’re holding a mini-contest. Come up with a name.”

“Yes.”

As a kid, the novel site was my ultimate playground.

Then I grew up and became a college student.

Classroom, library, part-time job, part-time job, back to the library.

Paying for tuition and rent on my own, novels on a subscription plan were my lifeline after exhausting days.

I’d be so tired I needed to sleep, but I’d wait for midnight when new chapters dropped, buzzing with anticipation.

When I got a job, the place I loved was already fading, losing its visitors.

I thought if I worked hard enough, I could turn it around.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop the decline.

It was just the way of the times. I worked hard but also gave up in a way.

A place where countless writers could freely chase their dreams, where readers could enjoy anything—a dream amusement park.

I thought that was just a fantasy.

But it wasn’t. Someone just had to start a new trend.

Writers began to emerge, spreading their dreams again, and new readers started pouring in.

And I want to contribute to that flow.

“To all the readers in the world, come see!”

“To all the writers in the world, come join!”

“To everyone in the world, write your dreams!”

[2022 Regular Contest ‘Write It’ Announcement]

• Manager Kim Jangbung, The End?? –

A colleague laughed.

“Jangbung-ssi, ‘Write It’?! Trying to tank the company?!”

“…I’ll revise it.”

[2022 Regular Contest ‘Write It Young’ Announcement]

• Manager Kim Jangbung, Web Novel Company, The End –