Devil’s Music

Chapter 175: The Flower that Bloomed in the Earthquake

Three hours later.

At the Charlie Brion newspaper office located in Paris, France, two journalists were constantly hitting the refresh button on their laptops. Among them, a bald man wearing horn-rimmed glasses turned to the journalist beside him and asked.

"Olivier, how about you? Can you connect?"

The man referred to as Olivier was a man with black, medium-length hair tied back with a spring hairband. Olivier was biting his nails and furiously pressing the F5 key on his laptop.

"No, not at all. You neither, Bruno?"

Bruno sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, could this be deliberate, to give Chinese journalists a head start?"

"Does that make sense? It's a traffic overload. From what I know, Fantagio uses AWS servers, not their own or IDC servers. AWS isn't based in China, Olivier."

"Really? Ah, I don't know much about servers... Anyway, this means it's not just us, right?"

"Yes, it's the same situation worldwide. But I understand. If we're doing this, other journalists are likely doing the same."

"Ah... If we're late with the news, Chief Bengson will have our heads..."

"That's why we're pressing like mad. We need to see it in time to include it in today's evening edition."

Suddenly, a loud noise made Bruno and Olivier look up in surprise. They saw a man who seemed to have tripped over, rolling on the floor by the desk at the entrance, with books scattered all around him.

"What's going on, François? What's so urgent that you knocked over the desk like that?"

François was rolling on the floor, holding his knees.

"Ah, my leg!! Is my leg still attached, Olivier? Aaargh!"

Olivier looked down at François with a bewildered look.

"Yes, the body your mother gave you is still intact. What are you doing?"

François sprang to his feet, waving his hands frantically.

"Ye-Yes! Th-The memo, from Fantagio!"

"What? Where, where?"

François pointed outside the door.

"The chief is looking at it now! Let's go quickly!"

The three rushed to Chief Bengson's office. The door was open, and several staff members were gathered around the chief, who was holding a fax. Chief Bengson, after looking at the document for a moment, exclaimed.

"Alright! We need to start now to get this in the evening edition!"

Chief Bengson pinned the document to the office door as he spoke, and the employees crowded around to read it. François, pushed aside by the crowd, shouted.

"Ah! Let me see too! Bruno, read it out loud for me!"

As Bruno began to read the document aloud, with a bit more volume, other journalists stopped their jostling and listened to him.

"First of all, we at Fantagio would like to express our gratitude for the immense interest and love you have shown us, allowing us to successfully complete the bidding process. Additionally, we apologize for the inconvenience caused by server traffic overload and for having to convey the results through this document."

Bruno took a breath before continuing.

"The winning bids were: in third place, SJT Group from Korea, in second place, Mercedes Benz from Germany, and in first place... the USA government? What, the U.S. government won the bid? A nation stepped in?"

The journalists murmured upon hearing Bruno's words. Bruno glanced at a shocked Olivier before continuing to read.

"The bid amounts will not be disclosed without the consent of the advertising company. While some basics have been provided, details need to be negotiated. If negotiations with the winning company or country do not proceed, we may contract with the next highest bidder. Thank you."

As Bruno finished, journalists rushed back to their desks to start writing their articles. Olivier, still staring at the dispersing crowd, asked Bruno.

"A country making an advertisement? A public service ad? But why spend so much on a public service ad?"

Bruno, with a troubled look, did not answer, and François spoke.

"It's the U.S., trying to secure its position in the global market. With Russia becoming more powerful and China rising, it's a country with many concerns."

**

The announcement from Fantagio spread rapidly through the internet less than 15 minutes after the memo was delivered. Four hours after the memo release, when Fantagio officially announced its crowdfunding, journalists worked late into the night. Fantagio set the crowdfunding goal at 299.45 million yuan, with 50% of the funding covered by Fantagio itself.

The amount announced by Fantagio, roughly 50 billion Korean won, with half being borne by Fantagio, meant that Fantagio's share from the auction's proceeds exceeded 25 billion, focusing journalists' attention on revealing the auction bid amounts. However, representatives from Fantagio remained tight-lipped.

As Fantagio kept silent

, companies became more anxious. The contract was not merely for an advertisement but also for sending relief funds to the Nepal earthquake, necessitating disclosure of the amount for greater brand marketing impact. SJT from Korea was the first to disclose the amount to journalists, shocking the global community.

[Korea's No.1 Telecom Company SJT Signs an Advertising Contract with Geon Kim for 18 Billion Won!]

[Seoul=NewsS] Reporter Kang Han-seo

Korea's leading telecom company and the sixth-largest conglomerate, SJT, has signed a 6-month single-shot advertising contract with Geon Kim, who was appointed as UNICEF's goodwill ambassador at the Nepal earthquake site, for 18 billion won (USD 15.73 million). An official stated that the contract with Mr. Kim was signed with funds intended for social contribution activities, hoping to provide even a little help to the victims and bereaved families of the Nepal earthquake. This amount is unprecedented for a single advertising contract, but the special nature of the relief activity has formed a high price for this one-time deal. Additionally, SJT announced plans to send a special filming team to Nepal to shoot the advertisement without disturbing Mr. Kim's relief efforts on-site.

The news that broke out in Korea was reported on global news channels within an hour, and the world was astonished by the astronomical amount, but the premise that 90% of Fantagio and Kim's share would be donated allowed everyone to watch with a smile. That evening, inspired by the news from SJT, Mercedes Benz disclosed their contract amount.

[World's No.1 Car Company, Mercedes Benz. Confirms Advertising Contract with Kay for USD 34.2 Million]

Especially the Koreans couldn't close their mouths in astonishment, and many stayed up late searching for articles as if it was the World Cup. Everyone was enthusiastic about what Kim Geon was accomplishing, and this excitement exploded the next morning with the official announcement from the U.S. government.

[U.S. Government Announces Contract with Kay for USD 70 Million!]

[Oh my God!! Kay, three contracts totaling USD 120 Million, Astonishing the World!]

[Kay's Share Exceeds Ten Million Dollars with 10% Earnings!]

[Fantagio Crowdfunding Goal Achieved, USD 50 Million Donated to Nepal]

[Kay Decides to Donate an Additional 5% from His 10% Earnings. The Angel of Our Times]

The world was both shocked and delighted by this warm news, and Lynn moved quickly. After negotiating contracts with the three parties and considering the special nature of the situation, an upfront payment was received, and she immediately connected with UNICEF's representative to directly supply the necessary materials to nonprofit organizations in Nepal instead of the government.

An enormous amount of materials was shipped to Nepal, delivered to the Gorkha village by helicopters and trucks. This was broadcast live on news channels, and soon there was no one in Nepal who didn't know the name Kay. Geon watched the supplies being delivered from a distance, merely smiling.

Yeongseok filmed the numerous boxes branded with the UNICEF logo arriving and asked Geon.

"Aren't you a bit disappointed? It's all UNICEF logos on the boxes. They could have at least put your name somewhere."

Geon lightly laughed while watching the UNICEF staff busily moving boxes.

"I didn't intend to stand out, but it's embarrassing enough as it is. If my face was on those boxes, I'd probably be too embarrassed to return to Korea. Haha"

"I guess I'd feel embarrassed too if my face or name were on the boxes, hehe"

Geon looked at the staff for a moment before suddenly asking.

"What about Chae-eun?"

"Oh, I saw her talking with her boss on the satellite phone this morning. She's probably off helping at a school or something."

"Doesn't she have any schedule next? I'm essentially jobless so I can stay here, but she's active, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she was talking about that this morning. But staying here might actually be more beneficial for generating buzz. Her image can't get any better than it already has. The head of the girl group's agency was regretting not taking this opportunity, haha."

"What about you? Aren't you doing the next program?"

"Are you kidding? Do you know what the ratings for 'The Himalayan Song' are? It's over 30%, man. Cable TV is a hit if it goes over 2%, and here we are, beating popular broadcast dramas. Why would I go anywhere else? The CEO is trying by all means to keep you here for at least one more episode. Hahaha"

"Haha, really? That's good."

Yeongseok continued to stare at Geon's side profile and then said.

"But, how about shaving the beard? You should take care of your image, what's that? When did you

last shave, really?"

Geon, with a scruffy beard making him look like he had been meditating in the mountains, laughed while touching his face.

"It's fine. I'm not here to impress anyone, and I'd rather sleep more than spend time shaving."

"Come on, have some self-awareness as a celebrity. What's the point if you don't think of yourself as a celebrity? Everyone else sees you as a public figure. You're going to end up with a dark history."

"Let it be then. I'm not living off acting or modeling."

The persuasion from Yeongseok continued for a while, but Geon just laughed and shook his head. As Yeongseok was getting tired of convincing him, about thirty monks in red robes approached the site. Yeongseok's eyes widened as he said.

"Uh? Isn't that monk in the front, Hailke?"

"Where?"

Geon caught sight of Hailke walking at the front of the monks. Geon ran up to him and bowed with his hands pressed together.

"No way, High Monk! What brings you all the way here?"

Hailke bowed deeply in a way different from before, with his palms pressed together so much that his hands almost touched his knees.

"Om mani padme hum. Greetings to the Guru of all Lamas."

"What? Guru? What's that?"

"The Dalai Lama has bestowed upon Kay the title of Guru, the teacher of all Lamas."

>

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