WHTS Company does not have a cafeteria. So in the early days, when it was meal time, I had to go out to a nearby restaurant to eat.
Free choice of menu is an advantage, but everything else was a disadvantage.
The distance traveled, the waiting time was long, and, crucially, it was too cumbersome.
It was a problem that could be solved if the office building was moved to a wider place, but it could be solved overnight.
So, recently, the second floor of the building was remodeled into a large cafe and lounge, and during mealtimes, food was airlifted from a catering buffet company.
Wider seating area, quality food, diverse menu, and close accessibility.
Even with the temporary measures, the satisfaction level of the employees was high. I, too, didn’t want to go far, so I had lunch delivered and ate, so I was satisfied with the business trip buffet.
However, eating in the company inevitably caused trouble.
“Wats subscribers are increasing at a faster rate than last week. Previously, growth was centered on Asia, but now it is the United States, Europe, South America, and the Middle East. The response is coming all over the world. As for what that means.”
Didn’t they say that even dogs don’t touch them when they eat?
I also wanted to stop working, even if it was just to eat, but the surrounding environment doesn’t let me go.
“Now, Psy and Watts have become global SNSs and have laid the foundation for competing with Facebook. If this trend can continue… … .”
The person next to me who pours out words like a waterfall is Gong Min-joon.
He talks a lot. Not just a lot, but a lot. If you listen closely, you’ll wonder how he breathes while he’s talking.
‘No one was going to eat with Gong Min-joon, so this must be the reason.’
He could have asked for quiet to eat, but Gong Min-joon’s expression was too bright for that.
“These days, the SNS team is working overtime, so there must be a lot of hard work, but Team Leader Gong is full of energy.”
“This is nothing to me. In the past, when Cy Club was in full swing, I went to work at 8:00 in the morning and worked until 3:00 in the morning.”
“Can a person survive working like that?”
“At that time, things worked so well that I didn’t even know how difficult it was. I never thought that Psy’s popularity would fade so quickly… … Missing the timing to switch to mobile was fatal.”
If Cy Club had quickly changed to fit the mobile environment and the Nationion messenger had aggressively expanded for free, the history of the domestic SNS industry would have changed.
Maybe there has been a change not only domestically, but also globally.
However, from the moment Psy was absorbed by a large company, ‘quick response’ was impossible in the first place.
By the time we finished our conversation, the soup had cooled down.
As I was getting up to get the soup again, I heard a rough voice coming from the entrance of the restaurant.
“Hey sh*t! Call a representative! Call the representative quickly!”
A man I had never seen before was caught and dragged away by security staff.
An outsider wouldn’t have been able to pass through the entrance in the first place, so how did that person get here?
My curiosity led me to the center of the turmoil.
“oh! CEO.”
The employee in charge who saw me bowed her head in surprise.
“Is there a problem?”
“Ah, that. No big deal, protesters against social mining. They say he came in disguised as a restaurant official.”
As the price of Acorn Coin has fallen recently, the voices against social mining have been growing.
However, it was only to the extent that there were dissenting opinions, it was never to the point where they came to the company and protested.
From noble mtl dot com
“you! do you represent Do you know how much I’ve lost because of you? hey! let go of this! let go! Mr. X!”
The man in the red vest screamed as he stood up to the blood in his neck.
“Sir, you can’t do this here.”
“Did I tell you to let go? Don’t catch it.”
“You must exit. Or I will call the police.”
The man continued to fuss for a while after that and was dragged away.
As I stare blankly at it, the staff in charge is busy bowing its head.
“I’m sorry. In the future, we will strengthen the control of all access personnel.”
I turn my gaze and look out the window. At the entrance of the company, like the man I saw earlier, people in red vests were standing in a row.
“I don’t think it can be done by just strengthening control.”
* * *
“Nonsense. This is nonsense.”
Na Min-seong He had been repeating the same words like a parrot ever since.
That’s also true, because the expert who was said to help manipulate public opinion was a real NIS employee.
If someone else had said this, they would have taken it as a joke.
However, the person who said this is a powerful person in Korea who can really move the NIS.
Her words were infinitely light, but the power of words was by no means light.
“Whoa… … sh*t.”
I stopped by a nearby pharmacy and took two tablets of Cheongsimhwan, but the tremors do not subside. Rather, it seems that the heart palpitations have intensified.
‘Can I really get help from them? If something goes wrong, I won’t be blamed for everything, right?’
It’s a relief if you just cover it up, but if it happens, you might find it as a dead body the next day.
I wanted to run away right away, but I couldn’t. I’ve already stepped in too deep.
“sh*t. sh*t. sh*t.”
As I walked, the meeting place was right in front of me.
It is a commercial building with an old coffee shop sign.
The building was very old, but it wouldn’t be strange if the NIS had a secret office in a place like this.
Sigh.
When you open the door and enter, the smell of smoke and musty musty wafts in.
The inside looked like it had been completely stripped of an old coffee shop. It’s like going back in time to the 90’s.
As I was looking around the car more, a gruff voice came from inside.
“What are you doing? Sit down as soon as you come.”
An old man in a shabby clothes was sitting there. There was nothing special about the outfit, but the weight emanating from the eyes made Na Min-seong nervous.
“Here is that… … Is this the NIS office?”
“what?”
The old man grinned and held up a coffee cup to show.
“Do you see this as an office? It’s just a coffee shop. I called you here to talk over coffee.”
“… … .”
“And I’m retired now, so I’m not even an NIS agent. He’s just an old man taking care of his pastime.”
Na Min-seong was exhausted. It wasn’t a real NIS office, and the other person wasn’t even an incumbent NIS employee.
‘Why did that stupid b*tch introduce you to such an old fellow?’
Still, it was too early to be disappointed. If you go inside the building, there are computers lined up, and there may be NIS employees working on public opinion.
“Let me ask you a few questions.”
Na Min-seong faithfully answered the question of a former NIS senior. Who is to be attacked, the direction in which public opinion is moving, and the ultimate goal to be achieved.
Even though the conversation went on for a long time, no NIS agent showed up.
Impatient Na Min-seong throws a question impatiently.
“excuse me… … Elderly. Is it right to work here?”
“How do you work here?”
“That’s right, with a computer… … .”
When the word computer comes out, the old man hits the desk.
“Yeki! These days, young people are in vain, and they know that computers are the worst when they do anything.”
“How do you work with public opinion without a computer?”
“wait. It will arrive soon.”
As soon as the old man’s words run out, a muffled sound comes from the cafe entrance.
“Look at that. You came right away.”
“Who is coming?”
“Experts in this field.”
The cafe door opens and old people in red hats rush in. They seem to be at least in their 70s and at most older than that.
‘driving me crazy. What are you doing with these old people?’
While Na Min-seong sits with a rotten expression on his face, the elderly eagerly take care of things like mats and sticks.
Around the time the rough arrangement is over, an old man from the NIS approaches.
“You guys get ready to go too.”
“Where are you going?”
“Where are you? It will work.”
* * *
The place where the NIS old man followed was Pangyo, where the WHTS Company was located.
Already in front of the building, men in red vests were protesting to withdraw social mining.
It was nice to have allies with the same goal, but even so, there were only about 10 of them. It was a small number of people, less than 20 people, including the elderly.
“Senior, are you sure you came here to protest?”
“that’s right.”
“no… … under… … .”
Na Min-seong was stunned and at a loss for words. He shouted that he was a former NIS employee, but in the end, he said that he was an elderly protester.
I had endured it because of Choi Myung-ja, but now that was the limit.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Are you kidding?”
“How can you sway public opinion with such a prank? Ugh, I’m an asshole who believed in me.”
As Na Min-seong was about to leave his seat, a truck arrives this way.
In the luggage compartment of the truck, there was a simple stage facility and a large amp that seemed to be used in a concert hall.
And right after that, tour buses arrive one after another.
“What, what?”
A total of 6 tour buses were full of people.
The elderly wait at the entrance of the bus and hand out red vests, headbands and flags to everyone who gets off.
If each bus seats 45 people, it is 270 people.
When a large number of people started protesting by occupying even the road, the police came out and started controlling traffic.
And when the stage setting is almost complete, this time three broadcasting vehicles arrive.
-This is Pangyo, where the cryptocurrency rally is in full swing. Protesters are demanding the withdrawal of social mining, which was enforced by the WHTS company a while ago.
-There are already 3,000 demonstrators gathered by the police… … .
-The purpose of the demonstrations is to protect the assets of investors, and if WHTS Company does not respond, the government is requesting that they actively step in.
The broadcasting station takes pictures of the protests and even interviews the protesters.
All of this fit together like a ruler, giving me goosebumps to watch.
‘Is this the know-how they have accumulated over decades?’
It was only a matter of time before public opinion would intensify if the protests continued like this several times, went up and down on TV, and spread to the Internet.
“hey! What are you doing there?”
From the side of the stage, an old NIS agent is heard calling.
“If you’ve come this far, shouldn’t you have to pay for the meal too?”
He places the microphone in Na Min-sung’s hand. He then points towards the simple stage that has just been completed.
“You mean to go up there?”
“Then who is doing it here? Say what you were trying to say on the Internet over there. I’m filming, so I’m going to go on the air as it is.”
It started with the idea of internet comments or cheap articles, but somehow I ended up getting on terrestrial broadcasting.
Na Min-seong hesitantly goes up on stage and turns on the microphone.
– Dear investors. What happened to the cryptocurrency market because of Social Coin? It crashed! Still, WHTS Company is in a hurry to satisfy self-interest!
Every time Na Min-seong says a word, the windmen shout slogans.
“They are very bad guys!”
“WHTS Company Awake! Wake up!”
Hearing slogans, the people who were mobilized by bus were not skilled enough to attend once or twice.
-If WHTS Company knows the seriousness of the situation, the representative should come out and apologize to the investors!
As time goes by, the sound of the chanting becomes more intense.
“Right! apologize! Apologize!”
“If you have a conscience, the representative will come forward!”
“Come on! Come on! Come on! Come out!”
When the angry voices came together, I felt spleen as if something had really happened. In such an atmosphere, it is likely to create sins that were not there.
When the protest continued for about ten more minutes, out of nowhere, the protesters started to murmur.
“What’s going on?”
Protesters were looking at the right side of the stage, towards the entrance of the WHTS Company.
Na Min-seong also reflexively looked back at the place, but at the same time, ‘Billion!’ A voice pops out.
At the entrance of the building, the representative of WHTS Company came out holding a microphone.
-hello. I am the CEO of WHTS Company you have been looking for. I came here to resolve misunderstandings through dialogue with the representative of the protesters.
If he was the representative of the protesters, he meant himself on stage.
Na Min-seong was about to leave the stage as soon as he thought he was in trouble. But it’s already too late. His gaze had been following Na Min-seong from earlier.