Black Label [EN]: Chapter 102

Black Label 101

102. The Spreading Spark of Competition

“Oh!”

As soon as it hit midnight in Korean time, the UK’s first song was posted on the MGM site.

[ Money Dream – JESY. KUS(Son Young-guk) ]

Soon, Jae-seung wore a satisfied smile and clicked the play button.

Click-.

As the intro began to play, Jae-seung nodded a few times, seemingly pleased.

‘Pretty good?’

Although he didn’t have extensive knowledge of music, he could clearly feel the remarkable improvement.

What should he say? It felt like a professional’s touch?

At least, it was clear that the quality was completely different from the songs Young-guk used to play when he first registered at a practical music academy and started learning the ‘Midi’ program.

The amateurish feeling and clumsiness that had been evident in places seemed to have disappeared.

Jae-seung closed his eyes and nodded repeatedly when Young-guk’s familiar but somewhat unfamiliar voice began to be heard.

I still haven’t made any money from music

Thanks to having good friends, my closet is full of clothes with the ‘WF logo’.

Umm-.

If you’re curious, take a look at the magazines that have come out recently.

That’s my fashion these days.

Soon, Jae-seung unconsciously muttered, “Wow, what is this…?” It wasn’t for any other reason.

As soon as the first verse began, he could clearly feel the changes that Young-guk had gone through.

With Young-guk’s unique husky ‘Rap Voice’ layered over the heavy and eerie beat, it felt quite plausible.

I make music every day in a really awesome studio

I don’t have to pay any monthly rent.

Management fees are automatically debited, thanks to my reliable and strong friend’s card.

I got an investment and thought.

Umm-.

I need to make a lot of money to pay it back properly.

To do that, I need to cut down on sleep first.

After a brief pause with only the accompaniment playing, Young-guk’s husky rap began again.

Some time later, I signed the contract.

Ma Crew, received as a reward for my efforts.

The first gift God gave me was a sense of belonging.

That day, Big Boss himself said,

He was so impressed with my talent that he wanted to work with me?

The investor’s eye has been somewhat proven.

No, no. It’s still a long way to go.

Then, suddenly, the accompaniment stopped, and Young-guk’s voice began to flow like a ‘narration’.

– Hey, listen to my plan first.

It was a voice as natural as when he usually talked to himself.

A boyish, playful, and ambitious voice.

In the very next moment. At the same time as a beat full of speed comparable to before began to flow, Young-guk’s fast and flashy rap began to follow.

Money In The Dream.

Dream In The Money.

My dream is in the money

I’m going to make a lot of money.

More, More, More.

First, I need a car with a trident emblem [referring to Maserati].

I also need a house with marble floors.

I also need a safe that I can never open if I forget the password,

And a bunch of money to pile up inside.

Once I have all that, I’ll invite the first ‘investor’ to my house.

Then, I have to open the front door and tell them in advance.

My house is a bit big, so be careful you don’t get lost.

In Young-guk’s lyrics, the ‘first investor’ was probably himself.

Soon, Jae-seung wore a faint smile and began to nod to the beat.

First, open the most expensive champagne and toast.

Cheers, cheers.

For the beginning, not the end, of us.

And We Here.

I think it’s okay to be a little cocky now.

Put your hands in your pockets and say.

How did we really get here?

Like you said, it rotted and rotted, and in the end, it became gold like a cavity.

I’m curious about your impressions.

I guess tonight will connect us before and after.

Like a Missing Link.

Hey, hey, don’t worry. Unlimited refills are available.

There’s a lot, Drink.

Since the day I dreamed of has come, I’ll make you a promise.

From now on, I’ll pay for everything until I die.

You just have to come with your body.

No, no, but it’s not enough as a reward for protecting my dream.

Take out the car keys you had in your pocket and hand them over.

It’s parked in the parking lot, so make this yours now.

Money In The Dream.

Dream In The Money.

My dream is in the money.

I’m going to make a lot of money.

More, More, More.

Then I’m really going to go around telling everyone.

He bought me my dream.

Thanks to him, I quit my chicken delivery job.

And I really focused on the music.

I wanted to be side by side with him.

My shoulder.

It was after the song, which had a ‘runtime’ of nearly 4 minutes, was completely over that Jae-seung regained his senses.

First, he took out the earphones he had in his ears and began to stare blankly at the screen.

The review was simple.

‘…He must have lived really fiercely.’

During the time he was apart from Young-guk, hadn’t he also undergone great changes?

Hadn’t he gone through great growth as a designer, going through big and small worries?

But why?

Why did he think that Young-guk wouldn’t have gone through as much change as he had?

Although he couldn’t make an accurate assessment, it just felt like it was in no way inferior when compared to the songs of active rappers that were serviced through music sites.

Soon, Jae-seung wore a satisfied smile and immediately picked up his smartphone.

[ Young-guk, the song is really awesome. Keep your promise. ]

It was definitely not empty words. It was good. He really liked Young-guk’s feelings and his efforts.

After taking a long breath, he accessed the official website of his brand ‘Wall Flower’ this time.

Then, he started checking the real-time sales status page, which only accounts with administrator privileges could view.

Only a few minutes after the sale started, the sales amount was already in the hundreds.

Soon, Jae-seung smiled and immediately sent a message to Director Song.

[ Director, I’m a little sad because it’s running so well without me? ]

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

The sound of the ticking clock was repeatedly echoing in the quiet studio.

Soon, Jae-seung took a few sips of coffee from his mug.

Judging from everyone’s changes, it was clear that being faithful to the given time was not just his own story.

It was clear that Young-guk and the employees of Wall Flower, including Director Song, were also moving smoothly along their targeted paths.

After wearing a satisfied smile, Jae-seung immediately opened the portal site.

He was going to announce through his personal SNS [Social Networking Service] that the sale of Wall Flower’s F/W [Fall/Winter] season products had started, and post a message promoting Young-guk’s first mixtape.

He was sure that the ripple effect would not be small at all, unlike before.

After going through Alexander King’s F/W season this time, the number of people receiving his SNS posts.

In other words, the so-called ‘followers’ had increased by tens of thousands.

At that time.

“Huh…?”

Jae-seung, who found the ‘real-time popular search terms’ on one corner of the portal site’s main screen, widened his eyes without realizing it.

It was because of his and his friend’s names, which were lined up in the top 10 of the real-time search rankings.

10th place. MGM Crew Reveals New Member

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8th place. JESY. KUS

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5th place. JESY, KUS, Designer Lee Jae-seung Relationship

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time.

Edin Thomas, a professor at Parsons School of Design, was having a leisurely tea time with an old friend.

The person sitting across from him was Christopher Cho, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (*F.I.T*) and a designer who had dominated an era.

Christopher Cho.

Although he did not establish his own brand, he was recognized for his abilities while working as a creative director for several premium brands during his active career.

He was also one of the people who was considered Edin Thomas’s rival during his active career.

However, he volunteered to be Edin Thomas’s rival even after retirement.

He made the decision to take a position as a professor at F.I.T, a rival school that was in conflict with Parsons.

Thanks to this, the saying ‘If there is Edin Thomas at Parsons, there is Christopher Cho at F.I.T’ was circulating in the world.

To put it simply, it was like Song Dae-gwan and Tae Jin-ah in the New York fashion world? [Two famous and long-time rival Korean singers].

It was a relationship of love and hate that had been built up over decades of competition. Both of them did not show it to each other, but they remained precious friends who could not be without each other.

“Damn it, why would such a talented person make such a stupid decision to enter a school like Parsons?”

At Cho’s words with a frown on his face, Edin Thomas shrugged his shoulders and continued.

“Why? Our Parsons has excellent faculty, including me, unlike F.I.T? It was an obvious and wise choice.”

“You’re really good at making funny noises. Look, Edin. You should have done stand-up comedy instead of design. Then you would have achieved much greater success.”

“Say whatever you want. I was convinced after seeing Lee’s show this time. Our Parsons will win this competition overwhelmingly. I’m sure.”

After finishing speaking, Edin Thomas added, “The day your nose gets flattened is not far away.”

After this summer vacation, the competition between Parsons School of Design and F.I.T will be held soon.

After both of them declared their retirement as designers and took on professorships, the method of competition changed to a competition between the two schools.

After a moment of silence, Cho frowned and asked back in a somewhat irritable tone.

“Wait, Edin. Are you trying to cheat now?”

“Cheat? What cheat?”

“What you just said, it sounded like you were going to enter Lee in the competition?”

“Hey, even if you’re senile, you should try to speak properly. Why is that cheating? Lee is also a Parsons ‘student’. A freshman, too.”

When Edin Thomas asked quietly, Cho stood up from his seat and shouted back.

“You damn old man, you’re blinded by the game!”

“What’s the problem-?”

“Lee is already an active member of the New York fashion world!”

“Cho, really? I know that most of the students who have participated in the competition so far have been ‘active’?”

Of the many students, the number of students who are eligible to participate in the competition is only about six or seven per school.

Most of the students who have been eligible to participate in the competition between the two schools so far have been ‘graduating students’ who have learned not only theory but also practice, and they often run small brands as practice.

Although the case is slightly different from the student in question, ‘Lee’, if you think about it, they were also designers who were active in the field.

Soon, Cho, who was grinding his teeth, continued to speak in an excited tone.

“Okay, do whatever you want. Instead, there’s no fairness, so we’ll have to provide an opportunity for the students participating in the competition to seek advice from graduates. For ‘fair competition’.”

Saying graduates meant that he was going to bring in big-name designers from F.I.T who had already made a name for themselves in the fashion world and were receiving great recognition.

Soon, Edin Thomas sighed and then continued.

“You want to try it. Well, okay. Instead, we have to give our students the opportunity to receive advice from their seniors to be fair, right?”

Unintentionally, the competition, which was a competition between students, became a battlefield between Parsons-affiliated designers and F.I.T-affiliated designers.

It was a typical situation where a children’s fight turned into an adult fight.