Black Label [EN]: Chapter 24

Black Label – Episode 23

Black Label Episode 23

24. Triggers

While listening to the Kuba Kuba Store representative on the phone, a saying I’d once heard flashed through my mind.

The saying that opportunities come to everyone, but only those who are prepared can seize them.

“…So, I think it would be better to discuss the details in person. Is that okay with you?”

Startled, Jaeseung replied,

“Ah, yes! Of course.”

“When would be a good time for you?”

“Well, today might be difficult….”

Jaeseung trailed off, turning to look at the calendar on his desk.

‘Soon.’

“I’d prefer it to be before Wednesday, if possible.”

Wednesday was the day of the interview with FTV. He wanted to have the meeting beforehand, and ideally, sign the store entry contract.

That way, his actions would be more justified, and the interview’s impact would be maximized.

An 18-year-old young designer entering a major webzine like Kuba Kuba’s online and offline store? It was a story worthy of being included in ‘The editor’s arbitrarily selected top 10 promising people!’

‘I need to play my cards as efficiently as possible.’

The Kuba Kuba Store representative was silent for a moment before speaking.

“Jaeseung, how about Monday? Is that okay?”

“Yes. That’s good.”

After that, they coordinated the meeting place and time. It would be at Cafe Haus Ten, where he had previously met with the FTV magazine editorial team. The time was 8 PM, so he wouldn’t be rushed after school.

“I hope you have good results with your first sale. Then, I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Jaeseung replied briefly and ended the call. Had he been tense without realizing it?

“Hoo-.”

He exhaled the stale breath from his lungs. Even after finishing the call, he felt dazed.

It was as if he’d been sitting blankly for a long time and then suddenly stood up, making his head spin.

A huge opportunity he hadn’t even imagined had suddenly appeared.

Kuba Kuba Store.

It was a place that even established brands were eager to enter.

Jaeseung, lost in thought, eventually smiled.

‘Hmm…. When I think about it, this opportunity came thanks to Yeongguk.’

It was because he had taken street snapshots in Myeongdong [a popular shopping district in Seoul] yesterday.

If Yeongguk hadn’t asked him to go to Myeongdong with him?

He wouldn’t have taken the snapshots, and he certainly wouldn’t be scheduling a meeting with the Kuba Kuba Store manager now.

He decided to buy him a proper meal soon. No, maybe even a piece of necessary music equipment.

Of course, after completely signing the store entry contract first.

“Good.”

Jaeseung muttered to himself, forcibly calmed his excited heart, and sat back down at the computer.

The time remaining until the start of sales for his first self-produced products was 8 hours. He diligently began typing on the keyboard to complete the remaining final preparations.

* * *

PM 11:57

The time remaining until midnight, the start time for the sale of his self-produced clothing items, was only about 3 minutes. Jaeseung sat still on his bed, staring blankly at his phone screen.

‘Hmm, it’s strangely nerve-wracking.’

It was a different kind of nervousness than when he was preparing to sell reformed clothes [upcycled or altered clothing].

Unlike reformed clothes, which were ‘retouched’ clothes made by others, these were clothes he had made himself. It was an emotional situation.

‘When was the last time I sold my own clothes….’

It was before he started making imitation clothes, when he was working as an outside salesman at a small store in the Dongdaemun clothing town [a large wholesale and retail shopping district in Seoul].

The joy of seeing the clothes he had worked so hard to make, sacrificing sleep, being *DP (Display) in the store.

Jaeseung still remembered that joy vividly.

“Hoo-.”

While being swept up in great nervousness, he also had faith that all the items he had prepared for the day would sell out.

The number of blog visitors had increased significantly, and many had expressed their intention to purchase the self-produced clothes when they were released.

Furthermore, there were already over a hundred comments under the ‘street snapshot’ posted on the webzine Kuba Kuba.

‘Yes. They will definitely sell out today. Because I didn’t prepare that many items in the first place….’

Then.

AM 12:00

As midnight approached, the date displayed on the phone screen changed.

It was time for the sales-related posts to be posted all at once through the blog market’s ‘scheduled posting’ function.

Jaeseung stared at the phone screen, motionless, like a stone statue.

It was a time of great patience. Emotions that couldn’t be expressed in words began to mix inside.

Along with subtle expectations, there was also a groundless sense of unease. All sorts of 잡념 [japnyum – stray thoughts] swept in like a tsunami.

But, the phone remained silent.

Jaeseung frowned slightly, got up, and walked towards his computer.

‘What? Not a single purchase-related contact? Could it be that the scheduled posting function didn’t work properly…?’

Just as Jaeseung reached the computer chair.

Ziiiiing-!

Ziiiiing-!

Ziiing-!

Ziiiiing-!

Jaeseung’s phone began to vibrate non-stop. He widened his eyes and began checking the messages.

“I want to buy the jacket and black jeans set. If I buy them together, do I get the cotton t-shirt as a free gift?”

“I want to buy black jeans in size S. Please give me your account number, and I will deposit the money immediately under the name ‘Lee Kyung-hoon.'”

“Do you only accept product-related inquiries through the blog? Can women also wear the jacket in size S?”

* * *

While Jaeseung was responding to customers alone using text messages, he had to add the words ‘Sold out’ to the sales-related posts for products that were all gone.

Once again, he realized how relative time is.

The clock hands, which had moved so slowly when he was waiting for midnight, now felt like they were moving too fast to keep up with.

Exactly 43 minutes.

That was the time it took for all the clothes Jaeseung had prepared as the initial quantity to sell out.

If he had a full ‘assortment’ [a complete range of sizes and styles], it would have been over much sooner. It took longer because he was solely responsible for customer service, answering inquiries, and confirming deposits.

“Haa-.”

Jaeseung exhaled a sigh of relief and pinched his cheek in a daze.

It was a foolish act. Even when he went back in time 13 years, he hadn’t done something so silly as pinching his cheek to see if it was a dream.

Jaeseung then began to laugh 피식피식 [pisik pisik – a soft chuckle] out of a sense of 허무함 [heomuhham – emptiness or absurdity]. It was all thanks to the contents of the last deposit message that arrived.

[Web발신 [Web balsin – Text Message]]

Hamkke Bank / 20921***141 / Lee Min-ho

Electronic Financial Deposit

210,000 won [approximately $160 USD]

Balance: 6,630,250 won [approximately $5,000 USD]

Since the sale was conducted with a free cotton t-shirt for purchasing a jacket and black jeans together for 210,000 won, most customers were bulk buyers.

Since the initial self-produced clothing production was carried out with only 600,000 won [approximately $450 USD], it had increased tenfold in an instant.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t given time to savor the joyful feelings. There was a mountain of things to do right away.

‘First, I need to buy more fabric and place an order with the factory. I also need to post a notice on the blog market that additional quantities will be in stock soon… I need to prepare a workshop and studio as soon as tomorrow.’

Jaeseung, having briefly organized his plans, clenched his fists tightly. Something in his heart began to stir.

The first sale of self-produced clothing acted as a kind of ‘trigger.’

It felt as if someone had poured oil on top of his already boiling passion.

Jaeseung had thought his emotions were worn out.

Therefore, he had guessed he would no longer be thrilled by the word ‘first.’

Of course, it was a huge miscalculation.

The word ‘first,’ the word ‘start,’ was still 황홀하고 달콤했다 [hwangholhago dalkomhaetda – intoxicating and sweet].

So much so that he could easily shed a few tears.

“끄윽… 흐윽… [kkeuek… heuek… – sobbing sounds].”

Jaeseung lowered his head. His whole body began to tremble. The thrill that started in his chest 순회 [sunhoe – circulated] his whole body several times.

It was a terribly comfortable sense of relief. The doubts and a hint of anxiety he had about himself were completely resolved.

Only a strong conviction that he could do it remained.

The trigger had been pulled, and he was feeling alive because of it.

Now it became even clearer.

This.

Making clothes.

It was 분명히 [bunmyeonghi – clearly] a ‘calling’ given to him.