Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 142

Café Fresco’s recent success was amazing.

Yuria’s second café, which she designed herself, opened in Garosu-gil, a trendy street in Seoul, and became a huge hit. This made the already popular café even more famous because of her TV show, .

As money flowed in, Seok-jung showed he was a skilled businessman.

He boldly invested most of the profits in marketing, spending a lot to make Café Fresco even more well-known.

He also developed new desserts and coffee, working with his father’s company, ‘NA Food One.’

And Yuria was also actively helping.

She agreed to promote Café Fresco without taking any franchise fees. She cleverly included the café in her daily life, showing it to the public and making it even more appealing.

On days when she wasn’t filming, she always visited her café and showed her face.

She even used it in her online content.

She also allowed her Café Fresco building to be used as a filming location for other shows besides .

Because of all these things working together, Café Fresco became one of the top three coffee franchise brands in the country.

Even though Café Fresco was currently third, mainly because it had fewer stores, experts agreed it would soon become the top brand.

WJ Studio’s sales also increased because of this success.

Café Fresco’s growth helped WJ Studio’s total sales exceed 1 billion won in January.

‘The profit margin isn’t bad, considering the interior construction costs…,’ Woo-jin thought.

However, Woo-jin wasn’t satisfied.

He wondered how to best use Café Fresco’s growing popularity to benefit WJ Studio.

Depending on the approach and how it’s used, the business results can change a lot, even in the same situation.

After thinking about it, Woo-jin came up with a plan to make a good deal.

He decided to act as a middleman between Paramount, the developer of the Wangsimni project, and Café Fresco, which was very popular in the industry.

WJ Studio would get the benefits.

So, two days before the meeting with Paramount, Woo-jin visited Seok-jung’s office.

It had been a while since he had visited the city of Goyang, just outside Seoul, where Café Fresco’s headquarters and Seok-jung’s office were located.

Seok-jung welcomed Woo-jin warmly.

“CEO Seo, it’s hard to see you,” Seok-jung said.

“I saw you at the party last time, Seok-jung,” Woo-jin replied.

“That was two months ago, you rascal,” Seok-jung said.

“You were busy that day and left early, Seok-jung…”

“Anyway, visit more often. Su-ha and Jae-yeop seem to come more often than you these days,” Seok-jung said.

“Really?” Woo-jin asked.

“It’s close to the broadcasting station. Other celebrities come often too,” Seok-jung said.

On the second floor of Café Fresco’s headquarters, there were business rooms that Woo-jin had designed.

Because it was a private space, celebrities who had business at the broadcasting station often used it.

“Did you eat?” Seok-jung asked.

“Yes, Seok-jung,” Woo-jin said.

“Wait a moment. I’ll get some coffee,” Seok-jung said.

“Coffee made by the boss himself… I’m honored,” Woo-jin said.

“Don’t be so cheesy, it’s cringy,” Seok-jung said.

Conversations with Seok-jung always started with everyday topics and then moved on to business.

Today, Woo-jin had a business story to tell, so this was natural.

Even when they talked without a specific purpose, the conversation always went in that direction.

Therefore, Woo-jin was able to bring up the Wangsimni project very naturally.

Seok-jung had also seen the article, so it was even easier to talk about.

“What? Was that construction company lobbying related to you?” Seok-jung asked.

“Hey, Seok-jung, don’t make it sound like I was the one lobbying,” Woo-jin said.

“Ah, did I say it wrong?” Seok-jung asked.

“Didn’t you read the article?” Woo-jin asked.

“Yeah, I just skimmed it,” Seok-jung said.

“Anyway, our WJ Studio worked with Bruno’s design office. But because the bidding process seemed unfair due to corruption, I used my connections to report it,” Woo-jin explained.

“Used… connections…?” Seok-jung repeated.

“I reported it to a public institution and got help from someone who has some power there… Just think of it that way,” Woo-jin said.

“Corporate lobbying, corruption, catching that… since when has it been so easy?” Seok-jung asked.

“Just forget about it, Seok-jung,” Woo-jin said.

Seok-jung clicked his tongue at Woo-jin’s words.

Having watched NA Food One operate for over a decade, he knew the ugly truth about lobbying between companies.

Stopping such collusion required thorough investigation and preparation. It wasn’t easy without the power of a public authority.

He had heard that Woo-jin was the main person who caught Taeho Construction’s lobbying, so he wasn’t surprised.

‘Of course, it doesn’t seem to be a large company since I’ve never heard of it…,’ Seok-jung thought.

In any case, Woo-jin’s story was interesting, so Seok-jung listened carefully.

After listening for about 10 minutes, he understood why Woo-jin had come to him.

“So, you’re proposing that Café Fresco open a store in Parafield,” Seok-jung said.

“That’s right,” Woo-jin replied.

Seok-jung, who understood Woo-jin’s plan, smiled.

“And you’re going to get something for connecting me to them?” Seok-jung asked.

Woo-jin didn’t deny it.

“Of course,” Woo-jin said.

Seok-jung playfully asked, “What do I get out of it?”

Seok-jung’s question was a joke.

Wangsimni Station was one of the busiest subway stations in Seoul.

Also, if a mall designed by someone like Bruno was built there, the area would have even greater potential.

The fact that a Café Fresco store could be located there was a good thing for Seok-jung.

Besides, even if there was no benefit, he would have listened to Woo-jin’s request anyway, but he wanted to see Woo-jin’s reaction, so he pretended to be uninterested.

However, Woo-jin wasn’t flustered.

Woo-jin hadn’t even mentioned the specific proposal he was going to make to Seok-jung yet.

“Of course, I’ve also thought of a proposal that you would like, Seok-jung,” Woo-jin said.

“What? You’ve thought of it…?” Seok-jung asked, surprised.

Woo-jin smiled and continued.

“The details are important in the proposal I’m going to make today,” Woo-jin said.

“Hmm…?” Seok-jung said.

“How about it, would you like to hear it?” Woo-jin asked.

Seok-jung nodded, and Woo-jin calmly began to explain.

At the end of Woo-jin’s story, Seok-jung clicked his tongue.

Kim Jin-soo, the new planning director of Paramount, adjusted his glasses.

“So, you’re saying you’ll connect us with the CEO of that popular Café Fresco?” Kim asked.

Woo-jin nodded.

“Yes. As you know, there isn’t a café brand as popular as Café Fresco these days, is there?” Woo-jin said.

In a shopping mall, a café is a very important place.

It’s a place where customers can rest and spend more time in the mall.

If the café is a comfortable place to rest, customers can feel less tired while they are in the mall.

This leads to customers staying longer, which increases overall mall sales.

So, the café was Director Kim Jin-soo’s biggest concern in the food and beverage area, and Woo-jin had made an interesting proposal.

“If Café Fresco opened a store, it would be good for us. But how are you going to connect us?” Kim asked.

“Our WJ Studio is the design and construction company that has a contract with Café Fresco,” Woo-jin explained.

Director Kim Jin-soo’s eyes widened slightly.

“You’re talking about the interior design?” Kim asked.

“That’s right. If you watch the show , the Café Fresco headquarters appears around episode 2. The fact that I designed the interior is also mentioned on the show,” Woo-jin said.

“Ah, I don’t watch TV much, so I didn’t know. Before coming here, I heard that CEO Seo is a celebrity. Haha,” Kim said.

“Pardon? From whom?” Woo-jin asked.

“One of my assistants seems to be a fan of that show. He asked me to get CEO Seo’s autograph,” Kim said.

Woo-jin smiled awkwardly.

Even though Woo-jin wasn’t appearing on as much as before, more people were recognizing him.

Woo-jin couldn’t get used to it.

Director Kim Jin-soo took a sip of coffee and spoke again.

“If Café Fresco opened a store, they would want the best location, right?” Kim asked.

Woo-jin nodded.

“That’s right. All of the Café Fresco stores that are being promoted are opened after the headquarters analyzes the area for at least a week,” Woo-jin said.

Director Kim looked surprised.

“Oh, I didn’t know that. No wonder the number of franchise stores isn’t increasing as quickly as its fame…” Kim said.

Woo-jin continued.

“Especially for the directly managed stores, the area is examined even more carefully. And if today’s meeting goes well, it will probably be a directly managed store in Parafield,” Woo-jin said.

Director Kim’s eyes lit up at the words ‘directly managed store’.

A directly managed store was much better than having a franchise owner in the middle.

“That’s a good proposal. It’s attractive even without seeing the details,” Kim said.

But Woo-jin’s story wasn’t over.

Woo-jin, after getting permission from Bruno with a wink, began to bring up the main point.

“If this proposal is agreed upon, our WJ Studio would like to propose something additional for the interior design,” Woo-jin said.

Director Kim became interested.

He knew that this was the main point.

“Is it an additional design proposal?” Kim asked.

Woo-jin nodded.

“That’s right,” Woo-jin said.

Woo-jin pointed to the lobby area on the B3 floor plan of Parafield.

The B3 lobby was the lowest floor of Parafield, designed by Bruno. It was an open space that could be seen from all six floors, from B3 to the 3rd floor.

“We would like our studio to design and install a magnificent pavilion that matches the style of Parafield, large enough to fill this entire open space,” Woo-jin said.

Director Kim’s eyes widened even more than before at Woo-jin’s unexpected proposal.