Black Label [EN]: Chapter 257

Black Label Extra Story 8

The meeting place with Chairman Ardo was a small, upscale restaurant on the outskirts of the 13th arrondissement in Paris.

“I’ll show you inside.”

As soon as I arrived, the maître d’ [head waiter] greeted me and led me to my seat.

“It’s been a while.”

Chairman Ardo was already seated and eating.

The head of the LVMH Group [Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a French multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods], known as the leading fashion conglomerate.

He was the one who had supported Jae Seung since he was relatively unknown.

“How have you been?”

At Jae Seung’s question, Chairman Ardo wiped his mouth with a napkin and nodded, answering in a low voice.

“What could have happened?”

Then, looking at Jae Seung, he added, “Please, sit down.”

As Jae Seung sat down, he was immediately asked, “Have you been well?”

Jae Seung replied, “Yes, I’ve been fine too.”

Ardo responded, “I heard rumors that you were holed up on an island in the Mediterranean. I thought you’d grown tired of the fashion world and gone into hiding.”

“That’s not entirely wrong.”

“Most of those who retire like that don’t come back, so I didn’t expect you to return….”

Jae Seung immediately countered, “Didn’t you want me to come back?”

A moment of silence hung in the air.

“A little?” He answered playfully, then added, “Thanks to you, our LVMH Group, which had been the undisputed number one in sales in the entire industry every year, has been relegated to number two, so I can’t help but feel that way.”

Jae Seung laughed along with him.

Chairman Ardo is… a person with a strong competitive spirit.

That’s why I immediately recognized his words as a joke.

“Anyway, welcome back.”

A moment of silence followed.

“The world seems to be buzzing because of your return….”

Chairman Ardo brought up a slightly sensitive topic.

“It will calm down soon.”

“You seem sure.”

“The preparations are going smoothly.”

“Time is running out, isn’t it?”

“I do regret the deadline,” Jae Seung admitted.

“If I had more time, I would have filled this season’s product lineup with even higher quality products.”

“What about now?”

“It doesn’t entirely meet my standards, but I think I’m filling the lineup with pretty good products.”

It was a confident statement that only Jae Seung could make so assuredly.

Chairman Ardo nodded a few times and continued, “Well, I hope you deliver a blow to those who only talk a big game through this season’s Fashion Week.”

“I will.”

“After you suddenly declared your retirement, I think I’ve been living a little listlessly too.”

He put down the spoon he had been using to eat soup and said quietly, “It’s too bland.”

“Is that so?”

Just then, the server served Jae Seung’s soup.

“Hmm?”

As soon as I tasted it, a question mark popped up over my head.

The soup was savory, slightly sweet, and quite delicious.

At least, it wasn’t bland.

‘What is it?’

Then Chairman Ardo continued, “You were a talent with a clear return on investment.”

“You flatter me.”

“It was clear that it was fun to watch you grow after investing.”

He looked into the distance as if recalling past memories and continued the unspoken words he had been holding back in a calm tone.

“I was happy to see your position as a designer become more and more solid, and your brand grow.”

In fact, Jae Seung had received countless forms of assistance from him.

I got the job… thanks to doing the job well, I built my position much easier and faster.

Not only that, I received economic support, and if Chairman Ardo hadn’t sold Wallflower’s office site in the first place, I don’t know what would have happened.

“After that fun disappeared, I lost interest in work.”

“Is that so?”

“Thanks to you, the past few years have felt like passing through a dark tunnel,” he added.

“In the process of slowly selling off the group’s shares, I spent a lot of time looking for a manager to take over the succession.”

“Yes?”

“Everyone was full of guys I didn’t like, but now I’m too old and tired to get involved in management directly.”

It seemed clear that he was secretly changing the management structure within the group.

If he had handled it externally, I would have seen at least one article about it.

“I also wandered around Sotheby’s auctions [a multinational corporation headquartered in New York City that auctions fine art and collectibles], buying art and old cars.”

“I see.”

“Most recently, I bought a 1969 Mustang coupe. Even a Shelby GT500 model.”

He smiled gently, which didn’t suit him, and muttered contentedly, “It’s a guy with a hot heart.”

For some reason, he looked like a beast that had lost all its teeth and claws, and I felt a pang of pity.

“You’re tired.”

He nodded.

“Don’t you dare think of pitying me.”

“Of course.”

“I’ve achieved everything here.”

A venomous mutter followed.

“I set foot in Paris without any plans and succeeded in establishing a company that could be called the predecessor of LVMH in just a few years.”

“I know.”

“After swallowing all the premium brands such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Givenchy, I finally managed to stand proudly on the throne.”

It’s a great achievement that you won’t be criticized for even if you boast about it yourself.

However… he was not a person who talked about the glory of the past.

‘Why…?’

While listening quietly, I felt strange.

He was the emperor of the fashion world who I thought would reign forever.

Seeing such a person trapped in the past and muttering like a retired hero…

‘Why on earth…?’

His change felt upsetting.

Everyone gets old and sick, but I didn’t think he would be like that.

“I recently appeared on Canal Plus’s talk show and suggested a bet to the critics who only talk.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“While watching, I admired it as a very Jae Seung-like response, unlike designers who are sick of being artists.”

He added with conviction, “You are a businessman.”

All owner-designers are classified as businessmen, but I have certainly shown a slightly different path from them.

“Lee, so….”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to suggest a bet too.”

At that, Jae Seung tilted his head.

“What kind of bet all of a sudden….”

Soon, he continued, “If the F/W [Fall/Winter] season clothes that you will be presenting at this Paris Fashion Week are successful again….”

Jae Seung was listening intently.

“I will transfer all the management rights of our LVMH Group to you.”

“Yes?”

“I will hand over all 51% of the group’s shares that I own and receive the money slowly.”

It was a proposition to hand over the entire group as it is.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin and added, “Professional managers are sneaky.”

“Is that so?”

“They just want to maintain the status quo.”

Then he added, “I can’t stand to see those guys control the group that I have built over my lifetime.”

“Still….”

“If it was you before retirement, I would have handed over the management rights right away, but I think the situation is a little different now.”

At that, Jae Seung nodded.

Verification is needed.

Everyone wants that verification.

“I agree.”

However, how much would you value the verification he is trying to do now?

The LVMH Group has a market capitalization of approximately 344.3 billion won [approximately 260 million USD].

It is a group that exerts influence not only in the fashion world but also in the liquor industry.

It was a verification with the management rights and 51% of the shares of such a group at stake.

“What if I lose?”

He answered, “Try harder.”

“Yes?”

“That’s all.”

At that, Jae Seung asked, “It seems like a bet that doesn’t have any risk on my side….”

In short, it was the same as saying, ‘Please make achievements so that I can create a justification for transferring the shares.’

“For reference, the standard of success I’m talking about is sales. Strictly speaking, isn’t this also a fashion business?”

“Yes….”

“If you succeed in surpassing the previous year’s sales again this year and maintain the number one position in total sales in the fashion world, I will fulfill my promise.”

At that, Jae Seung answered, “I will do my best.”

Then he nodded.

“Yes, thank you.”

It was then.

“Huh?”

Jae Seung’s eyes found the dark red blood on the napkin that he had wiped his mouth with earlier.

“Chairman….”

At that, Chairman Ardo smiled.

“Oh, I’ve been caught.”

When he called the server, the server immediately brought him a thick Bohemian cigar.

Cheek-.

After lighting it, he took a puff and took his time as if savoring the scent, then exhaled the acrid smoke.

“I’m dying.”

It was the moment Jae Seung’s eyes widened.

“Looking back, Karl also chose you.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t he transfer Chanel’s shares?”

Karl Lagerfeld also transferred his yacht, mansion, and most of the shares of the Chanel Group he owned to Jae Seung before his death.

“Yes, that was the case….”

Chairman Ardo smiled bitterly.

“I know why he chose you.”

“Why….”

“Because you’re the best of the next generation.”

He exhaled cigar smoke again.

“Therefore, I think those who dominated the previous generation are trying to hand over everything they have built over their lifetime to you and leave.”

He reiterated, “Hey, please don’t pity me.”

“Yes….”

“Don’t recite a eulogy even if I die.”

He seemed calm.

“Everyone is dying. We mistakenly think we are living, but in the end, we are all slowly dying. We don’t know how precious time is and live neglecting precious things under the pretext of being busy.”

Yes, he seemed calm.

“I just hope you can help me die in peace.”

Jae Seung nodded.

The old beast in front of me… was definitely dying.

“I will prove it.”

Even at this moment.

“I will prove it and grab the LVMH Group in my hands.”

He laughed.

“Do as you please.”

Even though I had a hunch that I would gain a lot, for some reason, one side of my heart felt uneasy.