Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 46

The competition concept meeting started a bit chaotically, but it proceeded smoothly.

In this first team project for the competition, Woojin’s team got off to a pretty good start.

After all, based on the data that Soyeon and Jayden had found, they were able to more clearly specify the direction of the project.

“Alright, let’s call it a day.”

“Yeah. Let’s agree to finish the search completely by the next team meeting.”

“Hmm. Jayden has already found great examples… Okay, then. I’ll wait for you both to finish up.”

As the meeting came to a close, Jayden and Soyeon slowly packed their things and closed their laptops.

The team project had lasted about three hours, but everyone seemed a bit drained from working so passionately.

However, despite that, there was still one thing left to decide: the next meeting schedule.

“How about Friday for the next date?”

At Woojin’s words, the two people packing their things immediately replied.

“Good. I’m fine with it.”

“Me too. That day is almost entirely free for me.”

“Then the date is set…”

While Woojin marked the schedule on his phone calendar, Soyeon and Jayden took turns speaking.

“Then where should we have the team meeting? Should we do it at school like today?”

“Or how about going on a field trip to the site? Where was it? Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu?”

The Site that Jayden was talking about was, of course, the location where the competition’s building would be built.

Soyeon seemed to think it was a good idea, as her eyes sparkled and she agreed with him.

“Oh…? That’s a good idea?”

“Hehe. Jayden is smart as always. I think he’s a genius.”

Listening to the two people’s conversation, Woojin chuckled and shook his head.

Jayden’s idea was a good one, but Woojin already had a place in mind.

“Jayden, sorry to rain on the genius’s parade, but…”

“Really?”

Woojin continued to speak.

“Bulgwang-dong. How about it?”

“Bulgwang? Where is that?”

“If it’s Bulgwang… isn’t that Eunpyeong-gu?”

“That’s right.”

Hearing Woojin’s words, Jayden didn’t frown further, but instead wore a puzzled expression.

The place he suggested, Bulgwang-dong, was not easily understood.

‘Bulgwang? Was there something special there?’

Bulgwang-dong, located deep on Line 3, was quite far from K University’s campus.

Was Woojin’s house nearby then?

That was even more absurd.

Bulgwang-dong was very far from Woojin’s house, on the other side of the city.

Because of this, Soyeon guessed that this place, Bulgwang-dong, had some connection to the competition.

Of course, that connection was not easily apparent.

‘What is it? I really don’t know…’

However, before Soyeon and Jayden could express their doubts, Woojin began to explain first.

Of course, he thought that the two would have questions.

“Do you know what Suyu-dong and Bulgwang-dong have in common?”

“I don’t know.”

Woojin picked up his laptop, showed them a map, and pointed to one location with his finger, where the words ‘Bukhansan Mountain’ were boldly written.

“Right here. The fact that they both have Bukhansan Mountain behind them.”

Woojin swallowed dryly and continued to speak.

“Of course, not the entire neighborhood is adjacent to the mountain range. But according to the land register announced for the competition… the nursing home we have to design will be built in a general residential area that is adjacent to the forest.”

Jayden, quick as always, understood right away.

“It’s next to the mountain, right?”

“That’s right.”

Woojin, who had shown the site in Suyu-dong specified in the competition on the map, now unfolded a map of Bulgwang-dong.

To be exact, he pointed to a specific location within Bulgwang-dong with his finger.

A fairly large area of land backing Bukhansan Mountain, just like the Site given in the competition.

On top of it, the words [Seun Nursing Hospital] were written in small letters.

“And this nursing hospital that I found is built in an environment that is very similar to the competition Site given to us.”

“Oho.”

“Of course, this is a nursing hospital, and the building we have to design is a nursing home without the hospital function, so it’s a bit different… but I think it’s a case that can be sufficiently referenced.”

“That could be true.”

During the three hours of the team project, Woojin and the others searched for a lot of data to fill that ‘source’ that Woojin had mentioned.

However, as the saying goes, seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times, there is no experience as certain as going to see it yourself.

Woojin actually wanted to visit the nursing hospital and see the system there for himself.

“So, on Friday, I think it would be good to visit here once and work at a nearby cafe or something.”

As Woojin’s explanation ended, Jayden replied with sparkling eyes.

“I’m fine with it.”

Jayden had already forgotten long ago about his dissatisfaction with Woojin rejecting his opinion.

Soyeon also nodded and replied.

“I agree too.”

Although they didn’t express it outwardly, the two were impressed with Woojin’s suggestion.

They had all searched for and analyzed references together, but they hadn’t thought of finding a similar case with similar terrain and going to see it directly.

‘If we look at buildings of the same use built in similar environments… it will be very helpful when planning the facility structure.’

Soyeon thought this was a kind of insight: the ability to quickly foresee the future and catch the elements needed to proceed with the project in the right place at the right time.

Perhaps most students preparing for the competition would have scheduled field trips as Jayden had suggested.

That was the flow of general thinking.

Of course, that’s not to say it’s bad.

But what you can see there is only superficial, one-dimensional information and it won’t be easy to see something beyond that.

In that sense, Woojin could be said to be an excellent leader.

“Then let’s really call it quits now!”

As the next schedule was smoothly fixed, Woojin also hurried to pack up.

Thanks to the competition, he had been at school until sunset, so now he might have to go to the studio and make models with Seokhyun all night.

‘Ha, I’m hungry too. Should I order pizza at the studio?’

But a moment later, Soyeon, who had packed her things first and was waiting, called out to Woojin, who was about to leave the practice room.

“Hey, Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“About that… the field trip.”

Soyeon hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, but then shook her head.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Never mind.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I need to think about it a bit more. I’ll tell you later.”

“……?”

Woojin wondered what she was going to say, but he didn’t ask her again.

Soyeon’s smile disappeared, and her eyebrows furrowed. She looked down at the ground, as if a heavy thought was weighing on her shoulders.

‘What’s up with her? Is something wrong?’

Of course, Jayden, who didn’t notice anything, was still talking beside him.

“Woojin, now that the competition team project is over, let’s go to my place and have some beer to celebrate!”

“What are you talking about? I have to go to the studio with him to build the model, remember?”

“Shit! The model! Damn it, I shouldn’t have agreed to this!”

Soyeon, suddenly looking awkward, hurried out of the campus.

The lanky Jayden, grumbling, followed after Woojin.

And so, their first competition team project ended in a strange way.

With the new task of the competition, Woojin’s already busy schedule became even more full.

Kim Jintae promised to get work, and he did! He found a couple of good-paying construction jobs.

And as the end of the semester got closer, his school courses needed more time and effort.

Woojin was starting to feel proud that he could handle everything.

‘Will I… even graduate?’

Even though his business was doing well, his busy school life didn’t feel like too much of a burden.

Woojin was learning more than he thought he would from his school courses.

The most exciting thing he had learned recently was the rendering technique in digital space graphics.

Woojin was thrilled about something new he was learning in school: rendering! This was the magic trick to make his 3D models look real.

This was something Woojin had never learned before.

‘I always wondered how they made such realistic images from modeling… So that’s how it’s done.’

Making good rendering needs understanding many settings and functions. But the basic idea is simple. Here is how it works.

After finishing the modeling in 3D space, you set the texture for each surface of the model.

Textures like metal, glass, or mirrors can be made by setting how light reflects, the color, and how see-through it is.

Textures with patterns, like wood, stone, or marble, can be made by drawing the texture in 2D and then carefully putting it on the model.

This is called ‘Mapping’ in the industry.

Once all the textures are set, light is added in the 3D space.

That light can be from lamps or sunlight that the program makes.

The more perfectly all the settings work together, the more real the 3D image looks.

‘If WJ Studio wants to win big projects in the future, rendering skills are very important.’

Clients who hire architectural firms don’t really understand or know how to read blueprints.

It’s normal for people who aren’t experts to not understand them.

So, to impress them and get the job, you need to show them the design in a way that’s easy to understand.

You have to be able to say, ‘If we build it like this, this is what it will look like,’ and show them a beautiful picture of the space that looks like a real photo of the finished building.

You can get some idea with just the model, but a good rendering is much better.

A simple model shows the structure, but a well-rendered 3D image feels like you’ve actually built the space and taken a photograph of it.

Woojin had seen many people who were very good at making 3D images, and he had always wanted to learn that skill.

‘If I learn it well, maybe I can use it in this competition too?’

Even with his busy schedule, Woojin had to go to the Cheongdam-dong gallery a few times.

Park Kyungwan had set up a meeting with the director of Cheonwoong Construction once.

Another time, it was because he got a call from someone he had forgotten.

[Hello, is this CEO Seo Woojin?]

“Yes, it is. Who is this?”

[Ah, it’s Im Suha, from the model house last time.]

“Ah! It’s Actress Im Suha!”

There was a reason why Woojin had forgotten about her.

Even though they announced who got the apartments and the date to sign the contract had passed, he hadn’t heard from her.

So, Woojin thought that she either didn’t get the apartment or didn’t contact him even though she had come to the model house to sign the contract.

But there was something Woojin didn’t think about.

[Well, the chance of getting the size I wanted was 1.5 to 1, and I didn’t get it, you know?]

“If it was 1.5 to 1, you must have wanted the 40-pyeong size?”

[That’s right. I wanted a big space since I was signing a contract for a good house… I didn’t think I would fail with a rate of 1.5 to 1.]

“So you couldn’t sign the contract…?”

[Ah, that’s not it.]

“……?”

[I was the first reserve winner.]

“Ah…….”

[I got a call today saying it was available. That’s why I’m calling you, CEO. Whew…….]

The apartment application system chooses some reserve winners in case some people don’t sign the contract.

Many people even apply for apartments without really thinking, just hoping to win.

So, some winners didn’t come on the contract date, and the apartments were given to the reserve winners.

That’s why Im Suha contacted him late, after the contract date had passed.

[When would be a good time to visit you, CEO?]

“Ah, I’ll be there in the morning. Can you come then?”

[Ah, yes! Then I’ll go tomorrow morning.]

“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow, Actress.”

[Thank you, CEO!]

After hanging up with Im Suha, Woojin felt happy.

He had finally gotten her number naturally.

He had taken the chance to make her a connection, just like he planned.

‘If possible, I hope the actress becomes successful quickly and hires me to build a villa.’

Woojin knew that Im Suha would become popular soon by being on entertainment shows.

He didn’t remember exactly when, and the future could change, but Woojin believed that she would still succeed.

If he could make connections in the broadcasting industry through her, it would really help WJ Studio in the future.

Not now, but soon there would be many entertainment shows about real estate.

If he could become well-known through the media, it would give WJ Studio a big boost.

“Whew, I was a little sad that I didn’t have the actress’s number… But this worked out well.”

A smile spread across Woojin’s face, chasing away the earlier worry about Soyeon. He grabbed a bright red pen and circled Friday on his calendar with a flourish. ‘Friday,’ he thought, a little thrill of excitement running through him.

‘After going to the gallery on Thursday morning and attending the afternoon class……’

Woojin’s eyes went to the Friday calendar.

The second team project day of the SPDC competition had arrived.