Chapter 151 – Higher, Even Higher – Part 4

Chapter 151 – Higher, Even Higher – Part 4

Mansu, who had been blinking at Woojin, finally opened his mouth.

“Tastier than our school cafeteria food…?”

“Yes.”

“So, what then?”

Mansu thought Woojin was approaching him with a business proposition,

“Want to go eat there?”

“Cafeteria food?”

“Yes.”

Mansu let out a weak chuckle.

He’s truly an unchanging guy.

Indeed, it was too much to expect the school to have brain food.

And the pie was small too.

Mansu, who was laughing heartily like a cartoon character, soon said,

“Let’s go!”

Woojin and Mansu then exited the Break Room.

Just then, Mansu stopped, as if something had occurred to him.

“Oh, Woojin, the Brain Food commercial storyboard is out. Do you want to take a look?”

He somehow felt he had to show it to Woojin.

No, it was right to show it to him, as Woojin was the founder of Brain Food.

Woojin glanced at the wall clock for a moment.

“Sure.”

He didn’t think he’d miss out on the cafeteria food just by looking at it for a bit.

“Okay~”

Mansu returned to his seat and quickly came back with a few sheets of A4 paper.

It was the storyboard for Brain Food.

As Woojin flipped through the A4 paper, Mansu began to speak.

“The actor is Park Inhyeok. He’s really popular these days, you know.”

Woojin nodded slightly.

He often received calls from Park Inhyeok to go for a drink, but Woojin only exchanged greetings.

Woojin grasped the content of the commercial storyboard.

The story was about Park Inhyeok buying Brain Food’s Ciabatta and taking it home.

“I think we should change the actor to a woman.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Women are more likely to be Absent Shoppers than men.”

Mansu tilted his head.

When talking with Woojin, he consistently heard unfamiliar terms, which was quite fascinating.

“Absent Shopper?”

“Yes. It’s the act of buying something for someone who isn’t present. In terms of household consumption, women are the ones with absolute authority.

They are the Household Shopping Head.”

“Ah…”

Mansu nodded as if he understood.

It’s true for food and clothes, aren’t most dishes and appliances also designed to suit women’s tastes?

“That’s why women are always the primary target for marketers.

And… can I use a pencil?”

“A pencil? Oh, just a moment.”

As Mansu handed him the pencil, Woojin placed the storyboard on the table and began to write.

“Let’s make the main character of the advertisement appear a bit smarter.

Like a sophisticated career woman.”

Woojin erased parts of the storyboard and even drew pictures.

“Let’s instill a bit of anxiety.

Make them feel like they’re falling behind if they don’t choose Brain Food’s vegetables.”

“You mean, make them want to buy it by creating anxiety?”

“Yes. Consumption is actually driven by anxiety, isn’t it?”

Mansu’s eyes blinked again.

Woojin’s conversations were always like this.

He would speak with a nuance of ‘as you know~’, but Mansu usually didn’t know the information.

“Anxiety? What does that mean?”

“When you’re easily stressed, you overeat and shop for ‘mood changes.’

But when your mind is relaxed and your environment is fulfilling, consumption decreases.”

“Oh… I think I understand what you mean.”

Woojin, who had been touching the storyboard, eventually put down the pencil and said,

“I don’t think the planner is utilizing people’s unconscious very well.”

Consumption is chosen by the unconscious and rationalized by self-consciousness.

Choices made by the unconscious, designed by external influences, are highly likely to be passed down.

Children observe their parents’ choices and inherit their tastes, preferences, and personalities.

The reason most people don’t notice this is because the unconscious makes the choices and the self-consciousness rationalizes them.

If you want to notice the designed unconscious, you only need to remember one thing.

When you feel like ‘I want to buy this’ in terms of consumption, you hold onto that thought and dwell on it.

Why do I want to buy it?

Then the reasons to buy it or the imagination of having bought it come to mind.

That’s the rationalization of self-consciousness.

If consumption proceeds with such rationalization from self-consciousness, then you’ve become a target for marketers who cleverly utilize people’s unconscious.

“But Woojin.”

“Yes?”

“The contract with Actor Park Inhyeok is already finished… all that’s left is to start filming.”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Huh?”

As Mansu made a puzzled expression, Woojin was bringing his cell phone to his ear.

“Hello, Actor Park Inhyeok.”

– Woojin, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

Do you finally have time today? I’m free today, shall we meet?

Park Inhyeok couldn’t help but be pleased with Woojin’s call.

After all, his acting was gaining fame day by day.

He was carefully making Woojin’s previous words his own and benefiting greatly from them.

“I’m sorry. I think we’ll have to meet another time.

I have to go eat at the student cafeteria.”

– Student cafeteria? What’s that… the student cafeteria you eat at the university?

Just as Park Inhyeok wondered if his presence was less important than the student cafeteria, Woojin spoke.

“I have a favor to ask.”

– Huh? A favor? Just say the word.

Anything I can do, I’ll do it! Hahahaha!

It was Woojin who coolly refused when he offered him a sports car.

Park Inhyeok was curious what kind of favor it would be.

“I heard you signed an advertising contract with Brain Food.”

– Yes? Yes. That’s right. But why that?

“I think we need to change it to a female actor. Can you perhaps cancel the contract as if it never happened?”

– So you’re worried about the penalty for breach of contract? No, but Woojin, what’s your relationship with Brain Food?

Are you acquaintances?

“It’s about to be listed on the stock market soon, and I’m going to be a major shareholder.”

– What?

Mansu stared dumbfounded at Woojin, who was on the phone with Actor Park Inhyeok.

How did he even know Actor Park Inhyeok, whose value was skyrocketing?

– I’ll talk to the agency. I’m sure they’ll listen if I tell them.

“Thank you. Yes. Yes. I’ll see you then.”

As Woojin finished the call, Mansu, who had been looking bewildered, spoke up.

“How do you know Actor Park Inhyeok?”

“Oh, I just got to know him doing this and that.

Mansu. We need to hurry. We might miss out on cafeteria food.”

–

After a satisfying meal at the cafeteria with Mansu, Woojin parted ways and stopped by the supermarket to buy ice cream for Bomi and fruit for his family before heading home.

Woojin pushed his cart, looking around as if he was sightseeing.

He saw people filling their carts to overflowing with various items, and affectionate couples.

And even a child’s whining.

The child was pointing at a box of snacks with a character on it and throwing a tantrum.

In this way, marketers also use children as a kind of tool to make parents spend money.

It’s like a cheat code that forces parents to buy what their children want.

Pester Power greatly influences parents’ purchases.

All the products and items displayed in this supermarket are like that too.

It’s not a living creature, but it could be called a fierce battleground of psychological warfare, aiming to stimulate the unconscious and make people buy.

The cart Woojin was pushing was also like that.

Carts have been getting bigger and bigger over time.

So they can hold more.

If you put less in, it makes you want to fill it up more.

Woojin, who had been looking around the supermarket as if sightseeing, ended up just buying the fruit and ice cream he intended to, no, he said, holding a few lollipops in his hand.

“I was got…”

By the marketers.

Soon, Woojin, with a lollipop in his mouth, left the supermarket.

It was a 40-minute walk home, but he planned to stroll leisurely, watching the people.

Just then, Woojin received a call.

It was Lee Hyerim.

“Yes, Hyerim.”

– They say Chairman Lee is announcing the Rights Offering to the family on Saturday.

Saturday was three days away.

“As expected, Chairman Lee is quick to act.”

– Are you free that day?

It seems Grandfather wants to play Go with you after the family meeting.

“Alright.”

It was a good opportunity to directly observe Chairman Lee’s strong bloodline.

– Are you outside?

“Yes, on my way home.”

– What are you doing tomorrow?

“I’m going to laze around at home for the first time in a while.”

– … …

And so, Woojin ended the call, chatting about this and that with her.

Just then, he heard the voice of a middle-aged woman walking towards him with a boy who looked like a fourth-grader.

“Mom is so ashamed of you, she can’t live! What is 60 points! 60 points!”

Woojin watched the scene and quietly opened his mouth, as if mumbling.

“What in the world…”

The mother, standing at the crosswalk with her child, sighed heavily and spoke again.

“Look at Heejin in your class.

She doesn’t even seem to have a tutor, but have you ever seen her miss first place even once?”

Then, she gestured towards a man across the street who looked like a beggar and said,

“Do you want to grow up and be like that person? Huh!?”

The mother continued to scold her son.

Woojin, who had been listening quietly beside her, mumbled again.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever used it…”

So he wanted to use it.

“Ha… Minjae. You can do it, can’t you?

Minjae takes after his mother’s brain, so if he just works a little harder, his grades will go up quickly, I tell you.

Aren’t you ashamed of your friends making fun of you for not being good at studying?”

The dejected child bowed his head and couldn’t say a word.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“I’ll work hard.”

At that moment, Woojin, who had been looking at the red traffic light across the street, turned his body to look at the mother and son.

Then, with one cheek bulging from a candy in his mouth, he spoke.

“There was a time when our country ranked first in sports car imports, surpassing the rest of the world.”

“And for several months at that.”

The child’s mother’s eyes widened as she asked,

“Who are you?”

Woojin ignored her, fixing his gaze on the child and speaking again.

“We also have the undisputed highest suicide rate. Why do you think that is?”

“What are you talking about?”

Woojin noticed the mother’s hand instinctively reaching for her child’s shoulder.

It was a good reaction.

It was an unconscious protective instinct, and proof that there was hope for the future.

“Our country, in particular, tends to compare itself to others, whether by choice or by coercion.

People want to appear brighter than others, and conversely, they become pessimistic and crumble.

With the development of social media, an era has arrived where depression can creep in like a shadow, and people can collapse on their own.”

“What are you doing!”

“Were you good at studying when you were young?

Most parental demands are a deficit of what they couldn’t achieve themselves. They want their children to achieve it.

Of course, that’s all a rationalization of self-consciousness stemming from wanting their child to do well.

There’s a wider world than you know, but like a camel tied to a tree at night that doesn’t run away even when the rope is untied, remembering the rope.

You’re making your son like that.”

“Who are you! What are you saying!”

Woojin replied to her sharp voice,

“I’m being nosy.”

He wanted to be nosy.

Woojin then pulled a lollipop from his pocket and offered it to the child.

“Minjae, you can be anything. Don’t be constrained like a camel.”