Fashion Genius Collects Stars - Chapter 99



Only Noblemtl

Episode 99 Sign

Dongwook’s eyes shook.

The man, who was large and had a beard like a bandit, seemed somewhat intimidated.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s right… … Right. You’re right. From a business perspective… … It’s better to aim for luxury goods… … They’re completely feasible, and the margins are much higher there… … .”

He verbally agreed with my opinion and accepted it, but his eyes and body showed intense regret.

He spoke while constantly checking my expression.

“Whether it’s in terms of money or fame… … . It’s right to just push forward as a luxury brand… … That’s right. That’s right… … . That’s, a reasonable judgment… … .”

After muttering something to himself like that, he suddenly got up and grabbed my shoulder.

“I, I. I’m fine! I’ll follow your wishes completely!”

It seemed obvious how much he had thought in that short time.

‘Ha… this guy, really.’

“Hyung. I think you’re misunderstanding, so I’ll make it clear. I’m not saying we should completely give up on popularity. That’s… … . That’s your dream, hyung. You want to make fashion easy and familiar to everyone.”

Dongwook’s eyes shook violently.

His expression, as if he had seen a ghost, seemed to be asking, ‘Did you remember that?’

one.

“I’ve never forgotten it. My brother and I are partners. Your dreams are my dreams. How can I forget that?”

“Yongwon… … .”

hmm.

I really like Dongwook hyung, but those eyes that always seem to tear up in excitement are a bit burdensome… … .

I naturally avoided eye contact and changed the subject.

“Anyway, listen to me until the end. So what I’m thinking is, let’s do it step by step.”

“Step by step?”

“Yes. Think about our current capabilities. Trying to run both luxury and mass-market lines? It’s not impossible, but it’s inefficient.”

“… … I guess so. Even for marketing right now, you have to diversify your investments with the same amount of money.”

“That’s what I’m saying. So let’s choose one for now. A luxury item.”

“Ah. So, let’s first grow into a luxury brand and build authority, and then grow a separate mass-market brand?”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about!”

I tried hard to persuade Dongwook hyung.

Dongwook hyung is my partner. This is something that is meaningful only if he agrees with it from the bottom of his heart and follows it.

The name known to the public now is . However, if you split the line into two and create a brand like , the recognition of one side will inevitably fall.

Now is the time to focus on and nurture the name that has begun to take root in people’s hearts.

He spoke passionately, spitting out saliva.

“So, let’s make a proper luxury brand. Like Dior, Hermes, or something like that. Let’s make it a brand that people would envy just by hearing the name. And then when that time comes, what if we launch a mass-market brand?”

“Even without doing any special marketing… everyone will pay attention.”

“That’s it!”

I looked straight at Dongwook and spoke as if I was driving a wedge into him.

“It may seem like a backtracking, but this is actually a faster way. I’m sure of that.”

Dongwook grabbed my shoulder.

“Yongwon!”

“Huh, huh?”

“You are a genius!”

Then he hugged me and started jumping around, then suddenly he turned around and started pacing around the office.

“Yes. That’s right. That’s right. First, establish yourself as the best luxury brand in people’s minds. Then, if you lower the price range and introduce a new brand? People will have greater favor and trust! That’s right! Yes. That’s what I wanted!”

The big man jumped around excitedly like a little child.

Well, that’s what dreams are like.

No matter how old you get, if you think you can really achieve it, your heart feels like it’s going to burst.

I was quietly looking at my favorite Dongwook hyung, and then suddenly I turned my gaze.

There was Baek Dong-soo, giggling.

“Huh… … . Dior? Hermes? Huh. The place I work at… … is becoming a world-class luxury brand… … ? Hehehe… … .”

What’s with him?

I feel sick… … .

* * *

My brother and I quickly came up with a plan.

First of all, the plan to split the brand into two has been scrapped.

However, the plan to relocate the current store is still being pursued.

If all goes as planned, we will have two stores in total: one in Gangnam or Hongdae, and another in Mirinae Department Store’s Myeongdong branch.

“But bro. Is it confirmed that you’ll be opening a store in Mirinae Department Store in the second half of the year?”

“Um… … It’s not confirmed, but the store manager said it might be possible in the second half of the year.”

“Store manager? Mr. Im Ho-ah?”

“Yeah. I heard he said he had already discussed it with his superiors.”

“Oh… … . Well, there are no specific conditions?”

“Well. We should talk about the details when we meet, so I said I’ll come and visit you when you get back.”

“okay?”

Then what is there to put off?

I got up from the sofa and straightened my clothes.

“Then let’s go now. Contact me. See if I can see you now.”

“Right now? Right now?”

“Yeah. I have to hurry up and get ready. It’s already July. Fall will be here soon. I’ve been really late because of the .”

“Ha, that’s true.”

“Let’s go.”

Dongwook made a hasty phone call and drew a circle with his finger at me.

“Yes. Yes. Then I will leave right now.”

Leaving the store to Baek Dong-soo and the part-timers, we headed straight to the Myeongdong Mirinae Department Store.

“Hoo- hoo… … .”

As I entered the department store, I took a deep breath.

What can I say? It felt different than when I came here before.

“Hyung. See over there? It’s Chanel.”

“Hey. There are a lot of customers.”

“So. The more expensive it is, the better it sells… … Isn’t that amazing?”

In the past, when I saw a luxury brand, I just thought it was a luxury brand and passed it by, but now I care.

Since our was targeting luxury brands, they were our competitors.

of course…….

It was still a long way off.

“Someday, I will definitely break it.”

“Yes. Someday. But it’s far away now. We’re not even in the same weight class as Polo, let alone Chanel.”

“We can just raise it from now on. Then, shall we start by breaking it from Paul?”

“You punk. Confidence is good, right? With the genius designer Lee Yong-won, there’s no way it can’t be done!”

Listening to my brother’s encouraging voice, I looked around the lavishly decorated lobby on the first floor of the Mirinae Department Store.

Suddenly, everything seemed to sparkle more.

The facial expressions of the customers walking by carrying shopping bags were vividly captured in my eyes.

Somehow I could read their expressions more clearly than before.

Satisfaction. Annoyance. Curiosity… … .

But what really stood out were the expressions on the faces of customers in stores commonly referred to as high-end.

It seems more relaxed and full of self-love… … .

At the same time, what I feel is a kind of respect that goes beyond affection for the brand. No, should I say respect?

As I looked at it, I fell into a mysterious feeling.

What does it feel like to create a brand that is respected by its buyers?

If I could create a brand like that… … . would I be satisfied?

“brother.”

“huh?”

“Actually, I have a dream too.”

“dream……!”

“Yeah. It’s like my brother has a dream. It wasn’t like that before. I started doing this because… … I just thought I could do it well and make a lot of money. But things have changed a bit now.”

I remembered.

The charm of children discovered while carrying out the .

The expressions on the faces of the guys who looked happy in completely different clothes and styles.

And, Millief Eretishia’s performance in Central Park.

The power of Milif Erethicia, who influenced hundreds of thousands of people and made them laugh.

okay.

That became my dream.

I wish I could be like Millie, and influence people. I wish I could make them laugh and change them.

Just as I found new charm in the school zone children, I want to find that charm in more people.

and…….

After gaining that much influence… … .

My friends, I want to be a strength to my people.

I want to be a cool person who is not inferior to the world’s best star, Millief, and to our school zone, who will become the next generation’s best in the world!

I want to have influence and power that surpasses the presidents of Dior or Chanel.

So I want to be happy together with my friends.

That was my dream.

This Mirinae Department Store will be the first step towards that dream.

“Let’s go, hyung. Let’s conquer Mirinae.”

“Okay.”

We followed the staff’s instructions and headed to the office of the store manager, Mr. Im Ho-ah, of the Myeongdong branch.

* * *

“Welcome! It’s been a while. Designer Lee Yong-won.”

“That’s right. You saw it with Millie and Seong Jin-hee before, right?”

“Yes. I was really happy back then.”

Im Ho-ah greeted me with great affection.

That’s right. At that time, thanks to Millif and Sung Jin-hee suddenly busking here, sales increased several times. There was even a big newspaper article about it. People called it the Millif effect or something.

We sat on the sofa, drank tea, and chatted lightly.

And as soon as the greetings were over, we got to the main point.

“I heard that it is possible to move in during the second half of the year. If it is still possible, I would like to move in during the second half of the year.”

Im Ho-ah’s eyes lit up at my words.

“Of course you can. You can come in starting from mid-September.”

As she spoke, she held the contract out in front of us.

“I absolutely do not want to miss . I have already prepared a contract.”

Dongwook received the contract and began reviewing it.

I don’t know what to look at. This kind of thing is Dongwook’s business.

In the meantime, I had a conversation with Im Ho-ah.

“I’m really enjoying watching !”

“Oh. Thank you. The kids did a great job.”

“And the stage costumes for Millie! Wow, I was really amazed when I saw them. How did you come up with those clothes?”

“Milliph did a great job. Of course, I also had a hard time making it.”

The corners of the mouth gradually rise upward.

I felt really happy when I heard the kids in our school zone complimenting me and even complimenting my own stage costumes, which I was proud of.

“It’s really amazing. You do so many different things and even run a store. And you design new products according to the design.”

“That’s right. I was already on edge because of that. I had to finish the FW season new products quickly… … .”

Our conversation continued in a friendly manner.

But the moment I started talking about FW’s new product, Im Ho-ah’s face hardened.

“Huh? Wait a minute. The new FW season products haven’t come out yet?”

“Yes. I have a rough idea, but… …. I guess I have to kill myself now because of other things.”

Im Ho-ah looked back at me and the contract with trembling eyes.

“Th, th. It’s almost July… … . They haven’t even started production yet?”

ah.

Only then did I understand why Im Ho-ah was acting like that.

“Right… … . Other companies will make it much earlier.”

“That’s right. I’ll make it.”

The stress in the word ‘earlier’.

“That’s okay. That’s how it was originally done. I just came up with the design quickly.”

“No matter how fast I pull it out… … . Is that okay?”

“Yes. A week will be enough.”

Im Ho-ah’s eyes grew wide once again.

Oh, this is a bit embarrassing.

Fortunately, Dongwook, who had just finished reviewing the contract, said:

“Yes. There is no problem with the contract. It is exactly the standard contract for department stores.”

Im Ho-ah chuckled at those words.

“I put in a lot of effort. In fact, in the case of new brands, there are no cases where they sign contracts according to strict standards like this. There are also no cases where they suddenly let us move in during the second half of the year. Even though they said it couldn’t be done from above, I worked hard because I really wanted to get hold of .

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a special favor, it was just a standard that she met, but she made a fuss about it.

Yes. This must be the world’s objective assessment of us right now.

We should be grateful that places like Mirimae Department Store provide standard contracts.

Then she pressured me with her secret gaze.

Since I worked this hard, you should do well too. Hurry up and finish the FW season clothes and show me!

A gaze that seems to contain something like this.

but,

I had no intention of thanking her for her efforts, nor did I have any intention of reassuring her with words.

“Manager Im Ho-ah.”

“yes?”

“You will be proud of that choice for a long time.”

Everything just has to be shown through results.

With my answer,

Dongwook hyung signed the contract.

So we took a new step.