Chapter 28

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The cafe in the sketch I drew contained seats that were divided as if they were numerous uninhabited islands.

“Are you going to split the seats like this?”

I replied without hesitation to Chairman Oh Kyung-jin’s words.

“Yes.”

“….!”

“I think it would be better to increase the proportion of single and two-person seats as much as possible, and you can simply combine the seats if you need more than four.”

A thorough separation.

At first glance, it sounded awkward. This is because the interior of this store is aesthetically very elegant. However, there was a little problem that I saw as a designer rather than an artist.

‘When it comes to an office-filled street like Jongno, you have to imagine that it’s full at peak times.’

Then, rather than improving the quality of the experience, it was better to increase the turnover rate by dramatically increasing the number of seats for customers.

“If I had been in charge of the interior of this store, I would have removed the restrooms and counters, and filled all the surplus space with tables and chairs. That way, we can have as many seats as possible.”

All flowerpots and shelves installed for aesthetics were removed.

A sofa is a waste of space.

Large speakers are a luxury.

Whether it was the owner’s choice or not, the roasting machines were also placed like exhibits, but in my opinion, even this was meaningless in terms of sales.

Only turnover rate.

I had to bet everything on the turnover rate.

“To pack a little more seats here, I think it would be good to open the window and set up a take-out stand.”

Chairman Oh Kyung-jin asked about the shockingly commercialized interior design.

“Wouldn’t customers be frustrated if the seats are this tightly packed?”

“It’s okay. Their stay will be short, so their fatigue will be low.”

Few people consider where they would go after 20 to 30 minutes at the longest.

Poor consideration was poisonous to sales.

Instead, there were other considerations that could be given because the other person was an office worker.

“It’s about growing the overall size of the menu.”

“Are you talking about the size of the cup?”

“Yes. We should sell cups that are 1.5 to 2 times the size of the menus we sell now. However, the price shouldn’t be too high either.”

“Well….considering the price, we’ll have no choice but to lower the quality of the coffee beans.”

“It’s okay. I don’t think office workers stop by the cafe to judge the taste of the coffee anyway.”

Why do office workers drink coffee?

It was better than drinking caffeinated water.

If so, quantity over quality is a must. However, my words still seemed awkward to him.

“Listening to what Jaeha said just now, it seems that the quality of the coffee beans aren’t very important.”

“That’s what I think. Of course, I’m mainly focusing on sales.”

“…..Hmm.”

Chairman Oh Kyung-jin seemed to hesitate for a while. He stayed silent for a long time, as if he was thinking about something.

He finally opened his mouth.

“I thought about it after talking with you just now, but Jaeha seems like a person who has worked in this industry for a very long time.”

“……Ah!”

Only then did I realize that I was too immersed in consulting, and poured out more stories than what a normal undergraduate student would have to say.

With a sheepish smile, I said,”What I’ve said so far is just based on my guess.”

“Your guess is a little detailed.”

“My mother’s acquaintance worked in the industry for a long time, so I picked up things along the way.”

“I see,” Chairman Oh Kyung-jin smiled happily and said, “If I get a chance, I’d like to share some business stories with that acquaintance.”

“….”

Please don’t.

Chairman Oh Kyung-jin continued.

“Now I know only a little, but I’m sure it was no coincidence that sales rose after Jaeha reached the cafe.”

The sudden compliment made me cough.

“How much money do you think it’ll cost to design a store the size of Heaven’s Door?”

“Wait a minute.”

Heaven’s Door is a medium-sized store, measuring about 15 pyeong.

I tapped the calculator in my head and said, “In reality, there is a limit to what I can do on my own.”

“Limit?”

“It seems that a significant part of the interior, such as flooring, glass, metal, and electrical work, will have to be outsourced. We also have lighting to worry about, and sound isn’t something that can be ignored either….”

I was in the midst of explaining the parts that would cost money when Chairman Oh Kyung-jin cut me off and came in.

“Excuse me, but I think you misunderstood me a little,” Chairman Oh Kyung-jin looked me in the eyes and said. “I’m not asking how much it’ll cost to construct, but rather, how much you want to receive.”

“….!”

At that moment, a thunderbolt struck my head.

‘Come to think of it, it would be strange to ask a student for detailed interior costs.’

Because it’s natural for them not to know.

It wasn’t natural for me.

Chairman Oh Kyung-jin looked me in the eyes again and said, “Please think about the student’s ransom and tell us.”

The paradigm of concern has changed.

‘How much should I get for the payment?’

Rather than calculating the cost of raw materials for the interior, this part was much more complicated to think about.

To be honest, you don’t have to pay much. It would be expensive if you were designing it from scratch. But to me, cafe design is the act of borrowing the design of the future.

It takes less than a day with just a pen and a sketchbook.

‘The problem is that while making a scaled-down model, we have to put together the prototypes one by one…’

This part can be left to Kyu-tae, Ji-hoon, and Hanseol.

Of course, it’s not free.

They likely won’t get to talk to each other often, and if they were to take care of this, then they should be paid properly.

You have to sow the seeds before the harvest.

Even more so to get them to join my future design business.

‘If I consider my labor costs here, what would be an appropriate amount to ask for?’

I didn’t hurry and thought about everything carefully, one by one.

Chairman Oh Kyung-jin just waited patiently

When all the calculations were completed, I said:

“I think 500 is enough.”

“500!?” Kyu-tae suddenly said in a surprised voice. “That much?”

“There’s a reason for this.”

I dismissed his words.

500.

It wasn’t a small amount. In fact, although Kyu-tae was the only one who opened his mouth, Seol-noona and Ji-hoon-hyung also seemed a little surprised.

‘Well, 500 is the equivalent of a three-month’s salary for new college graduates at this time.’

It’s definitely not a small amount of money. However, I didn’t even think it was an excessive amount.

After considering the materials, time, and labor costs required to make the prototype, a slight premium was added to it.

‘500 isn’t a huge gain, but at least there’s no visible loss.’

This is the value of the design I have.

That was my decision.

“Hmm. I see.”

When Chairman Oh Kyung-jin heard me, he began stroking his beard as if he was in deep thought.

Why are you delaying your reply?

As his answer was delayed, my fleeting thoughts came to my mind.

‘Did you think that I asked for too much as a college student?’

Then I had nothing to say.

‘I asked conscientiously.’

It’s an appropriate amount by my standards. Rather, it was safe to say that it was actually a small amount of money compared to the long-term gains for Chairman Oh Kyung-jin. However, it is also true that I am just a freshman in an art college in his eyes.

‘But I can’t cancel the deal now. This is an opportunity to take a step forward as a designer.’

If possible, renegotiate and lower the price.

It was the moment when I was thinking that it wasn’t the time to lose sight of the big picture due to small disputes over profit.

“Good.” Chairman Oh Kyung-jin spoke.

“I’ll add another 500 to the 500 you suggested and give you a thousand.”

“…!”

Surprised by the sudden number, my thoughts were cut off.

What do you mean 1,000?

‘A thousand is like what a person from a professional company receives.’

However, this was not the end. He continued to speak without stopping.

“In addition to this, if we open the store and achieve a surplus of profit, we will give you incentives or shares as an option.”

Without realizing it, my eyes widened.

It’s incredible.

I was mistaken.

‘It’s not that he didn’t want to give you 500.’

Rather, it was the opposite. He was thinking about how much more to give as a bonus.

This guy is very generous.

While I was still in a state of shock, Chairman Oh Kyung-jin said in a benevolent voice, “This is probably the first time the student has received an offer like this.”

“…Yes.” I nodded.

It’s my previous life. Anyway, I’m an art student who just moved to Seoul from a small local town.

That’s who I am now.

Chairman Oh Kyung-jin continued with a tone of advice.

“When you actually start working, the initial plan is bound to go awry. If you compromise like this and compromise like that, in the end, it won’t even look like the original plan.”

That was correct.

How often did you have to go to the draft when you worked for a company?

The deadline has been advanced.

The budget is insufficient.

The order came from upper-management.

After making corrections for all kinds of reasons, there were many times when the wrong thing was looking back at me in the end.

“However, there are ways to fill that gap,” Chairman Oh Kyung-jin looked into my eyes and said. “I’m going to spend more money.”

“…!”

“If you have money, you can hire more people and use more expensive materials. You can outsource anything.”

There was generally nothing that money couldn’t do.

I think he called for a thousand considering all of that, but he continued.

“However, if I had to choose one of the best items that money could buy….” Chairman Oh Kyung-jin looked into my eyes. “It’s my responsibility.”

“…!”

“I’d rather have a thousand-won design than a 500-won design. I hope for more than that if possible. I’ll take care of the small expenses, so I will only ask the students to design the best.”

I almost laughed out loud.

I’ll pay for it.

You should just be good at designing.

How many people will hear this as a designer? And, how many people will genuinely believe such words?

But when the successful businessman of the future said this, the feeling was different.

“If you feel like the large amount of money is a burden, I’d appreciate it if you could think of it as the cost I invest in students.”

Ah.

That’s right.

I’m a student.

I forgot.

I was thinking too much with the mind of a businessman.

There was nothing to not understand if a well-known businessman did a favor to a college student, or even a promising prospect.

I decided to accept his favor calmly and said,”You won’t regret it.”

*

After the appointment, we returned to the area around Han Yewon.

Before going home, I visited Heaven’s Door and told the boss what happened today, and he exclaimed with a surprised look.

“You said he wanted to release a franchise!?”

“Yes. It hasn’t been decided yet, but I’ll need to talk to the boss separately.”

“….I really don’t know what’s going on,” He continued in an incredible tone. “No, that customer is special. Taking in college freshmen and having them design a cafe, does that make sense?”

“Well, you did the same.”

“That’s because I was on the brink of ruin.”

The owner refuted with a brazen smile.

“Why did he discuss it with me right away and not you? You’re cool, too.”

I crossed my arms for a moment as if I couldn’t understand.

Soon, he looked at me with a proud expression and said, “Well, you were the one who had the ability to do this. The customer must have recognized Jaeha’s greatness because they can see it from the eyes of a viewer. I went to another cafe recently, and I realized just how good you were at your job.”

He seemed to have recently traveled from place to place.

Now that you’re familiar with this store, no matter which cafe you go to, you must have seen a lot of flaws in them.

“I’ll get you a cup of coffee to celebrate.” The boss hummed and turned around.

I waited for a little bit.

I soon sat down and started talking to the other three.

“Although the boss entrusted me with the task, I still think it’s impossible even if I die alone and wake up.”

“No way,” Ju Ji-hoon smiled and said. “I think you’ll do well on your own.”

“No.” I shook my head and said.

“I need people to turn my plans into reality.”

“Reality?”

“Yes,” I nodded and said. “I’m going to make another model like the one I put out before.”

“…!”

“If possible, I’ll make a prototype of the furniture and show it to you.”

There might be a way to bring just the blueprints, but that’s probably not what Chairman Oh Kyung-jin wanted from me.

He decided to give me a thousand dollars.

So, I was going to do 10 million dollars’ worth of work in return.

‘I have to do everything I can.’

I continued.

“I have to make clothes, I have to make tables and chairs. In addition, if I want to make various props, I can’t possibly do all of it by myself.”

“It will be difficult.”

“So, I hope that Kyu-tae and my older brother and sister will help me. Of course, I’m not going to ask you to do this for free.”

“If I just receive the minimum hourly wage….”

It was the moment when Kyu-tae was about to say something.

“The money you receive will be divided by the exact number of people.”

“…. Oh my.”

Kyu-tae took a deep breath.

“If we divide the thousand by four, how much will each person receive?”

Two hundred-fifty.

It was by no means a small amount.

It’s said that office workers earn this amount of money in a month, but for college students at this time, they have to spend their vacation doing part-time jobs just to barely reach it.

If I could get that amount of money while working on my major, then there was no better work than this.

“But it’s hard to give you options. I’m in charge of designing this, so I can’t help it.”

“No, we’d have no conscience if we asked for that.” Kyu-tae waved his hands.

I smiled and said, “What do you think? Do you want to join me?”

“Please let me join.”

Kyu-tae seemed to have no intention of refusing from the beginning, and Ji-hoon said with a happy face, “Money is money, but I can also use this as a portfolio when I get a job.”

It meant the same as consent.

Next, Hanseol sighed and said.

“I’ll spend this vacation working.”

“Let’s go somewhere together after this”.

“That sounds good.”

Having obtained consent from the three, I said with a smirk, “Let’s show them what a 10 million won design is.”

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