Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 32

To design a good space and good architecture, having a good client is very important. It matters more than how skilled the designer or architect is.

If the client wants something silly or the budget is too small, it’s almost impossible to create a great space.

That’s why Woo-jin liked the idea of creating a ‘virtual client’ from the beginning.

He thought, ‘Maybe only students get to create a client however they want.’

He also realized that how they created the client would really change how the project turned out.

He thought, ‘If I just add everything that looks good, the client won’t feel real. It might be a problem if the client doesn’t seem like a real person.’

So, Woo-jin’s idea was to base the virtual client on a real person.

He thought that if they used a real person as the client and slowly changed things to fit what Woo-jin and So-yeon wanted, it would be easier to design and create a client that felt real.

Woo-jin told So-yeon his idea, and her eyes lit up when she heard it.

“That’s a great idea, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, right?”

“I was wondering why I didn’t like any of the settings… I guess it was because they were too unrealistic.”

They started thinking about famous people first.

They searched on their laptops for real celebrities with interesting backgrounds to use as clients.

After searching for a while, So-yeon suddenly asked Woo-jin,

“Um, hey.”

“Yeah?”

“What about this?”

“What is it?”

“Instead of looking for celebrities, what if we used someone we know as the client?”

“Oho?”

Woo-jin liked So-yeon’s idea and smiled slightly.

As soon as he heard it, he knew it was a good idea.

‘Like So-yeon said, using a regular person as a client could make us different from the other groups.’

Most of the other students were probably planning to design fancy, beautiful, and amazing spaces.

Most future architectural designers dream of those kinds of luxurious spaces first.

So, using a more real and friendly client like So-yeon suggested could help them create something special.

Also, Professor Go Seung-hoon would probably like this idea.

“That’s a good idea.”

“You think so too?”

“Yeah. You know how much the professor likes stories.”

“Stories?”

“He always said that designs should have stories and ideas… Don’t you remember?”

“Oh yeah, you’re right.”

So-yeon got even more excited after Woo-jin agreed. She grabbed her pen and tore off a sheet of yellow paper.

Design students often use yellow paper for quick sketches and notes, and So-yeon loved it.

“Okay, let’s hear a ‘story’ now!”

So-yeon sat close to Woo-jin’s desk, like a detective entering an interview room.

“What’s going on?”

She twirled her pen and playfully asked Woo-jin,

“Who’s the closest person to me right now?”

“Me…?”

“Mr. Seo Woo-jin. What kind of space do you want?”

“Cough…”

“You have enough money, right?”

“…”

So-yeon saw that Woo-jin was speechless with embarrassment and playfully scolded him in a bossy voice.

“Answer me.”

“Let’s just say… I do.”

Woo-jin was surprised, but he decided to play along with So-yeon, who seemed excited.

This made So-yeon even more excited.

“Welcome to So-yeon Architects! Our design fees are a bit high, but we’re really good.”

“Really?”

So-yeon was so into her role-play that she didn’t notice Woo-jin’s teasing.

“Of course! If you don’t like the design, you don’t have to pay.”

“Umm…? That sounds a little too generous, doesn’t it?”

“No, it’s true.”

“Is your architecture firm like a food truck selling chicken skewers?”

“The future designer Han So-yeon is super successful and has as much money as a business owner, that’s the idea.”

“Oh my… You’re getting too into character, Ms. Han!”

Even though she was playing a role, So-yeon continued to talk very seriously.

She seemed to really want to work on the project with Woo-jin as the client.

“First, tell me what kind of space you need, Mr. Seo Woo-jin.”

“Really, I’m the client?”

“That’s right! But I might change my mind if I don’t like what I hear.”

“How can you do that?”

“So hurry up and answer! What kind of space do you want, Mr. Client?”

Woo-jin listened to So-yeon and paused to think.

He was embarrassed by her joke, but he realized he had never thought about this before.

‘The space I want…?’

From his past until now, Woo-jin had never thought about a space just for himself.

He was always designing and building spaces for others, and he was happy just to have a place to sleep.

He had always been so busy. As he thought about it, a sad smile appeared on his face.

‘I can’t believe I’m thinking about this in class.’

But Woo-jin didn’t think about it for too long.

“WJ Studio.”

“Huh?”

“It’s the name of my architecture firm.”

The happiest space Woo-jin could imagine.

It was the design firm he had built, where his people worked, and which held his dreams.

So-yeon laughed a little. “Wait, you already have a name for your company?”

Woo-jin nodded. “Yeah, I do. Anyway, about my office… I need a design. It’s for about thirty people. And I was thinking a piece of land… maybe about this big?” He gestured with his hands. “And a building, maybe five or six stories high?”

Woo-jin quickly listed what he wanted. So-yeon was so surprised, she couldn’t speak for a moment.

This wasn’t the kind of story she had expected from him.

After thinking for a moment, So-yeon spoke again, a slightly awkward expression on her face.

“Um… so, Mr. Seo Woo-jin.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think we can design just an office building. It needs a ‘story’ behind it.”

“What? No, wait. Why not before we’ve even started?” Woo-jin was taken aback, but So-yeon spoke with even more boldness.

“Story?”

Woo-jin didn’t quite understand what So-yeon meant, but he decided to listen further.

“What kind of interesting story can there be about an office, especially for someone who doesn’t go out much?”

He thought, ‘I do. No, I have plenty,’ the words rising to his throat, but Woo-jin barely managed to hold them back and waited for So-yeon to continue.

“Let’s design a space that contains the ‘real’ story of twenty-two-year-old Seo Woo-jin.”

Watching So-yeon speak in a deliberately serious tone, Woo-jin chuckled inwardly. ‘She’s trying to guide me, isn’t she?’

He wasn’t entirely sure what this team member wanted to do, but she wasn’t exactly wrong either.

So, Woo-jin decided to join in her idea.

“A space that contains my story, huh…”

To suit So-yeon’s taste, he had to leave out the stories from before his past life.

The moment he brought them up, she would surely scold him for writing a novel.

So, what Woo-jin thought of was his unfortunate life up to the age of twenty.

It was two years ago, but in his memory, it felt like twenty.

Now fading away, his childhood stories.

And as Woo-jin recalled that faded past, the face of one person naturally came to mind.

The one person who occupied the most space in the life of twenty-two-year-old Woo-jin.

‘Mother.’

So, Woo-jin opened his mouth without realizing it.

“A Sujebi and Kalguksu Restaurant.”

“Huh…?”

“The space that client Seo Woo-jin wants… is a cozy Sujebi and Kalguksu restaurant.”

Taken aback by the unexpected story, So-yeon’s eyes widened like those of a startled rabbit.

So-yeon had decided quickly to work with Woo-jin. She didn’t think it was a very important decision at first.

But if she had to find a reason…

‘Because I’m curious.’ She was curious about Woo-jin as a person, plain and simple.

“The person closest to me right now.”

“Me…?”

“Mr. Seo Woo-jin. What kind of space do you want?”

Woo-jin might not know what she thought of him, but among the Class of ’10, he was a rather special and mysterious friend.

Except for a few who had worked with him during the Night of Design, most didn’t have any personal connection with him.

He always vanished like a ghost after class, making it difficult to become close to him, even after a considerable amount of time had passed since the start of the semester.

At first, other students were interested in Woo-jin. But now, they just thought of him as a busy older classmate.

Except for So-yeon, who was currently working on an assignment with him.

‘Come to think of it, he’s the closest older classmate I’ve become friends with since coming to school… but I hardly know anything about him.’

There was a good reason why So-yeon was curious about Woo-jin, unlike the other classmates.

While Woo-jin might be the most difficult classmate to befriend for other freshmen, he was So-yeon’s closest classmate.

Of course, that was just So-yeon’s own thought.

The outgoing and pretty So-yeon was popular and well-connected among her classmates.

No one would imagine that she considered Woo-jin her closest classmate.

Among the female classmates, So-yeon’s association with Woo-jin was seen as a kind and pretty older sister taking care of a pitiful older classmate who couldn’t adapt to school life.

Among the male classmates, Woo-jin, who was always with the pretty So-yeon, was simply an object of envy.

In reality, Woo-jin didn’t think much of it, and rather, So-yeon felt a little annoyed, not really jealous, that Woo-jin spent so much time with the British student.

‘Whether it’s Jayden or Jason. Why did that childish Brit even bother to study abroad at our school when there are perfectly good schools in his neighborhood?’

So-yeon had the most fun when she was at school with Woo-jin.

Even when they were sharing silly jokes and raiding the snack bar.

Even when they were each holding a hot chocolate at a café, gossiping about Hye-jin, who was busy with her love life.

The reason was still unknown, but she simply found it fun and comfortable to be with Woo-jin.

So, So-yeon spoke without much planning.

“Let’s design a space that contains the ‘real’ story of twenty-two-year-old Seo Woo-jin.”

Perhaps now, while working on this assignment together, was the best time to naturally learn about Woo-jin more than ever.

But even So-yeon, who had brought up the idea with such intentions, didn’t expect this answer from Woo-jin.

“A Sujebi and Kalguksu Restaurant.”

“Huh…?”

“The space that client Seo Woo-jin wants… is a cozy Sujebi and Kalguksu restaurant.”

“Suddenly? Sujebi and Kalguksu?”

Woo-jin put on a serious expression he hadn’t shown before and began to talk about his mother.

“My mother has been selling Sujebi and Kalguksu for over ten years. In a cramped and shabby shop.”

Sujebi and Kalguksu are types of Korean noodle soup, warm and comforting.

“Ah…”

“Even though it’s just an assignment, I thought it would be a nice gift to design a cozy and wonderful Sujebi and Kalguksu restaurant for my mother.”

“Y-yes, it would.”

“If we go with this Sujebi and Kalguksu restaurant as the theme, wouldn’t we be able to sincerely capture the story of twenty-two-year-old Seo Woo-jin that you’re talking about?”

Woo-jin’s voice was calm, and not much different from usual.

But with a strange emotion suddenly hitting her, So-yeon felt a momentary tightness in her chest.

And towards her, Woo-jin briefly unfolded his story.