Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 195

Woojin was busy from the morning.

The conference was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., so he had woken up nearly at six.

The conference was at AA School. It was not far from Kensington, a nice area in London where Jayden lived. But Woojin woke up early. Maybe he was nervous.

Jayden and Seokhyun had come in late the previous night and were snoring away, so Woojin quietly left the room, careful not to wake them. He took a shower and packed his things.

There was no need to wake them.

Unlike Soyeon, who Bruno had chosen to help him at the conference, they weren’t qualified to enter.

Woosh-

The early winter morning was cold. The air outside was sharp, but the hot water in the shower felt good. Woojin felt his mind clearing up a bit.

He dried his hair and made sure he looked good.

By the time he had finished all the preparations, it was 7:30 a.m.

Woojin went down to the first floor to drop off his laptop bag in the rental car he had arranged yesterday. There he found Soyeon, who had finished her preparations even earlier than him, sitting on the sofa and drinking tea.

She was with Jayden’s mother, Sujin.

“Oppa, you got ready early?”

“I just woke up.”

“Me too.”

Sujin poured Woojin a cup of coffee as well. After taking a sip of the warm Americano, he felt even more refreshed.

The three of them sat at the small kitchen table. The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, warm and inviting. Sujin poured Woojin a steaming mug. He took a careful sip; it was strong and good. Soyeon was already spreading butter on a thick slice of toast.

“So, Woojin,” Sujin said, her voice gentle, “I hear you’re going to that big conference today?”

Woojin nodded, taking another sip of coffee. “Yes, ma’am. I wanted to get there early, make sure everything is ready. I was planning to leave around eight.”

Sujin chuckled softly. “Well, good luck! Jayden tells me you’re his classmate, and you’re already going to this EAC event. That’s really impressive.”

Woojin felt his cheeks warm a little. He shifted in his seat, feeling a bit awkward at her praise. “It’s… it’s nothing much, really.”

“It would have been better if Jayden could have joined us. It’s a shame.” Sujin smiled gently.

“Jayden will have many opportunities in the future.”

“Haha, of course.”

“Jayden calls Woojin ‘Boss’.”

Woojin felt even more sheepish at Sujin’s sudden remark.

“He, he does that sometimes.”

“Please take good care of our Jayden. If Jayden follows Woojin well, he might become a great designer too.”

Woojin didn’t know what to say, so he scratched his head. He still felt strange.

It was strange to hear Jayden’s mother ask him to look after Jayden. In his past life, Jayden had been a famous architect, someone Woojin looked up to. Now, here was Jayden’s mother asking *him*, Woojin, to guide Jayden. It was a very strange feeling.

‘Jayden is a naturally gifted guy anyway…….’

Of course, apart from that strange feeling, he was also pleased.

Sujin’s words were quite embarrassing, but he could still sense that they weren’t empty flattery.

As they chatted lightly while having breakfast, another 30 minutes passed quickly.

Then a message arrived on Soyeon’s phone.

“Oppa, the professor and Bruno just left.”

“Really? Where is their accommodation?”

“They said it was near Primrose Hill, a park area in north London, but I don’t know where that is……”

Sujin, who was listening to Soyeon’s words, opened her mouth.

“It’s north of Hyde Park. About 30 minutes away from here.”

“Oh, then how long would it take to get to AA School from there?”

“Hmm……. If you’re driving, about 40 to 50 minutes?”

Hearing her words, Woojin put down his coffee cup and slowly rose from his seat.

“Then we should get going soon.”

“I suppose so?”

“We need to get there a little earlier.”

Woojin and Soyeon, after thanking Sujin for even preparing breakfast, hurriedly left Jayden’s house.

Of course, even as the two departed, Jayden and Seokhyun were still lost in dreamland.

As they meandered through the main streets of central London, a road sign indicating came into view.

Woojin followed the navigation’s guidance and turned onto a slightly narrower road, where terraced houses, seemingly residential, were clustered together.

Terraced houses with designs that upper-class nobles of the 18th century might have resided in.

Driving through them, a somewhat ordinary-looking brick building came into view.

AA School was a building made of old, gray bricks. It looked quiet and serious. Ivy climbed up some of the walls. The black doors looked heavy and old. It was built on a long, narrow plot.

The navigation’s destination was this building, and Woojin and Soyeon couldn’t help but tilt their heads in confusion.

The relatively small scale of AA School was unexpected for the two, who had imagined large university campuses in Korea.

“Is this it, Oppa?”

“I guess so?”

“Are we sure we didn’t come to the wrong place?”

Despite the road in front of the building not being very wide, numerous vehicles were parked tightly in a row.

After finally finding a spot, Woojin parked the car and moved with a slightly quickened pace to find the entrance.

Arriving at the entrance, Woojin could confirm that this was indeed AA School.

A nameplate with the full name of AA School embossed on it was the first thing that caught his eye.

“We came to the right place.”

“Thank goodness.”

“It’s a completely different atmosphere from universities in Korea.”

“AA School itself isn’t really a campus concept. It’s more accurate to see it as an architectural academy.”

Like a medieval European mansion.

Opening the black-painted iron gate, the interior view was revealed.

The time Woojin and Soyeon arrived was 8:30 a.m.

Despite arriving about 30 minutes early before the conference’s start time, the inside of AA School was bustling with activity.

“Where should we go?”

“Hmm……. I heard there’s a place called ‘Conference Hall,’ like a large lecture hall……”

While they were hesitating, unsure of where to go, a man who appeared to be a conference staff member approached them.

“How may I help you?”

Soyeon, snapping out of it, quickly rummaged through her bag and took out the name tag she had received in advance.

“We were invited as guests of EAC. This oppa here as well.”

“Ah, I see!”

As Soyeon took out her name tag, Woojin also took out the name tag he had kept in his pocket and hung it around his neck.

And the British man, after checking their name tags, looked quite surprised.

The name tag Soyeon took out was a simple guest name tag, but Woojin’s name tag clearly had the word VIP on it.

“VIP badge? For *him*?” The staff member’s eyes widened as he looked at Woojin. VIP badges at the EAC conference were very rare. They were only for two kinds of people: world-famous architects, or presenters showing their projects at the conference. Even getting invited to the EAC was hard for most designers. And among those invited over the years, very few had ever worn a VIP badge. So, you can understand why the staff member was so surprised.

The staff here at the AA School weren’t just helpers; they were students themselves, and they knew about important people in architecture. “Should I ask Professor Davies?” the staff member thought quickly. “He’d know if this man is a VIP.” The staff member, a student at the AA School, was now very curious about Woojin. He had been flustered for a moment, but then he smiled politely and gestured for them to follow. He’d find out who this VIP was soon enough. And he certainly shouldn’t keep a VIP waiting.

“You’re a VIP! Sorry I didn’t realize right away,” the staff member said, a little embarrassed. “Oh, it’s no problem,” Woojin replied easily. “This way, please. The conference hall is on the third floor.” Woojin and Soyeon followed him. They stepped out of the elevator onto the third floor and into a wide, open lobby. The staff member stopped and said, “The conference is in the Grand Auditorium, just through those doors. Please go in about ten minutes before it starts. Until then, please enjoy the refreshments here in the lobby.” Woojin and Soyeon bowed their heads to thank him, and then walked into the lobby.

Soyeon’s eyes widened as she took in the lobby. “Wow,” she breathed, “this is incredible!” The lobby was huge, with a ceiling that seemed to stretch up forever. Tables were laden with beautiful food – tiny sandwiches, colorful pastries, and bowls of fruit. It looked like a feast. Everywhere they looked, groups of designers were chatting and laughing. “If I’d known it would be like this,” Woojin said, a little regretfully, “I wouldn’t have eaten so much bread earlier.”

Soyeon chuckled, nodding. “Tell me about it! Everything looks so good.”

“Well, I’m not really hungry,” Woojin said, eyeing a plate of miniature cakes, “but I suppose I should try *something*, right?”

Soyeon giggled. “Of course! When else are we going to eat food like *this* in a place like *this*?”

Woojin and Soyeon found a spot near a table and put their things down. Woojin scanned the room, hoping to see a famous architect he recognized. But most faces were unfamiliar. A little wave of disappointment washed over him. *There’s a banquet later,* he reminded himself. *That’ll be a good chance to meet people.* A small smile touched Woojin’s lips. *If I give a really great presentation,* he thought, *people will definitely notice me.* He imagined talking to famous European architects, making connections. *If I can do that, maybe next year I won’t feel so out of place here.*

Just as Woojin was thinking this, someone called his name. “Woojin! You made it!” Woojin and Soyeon turned towards the familiar voice. “Matteo!” Their faces lit up. It was Matteo, the architect who had invited Woojin to the conference. They quickly hugged, smiling broadly. “Where’s Bruno?” Woojin asked. “Ah, we flew together,” Matteo said, “but we’re staying in different hotels. Bruno will be here soon.”

They started talking in English. It was funny, because both Woojin and Matteo spoke English at about the same level – good enough to understand each other, but not perfect. Woojin’s English had definitely improved lately, though.

“Your grammar is terrible, you know, Oppa,” Soyeon teased in Korean.

“As long as we understand each other,” Woojin replied in Korean, shrugging.

“When we get back to Korea, let’s study English together! Should I take an English conversation class?” Soyeon asked.

“I’m too busy,” Woojin said dismissively.

Talking to Matteo changed everything. Matteo was a well-known Spanish architect, almost as famous as Bruno. As Woojin chatted with him, other designers, curious now, started to gather around. Woojin’s VIP badge definitely caught their attention too. “Matteo,” one of them asked, “is this the young Korean designer who helped you with the stadium design?”

“Yes, that’s him,” Matteo confirmed, smiling at Woojin. “He’s also working with Bruno on a big shopping mall project in Korea.”

“Oh, wow!” someone exclaimed.

“Woojin, you said your name was?” another designer asked.

“That’s right,” Woojin replied.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” the designer continued, “how old are you?”

“Twenty-three… no, twenty-two,” Woojin corrected himself. In Korea, he was twenty-three, but by international age, he was just twenty-two. A ripple of surprise went through the group.

“That’s incredible!” one designer said.

“I can’t believe it! A VIP badge at the EAC at twenty-two!”

Thanks to Matteo, Woojin found himself talking to lots of designers. Many of them were Spanish, and English wasn’t their first language. Communication became a funny mix of broken English, hand gestures, and exaggerated facial expressions. They pointed, mimed, and laughed, somehow understanding each other.

“Body language is amazing,” Woojin said, grinning. Soyeon just shook her head, smiling at the scene.

“Should we go in now?” Woojin asked Soyeon. She nodded. “You go ahead, Oppa. Bruno should be here any minute, and I’ll go in with him.”

“Okay,” Woojin said. “Our seats are different anyway.” He quickly said goodbye to the designers and headed towards the entrance of the conference hall. He showed his VIP badge to a staff member, who checked it and pointed him towards his seat. Woojin’s name was clearly printed on a small card on the seat. Presenters had reserved spots.

“Excuse me,” Woojin murmured, squeezing past rows of seats. He found his seat, put his bag down, and sat. Then he glanced to his right… and froze. Sitting right next to him was an elderly man with white hair and a familiar black hat. It couldn’t be… but it was. It was Ethan Clarke, the man he had met in Hyde Park just the day before!