The New Wave (5)
The lobby in front of the main auditorium at Seoul Fashion Arts University was still crowded with students even after the presentation had ended.
Seung-hyun was surrounded by a barrage of questions, answering each one patiently.
Most of the students asked practical things: how much money it had taken to launch Lesser Factory, what he had emphasized in the advertising, how he had shaped the concept, and where he had aimed the target audience.
Watching the enthusiasm with which they asked those questions, he didn’t feel especially drained.
So although there was a faint trace of fatigue on Seung-hyun’s face, his eyes were still full of energy.
“Seung-hyun! What is all this?”
At the familiar voice, Seung-hyun turned his head.
“Senior!”
Min-woo, the senior he had been close with since college, had already come over and slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
He still looked the same, with his tousled hair and wrinkled shirt, but unlike before, his tone was full of surprise and envy.
“Goodness... I was watching you earlier and thought I was going to pass out. You’ve gone completely CEO on me.”
Min-woo stared Seung-hyun up and down in disbelief.
Seung-hyun in his Loro Piana suit looked nothing like the man he had been in his student days.
“Haha, I just got lucky.”
“Does that even make sense? Luck, my ass... That’s all skill. When did you get so successful? Just a little while ago you were saying you were helping out at your father’s factory, weren’t you?”
Seung-hyun lowered his head a little with an awkward smile.
“My father left me some technical know-how. And I met good people. One of those good people vanished, though, so I came here today to get them back.”
“Then I guess I’d better get a little luck on my side too. I’ll enter this competition and see what fortune has to say about me.”
“Haha, you’ve got the talent, Senior. I’m sure you’ll get good results.”
“And you’re the one deciding those results, aren’t you?”
That hit a little too close, and Seung-hyun deftly sidestepped the answer Min-woo wanted.
“The staff will be evaluating too.”
“Anyway, take care of me. Oh, and by the way...”
Min-woo lowered his voice and leaned in, whispering.
“Have you heard anything about Kim In-hyuk?”
“Hm? No. Why?”
“Oh, really? I figured maybe you would know, since he’s been doing well. I was annoyed when I heard he’d graduated and launched his own brand and was doing pretty well, but it turns out you’ve grown enough to flatten that guy’s nose yourself.”
“He’ll do fine.”
“Wow. The mighty magnanimous type who doesn’t even care. Jealous, I am.”
As their conversation continued, Seung-hyun felt someone approaching over Min-woo’s shoulder.
It was Jang So-hee.
She was still beautiful, and perhaps because of her modeling experience, she looked even more polished now.
Her long black hair flowed softly over her shoulders, and her slim figure stood out even in something as simple as jeans and a white T-shirt.
Even as a university student, she had an aura that set her apart from others her age.
But perhaps because he had already shared meals several times with Han Saet-byeol, who was already a top star, So-hee’s beauty didn’t send any particular ripple through Seung-hyun’s chest.
Seeing So-hee approach, Min-woo shot her a look.
“Then I’ll head off first. Let’s talk later.”
He gave So-hee a light greeting and left.
So-hee stood quietly in front of Seung-hyun, her expression complicated.
“Congratulations, oppa.”
Her voice was small, but clear.
There was something wistful hidden beneath her smile of congratulations.
“Thanks, So-hee. You’ve been well too, right? You’ve got a totally different vibe now.”
“Yeah, I’ve been doing a little modeling work bit by bit. I’m not famous yet, though...”
“Come on, looks like you’re going to be famous.”
“No, not at all. But you’re really cool, oppa.”
“Huh? Haha, I was just lucky.”
So-hee hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I’m entering this competition too.”
Seung-hyun’s eyes widened slightly.
It was the first he’d heard that So-hee was interested in design.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m in the fashion department too. Modeling pays well, so I just focused a little more on that side. I’m going to try my best.”
“That’s great. You’ve always had a strong sense of aesthetics, so I’m sure you’ll get a good result. Ah, I’ve got to go because I have a meeting with the professor?”
“Oh... okay.”
“Take care, and see you later.”
So-hee watched Seung-hyun’s back as he slowly moved farther away, drawing envious glances from the students around him, and kept staring in a complicated silence for a long time.
*
“Come over here and sit, Seung-hyun.”
Seung-hyun sat in the chair set before the professor.
Professor Woo Ji-yeon poured two cups of tea from a teapot and handed one to him.
“The LVMH Group, no less... I was honestly shocked.”
There was admiration and pride in Professor Woo’s voice.
She looked at her student with shining eyes and said, “To think a student from our school achieved something like this. I’m proud just thinking about it.”
Taking a sip of tea, Seung-hyun smiled lightly.
“Honestly, I still feel like I’m dreaming. At first, all I could think about was saving my father’s factory...”
“My, that must not have been easy. You must have had a hard time all this while.”
“Yes, it wasn’t easy. But I kept working hard, and in the end I made it here. And I also think I got this far thanks to how well you taught me, Professor.”
It was a completely sincere, one hundred percent honey-coated line.
His father had always said this:
In social life, you had to say things you didn’t want to say, and you should never make enemies.
One day, he said, those light connections that had piled up one by one could become a great help.
So Seung-hyun gave the professor every good word he could.
“Oh my... How can you be so sweet? This is why successful people all have good character, isn’t it?”
Professor Woo Ji-yeon, moved by what she heard, wore a touched expression and then continued quietly.
“But Seung-hyun, while I was watching your competition presentation today, I started thinking a lot.”
“Yes? Ah... did you?”
“Mm-hm. Isn’t it such a good opportunity? The company can bring in great talent, and the school can create opportunities for students to get jobs at excellent companies. And on top of that, with opportunities like this, how much more passionately will the students participate in class? They’ll realize they have to learn a lot in class if they want to get into good companies.”
Normally, doing well in class was the path to getting into a good company, but she seemed to find great value in how directly the opportunity connected to reality.
“Ah... so you’re saying you’d like us to keep holding competitions like this in the future?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m really sorry, but we’re still not such a big company that we’d need to keep running competitions for designers on a regular basis because we’re short-handed...”
“Then how about direct recruitment after graduation instead of a competition?”
“Ah... I’ll think about it.”
“Good. And think about running a program that gives students practical experience on a regular basis, or making workshops or internship programs with Haesol Textile every year or every semester.”
“That wouldn’t be bad.”
“Exactly. And to teach students the skills needed on actual industrial sites, Haesol Textile’s experts could give special lectures too. Like a lecture on innovative materials such as the DualTex fabric you developed. Wouldn’t that be great for the company’s image too?”
Professor Woo continued more and more enthusiastically.
“And what about having Haesol Textile participate as a sponsor in the graduation exhibit? Since it wouldn’t be a competition, the pressure wouldn’t be too high. Then you could also provide opportunities to turn outstanding students’ work into actual products. It would be huge motivation for the students, and Haesol Textile would get fresh ideas too, so isn’t that a win-win?”
“Yes...”
When had she even thought all this up...?
“Think it over carefully. I’ll push as hard as I can on the school side to get support.”
“Yes, understood.”
The two of them drank tea and talked longer.
Seung-hyun spoke frankly about Haesol Textile’s growth and its future vision, and Professor Woo listened to him with genuine interest.
*
That evening, news of Seoul Fashion Arts University’s competition began heating up social media and college communities.
On Instagram, Twitter, Everytime, and a host of other platforms, related posts surged explosively.
[Haesol Textile & Lesser Factory Designer Competition, Grand Prize 100 million won #Don’tMissTheChance #LVMH #FashionDesigner]
Posts with hashtags like these were shared rapidly, and the comments were packed with excitement and anticipation.
Among fashion design majors, study groups were already forming in preparation for the competition.
The library and the cafes were packed with students gathering information about Haesol Textile and Lesser Factory, and searching for materials on design.
*
The Peninsula Hotel in Yurakucho, Tokyo.
From early morning, the staff had been moving briskly.
Every box unloaded from the large trucks had the logo “Solinen Prestige” printed clearly on it.
Standing with his arms folded as he watched, President Kenji Nakajima told someone to bring over one of the boxes and checked the bedding inside.
A soft touch and luxurious texture flowed through his fingertips.
He smiled in satisfaction, and Takahashi, the operations director standing beside him, said, “We’ve confirmed the first shipment of one hundred Solinen Prestige sets.”
“Bring it in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once upstairs in the president’s office, President Kenji Nakajima called in the key executives and gave instructions to Takahashi, the operations director.
“From today, lay out the new bedding in one hundred rooms.”
“Understood.”
Then he spoke to Sato, the marketing director.
“Okura Hotel has put out a package called ‘Solinen Sweet Dream,’ and we said we needed differentiation. So what have you prepared?”
“We’re proposing a package called ‘The Peninsula Deep Sleep Experience.’ The concept emphasizes the quality of deep sleep beyond simple rest.”
Nakajima narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
“If Okura simply emphasized the bedding, then we’re saying we should offer the whole sleep experience?”
At the president’s suspicious look, Sato tensed up and held out a tablet.
“Yes. That’s the idea. We’ll differentiate by providing additional services that support sleep beyond the bedding itself. Sleep-specific aromatherapy, a Bluetooth speaker with sleep-inducing music, and even a tea set recommended by a sleep specialist.”
“Compared to the pillow mist Okura offers, that’s a little better. But isn’t a Bluetooth speaker just basic?”
“Of course. So we plan to use a QR code that takes guests straight to the hotel’s YouTube site, removing the hassle of searching for sleep music themselves.”
“Good. Set the package price slightly higher than Okura’s, but make sure it feels like we’re offering more value.”
Tension and anticipation crossed the conference room.
Everyone was looking forward to the changes this new package would bring.
“How do you plan to handle marketing?”
“We’re focusing on word-of-mouth marketing through social media. In particular, we’ll invite influencers to experience it directly and spread the word through their reviews.”
Sato, feeling a little more at ease at the president’s brightened expression, answered confidently.
Nakajima nodded with satisfaction.
“Good. And emphasize our own point of difference even more. Deliver the message that this is ‘the best sleep you can experience only at The Peninsula Hotel.’”
After the meeting ended, Nakajima stood by the window and looked out over Tokyo’s skyline.
His mind was already certain of success.
“Just because Okura got there first doesn’t mean we have to fall behind.”
Two days later, news of the new package went up on The Peninsula Hotel’s official website and social media accounts.
【The Peninsula Deep Sleep Experience - Beyond simple rest, experience the art of deep sleep.】
Released alongside glamorous video footage, the package became an immediate topic of conversation.
In particular, the luxurious image of the Solinen Prestige bedding was highlighted together with The Peninsula’s own special sleep services.
Nakajima smiled as he checked reservation status in real time from his office.
Within just a few hours of the package’s release, inquiries about reservations were flooding in.
Another hotel in Tokyo had entered the sleep-concept race.
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