Chapter 10
I’m translating the chapter directly into HTML with the chapter title line first, and I’m preserving the novel’s prose flow while keeping all dialogue in separate paragraphs as required.CHAPTER_TITLE: Inventory Processing (2)
The next day.
“Hello!”
Seung-hyun welcomed a woman who looked to be in her early to mid-twenties at the company.
She was the daughter of the woman from the sewing team, Mrs. Yoon Jung-mi, who had asked for a part-time job for her.
“You must be Jung-mi’s daughter?”
“That’s right. I’m Lee A-young.”
With her clear voice and round eyes, she looked fairly nervous.
She wore a neat white blouse and black slacks.
Her hair fell long over her shoulders, but it had been neatly combed and kept in order, so her first impression was of someone with not a single thing out of place.
“Ah, yes. I heard about you. Your mother told me you were coming by. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes. I may be lacking in many ways, but I’ll work hard and learn fast.”
When A-young lifted her head, Seung-hyun could see the expectation in her large eyes.
He couldn’t quite understand why she seemed to be carrying such a strange sense of anticipation into this little factory.
Was it just because this was her first job, and everything felt new?
“Then I’ll take you to the office right away. For now, you’ll be divided into tasks with the accounting manager, and if we need help on the floor, the factory manager will call you over. The office conditions are a little rough, is that all right?”
Seung-hyun asked with a smile, already sounding like he was making excuses in advance, but A-young shook her head with a resolute expression.
“Yes. Anything is fine. I want to adjust as quickly as possible and be useful.”
“Hmm... then let’s get you a seat first.”
Seung-hyun led A-young from the lobby down the hallway toward the office.
“Even if it’s just office support, if the floor gets slammed, you may need to help out with simple tasks beyond sorting materials and fabric documents. Is that okay?”
“Yes! Actually, I’m pretty handy. Just call me if there’s anything else.”
Unlike her somewhat prim appearance, her tone was firm and capable.
It was a little unexpected, and Seung-hyun let a faint smile surface.
Honestly, he had worried what he’d do if she had no enthusiasm at all for this sort of entry-level work, but instead it felt as though the word “hard-working” was built into her.
“Good. Make sure you learn well from the accounting manager over there.”
After handing A-young over to the accounting manager, Seung-hyun headed straight for the sewing section at the far back of the factory.
“Ma’am, A-young’s here.”
Mrs. Yoon Jung-mi smiled brightly.
“Oh? She’s the kind of kid who’ll do well. Take care of her.”
“Of course.”
When Seung-hyun turned his head, he saw piles of fabric that had been stacked in the inventory warehouse now being moved onto the work line and reborn as quilts.
Standing beside the machines, Seung-hyun watched the thick bundles of fabric being stitched together and found himself struck by a strange feeling all over again.
Just days ago, they had seemed destined to rot away in storage, but now, with the hum of metal sewing machines, they were rapidly taking on the shape of quilts.
“It really does look decent. Maybe because the fabric itself is so luxurious, once we put in the filling and stitch it up, it ends up looking better than expected.”
Factory Manager Park Han-soo raised his voice over the machine noise.
This time, Team Leader Kim Young-sook spoke up.
“The resilience isn’t bad either. Since it’s tencel, the sheen comes through nicely on the outer surface, see? It already looks premium at a glance.”
Seung-hyun reached out and touched the corner of a quilt that had just come off the sewing machine.
After checking the soft, flowing edge, he nodded.
“So the inner layer is cotton blended in, and the outer shell is a tencel blend... I guess it’s fortunate now that Taesung Apparel pushed us so hard to use tencel.”
Factory Manager Park gave an awkward smile.
He was relieved that the quilts they had worked so hard to make actually looked sellable, because if they didn’t, they seemed as though they could turn into a disaster instead.
Seung-hyun watched for a long while as the machine stitched the quilt lines at even intervals.
The rotating rollers, the rhythmically moving needle, the fabric steadily joined layer by layer until it finally became a single quilt.
For some reason, it felt so fascinating.
Sometime ago, the sound of factory machinery had become nothing more than a tedious background drone, but today was different.
Just watching the stitched quilt slide out from under the machine felt strangely exciting, like he was looking at an entirely different stage.
“We’re still lacking technically in a lot of ways, so the work of layering the filling inside is a bit slow. But since the fabric itself is thick, it’s good for bedding, even if that does put some strain on the machines. I don’t think the work will move very quickly.”
Factory Manager Park, sweating from the heat, said that.
“That’s fine. The quilt line is a new path, one that moves us away from subcontracting for the big companies, so I’d like everyone to think of this as starting from scratch and learning slowly. Since the fabric is sturdy, we also need to use the machines carefully.”
“Yes. Technician Team Leader Lee Hyuk-min comes by often and keeps his eyes wide open, so don’t worry about that. The only regret is that the machine for inserting the filling is essential, and we don’t have one, so it takes too much labor. At least we’re not quilting it, so it’s fortunate that the labor is lower. Ah, and this quilt pattern was one of the samples we’re taking to the exhibition, right?”
“Yes, that’s the plan. We’ll make about three pieces first, and if the design and cushioning feel good, we’ll move into full production. Of course, if that happens, we’ll naturally bring in a machine for the filling, so hang in there a little longer. Based on the reaction at the exhibition, we’ll decide whether to go into mass production or make further adjustments.”
When the needle finished the final section and stopped, one of the staff members lifted the quilt and spread it across the worktable.
A silken sheen with the faintest milk-white tone caught the fluorescent light like a spotlight.
When he ran a hand lightly over it, the softness was obvious at a glance.
“Oh, that feels good. The light reflection comes through just right too. The sheen that was a little awkward for clothing actually gives the quilt a premium look.”
The moment Seung-hyun said that, Team Leader Kim Young-sook smiled with visible pride.
“Right? Quilts were trickier than I expected, but once we got the feel for it, everything really came together.”
Factory Manager Park lifted the edge of the quilt slightly and checked the finishing stitches.
“The sewing is neat too. We’ll only know for sure after actual use, of course, but at least visually, it’s a pass.”
Seung-hyun carefully lifted the quilt from the worktable and drew it against his chest.
He hadn’t expected a moment like this, but the fact that the fabric piled in the inventory warehouse had now been reborn as quilts and was challenging a new market filled him with pride.
More than anything else, his conviction that they could find a path without depending only on subcontracting work for apparel giants was growing little by little.
“Good. Let’s make more. First, finish the three samples. Leave one in the office, let us actually test one in real use, and the remaining one... take it for the exhibition.”
“Understood.”
Team Leader Lee Hyuk-min signaled to the machine operator and had the fabric fed through again.
With the steady hum, the process of creating another quilt began.
Seung-hyun stepped back and watched the scene quietly.
The sound of metal striking metal, the vibration of the rollers and needle fitting together in rhythm, somehow settled into his ears.
Beside him, Factory Manager Park and Team Leader Lee Hyuk-min kept checking the quilts and carefully making sure there were no problems.
The factory’s familiar mechanical noise somehow sounded full of strength.
Seung-hyun took one of the sample quilts that would be used for the real-world test, loaded it into the car, and left the company.
Then he called someone.
“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry, but can you spare a moment right now? Ah, you’re free? Good. Then I’ll come to the school. Yeah.”
About thirty minutes later, Seung-hyun arrived at the school and carried the quilt up to the design department workshop.
There were people there in the middle of finishing their graduation projects, but everyone was absorbed in their own work and paid him no mind.
Not long after, the workshop door opened and a young, pretty woman came in.
She lowered her voice to a whisper so as not to disturb the people in the workshop who were focused on their graduation work.
“Oppa!”
As Jang So-hee came in with a wave, she tilted her head at the pile of something Seung-hyun was holding behind him.
“Huh? Is that...”
“You came? Try touching this first.”
Seung-hyun also spoke in a whisper and handed her the quilt.
So-hee’s eyes widened at the soft, warm feel, and Seung-hyun motioned for her to step outside.
Once he had carried the quilt out of the workshop, Seung-hyun spoke to So-hee, who was blinking cutely in the hallway.
“Our company’s going to launch a small quilt brand and sell it online. Could you do us a favor and model for the ads for a bit?”
“Oh, a quilt brand?”
“Yeah. You get the idea, right? We’re thinking of shooting it with a cozy, soft kind of feeling... What’s your schedule like?”
“Hmm... this weekend?”
“Great. Then I’ll book a studio this weekend, so please help us out. The fee was 100,000 won for four hours last time, so would 25,000 won an hour be okay?”
“Oh~ so you’re saying you’re discounting it, but you’re not really discounting it?”
“It’d be a little strange to start by cutting it from the beginning.”
“Hehe, got it. Just send me the studio address and concept in advance.”
“Okay. I’ll do th...”
Still speaking excitedly, Seung-hyun noticed Kim In-hyuk walking over from afar with his graduation project in his arms.
Sohee, who had turned toward the increasingly stiffening look on Seung-hyun’s face, also saw In-hyuk approaching and, startled, took an involuntary step back.
“What brings you to school? I heard you quit. And what’s that? A quilt? Ha, you really do work hard, don’t you.”
“You sure are interested in me.”
When Seung-hyun answered coldly, In-hyuk gave a sly smile and said, “I am. You had talent, after all. But then you quit before even graduating, so as a classmate, I felt sorry for you. It’s a shame, working so much that you can’t do anything else. Oh, is the company doing all right? I heard the company made a pretty big concession and gave you some volume.”
At this point, he seemed to know more than most Haesol Textile employees.
Seung-hyun was dumbfounded, but he let out a short laugh and said, “It’s going fine enough. But is that your graduation project?”
Seung-hyun fiddled with the classic evening dress in cool blue tones fitted on the mannequin, his fingers brushing over it.
!
What was this?
Surprised by the information that suddenly came rushing in the way it did when he touched fabric, Seung-hyun widened his eyes and stared blankly at the dress.
“What is it? Impressed?”
In-hyuk sneered, and Seung-hyun slowly lifted his head and stared blankly at his face. Only after a moment did he collect himself and say, “Impressed? Not really... but why don’t you worry about yourself before worrying about me?”
“Worry about myself?”
Just as In-hyuk laughed as though he’d heard something absurd, Seung-hyun went on, “The level of your graduation project...”
“What?”
“It looks like you tried forcing yourself to work with silk even though you don’t even know how to handle the fabric... Look at these seams. What are all these loose threads? And the beads and ruffles make it look like someone decorated a Christmas tree. It seems like you were trying to modernize a classic dress, but... it’s almost ruined. This isn’t even yours, is it? Surely your graduation project wouldn’t be this level... If graduating was possible at this level, I should’ve just kept working at the company and turned in a graduation project myself.”
Kim In-hyuk’s face turned red, twisting into a demon-like snarl.