Montage
“Drawing? All of a sudden?”
“I thought it might be helpful in various situations.”
“For example?”
“In the sense of visualizing what’s in my head?”
Fernandez nodded immediately. “If you know how to draw, that’s definitely a plus. Are there any specific requests you have regarding the second branch?”
Yoon-gi nodded as well. “Yes. Unlike the first branch, I’m planning to use an interior that suits Korea a bit better. Plus, I intend to use a pillar-based construction method.”
“You’re planning to keep the building for a long time, then? And if it’s a Korean-style interior, it’s certainly a good idea for the Chairman to learn how to draw.”
“Honestly, isn’t it easier for you, Fernandez? It means that instead of a client saying, ‘Make it look bright,’ they’ll be able to say, ‘Make it like this.’”
At the designer’s humor, Fernandez chuckled and nodded. “Of course. Clients’ terminology is truly something else, isn’t it? ‘Make it shiny,’ ‘make it crisp,’ ‘make it simple,’ ‘make it modern,’ ‘make it vintage’—honestly, from the listener’s perspective, I don’t even have a clue.”
“That would be fine if it stopped there. Isn’t it even scarier when they say things like, ‘Something more... something,’ or ‘No, make it a bit more... airy’?”
“It took me almost five years to understand those phrases. Now, when I talk to clients, I get a feel for what they want right away.”
“If it takes a genius five years, it must be no joke for an ordinary person.”
Despite the compliment of being a genius, Fernandez didn’t show any signs of shyness. He truly believed he was a genius. “Reading people’s minds isn’t exactly what makes a genius, so that’s a bit different, isn’t it?”
“Still, it means it takes at least five years on average.”
“That’s right.”
After chatting about this and that regarding designers, Yoon-gi and Fernandez finally arrived at Yoon-gi’s mansion.
“Come on in.”
The place Yoon-gi led him to was the study.
‘Is this...?’
Fernandez blinked as he watched Yoon-gi open the door to the study. Then, he saw Yoon-gi’s smile.
‘Me too...!’
Confirming that he had become a member of the study’s inner circle, Fernandez wore a bright smile.
“I’ve prepared everything.”
Thanks to the art supplies being prepared in the study in advance, Fernandez was able to start Yoon-gi’s art tutoring right away.
“What level should I teach you at?”
“Beginner. But feel free to set the pace. You know me well enough by now.”
A tutoring session where a genius learns from a genius. Yoon-gi began to quickly accumulate an ‘appropriate level of artistic ability.’
Basically, while Yoon-gi had a fast learning ability through his talent, he couldn’t do what he hadn’t learned. Therefore, while Yoon-gi’s art skills weren’t unwatchable due to his good expressive power, strictly speaking, they weren’t at a level where he could represent his school in a competition. He hadn’t had much interest in it to begin with, and he had already managed to get perfect scores on his practical exams.
However, Yoon-gi felt the need to learn art for two reasons, so he had been diligently learning from Fernandez for the past few weeks.
“If we look at it purely from a practical standpoint, I think you could truly become a ‘great client,’ Chairman.”
“That is the highest compliment I could receive.”
Fernandez clearly grasped what Yoon-gi wanted, and thanks to that, Yoon-gi was able to learn only the parts he needed. No matter how much of a genius he was, it was absolutely impossible to build up Fernandez’s level of skill in a short time. However, it was true that his ability to give clearer instructions to Fernandez had increased to a level incomparable to before.
“Then, shall we call it a day for today?”
“Let’s do that.”
As Fernandez was about to get up, Yoon-gi called out to him.
“Oh, wait a moment today. I have a meeting.”
“A meeting?”
“Yes. Please wait a moment. It’s almost time.”
Yoon-gi told the housekeeper to serve Fernandez peaches, a seasonal summer fruit. The taste of the peaches, which had fully soaked up the sunlight and had incredible sweetness, was enough to lift Fernandez’s mood, and the wait until the meeting time was by no means boring.
“Ah, welcome, everyone.”
Ryu Geun-tae, Choi Chul-kyu, and Jo Cheong-woo arrived at almost the same time. Although five people were now sitting in a space where only three had always sat, everyone naturally found their seats. Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Chul-kyu sat directly to the left and right of Yoon-gi, the head of the table. And next to them were Fernandez and Jo Cheong-woo. As soon as the three arrived, Fernandez had naturally moved one seat over.
‘I guess my rank at this point is 4th or 5th? If Yoon-gi is the type to value bloodlines, it’s 5th; if not, it’s 4th.’
As if to confirm Fernandez’s thoughts, Ryu Geun-tae joked, “It’s our first time having a meeting with five people.”
It could have been a situation for a power struggle, but surprisingly, no such tense atmosphere arose. Everyone here knew their own place. Ryu Geun-tae worked hard to maintain his position, and Choi Chul-kyu didn’t care as long as he could secure his benefits. Fernandez knew well that he couldn’t surpass Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Chul-kyu, and Jo Cheong-woo didn’t have any particular thoughts.
“Yoon-gi, where did you buy these peaches? My wife is pregnant, so she likes sweet things lately.”
“I’ll pack some for you when you go home later.”
“Oh, really? Well, that’s great for me.”
In the truly harmonious atmosphere, Fernandez chuckled without realizing it, and Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Chul-kyu smiled as well, knowing the meaning behind that smile.
“Now, shall we start the meeting regarding the second branch?”
Following Yoon-gi’s words, the meeting proceeded quickly. Since it was mainly about conveying pre-determined content, the meeting ended fast. The gist was that since the land issue was resolved, construction would begin, and that they should put their heart and soul into the design phase for the pillar-based construction method to make future electrical wiring replacements easy. Furthermore, the meeting ended with Jo Cheong-woo agreeing to identify and resolve any legal issues related to the matter.
“Then, we’ll be heading back now.”
Following Ryu Geun-tae’s words, the three, excluding Jo Cheong-woo, left the mansion first. Jo Cheong-woo looked at the five peaches in the bag with a slightly regretful expression.
“Couldn’t you give me just a little more?”
“I only gave you that much so you’d come visit often.”
If it were Ryu Geun-tae or Choi Chul-kyu, they would have been very happy to hear that, but Jo Cheong-woo, fearing that Yoon-gi might give him another tower of books, gave a slightly bitter smile and nodded.
“Then, I’ll come again next time.”
“Yes, get home safely.”
Watching Jo Cheong-woo leave, Yoon-gi decided that it was time to start building a legal team. As long as YK Department Store’s sales were booming, the need to put Yoon-gi’s personal assets into YK Department Store had disappeared. Thus, Yoon-gi had decided to invest his personal assets elsewhere. That didn’t mean he had any intention of abandoning Jo Cheong-woo, but it did mean there was at least room for Fernandez to reach 4th place in the hierarchy. Of course, there was no way Fernandez would know this fact.
‘Alright, then shall I start the second reason I learned art?’
Thinking of the personnel who must be working hard under Cha Pil-gyu, Yoon-gi called for Choi Deok-bae.
Choi Deok-bae nodded as he looked at Park Ki-soo in front of him. 10:00 PM. He should have been out at an entertainment establishment with women, but Park Ki-soo, the eldest son of Seth, was busy reading reports.
“Haa, damn it.”
As if there was something he didn’t like, Park Ki-soo crumpled the report he was reading and threw it into the trash can. A moment later, he picked up the document he had thrown away and started reading it again. What he didn’t like was none other than the numbers. It was an outburst of anger because even if he added up all the operating profits of Seth Holdings, it didn’t reach Seth Chemicals, which his younger brother operated.
‘If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have just said I’d take charge of the Korean side.’
About 15 years ago, Park Ki-soo had argued to his father, Park Do-chul, that Japan would be a land of opportunity. Park Do-chul judged Park Ki-soo’s words positively and gave him full authority over the expansion into Japan, while instead having his second son, Park Ki-ho, assist with operations in Korea. From Park Ki-soo’s perspective, he had cast a sort of gamble to monopolize Seth in the future based on his own judgment.
However, Park Ki-soo’s judgment was a complete miscalculation.
‘To think Japan would care about legitimacy to this extent...’
At the beginning of Seth Holdings, it was truly smooth sailing. He had invested Seth’s decent capital to carry out aggressive expansion. But a problem occurred when Seth Holdings tried to move beyond the scale of a small-to-medium enterprise to a mid-sized company. It was the issue of connections. The most necessary thing to seize power in Japan was legitimacy, and Seth Holdings had absolutely none of that. For Park Ki-soo, who only had memories of Korea where the class system had effectively been reset through the Korean War, this legitimacy issue was a true hurdle.
Whenever he tried to do a slightly larger business, he needed connections with at least the Yakuza or politicians, but Park Ki-soo didn’t have those connections. Of course, it wasn’t that Park Ki-soo hadn’t made any effort. He had barely succeeded in making Seth Holdings leap forward into a mid-sized company by marrying the daughter of the most influential local figure he could meet. But that was it. If decades passed like this, his son’s legitimacy would be strengthened, and Seth Holdings might grow a bit more, but that didn’t meet Park Ki-soo’s desires. Because what Park Ki-soo ultimately wanted was the exclusive inheritance of Seth.
If a few decades passed like this, the inheritance of Seth would surely be his brother’s share.
‘You trash with no challenging spirit.’
Park Ki-soo cursed his younger brother, Park Ki-ho. While he was pioneering an unknown land in Japan, all his brother had done was stick by his father’s side and share the credit. But even with just that, his father favored his younger brother, Park Ki-ho.
‘I don’t even know when the last time I saw my father’s face was.’
The last personal call had been half a year ago. Due to various anxieties, Park Ki-soo was shaking his legs and even biting his nails.
Choi Deok-bae seemed to have no more interest in Park Ki-soo and started wandering around him. And this process continued for several days.
Choi Deok-bae started giving various pieces of advice to Yoon-gi, who was painting a portrait while eating a ripe persimmon placed on the ancestral rite table. In a normal situation, Yoon-gi would have been annoyed, but since Choi Deok-bae’s advice had a reason, Yoon-gi listened to it silently.
“Is this enough?”