Black Label [EN]: Chapter 41

Black Label 40

41. Your Hidden Self

Issues related to management.

While they were indeed important, I didn’t think it was something I needed to debate or persuade Professor Kang Hyung-rok about right away.

Not only had I not consulted with President Song, who was directly involved, but I also hadn’t built a strong enough relationship to proceed as I had planned.

“For now, I have plenty of time, so I’ll think it over again.”

“Alright. Think carefully and decide.”

“Yes, thank you so much for your concern.”

After that, the conversation mainly revolved around the original purpose of the meeting: ‘university entrance exams.’

Starting with discussions about the ‘GED’ [General Educational Development test, an alternative to a high school diploma] or ‘TOEFL’ [Test of English as a Foreign Language], to the respective strengths and weaknesses of prestigious overseas schools, and even anecdotes from successful applicants’ interviews.

As the conversation was winding down, Professor Kang Hyung-rok took out several large brown paper bags from his bag and handed them to me.

“Well, seeing is believing, after all. Take a look whenever you have time.”

“Yes? What is this?”

“Copies of successful applicants’ portfolios. I’ve selected only the exemplary cases that might be helpful.”

It seemed he had carefully chosen distinctive portfolios that had received favorable reviews from interviewers.

Soon, Jae-seung bowed his head and said.

“Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Professor Kang Hyung-rok replied gruffly, picking up the coat he had placed beside him.

“Anyway, let’s wrap it up for today.”

Just before getting up, Jae-seung took out his phone to check the time.

It was already ten at night.

Suddenly, he remembered the employees who were eagerly waiting for him at the company dinner.

* * *

As he entered the restaurant, he checked the message Lee Kang-jun had sent him again.

[Lee Kang-jun: This is the Korean beef restaurant you mentioned, boss. Come to room number 5.]

‘Room number 5, room number 5,’ he repeated to himself as he walked into the restaurant.

It was practically their first company dinner, and he was a little disappointed that he couldn’t have a drink.

‘Oh well, can’t be helped.’

Just as Jae-seung was clicking his tongue in regret, a staff member waiting at the entrance asked him.

“Welcome! How many in your party?”

“Ah, I’m with a group.”

After taking off his shoes and placing them neatly in the shoe rack, he immediately headed towards room number 5.

‘Is this it?’

Just as Jae-seung reached the door and was about to forcefully slide open the door to room number 5, he narrowed his brows slightly and stopped his hand.

The topic of the conversation coming from beyond the door seemed to be none other than ‘himself.’

The first voice he heard was Lee Kang-jun’s. Perhaps he had a bit of alcohol in him, as his voice was slightly more relaxed than usual.

“Isn’t our boss amazing?”

Following that, he heard the reply from Nam Gwang-min, the oldest of the employees.

“Kang-jun, you seem to be completely smitten with the boss.”

“I’ve known him since the Wall Flower days, when it was a ‘blog market’… no, even when he was dealing with reformed clothing.”

“Huh? Really?”

This was news to Jae-seung as well. It was a story he had never mentioned.

Then, Lee Kang-jun replied with a “Yes” and continued to speak.

“The reformed clothes were amazing too. He even wrote columns back then, you know? I even thought, ‘Is this a famous designer running a blog as a hobby?’ Later, I was completely surprised after seeing the FTV magazine interview. I never would have dreamed he was a high school student…”

Soon, he heard the voice of Chu Ji-hoon, a student on leave from Hongshin University.

“Wow, is that so? I wonder if the columns the boss wrote are still around.”

“They are. I still look at them sometimes.”

“Oh, they exist! They exist!”

He hadn’t expected them to be talking behind his back, but since it was all praise, he felt a little awkward.

It wasn’t his intention, but he had unintentionally ended up eavesdropping.

Jae-seung was hesitating whether to go in now or not.

Lee Kang-jun brought up something quite significant.

“The desire to work with the boss was definitely a big part of it, but I initially took the job because of my study abroad funds.”

Following that, he heard Nam Gwang-min’s voice.

“Oh? Kang-jun, you were thinking of studying abroad too. But?”

“Yes. I was, but now I’m not so sure.”

“About what?”

“Actually, the new S/S [Spring/Summer] season clothes are like a ‘turning point.'”

It was a short and concise statement, but the meaning it held was clear.

As Lee Kang-jun said, this S/S season would be a turning point for Wall Flower.

As much as they had increased the production scale at once, the glory they would enjoy if successful would be different.

Of course, the risks they would have to bear if they failed were the same.

“Is it easy to give equal opportunities to the newly hired design team members at such an important time?”

“No, it’s not.”

“The boss is probably very nervous too. It’s a matter of the rise and fall of the first brand he launched, so it would be strange if he wasn’t nervous.”

“Yeah, but?”

Then, Lee Kang-jun began to express his thoughts in a slightly slurred voice.

“But when you look at the boss, he never shows it. He’s probably suppressing it because he’s worried that we’ll feel pressured when submitting our designs.”

As Lee Kang-jun said, he didn’t want to pass on the pressure to the employees, so he was not mentioning the importance of this S/S season.

However, that wasn’t the only reason.

In fact, he was confident that he could somehow elicit a successful response. If he didn’t have that confidence at the base, he wouldn’t have made the decision to increase the scale.

“That could definitely be the case. I hadn’t even thought about that part…”

“I don’t know about the others, but when I was the boss’s age, I was busy going to PC rooms [internet cafes] after the early admission results were announced.”

“Everyone was probably similar back then. Our boss is just a special case.”

Not long after, Lee Kang-jun’s voice, trembling slightly, began to be heard.

“These days, my heart is really wavering.”

“Huh?”

“About studying abroad. I keep thinking that I just want to stay with the boss.”

As Lee Kang-jun’s words came to an end, Jae-seung unknowingly wore a faint smile.

Although Lee Kang-jun’s change of heart didn’t feel entirely unwelcome, the fact that he was thinking so deeply was something he felt very grateful for.

Soon, Jae-seung immediately slid open the door and said in a very lively tone.

Slide-.

“Did everyone wait long? I was a little late because the conversation went on longer than I thought.”

He had come to the conclusion that eavesdropping any longer would not be polite.

In fact, it felt like he had heard everything he needed to hear.

As soon as Jae-seung entered, a moment of silence fell over the room.

Nam Gwang-min, the oldest, skillfully broke the silence.

“Our boss. I don’t think he’s a gentleman at all.”

“Yes? Why?”

As Jae-seung asked back in an exaggerated tone, Nam Gwang-min smiled and replied.

“We were just talking about you, boss.”

“You weren’t badmouthing me, were you?”

At the same time as asking suspiciously, he began to examine the faces of the employees.

Perhaps it was because they had a bit of alcohol in them, but their cheeks were flushed red like autumn persimmons.

Then, he immediately began to count the number of empty bottles on the table.

Judging by rough estimate, the number of empty bottles seemed to be well over ten.

Then, Lee Kang-jun smiled and said.

“Boss. Please, have a seat.”

“Ah, I should.”

At the same time as taking a seat, he said with a playful tone.

“How much did you all drink? If we have another company dinner, I’ll go bankrupt, you know?”

“Of course. We ordered without worrying about the price, as you instructed, boss.”

The friendly atmosphere continued. The grill that had cooled down for a while heated up again, and the additional beef that had been ordered was placed on the grill.

Sizzle, sizzle, the sound that tickled the ears echoed, and at the same time, the smell that stimulated hunger began to fill the room.

Clink-!

Clang-!

Clink-!

The employees toasted with soju [Korean distilled spirit] glasses, and Jae-seung toasted with a soda cup filled with cider, several times.

When the atmosphere was in full swing, Jae-seung whispered to Lee Kang-jun in a small voice.

“Kang-jun.”

“Yes?”

Lee Kang-jun had a much more dazed look than when Jae-seung first joined the company dinner. It was only natural since he had been drinking non-stop.

In the midst of the chaotic atmosphere, Jae-seung suddenly brought up words that were cut off from the context.

“I will never force you. Instead, please choose very carefully.”

“Yes? What does that…”

“Whatever choice Kang-jun makes, I will take responsibility for that choice.”

It was something he had wanted to say ever since he unintentionally overheard Lee Kang-jun’s inner thoughts while standing with a door between them.

Also, although he said it to Lee Kang-jun, it was a kind of self-hypnosis.

If Lee Kang-jun decides to stay at Wall Flower.

If his life is affected even a little by his intervention in his life.

That influence must be unconditionally positive.

He has to make it happen somehow.

As Lee Kang-jun stared blankly at Jae-seung.

“Did I say it too difficult? I’m saying that I’ll take responsibility for Kang-jun.”

“…….

Jae-seung raised his cup and shouted in an exaggerated tone.

“Okay, let’s all do well!”

At Jae-seung’s words, Nam Gwang-min and Chu Ji-hoon, who were exchanging jokes among themselves, picked up their respective glasses.

Soon.

Clink-!

Again, several glasses touched in the air, making a clear and refreshing sound.

* * *

Several days passed since the first company dinner, and it was the day of the contract with ‘Hips Board.’

Today, Lee Kang-jun had to go to the rental car company instead of the office. The meeting place was quite far, so they rented a car and brought Lee Kang-jun, who had a driver’s license.

“Boss, isn’t this a pretty good success?”

On the way back to the office after finishing the meeting with the Hips Board representative, Lee Kang-jun suddenly brought up the topic.

“Hmm, well, I’m satisfied for now.”

There were only two things that Hips Board had requested.

First, the design of the ‘skateboard’ that would be released as a limited edition.

There were no restrictions or special requests regarding the design, so it seemed like it could be finished quickly without much difficulty.

The second was the production of ‘stickers’ to be given as free gifts to customers who purchase the limited edition skateboard.

Since there were no detailed order details for this either, it seemed like they could simply create something that symbolized the collaboration between the two brands.

‘Yeah. It’s a job that doesn’t seem to take long, so this is completely satisfactory.’

It seemed that Hips Board was placing significance on the fact that they were conducting a collaboration project itself.

Anyway, the contract conditions were quite satisfactory.

First, they received a down payment of five million won on the spot. Also, they were in a situation where they would receive 5% of the sales proceeds of the limited edition skateboards and stickers to be sold in the future in the form of ‘Royalty’.

Considering Wall Flower’s current position, and considering that both tasks do not require a lot of time, it could be said to be a fairly generous condition.

Soon, Lee Kang-jun turned the steering wheel gently and said again in a bright tone.

“Listening from the side, I thought it seemed like a profitable business.”

“Still, if you were to be picky, Hips Board would be in a much more advantageous situation than us, right?”

“Yes? Why?”

“Once this S/S season passes, no matter what company it is, they won’t be able to collaborate with us under these conditions, even if they die and come back to life.”

Soon, Lee Kang-jun nodded his head several times and replied.

“Wow… you’re still our boss.”

“By the way, Kang-jun. Did you prepare well?”

At Jae-seung’s quiet question, Lee Kang-jun smiled shyly and replied in a small voice.

“Well, I did my best for now…”

“Okay. Then that’s enough.”

“Ha, I’m so nervous.”

Today was the day of the meeting with ‘Hips Board’ and also the day to first review the S/S season designs that the employees had devised.

Prior to the full-scale production of the clothes to be released in the S/S season, they were planning to review the designs devised by the employees themselves in a total of three sessions.

If the design contest deadline was not set in advance, there was a possibility that employees would spend too much time on one design, so they proceeded in this way.

Soon, Jae-seung continued, looking at his phone screen with an indifferent expression.

“I’m personally most curious about Kang-jun’s design.”

“Yes? Why, why…”

“Because of the portfolio you submitted when you joined the company. Kang-jun’s portfolio matched my taste the best.”

Soon, the vehicle they were in stopped due to the signal [traffic light].

After hesitating for a moment, Lee Kang-jun said, “Just a moment,” and twisted his body to pick up his bag that he had placed in the back seat.

“What are you doing?”

“Boss. I’m really sorry, but could you give me some ‘feedback’?”

“Feedback? Now?”

Just as Jae-seung was quietly asking back. Lee Kang-jun took out a file folder and handed it to Jae-seung.

“Yes. If you point out any problems, I’ll try to fix them somehow before dinner.”

Just in time, the signal changed again, barely.

Soon, Lee Kang-jun roughly threw his bag in the back seat and pressed down on the accelerator again.

Soon, Jae-seung smiled.

The fact that he would be reviewing the employees’ designs was around dinner time when the quitting time was imminent anyway.

It seemed that he meant to get feedback in advance, even if it was simple, and try to fix the pointed out problems somehow before dinner.

“Okay. I welcome this kind of greed.”

It’s a cute greed. To put it better, it’s passion. Anyway, it’s definitely not cheating.

If the employees asked him to look at the designs, he was willing to look at them at any time.

Soon, Jae-seung opened the file folder he had received and began to carefully examine the A4 papers inside one by one.

Not long after, a dark shadow began to fall over Jae-seung’s brow.

‘Huh…?’

Soon.

“Kang-jun.”

“Yes?”

“Why did you hide it?”

“What?”

Soon, Jae-seung laughed it off and replied.

“Your skill.”