Bedding That Makes Money (5)
Hanam-dong, Chairman Cha Sang-wook’s home.
Chairman Cha Sang-wook sat staring at President Jo Kang-min with a sharp, unforgiving look as the man bowed low and practically begged for whatever punishment he deserved, muttering that he was as good as dead.
“What kind of half-baked nonsense is this? All of it...! That Jung Seung-hyun kid is barely thirty, isn’t he?”
“That is correct.”
“Hey, Jo Kang-min. You couldn’t even wrangle one kid whose milk teeth are barely out, and you dragged this thing all the way here? Have you just been wasting your age? This, this...”
“I’m sorry.”
“Shouldn’t you have gone instead of Hee-joo? What would she even know about going there and fixing this? From Hee-joo’s point of view, it’s nice if it works and fine if it doesn’t, isn’t it?”
“...I’m sorry.”
“And now that Hee-joo went and got beaten there too, what are you going to do? Are you going to go groveling for it?”
“...”
“How am I supposed to close my eyes in peace when you’re handling things like this? There isn’t a single person here who can do a proper job. Idiot...”
President Jo took the flood of criticism without so much as a single excuse, keeping his head bowed all the while.
Honestly, if there hadn’t been an order to keep the exclusivity, landing the contract itself would not have been difficult.
But if it wasn’t exclusive, then once a rival company bought GyeolBit bedding after the initial first-mover effect, there would be no way the boosted reservation rates would hold. For that reason alone, exclusivity had been necessary.
For him, it was unfair, but there was nothing he could do.
“So what now? Are you just going to give up?”
Should he give up? Or turn his eyes to another brand? Or scrap the project altogether?
That was what he had agonized over before coming to meet Chairman Cha.
“I can’t do that.”
If he abandoned the project just because a few deals had fallen apart, he’d be thrown out of the president’s seat for sure.
“Then?”
“I’ll propose to President Jeong that Haesol Textile be publicly promoted not merely as a supplier of bedding to our hotel, but as a partner company in a strategic alliance with Hanil Group. If necessary, I’ll make it clear that we’re even prepared to consider a partial equity investment.”
“You think they’d actually want our investment?”
“It may not be about the money. If they can grow into a partner who moves together with Hanil Group, I think they’ll show interest.”
It was the sort of statement Hanil Global’s President Jeong Man-sik would have clicked his tongue at, but unfortunately, Jo Kang-min did not yet know that Haesol Textile had already rejected the investment offer.
“Then try that, I suppose.”
Cha Sang-wook himself was no different; he did not know either.
So, with a sliver of hope, he was thinking of trying the negotiations again.
*
The top floor of The Peninsula Tokyo.
From the window of President Nakajima Kenji’s spacious office, the glittering morning cityscape stretched out in full view.
He was smiling with satisfaction as he looked at a newspaper article the strategy team leader had just left behind.
It was an article about the hotel package competition nicknamed the Sleep War, and simply having the hotel names and package names appear in a piece like that was already a substantial promotional boost.
“Did someone from the press get in touch?”
“No, sir. It looks like the reporter experienced both hotels and wrote it on his own.”
“Not bad. How are the reservations?”
He already had a rough idea, but Nakajima still wanted a staff member to confirm it out loud.
There was nothing quite like the dopamine rush a businessman felt when his own choice led the company to major success.
“President Nakajima, this week’s reservation rate is up another 12 percent from last week. We’re already fully booked through next month.”
“Mm. Good.”
“It’s definitely becoming a bigger talking point in Tokyo, this whole sleep-themed hotel stay trend. It makes sense the reporter would turn it into a feature article.”
As Nakajima skimmed the article, one sentence caught his eye and pleased him especially.
“...No one expected this market to become so heated when Okura Hotel first introduced the ‘Solinen Sweet Dream’ package. But The Peninsula’s counterattack, the ‘Peninsula Deep Sleep Experience,’ caused a major stir and drove reservations sharply upward. Now the two hotels are competing to raise the quality of their sleep concepts, offering ever more detailed services and trading places every week in reservation rates...”
“So what about Okura’s situation?”
“As the article says, contrary to expectations that one side would shrink, their reservation rate is still being sustained. That said, our growth has the slight edge.”
Nakajima nodded lightly with a satisfied smile.
“Very good. Keep this momentum going.”
After strategy team leader Takahashi left, Nakajima picked up the newspaper again.
But when he turned to the next page, his eyebrows drew together almost imperceptibly.
“...The unfortunate part is that there is a company benefiting most from this craze for luxury hotel sleep packages in Tokyo. That company is Haesol Textile, a small Korean firm that makes the bedding responsible for completing these packages. Why Japanese bedding companies could not produce something like this...”
The article pointed out that the company actually reaping the biggest gains amid the fierce competition between The Peninsula and Okura was none other than Haesol Textile, a small Korean company.
On the surface, it was a criticism of why Japan, a textile powerhouse, had failed to create this kind of product and left the opportunity to a small Korean firm. But to Nakajima, that criticism was irrelevant.
What mattered was that this article had made it far too easy to see that GyeolBit bedding was the key item that had started the entire sleep war.
That was the problem.
If only they could make bedding from this fabric in Japan, that would be even better, but it was far from easy, so he had not paid it much mind in the first place.
Nakajima’s brow furrowed deeper as he straightened in his seat.
This article would make not just Okura and The Peninsula, but many more hotels, take interest in the bedding.
This is troublesome...
He immediately picked up the phone and called in the strategy team.
He ended the call, bit his lip, and the unease began to rise in him again.
Before the secret had even properly taken effect, it was already laid bare for everyone to see. He could not begin to predict how long this would last.
*
A restaurant tucked into a narrow alley near the Louvre.
The interior, finished in antique wood, glowed softly under warm lighting, while vintage photographs along the walls deepened the atmosphere.
On the table, where the scent of wine drifted gently through the air, elegantly plated dishes began arriving one by one.
“You all worked very hard today. I’m sure everyone’s exhausted, so let’s relax and talk comfortably.”
Antoine lifted his wineglass with an elegant gesture.
His deep, smooth voice blended perfectly with the classical chanson filling the room.
“Thank you. Honestly, it still feels like a dream.”
Seung-hyun smiled and lowered his head, and Marco, seated beside him, laughed heartily and slapped his shoulder.
“To think you’d have that kind of talent and still be humble too. I learned a great deal just from watching you today. Working with you was truly inspiring.”
Coming from no less than Marco, the world-renowned chief designer of a luxury house, the praise made him smile a little bashfully.
“Honestly, I was more surprised by Mr. Marco’s skill and meticulousness. I didn’t expect my design to take shape this quickly.”
Antoine gave a soft laugh and nodded.
“Do you understand why Loro Piana is where it is today? What we have isn’t just money or scale. In the end, it’s people. Meetings with exceptional people always create extraordinary results. Do you know how much I spent to bring Marco here? And yet I don’t regret a cent of it. His mind, his philosophy, his sensibility are all woven into our brand. We are the people who make luxury, and we must never be stingy when it comes to people.”
He paused and raised his glass.
The three wineglasses met softly, and Seung-hyun savored the wine’s deep aroma spreading across his mouth.
In truth, he still did not know much about wine, but the more he drank it, the more he found himself growing fond of this fruit liquor.
After taking a sip and savoring it with a pleased little sound, Antoine continued.
“President Jeong, when I first saw your design, I felt it. This military line would not end with just one collection.”
They had already discussed opening a shop in Paris with him, so Seung-hyun knew this would not be a one-off event.
Still, the idea that it would not end with a single collection was not so easy to grasp.
“What do you mean, sir...?”
“If the military line you present, including at Paris Fashion Week, succeeds, then opportunities will open all across Europe. Milan, London, Berlin... The European market is always hungry for fresh sensibilities and brands with distinction.”
Marco, unable to hide his excitement, added his voice from beside him.
“That’s right. If this collection launches successfully, the Cipher brand will instantly establish itself as the center of a new trend in fashion. And at the LVMH level especially, there’s no doubt they’ll want to continue collaborating with you, President Jeong.”
Seung-hyun’s heart thudded hard.
A future greater than anything he had imagined while steering Haesol Textile until now was unfolding right before his eyes.
He spoke with sincerity.
“Those are truly honorable words. Thank you sincerely for giving me an opportunity on such a grand stage.”
Antoine smiled familiarly and waved a hand.
“It isn’t my words that created this reality, but the ability you’ve shown. Your designs are not just fashion; they contain story and philosophy. This idea, where the functionality of military wear meets modern beauty, is a distinction no one can easily imitate.”
Because he had already checked the productability figures while making this military line, Seung-hyun had been confident it would resonate to some extent.
But these men were offering such high praise based on nothing but their own eye, and that alone astonished him.
“To be honest, when I first started studying fashion, I never imagined I’d end up in Paris. And yet now I’m here, working with all of you... I’m still surprised every single moment.”
Antoine looked at him with obvious satisfaction.
“Isn’t that exactly why we love fashion? The moment when a new dream becomes reality.”
The meal continued in an even warmer, more cheerful atmosphere.
The three of them spoke at length about the future of the fashion industry and the visions that lay ahead.
In particular, Antoine made it clear that he would actively support Seung-hyun’s global expansion, promising introductions to key figures within the LVMH Group.
“President Jeong, Paris is only the beginning. I look forward to seeing Haesol Textile and the Cipher brand grow into names recognized around the world. I, too, will promise every possible form of support within the LVMH Group.”
Of course, in this process, Chairman Antoine Arnault obtaining a portion of Cipher’s equity with his money was only natural.
There was no other reason he would throw himself into this so passionately.
But Seung-hyun did not think that was a bad thing.
If Antoine had not found the brand attractive enough, why would he invest his own money?
He thought Antoine was simply seeing enough potential in the market to try and secure a stake while helping the brand grow.
When they left the restaurant after dinner, Paris shimmered beneath the night sky like something magical.
Looking out over that fantastical view, Seung-hyun made a small promise to himself.
This is just the beginning. I’m not stopping here. I’ll go farther, and higher.
His time in Paris was growing him once again.
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