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Chapter 26: Ketchup Picasso (2)
TL: Enuma ID
Friday, 2 p.m.
Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam District. A conference room in the McKing Burger Korea headquarters building.
Park Sang-hoon, Han So-young, Lee Jun.
The three of them sat side by side.
Wëb̀ n̂ӧv̈ ѐ l̇ Е nu m̈ а
The McKing Burger logo was stuck on the conference room door.
Red and yellow. A burger character wearing a crown.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Lee Jun stared blankly at the character.
Two people came in and sat down across from them.
The marketing team leader, Oh Jung-hoon.
A man in his mid-forties. A crisp shirt and tie. There was a practiced confidence in his face.
E n u m_ä
Beside him, the assistant manager in charge, Yu Min-seo.
A woman in her thirties. She opens her laptop, getting ready for the discussion.
Water and coffee sit on the table.
In front of Lee Jun, a single apple juice, the kind that comes with a McKing Burger kids' meal.
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Lee Jun sucked at the juice through his straw, glancing around the conference room.
"Thank you for coming."
W̄ēb ñ ӧ v̀е̃ l. Éňum̂_a
Team Leader Oh spoke first.
"First, let me confirm something. Is this child really the one who painted that picture?"
"Yes. He is."
"Forgive me, but is there some way to prove it? As a company, it's hard for us to move forward without verification."
So-young took out her phone.
There were photos So-young had taken that day at the burger place.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
A photo of the finished picture, and a photo of it held up to the light. And even a photo of Lee Jun holding it.
None of them had been posted online.
"I was there that day, and I took these photos myself."
Team Leader Oh checked the photos. Yu leaned in over her laptop too.
The child in the photos and the child currently sucking on a juice were plainly the same person.
But photos alone weren't enough. Photos could be made to show anything, after all.
Ě ṅumӓ .і d̄
Reading that expression, Park Sang-hoon spoke as though he understood completely.
"He can paint right here, right now. Would you like to see for yourselves?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Team Leader Oh's eyebrows rose.
"Right now? Here?"
"All you need to do is bring some ketchup and parchment paper."
Team Leader Oh looked at Yu. Yu rose from her seat.
Ӗ ñu m а
Five minutes later.
She came back with supplies from the restaurant on the first floor.
Parchment paper, ketchup, mayonnaise. Mustard sauce and a straw were set on the table.
Team Leader Oh and Yu watched intently. Their faces half curious, half skeptical.
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Lee Jun set down his juice and took up the parchment paper.
[Show them. These doubting grown-ups.]
Е̊ nùm а̀ .і̊ d
The Shadow declared, brimming with bravado.
He looked at Team Leader Oh, seated across from him.
A broad forehead. His eyes were sharp.
He was wearing a tie. A blue tie.
The corners of his mouth were turned up. A look that was both expectant and skeptical, as if to say, 'Is this really going to work?'
He squeezed out the ketchup. A round blob in the corner of the parchment paper.
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He set the mayonnaise and mustard ready beside it too.
He picked up the straw.
First, the forehead. It was broad. With the ketchup, he dabbed it on wide and light.
The eyes. Sharp eyes. With the tip of the straw, he pushed the ketchup into two thin lines.
The nose. A single dot of mayonnaise.
The tie. A single vertical line of mustard at the bottom of the parchment paper. Yellow, not blue, but the shape was a tie.
W̊ ѐ_ḃ nо̇ v е́ l̆ Е̄ n̆ ú m a
The mouth. Lips curved with anticipation and doubt. A faint mix of ketchup and mayonnaise.
Team Leader Oh and Yu watched Lee Jun's hands in silence.
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He dips the straw in ketchup and presses dots onto the parchment paper. What it's supposed to be, there's no telling.
On the top of the parchment paper, only ketchup smears appeared.
Red dots. White dots. A pink streak. A yellow line.
Yu tilted her head.
Е̌nu mа̃
Team Leader Oh furrowed his brow too.
'This is supposed to be a painting?'
The ketchup on the parchment paper just looked like sauce stains.
It looked like something spilled. There was no telling whether it was intentional or not.
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It didn't take long.
About a minute.
Е̃ numа
Lee Jun set down the straw.
"All done."
Team Leader Oh looked at the parchment paper.
The top side. It's smeared all over with sauce.
His expression said he honestly couldn't make sense of it.
"If you hold it up like this."
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Lee Jun lifted the parchment paper. Toward the bright ceiling light.
Light passed through the paper.
The parchment paper turned translucent.
The ketchup glowed red.
The mayonnaise shone white.
The mustard shone gold.
Èn u m̄ ӓ .і̆ d̊
And a face appeared.
A broad forehead. Sharp eyes.
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A yellow tie instead of a blue one, but the shape fit exactly.
And even the lips, curved with anticipation and doubt.
It was Team Leader Oh Jung-hoon's face.
"What...?!"
En̊ ù m̌ а̇
Team Leader Oh half-rose from his chair.
"Th, this, what is this?!"
Yu's mouth fell open too. She leaned forward over her laptop.
"Hold on, this is your face, sir!"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Right?!"
Team Leader Oh took the parchment paper up in both hands.
Е́ ńum̃а̊.іd
He held it toward the ceiling light. Toward the brighter spot.
The face grew sharper.
"Good Lord..."
His own face was glowing in ketchup.
His own face, painted by a five-year-old with a straw.
'Ketchup Picasso' was real.
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Team Leader Oh couldn't close his mouth.
'He did this in one minute? With a straw?'
The little kid who'd painted it was slurping away at his apple juice as if it were nothing.
"Pictures! Take pictures!"
Team Leader Oh shouted at Yu.
Yu was already pulling out her phone.
W еb̌ n̈о̃ v е l̆ Ѐǹ u mа̇
She photographed it held up to the light.
Click. Click, click.
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"Change the angle! Different light direction!"
Team Leader Oh held the parchment paper himself and shifted the angle.
To the left. To the right. Right under the light.
At each angle the mood of the picture shifted a little. Yu kept pressing the shutter.
Е n̂ü m̀ ā. i_d̆
"Get the top side too! So we can compare before and after holding it to the light!"
He set it back on the table, and she photographed the top side, the way it looked like nothing but ketchup smears.
Then he raised it again, and she shot it against the light, the way the face appeared.
"This contrast is insane. Just looking at it versus holding it to the light. It turns into a completely different picture!"
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Team Leader Oh couldn't hide his excitement.
True to a marketing man, content was already running through his head.
Eń ũ mа̇
'Before and after. The top of the parchment paper, ketchup stains. Hold it to the light, a portrait.
A five-year-old planned this out and painted it? That alone is already drama!'
Yu went on to switch to video mode.
Team Leader Oh staged the whole process, laying the parchment paper on the table, then slowly lifting it up to the light.
Ketchup stains, slowly catching the light, becoming a face.
"This one thing pulls ten million views on Reels, easy..."
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Yu murmured.
Lee Jun glanced around again, looking for something else to amuse himself.
He had no interest in the grown-ups making a fuss.
[Hmph. Even these doubting grown-ups can't help but admit it now. Jun's skill.]
The Shadow folded its arms in his stead and said it for him, full of self-satisfaction.
Park Sang-hoon, too, watched the scene with his arms folded.
Е̂ n ŭm а́ .і̃d
'That's more than enough to have hooked them.'
Park Sang-hoon cleared his throat.
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"Well then, let's call the identity confirmed. Shall we get down to business?"
Team Leader Oh set down the parchment paper. He forced his excitement down.
He gave his shirt a tug and straightened himself up.
"Ahem, yes. Yu?"
Еǹũ mа̊
"Here is our proposal."
Yu turned the laptop screen to show them.
"The Ketchup Picasso identity reveal event. A verification video and a freshly drawn ketchup painting, posted to McKing Burger's official accounts. Name and face revealed. Ten years of free meals, every item on the menu. And discussion of possible future collaboration on McKing Burger promotions."
Park Sang-hoon listened, nodding. His expression didn't change.
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"Allow me to raise a few points on our side as well."
Park Sang-hoon straightened his back and spoke.
Е_num̆ ӓ . і̆ d
"First. Please hold off on revealing the name and face for now."
Team Leader Oh's expression stiffened slightly.
"Hold off on the reveal? But then the whole event falls apart."
"There's no need to worry about that."
Park Sang-hoon paused a beat. Deliberately.
"This child is preparing for a nationwide art competition coming up soon."
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"An art competition?"
"The National Children's Art Competition, hosted by the Korean Art Association. The most prestigious children's competition the Association runs."
Team Leader Oh narrowed his brow.
"Forgive me. I'm a complete layman when it comes to that field... Do you think there's a chance he'd win?"
The corners of Park Sang-hoon's mouth turned up.
"Of course. On talent alone, a prize is certain. He might even take the grand prize."
W e b̈ nо v.él Е́ǹ u̇m̆а
Team Leader Oh paused.
Park Sang-hoon read the reaction.
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Inside this man's head, too, a calculator was running.
Park Sang-hoon was the same breed of man as Team Leader Oh.
Both men's calculators pointed in the same direction.
Team Leader Oh spoke first.
È ǹ u m̌ а̄ . ǐ d
"So, a five-year-old wins the grand prize at a national art competition."
"Yes."
"And it turns out the kid's secret identity is Ketchup Picasso. The child who painted that astonishing picture with ketchup just took the grand prize at this art competition."
"Yes."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"And McKing Burger reveals it exclusively?"
"Exactly."
Е̇ ń um̆ â
Their eyes met.
Small, beady eyes, and sharp, wide ones.
The two looked nothing alike, but the same light was in their eyes.
It was the look of people who run the numbers.
"There is, however, a problem with that."
Park Sang-hoon took off his glasses and spoke while wiping the lenses.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"You may already know this, but the Korean art world is awfully strict about that sort of thing."
"Strict, meaning...?"
"What I mean is, if he gets famous this way, through the internet or the media, it could actually count against him in the judging. That's why I'm asking you to hold off on the announcement."
"Ah, I see."
"Even if he wins, the prize could be written off as a product of his fame. Then again, the stuffy old Association might refuse to give a five-year-old a prize in the first place."
"Hmm."
E n̊ü m̀ а̊ . íd̂
Team Leader Oh leaned back against his chair and looked at the ceiling.
Then he leaned forward.
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"A five-year-old who won a national art competition turns out to be Ketchup Picasso. That's a winning angle, no question. Pushing the announcement back a little for that is nothing."
Team Leader Oh looked at Yu. Yu nodded.
"All right. The identity reveal goes after the competition."
Team Leader Oh straightened up.
W е b̆ n о̊ v̂е̌ l Е̄ nů m ӓ
"So what can we reveal at this point?"
Park Sang-hoon held up a finger.
"One. That Ketchup Picasso is a real person, and that he's five years old.
Two. That he painted it himself. No AI, no doctoring.
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Three. We release the ketchup painting he made fresh, here, today."
Park Sang-hoon pointed at the parchment paper on the table. Team Leader Oh's face was glowing.
Е n̈ ǔ m̂а_.і d́
"Name, face, and other personal details stay private until the competition ends. Just keep to that, and we're fine."
"That's more than enough."
Team Leader Oh nodded. Then he looked at his notes.
"We'll start the free meals right away. One a day, any single item from the full menu. At any McKing Burger in the country. This is a dedicated event card. Just present this card at the store."
McKing Burger had already made up the dedicated card.
A cute card with the logo on it. The back even had instructions printed on it.
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As So-young took the card, Yu turned the laptop around.
"And there's one more thing we'd like to discuss."
A different screen was up.
It was a new contract clause.
"Regarding future promotions. We'd like to add an exclusivity clause restricting Lee Jun from appearing as an advertising model or taking part in promotional activities for other fast-food brands──"
"That won't be possible."
Е̊ n̈ ǔm̂ а.і̆d̄
This time it was Han So-young who spoke.
Park Sang-hoon looked at So-young. His expression said he hadn't expected her to refuse outright.
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So-young straightened her back and looked at Yu.
"I'm grateful for the free burgers. But we only did this because Jun wanted to. Beyond that, I can't sign any contract that ties this child down to anything."
So-young's voice was firm.
"Jun is still a little boy. He drew that picture because he loves burgers, not to advertise for McKing Burger. Some exposure of his identity can't be helped, I suppose, but he's far too young to be bound by a contract with money changing hands, or by any obligations."
Wėb n̈ о v еl Еn u m̃ а̂
Yu fell silent.
Team Leader Oh, too, looked at So-young without a word.
The guardian who had been sitting quietly until now. A webtoon artist who'd shown up in a worn padded coat.
She was someone who didn't look like she had money to spare.
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And that person had just cut down an exclusivity contract in the conference room of a major corporation's headquarters.
The corners of Park Sang-hoon's mouth turned up. As if intrigued.
Ẇе b̂.n̂о̇v el Е̃nu ma
"...Understood."
Team Leader Oh nodded.
He judged that this was not the place to fight it.
"We'll withdraw the exclusivity clause. For now we'll proceed on the free-meals and identity-private terms, and revisit it after the competition."
"Just a moment."
Before Team Leader Oh had finished, Park Sang-hoon raised a hand.
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Everyone's eyes turned to him.
Park Sang-hoon adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
"Instead of an exclusivity contract, I have a better idea."
Team Leader Oh nodded. His expression said he was willing to hear it.
"McKing Burger is a global company, isn't it? Surely you have at least one social-contribution program?"
"Of course. We run several children's education initiatives, the McKing Kids Program among them."
W ёḃ n õvë l Ën ûm а̊
"We add one more to that. A children's art support initiative."
Park Sang-hoon took his business card from his pocket.
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'Korean Art Association Director, Art Consultant Park Sang-hoon.'
"A children's art sponsorship program jointly run by the Korean Art Association and McKing Burger Korea."
Team Leader Oh's eyebrows rose.
"Each year we select a talented child artist and provide them with art materials. For an aspiring painter like Jun, art supplies; for an aspiring sculptor, sculpting materials, that sort of thing. A year's worth. The Association and McKing Burger confer to choose the recipient, and McKing Burger funds the cost."
Ẁë b́ ñ о̃ vе l̂ Én̊uṁ а̊
Park Sang-hoon paused a beat.
"The name, a working title for now: 'McKing Burger × Korean Art Association Children's Art Scholarship Program'. How does that sound?"
Team Leader Oh looked at Yu. Yu was typing something rapidly on her laptop.
"How much would the annual cost run?"
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Team Leader Oh asked.
"It's the cost of children's art materials. Two to five million won per recipient a year is plenty. Start with one person, and as the program settles in, add two or three more each year."
Ŵ ёb̃ ñ.о̊ v e l̄ Еn̂ù.m̈ à
Two to five million won.
It was an amount that wouldn't even register in McKing Burger Korea's annual marketing budget.
Team Leader Oh knew that too. His eyes began to move. The calculations turned.
"In return, McKing Burger becomes the program's official sponsor. The logo goes on it, press releases go out, and McKing Burger's name appears as a sponsor at the Association's events."
"So it becomes a CSR (corporate social responsibility) activity."
Yu murmured.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Exactly. 'McKing Burger supports children's art'. Not advertising, but social contribution. For brand image, far more effective than any ad."
Team Leader Oh leaned back. He looked at the ceiling.
Sponsorship, not an exclusivity contract.
Force can't lock him down, but a psychological barrier can still be built.
Park Sang-hoon looked at Team Leader Oh.
"'The boy McKing Burger sponsored'. That's stronger than any exclusivity contract. Because you haven't bound him with money, you've sold him a debt of gratitude. Every time that child gives an interview, he'll say, 'I was able to paint thanks to McKing Burger's support'. Even when he's grown, even when he's become one of the world's great painters."
Wѐ b̄ ñ о v е̃l̊ .Е n ü m̆ а̌
The corners of Team Leader Oh's mouth turned up.
He could see the structure this man was driving at.
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Sponsorship was cheaper than exclusivity, sponsorship lasted longer than exclusivity, sponsorship looked better than exclusivity.
And if the program's very first recipient were 'Ketchup Picasso'.
Team Leader Oh looked at Yu. Yu nodded.
"And the Association's side?"
W̄ еḃ n̊о vеl̊ Е̇nûm̈а
"I'm a director. I'll handle the Association's internal procedures myself."
Park Sang-hoon said it with full confidence.
Of course, he hadn't even raised it with the Association yet. Putting it forward as a formal agenda item requires writing a proposal and getting the board's approval. His political opponents might have something to say about it.
But that was a matter for later.
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He'd landed sponsorship from a major corporation. That was a splendid achievement, the kind that would shore up his standing as a director of the Korean Art Association too.
Team Leader Oh straightened up.
W еbn оve l̊ Еnu mа
"Let me sum up."
Yu turned the laptop around.
"First, on Ketchup Picasso. Identity stays private; we confirm he's five and reveal the new work; ten years of free meals on the full menu; and after the competition, the identity reveal is McKing Burger's exclusive.
Second, the new children's art scholarship program. Jointly run by McKing Burger Korea and the Korean Art Association. An annual recipient selected, with art supplies sponsored.
Are these terms acceptable?"
Team Leader Oh asked So-young.
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So-young looked at Park Sang-hoon.
What this man had just done was coming together in her head.
After cutting away the exclusivity contract, he'd slotted a sponsorship program into the empty space.
Lee Jun would receive art-supply support. With no contractual obligations.
The Korean Art Association had drawn in a corporate sponsorship program. That's a credit to Park Sang-hoon.
McKing Burger had pursued CSR instead of an exclusivity contract. Lower cost, higher efficiency.
Е̄ n u.m а̄
Nobody came out worse for it.
For Jun, too, a formal contract would have been a burden, but art-supply sponsorship was no problem.
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It was a structure in which everyone gained.
It's true that Park Sang-hoon is a petty, calculating man.
But in moments like this, that calculation worked to everyone's benefit.
"...Thank you. These are good terms."
Е̄n u̇m а
So-young bowed her head.
"Then we'll prepare the contracts as two separate documents. The Ketchup Picasso event one with Lee Jun's guardian. The scholarship program one separately, with the Association, later."
"Yes. I'll receive and review the Association's contract myself later."
"Thank you."
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So-young bowed her head.
Inside, Team Leader Oh was smiling.
Е n̊ ū m а. i d́
It was a shame the exclusivity hadn't gone through, but the card of a post-win reveal was a big one.
Pivoting toward CSR was a good move, too. The outcome was beyond his expectations.
Once he had the card secured, exclusivity could be discussed again later anyway.
Drafts of the event contract went back and forth.
Park Sang-hoon went through the clauses one by one. So-young checked them beside him.
Lee Jun, meanwhile, had finished his juice and was playing at drawing the McKing Burger logo on a sheet of paper.
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The world of grown-ups was long and dull.
"All done?"
Lee Jun asked So-young.
So-young smiled.
"Yeah. All done."
"Then let's go home. I've gotta paint."
W еb̆.ǹóṽ еl Е̇ n̆umа́
Team Leader Oh looked at Lee Jun.
A five-year-old who'd painted his face in ketchup in one minute. A five-year-old telling them to hurry home so he could paint.
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'On talent alone, a prize is certain. He might even take the grand prize.'
Just how meaningful a national art competition is, he doesn't know.
But a five-year-old wins a prize at a national competition. That was, without doubt, an extraordinary thing.
How much attention it drew was all in the packaging. And packaging was their domain, the marketing team's specialty.
W ě b n_о̇ṽēl Е̇nům̌а̀
'Ketchup Picasso', the one who'd made art out of ketchup at McKing Burger.
McKing Burger had sponsored that boy. And he'd won a prize at a national competition.
This was bound to spark a huge sensation.
A marketing effect that billions of won couldn't buy.
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And as he watched the little boy's back disappear out of the conference room, Team Leader Oh quietly swallowed, his mouth watering.
*****
Е̃ n̈ ǔ ṁа. іḋ
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