Black Label [EN]: Chapter 188

188. Time for Focus and Choice

Karl Lagerfeld’s exclusive lawyer was a frail-looking, middle-aged man who seemed like even a light tap would cause him pain.

The expensive silk shirt hung loosely, and his protruding cheekbones made him appear even more severe.

After explaining the details for a while, he slightly adjusted his rimless glasses, perched precariously on the tip of his nose, and said in a soft tone,

“That’s all. Please review it carefully one more time and sign.”

Jaeseung replied, “Yes,” and signed his name in the last blank space on the document.

The lawyer, who had been squinting, checked the signature and smiled broadly, offering a handshake.

“Thank you for your hard work. The inheritance process is now complete. I sincerely congratulate you on becoming one of the shareholders of the Janel Group.”

“I’m not sure if I deserve it, but thank you very much.”

The lawyer replied politely, “This is all Karl’s wish,” and took a thick cigar from his briefcase, asking,

“Would you like to smoke one?”

“Yes, I would.”

Soon, the sharp scent of cigar smoke began to fill the office.

Jaeseung stared blankly out the window, smoking mechanically.

“So, you’re leaving Paris now?”

At the lawyer’s question, Jaeseung replied as if he had been waiting for it.

“Yes. But I’ll be back soon.”

“You mean for Paris Fashion Week.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You will be the star of the year.”

Jaeseung responded with a faint smile, lost in thought.

The star of the year…

Taking another breath, a tingling sensation crept up his neck before quickly fading away. Silence filled the air for a moment.

Jaeseung glanced at his watch, cut the end of his cigar with a cigar cutter on the side table, and said,

“I have to be. That way, Karl’s insight will be even more recognized.”

After speaking, Jaeseung stood up, and the lawyer followed suit, saying,

“I have spent nearly twenty years with Karl. From what I’ve seen, Karl has always made the right choices.”

Then, he took a few steps forward and opened the office door wide, adding,

“Good luck.”

* * *

[Karl Lagerfeld Confirmed to Retire. Janel Group Insider Says, “We are trying to persuade him, but it seems difficult.”]

The Janel Group, which had not clarified the rumors of discord between Karl Lagerfeld and the group, addressed the public to dispel their doubts.

The Janel Group representative who took the podium stated that Karl Lagerfeld’s retirement was virtually confirmed, and…

*Rustle.*

[Karl Lagerfeld’s Lawyer Says, “Karl is exhausted due to continuous work without rest. He has completed all preparations for a secluded life. There will be no reversal of his retirement.”]

It was not Karl Lagerfeld but his legal team who appeared at the official press conference held at a hotel banquet hall near Janel House this afternoon.

They said that they had been preparing for a secluded life at Karl Lagerfeld’s request for several years and had completed the preparations at the beginning of this year, and…

*Rustle-*

[Phil Adore Says, “Karl Lagerfeld will not retire. It is analyzed as part of a strategy to freely showcase various designs without being confined to a framework, hiding behind the name of the successor to the Janel Kingdom.”]

Now that the world is buzzing with Karl Lagerfeld’s sudden retirement announcement, I sat at my desk in the studio and, after much deliberation, succeeded in establishing a rather interesting hypothesis.

The hypothesis is that Karl Lagerfeld’s retirement rumors are nothing more than a smokescreen for free creative activities, breaking the shackles currently tied to his ankles.

Many readers will scoff at what that means. The reasons I came up with this hypothesis are as follows.

First, the copyrights of the products released this F/W [Fall/Winter] season are all held under the name of a fictitious entity called ‘Successor of the Janel Group’ without exception. This suggests that Karl Lagerfeld and the Janel Group have been preparing quickly.

Second, although Karl Lagerfeld’s legal team took the podium, the person himself has never shown his face and definitively declared his retirement, has he? This also…

*Rustle-*

Just as Jaeseung was placing the newspaper he was reading on the seat next to him, a neatly dressed flight attendant approached and cautiously asked, looking at the empty glass in Jaeseung’s hand,

“Sir, would you like another glass of champagne?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Thanks to Chairman Wertheimer’s consideration, he was able to return home comfortably on a private jet owned by the Janel Group.

In a way, it was a natural consideration. Although he was with some designers who called themselves Lagerfeld’s Children, he was also the main director who would lead Janel for the next few years.

After staring at the vast sky unfolding beyond the window for a while, Jaeseung began to slowly drink the champagne again.

Since the plane took off, he had already drunk at least two bottles of champagne.

It was because he didn’t want to spend the long travel time staring blankly with his eyes open.

How long had it been?

Submerged in the intoxication, he fell into a deep sleep. He had another dream that was so vivid.

In a room where everything, including the walls, floor, and ceiling, was pure white, he encountered Karl Lagerfeld again, who he would never see again.

In the dream, he abruptly asked, “How was it?” and Jaeseung replied without hesitation, “It was good.”

Then he replied, “I think so too.”

That was all.

It was a short, intense, and happy dream and a sweet sleep.

* * *

“Damn it.”

That was the first thing Jaeseung said as soon as he stepped into the ‘CEO’s office’ inside Wallflower.

To be more precise, it was what he said as soon as he saw the piles of documents on his desk.

Director Song, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, smiled and replied,

“Well, isn’t designer Lee Jaeseung synonymous with workaholic? I prepared this especially for you. How is it? Do you like it?”

Jaeseung, looking quite annoyed, sighed, “Hoo…,” and began to slowly walk towards his desk, replying,

“I vaguely heard that profilers pile up documents like this when interrogating criminals…”

“Ah, yes. I heard that too. What was the reason? Was it to psychologically pressure the criminal? Anyway, why?”

“I’m currently feeling an immense amount of psychological pressure from those documents.”

Director Song chuckled and replied again.

“It would be troublesome if you felt psychological pressure from just this much. I might have to replace the desk with a wider one. I couldn’t put it all on at once, so I had to move some of it over there.”

Director Song, finishing his words in a nonchalant tone, gestured towards a corner of the CEO’s office.

In the direction he pointed, there was a pile of documents about half the amount of those on the desk, neatly stacked.

Jaeseung muttered, “Oh my god…,” without realizing it, and gestured to Director Song, adding,

“I won’t even have time to catch my breath. I get it, so stop teasing me and go do your work.”

“What’s the rush? Take this first.”

Director Song then subtly handed over a piece of A4 paper he was holding. It was a schedule table with his upcoming schedule recorded in quite detail.

Jaeseung frowned slightly as he checked the schedule, and Director Song smiled and asked back.

“Heh heh, how is it? Are the tiny, packed letters giving you psychological pressure this time?”

“Director Song, are you perhaps the type who gets excited when watching others suffer?”

“What, you little punk? What if I am?”

Jaeseung replied in a sarcastic tone, “What do you mean, what if? It’s your preference, so I have to respect it,” and immediately continued,

“Anyway, it’s still a relief. At least there’s time to eat in the middle, and the schedule table itself is only one page…”

Jaeseung, who was in the middle of his sentence, checked Director Song’s bitter smile and slowly trailed off.

He felt an indescribably intense sense of unease.

Director Song then put his arm around Jaeseung’s shoulder and replied,

“Really? But what a pity? I only printed out this week’s schedule. Should I have just printed them all out while I was at it?”

Jaeseung couldn’t help but sigh. He had expedited his return schedule, finishing the remaining tasks as quickly as possible, because he was sure there would be a lot of work piled up.

He hadn’t even had a proper meal with Ashlyn, nor had he had a proper conversation with the people he needed to meet.

But, to think that there would be such a vast amount of work piled up, far exceeding his expectations…

As Jaeseung stood there blankly, Director Song exclaimed, “Ah!” and continued,

“There’s a talk show schedule written in the middle of the schedule table.”

“Yes? A talk show…?”

Wasn’t Jaeseung averse to appearing on domestic TV programs in the first place?

As Jaeseung frowned without realizing it, Director Song nodded and replied nonchalantly,

“I know you don’t really like appearing on domestic TV programs, but a separate request came from your friend.”

“My friend? Is it Yeongguk?”

“Yes. As you know, the two of you were a big deal because of your friendship, right? One of your childhood friends is a world-renowned designer, and the other is a beatmaker who topped the Billboard charts…”

“And?”

“Your friend must have really liked the concept of the talk show. He seems to be overseas, but he’s planning to cancel a few schedules and come back to Korea. He asked me to persuade you to appear with him. He must have really liked the program?”

Jaeseung tilted his head slightly and muttered, “If he had something to say, he could have contacted me directly…”

He was worried that he might find it difficult to contact him.

“He’s just considerate. Anyway, it was a special broadcast, so we had to give the production team an answer quickly.”

“So?”

“Because it was your friend’s request and the conditions weren’t bad, I accepted it for now. Tell me if you don’t like it. It’s not like we, no, you don’t have a lack of money, so we can just pay a little penalty and cancel it.”

Jaeseung, who had been lost in thought for a moment, replied, “No. I’ll do it.” Perhaps because the answer came too easily, Director Song asked back in disbelief.

“Really?”

“Yes. It’ll be fun.”

“Okay, I understand for now.”

After exchanging some more conversation, Director Song left the CEO’s office.

Jaeseung then looked at the calendar on the desk.

There were only a few days left until the program recording. He felt bad that he hadn’t even properly thanked Yeongguk, who had flown all the way to France for the collection, so he thought it was a good thing.

“Hoo-”

He took a breath and sat down at the desk. He rolled up his sleeves and picked up the fountain pen.

It was to process the Wallflower-related tasks that were nearing completion, one by one.

*Scribble-*

The pleasant sound of the pen nib, paper, and the surface of the desk underneath lightly resonated.

Suddenly, he couldn’t help but smile. As always, looking back, he had completed another long journey.

In the meantime, a lot of time had passed, and reality had once again undergone a positive change.

Now he could appear on a public TV talk show with Yeongguk.

Maybe after this season is over, a lot will change again.

Yes, it will.

Jaeseung then began to hum a song. The song he began to hum quietly was none other than the last verse of Yeongguk’s first full-length song, ‘Money Dream’.

“Then I’m really gonna go around telling everyone. He bought my dream. Thanks to him, I quit my chicken delivery job. I focused on music again. I wanted to be side by side with him, my shoulder…”