Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 122

Jayden complained,

“It seems Woojin likes Seokhyun more than me.”

Woojin asked,

“Are you going on about the iPhone again?”

Jayden whined,

“How could he give Seokhyun an iPhone for his birthday? I want one too!”

Woojin replied,

“Well, Seokhyun is loyal to WJ Studio, after all.”

Jayden protested,

“I am too!”

Woojin sighed,

“But it’s not your birthday.”

Jayden continued to complain,

“It’s soon! February, remember?”

Woojin said,

“Besides, you already have an iPhone.”

Jayden exclaimed,

“Wow! Why did Mum have to buy me an iPhone in the first place! I want a new one!”

Woojin said,

“Could you be quiet, Jayden? You’re distracting me from driving.”

Woojin was driving his sleek, black car towards Yongsan. Sunlight streamed through the windows, warming the leather seats. Outside, the city rushed by in a blur of tall buildings and busy streets. Jayden sat in the passenger seat, and Soyeon was in the back. The reason for this outing was simple: Bruno, the Spanish architect he’d met at the contest, had invited them to his office.

The invitation had been extended some time ago, but they couldn’t find a time that suited everyone. Bruno was incredibly busy, and Woojin was even busier. Finding a time that worked was proving difficult.

‘I’ve always wanted to visit Bruno’s office,’ Woojin thought.

Woojin knew all about ‘Glacial Tower’, the hotel building designed by Bruno that was nearing completion. It was a high-rise building that stood tall along the Yongsan main street, its shape resembling a glacier. He had even stayed there in his past life and remembered being greatly impressed during his first visit.

The curtain wall was ingeniously utilized, creating a beautiful effect that made you feel as if you were inside a block of ice when you entered the building. Blue glass flowed in a regular pattern from the exterior, seamlessly continuing the design mood to the interior, a truly beautiful piece of architecture.

As Glacial Tower began to come into view in the distance, Woojin pointed to it and spoke,

“See that blue shimmering building over there?”

Soyeon asked,

“Oh, that one?”

Woojin nodded.

“That’s right. That’s Glacial Tower. It was designed by Bruno.”

Soyeon leaned forward, her eyes wide as she gazed at Glacial Tower. A thrill ran through her. *This is it*, she thought, *the building I’ve read about in textbooks. And I’m going to see the office where it was designed!*

Jayden had been complaining about the iPhone. But then he saw the building. The amazing building made him stop talking.

“Wow. That was designed by Bruno? Impressive.”

Woojin asked,

“Jayden, why the sudden interest? Do you know about this building?”

Jayden replied,

“Sure. I can see it from my house.”

Woojin was surprised.

“Huh……?”

“It’s the building I see from my bedroom window, but I never knew it was designed by Bruno.”

Woojin briefly recalled the layout of Jayden’s house. He had been there just a few days ago for Seokhyun’s birthday party, so he could roughly figure out from which location Bruno’s building would be visible.

‘Well, Jayden’s house is in Yongsan-gu too, so it would be stranger if he couldn’t see such a tall building.’

Woojin parked the car in the underground parking lot of a building near Glacial Tower, as Bruno had instructed beforehand. That was the building where Bruno’s architectural firm was located.

Taking the elevator to the third floor, they were greeted by Bruno, who was waiting with a warm smile.

“Welcome, Woojin, Jayden, and Soyeon. I am glad you came to my office.”

Woojin was slightly surprised to see Bruno speaking Korean, though his pronunciation was a little awkward but understandable.

“Bruno, you know how to speak Korean?”

Bruno pondered Woojin’s question for a moment, then answered with an embarrassed smile.

“No. A little. A little bit.”

The conversation with Bruno mostly took place in English. There was Bruno’s personal translator in the office, but there was no need for her assistance. Soyeon was also quite fluent in English, and Jayden was fluent in English, like a native speaker.

“What do you think? Coming to the office isn’t that special, is it? Although I haven’t been there, I imagine it’s not much different from Woojin’s office.”

Bruno’s office certainly looked rather humble compared to his reputation. Compared to Woojin’s luxuriously decorated WJ Studio, it was just an ordinary office. However, from Bruno’s perspective, he couldn’t be sure how long he would be working in Korea, so it was impossible for him to decorate his office as lavishly as Woojin had.

“The office isn’t what matters. We were curious to see how a world-renowned designer like Bruno works.”

Soyeon added,

“That’s right. It’s a real honour just to see Bruno’s design process.”

Bruno looked embarrassed at the stream of compliments from Woojin and Soyeon. He could sense the sincerity in their words, which made him feel much better. Compliments, after all, can make even whales dance.

Bruno shared more detailed stories about the Glacial Tower project he had been working on. And within those stories were all sorts of know-how that Bruno had accumulated over more than ten years of running an architectural firm.

‘I still have a long way to go,’ Woojin thought.

Woojin was constantly impressed as he listened to Bruno’s stories. He realized many things as he listened to him. Even though he was hearing the stories through Jayden, he could still feel the sense of being on-site.

“Woojin. Do you happen to know of a building called St Mary Axe in London?”

Woojin replied,

“Of course. The one that looks like a missile…….”

Bruno chuckled.

“Haha. I always thought it looked like a radish pulled out and turned upside down……. A missile, you say. I suppose it could be seen that way.”

Woojin asked,

“But why that building?”

“The double-glazed glass exterior structure that was used to construct St Mary Axe has been applied to my Glacial Tower as well.”

Woojin exclaimed,

“Oh……! Now that you mention it!”

“So, if you look at this cross-sectional design, the structure is laid out like this……. In the summer, air naturally escapes, and in the winter, the air trapped between the exterior walls acts as insulation.”

Bruno leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face. “Fascinating,” he said, looking at Woo-jin. “So, making insulation from things around you is possible.”

Woo-jin nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “It’s not as good as the insulation you buy in stores, but it still keeps the heat in quite well.”

Woo-jin used to be a carpenter, good with his hands and building things. Now, he was studying to become an architect, learning to design buildings. Even though he knew a lot, there were still things about architecture he didn’t know well. These were things like materials science and how buildings are built to be strong. These areas were more like science and engineering.

Woo-jin didn’t plan to study those deeply. He didn’t have the time or energy right now. *‘It’s okay for now, since I’m not building huge projects yet,’* he thought. *‘But I need to find people who are experts in these areas soon.’*

Woo-jin felt happy he had come to Bruno’s office. His ideas were becoming clearer because of Bruno’s advice.

Bruno looked at his watch. “Wow, time flies!” he said. “I’m getting hungry. We’ve been talking for hours! How about we have dinner together?”

Woo-jin and his friends agreed. It was around five o’clock when they left Bruno’s office for an early dinner.

Bruno took them to a restaurant in Yongsan he said was very good. It was a place that served pork cutlets, but in a Western style.

“I really like this Korean-style cutlet,” Bruno said, smiling.

Jayden asked, “Do you call pork cutlet ‘cutlet’ in Europe too?”

Bruno chuckled. “Of course! ‘Cutlet’ is the original word. Come on, Woo-jin, don’t be so surprised!”

Jayden playfully nudged Woo-jin. “Yeah, Woo-jin, are you bad at English or something?”

Soyeon laughed and gently pushed Jayden’s arm. “Be nice, Jayden!”

The restaurant was cozy and smelled of fried food. People were chatting and laughing around them. It was a relaxed and happy place.

The conversation changed. It wasn’t just Bruno talking anymore. As they ate, they started talking about architecture, and then naturally about Woo-jin’s work. Bruno became very interested, even more than Woo-jin thought he would be.

“This is amazing, Woo-jin!” Bruno exclaimed. “I didn’t know your company had grown so fast!”

Woo-jin smiled modestly. “Haha, thank you, Bruno.”

“And that nursing home design you won the award for,” Bruno continued, leaning forward. “Has construction started yet?”

“Yes, it has,” Woo-jin replied. “They started building it a while ago. We had to make some changes to the design, but we are trying to keep it as close to the original plan as possible.”

“When it’s finished, I absolutely have to visit,” Bruno said, his eyes shining.

“Please do!” Woo-jin said warmly. “We would be honored.”

Bruno had been surprised before, but when Woo-jin mentioned the Cheongdam Seonyeong Apartment design competition, Bruno’s reaction changed completely. His eyes widened, and his wrinkles deepened as he showed a look of real amazement. Designing a huge project like Cheongdam Seonyeong was a big deal, even for a famous architect like Bruno.

“Wait,” Bruno said, almost breathless. “Are you telling me that *you* designed a new apartment complex with over a thousand apartments?”

“Well,” Woo-jin said, a little shyly. “We were chosen in the first round of the competition.”

Bruno leaned closer. “Chosen? But if you won the first part, doesn’t that mean you will build it?”

“It’s a bit complicated,” Woo-jin explained. “There’s still one more final round to go.”

“Do you have any pictures of the design?” Bruno asked eagerly. “Like a bird’s-eye view? I’d love to see it.”

“Oh, I didn’t bring them today,” Woo-jin said, feeling a little regretful. “I should have if I knew you’d be so interested.”

“That’s a pity,” Bruno said, shaking his head slightly. “I’m really curious to see this amazing apartment complex you designed.”

Jayden, who was translating everything, looked a bit tired. But Soyeon’s eyes were shining as she listened to Bruno and Woo-jin talk. Their conversation was like opening a door to a new world for Soyeon, who was just finishing her first year of university. *‘Wow… amazing,’* she thought. *‘Someday, I want to be like them.’*

Bruno seemed like a distant star, someone famous and far away. There was a huge difference between a world-famous architect and a student like her. But Woo-jin was different. He was also amazing, just like Bruno, but he was also someone she knew well. She had seen him work hard and grow, and she knew she would see him do even more in the future. Because she was close to him, she could see how much he was achieving. This made Woo-jin even more impressive to her. Soyeon admired Woo-jin, and maybe, seeing him made her own dream of becoming an architect feel more real and possible.

Jayden, wanting to eat, finally interrupted. “Woo-jin, can we talk while we eat our cutlets?”

“Ah, just a minute,” Woo-jin said, eager to finish his point. The pork cutlets on their plates stayed untouched for a long time. It wasn’t that the food wasn’t good; Bruno had chosen a great place. But everyone was much more interested in the conversation than in eating. It took almost an hour before Woo-jin finally finished his food.

“Thank you so much for today, Bruno,” Woo-jin said, genuinely grateful. “I learned so much from you.”

“Haha, it was my pleasure,” Bruno replied. “I was really happy to hear about your work, Woo-jin.”

The waiter cleared their plates. Bruno stood up first, and Woo-jin and his friends followed.

*‘Hmm, maybe I should invite Bruno to our office next time?’* Woo-jin thought as they walked out of the restaurant.

Bruno paid the bill and then turned to Woo-jin as they stepped outside. “Woo-jin,” he called out.

“Yes, Bruno?” Woo-jin replied.

“Are you free sometime this weekend?” Bruno asked suddenly.

Woo-jin was a little surprised. He took out his phone and checked his calendar. “Let’s see… I have a meeting about the construction company next Monday, so Sunday should be free… Saturday works for me.”

“Oh, perfect!” Bruno said.

“What’s it about, if I may ask?” Woo-jin asked, curious.

Bruno smiled mysteriously. “Actually, I’m starting a new project.”

“A new project?” Woo-jin repeated.

“Woo-jin,” Bruno said, leaning in slightly. “Would you be interested in designing a mixed-use mall?”

Woo-jin’s eyes widened in surprise. “A mixed-use mall? Bruno, if it’s architecture, I’m always interested!”

“Hehe, I thought you would be,” Bruno chuckled. But then he added something that made Woo-jin’s heart pound. “I’m planning to design the mixed-use mall that will be built in Wangsimni.”

“Wangsimni?!” Woo-jin exclaimed, his voice louder than he intended.

“Yes,” Bruno confirmed. “It’s a very big project.”

Wangsimni ParaField. The name echoed in Woo-jin’s head. He knew this project. From his past life, he remembered it very well. But… Wangsimni ParaField was a disaster. It had failed badly. Woo-jin stared at Bruno, his mind racing, a confused look on his face.