Cheat day

Be Happy (7)

We held a meeting to discuss Baek Woo-jin’s nationwide Secret Santa game.

In one group were Ju Ji-seung and Choi Mi-kael from Banyasikgyeong, while Cha Ji-chan and Ahn Sang-kyu represented Jimggun. Baek Woo-jin and Lee Ji-hye were in Ujinious, and the Banchang store had me and Mukunji together.

“It’s too bleak. There’s nothing to laugh about, no hope. That’s why we need Secret Santa,” Baek Woo-jin stressed the need for a nationwide Secret Santa.

“Those who participate will realize they can bring joy to someone else and gain self-esteem from it. Conversely, the recipients might be surprised at first, but they will be happy, realizing someone is watching them. You can check academic references for this.”

There are countless papers and articles on the subject.

Without even needing to verify, since it was Baek Woo-jin’s idea, it was clear that Secret Santa would have a positive impact on people.

However, there seemed to be a problem with the method.

Baek Woo-jin argued that filming Secret Santa videos with subscribers and uploading them to YouTube would definitely bring joy to people. But getting thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, to participate wouldn’t just come with good outcomes.

As the saying goes, “Where there are blessings, there are troubles.”

“Why?”

When PD Lee Ji-hye raised her hand, Baek Woo-jin pointed at her.

“It won’t work.”

“What won’t work?”

“Secret Santa.”

We all were filled with concerns, but I didn’t expect PD Lee Ji-hye to step in first.

“First of all, let’s say we expect 600,000 participants, or even just 60,000. How are you going to verify the videos they upload?”

PD Lee Ji-hye looked around.

“Even if you combine all the staff at the Sadang Family, there are only about 50 people, right? Even if we assume 50, each person would have to watch 1,200 videos. If the videos are shorts, lasting just one minute, that’s 1,200 minutes. That’s 20 hours. And good videos will need interviews, right? We can’t just watch them once to select. Traveling across the country for interviews, filming, and uploading? What about other work? Are you out of your mind?”

“We can just extend the time!”

“Second.”

Lee Ji-hye cut off Baek Woo-jin’s response.

“Even at a minimum, that’s several thousand people. Have you thought about what could happen if 600,000 people participate, as you say? It’s utterly ridiculous. Just because they’re our channel subscribers, we can’t assume they’re all good people. Fine. Let’s say we trust our subscribers without any evidence. What about everyone else? What if someone uses Secret Santa as an excuse to stalk others? How are we supposed to handle that?”

“Why is that our fault?”

“Right. It’s not our fault. But do you think other people will think that way? Those looking for a chance will swarm and say crimes happened because of the Sadang Family. How will you deal with that?”

That’s actually the most concerning issue.

We would never encourage criminal behavior. If we proceed as Baek Woo-jin suggested, we’d definitely warn against such actions, but human behavior is unpredictable.

If I can’t control the people around me, how can I control the actions of thousands or tens of thousands?

“But still!”

“It’s a good thing.”

Lee Ji-hye interrupted Baek Woo-jin once more.

“The thought of creating a better world. It may seem reckless and foolish, but I like it. And I believe everyone here sympathizes with that to some degree.”

Lee Ji-hye looked around at us before focusing back on Baek Woo-jin.

“Lunch boxes. The nationwide trek. If we only considered costs, those wouldn’t have been feasible. But we didn’t oppose it because it was a good cause. Also, mentioning the Sadang Family helped in channel operations.”

“This case is no different.”

“It is different. At least the lunch boxes and the trek had visible results. We sold healthy lunch boxes at a loss to those who needed affordable and nutritious meals, and we also donated. The trek was supported by donations from viewers and promised funding from WH. But what about Secret Santa?”

Baek Woo-jin couldn’t respond.

“Secret Santa may be one way to create a happier world, as you say. But can you quantify that? How will you prove the results?”

“It’s not necessary to quantify everything.”

“It is necessary. Because we’re a company.”

Lee Ji-hye understands Baek Woo-jin’s heart better than anyone.

That’s why she can articulate the practical problems in detail.

She must have contemplated all these examples and counterarguments while thinking about how to implement Baek Woo-jin’s idea and the possible outcomes.

And after all this consideration, she deemed it impossible, hence her firmness.

She was someone who had stood by Baek Woo-jin during his toughest times.

“Someone told me, ‘I became happy through Secret Santa. I gained self-esteem.’ Who would believe that? Me? The people here? Are you going to lecture the public on what you explained to the subscribers for 10 or 20 minutes?”

“……”

“Emotionally, they might understand. But to logically convince them, you need something visible. They won’t wait 10 minutes for you.”

“……”

“The reason lunch boxes and the nationwide trek received great responses and were highly regarded is that there were accurate figures. Young people who gave up millions of won in sales and lost 8 million won while dedicating their labor and time. The warm hearts and passion of the young people who took out 10 million won from their own pockets over three weeks. Just conveying that fact already wrapped it up nicely. But what about this?”

Lee Ji-hye shook her head.

“You can make people happy and bring them joy. You’ve done that until now. But this method isn’t it. Find another way.”

Baek Woo-jin’s fists trembled.

As Baek Woo-jin was systematically countered with detailed arguments against his ideals, he felt frustrated, as his intentions were genuine.

However, being the intelligent person he is, he seemed to understand well what Lee Ji-hye was conveying.

Lee Ji-hye denied the method of Secret Santa but encouraged finding another way.

Since she didn’t misinterpret or distort his true intentions, he calmly waited for alternative opinions instead of shouting or throwing a tantrum, which showed how sincere he was about this matter. This deepened the concern for all members of the Sadang Family, including myself.

We were contemplating how to salvage Baek Woo-jin’s idea.

“Hmm. My thoughts are a bit different,” Choi Mi-kael broke the silence.

“Woo-jin’s idea is pure, unlike what the Nam-Sadang troupe has done in the past. It’s not about giving money or food, but simply sharing hearts,” he continued.

Everyone focused on Choi Mi-kael.

“Second, it’s something we can do easily.”

“Ahem.”

Ahn Sang-kyu cleared his throat.

Everyone looked bewildered, except for Ju Ji-seung, who casually sipped his coffee as if this was familiar.

“What do you mean?”

Mukunji asked.

“Whether it’s 60,000 or 600,000 participants, the Nam-Sadang troupe can’t handle that number. So managing it from the start is impossible. We need to let it go.”

“What does that mean?”

“Woo-jin’s idea is practically unfeasible to implement. Even a large broadcaster like WTV would need months to prepare for something of this scale. Therefore, we need to approach it in a way that we can manage.”

“…Online?”

Mukunji asked, confirming.

“Exactly.”

Choi Mi-kael grinned.

“Is there a rule that Secret Santa has to happen in real life?”

“…Not really,”

Cha Ji-chan replied.

“We just need to tweak the method a little. For example, we could have subscribers choose one person each for Secret Santa and leave likes or positive comments on the posts of their selected person.”

“Hmm.”

“We could also act together. There are many good creators who don’t get the recognition they deserve. We could go to their channels, whether it’s 60,000 or 600,000 of us, and leave likes and comments. They’d probably be bewildered, right? They might even cry from happiness. That reaction would be interesting.”

Choi Mi-kael chuckled slyly.

“Also, we could comment on negative comments like this: ‘You’re just feeling a little down right now. You can be a good person. I hope you regret this comment later.’ We could leave thousands of the same comment. Don’t you think the reaction from those trolls would be amusing?”

I was too shocked to close my mouth.

“By engaging online like this, we can prevent any illegal activities that might happen in real life. We can quantify the results too. Plus, it wouldn’t cost us anything. The participants can leave comments together, so it won’t require much labor. If we select the most liked positive comments, we won’t even need to check each comment individually.”

It felt a bit off, but I understood why Choi Mi-kael had seen success in content planning until now.

If this were to be done offline, we’d be overwhelmed with budget, labor, and management issues, and we wouldn’t even know where to start.

Now, transitioning online seemed to solve most of those problems.

“That makes sense. Speaking of good deeds, there’s a YouTuber I know who collects trash at the beach.”

Ju Ji-seung mentioned someone he wanted to highlight.

“I think positive comments would be better than targeting trolls. If hundreds of thousands of people leave positive comments, it’d make them happy and create a buzz.”

“Using the same comment would be even better. If we commented ‘Have a good day’ with the Sadang Family logo, it’d be perfect.”

Cha Ji-chan and Ahn Sang-kyu shared their ideas.

“I agree. Using a unified message can promote our Secret Santa activity and generate some buzz. It’d be good to target heroes or people facing difficulties who have been introduced in news or other YouTube channels.”

Mukunji supported Ahn Sang-kyu’s opinion while proposing a new idea.

“I’m thinking of small business owners. They’re really struggling these days, especially regarding reviews. Of course, we’d need to experience it firsthand. I want to find a way to include them as our targets.”

I also shared my thoughts.

Initially, the meeting’s atmosphere was negative and headed in the wrong direction, but gradually it shifted towards a positive outlook.

“What do you think, Ji-hye?”

Ju Ji-seung asked Lee Ji-hye.

Everyone turned their attention to PD Lee Ji-hye.

“…There’s room for refinement, but it definitely sounds good. It seems promising.”

When she showed a positive attitude, Baek Woo-jin, who had been trying to maintain his composure, wiped away tears.

“What’s wrong?”

Cha Ji-chan looked at Baek Woo-jin in disbelief.

Ju Ji-seung pulled out a tissue and handed it to him, and I, feeling worried, looked up and asked,

“Are you crying?”