Chapter 16

I almost burst out laughing at Ju Ji-hoon’s reaction.

‘This is refreshing to see again.’

I thought you would refute my sketch or try to teach me because you’re a senior—a pretty popular senior—but for some reason, you seem to be purely admiring it.

“Hey…”

Ju Ji-hoon analyzed my sketch from various angles and said,

“How did you draw it so neatly? Very few people in our department can do this. Seol-ah, you’ve seen how I was caught every time I drew a line, right?”

“Can’t you do this?”

“I draw with ambition.”

Ju Ji-hoon exchanged opinions with Hanseol, then he slapped his knee and said, “I can tell just from looking at it, there’s more space to rest, so it became more natural.”

“I know. Should I say it’s more humane?”

“Why is there such a difference?”

He asked me as he compared the two sketches.

“Jaeha, what did you do? I already have a rough idea, but I think it’ll be better if I hear it coming from your own mouth, so can you explain it to me?”

He seemed to be trying to get my opinion on it.

I’m human Lee Jaeha.

I had an intuition that the moment to grease my tongue has come.

[ TL/N – getting ready for a long explanation/conversation ]

“It may sound like criticism. Are you okay with that?”

“Hey, why do you care about that?”

Ju Ji-hoon shook his hand and said.

“You’re intelligent. You do it if you need to. Do everything except curse your parents.”

“Okay.”

I nodded and said, “I felt this when I saw Jihoon’s drawing: ‘It feels nice, but I can’t picture it well in my head.’”

“You couldn’t picture it in your head?”

Ju Ji-hoon tilted his head.

“Did my drawing do that?”

His sketches definitely weren’t bad. Rather, it was right to say that it was well drawn by the standards of the general public. The details were well drawn, and the level of perfection was also high in terms of aesthetics.

However, I thought that there was a part that was somewhat biased towards theory.

“Should I say that it’s unlikely a person will wander around this space?”

“Unlikely?”

“Yes. Just looking at the sketch makes me feel great, but when I think of people crowded together in there, it feels awkward. I touched upon that part just in case…and it became like this. It’s hard to explain it to you in detail.”

“A person walking around.·····.”

Ju Ji-hoon blanked out as if he was slightly shocked by what I said, and muttered quietly.

“That’s right. The people should come before the exhibition.”

This was what he missed.

He thought of the exhibition only as a space for displaying objects. However, this was not necessarily his fault.

This time was originally such an era.

‘The exhibitions of the near future will be reborn as a complex cultural space where you can enjoy both exhibitions and relaxation together.’

Public demand has changed.

They now wanted a space where they could take a break from their everyday lives rather than a rigid exhibition. Therefore, designers had to consider comfort before the exhibition.

‘Most of the exhibitions that only aimed to be exhibitions failed.’

This part was my aim.

I increased the area of the resting space in my sketch, and added a more comfortable atmosphere to the interior.

Of course, I don’t know if they’ll accept it yet.

It’s up to them to accept whatever suggestions I make.

“Honestly, I was a little worried. But it seems that there was a reason why the professors kept trying to recommend a first-year student.”

Joo Ji-hoon looked at my sketch for a long time, then suddenly said,

“Seol-ah.”

“Yes, oppa.”

“This looks okay to me, what do you think?”

“Hmm.”

Hanseol tilted her head for a while before confirming.

“I think I’m okay with it, too.”

“Right?”

“Yes. It’s much better than your drawing.”

For a moment, Ju Ji-hoon flinched.

“····I’m still in front of my juniors, can’t you save me some face?”

[ TL/N – save face: retain respect; avoid humiliation. ]

“How can you speak about seniors and juniors to strangers who aren’t even in the architecture department? It’s tacky.”

“No, that’s not what I meant·····.”

“Wow, it’s on. ‘My muse~ ugh~ hmph~’ That’s what a lot of middle-aged people use.”

The two stopped having a serious meeting and exchanged jokes, but they eventually felt my gaze and said,

“Jaeha.”

“Yes.”

The next words were somewhat shocking.

“Let’s throw mine away and go with yours.”

“······.”

I opened my eyes wide in surprise.

“Really?”

I thought a few minor changes would be made at best, but I ended up flipping over the whole thing.

Hanseol also supported the opinion.

“I agree. I was worried because you were a freshman, but I think you’re better than Ji-hoon oppa. Let’s just throw his away and do it together; just the two of us.”

“You’re joking again”.

Ju Ji-hoon looked at me and smiled.

“Anyway, let’s go with this.”

*

Once the overall framework was set, the project ran smoothly and quickly like a sports car.

“The design is gradually reinforced while working based on the sketch drawn by Jaeha. First, let’s go find the materials to make the model.”

“You mean a tree, right?

“Right.”

Ju Ji-hoon nodded and said, “The important thing is the overall structure, but for wood products, the better the raw materials, the higher the quality. Plywood and laminated wood are easy to obtain, but they are extremely poor quality.”

“Then we’ll just have to use pure wood.”

“That’s right.”

“Won’t you lose a lot of money?”

He shook his head at my words and said,

“You don’t have to worry about the budget, the professors promised to help. They told me to work hard because it’s okay up to a few hundred.”

“How many hundreds?”

“However high their expectations are of us.”

Then I’ll just be thankful.

I have no intention to refuse the money that is already given.

The more reliable the professor is, the better.

‘I’m wondering about how to use this effectively ·····.’

“Where will you get the materials from?”

When I asked Ju Ji-hoon, he spoke with confidence.

“There is a company that our architecture department often orders from. I’m going to take a few things from there.”

“Is the quality good there?”

“It’s certainly not bad. Do you happen to know Arum?”

It was a name that I often heard of.

If you’re referring to Arum in the Architecture Department, you’re probably referring to the furniture company Arum.

“Yes. It’s a furniture company.”

“It’s a place that supplies wood.”

Oh.

Then it would have been difficult.

‘It’s not a bad company, but it can never be said to be a good company.’

Though it’s a popular company and enough to compete for second place in market share, there are as many furniture companies as there are stars in the night sky.

When looking at the whole thing, Arum was mediocre at best.

But it is a cost-effective company.

‘Maybe they have something appropriate for undergraduate usage.’

The situation is different now.

The budget is full, so we needed to use better material.

‘Hold on, come to think of it…’

There was an emerging company.

I thought about it for a moment before speaking up.

“Why don’t you take it from the lumber mill yourself?”

“Lumber mill?”

“Yes, there’s a lumber mill that I know pretty well. It’s probably the best in Korea in terms of quality.”

“Is there such a place?”

“The wood there is usually used in handmade workshops.”

“I’m not sure about it just by listening, and there’s no example….”

He looked uneasy, probably because if he does accept my offer, he’s throwing away familiar materials that he’s already held in his hands before.

So, I decided to try and convince him.

“The Blue House also uses timber from there.”

“What? The Blue House?”

[ TL/N – Blue House is the executive office and official residence of the Republic of Korea’s head of state. It does have another name, but I think Blue House is easier to remember ]

Ju Ji-hoon was startled by my words and shouted.

As expected, using a government agency of faith and trust worked at once.

“How do you know about such a place?”

I replied with a smile.

“Because a friend of my friend worked there.”

It wasn’t a lie.

My friend is Park Kyu Tae, and Park Kyu Tae’s friend is me.

Ju Ji-hoon muttered as if he was possessed.

“You have friends who work in such a place at your age… hey…. What was I doing back then?”

You were looking for a billion-dollar fortune back then.

[ TL/N – assuming he’s talking about the past life ]

Anyway, while the two of us prepared the materials and began building the structure in a large frame, Hanseol decided to take charge of another task.

“I’m really good at sculpting, you just have to trust me.”

She shrugged and said.

Her role was all about making props.

“Even if I look like this, I’m extremely good with my hands.”

What do you mean a little bit?

There was no doubt that she was one of the top talents in the Sculpture Department at Han Yewon.

Above all, I know her future.

‘The future representative of Korea. You’re only an undergraduate now, but you’re still a genius among undergraduates.’

Ju Ji-hoon looked down and said,

“She must be a little good with her hands because she’s short.”

“Hey!”

“Can you hear something from down there?”

He’s merciless.

Since then, we had a few more conversations, and the grand first meeting ended in a good atmosphere.

“Then let’s stop here for today. In the future, even if it’s cumbersome, let’s meet whenever we need to and review the progress.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

That was the end.

Looking back on today, it was great to think about how the planning meeting of college students went so well.

It was the moment I left the Sleeping Loft and was about to go home as usual.

“Ah!”

Hanseol rubbed her lower stomach and muttered.

“I’m hungry.”

“I know. It’s time to eat.”

Ju Ji-hoon looked at me and asked,

“Jaeha, what do you want to eat? I’ll pay for it.”

Since it’s our first meeting, I think he’s going to buy me a meal.

It was somewhat awkward because I had never gotten food from my seniors after returning.

I said it casually.

“Rice soup.”

“You can eat something more expensive.”

“It’s okay. I want to eat rice soup.”

“Really?”

Ju Ji-hoon smiled and said.

“If you want to eat, you have to eat soup. Let’s go. There’s a soup restaurant that my classmates often go to when they work.”

It was a soup restaurant famous for its reasonable prices and 24-hour business.

Later, while eating, I was curious to know why the two of them were so close, so I asked a bit, and they answered:

“Jihoon oppa and I went to the same academy. We also took the practical exam together at Han Yewon.”

“Huh?”

I grew even more curious.

I’m sure that one is younger than the other, but they said that they took the test together, so something was out of context.

I asked gently.

“Did you retake the college entrance exam…?”

Joo Ji-hoon scratched his neck as if he was embarrassed and said,

“I took three tries.”

“Th…Three….?”

I can’t believe that a person who became rich in the future from starting a design business had to take the entrance exam three separate times.

He coughed in vain at my words of disbelief.

“Hmm. I’m not good at practical skills, so I made up for what I lacked with my entrance exam scores. My drawing is still there, but my SAT scores keep going up.”

This doesn’t make sense any more.

“The SAT scores in our entrance exams are extremely low.”

That’s right.

Han Ye-won’s entrance exam is 80% practical and 20% of the SAT.

Even as the SAT grade went up, the conversion score went down to the bottom.

It was a university that strongly expressed its will to select people based on only their practical skills, but it is widely believed that the SAT should only take 3 grades and instead focus on preparing for practical applications.

“Oh, that?”

Ju Ji-hoon smiled and said.

“It was okay when I got a perfect score in everything except for math.”

Oh my god.

I don’t know if I can say this to a person who studied hard, but it was a very ignorant way.

‘Just because you’re an elite in this industry doesn’t mean you’re a practical genius.’

On the contrary, I could indirectly feel his efforts to become a talented person after entering the school.

As I was thinking about it, Ju Ji-hoon laughed and said,

“Oh, by the way, I did get into Hankook University, but I left. I heard that school life in Hankook University is boring because you only study there.”

It was a fact that I already knew.

However, in my experience, there was no loss in responding to others when they’re bragging.

This was especially the case when the other person buys you a meal.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

“Right?”

“Yes, very cool. You’re the best, I’m proud of you, I respect you. I’m sooo jealous of you.”

When I pretended to know nothing and praised him, his nose seemed to rise all the way to the end of the sky.

[ TL/N – You know that thing about lifting your chin and smiling when you feel proud and all that? Yeah that, except nose ]

“Did you hear that? I’m such a great person”.

“You’re annoying.”

“Huh? I can’t hear you because your voice is low-pitched.”

“Low-pitched? Is my voice deep?”

“If you hear it from a low place, it’s a low-pitch.”

“······.”

I smiled without realizing it.

‘I’ve never had such a noisy meal since I returned.’

It’s also my first time getting a meal from a senior.

I felt like I would last a little longer with them.

*

Do you know where all the wood in Korea is gathered?

They’re gathered in Incheon.

This is because most of the high-quality wood is produced abroad, so it is inevitable to rely on imports.

A few days have passed since the meeting.

Vroom.

I got on a truck with Ju Ji-hoon and headed to a lumber mill in Incheon.

“Where did you get this truck?”

“The professor lent it to me.”

“······.”

‘Give me money and lend me the truck, too.’

It was understandable that the professors at Han Yewon had high expectations for this contest.

We rode in the car for a long time.

As I was driving down the street, a sign caught my eye.

[SEONGJUN’s WOOD]

There was a large tree cut in half with the engraved name of the mill on its cross section, in case someone didn’t know it was a lumber mill.

‘There is no change here, now, or in the future.’

As soon as I saw the sign, I laughed because it was a place that I had already visited several times in my previous life.

It takes a few minutes to get there by car.

Soon, the place I was looking for came into view.

Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Ju Ji-hoon, who got out of the car first, said in a surprised voice,

“The wood here smells amazing”.

There were trees in all directions, but logs, pieces of glass, and tools such as saws and hammers rolled around.

And…

A man was heading towards us from far away.

A man with a beard that grew so wild that it was hard to believe he was Asian.

He was the director of Seongjun’s Wood, Yoo Seong-jun.