Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 106

Another day passed, and Friday arrived.

Woojin left the school, heading towards Garosu-gil, a trendy street in Seoul known for its tree-lined avenues and stylish shops.

He wasn’t just going for a walk. His meeting was there.

‘Hmm. Garosu-gil,’ Woojin thought, looking around. ‘It’s been a while.’ He noticed the busy cafes and people window shopping.

Even though he was on his way to work, Woojin felt a lightness in his step today. A smile touched his lips.

He was meeting someone he didn’t need to worry about being too polite with.

Also, something nice had happened at school that morning.

‘I didn’t expect the professor to make such an offer,’ he thought.

Woojin didn’t have many classes today.

Only a liberal arts class in the morning.

If the teaching assistant hadn’t called him on his way to the parking lot after class, he wouldn’t have met Professor Yoon Chi-hyung, the head of the department and professor of ‘Architectural Design’.

[Is this Seo Woojin’s phone number?]

[Yes, this is him. What’s the matter?]

[Professor Yoon wants to see you. Do you have time to come to his office?]

[Professor Yoon is looking for me?]

Woojin had no idea why, but he had to go to the head of the department’s office.

He had plenty of time before his appointment, so he decided to go.

In the head of the department’s office, Professor Yoon made him an interesting offer.

[Seo Woojin.]

[Yes, Professor.]

[Are you finding school difficult these days?]

[Huh? Not really…]

[You look tired every time you come to class.]

[Do I really?]

[I know you’re busy with your company, so you don’t have to pretend otherwise.]

[… !]

Professor Yoon knew a lot about Woojin’s company.

He didn’t know about the projects they were working on, but he knew about Cafe Fresco and WJ Studio.

Maybe that’s why Professor Yoon had so many questions for Woojin.

[Actually, there are many things I don’t understand… Did you go to architecture school abroad before college?]

[Not really, but I did work on-site a bit.]

[Doing what?]

[All sorts of things. I’ve done design, construction, supervision… I mostly did carpentry.]

[…]

Professor Yoon and Woojin talked for a long time.

Professor Yoon asked most of the questions, but the conversation was friendly.

Professor Yoon Chi-hyung praised Woojin’s work a lot.

[Cafe Fresco. I went there once on the weekend.]

[Oh really?]

[I went for a drive with my wife. To get some fresh air outside the city.]

[The traffic must have been terrible for driving…]

[Haha. I regretted it a little on the way… But it’s fine. All the stress was gone when I arrived.]

Chi-hyung had been watching without missing an episode since it started.

He started watching because he was briefly on the show.

[Did you like the design?]

[Did I like it? I didn’t even think about that.]

[Yes…?]

[I was too busy admiring it. I was shocked by the design. Seriously.]

[Professor, that’s…]

[I mean what I say. Keep up the good work. Don’t worry too much about what the school thinks.]

[Thank you for saying that…]

Woojin was grateful for Yoon Chi-hyung’s words.

As the head of the department, he could have been annoyed by Woojin’s lack of study.

But instead, he was supportive.

However, Yoon Chi-hyung didn’t call him to his office just to praise him.

At the end of their conversation, Chi-hyung got to the point.

[The reason I wanted to see you today is because of something.]

[What do you mean?]

[Honestly, half of the first-year classes are useless to you now, right?]

[… !]

[I’m thinking of making a deal with you as the head of the department.]

Yoon Chi-hyung offered to make sure Woojin didn’t fail, no matter how often he attended class.

If he didn’t do too badly on the exams, he would get at least a D.

At this university, grades C and above were harder to get, but grades D and below were easier for the professor to decide.

The professor could guarantee a D without hurting other students’ grades.

Woojin was tempted by this offer.

Since he was already running his own business, he didn’t need good grades.

He just needed to finish all the classes to graduate.

Woojin wanted to learn design tools and knowledge he couldn’t learn at work.

With Yoon Chi-hyung’s offer, Woojin would only have to take the classes he wanted.

He could also get his diploma without any trouble, so Woojin had nothing to lose.

[I would be very grateful, but…]

[Of course, I’m not going to do it for nothing. That wouldn’t be fair.]

[I suppose so.]

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Woojin was nervous about what Professor Yoon might want.

He thought that with this much help, the professor might ask for a difficult favor. What could it be?

But the more Professor Yoon spoke, the wider Woojin’s eyes grew.

Woojin was already happy about the good things Professor Yoon mentioned. Even the things Professor Yoon wanted in return seemed okay to Woojin.

Professor Yoon’s idea was this:

Professor Yoon leaned forward, a slight smile on his face. “Hey, Woojin, you heard about our new program? Industry-academia thing?”

Woojin tilted his head. “Industry-what-now? Sorry, Professor, no idea.”

Professor Yoon chuckled. “No worries! It’s brand new, barely anyone knows. Basically,” he explained, “it’s like this: companies and universities working together. Good for everyone, see? We help companies, they help our students get real job experience.”

“Real job experience?” Woojin asked, interested.

Professor Yoon said, “Exactly! Instead of just sitting in class all day, you could work at a company – like yours, WJ Studio. And guess what? You get university credits for it! It’s like your work *is* your class.”

Professor Yoon explained that students get real work experience they can’t easily get at school. The university saves money on teaching costs. And companies find new workers at a lower cost. That’s how the system works.

Professor Yoon Chi-hyung wanted WJ Studio and K University’s Department of Spatial Design to work together in this way.

“It’s a system that started, but it’s not really working well yet,” Professor Yoon added.

“It sounds like a really good system, so why is that?” Woojin asked.

Professor Yoon replied, “It seems that students are still unfamiliar with it, and companies also feel somewhat skeptical.”

“Hmm…”

Professor Yoon continued, “If they bring in young students, they’ll have to start by teaching them, but the kids can’t work full-time at the company, can they?”

“I suppose not. They have to attend classes…” Woojin said.

“It feels like it would end with just teaching. They wouldn’t even get to use them properly,” Professor Yoon said.

Professor Yoon thought Woojin’s company, though new, had a lot of potential and could grow together with this system. He saw Woojin as someone with real talent and business sense, not just as a young student.

“But I think if you set up the system well once, it will be a very good system in the long run,” Professor Yoon added.

“I agree,” Woojin replied.

“So, how about you help create this system?” Professor Yoon asked.

Professor Yoon explained that K University’s Department of Design professors had connections with companies. But it wasn’t easy to manage big companies, and they could be bossy. It seemed stressful for Professor Yoon, the head of the department. Some companies didn’t even assign someone to be in charge.

“I definitely want to try it, and I think it’s a good system, but…” Woojin said.

Woojin thought it was a good idea, but he was worried. *Managing older students? As a freshman? This could be tricky,* he thought. A small knot of worry tightened in his stomach.

Fortunately, Professor Yoon knew what Woojin was worried about.

“Haha. I know what you’re worried about,” Professor Yoon said.

“Yes?” Woojin asked.

Professor Yoon replied, “But you don’t have to worry. I’m not telling you to bring in students right away.”

“Then?”

“How about we just form an alliance this time and start full-scale industry-academia cooperation from the year after next? I know it can be a bit difficult for you, who is now a freshman,” Professor Yoon suggested.

So, Professor Yoon’s idea was very reasonable.

“So, if you accept this idea… for now, you will be the only student getting credits through industry-academia cooperation between WJ Studio and our Department of Spatial Design until next year,” Professor Yoon said.

“……!”

“Then you won’t have to take about 6 credits from the first semester of your sophomore year,” Professor Yoon added.

Woojin blinked, surprised. “Is that… really true?” he asked, his voice a little shaky with excitement.

“Instead, after you become a junior, you have to actively cooperate with this industry-academia cooperation. How about it?” Professor Yoon asked.

Although he was the CEO, Woojin was still one of the employees of WJ Studio. Therefore, even if Woojin was a student doing industry-academia cooperation, there would be no problem with the system.

And if this happened, it would be like covering more than two major courses by working at the company. From Woojin’s perspective, there was no reason to say no.

*I should be begging him to let me do it,* Woojin thought.

Moreover, the purpose and potential of the ‘industry-academia cooperation’ system would also help WJ Studio in the future.

*I’ll have to actively cooperate with Professor Yoon from the year after next… but that’s not a bad thing for the company either,* Woojin thought.

K University’s Department of Design students are some of the best in Korea. If industry-academia cooperation happens, they can bring in talented people at a low cost and find good students early.

So, Woojin eagerly took Professor Yoon’s hand.

“Thank you for the offer,” Woojin said.

“So, you’re doing it?” Professor Yoon asked.

“Of course. Didn’t you think I would do it anyway, Professor?” Woojin replied.

“Haha. Well, yes,” Professor Yoon chuckled.

“I’ll assign a person in charge right away next week and have them contact the department office,” Woojin said.

“Good, good. That’s 서우진 for you. I like how quick you are,” Professor Yoon said.

Woojin was driving and thinking about his conversation with Professor Yoon Chi-hyung, and he smiled. “Seriously, what a lucky break,” he said to himself.

The more he thought about it, the more it would help Woojin in the long run. It was like giving Woojin, who had been living a busy life, a breath of fresh air.

“Hehe.”

Even though the Hannam Bridge entering Sinsa-dong was heavily congested, Woojin could hum a tune.

“Let’s see, it seems like I’ll arrive on time for the appointment…”

Woojin drove through the crowded road and found the Garosu-gil public parking lot. He parked his car and walked to the meeting place. Even though it was a weekday afternoon, Garosu-gil was crowded with people. The shops were fancy, and the air smelled of coffee. Woojin gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white as he navigated the busy city streets. The setting sun cast long shadows, making the buildings look like giants.

*Okay, let’s see… it seems like it was this way on the map,* Woojin thought.

After walking for about 5 minutes, Woojin heard a familiar voice.

“Oh, Woojin! Here, here!”

“What, you came early, Noona?”

The voice belonged to Yuria. The client who had a meeting scheduled with Woojin today was the Garosu-gil building owner, Yuria.

Golden Print