Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 148

Class had just ended, but Jayden slumped in his chair, looking gloomy. A dark cloud seemed to hang over him as he sighed heavily. “Bloody Hell!”

Sunbin, who was packing his bag, glanced at Jayden. “Jayden, do you even know how many times you’ve said that today?”

“Holy! How would I know that?!”

“It’s exactly the 25th time.”

“Really? I said it that many times?”

“Actually, I was lying. I didn’t count either.”

“Damn.”

Sunbin and Jayden packed their bags and left the computer lab.

Woojin, who had come out first, chuckled as he listened to their conversation. He knew very well why Jayden was acting like that.

“Jayden, Alias went pretty well for you today, though. Why the long face?”

“Hmph. Woojin doesn’t know Jayden’s true skills.”

“Was today a fake display of skill?”

“Of course. Actually, Jayden knows everything, but he just pretended not to.”

“Why?”

“I was worried the other students would be shocked.”

“That’s incredibly considerate of you.”

“Of course. Jayden is generous, you see.”

Having picked up the word ‘generous’ from Seokhyun a few days ago, Jayden had become quite fond of it lately. He would even emphasize his generosity at the end of almost every conversation. However, while he usually wore a conceited expression after such appeals, today he just looked gloomy. The reason, of course, was because the class had been so difficult it made his head spin.

“Don’t be too depressed, Jayden.”

“Jayden isn’t depressed.”

“You finished the assignment first in class today, didn’t you?”

“Woojin got the praise, though.”

“Are you admitting that my skills are superior now?”

“Holy! I misspoke. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

“Stop changing the meaning of Korean words to suit yourself, Jayden.”

As usual, Woojin and Jayden, engaging in silly banter, left the computer lab and, accompanied by Sunbin, went to the campus café for the first time in a while.

Woojin bought a cup of hot chocolate for the gloomy Jayden and couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Jayden sucking on the straw. The bitter smell of coffee filled the air of the campus cafe, a relaxed and friendly space with the sound of chatter filling the air. Jayden himself was very disappointed, but in Woojin’s view, Jayden was actually the most capable one in class today.

The Alias program was indeed a bit more sensitive and difficult than Rhino, but the modeling methods in the big picture were quite similar. Therefore, Jayden, who had learned Rhino beforehand, naturally understood it faster than Woojin and the other students. He had simply done things he wasn’t asked to do in order to show something even more impressive, and ended up being scolded by the professor.

‘How can such a simple guy be so smart?’

Even after knowing him for a year, Jayden was still an enigmatic presence.

“Just show them something amazing next week, Jayden. You don’t need to be generous next class. Got it?”

“Hmph… Woojin. You’ll regret those words.”

After offering some comfort, Woojin got up from the café first and headed back towards the department building. There were still about two hours left until the next class, but there was someone he had arranged to meet at the department office building in the meantime.

The person Woojin had an appointment with was none other than Professor Yoon Chi-hyung.

“Assistant, has the professor arrived yet?”

“Ah, Woojin, you’re here. I just got a call. He’ll be here soon. Go inside and have a seat.”

“Yes, hyung. Thanks.”

As Woojin entered the reception room inside the department office, he noticed the coffee that the assistant had set up in advance. The department office felt formal and important.

Woojin sat down and took a sip of the coffee.

“Ugh… bitter.”

Before Woojin could put the coffee cup down, Professor Yoon Chi-hyung came inside.

“Am I a bit late?”

The reason Professor Yoon Chi-hyung had asked to see Woojin was primarily due to all the issues that needed to be coordinated regarding industry-academic cooperation, which meant working with real companies as part of school.

“Alright, CEO Seo. We can proceed according to these documents, right?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“By the way, aren’t you paying yourself too little as the CEO?”

“Haha, no, it’s fine. I don’t really have any other work, so I’m grateful for just this…”

The industry-academic cooperation system at K University was set up so that the school would support most of the salary of the student hired by the company through the project. The school provides an environment where students can study practical skills through the company, and the company can minimize costs and hire interns through the salary supported by the school. In any case, Woojin was also receiving credits within this system, so he was receiving support money like the other students.

So, what Woojin did in the department office today was to fix the specific document data, starting with adjusting these costs. As a result, the amount that the school decided to support Woojin was about 700,000 won per month, and from Woojin’s perspective, it felt like he was getting pocket money from the school.

‘If I think of it as money I’m getting instead of 6 credits, it’s not really free money. But it still feels good to have money appear out of nowhere.’

However, these series of processes did not take long. It was already a part that had been discussed to some extent, and it was just the final confirmation work. Therefore, the real reason for today’s meeting was a bit different.

So, even after the document organization was finished, Woojin did not get up from his seat. Professor Yoon took the lead in bringing up the main point first.

“First of all, before we start talking, I want to thank you.”

“Yes? What are you suddenly talking about, Professor?”

“Thanks to you, Woojin, this industry-academic cooperation project has gained a lot of momentum.”

Woojin, who had a puzzled expression for a moment, soon realized what he meant and retorted.

“You’re talking about Bruno… right?”

“Yes. Even your seniors who weren’t very interested are all calling the department office like crazy now that they’ve heard that an agreement has been signed with Bruno’s studio.”

“Haha. Well, being able to intern at Bruno’s studio is… definitely an attractive option.”

Professor Yoon thanked Woojin for connecting him with Bruno and asked him about various things related to Bruno’s studio. The reason Professor Yoon brought up this story first was, of course, because it was also related to the main point.

“So, Bruno’s studio in Korea is a separate domestic corporation called , right? From Bruno’s perspective, it’s a foreign corporation, I guess.”

“Yes, Professor. The business registration name is different, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“I know that the name of Bruno’s design office headquarters in Spain is TRA Studio.”

“That’s right. I know it too. That’s why I asked.”

To be precise, Yoon Chi-hyung had something he wanted to ask Woojin about regarding Bruno.

“What I’m about to tell you is actually confidential…”

“Go ahead, Professor. My lips are sealed.”

“Haha, alright. The thing is, the president has additionally ordered a proposal for a new project because of the high participation rate in this industry-academic cooperation.”

“A proposal…?”

Woojin’s eyes sparkled at Yoon Chi-hyung’s unexpected words.

“Yes. A new proposal.”

Yoon Chi-hyung took a sip of his coffee, carefully put down the cup, and continued.

“Woojin, you know that our school has an exchange student system, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“I don’t know if this will give you a better idea… It’s a new project that combines that with the industry-academic cooperation project.”

“Pardon?”

“Hmm. Where should I start explaining this… Should I call it industry-academic cooperation that will be conducted overseas?”

Woojin was quick-witted, so the moment he heard these few words from Yoon Chi-hyung, he immediately realized what he wanted to say.

‘Oho…! If this can really happen, I can gain internship experience at an overseas studio?’

The new project that Professor Yoon Chi-hyung was talking about was to add the advantages of industry-academic cooperation to the existing exchange student system. K University had already been running exchange programs with famous design schools overseas for several years. If they could make connections with local companies, they would be able to conduct industry-academic cooperation even in the countries where they were exchange students.

Of course, it was also possible to be introduced to local corporations by overseas design schools with whom they already had a relationship, but that was never an easy task. Realistically, it was nearly impossible to be introduced to famous design studios in that way, and even if they were local companies, it would not be beneficial to send K University students to mediocre companies as interns.

In this situation, Bruno’s local studio, with whom Woojin had a direct relationship, was an option that Yoon Chi-hyung could not help but see as very attractive. If Bruno readily accepted local industry-academic cooperation and the collaboration with the Spanish exchange student system was successfully decided, it would not only be of great help to the students, but also greatly enhance the status of the Department of Design at K University. Especially the Department of Spatial Design, where Professor Yoon Chi-hyung is the head of the department.

“You want to connect with Bruno’s local corporation, right?”

When Woojin opened his mouth before the full explanation even began, Professor Yoon Chi-hyung looked slightly surprised.

“W-well, yes.”

“Well… I think I can talk about it enough at the next meeting…”

Professor Yoon, who had been slightly embarrassed, opened his mouth again.

“Of course, I’m not saying we should proceed with this project right away. It might be embarrassing for Bruno to bring up the story of the Spanish local corporation at a time when domestic industry-academic cooperation has not even started properly.”

“That’s right.”

As Woojin nodded, Professor Yoon’s words continued again.

“So, I’m thinking about it with this kind of feeling right now.”

“Go ahead.”

“If Bruno likes the students from our school who worked as interns to some extent, wouldn’t it be easier to bring up the story of the overseas corporation?”

Yoon Chi-hyung’s story was, in conclusion, quite possible. In the first place, Bruno, whose first impression of K University was Woojin, Jayden, and Soyeon, had a very good image of K University. Including Jayden and Soyeon, the five students who are working as interns at Bruno’s studio this time were all students with outstanding skills.

If Woojin speaks well, it was a proposal that had enough potential. Even if Jayden, who was born in England, didn’t know, in the case of ordinary students like Soyeon or Sunbin, if this project was successful, many more opportunities would open up. It was also natural for Woojin to want to help his peers have the opportunity to grow into better designers.

But Woojin didn’t do that, and of course, there was a good reason for that. Even at this moment, Woojin’s business mind was instinctively working.

“I think it’s quite possible, Professor.”

“I-is that so?”

“So, Professor.”

Woojin, facing Professor Yoon Chi-hyung, swallowed hard. And after a while, he slowly continued.

“How about suggesting this project to the local schools in reverse?”

“What…?”

“There are also exchange students coming here from the local area, right?”

“That’s right.”

“We should suggest industry-academic cooperation to those students as well.”

“……!”

“For example, WJ Studio or… wouldn’t there be good companies? Haha.”

Yoon Chi-hyung, listening to Woojin’s sly voice, couldn’t help but stick out his tongue without realizing it.