The next day quickly arrived. Minjae arrived at the Lux & Co. building dressed in a sleek, minimalist outfit that the brand had previously given to him. He was with Donghyun, who was walking.
They were escorted into one of the brand's elegant conference rooms.
The room was bright and spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a stunning view of the city skyline. Inside, a few key mbers of the Lux & Co. marketing and brand team stood to greet them warmly.
"Minjae-ssi! It's so good to see you again."
"Thank you for having us again," Minjae said politely, offering a slight bow.
They exchanged a few pleasantries before settling into their seats. The staff poured water on their caps before a slide was loaded on the projector. Their eting quickly began, setting aside the unnecessary chatter first.
"First of all," Sohee, the campaign manager of the company, started. She clicked a button on her mouse, moving the slide to show the agenda of their eting for the day. "We want to thank you for your incredible work on the recent campaign."
The screen showed a few clips and videos from the event that recently happened. In there, Minjae's face and visuals could be seen as he walked with pride, carrying their brand's design flawlessly.
"Honestly," another team mber added, "in just a week since we launched the designs, we've recorded one of our highest-performing sales ever."
She clicked to the next slide, which revealed a graph shooting upward.
"We saw a 47% increase in online sales within the first three days," Yoonhee explained. "Not just that, but physical stores reported an increase in foot traffic, especially younger custors coming in and asking about the clothes that Minjae was wearing."
"Woah!" Donghyun let out a low whistle and glanced at Minjae, clearly impressed.
"That's really good to hear," Minjae said modestly, his tone steady despite the hint of surprise in his eyes.
"You don't have to be so humble. We're actually beyond thrilled. Our social dia following also jumped," Sohee chuckled as she moved on to another slide, showing the jump of their followers.
"As you can see, our hashtag trended for two days straight, and we received good feedback from both our current custors and brand partners."
The room agreed with positive energy, and then she clicked the final slide. It was a picture of Minjae from the campaign shoot, with the words "Welco to the Family" in cursive font below.
"That brings us to why we really asked you to co in today," she continued, showing a small smile.
"We were already happy with our initial partnership, but after this… we'd like to offer you sothing more permanent."
Donghyun straightened in his seat, his eyes narrowing slightly with interest. Minjae also blinked, his brows rising as if he didn't expect it.
"You an…" he began, unsure of it.
"We want you to officially join the Lux & Co. family as our brand ambassador, for both dostic and international campaigns," Sohee clarified at it. "This would an extending your contract longer and giving you a more central role in future launches of our brand."
"That's… woah. I didn't expect this." Minjae's lips parted slightly in surprise.
Sohee chuckled. She could totally understand what Minjae was feeling. They really kept it hidden, wanting to surprise Minjae
"Oh well, we've prepared the draft of the updated agreent. Of course, you can go through everything in detail, but the important thing is that we believe in you, Minjae-ssi. And we want to grow with you."
"I see…" There was silence as Minjae processed everything.
A wave of warmth blood in his chest. Just yesterday, he was thinking of the rejection by the role that he wanted, and now, he was being offered a new opportunity,
It may not be as big as the role, but for a rookie like him, it was sothing even bigger than he imagined.
Minjae glanced at Donghyun, who gave him a small nod of encouragent, before looking back at the Lux & Co. team.
"I'd be honored," he said sincerely. It was such a good thing. "Thank you for believing in ."
The room was filled with smiles and soft applause as the eting ended on a high note. The staff began to move around again, preparing refreshnts as they printed out a few official docunts for review.
As they exited the room a little later, Minjae stepped into the hallway beside Donghyun.
"Not a bad way to start the day, huh?" Donghyun said, nudging him lightly.
"Yeah. Not bad at all." Minjae let out a small laugh, more at ease than he'd been in days.
As they walked through the hallway of the Lux & Co. building, Donghyun pulled out his phone, tapping sothing quickly with a small smirk on his face.
"Well, that ans your mood is now good, right?" Donghyun said suddenly.
Minjae's forehead creased. "What do you an?"
However, Donghyun just grinned. There was mischief in his eyes.
"You'll see."
Before Minjae could press the topic further, Donghyun clapped him lightly on the shoulder and gestured toward the elevator.
"Co on. Since you've been sulking all day, we're going sowhere."
"Where?" Minjae narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"You'll find out when we get there."
"Hyung…" Minjae said slowly, already wary.
Donghyun laughed as the elevator doors slid open.
"Just trust this old uncle, alright?"
"I literally have no choice. You're the one who drove here, and aside from that, you're my manager." Minjae sighed dramatically but followed him in.
"Exactly, Minjae-ssi" Donghyun replied, clearly too pleased with himself and the plan that he had.
The ride to their mystery location was filled with Donghyun humming along to the radio and Minjae eyeing him with a mix of suspicion and mild amusent.
Donghyun refused to say a single thing about where they were headed, which only made Minjae more curious about it.
Eventually, they pulled up to a café. It was a decent-sized one tucked along a quieter side street in the city. The exterior was warm and cozy-looking, with big windows and brown signage just at the side of the door that read "Coffee & Grounds."
"Co on." Donghyun parked the car in front of the café and turned off the engine.
"We're getting coffee?" Minjae tilted his head, still confused.
"Just go," Donghyun said, already stepping out of the car. "Stop asking too many questions."
Minjae followed him into the café, the bell on the door giving a soft ding as they entered. Inside, the scent of roasted coffee beans and pastries imdiately enveloped them. The space had a rustic-modern design with soft hanging lights,
A quiet playlist of acoustic tunes filled the room, but the mont Minjae stepped through the door, sothing shifted.
Minjae blinked as his forehead creased.
The cafe was not overly crowded, but it had more people than he expected. But what caught him off guard wasn't the number of people, it was who those people were.
So of the people wore matching pins. Others had subtle banners laid neatly across their laps. A few held cutout pictures of a man. And right at the center, there was a banner, designed by those people.
"Welco, Minjae!"
The people inside weren't just any other people. They were his fans.
His fans…
"Wait…" Minjae turned to Donghyun, his eyes widened. "What is this?"
Donghyun didn't answer imdiately. Instead, he stepped forward with a grin and waved toward the fans.
"Okay, okay, you can scream, guys, but just a little bit. Minjae doesn't know anything about this."
As if on cue, a soft wave of cheers and excited giggles filled through the café. It was obvious that everyone had been waiting for a long ti.
"Minjae-oppa!"
"Oh my god, he's really here!"
"He looks even better in person—!"
"Annyeong, Minjae-ssi!"
"Wahhhh!"
The fans stood up from their seats, so were clapping gently while others clutched the small gifts and banners they'd prepared as if they wanted to show them to Minjae. After shouting, the sound was followed by gasps of disbelief.
One fan near the front held up a homade sign that read.
"You shine even when it's cloudy."
Minjae, who still trying to process everything, blinked in awe. His lips parted, speechless, as he looked at the faces of everyone.
"This is…" He looked at Donghyun again, stunned. He was really stunned.
"You really did this?"
"Told you to trust this old uncle." Donghyun uttered as he patted his chest, looking proud of himself. gave him a wink.
One of the fans stepped forward, smiling brightly.
"We wanted to cheer you up. We heard about the casting news, and… even if it didn't work out this ti, we just wanted you to know you're doing amazing. We're proud of you, Minjae-ssi."
"And congratulations on becoming a brand ambassador! We saw the campaign, it was so cool!" Another added in.
More voices joined in, each saying different encouraging lines.
"We're always rooting for you!"
"You inspire us every day!"
"Don't forget, Minjae-oppa—you've already made it in our hearts."
"We will support you everyday!"
"We can't wait for your new drama!"
"Minjae-ssi!"
"Minjae-ssi!"
"Minjae-ssi!"
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