Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 88

The first words that PD Gong said to Woojin were:

“How on earth did you do it?”

Woojin, who expected the question, smiled and replied:

“I just used the 1.98 million won (Korean currency) to buy materials I knew the exact prices of. The rest of the money, as you can see, was used for a single prop.”

Gong Jin-young was speechless at Woojin’s simple answer.

She asked Woojin again, looking serious.

“Well, there’s nothing that breaks the rules we set, so I don’t really have anything to say.”

PD Gong touched Woojin’s ‘precious trees’ and continued, her tone suggesting sarcasm.

“These things… If you bought them just to match the price, it might be a little difficult.”

This was what worried PD Gong the most.

If this large amount of wood wasn’t used properly in the ‘Jae-yeop’ team’s interior design after showing viewers the results of such an unrealistic mission, there would be complaints and controversy.

But Woojin shook his head firmly at PD Gong’s worries.

“That will never happen, so you can rest assured.”

PD Gong still looked suspicious.

“So you’re really going to use all this wood in the interior?”

Woojin nodded.

“If I wasn’t going to use it, what would I do with so much wood after buying it?”

“That’s what I’m saying…”

“I’m going to use it all up, even the smallest piece. So don’t worry, PD-nim (the show’s producer).”

Woojin then changed the subject to get rid of PD Gong’s worries.

“Actually, I have a really interesting idea for what to do with this wood.”

“An interesting idea?”

Woojin smiled at PD Gong, who pushed up her glasses.

“Would you like to hear it?”

Woojin began to tell an interesting story to Gong Jin-young, who was now intrigued.

The fourth filming session for the TV show went well.

Besides the shocking mission result, the filming was more interesting than PD Gong expected. It had both fun moments and showed real design skills.

But on the way back to the broadcasting station, PD Gong still looked serious. She didn’t seem as refreshed as usual after filming.

“PD-nim, why do you look so gloomy?” the assistant PD asked.

Gong Jin-young was surprised.

“Me? Gloomy?”

“Yes. Like you have a serious worry…”

“A worry?”

“PD-nim, you look worried right now.”

PD Gong checked the mirror, startled. Even if it was an exaggeration to say she looked ‘dark,’ her face was definitely shadowed.

The assistant PD pointed to the rearview mirror.

“Is it because of the one-ton trucks following us?”

Two one-ton trucks were behind the van, carrying the interior materials that the Jae-yeop team and the Doo-young team had bought.

PD Gong nodded silently. The assistant PD scratched his head.

“Representative Seo had a pretty interesting idea, didn’t he? It’ll work out well.”

“Will it… work out?” PD Gong asked, sounding unsure.

The assistant PD nodded cheerfully.

“Of course. He must have a plan. Representative Seo is definitely capable.”

Capable, that was true. From the design of the Cafe Fresco she saw during her first shoot with him, to the skills he had shown so far, everything was surprising.

But the problem was that Woojin’s idea seemed too unrealistic, even considering his abilities. It seemed even more unrealistic than matching the 1.98 million won budget.

Woojin’s idea was this: ‘I’ll tell you what I’m going to do with this pile of wood, just to you, PD-nim.’

‘I don’t know if you saw our team’s last design… but there are more than five kinds of furniture made of wood in it: a bookshelf, desk, storage, and art wall.’

“I’m going to make it all myself… How about it? Doesn’t it sound like good content? If you film me at the woodworking shop, I think I can show you something interesting. What do you think? Are you tempted?’

Furniture isn’t easy to make just by buying wood. If it were, simple wooden furniture wouldn’t cost so much. But Woojin was saying he would make more than half a dozen pieces of furniture himself, alone.

Jin-young, who didn’t know much about woodworking, couldn’t help but wonder if she could believe him.

‘If it goes according to Representative Seo’s plan, the content will be diverse and beautifully done…’

The filming of the budget allocation and material procurement was over, and now the actual interior construction would begin. The interiors of Jae-yeop and Doo-young’s houses would be constructed, and the process would be filmed.

Woojin’s idea was perfect. Special content like furniture production on one side was better than filming the interior construction on both sides.

So, Jin-young accepted Woojin’s idea for now. Since the filming was already done, it was already a ‘fait accompli’ (already done). Re-shooting would be the last resort because of cost, schedule, and the risk of it not being fun.

“Anyway, don’t worry too much, PD-nim. I have a good feeling about this program.”

PD Gong, comforted by the assistant PD’s words, sighed softly, leaned back, and tried to sleep.

‘Ugh, if the picture is unclear, I’ll have to make it work with editing.’

PD Gong’s worries seemed to disappear only after all the filming that Woojin had proposed was over. She always became sensitive when she had something on her mind, so she wanted time to pass quickly.

‘First, just one week. If the first episode is successful, I can relax.’

PD Gong checked her phone, looking at the calendar and schedule. The first episode was next Sunday, and the filming was next Wednesday. Jin-young felt she could be happy again only after those two dates were over.

The first week of October arrived. Unlike September, which was chaotic because of the new semester, the university campus was more vibrant than ever. The final exam period was approaching, but October was the season to enjoy campus life.

Because everyone crams for exams.

“Hey, want to get a drink today? I’m going on a group blind date with the business students tonight,” one student said.

“Sounds good!” another replied.

“We’ll have a simple drink at six, then join them around seven. Okay?”

“Great!”

It was a season when the heat was gone and a cool breeze blew, a season when young college students could dress up and make memories.

But this didn’t apply to design students, especially at K University, which was known for its tough curriculum.

“Hey, Eun-jeong! Don’t forget our team project today, okay?”

“Ugh, that’s right,” Eun-jeong sighed.

“You weren’t just going to go home…!”

“I really forgot, sorry!”

“I caught you!”

The first-year classroom of the Department of Spatial Design, which had many pretty female students at the beginning of the semester, had become a ‘zombie detention center’ full of students with tired eyes, even though only one semester had passed.

They were always catching up with assignments, staying at school without sleeping, let alone dressing up. Some students were sprawled out on makeshift beds in the corner of the classroom, and female students were often seen dozing off in front of their laptops.

Seonbin, staring blankly at this scene while doing his homework, had a thought: ‘Art school isn’t a flower garden. The flowers only bloom during vacation.’

Seonbin, who hadn’t slept more than five hours for several days, drank coffee to stay awake, then packed up his laptop and got up. Today, he had promised to do a team project with Soyeon, who seemed to be in charge of the team.

“Today, we really have to do the team project. So get everyone together, Seo Eun-jeong,” Soyeon said.

“Okay! Just a moment!”

Seonbin’s group assignment was for a major subject called ‘Understanding Commercial Space.’ His team had five people, including him and Soyeon. Today, they were going on a field trip together to prepare a presentation.

In other words, they were visiting a site they had found in advance.

“Ye-yeong, did you find the place to visit today?” Soyeon asked.

“Of course! I’m good at doing what I’m told!” Ye-yeong replied.

Soyeon, who seemed the most alert, was the leader of this group. Because she had won an SPDC award, she was chosen as the team leader.

‘Soyeon is a good leader and has skills,’ Seonbin thought.

Seonbin could have been the team leader if he had been more enthusiastic. He had also won an SPDC Excellence Award and was known as the best student in the first year.

But Seonbin didn’t want to. He had become a little depressed in the second semester.

‘I’ll just follow Soyeon during the field trip… and then I’ll do my part when the model making or modeling assignments come out,’ he thought.

In the first semester, Seonbin had taken the lead in everything, wanting to be at the top of the department. But now, a month into the second semester, he was different.

Even though he had achieved first place with a perfect GPA of 4.5 in the first semester, he thought, ‘What’s the point of being number one in grades…’

Seonbin had lost his motivation for a simple reason: SPDC was more important to him than grades. There, he felt he couldn’t beat Woojin, even though he had tried his best.

Hyejin, who had a GPA of 1, would have been annoyed if she had heard him, but Seonbin’s depression was real. He was feeling down.

“Hey, Seonbin! Why are you spacing out? Hurry up and get ready,” Soyeon said.

“Okay!” Seonbin replied.

Seonbin and the three others, dragged out of the classroom by Soyeon, stood at the bus stop, passing through the campus that seemed different from their world.

Then, Yoon Ye-yeong, who had found the field trip location, began to lead the way.

“We’re going to Samsong-dong, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do today,” she announced.

At her words, the team members’ eyes widened slightly. It was far.