Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 217

Seok-jung had been going to Wangsimni often these days.

One of his close friends, who had been living in another country, had recently moved to Wangsimni.

This friend was very close to Seok-jung. They had been through good and bad times together when they studied abroad, and they stayed friends.

“Hey, Seok-ho. We’re still meeting up today, right?”

“[We were supposed to meet at five. Did you forget already?]”

“No, I remember, that’s why I’m calling you, you idiot.”

“[Don’t be late, come to Sinsa-dong by five. Remember you promised to get Yuri’s autograph for me today?]”

“I know. I have a meeting with Ms. Ria anyway today.”

“[A meeting? What meeting?]”

“She’s our exclusive model for Fresco, you know.”

“[Ah, right. That’s true, isn’t it?]”

“But can’t we meet a bit earlier?”

“[Earlier? Why?]”

“I’m free from three o’clock, and I need someone to hang out with.”

“[Aish. I’m a busy man, you know.]”

“For someone who doesn’t work, you’re acting too important.”

“[If you’re free, come to Wangsimni around two.]”

“Wait, are you even home? If you are, just come to Garosu-gil, why make me go all the way there?”

“[No, is all of Wangsimni my house?]”

“Huh?”

“[Parafield is opening today. I have to go for the opening ceremony.]”

“Ah, I see.”

Seok-jung’s family was rich, and Seok-ho’s family was even richer.

Seok-ho’s father was the chairman of Paramount Group, a company known as a distribution giant.

However, Seok-ho had four older brothers, so he was in a similar position to Seok-jung, being distant from the company’s management.

From the start, he wasn’t interested in inheriting the company, just like Seok-jung.

At least Seok-jung had created his own company by founding Cafe Fresco, but Seok-ho wasn’t interested in anything like that.

Seok-jung always called Seok-ho the nickname ‘loafer.’

“So, you’re telling me to come to Parafield?”

“[Come and see our father after a long time. Father likes you these days.]”

“What? He used to hate me, because I was always hanging out with you.”

“[It’s because of Cafe Fresco. He keeps telling me to do something too, but it’s so annoying.]”

“Hehe, are you getting tied up in Parafield?”

“[What? Don’t say such horrible things. Dong-ho hyung is managing Parafield very well.]”

“Dong-ho hyung was the third hyung, right?”

“[That’s right.]”

Seok-jung chatted a bit more with his friend, then soon hung up and prepared to leave.

He had to be at Parafield by two, so he didn’t have much time.

‘Come to think of it, Parafield… I think I heard that Woo-jin was involved here too….’

Seok-jung didn’t know much about architecture.

So, Woo-jin had mentioned Wangsimni Parafield while talking about his pavilion and whatnot.

He only remembered that such a thing had happened, and nothing more.

“Can I see Woo-jin there if I go?”

Seok-jung thought about contacting Woo-jin, but he found it bothersome and put his smartphone back in his pocket.

Even if they met today, he had other plans, so there was no need to contact him in advance.

Besides, they were practically neighbors who could see each other by just going down one floor, so there was no particular reason to see him today.

Seok-jung, wearing a light spring coat, grabbed his car keys and left home.

Seok-jung always called Seok-ho a loafer, but he wasn’t really someone who lazed around like one.

If Seok-jung was interested in the restaurant business and coffee during his studies abroad, Seok-ho was someone who was immersed in art.

To be more specific, Seok-ho’s dream was to create the largest gallery in the country.

If Seok-jung’s hobby was researching coffee, Seok-ho’s hobby was art collecting.

Seok-ho’s favorite quote was a famous saying by a French painter: [An artist’s work is the flower of their life.]

“There’s nothing as comforting in life as art.”

Some might think it was a hobby possible only because he was rich.

But Seok-ho wasn’t the type to buy expensive artwork with money he received from his parents.

He majored in art history, which his parents opposed when he went to study in America.

Because of that, his living expenses were almost cut off.

He worked hard, learning from famous galleries in America, and invested the money he saved in promising new artists’ paintings.

He built his wealth through art investment over almost ten years, eventually gaining recognition even from his father, the chairman of Paramount, in that field.

His father had told him not to even think about returning to Korea until he gave up on art, but Seok-ho eventually stuck to his guns and returned to Korea this spring.

“In the end, you beat your old man.”

“What’s this talk of winning and losing between father and son, Father.”

“That’s right. If there’s genuine passion and persistence, there’s a path everywhere… My vision was too narrow.”

So, in fact, he was only half serious when he complained to Seok-jung.

His father no longer put any pressure on him regarding the family business.

Therefore, going to the Parafield event today was for purely personal reasons.

It wasn’t because his father told him to go.

The reason he was going to Parafield today was to meet Bruno, a world-renowned architect.

‘Art is, after all… something that connects all fields.’

Seok-ho lived in Wangsimni, so he had seen Parafield many times as it was being built. Now that it was finished, he was even more amazed.

Even just from the outside, Parafield was stunning. The building had smooth, curved walls that seemed to flow like water, and the glass windows sparkled in the sunlight. He couldn’t wait to see inside, but even the outside was enough to tell him this building was something special.

Of course, he couldn’t ‘collect’ architecture, but he was very interested in having connections with an artist who had created such a wonderful building.

‘If it’s someone who designed such a building, just talking to him would give me a lot of inspiration.’

Seok-ho, who had casually walked out of his house, was able to arrive at the site in about 15 minutes.

The completion ceremony of Parafield was attended by quite a few people, starting with Paramount executives, but Seok-ho deliberately entered quietly.

If he was discovered by company officials, only troublesome things would happen.

He had a VIP pass that he had received in advance, so it wasn’t difficult to enter.

Seok-ho met Seok-jung in front of the site and handed him a VIP pass.

“Where’s Father?”

At Seok-jung’s question, Seok-ho smiled and asked back.

“Are you really here to see our father?”

“He told me to say hello.”

“He was just saying that. Father probably came and left already.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Come in for a bit. I’m just planning to meet one person and leave.”

In fact, the point at which Seok-ho arrived was already after the completion ceremony had progressed to some extent.

He had deliberately arrived a little late to avoid the formal and ceremonial events.

So, when the two arrived, the interior of Parafield was bustling with people enjoying the catered food and drinks.

“Who are you trying to meet?”

“Bruno, the Spanish architect who designed this place.”

“Ah, really? Is it arranged?”

“Of course. I asked the head of the business department in advance.”

The interior of Parafield was very spacious, and the place where the completion ceremony was taking place was the lowest-level lobby.

So, the two, hurrying their steps, took the elevator down to the basement floor.

But a moment later.

Ding-

Seok-ho’s steps, after getting off the elevator, momentarily stopped in their tracks.

“What is it? Why did you suddenly stop?”

“Just, wait a moment.”

Seok-jung, with a puzzled expression, turned his head following Seok-ho’s gaze.

And where his gaze reached, there was a huge pavilion built, falling from almost three stories high.

Upon discovering it, Seok-jung involuntarily let out an exclamation.

“Oh…!”

Unlike Seok-ho, he was someone who didn’t know the first thing about art, but the moment he discovered the pavilion, the thought that it was beautiful came to mind.

Seok-jung, towards his friend who was staring blankly at it, asked curiously.

“Hey, is this structure the work of that architect you want to meet?”

Seok-ho, who hadn’t considered that someone else might have designed the pavilion, nodded in agreement.

“Probably… I guess?”

“Heh…! I wondered why the loafer suddenly had an interest in the family business. He was more interested in the good things than the ceremony, huh?”

Seok-jung was teasing him from the side, but Seok-ho didn’t seem to hear it.

Seok-ho was thinking about how Bruno had designed the space.

The location where the two got off the elevator was the final destination of the flow of light falling from the glass ceiling along the pavilion.

It was also the best location to observe the beauty of this structure and space.

Seok-ho, like a true art collector, couldn’t help but think ‘I want to have it’ the moment he saw this pavilion.

‘How can an architectural structure be so beautiful….’

The pavilion in Seok-ho’s eyes felt more like an art piece than an architectural structure.

It was an art piece that blended and harmonized with the beautifully designed architectural space.

He was amazed by this beautiful form itself, but what was even more amazing was the scale of this structure.

The fact that a structure with such delicate and complex forms could be installed on such a massive scale was astonishing.

The sense of scale, which is generally difficult to feel, naturally gave a visually intense effect, and yet this pavilion, with such scale but without being crude and with delicate forms.

It was a work sufficient to give Seok-ho a fresh shock.

So, at this moment while looking at this work.

Seok-ho wanted to meet the architect named Bruno even more.

If the feeling of wanting to meet Bruno had been close to curiosity until now, it had now gone beyond that to longing.

‘If there’s anything like a structure that the architect has worked on… I definitely want to have even a small one. So that I can take away even a little bit of this emotion I’m feeling now.’

Thinking that, Seok-ho, who had been admiring the pavilion, soon took another step with a regretful expression.

The pavilion would always be in this place in the future, so he could see it again anytime, but.

There was no telling when he could meet the architect Bruno if he didn’t meet him right now.

“Let’s go, Seok-jung.”

“Have you seen enough?”

“No, I want to see more, but we don’t have time right now.”

And so, the two began to move their steps, and soon they were able to find Bruno.

Bruno was the only white-haired Westerner at this site, so he was easily noticeable even in the crowd.

But right at that moment when they found Bruno.

Seok-jung, who had been walking behind Seok-ho, couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

The face of the man who was smiling and talking right next to him was very familiar to Seok-jung.