Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 271

Of course, I’m tempted.

This large-scale architectural design was a great chance for any architect.

But Woojin was careful. A big chance like this needed thought.

So, after thinking for a moment, Woojin asked Professor Yoon Chi-hyung, “What about you, Professor?”

“Huh?”

“It seems like a project that you would be even more tempted by than I am.”

Professor Yoon chuckled softly. “Haha.”

Woojin leaned forward slightly. “Professor, have you thought about entering the competition yourself?”

At Woojin’s question, Professor Yoon burst into a hearty laugh, the sound filling the small office. Sunlight streamed through the window, catching the dust motes dancing around them.

Professor Yoon had expected Woojin to be instantly excited about the project. But Woojin was thinking more deeply than he had imagined. *This young man is different,* Professor Yoon thought, impressed. *Not just chasing after every shiny thing.*

“Hahaha!” Professor Yoon wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling. “I never thought I’d hear a question like that from a student! Especially now that I’m a professor.”

“I apologize if I’m being presumptuous.”

“Presumptuous? Nonsense! Aren’t you the head of the hottest architectural firm in the country now, Woojin?”

“I’m still far from it.”

Professor Yoon smiled. “Very modest, Woojin.”

Professor Yoon chuckled and picked up his coffee cup.

He looked closely at Woojin’s eyes.

Even though Woojin looked calm, his eyes showed he really wanted the project.

Seeing that, Professor Yoon slowly spoke again.

“This project. Of course, I’m tempted too.”

Woojin listened quietly as Professor Yoon continued.

“But as you saw, the schedule is too tight, and I just don’t have time to prepare.”

Woojin was a little surprised. “The proposal said the deadline is in May. Is that really the final date?”

“Haha. Why do you ask?”

“If the deadline is really in May, I can’t do it either. Is the schedule still being changed?” Woojin looked quite surprised.

The paper Woojin saw was like a first plan.

Usually, the dates on those plans can be changed, so he hadn’t worried about the May deadline.

But what if May was really the final date?

Even Woojin couldn’t do it then.

He probably couldn’t even finish one exhibition hall in that time.

Professor Yoon smiled even more, seeing Woojin’s surprise.

“Of course not. May is just a guess.”

“Ah……” A wave of relief washed over Woojin’s face, and he let out a small sigh.

Seeing Woojin’s relieved expression, Professor Yoon chuckled again.

“But the real date is set, too.”

“Really?”

“I need to check again, but it’s probably around August or early September.”

“I see.”

“Still, it’s not much time.”

Woojin’s mind started racing again.

Like Professor Yoon said, August or September wasn’t far away.

Because the design was so big, even just the first plans would take months.

If Woojin’s company had other projects, he would have to say no.

*I already gave the designs to Cloud Partners. What projects are left now…?*

Luckily, the only big project left at WJ Studio was the Cheongdam Arco, so Woojin thought it was worth a try.

“I think I can do it……”

Woojin carefully asked again. Professor Yoon chuckled.

“You have your company and employees, Woojin, but I’m all alone.”

“Um……”

“Plus, it’s the start of the semester, and I’m busy with school work… I don’t think I can finish it in time.”

Woojin nodded, understanding.

Listening to him, it seemed he really didn’t have the time.

So, Woojin felt comfortable asking.

He wanted to try this project.

“Then… can I try it?”

Professor Yoon smiled. “Yes. It was a project I wanted to give to you from the start,” Professor Yoon said, his eyes showing genuine encouragement. “I know you can do great things with it.”

“Thank you!”

“But……”

“…?”

“You have to do me a favor. It’s not too hard.”

Woojin tilted his head, surprised.

“Can I ask what it is?”

Professor Yoon grinned again.

“You said you are free today, right?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Do some volunteer work for the new students.”

“Pardon?”

Professor Yoon tossed a small pamphlet onto the wooden table. It landed with a soft thud. Woojin looked at it, confused.

It was the entrance ceremony pamphlet for the new students.

“Why this…?”

Before Woojin could finish asking, Professor Yoon spoke.

“If you look at the table of contents, you’ll see the congratulatory speech for the entrance ceremony, right?”

Woojin nodded slowly, a slight frown creasing his forehead.

“Yes, I see it……”

Professor Yoon added casually, as if it were nothing.

“You’re going to do it.”

“Me?!” Woojin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Why are you pretending you didn’t hear? I said, you’re going to give the congratulatory speech.”

“But…!”

The entrance ceremony pamphlet clearly said ‘Yoon Chi-hyung, Head of the Spatial Design Department’ would be speaking.

Woojin blinked, completely bewildered. He pointed at the pamphlet.

But Professor Yoon acted like it was nothing.

“Why, don’t you want to?”

“Your name is written here, Professor?”

Professor Yoon grinned.

“So what?”

“Anyway, the new students would rather see you on stage than listen to me talk for too long about the same old things.”

“Still…….”

“If you go up there, they’ll cheer no matter what silly thing you say.”

“Really? Wait, *me*?”

“Yeah, come on. Just think of it as, you know, entertaining the freshmen for twenty minutes or so.”

Woo-jin shook his head.

It was too sudden, and he wondered if it was okay to be so impromptu.

But Chi-hyung was serious, not joking, and Woo-jin knew it.

“I got you a big opportunity, can you help me out this time?”

So, Woo-jin sighed deeply and had no choice but to nod.

“Fine……. I’ll do it.”

“Heh heh. Good, good.”

And just in case, he added one more thing.

“But Professor.”

“What?”

“Don’t blame me if I ruin the entrance ceremony?”

To that, Yoon Chi-hyung simply smiled.

The 2013 entrance ceremony for the Department of Design at K University began at noon in the faculty building’s conference hall.

The large conference hall was buzzing with noise. It was filled with freshmen, like a jar overflowing with excited bees. They had arrived early, from 11:30 AM.

Perhaps because they were finally entering the school they had dreamed of, everyone sat in their seats with excited expressions.

Twenty-one years old this year.

Soo-young, who entered the Department of Spatial Design at K University after retaking the entrance exam, was also one of those freshmen.

Soo-young got into a good design university in Seoul last year. But she really wanted to come to K University’s Design Department. So, she studied very hard and took the exam again. She was so happy she passed!

Today’s entrance ceremony was truly a dream come true for her, and even as she sat waiting for the ceremony to begin, Soo-young’s heart was pounding.

She clutched the entrance ceremony pamphlet in her hand, reading it intently.

‘There’s a Q&A session with the student council president. I wonder if I can ask about things I’m curious about then?’

She had already heard many stories about school life during orientation, but Soo-young, still a wide-eyed freshman, was full of questions.

Everything about this day thrilled her.

The fact that the people listed as speakers in the entrance ceremony pamphlet were famous designers she usually admired was also one of the reasons for her excitement.

‘Wow, Professor Yoon Chi-hyung is giving the congratulatory speech at the entrance ceremony today? He’s someone I’ve always respected…….’

Having finished reading the pamphlet, she straightened her posture.

It was almost time for the entrance ceremony to begin.

And when her gaze reached the podium, she saw someone coming up onto the stage and grabbing the microphone.

“Hello, freshmen. I’m Oh Young-sun, the student council president of the Department of Visual Design.”

K University’s entrance ceremony is held at the faculty level, not the department level.

Therefore, not only the freshmen from the Department of Spatial Design but also all the freshmen from the Department of Design were gathered here today, and so the staff running the entrance ceremony were also a mix of upperclassmen from all the departments within the Department of Design.

So, Soo-young was secretly hoping that an upperclassman from her department, Spatial Design, would come up on stage.

There was no particular reason.

It was just a kind of sense of belonging, a feeling that she would be happy to see the face of the department upperclassman she had seen at the orientation.

‘I think the sophomore class president was supposed to come…….’

But just as she was thinking this, one of her classmates sitting next to Soo-young suddenly spoke to her.

“Soo-young, unnie.”

“Huh?”

“I heard Woo-jin senior came to school today, have you seen him by any chance?”

Hearing the familiar name, Soo-young asked back in surprise.

“Woo-jin senior……. You mean, Seo Woo-jin senior?”

“Of course, that Woo-jin senior.”

“There’s also a Kim Woo-jin senior in the second year.”

“I heard he’s always suffering because of that senior’s name…….”

When she heard the name Seo Woo-jin, Soo-young felt even more excited.

Woo-jin was the object of admiration not only for her but also for most of the freshmen who entered the Department of Spatial Design this year.

Soo-young spoke faster, without even noticing, and asked her classmate again.

“Anyway, that’s not important, did Seo Woo-jin senior really come today?”

“I’m telling you, unnie? The temporary class president oppa said he saw him earlier.”

“Wow.”

“Do you think he’ll come to the entrance ceremony?”

“Please, I hope he does.”

Woo-jin was now a celebrity to the general public, but he was an even more significant figure to students majoring in architecture or design.

Without exaggeration, more than half of the students applying to the Department of Spatial Design had been doing so because of Woo-jin since last year, and as evidence of this, the competition rate for the Department of Spatial Design within the Department of Design at K University was more than five times that of other departments.

The Visual Design Department was most popular the year Woo-jin started. Everyone knew it was because of him.

“I want to get just one autograph. I need to brag to my friends…….”

“My friend went to the College of Humanities entrance ceremony today, and she’s running over here to see Woo-jin senior.”

“Ugh, should we even be here at the ceremony? Maybe Woo-jin is in the department office?”

“Gasp. Unnie, I need to go to the restroom…….”

“Where do you think you’re going alone……!”

“Hee hee, do you want to go with me, unnie? I think Woo-jin senior might really be in the department office.”

“B-But, what if he comes to the entrance ceremony?”

“Ugh……. Ugh……. What should we do.”

The two freshmen were chattering in small voices.

If they could only meet Woo-jin in person, the entrance ceremony was not important, in fact.

But just as the two were seriously contemplating, the voice of the emcee conducting the entrance ceremony on the stage flowed into their ears.

“Well, we’ve listened to Professor Kim Jin-cheol of the Department of Fashion Design so far. The story about the first steps as a designer was really impressive…….”

The voice of Oh Young-sun, the third-year student council president of the Department of Visual Design, who was in charge of today’s entrance ceremony.

“Next up is Professor Yoon Chi-hyung, the head of the Department of Spatial Design!”

But the moment she finished speaking, another student behind her ran onto the stage, making an X with both hands.

He quickly whispered something in the emcee’s ear and went down, and she, with a surprised expression, corrected her previous statement and opened her mouth again.

“Ah, I apologize for the confusion, freshmen. Due to Professor Yoon Chi-hyung’s schedule, the order has been slightly changed.”

And at the same time, the conference hall began to buzz slightly.

“So, the next order is……!”

Before anyone knew it, a very familiar man was slowly walking up from the opposite side of the stage.

“The pride of our K University’s Department of Design! Someone you all know very well, an entrance ceremony congratulatory speech from Seo Woo-jin senior of the Department of Spatial Design!”

The moment Young-sun finished speaking, the gazes of everyone in the hall were simultaneously fixed on the stage.

Not only the freshmen attending today’s entrance ceremony but also the second and third-year students who came as staff and were chatting at the back of the conference hall.

“……!”

And at the same time.

“Waaaaah!”

“Seo Woo-jin! It’s Woo-jin senior!”

An enormous cheer, as if the hall would collapse, began to echo throughout the conference hall.