Black Label [EN]: Chapter 88

Black Label 87

88. Noticing and Being Noticed

“Why was such a diagram abandoned…?”

Jae-seung muttered to himself as he examined the diagram.

It was a much better diagram than he had expected.

Since it came from a trash can, he couldn’t help but underestimate it.

The diagram was surprisingly solid.

There were some shortcomings in certain areas, but these could be easily corrected.

How should he put it? It was like seeing errors or mistakes that arose from having a good sense but lacking detailed knowledge.

Jae-seung once again checked the name of the young tailor written in the corner of the diagram.

‘Kyle, Kyle….’

When was it? He couldn’t remember exactly, but he had heard something like this once.

‘If fate gives you lemons, you should think about how to make lemonade.’

Jae-seung crossed his arms and fell into thought.

Kyle is a lemon.

Now, how can he turn this freshly gifted lemon into lemonade?

* * *

The next morning, Jae-seung finally got out of bed around noon.

He wasn’t particularly hungover, and he didn’t feel like sleeping more since he had slept to his heart’s content.

It was a rare refreshing morning.

“Kkeueu-.”

After stretching out, he immediately left the bedroom.

As soon as he stepped into the living room, a savory aroma tickled his nose.

Walking towards the kitchen, he saw a somewhat plump middle-aged woman focused on cooking something.

She seemed to be the ‘maid’ who would help with household chores while he lived in Manhattan.

“Hello?”

As Jae-seung made his presence known, the middle-aged maid turned around and smiled brightly.

“Oh, welcome!”

They exchanged some small talk. The middle-aged maid’s name was ‘Julie,’ and she seemed to have a very easygoing personality.

After a few words, Julie cautiously asked.

“Is it okay to call you ‘Lee’ comfortably? The chicken soup is ready; would you like to wash up first, or would you like to eat first?”

“I think I’ll eat first.”

“Okay, I’ll prepare it right away. Can you wait a moment?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Julie started humming and transferring the steaming soup into a bowl.

Soon.

Tak-.

Before long, a bowl of soup with a savory aroma was placed on the table.

In the clear, yellowish broth, there were large chunks of chicken, potatoes, carrots, and various other vegetables.

Jae-seung stared blankly at the soup in the bowl and exclaimed in a low voice, “Wow….” Julie, even more excited, continued in a bright voice.

“Please tell me if you need more. For the record, I think there’s nothing better than chicken soup the day after drinking. It’s the same when you’re sick.”

“Huh? Julie, how did you know I drank yesterday?”

“Well, I didn’t intentionally peek. The bedroom door was open, so I glanced in… and the smell of alcohol was strong.”

Jae-seung couldn’t hide his embarrassment and replied.

“Oh my, I unintentionally showed you an unsightly side from the first day.”

“It’s okay, that’s nothing,” she replied nonchalantly, adding, “Being a maid is a job where you can easily see unsightly things.” Jae-seung responded with a smile and immediately took a large spoonful of soup.

“Your cooking skills are excellent.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s a taste I want to eat every day.”

After a few friendly exchanges, Julie finished cleaning up the kitchen and left to take care of other household chores.

Jae-seung mechanically ate the soup and fell into thought again.

‘Hmm….’

His mind was filled only with thoughts about the women’s handbag diagram drawn by Kyle, the youngest tailor at the atelier [a workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer].

The sewing difficulty was quite high. It was something that most tailors wouldn’t even dare to attempt.

Also, it felt more focused on practicality than external beauty.

But it didn’t seem to have only disadvantages. No, the disadvantages almost felt like advantages.

His design felt quite rough.

It didn’t follow any of the standardized rules, and it had a ‘freedom’ that was more than enough to catch the eye.

He couldn’t be sure, but he guessed that there had been no education or learning about design at all.

It was purely the result of a sense born from innate talent.

It was the complete opposite of himself, who had naturally incorporated luxury into his designs thanks to his experience of constantly copying premium brand products.

In any case, he thought that with time and money invested, Kyle could develop into a pretty good designer.

‘I should investigate first.’

Jae-seung took out his smartphone, opened the notepad, and started writing down the things he needed to do right away.

1. Find out more about Kyle. If the investigation shows that he is worth recruiting, consider the conditions.

Getting to know him comes first.

What kind of life he has lived, whether he was born with innate talent as he predicted, and whether he is willing to switch to being a designer, etc….

‘I need to keep in mind that he may not want to switch at all.’

The tailors at the atelier also work for considerable pay.

If they reach the ‘Meister’ [master craftsman] level in the future, they can receive more salary than most designers.

Maybe he doesn’t want to switch to being a designer.

It was similar to the probability of an athlete who is already recording good results suddenly deciding to change positions because of uncertain talent.

Anyway, he was going to approach it as carefully as possible.

2. Attend the Parsons Design School interview and orientation.

The final interview for Parsons Design School was just around the corner.

There was still about a week left until the interview date, so he would move on for now….

3. Apply for an ID (identification card) and obtain a driver’s license (Class-D).

These were the issues that needed to be addressed today. First of all, he was going to take the time to apply for the ID today.

He briefly put down his spoon and sent a text message to Elisa.

He asked her to find out if there was a Korean-run driving school nearby.

He could solve the written test without much difficulty if he studied a little, and the practical test seemed easy enough.

He had already driven to his heart’s content in his previous life.

4. In his spare time, plan new products for Wallflower Street and Alexander King’s S/S [Spring/Summer] season products.

He had brought all the pencils, glasses, and magazines that had regressed with him, just in case.

He had neglected them in Korea because he had no use for them, but he thought he would need the help of these three items often during his studies abroad.

5. Once things are roughly settled, contact Ashlyn.

They hadn’t been in touch since they parted ways in France.

By now, Ashlyn must have finished all her filming and returned to New York.

If the timing is right, he would definitely like to meet her.

“Okay….”

It seemed that these were all the things he needed to take care of right away.

Jae-seung muttered to himself and picked up his spoon again, focusing on his meal.

* * *

As he took care of various things, several days passed in an instant.

First, he finished applying for the ID card. All he had to do was wait for delivery.

Also, thanks to Elisa’s help, he registered at a driving school located about 20 minutes away from the apartment on foot.

Alexander King even recognized and supported the driving school registration fee and application fee as expenses.

And today….

“Lee, what brings you here without a word?”

He visited Alexander King’s atelier early in the morning, before work had even started.

In one hand, he held a flower basket filled with colorful flowers.

Jae-seung handed the flower basket to Michelle, the head of the atelier, and said.

“Michelle, please accept this.”

“Oh my, what are these flowers for?”

“Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Yes, they are really beautiful.”

“That’s why I bought them.”

Jae-seung replied playfully and took a seat. Michelle placed the flower basket on the central table in the tailoring room and said.

“Lee, you seem to be more delicate than I thought.”

“You flatter me.”

“No creative director has ever bought flowers before.”

Soon, several of the atelier’s tailors gathered around the central table and began to talk about the flowers.

Jae-seung watched them silently, a satisfied smile on his face.

As a rule, nine out of ten creative directors of any brand experience conflict with the atelier.

The tailors at the atelier want to protect the brand’s identity, and the creative directors always want to try new things, so conflict is inevitable.

Although he couldn’t completely avoid the friction that would arise in the future, he thought that if he built a certain level of friendship and gained favor in advance, the emotional rift would not deepen even in the event of a confrontation.

This was also a calculated move. Of course, he didn’t just visit to make a name for himself and build friendships.

“Michelle, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Outside?”

“Yes.”

The two of them walked out into the hallway outside the atelier side by side.

As soon as they stepped into the hallway, Michelle tilted her head slightly and cautiously asked.

“What’s going on?”

“There are a few things I’m curious about.”

“Please feel free to speak.”

“It’s about Kyle.”

According to information obtained through Elisa, Kyle, the youngest tailor at the atelier, was originally an orphan.

It was Michelle, the head of the atelier, who took in Kyle, who had been wandering the streets about three years ago.

But even more surprising was the fact that Kyle’s entry into the atelier was the result of his own ability.

Elisa explained that Michelle revealed her relationship with Kyle only after he received the acceptance notice and started his first day of work.

Anyway, she regarded Kyle as her own son, and Kyle followed Michelle as if she were his own mother.

Was that why?

“An issue related to Kyle? What’s wrong…?”

Michelle’s voice, as she quietly asked, was faintly trembling.

Jae-seung shrugged his shoulders once and handed her the file he was holding.

“First, could you take a look at this diagram?”

“Yes? Suddenly…?”

“Yes. Please.”

Michelle reluctantly began to examine the diagram. It was a diagram of a women’s handbag.

Before long, she returned the file and began to share her opinion.

“First of all, the sewing difficulty seems unbelievably high. If it were an Alexander King product, I would have been in charge of sewing the sample.”

“What do you think of the design?”

“Although I’m not good at seeing things, even if I don’t know well, it seems to be a pretty good design. If it were a reasonable price, I would want to buy one.”

Jae-seung nodded a few times as if agreeing and replied in an indifferent tone.

“I think so too. It’s a great diagram. I want to steal it as is and include it as one of the products for this S/S season.”

“Oh, so it’s not Lee’s design.”

Jae-seung briefly replied, “Yes,” and immediately added.

“It’s Michelle’s son, Kyle’s design.”

Michelle widened her eyes and asked again.

“K, Kyle’s?”

“I did touch it up a bit, though.”

“Oh my….”

Michelle suddenly began to nod her head.

Well, it wasn’t unreasonable. Wasn’t Kyle someone who knew how to look at diagrams and had seen countless diagrams over the years? There was no reason why he couldn’t draw them.

While she was deep in thought, Jae-seung continued in a serious tone.

“Michelle, I want to talk to Kyle. Can you give me a chance?”

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time, in a meeting room located within Parsons Design School.

The faculty of Parsons Design School were gathered in one place, busy looking through the portfolios of this year’s confirmed admissions.

They were exchanging the portfolios of the students they had reviewed, looking for students with distinct characteristics.

Soon, a female professor in her fifties shook her head once and continued.

“I wish we could conduct a home test….”

The female professor was holding a portfolio of an admitted student in her hand as she spoke quietly.

Having reviewed thousands of portfolios so far, there was one thing she could clearly know.

This portfolio was not the student’s skill, but the skill of a teacher working at a cram school whose face and name she didn’t know.

A male professor sitting next to her nodded a few times and replied.

“The difference between the portfolio and the actual skills of the students is getting too severe… but ‘home tests’ are virtually impossible anyway.”

Unlike other nearby universities, Parsons, which is private, and SAT [Scholastic Aptitude Test, a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States], it was virtually impossible to conduct home tests.

Since there were no benefits for New York residents that state universities have, most students were virtually international students.

The majority of applicants are international students, and you force them all to schedule their entry and have them take a home test on the same day, even in one place?

That was just an absurd story.

In a somewhat stiff atmosphere, a young male professor continued in a gentle tone.

“But there is one new student who is a hot topic.”

“Are you talking about Lee?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Soon, all the faculty members began to nod their heads as if agreeing.

A young, genius designer who suddenly rose to the surface. He was a hot topic, taking unconventional steps such as becoming a member of RA Crew without any special work, as well as being selected as the creative director of Alexander King.

Naturally, it was a situation that could not but attract the attention of the faculty.

‘Lee’ was virtually an applicant who had been attracting attention even before the aforementioned events were made public.

He was the only applicant who submitted the brand he was leading as a portfolio among the applicants.

At that time, an old professor sitting at the head of the wide table exclaimed, “Oh,” and said.

“Is this the portfolio of that new student who is a hot topic?”

The eyes of everyone in the room were focused on the gray-haired old professor.

The old professor, who was looking at the portfolio with an inscrutable, indifferent eye, smiled faintly and asked again.

“Hmm, he’s definitely a promising friend… but he refused a full scholarship?”

“Ah, yes. He said that he is not in a financially difficult situation, so he wants to transfer the opportunity to other students who need the scholarship.”

It was a decision made because he was able to receive full tuition support from Alexander King.

The professors, who did not know the reality, could not help but feel favorable to Jae-seung.

The old professor laughed heartily once and said.

“I think it would be good to meet him in person before the semester starts. If this student’s OT [Orientation] schedule is confirmed, can you tell me?”

The name of the old professor, who had a gentle yet sharp impression, was Edin Thomas. He could be said to be the most influential of the current Parsons faculty.

This was because the premium brand ‘Vermong,’ which records astronomical sales every year, was born from his fingertips.

Although he is in charge of professorship after retirement, there is no one inside Parsons who does not respect him.

‘Jae-seung Lee, he’s an interesting friend in many ways….’

Edin Thomas smiled faintly and immediately began to check the portfolio of the next student.

Was it because of Lee’s portfolio that he had seen earlier?

The next student’s portfolio only felt like a work of a kindergartener.

Even while reviewing the portfolios of other students, he could only think about how to give wings to the designer Lee.