Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 278

Woo-jin sighed as Seok-hyun complained, getting back into the car.

“My legs really hurt,” Seok-hyun groaned.

“I told you to wait in the car,” Woo-jin reminded him.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d sketch for two whole hours in the middle of nowhere!”

“That’s why I’m buying you something good to eat,” Woo-jin said.

“And fill up the gas tank, okay?” Seok-hyun added.

“Fine, fine. It’s for work, so I can pay for gas,” Woo-jin agreed.

“You know it needs the expensive gas, right?” Seok-hyun checked.

“Yes, I know!” Woo-jin said, a little louder this time.

Seok-hyun was right. Woo-jin had stood there, sketching in his notebook, for two full hours. It was a long time, even Seok-hyun couldn’t understand why. But Woo-jin had a reason. ‘Still couldn’t find it…’ he thought. Sketching on-site for two hours was unusual for Woo-jin. But today was different. The Golden Prints had appeared suddenly. These strange, golden lines might vanish at any moment. Woo-jin had to understand their message before they disappeared completely.

“Hmm…” Woo-jin still hadn’t figured out the Golden Prints. He had to bring them back with him, in his notebook. He hadn’t drawn them perfectly, but enough to see them again later. He had sketched as much as he could. That’s why it took so long. ‘This is hard,’ he thought. ‘Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to understand.’ On the drive back, Woo-jin stared hard at his drawings. Seok-hyun, happy again, hummed a tune as he drove. But Woo-jin didn’t even notice the music.

‘The Golden Prints change shape with each sketch,’ Woo-jin thought. ‘But I still don’t know what it means.’ He had drawn many pictures in two hours, almost filling his notebook. Page after page of pen marks, Woo-jin flipped through, searching for an answer. ‘Sometimes the Golden Prints vanish completely. Other times, they shine brightly…’ The strangest thing was how unpredictable the Golden Prints were. Usually, they changed in a regular way, based on his designs. But this time, they could disappear suddenly, no matter what he drew. It didn’t even matter if the drawing was good or bad. Sometimes, even messy sketches showed the Golden Prints, while other times, even sketches Woo-jin liked had nothing.

Woo-jin looked at the sketches again and bit his lip. He felt like the Golden Prints had given him a new puzzle to solve. ‘This won’t be easy,’ he thought. Maybe it was because he was so focused on his notebook, or maybe it was Seok-hyun’s driving – Woo-jin felt a little sick in the car. He closed his notebook and leaned back, trying to relax.

Seok-hyun, who had been quiet while driving, suddenly spoke. “Oh, by the way, Woo-jin,” he said.

“Yeah?” Woo-jin answered.

“When do we get the rules for the competition?” Seok-hyun asked.

Woo-jin looked surprised. “I don’t know,” he said, tilting his head. “Tomorrow? Maybe the day after?”

“Ah,” Seok-hyun said.

“Why do you ask?” Woo-jin wondered.

“The real work starts when we get those rules, right?” Seok-hyun explained.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Woo-jin agreed.

“Then we should get the model team ready,” Seok-hyun suggested.

“Model?” Woo-jin asked, confused.

Seok-hyun explained, “I heard from the design leader that most competitions overseas need a model.”

“Oh, right,” Woo-jin said, nodding. “That makes sense.”

The competition for the Magok MICE site in Seoul was for a foreign company. It was also a special competition, just for a few chosen companies. So, Woo-jin knew they would probably need to build a model. ‘I have to understand the Golden Prints before the rules come out…’ he thought urgently. As soon as the competition rules were released, he would have to start designing. Time was short. Woo-jin felt more and more worried. Meanwhile, Seok-hyun drove them safely back to the office building.

*Thump-* Woo-jin got out of the car and looked at Seok-hyun. “We made it,” he joked.

“Made it through what? Was it a war zone?” Seok-hyun laughed.

“Next time, you should put a ‘new driver’ sign on your car,” Woo-jin teased.

“Oh no! I can’t do that,” Seok-hyun protested.

“Why not?” Woo-jin asked, smiling.

“It’s like a Porsche owner’s pride!” Seok-hyun said dramatically.

“Pride, really?” Woo-jin chuckled. Still talking, Woo-jin went up to the office. As soon as he sat down, he opened his notebook again. He knew he wouldn’t sleep well until he understood the Golden Prints. ‘Ugh, my head hurts…’ he thought. One day passed, then two. In those two days, Woo-jin got very little sleep, and the circles under his eyes became darker and darker.

He even went back to the site alone, but still couldn’t find the answer. ‘What is going on? I just don’t get it…’ he thought, frustrated. Even if he couldn’t understand the Golden Prints before the competition rules arrived, he had to start working. Sitting at his computer, Woo-jin even worried that the Golden Prints wouldn’t help him with this project at all. He knew the competition rules were supposed to arrive in an email soon. *Ding-* Woo-jin, waiting for the email, quickly clicked his mouse when he heard the sound. *Click-* The email arrived: “[2013 Magok MICE M-Tec Design Competition Guidelines]”. The email title even said “WJ Studio,” probably because it was a private competition with only a few companies involved.

Woo-jin quickly downloaded the email and opened it on his computer screens. He started reading the competition rules carefully, from the first page. “Hmm…” After reading just one page, Woo-jin was very surprised. ‘These are much more detailed than I expected!’ he thought. The rules were so clear and thorough, he couldn’t believe it was a competition from a bank, not a design company. Woo-jin read on, now very interested. He was still tired from lack of sleep, but his eyes started to shine again. ‘They have rules for the hotel and the business area too. This will make it easier to get an idea,’ he realized. Looking at the detailed rules, Woo-jin even felt a little foolish. Because of these clear rules, many of the things he worried about at the site didn’t matter anymore.

*Tear-* Woo-jin ripped off a sheet of yellow paper from his desk. Looking at the competition rules, he started to sketch quickly. The rules showed the basic look of the other two buildings, which were already designed. Looking at these, he got an idea for the convention center. He wasn’t really designing yet, just jotting down his first thoughts. But as Woo-jin’s pen moved across the paper – *Swoosh-* – something amazing happened. Woo-jin gasped. “…!” The Golden Prints, which usually only appeared when he drew carefully, suddenly bloomed on this quick, messy sketch. And they were brighter than ever before! The lines of gold on the yellow paper were sharp and clear, even clearer than the sketches he had made at the site.

* * * Woo-jin thought hard. “Why now?” he wondered aloud. The Golden Prints hadn’t appeared at all since he left the site, no matter how much he sketched. But now, on this quick sketch he’d done in just three minutes, the clearest Golden Prints he’d ever seen were shining. This sketch must hold a clue. ‘What’s the reason?’ he asked himself. He felt a spark of understanding in his mind. If he thought about it carefully, he felt he could find the answer. ‘What’s different about this sketch compared to all the others?’ he thought. Of course, the designs were all different. None of his sketches were exactly the same. So, he needed to find what all his previous sketches had in common, something this new sketch didn’t have.

Woo-jin quickly grabbed his notebook and spread out his sketches. He compared them to the new sketch, his eyes moving back and forth. And then, it clicked. He had an idea. ‘Could it be…?’ he wondered, his heart beating faster. He ripped off a few more yellow papers and started sketching again, even faster this time. One sketch. Then another. And a third. “…!” Woo-jin looked at the three new sketches on his desk. He clenched his fist in excitement. ‘Yes! That’s it!’ He had found the reason for the strange Golden Prints, something he had never seen before.

The first sketch was simple, but it followed the competition rules. The second sketch was made to break the rules completely. The third sketch was different from the first, but it also followed the rules. And then – *Whirr-*! Bright Golden Prints appeared only on the first and third sketches! ‘That’s it!’ Woo-jin realized. ‘This is why the Golden Prints were so strange, even when I changed my sketches.’ The main reason Woo-jin had been so confused at the site was because the Golden Prints kept vanishing as he sketched. Usually, the Golden Prints became clearer as his sketches became more detailed and better. But this time, the golden lines disappeared when his sketches became too detailed. He couldn’t understand why. But now, with this experiment, Woo-jin understood. ‘When I was sketching at the site, I didn’t know the competition rules… So, the more detailed my sketches became, the more they went against the rules. That’s why the Golden Prints didn’t appear!’

A determined look came over Woo-jin’s face. Knowing this didn’t solve the design problem itself, but it was like removing a huge block that had stopped him from understanding the Golden Prints. Woo-jin immediately picked up his phone. “Chief,” he said.

[Yes, CEO. What is it?]

“Please set up a design meeting for this afternoon,” Woo-jin requested.

[Is it about the Magok M-Tec project?]

“Yes, of course.”

[What time works best?]

“As soon as possible, please. Let me know when you’ve arranged it.”

[Yes, CEO. I’ll try for around 3 o’clock.]

Woo-jin, having asked for a meeting, started to organize his ideas based on the competition rules. His sketches hadn’t helped him understand the Golden Prints, but they were still useful for design ideas. At the design meeting that afternoon, Woo-jin was ready to move forward with the convention center project.