Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 92

Woojin knew opportunities were there, waiting to be found, even in a simple meeting about café interiors.

Woojin’s last meeting of the day with Seokjung was in Seokjung’s office, not at Café Fresco.

The meeting was about the big contract for building the inside of all the new cafes. They had finally agreed on it.

Today, they were going to sign the final contract for the franchise’s interior.

They also had other papers to check, smaller contracts, so it was too much for a noisy café. Seokjung’s office was better.

But before they talked about the contracts, Woojin brought up something else, something unexpected.

“So… you’re saying you talked about this with Ms. Ria?”

“Yes, Hyung-nim.”

Seokjung looked serious when he heard Woojin’s answer.

“And Ms. Ria liked the idea?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m telling you about it.”

“Hmm….”

Woojin spoke with emphasis to Seokjung, who was thinking hard.

“Hyung-nim, this is very smart.”

The idea Woojin mentioned first was about getting Ria to open a franchise, which he had suggested to her earlier that day.

“Hmm. If we can use Ms. Ria’s fame without paying franchise fees… it seems like a very smart idea.”

Since this was also related to the franchise, it made sense to talk about it before the main contract details.

That’s why Woojin brought it up first.

“It’s more than just smart. You saw how many people came when Ms. Ria posted something on opening day.”

Woojin’s idea for Seokjung was even more detailed than what he had told Ria.

Unlike Ria, who was a celebrity, Seokjung was a businessman.

He needed a clearer explanation to see how good the idea was.

Woojin’s idea was this:

First, Ria would let Café Fresco use the fact that it opened its second cafe in her building for advertising.

“Really, everything from Ms. Ria’s website to everything she does is like an advertisement, right?”

“That’s right.”

“So, if Ms. Ria just gives us a little help, we can use it.”

“How?”

“Well, we can use what people say about her in our ads… there are many ways.”

In return, Seokjung would open Café Fresco’s second cafe in her building without franchise fees.

Not having fees doesn’t mean they wouldn’t pay for building the inside or for supplies, of course.

Usually, people who open a franchise cafe pay a part of their earnings to the main company, but this was about not paying that part.

“So, I won’t get franchise fees from Ms. Ria’s cafe?”

“Not exactly.”

“Hmm?”

“We need to set a time limit for the contract.”

“How do you mean?”

“I think we should make a contract for about 1 or 2 years. Near the end of the first contract, we should officially ask Ms. Ria to be our advertising model.”

“Oho.”

“Then, we pay a little less for her to be the model, and we keep giving her the free franchise deal.”

“That’s not bad.”

Woojin thought this was a good deal for both of them.

Neither side had to lose anything.

Ria’s image wouldn’t be hurt if people knew she bought a building and opened a cafe there.

Seokjung would only be missing out on the extra franchise money, which he wouldn’t have gotten if he hadn’t opened a franchise there in the first place.

Plus, Woojin had a good idea about the contract time.

Seokjung was very interested.

“Of course, until we sign a real model contract, we can’t use Ms. Ria’s photos or anything like that openly.”

“Of course not.”

“But like I said, even if Ria just mentions the cafe online sometimes, without directly advertising for us, it will still bring in many more customers. You know Ms. Ria is also on .

Seokjung nodded slowly.

He had a feeling Woojin was very clever, maybe even outsmarting him a little. But he looked at the idea again and again, and he couldn’t find any reason to say no.

“Okay. Let’s meet again to talk about the details.”

“Okay, Hyung-nim. So, how about we talk about the third cafe instead of the second one today?”

“What are you talking about?”

“It would be better if the cafe in Ms. Ria’s building became the second cafe.”

“Haha. I didn’t think of that. Okay, that’s not a problem.”

With the exciting idea about Ria settled for now, they turned back to the original reason for the meeting: the cafe designs.

Woojin pulled out the papers he had brought, spreading them on the table. He started to explain his ideas for how the new cafe would look inside, showing Seokjung drawings and plans. Seokjung leaned closer, his face serious as he studied each detail.

“The second store… no, the third store is smaller than the first store, with a space of about 50 pyeong (around 165 square meters or 1775 square feet) and three floors… so the layout will have to be different.”

“I guess so.”

“The coffee displays that were in the middle of the first floor will still be on the left side in this cafe.”

“What about the roasting machines?”

“We have to make them smaller. The space is different….”

The meeting, which was supposed to be an hour, lasted almost three because they added so much.

“I also heard about Ms. Ria’s building and remodeling plans, and it’s almost the same as the third building you found, Hyung-nim.”

“Really?”

“If we design it well this time, we can save money on the inside.”

“Does designing it the same save money?”

“Buying more at once saves money. When we buy materials, we can buy more at once.”

By the end of the long meeting, Woojin had achieved his main goal: Seokjung had agreed to almost all of his design ideas.

“Okay. I think that’s enough for today.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Hyung-nim.”

“No. I’m always thankful to you, Woojin.”

Woojin got most of the design ideas he wanted, and he was pretty sure he would be working with Ria.

Woojin left Seokjung and walked to the parking lot, feeling good.

‘Even the second cafe that Seokjung Hyung-nim was talking about was great, but if Ria Nuna’s building is done at the same time… the sales will double.’

If this cafe opening is a success, Café Fresco will grow much faster.

Seokjung was only planning one cafe this time because it was the first franchise.

The first cafe was successful, but that doesn’t mean the franchise will be.

If they don’t have a good system for running franchises, the franchise will fail no matter how well the first cafe does.

But if this first try is successful and the system is set up,

Seokjung will be more confident about opening more cafes.

Since he has enough money, he might rent a building or shopping area and open a cafe owned by the company.

Woojin felt happy watching a great way to make money grow.

‘Okay. Now that I’ve signed the contract, I can assume there are no problems….’

Woojin walked back to Café Fresco, feeling lighter.

Now, Woojin was only thinking about what delicious meat he would eat with Soyeon before going home.

October is a very important time for students in their final year of high school. Big exams are coming soon, and everyone feels the pressure.

The university entrance exam, the day that decides the fate of all test-takers, was only a month away.

Of course, it didn’t matter to some students who had already given up on going to college.

But for Ga-yeon, a model student who always ranked first in her class and in the top 10 in the entire school, the university entrance exam was the most important day of the year.

Ga-yeon sighed, stretching her stiff shoulders. “Finally done for today,” she whispered to herself. Even on a Sunday, she had stayed in the quiet study room until it was almost dark outside. Packing her heavy backpack, filled with textbooks and notes, she thought about home. Today was chicken night! Her older sister, So-yeon, had promised. Just the thought of crispy, juicy chicken made Ga-yeon’s tired legs move a little faster as she walked towards home.

The walk from the study room to her apartment was only about five minutes, even if she took her time.

“Chicken… Snowflake chicken…” she chanted to herself, thinking about the delicious meal. Soon, she arrived at her apartment building.

Ding!

The elevator in their apartment building, which was older than Ga-yeon, groaned as it went up. Inside, the metal walls were scratched, telling stories of many years. There was a wonderful smell of fried chicken in the elevator.

‘It must be our house, right?’

The smell made her mouth water. Ga-yeon quickly got off the elevator and entered the password to her apartment.

Beep beep beep—beep—bling!

As soon as she entered the password, the front door opened. The smell inside the house was just as good as she had hoped.

“Yay! I’m home, sis!” Ga-yeon’s cute younger sister greeted her as usual.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Hey So-yeon, now that Ga-yeon is here, can we eat the chicken?” So-yeon’s voice came from inside.

“What’s with the ‘So-yeon-ssi’ to your older sister?”

“It’s just a way of being friendly.”

“Whatever. Just eat the chicken.”

It seemed like her sisters were excited for slightly different reasons, but Ga-yeon didn’t mind. Still, she felt a little worried.

“Hey, Han A-yeon. Don’t you dare eat all the chicken before I change, okay?” Ga-yeon said as she rushed to her room. So-yeon answered for A-yeon.

“Don’t worry, Han Ga-yeon. We ordered three chickens today.”

Ga-yeon’s eyes widened at the mention of three chickens.

“…! Really?”

“If you two eat like crazy, two chickens will disappear in no time. I need to eat some too, you know.”

“Ah, three chickens will make me fat…” She said it, but Ga-yeon was already smiling.

So-yeon shook her head, watching her younger sister. It was hard to believe that someone so delicate could eat so much.

Of course, Ga-yeon only ate a lot of chicken.

“What does eating three chickens have to do with getting fat? Just eat a little and save some,” So-yeon nagged. Ga-yeon replied excitedly while changing her clothes.

“Save chicken? I can’t do that, sis.”

A-yeon, who was already eating the chicken, added, “That’s right, big sis. That’s a crime. A crime.”

So-yeon sighed, wondering how three sisters could order three chickens instead of three brothers. She waved her hand.

“Okay. Eat a lot, geez.”

But she was also proud. So-yeon had bought the chicken with the money she had earned and saved, not with money from their father.

‘I need to work harder to feed these kids,’ So-yeon thought, glancing at her two younger sisters. She leaned back on the sofa and used her toes to press the remote control.

“Ugh, big sis, seriously. What are you doing with your dirty toes?”

“It’s okay. I washed them clean.”

“Ew, gross.”

She picked up the remote with her hand and started changing channels. She didn’t usually watch TV much, but there was one show she wanted to see today.

That’s why she had ordered the chicken around 9 PM. The best way to watch TV comfortably was to fill Ga-yeon’s mouth with chicken.

‘Let’s see. It was KBC, right?’

When So-yeon changed the channel to KBC, A-yeon looked interested while eating chicken.

“Mmm, sis! What’s on KBC today?”

“Finish eating before you talk.”

Advertisements were playing, but in one corner was the logo for the show that would be on soon: .

A-yeon, who saw the logo, drank her cola and pretended to know what it was.

“Ah! I know that!”

“Really?”

So-yeon was watching TV for two reasons. First, she had heard that K University, where she went to school, would be in the first episode of , especially the Department of Design building.

Second, Woo-jin would be on the show as a regular panelist.

These were two good reasons.

They were enough to make So-yeon, who didn’t usually care about entertainment shows, watch the live broadcast.

“That’s the new entertainment show that Yoon Jae-yeop is on.”

“Oh, is he famous?”

So-yeon’s eyes sparkled slightly. She was a little worried about the pretty celebrities who would be on the show with Woo-jin.

Still, if Woo-jin was going to be on a show, she wanted it to be popular.

A-yeon sighed deeply after drinking her cola. “You really don’t know what’s going on these days, do you, sis?”

“…If I don’t know this entertainment show, I don’t know what’s going on?”

“Of course! Even if you just look online a little, you see ads for that show two or three times a day.”

“Oh, really?”

So-yeon started to feel more excited. She had been curious before, but now she was really looking forward to the show.

‘But what is Woo-jin going to do on an entertainment show? Is he doing interior design or something?’ So-yeon wondered.

And while So-yeon was thinking, the first episode of finally started.