Chapter 40
I’m translating the chapter into HTML-formatted prose and preserving the special in-universe text as styled blocks where needed. I’m also checking the chapter structure carefully so the dialogue stays clean and the paragraphing reads like a novel, not a line-by-line gloss.CHAPTER_TITLE: Maison & Objet (3)
Late that night, after work.
When Yoon Jeong-mi got home, she took the fabric out of the car in high spirits.
There was more than last time, and she thought it would be hard to carry alone, so she called first.
“Honey, I’m right outside. Come down for a second. Why else? If I tell you to come out, you come out. Hurry up.”
Not long after she hung up, A-young came out with her hood pulled up, her lips jutting out in a pout as she dragged her slippers along.
“Help me carry this.”
When A-young saw the rolled-up fabric, her jaw dropped.
“Mom! Are we selling clothes or something? Why did you bring so much fabric?”
“This is the Dualtex fabric the factory was going to throw away before. I made clothes for a few of the employees, but since some people got them and some didn’t, I asked the president. So he told me to take as much as I wanted.”
“What the—”
“Just pick it up. It’s heavy.”
With no real choice, A-young helped her mother drag the tightly rolled, heavy fabric into the house from both sides.
“If that’s the case, Mom should just run a sewing factory of her own.”
“Hey! Do you think that kind of thing costs a few pennies? If there’s no work, millions of won can just disappear in a month. Enough. Go lie down.”
Jeong-mi, now wearing her glasses at the worktable, placed the fabric beside her and started marking it with tailor’s chalk, drawing long, smooth lines as she hummed to herself.
A-young lay on the sofa watching YouTube on her phone, and only after more than an hour had passed did she speak to Jeong-mi.
“Mom, aren’t you hungry?”
“You’ll gain weight if you eat this late.”
“Tch. Then how long are you going to keep making these?”
“I’ve got to make them for everyone at the factory. But our president really is generous, isn’t he? Giving us this much fabric.”
“The actual fabric cost isn’t that high.”
Working in the accounting team, A-young now understood the factory’s day-to-day operations better than her mother did.
“Still, you know how rare it is to find someone who hands things out this easily? People don’t say it out loud, but if you give away fabric like this, they’ll say you’re secretly siphoning it off to the fabric market, so they don’t just hand it out.”
“Fair. But all this just means my mom’s the one doing the hard work. It’s not like anyone’s thanking you for it.”
Jeong-mi adjusted her glasses and said with obvious pride, as if bragging to her daughter.
“The president is even giving me an extra bonus, you know.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’m telling you, yes.”
Only then did A-young’s eyebrows lift slightly.
“Ooh, then our mom’s going to feel like making clothes.”
“Of course.”
“Our president really is generous.”
Saying that, A-young sank back into the sofa and muttered softly while watching YouTube.
“He’s kind of cute, too...”
“What was that?”
At her mother’s question, A-young shouted,
“Nothing!”
“...”
The scratch-scratch of scissors started up again.
For some reason unable to focus on YouTube anymore, A-young suddenly got to her feet and walked over to the worktable where her mother was working.
“What is it?”
She stood there for a moment, blankly watching her mother work, then said,
“I’m bored.”
“Have you got something else you want to do now?”
With a little crescent smile at the corners of her mouth, A-young fidgeted her fingers.
“Hehe, you know... make one just for me.”
“Separate? Is that okay?”
“You said the president told you it was fine to make outfits for all the employees. I’m an employee too.”
“That’s true, but you want it made separately? You’re not planning to make only your design different, are you?”
“Mom! I’m twenty-three. You think I can wear the same T-shirt as all the old men and old ladies? I’ll design something pretty.”
After a brief hesitation, Jeong-mi returned to her worktable and said,
“Suit yourself. Just don’t make it too flashy.”
“Hehe, of course. What, do you think I’m going to make a crop top?”
A-young immediately took a sketchbook and pen from the small table beside the sofa and started drawing.
She laid down her lines with brisk confidence, and before long the shape of the garment began to take form: a round-neck T-shirt with a slightly deeper neckline, a subtly cinched waist, and sleeves that curved and rolled up naturally at the ends.
It was clear she had made clothes for herself more than once before, because she wrote down every measurement from the neckline to the shoulders, chest, waist, and sleeve circumference.
“What do you think?”
Jeong-mi glanced over the design her daughter had drawn, then focused back on the scissors and said,
“Leave it there.”
“I asked what you thought. Does it look okay?”
“It’s fine.”
“Did you even look properly?”
“I did. Now stop pestering me and go play or study or something. You said you were going to raise your TOEIC score before graduation. Have you actually been studying English lately?”
As the conversation suddenly veered into job-hunting territory, A-young frowned.
“Ugh, I am working.”
“You said it was just part-time work. Are you going to keep working at Haesol Textile?”
“Not really...”
“You’re already twenty-three. I’m fine with you working part-time while preparing for TOEIC and whatever else, but if you just keep fooling around like that, you won’t land a proper job after graduation. You know that, right?”
“I know... Maybe I should actually study design properly?”
Jeong-mi looked up from the worktable and at her daughter’s face.
“You want to? If you’re thinking of going back to school, I’ll support you.”
It was an unexpectedly cool answer, but A-young soon looked away with a sullen face.
She knew what it was like to live as one of those unremarkable designers nobody took seriously.
“No. At my age, what good would studying do?”
“Right. Then stop fooling around and go study.”
“Tch...”
A-young stuck out her lips and went into her room.
“Honestly, what’s that girl going to do...”
Shaking her head, Jeong-mi turned back to the clothes and lost herself in the work again.
*
The next day, at Haesol Textile.
Manager Hwang Seok-jae and Factory Manager Park Han-soo, who had gone out early in the morning and returned, entered the president’s office after finishing the on-site inspection of the Sindorim property.
The document envelope Manager Hwang was carrying held land registry records, land use plan confirmations, and all the auction-related paperwork.
Park Han-soo, who had been waiting to report, spread the relevant documents across the table and said,
“We only looked at it through Road View before, but it was even better in person. The scale is good, the access isn’t bad, and even though it’s a little run-down, it actually looks easier to bring in machinery.”
Manager Hwang Seok-jae chimed in as well.
“That’s right. The surrounding roads are wide, so trucks should be able to come and go easily. The land is also fairly large, so additional expansion is possible. Since it’s a failed auction item, the price is good too, so I think it’ll go in without any major problems. If you can tell us the details of the interior finishes and equipment layout, President, we can coordinate with the construction team and proceed step by step.”
Then the factory manager showed him the site photos and continued his explanation like a presentation.
“As you can see, if we reinforce only the steel frame section here, put a roof over it, and level the floor for equipment installation, we should be able to fit in the mechanical facilities just fine.”
“Hmm, good. It’s spacious too.”
“Yes. And it’s close to a main road. It’s a little more deep in the city than our existing factory, but I don’t think there’ll be any major issues in terms of hiring or logistics.”
Seung-hyun kept nodding.
“Good. Then let’s move quickly and wrap up the contract. The investment money will be coming in soon anyway.”
“Yes, President. Since this is going through the auction process, if we handle the procedures properly, we should be able to win it right away.”
A few days later, the expected investment funds of 10 billion won flowed into the company sooner than anticipated.
Haesol Textile immediately injected the money, won the Sindorim property, and began remodeling.
They kept the usable framework and tore down the rest, including the rusty sections and the interior of the old building, then began rebuilding it from the ground up to suit Haesol Textile’s needs.
Seung-hyun often went out to admire the large lot of the second factory and took in the sight of the new building rising there before heading back.
“The blanket sample is out!”
The forcefully bright voice of Factory Manager Park Han-soo snapped Seung-hyun’s attention back.
“Let’s have a look.”
When he went out to check, he found workers gathered in a small studio-like space with excellent lighting, spreading out a blanket.
The blanket’s snow-white surface and soft sheen, paired with an elegant, traditional Eastern pattern, immediately drew Seung-hyun’s eyes.
“As you requested, we wove it at 400 thread count using a blend of 60 percent Supima cotton and 40 percent Tencel.”
When Seung-hyun touched the fabric, the delicate sheen unique to fine cotton and the soft feel of Tencel spread through his fingertips.
At 400 thread count, the softness and luxury were on an entirely different level from ordinary Supima cotton blankets.
“Wow, this feels really good.”
Seung-hyun carefully lifted the sample blanket and, honestly, thought it exceeded even his imagination.
As his fingertips brushed lightly over the surface, he felt the silky touch one usually only saw in department stores.
The embroidery, which had taken more than five hours, vividly reproduced the brushstroke feel of an Eastern painting, and the whole thing looked like a single framed work of art.
【Yarn Quality = 98.5%】
【Weave Condition = Good】
【Artistic Value = A-Grade】
【Durability = A-Grade】
【Market Value = 150%】
The information that flowed in through his fingertips left no doubt about what this blanket would be worth in the future.
“Even while making it, I kept being amazed.”
There was a quiet expectation in Park Han-soo’s eyes now, too.
“What about the filling?”
“We don’t have a mixing facility for filling materials, so we used a layering method for now. We put 30 percent microfiber on the bottom layer, 40 percent goose down on top of that, and then 30 percent microfiber on the very top. That minimizes fill separation and ensures quality stability. Since you’ll be setting the pattern with quilting, President, I don’t think there’ll be any problem at all.”
“Hmm.”
“We just need to run a durability test with washing and check the quilting state.”
“Good. Then make one more and put it through testing. If there are no problems, I’ll send it out tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
Because the durability grade was A, he had not been worried at all, and as expected, nothing went wrong in the washing test either.
Seung-hyun gave the tested blanket to Park Han-soo, who had worked the hardest so far.
The factory manager’s mouth opened so wide that the staff around him teased him for splitting his face open.
It was hard not to be happy when he had received a blanket of a quality that, if bought at a department store, would easily cost several million won.
The next day, Seung-hyun carefully folded the blanket and placed it in a thick, oversized vinyl bag before heading to the Louis Vuitton store in Gangnam.
And the moment he saw Gabriel, he opened the blanket wide.
“Have a look.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened at the translucent packaging and the sheen that seemed to flow across it.
He had already been told he would be shown bedding and had expected something of the sort, but when he actually saw a blanket that looked like a painting in front of him, he was stunned and ran his hand over it.
“Incredible. This texture and beauty. The sensibility of an East Asian painting, combined with this level of luxury... It will surely awaken a sense of Oriental mystique in Europeans.”
“We tried a blend of Supima cotton and Tencel. The filling is mixed with goose down and fiber as well. Compared with any high-end blanket on the market, I’m sure it won’t fall short.”
“And the part here with the black embroidery that says GyeolBit doesn’t look tacky at all.”
Without even turning his head away, Gabriel kept touching the blanket over and over.
Under the soft lighting, the blanket’s sheen and subtle texture became even clearer, and he let out a faint smile.
“Indeed... Even a blanket becomes quite appealing when you add an Eastern sensibility. Forget what it’s filled with or what the fabric is made of; I simply want it.”
At this point, it was no different from the highest praise.
“Then...?”
“Yes. I’ll speak to them so you can participate in Paris Maison & Objet.”
“Ah, thank you!”
At those words, Seung-hyun’s heart started pounding.
“Of course, you know this alone isn’t enough, right? It’s a very large event. Haesol Textile is practically one of LVMH’s own, so you’ll need to show that there was a proper reason for this.”
“You won’t be disappointed.”
The broad network of LVMH, along with the potential of the blanket he wanted to create, sent a wave of expectation crashing toward a much bigger stage.
*
An upscale apartment in Hannam-dong.
Kim In-hyuk sat alone on a sofa in a home finished with bright marble floors and a clean, modern interior that was restrained without being cold, staring anxiously at his phone.
How long had he been waiting, his leg bouncing nervously?
Bzzt...
When the phone finally rang, he clapped a hand over his mouth and grew wildly excited. After the signal rang three times, he barely managed to calm himself and answer.
“This is Kim In-hyuk.”
[It’s done. They approved designer Kim’s participation on your side.]
“Then now...”
[Yes, you should prepare. The LVMH Prize in April is almost here.]
The world’s most prestigious competition for emerging designers.
Kim In-hyuk clenched his fist and cheered.
“That’s right! Mom! I got selected!”
He ran down into the living room and shouted at his mother, who was sitting on a pale beige sofa and reading a magazine.
“Mom! I made it!”
With her sharp eyes, thin brows, and skin so taut it was impossible to guess her age, she was a face nearly every Korean person had seen at least once.
Choi Sook-hyang.
Korea’s top designer.
“What did I tell you? I said you’d get in. Your mother isn’t dead yet.”
Even as she watched her son’s cheers, Choi Sook-hyang reacted with outward indifference, but the faint tremble of her hand and the barely noticeable twitch at the corners of her mouth made it obvious she was pleased.
“I really thought I’d make it... I can do well, right?”
“Of course. I’m still bitter I couldn’t send you abroad because of those people in Seongbuk-dong, so go and take your revenge properly on your mother’s behalf. Before you leave, I’ll line up all the top designers and give you solid private lessons.”
She patted the head of her only son and looked at him with unmistakable pride.
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