Black Label [EN]: Chapter 133

133. Charming Footprints

Not long after, the cafe door opened, and Lee Kang-jun appeared.

“Boss. Did you wait long?”

“No, not at all.”

Soon, Lee Kang-jun naturally took the seat across from Jae-seung and spoke again.

“By the way, what’s going on? Do you have something to say separately?”

“No. I don’t have any special business. Just think of it as individual employee interviews.”

Jae-seung took a sip of his coffee and smoothly continued.

“Kang-jun is the first, and I plan to have interviews with others sequentially. Since I’ll be buried in work once I go back to Korea, I’m proceeding a bit hastily. Kang-jun, would you like to order first?”

“Yes, I will.”

Lee Kang-jun quickly finished ordering and stood in front of the counter, waiting for his coffee.

Jae-seung was just tapping the innocent table with his fingers, preoccupied with reorganizing his thoughts.

Since an important conversation was expected, he thought it necessary to have enough warm-up time.

To get honest answers, he needed to create an environment where that was possible.

He planned to carefully and slowly guide the conversation to the topic as naturally as possible.

Soon, Lee Kang-jun, holding a takeout cup tightly in one hand, sat down again across from him.

“I’ll enjoy this.”

Jae-seung waved his hand dismissively and replied with a nonchalant tone, “You’re welcome…,” and immediately began, “Kang-jun, how are you doing these days?”

Perhaps because it was a rather broad question, Lee Kang-jun paused for a moment, lost in thought, before beginning to reveal his inner thoughts in a calm tone.

“It feels unreal, maybe because the things I’ve imagined for the past few years have happened so suddenly, all at once.”

“For example?”

“Of course, it’s all thanks to you, boss, but I also had the experience of standing on the stage at the CFDA Fashion Awards [Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Awards], and I even had brief conversations with famous designers I respected….”

He trailed off for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and added again.

“Moreover, if things go well, my picture might even be featured in *Time* magazine, even if it’s small, right? I just keep doubting whether I’m dreaming.”

“Hmm, I think I know how you feel.”

“It’s amazing to see people I’ve only encountered through the media in person, but to be honest, the reason I was really excited was actually something else.”

Jae-seung tilted his head with curious eyes, and Lee Kang-jun continued to speak.

“I might be getting ahead of myself, but I suddenly had hope that someday I might be able to compete with them side by side.”

After speaking, Lee Kang-jun couldn’t hide his embarrassment and rubbed the bridge of his nose, adding again.

“I know it’s still a distant dream, but it’s starting to feel like it’s not completely out of reach anymore.”

Jae-seung nodded a few times with a serious expression, replacing his answer. At that moment, Lee Kang-jun was just busy glancing at Jae-seung out of the corner of his eye. In fact, Lee Kang-jun had decided to tell Jae-seung everything today and ask for his understanding.

He felt uncomfortable because he felt like he was deceiving Jae-seung by hiding his ulterior motives.

But, just in time, Jae-seung received a phone call.

He thought it was a good opportunity to reveal his inner thoughts and ran over, but even after arriving in front of the cafe, he couldn’t go inside right away and hesitated for a long time.

‘Hoo….’

Lee Kang-jun took a deep breath and carefully opened his mouth.

“Um, boss.”

“Yes.”

“Actually, I had something to tell you too.”

“Tell me.”

Lee Kang-jun didn’t know how to get to the point and was hesitating, when Jae-seung smiled faintly and spoke again.

“It’s okay, please speak comfortably.”

Lee Kang-jun lowered his head as if he were a sinner and began to speak with a low voice.

“I’m really sorry to the boss, and I’m ashamed, and I have no excuse….”

“Yes.”

“I think I’ve been getting greedy lately.”

After speaking, Lee Kang-jun clenched his fists tightly on his knees and tried to muster the courage to explain the details, at that moment.

Jae-seung interrupted Lee Kang-jun.

“Kang-jun.”

“Yes.”

Lee Kang-jun slightly raised his head and looked at Jae-seung’s expression again.

The expression was calm, but it seemed much more bland than usual.

That’s how Lee Kang-jun interpreted Jae-seung’s efforts not to show his feelings.

Of course, this misunderstanding was completely resolved in just a few seconds.

“How can the desire for better art be a sin? It’s just a commendable work ethic.”

“…….”

“So, you can speak confidently.”

Rather, he couldn’t raise his head even more because of that. Lee Kang-jun closed his eyes tightly and bit his lower lip.

He would have felt more comfortable if he had been scolded. He would have felt more comfortable if he had just heard one harsh word.

“Kang-jun. Goethe started conceiving *Faust* for the first time when he was just twenty-four years old. Do you know how old he was when he finally completed the work he started conceiving at the age of twenty-four?”

“No, I don’t know.”

“He finally managed to complete *Faust* when he was eighty-two years old. It’s no exaggeration to say that he spent his whole life with *Faust*.”

Jae-seung took a breath and continued to speak.

“To complete each other’s *Faust*, both I and Kang-jun will have to spend our whole lives. We will live repeating long contemplation and short breaks.”

“…….”

“In the process, we will become colleagues and competitors repeatedly. Our brands may collaborate, or we may face off on the runway of a prestigious fashion week. Although separation is inevitable, we will inevitably reunite in some form.”

After speaking, Jae-seung got up and continued.

“So, don’t worry too much.”

Lee Kang-jun slightly raised his head and began to look up at Jae-seung.

“When is the expiration date of this contract?”

“Next June.”

It was next year, but considering that it was already past mid-December, it was only half a year left.

“If you want, I can terminate it right away.”

“No, I want to finish well.”

He meant that he would stay here at Wall Flower until next June, when the contract expires.

Jae-seung nodded with satisfaction, smiled brightly, and said quietly.

“I’m going to go in now, would you like to go in together?”

“I’ll stay a little longer.”

Jae-seung replied, “Okay,” and started walking towards the cafe door, when Lee Kang-jun suddenly said something to Jae-seung.

“Thank you so much.”

Jae-seung looked at Lee Kang-jun for a while with a pleased face.

Silence, heavy as anything, hung between the two for a moment.

Jae-seung smiled quite innocently and continued quietly.

“You’re welcome. Take your time.”

After speaking, Jae-seung left the cafe right away.

Lee Kang-jun, left alone, covered his face with both hands.

Even though he was the one who wanted to leave, it felt like the most unfamiliar and frightening separation he had ever experienced in his life.

“Kkeuheuk… Heueuk….”

Right now, Lee Kang-jun thought there were only two ways he could repay Jae-seung’s kindness, even a little.

First, to successfully complete the work related to Kwon Ji-hoon’s music video, which could be said to be the last work at Wall Flower, and this season.

Then, second, to somehow achieve success as a designer after independence.

And to give all the credit to Jae-seung.

The desire and venom for success that bloomed in his heart seemed to be slowly spreading throughout his body.

* * *

Jae-seung kept the conversation with Lee Kang-jun strictly confidential.

There was nothing to be gained by telling them in advance.

Of course, he didn’t tell the employees, nor did he tell Director Song.

He planned to give them a hint at the appropriate time so that there would be no disruption due to Lee Kang-jun’s departure when the contract expired.

The next day, in the afternoon.

Jae-seung and the employees of Wall Flower headed to Jae-seung’s personal studio in Manhattan to conduct an interview with Leo, a senior editor from *Time* magazine.

Not long after, Leo and a cameraman appeared in the studio.

While the cameraman was checking the equipment, Leo was just trying to ease the tension.

“Lee, I’m telling you just in case, but you don’t have to be too obsessed with special behind-the-scenes stories or heartwarming anecdotes. In fact, a brand that’s been launched for three years is the same as a new brand, right?”

“Um, that’s usually the case. But in fact, our Wall Flower has quite a few interesting stories….”

Leo didn’t give Jae-seung a chance to answer and just kept rambling on.

“I guarantee that even if you just attach the full text of the acceptance speech you gave at the awards ceremony, and mix the brand’s origins and the close friendship of the designers well, it will be a great column. At least, it will be more than enough to satisfy the desires of readers who are interested in Lee.”

Apparently, he was convinced that there would be no behind-the-scenes stories that could grab attention.

Well, it wasn’t unreasonable to think so.

As Leo said, a brand that’s been launched for three years is just a new brand.

How many behind-the-scenes stories and heartwarming anecdotes could a brand that’s only been through six seasons have?

Of course, ‘Wall Flower’….

For a brand that’s been launched for three years, it seemed to have gone through too many diverse experiences and twists and turns.

* * *

Soon, the full-fledged interview began.

Starting with a brief introduction, trivial questions and answers were exchanged for a while.

At Leo’s request, Jae-seung began to list the brand’s history in earnest.

When Jae-seung began to calmly tell the story of preparing for Wall Flower’s first show, the minimalist 2011 F/W [Fall/Winter] season show, Leo seemed unable to contain his excitement and asked in a very excited tone.

“Wait. Just a minute. So you’re saying you sent emails to about 300 overseas fashion figures, inviting them to the first show of a new brand that’s less than a year old?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“It’s completely futile. People with money in every step. There’s no way they’d be moved by an email sent by the owner designer of a new brand….”

It was a topic that had already been made into a column a few times, but it seemed that it was not yet widely known because the related columns were all reported before they gained the same recognition as now.

Even Leo, who occasionally covers fashion figures, didn’t seem to know.

“Actually, I still can’t believe it even when I think about it now. Geraldine Saglio came to see our show, even going through a flight of more than ten hours.”

“Damn it, I just got goosebumps. You both made completely reckless choices. So, then, what’s next-?”

Thanks to Leo’s great reaction, I was able to enjoy the interview while looking back on the past quite interestingly.

Was Leo originally a person who was quite quick to immerse himself in emotions?

Or were the twists and turns that Wall Flower had gone through quite interesting?

Eventually, he seemed to have given up on writing down his words, and he put down his pen and turned on the recorder, listening intently to the story with full concentration.

When I told him about the humiliation I suffered from the Korea Designers Association, he couldn’t contain his anger and jumped up and down, expressing his anger.

When I talked about the moment of revenge, he was happy as if it were his own business.

When he heard the story of how he got involved with Kyle while working as the creative director of Alexander King, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Lee, you were really a great eccentric too. I didn’t know you had a hobby of rummaging through trash cans when you lacked inspiration….”

“Hey, Leo. I don’t have such a hobby. I just happened to find it.”

The conflict he had while preparing for Mark Jacobs and Haute Couture was already widely known through documentaries, so he didn’t bother to go over it.

Finally, after finishing the story of the collaboration product he released with Ryu Seung-ho last season.

“The next thing is this moment. I’m sitting face to face with the senior editor of *Time* magazine, whom I met at the CFDA Fashion Awards. For coverage. Unfortunately, this is the end for now.”

Leo looked at his notebook and recorder alternately, and then muttered in a low voice that was only audible to himself.

“I didn’t know there was such a great source….”

Jae-seung asked back, “What did you say?” as if he was wondering. Leo smiled triumphantly and replied.

“Even if I just had an 8-year-old child write down the story Lee just told me and immediately publish it in *Time* magazine, it would be a disaster.”

“What? If you publish what an 8-year-old child wrote down, it would be a disaster, of course.”

“That’s not what I meant… I meant that there doesn’t seem to be any need for any adaptation or editing.”

Leo shook the recorder in his hand and added one more word.

“I dare to guarantee that this source is unconditionally a hit. I can tell you with everything I have.”

Above Leo’s eyes, there was a deep conviction.