Black Label [EN]: Chapter 101

Black Label 100

101. In the Midst of Change

No sooner had Jaesung and Alexander stepped inside than Theo greeted them with a bright smile.

“You’ve arrived.”

Theo and the other board members of the brand were gathered around a large monitor.

They all seemed to be trying hard not to show it, but the atmosphere in the room was heavy.

It was a natural progression.

It was the moment of accurate evaluation based on undeniable data: ‘sales’.

If sales didn’t go smoothly, the praise from critics and columnists would be nothing more than scraps of paper.

Jaesung, too, couldn’t hide his tension.

“Lee.”

Alexander whispered in his ear, holding Jaesung’s hand tightly, adding,

“It’ll be alright.”

Just then.

“It’s twelve o’clock, sales have begun.”

The employee sitting in front of the monitor finished speaking in a slightly trembling voice.

Clack!

A program displaying real-time sales status as a ‘graph’ appeared on the wide monitor screen.

At the same time, the atmosphere in the room became even more solemn.

All the board members were glaring at the red curve being drawn on the screen, as if staring at an enemy.

On the other hand, Jaesung was too busy watching the board members to look at the screen.

‘Is it selling well? Or not?’

The program used to check real-time sales at Alexander King was a completely different format from the tool used to check real-time sales at Wallflower.

He didn’t know how to read the graph, and he hadn’t heard the exact figures for previous sales, so a comparison was impossible.

What should he say?

It felt like watching a sports game with a lot of money on the line, without knowing the rules.

Instead of watching the game, he was watching the audience, trying to figure out if his team was winning.

How long had it been?

“Lee, do you remember what you said earlier…?”

Alexander asked, his voice trembling, his eyes fixed on the monitor screen.

When Jaesung looked at him with a puzzled expression, he continued,

“You asked if life could change so suddenly.”

“Ah, yes. I did.”

“The numbers are answering that question for you.”

After speaking, Alexander poked Jaesung in the chest and added,

“Lee! Congratulations! You’ve finally become a well-fed artist!” [A ‘well-fed artist’ implies financial success and stability in their artistic career.]

Jaesung, with a blank face, asked, “Huh?” Then,

The board members, including Theo, began to express their joy without reservation, as if they had never been serious.

They hugged each other, cried out, and punched the air, each in their own way.

* * *

The next morning, Jaesung took his younger sister, Seunghee, to 5th Avenue.

A vertical street that runs through the heart of New York and serves as a dividing line between the east and west sides of Manhattan.

It is also one of the world’s most luxurious shopping districts, along with Oxford Street in London, the Champs-Élysées in Paris, and Via Monte Napoleone in Milan.

He had planned to take the subway because the traffic was quite heavy, but he had no choice but to take the Mustang coupe because of Seunghee’s insistence.

She kept begging to ride in a car with only two doors, even if it was just once.

“Oppa, this is amazing! It’s my first time in a car like this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Can I sit in the driver’s seat and take a picture later?”

Seunghee asked in an excited voice, adding, “I’m going to post it on social media [SNS]. The reaction will be crazy!”

“Sure. Do whatever you want.”

Seunghee let out a cry of joy and then tilted her head slightly, asking curiously.

“Oppa, where are we going?”

“First, the department store.”

“Wow, awesome. Department store? Are we shopping…?”

To her expectant question, Jaesung shrugged his shoulders and replied in a nonchalant tone.

“Yeah. Just a little bit.”

The first destination today was Bergdorf Goodman, located on 58th Street.

It was an American luxury department store chain with its main store on 5th Avenue in New York, catering to the upper class.

It was a place where you could find products from famous designer brands, up-and-coming designer brands that were the talk of the town, and even products from its own brands.

And as of this morning, it was also a place where Alexander King’s 2012 F/W [Fall/Winter] season products, which he had designed himself, were being sold.

“The department store we’re going to now is the closest of the stores selling the clothes you made this time. Let’s take a quick look at the offline store’s reaction and buy clothes for Mom, Dad, and you.”

As soon as Jaesung finished speaking, Seunghee exclaimed, “Yes! That’s right! I saw it online, they say the highlight of traveling abroad is shopping!” expressing her joy.

She was at an age where she was very interested in dressing up. She seemed to be happy at the thought of buying new clothes.

At first, he thought about bringing his parents along, but he soon dismissed the idea. It was clear that they would feel burdened.

Soon, the Mustang coupe they were in stopped on the main street in front of the department store. Two men in neat suits approached the car.

“Lee, you’ve arrived?”

Jaesung got out of the driver’s seat and glanced at the name tag on the chest of the man who greeted him, then replied.

“Max, it’s really nice to see you.”

“Would you like me to help you with the valet first?”

“Yes. The keys are in the ignition.”

Max gestured towards the car, and another employee standing next to him quickly got into the driver’s seat.

These were employees dispatched by Bergdorf Goodman, who had heard of Jaesung’s visit, to ensure a smooth shopping experience.

As they stepped into the lobby of the department store, following Max, Seunghee asked in a low voice.

“Oppa, are American department stores always this kind…?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then?”

Jaesung simply explained the situation in a nonchalant tone.

“Luxury department stores usually treat designers of their brands the same as VVIP [Very Very Important Person] customers.”

“Wow, I’ve only seen this in dramas…”

Of course, he didn’t bother to add that not all brand designers were treated this way, only those who contributed significantly to sales.

In any case, Jaesung was being treated the same as VVIP customers who spent at least hundreds of millions of won a year, simply because he was the creative director in charge of Alexander King’s this season, and Seunghee was being treated the same way simply because she was Jaesung’s companion.

* * *

“Oppa, how do I look?”

Seunghee asked in a bright voice, standing in front of a full-length mirror, and Jaesung replied in a teasing tone.

“You’re finally looking decent.”

“What? Really!”

Jaesung handed his card to the sales associate, saying, “Please give me all the products she’s tried on so far.”

Right now, Seunghee was just focused on looking at herself in the mirror.

She looked at the front, the sides, and even struggled to look at the back… She even looked at herself in the mirror and muttered, “Lee Seunghee, what are you going to do? You’re so fatal!”

Are you that happy?

I’m happy too.

I love the smile you have because it’s so pretty.

I love the freshness that can only be found in girls of that age.

As he silently watched Seunghee, memories of Seunghee from his past life began to surface.

He remembered Seunghee in her early twenties, who had to give up her studies because the family’s finances began to decline.

He remembered Seunghee in her mid-twenties, who had to dedicate her youth to the factory to pay for her father’s hospital bills.

He remembered Seunghee around thirty, who lived each day listlessly with dull eyes.

“It’s okay.”

“What did you say?”

Jaesung shook his head and replied, “No, it was just a soliloquy,” and smiled contentedly.

“What is it? You’re making me curious…”

Seunghee frowned slightly and began to look at herself in the mirror again.

Jaesung raised his head and began to look at the ceiling of the gallery.

His reflection was clearly visible through the golden, glittering ceiling.

Seunghee, it’s okay. It’s okay if you don’t mature in this life.

Even if you mature over time, it’s okay if you don’t force yourself to mature in front of money like before.

I’ll live even more fiercely, so I hope you’ll live with a girlish smile like you do now.

* * *

On the way home from shopping, Seunghee, who was sitting in the passenger seat with Louis Vuitton sunglasses on her forehead, suddenly asked.

“Oppa, aren’t you overdoing it today?”

“You should have worried about that at the department store.”

“It’s better to worry now than never.”

“Then shall we turn the car around and go get a refund?”

“Hmph, I’ve already taken all the tags off.”

The trunk was full of shopping bags from all sorts of brands.

Several coats for his mother, shirts, mufflers, sunglasses, and handbags. Also, a watch, cardigan, and fountain pen for his father. And finally, gifts for Seunghee.

He guessed that today’s spending was equivalent to the price of a large domestic car.

Through today’s spending, he could feel the changes that had come into his life.

It was a pretty big expense, but it wasn’t an expense he couldn’t handle.

Considering the down payment of about 200 million won he had received in advance of the season’s preparation and the royalties he would earn in the future, it wasn’t a big stretch.

Soon, as the car they were in arrived in front of the hotel.

Jaesung continued in a gentle tone.

“Seunghee, I think I have to go first because I have something to do today? I’ll have the hotel staff send up the luggage, so go up first.”

“Okay. Then when are you coming back?”

“Well? I think I’ll be back before dinner at the latest? Let’s have dinner together for the first time in a while.”

In fact, in just a few hours, Wallflower’s new product sales were scheduled to begin in Korea.

His friend Youngguk’s first song was also scheduled to be released in mixtape form. He was going to listen to Youngguk’s first song, which would be released soon, in his personal studio in Manhattan, and watch the sales status of this season’s products.

* * *

After arriving at the studio, he turned on his iMac PC without even taking off his coat.

“I just arrived at the studio and I’m turning on the computer.”

– Really? Then let’s watch the trend for a while and talk again.

“Okay, call me again when you’re free.”

As soon as he finished talking to Director Song, he sat down in front of the computer. He had definitely moved with plenty of time, but he had barely arrived just a few minutes before the product launch.

“Hoo-.”

After taking a long breath, he first opened the official website of ‘MGM Crew’, to which Youngguk belonged.

A ‘timer’ was displayed in the center of the site.

The numbers on the timer were constantly decreasing in seconds.

[Until the release of MGM Crew’s new member, ’00 minutes: 59 seconds’]

[Until the release of MGM Crew’s new member, ’00 minutes: 58 seconds’]

[Until the release of MGM Crew’s new member, ’00 minutes: 57 seconds’]

He thought it was a good marketing strategy.

Currently, MGM Crew had only revealed that they had recruited a new member, and they were keeping the member a complete secret.

Thanks to this, some enthusiasts and communities were busy guessing who the new member was. He watched the numbers on the timer continue to decrease for a while.

“Good…”

Jaesung then brought up the settlement page of the Wallflower website on the screen.

He was going to listen to Youngguk’s music and watch the real-time sales status, which could only be viewed through the site’s administrator account.

Soon, at exactly ‘midnight’ Korean time.

Ding-!

Ding-!

[Youngguk: Jaesung, the song has been released on the site. Listen to it when you have time.]

[Director Song: Sales have started. Pray.]

Messages arrived from Youngguk and Director Song at the same time. Jaesung smiled expectantly and clenched the mouse tightly in his hand.

It seemed like it was time to see the results achieved by those around him, not himself.

Well, then…

I wonder how everyone has been doing?