Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 61

Kitae slid into the chair opposite his uncle. “Uncle! You’re already here?” He sounded surprised, but also pleased.

Yoon Youngwoon nodded, a small smile touching his lips. “Yes, got here a bit early. Wanted to get a good seat.” He gestured around the small café, which was starting to fill with students. The air smelled strongly of roasted coffee beans.

“Coffee?” Kitae asked, already standing up again. “Want anything?”

“That sounds good, thanks,” Youngwoon said, relaxing back in his chair. “I’ll have an iced Americano.”

“Okay, be right back.” Kitae headed towards the counter, weaving through the other customers.

In a small café near City University, two people sat facing each other, beginning to drink their coffee.

One man was in a neat suit, appearing to be in his late forties.

The other was a student in casual slacks and a clean hoodie.

This was Kim Kitae, a third-year student at City University, and the man he called uncle was Yoon Youngwoon, an employee of Global Construction Company.

“So,” Youngwoon started, leaning forward a bit. “Anything new from the school?”

“No. I told you last time. They did almost all the work externally.”

“That’s right.”

“Those bastards must have outsourced everything to other companies,” Kitae said.

Yoon Youngwoon, seeing Kitae’s expression, sighed quietly to himself.

Youngwoon looked calm on the outside. But he knew Kitae well. He could see Kitae was very upset inside.

‘He must feel incredibly wronged,’ Youngwoon thought.

In fact, when Youngwoon first heard this story from Kitae, he thought that the first-year students had hired a professional design firm to do all the design work, from the first ideas to the final details.

If that were true, he thought Kitae had every right to be angry.

So he had agreed to help Kitae and joined the investigation.

But now, as the investigation went on, Youngwoon felt the situation was not so clear.

‘If this is the case, then Kitae is doing the same thing,’ Youngwoon thought.

What Youngwoon had found over the past few days was this: A company called WJ Studio had probably created Woojin’s model. He had found traces of Woojin’s model at that company.

In other words, there was no sign that they had outsourced the design itself.

And if this first-year team had only outsourced the model production, then Kitae was no better.

Kitae had also completely outsourced his model to a company. Even worse, he had received help from Global Construction Company for the detailed design.

Kitae was accusing them of outsourcing, but he had done the same thing.

“Hmm……”

“Uncle, you found something, didn’t you?” Kitae asked. “Didn’t you?”

Youngwoon looked Kitae in the eyes and slowly nodded.

He briefly explained the evidence he had found.

“So, if you look at these photos, you can immediately tell that it’s the workshop where the first-year team’s model was made,” Youngwoon said.

“It certainly looks like it,” Kitae replied.

“This is WJ Studio, a model workshop near your school.”

“Ah……”

“It’s been a bit of a hot topic in the industry recently,” Youngwoon added.

“In the industry?”

“Recently, an architectural model made here was installed in the Cheonwoong Construction PR center, and it was a huge hit. It’s a company that produces model quality that’s as good as the real thing.”

“Hoo, I knew it……”

Kitae looked even more furious now that his guess was right. His face went red, and his fists clenched tighter.

Kitae’s hand, clenched into a tight fist, looked as if it had lost all its blood.

“Is there any other evidence besides this?” Kitae asked.

“No. I’ve investigated quite thoroughly, but there’s no evidence of design or planning being outsourced.”

“Hmm……”

“Unless the first-year students know about some overseas company that I don’t, it seems they did the design themselves,” Youngwoon said, watching Kitae’s face.

“So, Kitae,” Youngwoon began in a low voice.

“Yes, Uncle.”

“Why don’t you just drop it here?”

“Excuse me?”

“Since the only part that was outsourced was the model, and they did the design themselves……”

But Kitae cut him off.

“No, Uncle. That’s not right.”

“What?”

“Right now, I’m not just suspecting them, I’m convinced,” Kitae said. His voice began to grow louder.

“What are you talking about?” Youngwoon asked.

“It’s just that the evidence hasn’t come out yet, but they definitely outsourced everything, design and planning.”

“……”

“Uncle, you know too, don’t you?” Kitae continued. “Do you think such a design is possible at the first-year level? Absolutely not.”

Kim Kitae was getting more and more excited, and Youngwoon just listened to him quietly.

“Anyway, according to SPDC regulations, even if only the model is revealed to be outsourced, the award will be unconditionally revoked,” Kitae stated.

“That’s true,” Youngwoon agreed.

“Just what you found for me is enough to send them packing,” Kitae said.

Kitae grabbed the USB that Youngwoon had placed on the desk and put it in his pocket.

“I’ll take this. Thanks for your trouble, Uncle.”

Youngwoon nodded with a short sigh.

“Hoo. Okay.”

He wanted to say, ‘You outsourced the model too,’ but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

He could see something like madness in Kitae’s face right now.

‘Well, what’s done is done,’ he thought.

He briefly wondered how to report this to his boss and Kitae’s father, Kim Jinmyung, but in the end, Youngwoon shook his head.

Kim Jinmyung wouldn’t be too interested in such small details anyway.

What he wanted was the result.

As Kitae said, the evidence he had found would be more than enough to have the first-year students’ grand prize taken away. That place would then surely be Kitae’s.

Youngwoon felt a little uneasy, but he thought that was enough.

At least that ‘result’ would not change.

The weekend passed, and Monday came.

Woojin went to school a little early as usual.

The first-year student lounge was full of talk about the SPDC that had taken place last week.

“Hey, did you hear? Woojin’s team won the grand prize at this year’s SPDC,” one student said.

“Really? Wow. Isn’t SPDC super tough? I heard it’s hard for even the upperclassmen to win, so I didn’t even submit,” another replied.

“I think only three first-year teams submitted, and all three teams won awards,” the first student added.

“Really?”

“Woojin’s team won the grand prize. Sunbin’s team won the excellence award. Yurim’s team won special selection.”

“Wow, amazing. I’m so jealous……”

“Damn it. If you get a special selection at SPDC, you fill up 50 points for extracurricular activities in one go, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I heard you have to fill up 100 points by graduation.”

“Sunbin’s team scored 60 points, but Woojin’s team… they jumped straight to 100 points! That’s like winning the golden ticket!”

“Wow…”

*Creak—* The studio door opened slowly. Woojin stepped inside. He could feel the buzz of excitement in the air, louder than usual. He walked to his usual desk, sat down, and opened his laptop. He wanted to finish his assignment before class started. He had about an hour. But something felt different today.

“Woojin’s here!” someone called out.

“Really? It’s him!” another voice replied.

“Hey, Woojin!” now a few voices shouted.

Usually, Woojin could slip into the studio unnoticed. Most days, his classmates barely looked his way. But not today. As soon as he sat down, they were all around him, like a wave of people, talking loudly and excitedly.

Woojin blinked, surprised. Then, he understood.

“Hey, is it true you won the SPDC grand prize?” someone asked. “Can we see your design?”

“Woojin, congrats!” another classmate said. “I read about it online this morning. It’s incredible!”

“Who was in your team? Soyeon?”

“Soyeon and Jayden,” Woojin replied.

“Wow, lucky you! I wish I’d asked to join your team…”

The SPDC prize was a huge deal for anyone studying design. It was like winning the top award in the whole school. So, it wasn’t surprising that Woojin was suddenly the most popular person in the room.

His classmates were really curious and maybe a little jealous, but Woojin didn’t mind it too much.

“It was just luck, really,” Woojin said quietly.

“Hey, don’t be silly!” someone protested.

“Yeah, I heard the winning design even gets built for real!”

“And if they don’t think any design is good enough, they don’t even give out the grand prize sometimes!”

“The city government wouldn’t build something just because of luck,” another classmate argued.

“Exactly!” others agreed.

Woojin’s classmates were really excited. They seemed genuinely happy that someone from their class, even a first-year student, had won against older students.

For first-year students, the SPDC competition felt like something for much more advanced students. They were more amazed and impressed than jealous.

“Come on, show us your project!” someone urged. “We want to see it!”

“Show us! Show us!” others chanted.

“I gave all the models to the competition people,” Woojin explained. “They’re not here.”

“But you must have the files on your computer, right?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“And photos of the models? Don’t pretend you don’t!”

“Don’t hide it! Show us now!”

“Okay, okay,” Woojin chuckled slightly. “Just give me a second.”

Smiling a little, Woojin opened his project files on his laptop.

As Woojin clicked through the images, his classmates leaned closer, their eyes growing wider and wider.

“Whoa… what is this?” one of them breathed. “This is… amazing.”

“Are we even in the same class as him?” another whispered.

“Wait, wasn’t he always falling asleep in drawing class? How did he do this?”

“Dude… wow…” someone mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Woojin, this is so cool!”

Murmurs of amazement filled the studio. Woojin watched them, a faint blush rising on his cheeks. He tried to look calm, but inside, a small smile was starting to bloom. He did enjoy this, even if he felt a bit embarrassed by all the attention.

But then, Jayden arrived. And Woojin suddenly felt a little less comfortable.

“Yoo-hoo! Jayden’s here!” Jayden announced loudly as he walked in.

“Jayden!” some classmates cheered.

“What’s with the ‘Jayden’s here’ thing?” one of them laughed. “That’s so corny.”

“Hey, it’s okay, Jayden,” another replied. “If you won the SPDC, you can be as dramatic as you want for one day.”

“That’s right! I’m Jayden, the amazing new talent of design! Future star architect, right here! Autographs, anyone?” Jayden grinned, striking a pose.

Jayden was full of energy today, bouncing around and talking non-stop as soon as he walked in. And now, some of the other classmates were joining in, laughing and playing along with Jayden’s silliness.

“You’re right, super rookie Jayden!” one classmate joked. “You must have done all the hard work, huh?”

“Of course!” Jayden puffed out his chest.

“But I heard Woojin did the presentation?” someone else pointed out.

“Woojin was good, yeah,” Jayden admitted, waving a hand dismissively. “But let’s be real, without my ideas, they wouldn’t have won anything.”

Jayden made a loud, dramatic sound, like a lion roaring. “Krooooh!”

“Yeah, Soyeon too, she’s smart,” another classmate added. “But Jayden’s the real reason they won. Everyone knows it!”

Woojin opened his mouth to say something, but…

“Huh?” Woojin frowned slightly. “What is he even talking about?”

“He’s saying Jayden is the secret weapon,” someone explained with a grin.

“Just speak normal words, Jayden,” Woojin said, rolling his eyes slightly. “I can’t understand all this… Jayden-speak.”

“Woojin, you just don’t get my genius,” Jayden teased. “Maybe it’s because your English isn’t so great?”

“Understanding or not, it’s all the same to me,” Woojin shrugged. “Less talking is always better.”

“Silly Woojin!” Jayden laughed.

More and more students were coming into the studio as class time got closer.

For Woojin, this just meant more noise and more Jayden.

“So, Woojin, do you finally understand how amazing Jayden is?”

“Just be quiet,” Woojin mumbled, trying to focus on his laptop screen.

“Too bad Soyeon’s not here,” Jayden continued. “She’d definitely appreciate my genius.”

“Jayden, please,” Woojin sighed. “Can we just get ready for class?”

Just then, about twenty minutes before class was supposed to start… something unexpected happened.

A voice called out from the entrance of the studio. It was someone they didn’t expect to see here.

“Excuse me, is Woojin here?”

“Oh, senior! What’s up?” a classmate replied. “Looking for Woojin? Yeah, he’s over there! Just a sec!”

Woojin looked up at the sound of the voice. His eyes widened slightly. He knew that voice. And he knew that face.

Kim Kitae.

It was a face Woojin never wanted to see. Probably the person he liked least in the whole university.

But then, a wide smile spread across Woojin’s face. He stood up quickly and walked towards Kim Kitae, almost bouncing with energy.

Kim Kitae was definitely not a welcome guest, not usually. Woojin really didn’t like him. But right now, seeing Kim Kitae was… perfect.

“Senior, what brings you here?” Woojin asked, his smile still bright.

Kim Kitae looked at Woojin’s smile and gave a smile back. But it was a cold smile, the kind that didn’t reach his eyes. It was the smile Woojin hated most.

Kim Kitae spoke slowly, his voice smooth but not friendly. “Professor Park Junmin wants to see you in his office. Could you come now? There’s something he needs to discuss with you.”

As soon as Woojin heard those words, he felt a rush of excitement. This was it. This was what he had been waiting for.

Woojin felt a thrill run through him. He was so ready for whatever was about to happen. He could barely contain his excitement.