I Am the Luxury

The person who appeared through the wide-open door was none other than Merrill. Of course, since Merrill had never seen Fabien and Laurent before, she stood there, frozen almost as stiff as an ice sculpture. The reason Fabien and Laurent recognized her was obvious: she was one of the faces of Hermès.

"Call Eleano!"

At Fabien's shout—though he had never met Merrill in person, he had certainly heard of her—the staff member who had brought her there hurried down the hallway. A moment later, Eleano, boasting a head of luscious, bohemian-waved hair with bleached white highlights, appeared at the office door.

"Merrill, you should have contacted me if you were coming."

Eleano, wearing a green dress, pulled Merrill away with a semi-forced tug, and Merrill vanished from the doorway as quickly as a statue being whisked away.

"Ah... the person who just appeared is Merrill, one of our Hermès models. She is a jewel that our board of directors has their eyes on."

"I see."

At Fabien’s words, Yoon-gi gave a deliberately ambiguous answer, hiding the fact that he and Merrill had a relationship. If he were to reveal it himself, the impact would be diminished.

"Anyway, shall we get back to the main point? We will draft the specific contract soon, but we need to reach a verbal agreement today so we can start the preparations."

"Let's do that."

Although it was mostly a repetition of what had been said earlier, Yoon-gi and Fabien completed the big picture:

When the content reached this point, Fabien thought they were finished, but Yoon-gi had one more thing to confirm.

"Fabien, if the contract is completed according to these terms, my deal with Hermès is sealed. Correct?"

"I suppose so?"

Not knowing Yoon-gi's true intentions, Fabien nodded readily for the time being.

"However, since I have to run a department store, I need to sign contracts with other brands besides Hermès."

"Ah... that would be the case."

For a moment, Fabien wondered if Yoon-gi might sign model contracts elsewhere. In a sense, it was an accurate prediction. If today's negotiations hadn't gone well, that method would have been Yoon-gi's backup plan.

"So, I have a request. I would like you to decide on two brands that Hermès absolutely does not want to see in the same department store."

"Brands you absolutely don't want to see?"

"Yes. In other words, I am offering to exclude Hermès' rival brands."

It was a truly exquisite proposal. Only two. To ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠put it nicely, he was offering to exclude Hermès' rivals, but to put it bluntly, he was only excluding two of their rivals. 'Now, Fabien. What choice will you make?'

Yoon-gi waited with a very relaxed heart. If Fabien named two brands, Yoon-gi would learn one of Hermès' secrets. Even if it wasn't public knowledge, he would know which brands Hermès considered their rivals. Of course, it didn't matter if he didn't name any. If he didn't, Hermès would have no way to interfere with whatever brands entered YK Department Store. After all, they hadn't answered when asked.

"Well..."

Fabien deliberately drew out his words. But that alone was enough for Yoon-gi to know that Fabien was agonizing over the decision. Whether he stayed silent or dragged out his speech, the fact that a quick answer didn't come was proof that he was conflicted.

"I will discuss that matter with my superiors and let you know on the day we sign the contract."

"Understood."

"Then, it seems all our business is concluded. Are you staying at a hotel?"

"Yes, I am."

"How long do you plan to stay?"

"I haven't set a specific date."

The original plan was for a week, but Yoon-gi deliberately kept his schedule open. If he had said seven days, Hermès would have dragged things out until the seventh day to contact him. Even if they had a verbal agreement now, he didn't know what additional clauses they might demand when it came time to sign the contract. 'Do you think I haven't seen how subcontractors get killed by deadlines on construction sites?'

Just as Yoon-gi was inwardly mocking Fabien's transparent tactics, the office door opened again.

"I heard Merrill's boyfriend is here..."

At Eleano's words, Fabien and Laurent looked flustered, then immediately turned their gaze toward Jo Cheong-woo, who was standing behind Yoon-gi. Jo Cheong-woo, suddenly the center of attention, couldn't help but look bewildered, and the two men looking at him wore equally absurd expressions.

As if to confirm their shared sentiment, Eleano's words continued rapidly.

"They said his name is Choi Yoon-gi... or Yoon, I believe. Could it be..."

Eleano's eyes turned toward Yoon-gi, and Yoon-gi nodded naturally.

"Yes, I am Yoon."

As soon as Yoon-gi answered, Fabien and Laurent wore expressions that practically screamed, "What the hell!" They had wondered if it was Jo Cheong-woo, but they never imagined it would be Yoon-gi. Of course, it wasn't that they hadn't considered the possibility, but they had dismissed it as an older woman's infatuation; they never truly believed Yoon-gi was actually her boyfriend.

"You were Merrill's boyfriend...?"

At Laurent's somewhat dazed question, Yoon-gi nodded again.

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you acknowledge it earlier..."

"Didn't I? If you had ever met Merrill, you would know."

Since Fabien and Laurent had never met Merrill in person, they couldn't even guess how he had greeted her. It was natural—he hadn't greeted her at all. But at Yoon-gi's words, delivered without a single change in his facial expression, Fabien and Laurent were left in a state of confusion, vaguely accepting it.

"But earlier, when we said Merrill was an Hermès model, you clearly answered, 'I see'..."

At Fabien's words, Yoon-gi looked rather puzzled.

"No, I just said that in response to you saying she was favored by the board of directors..."

The moment they heard that, Fabien couldn't help but think, "My god." Thinking it over, every single action the boy in front of him took felt calculated. 'Damn it, I thought I’d lived a pretty seasoned life, but I’ve been dancing in the palm of this boy's hand.'

Of course, that didn't mean he intended to break the contract. After all, there were no losses in the contract terms.

"Eleano, did you come here just to say that?"

Eleano shook her head.

"No, that's not it. Merrill insisted that I treat her boyfriend well."

"Treat him well?"

At Fabien's counter-question, Eleano nodded.

"Yes. I saw that the initial ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠supply volume was set generously, and the margin rate was set quite low..."

"No, I have the authority to decide that..."

"Verbal approval came down from the board of directors."

"What? Verbal approval from the board?"

"Merrill promised to become an exclusive model for Hermès."

"Ah..."

Realizing that the board hadn't just given their permission because Merrill was pretty, Fabien nodded with a somewhat dizzy feeling.

"Ah... well... if it's an instruction from the board, I suppose I must."

"And Mr. Yoon, can you follow me? Merrill is waiting."

"By all means. Then, may I take my leave?"

Confirming Fabien's nod, Yoon-gi looked at Jo Cheong-woo.

"Secretary Jo, leave our hotel address and contact information."

With that, Yoon-gi walked out of the office.

"Eleano, I'm telling you, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to move a single step in here!"

Eleano, watching Merrill laugh, sighed.

"You should have contacted me in advance. I was so surprised to see you standing in the hallway. I wondered what was going on when I saw you brought makeup artists and everything. And to think you came all this way because of your boyfriend..."

Merrill gave Eleano, who was shaking her head, a playful look.

"Why, come on. You asked me for a favor because of your younger brother, didn't you?"

"I'm family, and he's your boyfriend."

"We're going to be family."

For a moment, Eleano spat out the coffee she was about to drink, and thanks to that, a few drops of black coffee clung to her white hair, looking like ink spots on a white canvas.

"Hey, were you engaged?"

Merrill shook her head.

"No, not yet, but Yoon promised to let me fly first class for the rest of my life."

"...That's an enviable promise."

Eleano was a mid-level designer at Hermès, but as a single woman in her mid-30s, she envied Merrill, glancing at Yoon-gi, who didn't deny Merrill's words.

"By the way, is your brother serving well?"

"Yeah. Thanks to your grandfather, he couldn't go to a dangerous area even if he wanted to. Thanks to that, my parents are relieved."

Eleano had asked for a favor to block her brother from volunteering for a dangerous area after hearing that Merrill's grandfather was a former U.S. Army General. What family could watch idly while their son went to a place where bullets were flying just to earn a little more money? Thanks to that, Merrill could now ask Eleano for favors with a light heart.

"I must be the only designer in the world who builds bridges to other luxury brands."

Eleano began writing down several brand names, people's names, and phone numbers on a Post-it note, and handed it to Merrill a moment later.

"If you call these designers and use my name, it will be relatively easy to sign contracts with these brands. Of course, it's not 100 percent, so don't be too overconfident."

"Thank you!"

"Gross! Don't do that!"

Eleano, who was pulling Merrill off her, eventually gave up and asked Yoon-gi while still carrying Merrill.

"Excuse me..."

"Yes?"

"D-do you happen to have any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unmarried men in your family...?"

Eleano, having heard from Merrill what kind of person Yoon-gi was, revealed a somewhat pathetic desire, but Yoon-gi shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I'm the eldest."

"Ah..."

Eleano's mournful sigh spread through the office like a mist.

By signing contracts based on the contacts Eleano provided, Yoon-gi was able to sign with most of the brands he had originally intended. Of course, some brands reacted with difficulty even after he utilized his connections, but it didn't matter. He had a cheat key.

'It's a shame I wanted to secure more decent brands like Hermès.'

As soon as he dropped that implication, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the brands that realized Hermès was entering the store changed their tune and reacted favorably to the contract, and thanks to that, Yoon-gi's European trip ended successfully.

"When will I see you again..."

Merrill looked at Yoon-gi at the airport, tearing up. Because of her circumstances, where she still had to continue her studies, she wasn't allowed to follow Yoon-gi around.

"If you miss me, come to Korea anytime. I will always be waiting for you, Merrill."

Merrill, who had been looking moved, suddenly narrowed her eyes.

"If you cheat on me, you're dead..."

"Don't worry, I won't cheat with anyone uglier than you."

At the fact that he was essentially saying he wouldn't cheat, Merrill burst into a giggle.

"Come to think of it, why didn't you sign with the real ultra-luxury brands?"

"You mean the brands only the richest of the rich use?"

"Yeah. I was following you around wondering when we'd go there."

To Merrill's valid curiosity, Yoon-gi smiled and shook his head.

"Those don't have marketability. I'm a businessman, not a collector of high-end goods, right?"

"Ah... so that's why."

As Merrill nodded in understanding, an announcement played for the passengers of the flight she was supposed to board.

"Then... I'm going."

"Goodbye."

With a warm touch on his lips from Yoon-gi's smiling face, Merrill's figure vanished into the distance in an instant. Even in an airport where countless people passed by, Merrill was someone who knew how to walk her own path well.

'It seems Guster's thoughts weren't entirely wrong.'

Yoon-gi felt like he understood why Guster had made her a photo model and why he had allowed her to go to Korea alone.

'Alright, now shall I head back to Korea too?'

Yoon-gi turned his head toward Jo Cheong-woo, who had approached his side, and grinned.

"Shall we go back to our battlefield?"