Black Label [EN]: Chapter 114

Black Label 113

114. SimCity

A few days later, at the Wall Flower office in Korea.

It was a time when everyone should have been focused on their work, but the atmosphere inside the office was simply buoyant.

“Director Chu, would it be okay to order some sweet and sour pork?”

Chu Ji-hoon asked cautiously, and Director Song glared at him slightly before retorting.

“What, you punk? Are you serious…”

There was a moment of silence. Soon, Director Song let out a smirk and continued in a playful tone.

“Do you think that’s enough for a day like today? Order whatever you want to eat!”

After finishing his sentence, Director Song made a gun shape with his hand and shouted, “I’m paying for everything today!” As soon as he did, a roar of cheers echoed throughout the office.

Finally, today was the day Jae-seung’s CNN STYLE documentary was scheduled to air.

Thanks to this, Director Song and all the employees had put their work aside to catch the premiere, gathering in front of the TV in the center of the office.

They even had to replace the office TV’s cable provider in advance because the existing provider’s channel list didn’t include CNN STYLE.

How long had it been?

Just as the ordered food arrived, Director Song, who had been staring at the TV, spoke in a rather excited tone.

“Oh? I think it’s starting…”

The design team employees, who had been peeling off the plastic wrap from the delivered food, all raised their heads at once.

A short line of text appeared on the TV screen.

[ Dream Come True ]

It was the title of the 2013 Parsons F.I.T. [Fashion Institute of Technology] competition documentary produced by CNN STYLE.

Soon, everyone in the room began to watch the documentary with full attention.

The documentary featured a whopping twenty-eight people.

Fourteen students and current designers from Parsons, and fourteen students and designers from F.I.T., participated in the competition.

Given the situation, it was inevitable to assume that Jae-seung’s screen time would not be significant.

However.

“Doesn’t it seem like they filmed this focusing too much on the president… ?”

Lee Kang-joon cautiously voiced his opinion, and everyone nodded in agreement.

It was no exaggeration to say that Jae-seung and Marc Jacobs accounted for more than half of the footage.

Indeed, the preparation process of the ‘Lee & Marc’ duo, to which Jae-seung belonged, contained the most sensational content.

Conflict began at their first meeting, and the team was on the verge of collapse.

After regaining their teamwork, they showed better cooperation than any other team.

The preparation process was so dramatic that one might even wonder, ‘Was this situation staged?’

After the competition began, everyone couldn’t help but watch the documentary with even more immersion.

Perhaps because of the involvement of current designers from each school, there wasn’t a single team whose level was lacking.

The moment the scene of the show prepared by the Lee & Marc duo was played, all the employees watched with admiration.

Although none of the design team employees had in-depth knowledge of haute couture [high fashion], they were able to understand at least a little why there had been an outpouring of rave reviews praising Jae-seung’s show in the days following the competition.

In between, they also showed close-ups of the audience’s reactions to the show prepared by the Lee & Marc duo.

Buyers having serious conversations in low voices, celebrities and designers looking shocked, and even audience members shedding tears….

The final scene of the documentary, which ran for a full 120 minutes, was none other than the awards ceremony stage.

The host announced that Team Parsons had won the competition, and the ‘Lee & Marc’ duo, who had recorded the most votes, ended the show by winning the MVP trophy and plaque.

As the ending credits were playing on the screen, Nam Gwang-min, a design team employee who had been silent for a long time, opened his mouth in a slightly trembling voice.

“Speaking of our president, it seems like he’s really living in a different world now.”

Director Song retorted in a nonchalant tone, “Hey, did you just realize that now?” Nam Gwang-min shook his head a few times and replied.

“No, I knew it before. So, how should I put it? I should say that even if he’s among world-class designers now, he doesn’t feel out of place at all… ?”

As several employees nodded in agreement with Nam Gwang-min’s words, Director Song let out a smirk.

Director Song was also well aware of the sense of alienation that the employees were feeling.

Until just a year ago, Jae-seung had been working side by side with them in the same office, hadn’t he? The sight of Jae-seung rapidly advancing on the road to success was bound to give the employees a sense of alienation.

At first glance, it seemed that various complex emotions were mixed in the eyes of the employees.

Respect, admiration, envy, as well as a bit of jealousy and resentment….

They are all people who strive to know two things, even if they don’t know ten things when taught one.

Jae-seung’s rate of development would surely be a good stimulus for everyone.

Director Song clapped his hands once and was about to say, ‘Okay, we’ve all seen it, so let’s get back to work,’ when a cookie video [a short clip after the end credits] began to play on the TV screen after all the ending credits had rolled.

– Lee, just a moment. Could you briefly explain where you are going now?

In the video, Jae-seung, dressed in a neat custom-tailored suit, smiled brightly at the reporter’s question and replied.

– I’m heading to the New York branch of the LVMH Group [Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate] building to sign a contract. As I mentioned earlier, I will be taking on the position of director of Christian Diom Haute Couture.

Director Song, who had been staring blankly at the TV screen, asked back in a slightly trembling tone.

“What is he saying now?”

Soon. Jae-seung stared intently at the camera lens and added again in a confident tone.

– Dream Come True, my dreams always come true. It’s always been like that, and it will continue to be so in the future.

As sensual jazz music began to play, the back of Jae-seung walking through Wall Street in New York began to play.

Isn’t the original purpose of a cookie video to foreshadow a sequel?

A short line foreshadowing the sequel was sent out below the screen.

[ ‘Dream Come True 2: Chrischan Diom’s Maestro‘-Coming Soon. ]

Just as everyone was sitting there in a daze, Director Song, who had barely regained his senses, immediately took out his smartphone and muttered.

“…First, unplug all the office phone lines.”

It was clear that the office phone would soon be ringing as if it were on fire.

While the employees were unplugging the office phone lines with endlessly busy hands, Jae-seung’s voice was heard from Director Song’s smartphone, which had only been playing the dial tone.

– Did you see it?

A voice that was endlessly cheerful.

* * *

– Hey, President! Are you really going to do this? If something like that happened, you should have told me in advance!”

Because of Director Song’s loud voice that was constantly being heard from over the receiver, Jae-seung temporarily moved the receiver away from his ear.

“Well, I wanted to surprise you. I was going to tell you in person if you didn’t say anything even after the documentary aired. By the way, how did you manage to catch the premiere?”

– Of course, what else is social life? This is what social life is. I even changed the office TV cable company to watch the documentary! First, explain what happened.”

Soon, Jae-seung began to list the ins and outs of this contract in an endlessly calm tone.

He omitted all unnecessary remarks and clearly informed them of the terms of the contract.

The conclusion of the contract with the LVMH Group was, of course, a big deal.

It was a record-breaking situation in which a Korean, no, an Asian, took command for the first time in the history of Diom House.

However, it seemed that what succeeded in capturing Director Song’s attention was not such a record, but ‘numbers’.

– Wait, wait a minute. So, you’re saying that the advance payment alone is 1.8 million dollars? Then what about the royalties… ?”

“The royalties are a little low in exchange for a strong contract fee. It’s exactly 0.8%.”

The royalty received from Alexander King was 1%, so it was actually 0.2% less.

However, this was inevitable due to the nature of haute couture, which adheres to small-quantity production.

Furthermore, considering that haute couture clothing costs from several million to tens of millions of won [Korean currency, approximately $1,000s to $10,000s USD] per piece, it was clear that this was by no means a small amount.

Soon, Director Song, who had taken a long breath, began to speak fluently.

– Hey, President. It’s good to surprise me, but you should have told me about something like this in advance so I could prepare or get my mind ready. For now, I’ve unplugged all the office phone lines, but the moment I plug them back in, it’s going to be a disaster.”

Soon, Jae-seung, who was putting his passport in his trunk bag, replied in an extremely relaxed tone.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m going to take care of it myself.”

– Directly? How?

“I’m packing my bags now. I’m going to Korea.”

– ……?

“I think I should go to the airport right now, so I’ll hang up and call you again when I arrive.”

Jae-seung, who was about to press the end call button, paused for a moment and added.

“Let’s have a drink together for the first time in a while.”

– Huh? In a while?

“No, it’s nothing. I’ll hang up now.”

Jae-seung, who replied briefly, hung up the phone mercilessly. If there were any stories he couldn’t tell, it wouldn’t be too late to see each other in Korea, and to share a drink.

Jae-seung smiled briefly, picked up his trunk bag, and left his Manhattan apartment.

This contract is an incredibly big opportunity.

Before even setting foot in Diom House, it was a golden opportunity to earn much more money than the $1.8 million he had received in advance.

In just a few hours, the LVMH Group’s official position would be expressed, and the Korean media would surely be talking about this case until their mouths were sore.

How could he just let this free marketing opportunity pass by?

First of all, he was planning to return to Korea and directly join Wall Flower’s production of this S/S [Spring/Summer] season’s products.

Because Korea is a place that cares much more about the designer’s reputation and career than the design itself.

Also, he was planning to spend the money he had been saving up all this time to his heart’s content.

This time, he received $1.8 million from the LVMH Group, and he succeeded in earning $900,000 through Alexander King’s last season.

In total, he had about 2.7 million dollars, which is a little over 3 billion won in Korean currency [approximately $2.7 million USD].

Where are you going to spend all this money?

He was thinking of doing ‘*Sim-City*’ [a reference to the popular city-building simulation game] with the 3 billion won in his possession and the investment he would be raising in the future.

In just a few months, Wall Flower stores will be located in fashion hotspots all over Korea, including Hongdae, Itaewon, and Myeongdong [popular shopping districts in Seoul].

If you say it, it will be done.