Black Label [EN]: Chapter 190

190. Time for Focus and Choice (3)

“Thank you for your hard work!”

The talk show recording wrapped up smoothly in an atmosphere that couldn’t have been more amicable.

Perhaps it was because he had been talking non-stop throughout the recording? Jae-seung, taking a breath, glanced at Yeong-guk sitting next to him while taking a few sips of water.

Yeong-guk also looked exhausted. With his eyes tightly closed, he was pressing his temples.

Given that he had to jump into filming as soon as he returned home, it was no wonder he looked so tired.

“Hey, Yeong-guk. You look really tired. Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well, you should just go home and rest.”

“No, no. I’m fine. There was a time not too long ago when I was so swamped with schedules that I barely slept for a week. This is nothing.”

After speaking, Yeong-guk rubbed his red, bloodshot eyes and carefully asked,

“Jae-seung, by the way, is something wrong with you? I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard your phone conversation earlier, and it sounded like something important happened…”

“Ah, it’s nothing to worry about. If you’re up for it, let’s go somewhere quiet and have a beer. I’ll tell you all about it while we drink.”

Yeong-guk tilted his head slightly and cautiously asked back.

“Okay. But where should we go?”

“Hmm, I don’t know…”

The two of them seemed to fall into thought as if they had made a promise. It was no longer a situation where they could easily decide on a meeting place as they pleased.

Both of them had to wear masks and hats pulled down low even when going to the convenience store in front of their houses to buy simple snacks.

*Wasn’t this a happy problem to have?* he thought, a slight throb in his head.

After a moment of silence, Jae-seung suddenly snapped his fingers, making a clear sound, and continued speaking in a somewhat excited tone.

“There’s a rooftop bar in Cheongdam-dong [an affluent district in Seoul] that I’ve been to once or twice. The atmosphere is good, and it’s not too crowded, so it’s pretty decent. Although it’s not a private room, there are some relatively enclosed spaces.”

“Jae-seung, how about that place? The underground studio in the apartment complex that you set up for me before.”

As soon as Yeong-guk finished speaking, a bright smile spread across Jae-seung’s face.

“Wow, that’s a brilliant idea! How did you think of that?”

“Are you okay with it? If you’re okay with it, let’s just have a light beer there.”

Jae-seung nodded once, answering in the affirmative, and said, “Let’s get going.”

His heart seemed to be pounding with impatience. He wanted to go as soon as possible and have all sorts of conversations for a little longer.

The music studio located in the basement of the apartment complex.

It was a place Jae-seung had given to Yeong-guk right before he left the country to begin his full-fledged overseas activities.

It was also the place where Yeong-guk had worked hard to cultivate his dreams. The small studio of just a few square feet was a garden, and Yeong-guk was like a seed planted there.

And this moment, right now, could be called that ‘fruit,’ couldn’t it? Could there be a place more suitable for reminiscing with sentimentality than that place, the underground studio?

* * *

“Huh? Where’s Yeong-guk?”

As soon as he got into the car waiting in the underground parking lot of the broadcasting station, Director Song, who was sitting in the driver’s seat with a worried face, asked his first question.

“He decided to travel separately. If you drop me off at the apartment complex, I’ll get home on my own.”

“Really? That works out well. Then let’s finish talking about work on the way…”

Just as Director Song was about to continue speaking, Jae-seung shook his head and cut him off.

“You said you cleared my schedule so I could rest today, right? Shouldn’t we postpone the work talk until tomorrow?”

“That’s true, but the matter is…”

“What’s wrong with the matter? If you think about it, it’s not that important, is it?”

In an agitated tone, Director Song asked back, “If this isn’t important, then what is?” and patted his chest before continuing.

“Then let’s hear your thoughts. What are you going to do? Do you have a plan?”

“Not yet. I need to think about it slowly.”

“Right. So, coming up with a solution is always the first thing to do, a hundred times over, you know?”

“Then, what about you, Director? Do you have any brilliant ideas?”

“In my opinion, we should first receive the conditions that the department store brands want and then, reluctantly, adjust them in a way that’s more favorable…”

“Bow our heads? I’m absolutely against that.”

“Do you really have to use such a miserable expression? We’re just trying to find a compromise in a smooth, amicable way.”

“Anyway, if they come out this strong, we have no intention of putting in a single piece of clothing that we’ve worked so hard to create.”

Jae-seung answered in a firm tone without a moment’s hesitation, and Director Song let out a long sigh to calm his emotions before continuing in a calm tone.

“Boss, I feel the same way. I’m so angry at those colluding major department store brands that I feel like I could die. I feel like going around to their headquarters and pouring sewage on them.”

“Hmm, if you really want to do that, Director, I’ll take some responsibility for the aftermath with you…”

“No, that’s not what I mean. Giving up on major domestic department store brands is the same as giving up on the domestic market itself, isn’t it?”

Jae-seung nodded once and answered in an extremely calm tone.

“What can we do if the conditions don’t match? We should quickly give up what we need to give up and think about taking other advantages. And it’s not like we’re giving up on the domestic market entirely, is it? We still have several Wall Flower offline stores that are operating well…”

Director Song muttered, “Well, geez…,” messed up his hair, and continued.

“Sometimes when I see you like this, you seem too emotional. But we can’t give up on the entire domestic market, can we? Can’t you just leave this to me for once? I’ll try to get the best possible conditions…”

Jae-seung loosened his tie and asked in a very dry tone.

“No, Director. We don’t need to bow our heads, do we? Department stores aren’t the only distribution channels in the country. If the clothes are good, people will go out of their way to visit our offline stores to buy them. And frankly, there are hundreds, thousands of department store brands all over the world, why should we supply to those arrogant guys?”

“Okay. Let’s say that’s true. Then how are you going to break into overseas department store brand distribution channels? Are you going to run around to each one? Or do you have another way?”

Silence fell in the car for a moment. Jae-seung smiled and shrugged his shoulders before answering.

“That’s why I’m so carefree. Anyway, don’t worry and get some rest today. If you get any calls from department store brands, tell them that we don’t have anything more to discuss.”

“Ha, okay. I’ll do as you say, but I’m worried…”

“If you worry about things that aren’t even there, you won’t live a full life. If you leave your position, who can replace you, Director? So you have to stay healthy for a long time.”

Director Song sighed and said, “Oh well, I don’t know,” before chuckling.

It seemed that his worries hadn’t completely disappeared, as his expression wasn’t very bright.

On the other hand, Jae-seung?

He had a calm face as if nothing was wrong.

Of course, Jae-seung wasn’t completely at ease either. It wasn’t because of the anxiety caused by the collusion of domestic department store brands.

It was because of the ‘anger’ he felt after a long time. He was confident that the entry contract and distribution itself were not something to worry about.

He could easily solve the problem with just a few phone calls to several major overseas department store brands.

Moreover, he was confident in solving it on his own. What is the way to solve it on his own?

It’s quite simple.

He just needed to present an overwhelming show at Paris Fashion Week that would be incomparable to other brands.

If that happened, as soon as the show ended, buyers from all over the world would rush in like piranhas who had seen blood, offering all sorts of favorable conditions to secure the entry contract as quickly as possible.

The reason Jae-seung was worried was not about entry contracts or forming distribution networks.

*How can I give them a good blow so that it’s known that they’ve been properly hit…*

What Jae-seung wanted was effective revenge.

He was only filled with thoughts on how to screw over the department store brands that had tried to control them without even properly distinguishing who was in the position of power.

* * *

Tak-

As soon as Yeong-guk, who had entered the studio first, turned on the switch, the ceiling lights cleared away the darkness that had settled in the room. Wasn’t this a place that had been equipped with the advice of experts?

Although it was a small space of only a few square feet, it had all the facilities necessary for music production.

Jae-seung, who followed behind, said, “Wow, it’s been a long time,” and ran his finger across the table.

It was an action he took because he expected dust to have settled in places, but Jae-seung’s expectations were pleasantly mistaken.

“By the way, haven’t you left it empty for quite a while? It seems much cleaner than I thought?”

“Of course, man. My mother comes out here every now and then, if not every day, to sweep and clean.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know exactly, but I guess it’s a meaningful place for my mother too.”

After speaking, Yeong-guk took out several cans of beer from the plastic bag he was holding and called out to Jae-seung in a serious tone.

“Jae-seung.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you so much.”

Jae-seung smiled and waved his hand, saying, “What? Suddenly getting all mushy.”

Yeong-guk, who was looking at Jae-seung with affectionate eyes, continued in a calm tone.

“My mother is really grateful too. Do you remember the wallet you made back then?”

“Ah, yeah.”

He seemed to be referring to the lambskin wallet he had made using the leftover fabric after making Wall Flower’s first handbag product.

Yeong-guk opened a can of beer and continued.

“My mother still uses that wallet. She says she’ll only use that wallet forever. She says it’s a wallet made by hand by a world-renowned designer.”

“Tell her I said thank you. Come to think of it, I should have visited her during the holidays…”

“It’s okay, man. Everyone in the world knows you’re busy.”

Tak-!

Two cans of beer collided in the air, making a light sound. Then, as if the two had made a promise, they began to slowly drink their beer.

It was a rather modest drinking session compared to their earnings. All they had were a few cans of beer bought from the convenience store and a few bags of snacks.

Naturally, various stories began to flow out. Looking back, it seemed that there were so many stories to share.

From the stories of their childhood, which were now a little hazy, to their current situations…

As the number of empty cans increased, the color of the two men’s faces also gradually began to deepen.

Eventually, Yeong-guk burped once and carefully opened his mouth.

“Jae-seung, by the way, what was so serious about earlier?”

“It’s nothing. Just…”

“Just?”

“It looks like we’ll have to give up on supplying to domestic department store brands entirely.”

“What? How is that nothing? What happened?”

As Jae-seung’s explanation continued, Yeong-guk’s emotions also began to rise.

When the explanation of the situation was finished, Yeong-guk crushed the empty can he was holding and answered.

“Geez, their power-tripping is no different from over there.”

“It’s probably similar.”

“But are you okay? If you give up on the domestic market entirely…”

“I’m okay.”

Jae-seung began to list the plans he had made once again. Contrary to before, Yeong-guk’s expression was only getting brighter and brighter.

Just as the story was coming to an end once again, Yeong-guk asked, “Uh…?” and then spoke again.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“Yeah?”

“I think I have a way to help?”

Jae-seung held his breath and began to stare intently at Yeong-guk’s face. With clear eyes that seemed to urge him to speak quickly.