Black Label [EN]: Chapter 298

Black Label Episode 297

Black Label Side Story 49

The next morning.

“Abba.”

Jaesung slept in for the first time in a while.

“Abba, Abba!”

Of course, Yul wouldn’t leave her dad alone while he was sleeping in.

“Wake up! Wake up, yeo!”

Soon, Jaesung squinted his eyes open with difficulty.

“Ugh…”

Yul rubbed her cheek against Jaesung’s face and asked,

“You’re not going to the company today?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Then are you going to play with Yul?”

“I should.”

Originally, he should be pushing forward vigorously, having not only completed a large-scale project but also achieved successful results, but…

He requested a break from Wallflower’s brand house and the board of directors to relieve the accumulated fatigue and spend time with his family.

7 days.

During this rare vacation, he intended to spend enjoyable time with his loved ones, without thinking about work at all.

Creak-.

Jaesung opened the drawer and…

“See you in 7 days.”

He turned off his phone and carefully placed it in the drawer.

* * *

That day.

“All done!”

Ashlynn moved the apple pie she had just taken out of the oven onto the table, and…

“Ah! It looks really delicious!”

Yul swallowed her saliva.

“Abba, but did Yul put the apples in herself? Really?”

“Really?”

“Yes, yes, when Mommy was making it. Yul kept helping?”

Jaesung gently stroked his daughter’s hair and then used a fork to pick up a piece of pie, cut into bite-sized pieces, and put it in her mouth.

“Delicious!”

After eating the pie they made together, he lay down next to Yul and read her fairy tales until she fell asleep.

It was a nap.

Then, he woke up around early evening and enjoyed a long walk along the Seine River, and enjoyed small fireworks at night.

‘It’s fast…’

Indeed, time is always relative.

When working, it’s so slow…

When resting, it flows so quickly.

“Hoo…”

Returning home, Jaesung habitually opened the drawer, took out the phone he had put in in the morning, and turned it on.

There were dozens of missed calls.

Text messages with important content were also piled up.

Just as he was about to move his finger to check the contents.

“Abba!”

Seol burst into Jaesung’s room.

“Yul, I told you Dad is working!”

Ashlynn followed and picked up Yul.

“I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry.”

Jaesung put his phone back in the drawer and closed it.

I guess not thinking about work is something that requires practice and learning…

Jaesung chuckled and asked in a low voice.

“Why did you call me, Dad?”

“Let’s brush our teeth together.”

“Okay, should we?”

“And read a fairy tale.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

“Then go to sleep.”

“Good idea.”

He intended to rest for a while.

* * *

That’s how the 7-day vacation passed in an instant.

There wasn’t enough time to go all the way to Korea…

Jaesung spent all of the past 7 days with his family.

Vacation day 7.

It was already the last day of vacation…

“Hoo-.”

Jaesung, who had just woken up, couldn’t help but mess up his hair, unable to shake off his restless feelings.

“It’s frustrating…”

The anchor on the fashion channel on TV in the living room was, as always, talking about Cardo’s success.

– This is an unprecedented brand…

– It will go down in history…

– No one can replace it…

Jaesung glanced down at his sleeping daughter and immediately got up from his seat.

“What should I wear…”

He intended to visit the tombstone of Karl Lagerfeld, who was his teacher and friend, to say a short greeting and share his concerns.

“Where are you going?”

Just as Jaesung was busy preparing to leave the house, Ashlynn, who had woken up at the sound, came into the dressing room and asked.

“Where are you going?”

“Just for a bit…”

After speaking, Jaesung added in a bitter tone.

“I’m going to see my teacher.”

“Karl?”

“Yeah, I feel restless.”

She hugged Jaesung tightly and asked again.

“Everything is going well, right?”

“Yeah, so I guess…”

At that, Ashlynn made a short sound of “Ah” and continued.

Since she was a top model before marrying Jaesung…

She knew well about the stress of having to keep her position.

“There’s no way I can help, right?”

She was well aware that it wasn’t the kind of difficulty that could be resolved with a few words from someone.

“Yeah, I don’t know right now either.”

He couldn’t just be happy because of Cardo’s success.

The public would expect even greater things from him…

He would live every year with the feeling of going up on the scaffold.

He thought he was used to it, but was he not yet?

Money was meaningless.

He was already earning so much that he couldn’t spend it all in his lifetime.

No…

Wasn’t he in a position where he had to worry more about spending than income from a long time ago?

“You need to spend more money!”

Every time he talked to his tax accountant, he was constantly told that increasing his spending would make tax processing much easier.

‘If…’

What if Karl were still alive?

If he confided these concerns.

Karl, who had been fighting for decades…

‘What answer would he have given me…’

Jaesung forced a smile and said.

“I’ll be back.”

The destination on the last day of vacation was Karl’s tombstone.

* * *

“It’s been a while.”

Jaesung, who arrived in front of Karl Lagerfeld’s tombstone, sat down on the floor and continued.

“Have you been well?”

He kept thinking he should visit from time to time, but he made excuses that he was busy and couldn’t come several times.

“Is it only about 2M [2 meters, approximately 6.5 feet] ?”

If you dig a little bit, you’ll be able to find the coffin where he’s sleeping.

“If the gap between life and death was really just that much, how great would it be…”

Karl was asleep.

He was a young man who was born in Germany in 1925 and entered Paris with the dream of becoming a designer.

1952.

He won first place in the International Wool Secretariat contest for the first time.

The starting point as a designer.

He led brands such as Balmain, Jean Patou, Valentino, Frizia, Jourdan, and Monochrome, successfully leading every season.

That period alone was 30 years.

He, who has not even set foot in the mainstream market for 10 years, could be regarded as a chick [newcomer].

Was that all?

In September 1982, Karl Lagerfeld’s recruitment of Janelle [Chanel] was officially announced.

The recruitment of Karl, a German ready-to-wear designer, was controversial.

No one thought he could lead Janelle’s haute couture [high fashion].

“How was it?”

Even if he tried to be strong, he would sometimes collapse.

You, who have suffered from public suspicion and opposition for that long time…

“What kind of heart were you able to endure each season with?”

In 1983, Karl eventually successfully presented Janelle’s new season…

Wasn’t he praised for perfectly resurrecting the dead Janelle [Chanel]?

“How did you do it every time?”

After that, he spent decades at Janelle [Chanel] again.

Living as a famous designer for more than half a century…

He has been consumed by countless gossip, issues, and controversies.

If words could hurt, he would have been rags.

What is the secret to being able to keep your place in the midst of all that?

“Is it passion?”

Passion is quickly exhausted.

“Did you really like your job that much?”

If not…

“What was the secret?”

Jaesung recited in a low voice.

“I feel like I’ve unraveled too many stories too quickly.”

Are there things he can show the public more?

Has the fuel for inspiration been exhausted?

Someone might envy his quick success, but…

“I was going to tell Karl when I met him again someday. I’m actually living a second life…”

Now everything has become a burden.

Is he really…

As great as the world expects?

“I don’t know what else to do…”

The public’s expectations have become too high.

“Now I…”

How many years will he be able to…

“Can I keep this position?”

It was a strange feeling that only the way down was visible from the top floor.

Even so, he didn’t want to hide somewhere far away, abandoning everything like before.

“Karl, give me an answer.”

Jaesung shook his head.

“I’m really sick of being evaluated now…”

Who was it that gave him a second life?

What transcendent being gave him the opportunity?

For a brief moment, he dismissed the ‘strange phenomenon’ of regression as a dream.

But soon he realized that it wasn’t like a dream…

“I worked hard.”

He really lived harder than anyone else.

He ran without rest…

Ran, ran, and ran again.

“I worked hard…”

Then, did his life meet the expectations of the absolute being?

Thanks to him, he was named in the ranks of mainstream designers…

Now he is being praised for leading the industry.

Is the person who gave him the opportunity satisfied with the results?

“I don’t know…”

Jaesung muttered again.

“I don’t know anything…”

Jaesung sobbed.

“I feel like I’ve lost my way.”

For quite a while…

* * *

Around early evening, Jaesung, who had finished his unexpected confession, returned home.

Beep, beep, beep-.

It was the moment he was about to unlock the door and open it.

“Abba! Abbaaaaa!”

Yul ran out in a hurry.

“Why didn’t you hug me this morning and leave!”

“Huh?”

“Mommy told me everything! You only hugged Mommy!”

Then she immediately clung to one of Jaesung’s legs.

At that moment.

Jaesung felt like the world had collapsed and was being rebuilt.

“Ah…”

When and where was it? He had heard such words before. In order to live beautifully, you have to fight with all your might…

I want to live beautifully.

I want to stay by the side of my loved ones forever, listening to and solving all their hardships and worries.

Laughing a lot, and crying as little as possible.

Eating, wearing, and using good things…

And I wanted to live while sharing.

That’s all.

No matter what the public thinks…

For the happiness of my family, my wife, my child, my friends…

Isn’t it enough to live fiercely while fighting?

“Yul.”

Jaesung hugged Yul.

“Huh?”

The warmth felt in the small embrace.

This warmth…

Keeps fueling passion.

“Dad will fight for you.”

Because the world is such that you have to fight with all your might to live beautifully.

He was going to fight on behalf of this child.

So you just have to laugh, talk, and grow up beautifully like now.

“Dad will fight for you.”

He feels something while looking at this young child.

His thoughts change and the shape of what he feared becomes unclear.

He learns.

He thought that parents were only in a position to teach something…

In the end, he ends up learning something.

“Dad promises.”

I can’t define it, but…

“Fight instead…”

I think I can do it.

Without losing my way…

I feel like I can move forward.

“I’ll win for sure…”

Without being shaken by anything.

“Okay?”

It felt like he could continue to move forward.

I hope this life will continue forever.

A life where I can laugh and talk with my loved ones…

A life where everyone looks at me with eyes full of ‘envy’ and ‘admiration’…

I hope this heartbreakingly beautiful life of mine will last forever.