Black Label [EN]: Chapter 197

Black Label 196

197. The Worst Possible Draw

“Wait, Mr. Song, what is this watch…”

Director Song, who had been about to continue speaking, stopped abruptly as he began to examine the watch closely.

Then, with a deep frown, he added in a voice that seemed to shrink into itself, as if muttering to himself.

“Hold on, what? The brand name is Wall Flower…?”

Director Song then began to examine the ‘Wall Flower watch’ in various ways.

He held it close to his ear, shook it lightly, and squinted as he stared intently at the inside of the watch.

Although Director Song had been put in charge of management tasks as soon as he was recruited, he had certainly absorbed his fair share of knowledge about fabrics while working in the clothing industry, right?

At least he had the discernment to recognize the value of a high-end watch.

After examining the watch for a long time, Director Song, unable to take his eyes off the watch face, asked in a dazed voice.

“Mr. President, where did you get this product? It looks like it could easily pass for a product from a legitimate watch brand…”

Jaesung then gave a faint smile. Once, when he was staying in Korea, he had squeezed time out of his busy schedule to meet ‘Jeong Pil-sang,’ the most knowledgeable of the Wall Flower masters in the field of watches, to request an appraisal.

At the time, Jeong Pil-sang had shown a reaction no different from that of Director Song now.

He examined the watch in various ways, repeatedly expressing his admiration, and then was quick to ask about the origin of the watch.

-This product is comparable to the leading products of authentic watch brands. No, no… rather, it seems to be equipped with technology that is several steps ahead. What company makes this watch…?

He was worried that the fact that it was a watch with a special secret might be discovered, but fortunately, it was just an unnecessary ‘worry’.

After its first and last operation, the watch completely lost its power.

Now, it was just an ‘innovative product’ equipped with technology that was about a dozen years ahead of its time.

While Jaesung was lost in thought and remained silent, Director Song swallowed hard and asked again.

“Is this the work of our masters? It’s good enough to be released as is. No, it far surpasses the level of just being good enough. I’m absolutely certain that if the product price is right, it could cause a seismic shift in the premium watch industry. Whose work is this? Is it Jeong Pil-sang’s work?”

No matter how close he was to Director Song, he couldn’t just casually say, ‘This watch is the one that brought me back to the past.’

Jaesung licked his lower lip and began to make excuses that he had thought up in advance.

“No. It’s just a no-brand watch that I happened to find. To be precise, you could say it’s a ‘*customized* product.”

“Which company’s product is it? No, that doesn’t make sense. No matter how customized a product is, unless they’ve been shot in the head, they wouldn’t put another brand’s name on a watch of this quality…”

“Actually, I happened to buy it from a stall on the outskirts of Paris. It was a stall run by an old gentleman, and he was very proud of the fact that the watches were handmade and of the technical aspects.”

Director Song, looking utterly puzzled, asked, “What? A stall…?” He nodded a few times and then continued.

“Well, if it’s a product with this level of quality, the maker’s nose would be so high in the air that it would make a hole in the sky, and you wouldn’t be able to say anything. So?”

Nam Gwang-min, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation in silence, added a few words.

He explained that there were quite a few street masters, especially in Europe, who made a living by making good quality products by hand and selling them on the streets.

“The samples on display looked pretty good, so I asked him to show me the product he was most confident in, but he said it was still unfinished. From then on, it was similar to the usual purchase process. I wrote down my basic information and address, and in the column for the phrase I wanted to engrave, I wrote ‘Wall Flower.’ A few days later, the old gentleman brought it directly to the penthouse of the hotel where I was staying.”

Director Song then stared intently into Jaesung’s eyes, as if telling him to continue.

What should I say? It was as if he were a child listening to a folktale being told by his grandmother.

It was because Director Song’s eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

“I had a cup of tea with him and talked for a while, and he seemed to have a deep story. He vaguely told me that he didn’t have the business acumen or greed for material possessions, so he wasn’t thinking about branding…”

“You should have grabbed him! Damn it! So what exactly do I have to do? Do I just have to find that old man and persuade him?”

“No. He said that this watch and the other works on display at the time would be his last works. He was going to sell his last works because he wanted to spend the rest of his life in a place he wanted to be. After that, I searched for a long time, but I couldn’t even find a clue.”

Director Song, looking utterly disappointed, pointed to his forehead with a ‘thud!’ and muttered, “It’s literally a mountain of problems. I wish I had given him a lump sum of money and bought the license for the technical part…”

At those words, Jaesung snapped his fingers as if he had been waiting for it and replied.

“First of all, we can use the license for the technical part without any problems. I told him that I wanted to buy the license because I didn’t think it would be possible to recruit him, and he said that if it was possible to implement it, I could use it commercially as much as I wanted.”

“It’s either he’s a transcendent person who’s really far from greed, or he’s convinced that he’ll never find a solution.”

“I think both assumptions are true. I had a deep conversation with Mr. Jeong Pil-sang, and he said that it would be impossible to find a solution on his own. Unless he did research with experts who had a good understanding…”

Director Song nodded and replied.

“Okay.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll find them.”

After saying that, Director Song clenched the watch tightly and added.

“All I have to do is to seduce [entice] an expert who can recognize the value of this watch and is so crazy about watches that he can spend his whole life finding a solution, right?”

“Yes. That’s right, but it won’t be easy.”

“Really? I have a slightly different opinion. With such a substantial bait, is catching one or two big fish even a job?”

Director Song, who asked back quietly, gave a bright smile and left the last words.

“I’m going first. Check on the work.”

Then, he quickly started walking back the way he had come, with busy steps.

It was a completely opposite look from when he had shown dissatisfaction with his work, which required him to move busily unlike the employees, just a few hours ago.

He knows people like Director Song well. No, he actually knows Director Song well.

He is the kind of person who forgets everything when he is faced with a task that makes his heart beat.

If you give him an interesting job, he will run around so hard that you might wonder, ‘Is he going to catch fire on the soles of his feet while running around like that?’ until he is about to lie down in a coffin.

Jaesung then gently patted Nam Gwang-min, who was standing blankly, and said.

“Okay, let’s do our work.”

* * *

After handing over all the work related to the watch line to Director Song, he moved to a small pub located nearby with Nam Gwang-min.

No sooner had they taken their seats than they were sipping on various kinds of liquor and exchanging stories about how to decorate the upcoming Paris Fashion Week stage.

While they were talking, he suddenly realized that he was quite drunk.

It was thanks to the fact that his face and body were flushed, and his heart was pounding as if it would burst.

He consciously took a deep breath and checked the time, and realized that it was already a little past midnight.

“It’s already past midnight. Shall we go in now [head back to the hotel]?”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

The two men left the pub side by side and began to walk wearily towards the hotel.

Their gait and pronunciation were unstable, but the two men continued to talk about how to plan the show.

As they entered the hotel lobby, Nam Gwang-min suddenly opened his mouth in a very serious tone.

“Mr. President.”

“Yes?”

“I hope we have good luck with the final draw for this collection.”

“I hope so.”

He had already gleaned a few pretty good ideas from the short drinking session he had today.

The key was only what time slot the Wall Flower collection would be assigned to.

What if he was assigned to a bright daytime slot?

That would be the worst possible situation. First of all, he wouldn’t be able to use lighting, and he would be in a situation where he would have to face various restrictions in making other special productions.

Nam Gwang-min added again.

“You said the announcement is tomorrow at noon? I’m going to pray really hard today and go to bed.”

“I’ll try to pray as sincerely as possible, too.”

“No. You’ll be busy all day tomorrow, so get some rest. I’ll pray for you, Mr. President.”

“Thank you.”

That’s how the long and long first day in Paris came to an end.

* * *

The next morning.

Jaesung, Director Song, and Nam Gwang-min gathered at a cafe located inside the hotel.

All three of them were just keeping silent with their hands together as if they were praying.

How long had it been? As soon as Jaesung’s smartphone vibrated once, the three of them turned their heads ‘whack-!’ as if they were meerkats in a safari [referring to the alert posture of meerkats] and began to stare intently at the smartphone screen.

Soon.

“Yes. This is Lee from Wall Flower.”

That was the greeting Jaesung gave as soon as he answered the phone that had just rung.

Then, without making a sound, he mouthed “Paris Fashion Week” to Director Song and Nam Gwang-min.

The three of them were holding their breath as if they had made an appointment for a while.

-Lee. The collection schedule for each brand has been announced. I’ve sent it to you by email, but let me tell you in advance that Lee’s Wall Flower is….

“Wait. Just a moment. Is it after sunset? Or is it during the day?”

At Jaesung’s question, the person on the other end of the line paused for a moment and then continued.

-I don’t know if it’s the answer you want, but it’s during the day.

“Damn it.”

-It’s 2 p.m.

“It’s going to be right in the middle of the day.”

-Unfortunately, as you know….

“Yes. It’s a fair way to choose the time, right?”

The worst situation he had in mind had occurred.

Even though Jaesung didn’t give a special explanation, Director Song and Nam Gwang-min’s expressions quickly darkened.

It seemed that they had succeeded in inferring the situation that had befallen them just from Jaesung’s reaction.

Jaesung took a breath and asked again.

“What’s the date?”

In the case of this Paris Fashion Week, it was held over a total of 7 days.

Although he was not able to secure a good place and time slot, he thought that he could at least take comfort in the fact that he was assigned a good date.

Soon.

-What should I do? It’s the first day, the first order. But if you make a definite impression on the public, the first day, the first order, may be more advantageous….

Jaesung then dropped the hand holding the smartphone powerlessly and began to stare blankly at the ceiling.

It was because he felt that Wall Flower’s debut stage, which he had been eagerly waiting for, was becoming increasingly strange.

Yeah. It was really ‘the worst possible draw’.