Exchange (3)
“Well, if you’ve already seen everything, even my first love...?”
He was just about to clear away the bedding when Cha Hee-ju abruptly turned around and began looking over the sample room.
“Can’t I just look a little longer?”
“...”
“I’ve been interested in clothes since I was little. I grew up seeing a lot of them, but I never paid attention to fabric. This is really new to me.”
She brushed her fingers over a sofa fabric sample pinned to the wall, then fiddled with a burgundy one and asked, “What’s this?”
“A high-density silk blend for sofas.”
“Ohhh. That’s why the fabric is so thick. It’s really soft, probably because it’s based on silk, huh?”
“Well... yes.”
“Then what about this?”
“A clothing fabric made of 50 percent nylon and 50 percent polyester. It was used mostly in Taesung Apparel’s women’s line, Vivid Vogue, in 2022.”
She turned to look at him with an amazed expression.
“Wow, President Jung, you don’t look old enough for that. How do you know so much? I looked into it, and you only took over as CEO not that long ago.”
“When did you look that up?”
“We might be working together, so isn’t that basic research? Anyway...”
“I studied it. How every fabric in here was made, and what it’s used for. I’d have to know that if I’m going to face customers.”
Cha Hee-ju parted her lips slightly, as if laughing without quite laughing, then nodded and looked back over the samples.
Then, at some point, she stopped.
“What’s this? This was made by you, right, President?”
The one she pointed to was the Versailles Line they were currently supplying to Roche Bobois.
He really did have a rich family’s eye; there was something different about the way she looked at things from the start.
“It’s a sofa fabric.”
“This is a sofa too?”
“Yes. We’re supplying it to Roche Bobois right now.”
“Roche Bobois!”
Hee-ju’s eyes widened as she looked at Seung-hyun.
“You’re under a formal supply contract with Roche Bobois and delivering it to them?”
“Yes.”
“Then I could go see the sofa right now?”
“I suppose so.”
“Oh—”
She pursed her lips, gave another little nod, and asked, “But why did you suddenly jump into clothing production and sales? That’s completely different, isn’t it?”
“I just wanted to.”
He couldn’t exactly say that the product appraisal information popped up the moment he touched the cloth and told him to sell it.
No, that had definitely been the reason before, but now there was one more.
No matter how good a fabric he made, in the end all the glory and value went to Roche Bobois.
Nothing in the product information said a word about Haesol Textile.
Of course he understood that if he trumpeted a European sensibility while admitting a Korean company made everything, consumers would cool off fast. Still, for Seung-hyun, it was hard not to feel a little bitter.
He had made something good, only to have the company’s name hidden away.
“Mm-hmm. I see.”
“If you’ve seen everything, let’s wrap it up.”
“All right. I’ll look into Davide Soci as quickly as I can and send you the materials. Please take good care of it. Make it as great as that one over there.”
As she left, Cha Hee-ju pointed at the Versailles Line with her finger before heading out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The upper floors of Mirae Department Store’s headquarters looked out over downtown Seoul.
In the late-summer afternoon, with the sun beating hotly through the glass wall surrounding the windows, Cha Hee-ju folded her laptop shut and took a deep breath.
At last, the call came.
[The head of the Management Support Division wants to see you in the division head’s office.]
The messenger alert made her heart drop.
“Phew... that was fast.”
Leaving aside the title of chairman’s granddaughter, there were exactly two people she found uncomfortable.
One was her mother, Jin Sung-im, the department store president. The other was her older brother, Cha Kwang-jin.
Both of them had a habit of meddling under the name of advice.
She was perfectly prepared to endure her mother’s interference, but not her brother’s.
So I really did get under his skin.
With that thought, Hee-ju composed her expression.
Then she walked toward the floor where the Management Support Division was located.
When she knocked on the door at the end of the hall, a dry voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
The office felt emptier than most executive suites.
Cha Kwang-jin, seated at the central desk, looked up from organizing a folder as Hee-ju stepped inside.
A sharply tailored suit. On the table covered with meeting papers lay documents marked with the words “Promemoria” and “Haesol Textile.”
“You’re here?”
There was almost no warmth in his greeting, so Hee-ju merely lowered her head slightly as well.
“Yes, Division Head. What is it?”
“Division Head, huh... if you’re going to keep calling me that.”
Hee-ju, who had already been thinking about having to keep speaking politely to her brother and calling him Division Head from now on, decided that this was no good.
“What is it?”
Cha Kwang-jin crooked a finger at her with a faint smile, telling her to sit.
When Hee-ju took a seat, he glanced down at the papers.
“How’s the Promemoria thing going? Did you get hold of Davide Soci? Mom’s been asking.”
Hee-ju cleared her throat.
Given how directly he was asking, it was obvious he was paying plenty of attention.
“I’m still looking into it.”
She deliberately kept the details to herself.
She had no intention of letting him know she’d offered six months’ rent-free use of her building in Hongdae just to get what she wanted from Jung Seung-hyun.
“Haesol Textile’s Jung Seung-hyun is the bridge, right? Is it not going well?”
Cha Hee-ju met her brother’s eyes squarely.
“Why are you so curious? I don’t really... get it.”
“You don’t get why your older brother would be curious about what his sister’s doing? It’s company business too.”
“We work in different fields. Why is the head of Management Support poking into the overseas luxury business division like that?”
“If there’s anything we can help with, we’d help. Why are you baring your claws at your own brother? Are you worried I’m trying to obstruct you?”
“I know you won’t interfere. I just wish you’d stop caring about my work. Honestly, it was already a burden when Mom called me to that executive meeting.”
She kept her real thoughts hidden for now.
Cha Kwang-jin wore a strange expression, as if he wasn’t sure whether to believe his sister’s excuse or not.
“Sure, I can see that. Still, Promemoria definitely caught the executives’ attention. If another competitor learns we’re making moves like this, it’s the kind of issue they won’t just sit on. So I can’t just sit still either. We need to support it as much as possible so Mom doesn’t come down on us.”
“...”
“That Jung Seung-hyun at Haesol Textile—if it doesn’t work out, should I meet him myself?”
Nodding, Cha Kwang-jin soon flipped through the papers and pulled out a document labeled Haesol Textile.
Hee-ju had been about to say no, but forced herself to stay calm.
“Do what you want. Want his number? Ah, never mind. I don’t need it.”
As she spoke while looking at the papers on the desk, the division head let out a snort.
“No, no. If you’re handling it, I shouldn’t interfere. But I can help. If we move through our own connections...”
“No need. Thanks, but I’m fine.”
At her bitter reply, Cha Kwang-jin looked deflated, but he forced a smile and let it go.
“All right, I get it. Still, if you hit a wall, tell me. Don’t fail alone for no reason.”
Hee-ju answered with a dry laugh instead.
He was her brother, acting like he was looking out for her, but she didn’t think for a second that he truly had her interests at heart.
“If I need help, I’ll ask.”
That was all she could say for now.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
At the Roche Bobois building, the Versailles Line sofa was being praised as an unprecedented hit.
VIP reservations had been pouring in day after day, and sales hit 100 million won on the very first day, sending the staff into a rare state of excitement.
The antique curves of the Versailles Line, elegantly displayed at the center of the showroom, caught every customer’s eye the moment they walked in.
Looking at the sofa, customers said, “This is absolutely worth buying!”
With reactions like that, the staff had no choice but to get even more excited.
Rumors spread through the company that the Versailles Line would soon become Roche Bobois Korea’s flagship line.
At the center of it all, Yu Se-rin, dressed in a refined two-piece outfit, moved through the showroom and guided customers one by one.
By contrast, Kang Mo-hyeon, watching from one side of the showroom, wore a deep frown the entire time.
“It’s getting this much of a response?”
Inside, she was so anxious she could have screamed, but she kept her expression under tight control and approached Yu Se-rin’s side.
“It’s gorgeous. I hear the sales graph is climbing steeply too, so congratulations.”
“Thank you. It’s honestly a little surprising. We’ve got customers with reserved appointments coming in one after another today too, so...”
Anyone who wasn’t blind could see she was bragging.
And of course that made Kang Mo-hyeon burn even blacker inside.
What irritated her even more wasn’t Yu Se-rin, but the employees.
“At this pace, this line is going to become a legend.”
“As expected of MD Yu Se-rin. They didn’t recognize her at the French headquarters for nothing.”
As the staff’s whispers drifted over her shoulder, Kang Mo-hyeon bit her lip.
I need a way. Some kind of way...
While Kang Mo-hyeon desperately searched for a plan that might reverse the situation, Yu Se-rin was moving just as desperately to keep the current momentum alive for as long as possible.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
President’s office, Haesol Textile.
On the desk lay a document with the heading “Additional Quantity Request from Roche Bobois” printed in bold type.
Backed by the success of the Versailles Line, they wanted to place an order more than three times larger than before.
Seung-hyun studied it and let out a short sigh.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
Factory manager Park Han-soo asked with a slightly puzzled expression, watching Seung-hyun’s face.
A request for additional contracts on a fabric with such high added value had come in, and yet he was sighing. It was hard to understand why.
“It is good. It’s good, but...”
“The net profit per yard is over 300,000 won. For an additional 2,000 yards, the net profit alone comes to 600 million won. At 2,000 yards, we’d make it back in less than a month.”
“I know. I know.”
He knew very well.
The more they produced, the more enormous the profit.
So why did he feel this bitter?
Hwang Seok-jae, who had been reviewing the figures, said, “Receiving the order is a positive development, but with the current factory line and workforce, it’s impossible. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Factory manager Park Han-soo said in a voice full of regret, “That’s true, but... right now a significant number of our facilities and employees are tied up with Lesser Factory work. If we pull them away a bit...”
At that moment, Seung-hyun said, “From their point of view, it’s urgent work, but not for us, so let’s wait a little.”
“Wait a little, sir?”
Seung-hyun looked at Hwang Seok-jae.
“Have you set up a meeting with the company handling the Hongdae store interior?”
“Yes, sir. We’re scheduled to meet at the Hongdae store tomorrow at 3 p.m. We’ll also move forward with the lease contract there.”
Nodding, Seung-hyun said to Park Han-soo, “Let’s put the Versailles Line on hold for now and focus on Lesser Factory.”
“Don’t you think that’s a shame?”
“It is a shame. It really is, but... I’ve thought for a while now that the time would come when we’d have to make a choice. Do we stay a subcontractor, just taking orders from others and supplying fabric, or do we become a company that handles production, sales, and branding ourselves? Other people might call it greed, but I want to take that challenge on. If it doesn’t work out, we can take orders then, can’t we?”
At the young president’s fierce gaze, Park Han-soo smiled with unmistakable warmth.
“I understand your intention, sir. We’ll do our best to make it happen.”
Once the decision had been made, Seung-hyun sent an email to Yu Se-rin at Roche Bobois Korea.
It included several softening phrases, but the conclusion was one line.
“Even the amount sold so far is already enough to count as more than we’ve done our part for Roche Bobois.”
Seung-hyun thought that, disappointing as it was, Roche Bobois would accept the answer.
But for Yu Se-rin, Haesol Textile’s reply was nothing less than a bolt from the blue.