The Mysterious Art Museum -
Chapter 59 (2) - The Mysterious Art Museum
“What?”
“I said, because you're pretty.”
“..................”
Young-ju, looking dumbfounded, suddenly lunges at me and pretends to strangle me.
“You jerk! Confess! What did you do wrong? Spit it out! I'll forgive you if you confess now!”
“Ah! It hurts!! It hurts!”
She's so strong that my face turns red just from a brief mock-strangling.
“Geez! I just gave it to you. I didn't do anything wrong!”
Young-ju squints at me suspiciously.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Hmm.”
Young-ju then looks at me again skeptically before finally taking a sip of the coffee.
“Are you sure you didn’t spit in the coffee?”
“Crazy! Just don’t drink it!”
As I try to snatch the cup away, Young-ju dodges and gulps down the coffee.
“Wow, our boss here. If the company goes under, you could open a café!”
“Why would the company go under?”
There's 500 million in the corporate account.
Over 300 million in my personal account.
It might be small for a business, but it's not bad for a company that's just starting with only two people.
At my words, Young-ju flinches, then puts down his cup and becomes serious.
“Jung-hoon.”
“Yeah.”
“You know our current project ends in 3 weeks?”
“I know.”
“We need to find the next job. Things get tough quickly if the work stops.”
“I know.”
I’m aware but clueless about what to do. I have no experience running a business, nor do I have many contacts like Young-ju to network with. I don’t even know where to start looking for work. So far, we've been lucky to get continuous work, but there’s no guarantee that will continue.
Young-ju, resting his chin on his hand, says, “I’ve been reaching out to people who joined other companies to find work we can bid for.”
I know, I heard him making calls earlier.
Young-ju sighs.
“The problem is our company’s lack of name value. We’re new, and our only project so far is the W Tree theater, which hasn’t even opened yet. Without a portfolio, no one wants to entrust us with work.”
That makes sense. Those looking to hire want a reliable firm, and to trust a company, they need a portfolio. Right now, we're like heading a ball on bare ground.
There’s no overnight stardom like with celebrities.
We have to build up work gradually and make our name known in the industry. It's going to be tough until then.
“It’ll work out, Young-ju.”
A baseless, optimistic statement.
Though it’s without any solid ground, the moment hope is included, it becomes comforting.
Young-ju chuckles and shakes her head.
“Yeah, it'll work out. I believe that too.”
Returning to his seat, Young-ju then suggests, “Shouldn’t we make a website for our company?”
“Hmm.”
“If we want to promote our company to clients, we should at least have a website.”
"Do you know someone in that field?"
"Yeah, I have a senior from 3 years ago who works in that area."
"Can you check with her?"
"Okay."
Phew, what would I have done without Young-ju?
I hear the sound of Young-ju's keyboard, indicating she's messaging someone. Meanwhile, I sit at my desk, browsing through other companies' websites, lost in thought.
'We definitely need a way to promote our company. We need to make Artist Company known to the public to get work.'
How did Klimt manage his company in the 18th century when it wasn’t easy to find information on the internet like now? It makes me admire him even more.
'Klimt must have worked hard, one step at a time, just like this, without any easy solutions.'
Let's start by creating a website.
We need a way to let others know what our company is about when we pitch for work.
Since Young-ju's senior is also my senior, I should try to negotiate a good deal.
No, even if it costs more, we should make it look impressive.
If it helps us get more work, I’m willing to invest whatever it takes.
Then, Young-ju's phone vibrates.
He was typing on the keyboard, chatting via messenger, but then switches to speakerphone to take the call.
"Hey, Ji-hyun."
Ji-hyun? That's the name of the friend from the company building the new office he was talking to earlier. The quick response must mean a rejection.
- Sister, is your company really called Artist Company?
"Yes, I just told you."
- Wow! Do you have a vacancy at your company? Take me with you, will you?
What's this about?
Why would someone from a successful company that's building its own office want to join a small company like ours? While browsing other companies' websites, I turn my head towards Young-ju’s desk.
Young-ju, also puzzled, stops messaging and looks at the phone.
“What are you talking about?”
- I was going to connect you to the person in charge, but they already knew about your company. But they were saying, how could a company like Artist Company just be doing office interiors? So I asked what they meant, and they sent me a link.
“A link? What link?”
- A news link, from a portal site. There were lots of articles.
“What?”
Young-ju and I lock eyes in disbelief.
Articles about our company? What does this mean?
Almost simultaneously, Young-ju and I bury our faces in our monitors, furiously typing as if competing against each other.
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