Black Label [EN]: Chapter 14

Black Label Episode 13

14. Premonition of the Extraordinary

The three days passed by in a flash, and Jaeseung’s daily life continued at its usual hectic pace.

During that time, Jaeseung successfully completed the ‘Business Registration’ and the ‘Mail-Order Sales Business’ notification.

Finally, the name ‘Wall Flower’ was officially taking its first step into the business world.

Jaeseung carefully framed the business registration certificate he received and cherished it.

– Business Name: Wall Flower

Looking at the words ‘Wall Flower’ printed in the business name section of the certificate, he felt a sense of accomplishment, even without having eaten.

Jaeseung meticulously wiped the glass of the frame containing the certificate with a glasses cloth, then gave a wry smile.

‘Hmm. Still, I didn’t expect the procedure to be this simple…’

The business registration process was much simpler than Jaeseung had anticipated.

If Jaeseung hadn’t been a minor, it would have been even easier.

He didn’t even spend much money.

His total expenses were less than ten thousand won [approximately $8 USD].

That amount wasn’t even directly related to the business registration itself, but rather the cost of issuing a certificate for the business account and an OTP [One-Time Password] device.

In the end, it was all about investing ten thousand won and less than two hours.

Exactly three days after completing the business registration application, a text message arrived.

– Your business registration application has been completed.

That was all.

Looking at the process, it didn’t seem like a big deal, but the impact was truly significant.

First of all, a major shift occurred in Jaeseung’s mindset.

‘Now the real work begins. I have to work even harder.’

The business registration certificate acted like fuel poured onto the fire already burning in Jaeseung’s chest.

He couldn’t remember getting a proper night’s sleep for the past few days due to his tightly packed schedule.

After completing the business registration, he had to scour the area to order packaging materials printed with the Wall Flower logo.

Finding a company that would accept small quantity orders was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

After that, he spent a long time wandering around Dongdaemun [a large commercial district in Seoul known for its wholesale and retail markets] to buy no-brand clothes and subsidiary materials. When traveling by public transportation, he always held a TOEFL [Test of English as a Foreign Language] book in his hand.

In this situation, even a short nap felt like a blessing.

It was hard.

But he could endure it.

Soon, clothes with ‘Tags’ and ‘Labels’ bearing the Wall Flower logo would be released to the world.

Although they would be sold through a blog market, he would be able to sell the clothes he made himself.

‘So I have to work much harder than I am now.’

Jaeseung focused on using his time as efficiently as possible, using his vision of the near future as a driving force.

* * *

A few days later, well past 10 p.m.

The editorial team office of the fashion magazine ‘F Trend View’ was still bustling.

With only a few days left until the publication of this month’s magazine, all employees except for a few who were out on assignment were working overtime.

A middle-aged man sitting at the head desk among the closely packed desks yawned widely.

“Haaah-”

It was ‘Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok’, who was in charge of editing at F Trend View. He wiped the tears that had welled up slightly in his eyes and said quietly.

“Hey. Assistant Manager Min, are you slacking off again?”

“Oh, Team Leader! Do you think I’m always goofing off? I was reading a column. It’s related to my work.”

“A column? Was it written by one of our staff?”

“No. Actually, I found a pretty interesting blog today.”

After finishing speaking, Assistant Manager Min looked away from the monitor and added an explanation.

“To be exact, it’s a blog market that specializes in reworked clothing, and they’re serializing a pretty interesting column.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Would you like to read it, Team Leader?”

After hesitating for a moment, Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok got up, and Assistant Manager Min immediately gave up his seat and continued speaking.

“They haven’t been serializing the column for long, so there are only two entries. It seems like the serialization cycle isn’t fixed, and they upload it irregularly whenever they feel like it.”

“Really? Then I guess they haven’t hired a columnist separately? Is the blog owner writing it himself?”

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok slowly began to scan the contents of the column posted on the blog.

It was a somewhat subjective opinion on the new clothes that premium brands released during the last 2010 F/W (Fall/Winter) season.

‘Oh?’

Before long, a faint smile appeared on Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok’s lips.

While the writing wasn’t particularly outstanding, it was easy to read.

First of all, he appreciated that the author explained professional terms in an accessible way, and also presented concrete evidence in the sections where they harshly criticized certain brands.

It was definitely a high-quality column that could never have been written without accurate background knowledge.

Soon.

“Huh? What is it?”

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok frowned. Assistant Manager Min, who was standing next to him and watching Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok’s reaction, asked with a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

“Assistant Manager Min. This column seems to be written by a college student?”

“Yes? A college student? Why?”

“Read this part.”

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok used the mouse pointer to highlight the end of the column.

– The column serialization cycle is irregular. I plan to serialize it occasionally whenever I can’t concentrate on reworking clothes or studying.

It was a passage that revealed both that this blog market was run by one person and that the operator was a student.

Assistant Manager Min let out a sigh as if surprised, and then continued speaking again.

“Huh? How did I miss that part?”

“Anyway, he writes well in an interesting way. I wouldn’t even guess it was written by a student.”

First of all, the writing style itself felt humble and restrained.

Throughout the column, there were repeated reminders that the author’s thoughts were not the absolute truth.

Also, the author didn’t force criticism by highlighting ‘disadvantages’ or ‘flaws’, and there was no attempt to show off their knowledge at all.

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok stared at the monitor screen with his arms crossed. Assistant Manager Min added his opinion again.

“But the reworked clothes they’re selling are also of very good quality.”

“Really? Aren’t reworked clothes all the same? You know, tearing, cutting, grilling, and stir-frying jeans.”

“I used to think so too, but now I think a little differently. Take a look, Team Leader.”

When Assistant Manager Min replied in a firm tone, Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok slowly began to look at the clothes posted on the blog.

A notice that all the products that had been received were sold out and that new products were being produced caught his eye.

‘It seems like everything sells as soon as it’s uploaded.’

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok clicked on the bulletin board named ‘Sold out’.

Click-!

It seemed that a total of 8 pieces of clothing had been received and sold out.

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok began to carefully examine the posts one by one.

“Oh…?”

Unlike other rework shops, it seemed that they were using quite a variety of methods.

Starting with attaching ‘patches’ to T-shirts, adding points by inserting zippers into plain jeans, using ‘heat stickers’ that could be neatly attached as if printed when placed on clothes and ironed, and resizing to newly adjust the fit without altering the original design….

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok began to scan the customer review board.

“They also make and use packaging materials neatly. The customer feedback is pretty good.”

“Oh, that’s right. I think he’s a pretty meticulous person?”

“Hey, Assistant Manager Min. But how did you find this blog?”

“That’s actually…”

Assistant Manager Min hesitated for a moment, scratched the back of his head as if embarrassed, and carefully began to continue speaking.

“I first discovered it in an advertisement on a web community site related to used goods transactions.”

“You found it today?”

“Yes….”

“You son of a b*tch, I told you not to do useless web surfing at work, didn’t I?”

When Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok narrowed his brows and asked back, Assistant Manager Min gave an awkward smile.

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his eyes clearly and spoke again.

“Assistant Manager Min. It’s a personal blog, so you can find out this person’s email address, right? Right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Shall I contact him?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“No, I’ll contact him myself.”

Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok said briefly and returned to his seat.

He thought he could get an interview and include it briefly in the next month’s issue, and if he could communicate well, he could hire him as a ‘freelance editor’.

Anyway, it was clear that he would be helpful in many ways. Team Leader Kwon Hyun-mok, who had returned to his seat, asked Assistant Manager Min.

“Assistant Manager Min. What was the name of that blog?”

“Ah, just a moment.”

Soon, Assistant Manager Min replied in a calm tone.

“Team Leader, Wall Flower.”

“Wall Flower?”

“Yes. Wall Flower.”