I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 199



Only Noblemtl

Episode 199. Black Snow (3)

“ha ha ha!”

“Is this okay?”

“Phew! Stop talking nonsense.”

The sound of laughter and chatter could be heard all the way down the hallway of the co-working space.

Perhaps it was because of the sense of camaraderie that they were all running toward the same goal. The designers and writers sometimes forgot about the competition and hung out with other teams. Strictly speaking, they were a family gathered under the roof of Shasha, and even though it was a competition, it was difficult to maintain the tension that seemed like it would explode throughout the preparation period.

“I wonder if something fun is going on?”

Jang, who had been frozen for a moment after confirming the sound, smiled brightly and opened the door to the shared workroom.

“page!”

“Welcome!”

“I was already missing you!”

New designers with a knack for politics and tightrope walking were quick to welcome the market.

“I was wondering if everyone was preparing well.”

Jang’s eyes scanned the interior of the workshop and found Humphrey.

“Oh, Humphrey.”

And then, without difficulty, Jang found Humphrey crouching in the corner and shook him with one hand.

“Okay… … Chapter.”

Humphrey also responded slightly to the voice calling him.

“You’re back? Yes, this is your seat. Good job.”

Jang nods his head blandly.

On the surface, he seemed like an inclusive leader.

“You met the first deadline successfully, right? I believe you will continue to do your best until the end.”

Humphrey nodded quickly at Jang’s words, who took care of him like the eldest son.

“Hmm. Since Humphrey is here, how about we finish talking about what we discussed last time?”

And Jang carefully laid the groundwork. He approached the target with elegance, without rushing, but with precision.

“The keywords for this haute couture show, as I said last time, are ‘contrast and balance.’ Even though the showrooms of new designers are a bit separate from the main show, it would be good to share keywords and go together.”

Several new designers nodded at the end of the speech.

The design that Jang showed us in our previous meeting emphasized contrast and balance through colorful combinations, revealing both rigor and confidence.

By boldly choosing asymmetrical and perfectly proportioned, restrained and intense colors, and materials at opposite ends, the team created an atmosphere as if two completely different worlds were meeting.

They were not chaotic but rather had a solid form, which was also the design that Jang was aiming for.

It contained the will and meaning to bring the glory of Shasha, which remained in the past, into the present and future.

Anyway, Jang gave generous advice to new designers based on him.

The reaction was explosive.

Balance and symmetry are actually basic design elements, so they can be easily incorporated into the existing work of new designers.

Just highlighting a few features can help bring out a common concept, and it was a chance to get a one-point lesson from the senior designer, so there was absolutely no reason to turn down Jang’s advice.

In this way, Jang has naturally become involved in the work of new designers and taken the lead, and now he has reached out to Humphrey’s work as well.

“I’ve seen other friends’ work before, but I don’t have any information about Humphrey’s work.”

“Oh, I, I.”

Humphrey stuttered.

“I decided on a theme called anti-war.”

“Oh, a twist?”

As if it was the first time he had heard of it, Jang showed interest and approached Humphrey’s workbench.

“It’s interesting, but I can’t really get a feel for it just by hearing the keywords. I wonder if it can really harmonize with the main keywords.”

As Jang frowned slightly, the other designers quickly stepped forward.

“Don’t do that. Take it out. Since you’re in a shared workspace, aren’t you going to share the work process and content to some extent?”

“Yes. Show it to us while you still have time. If it’s the same design as last time, we need to be prepared.”

The atmosphere is such that when the moment comes, people rush in.

As Humphrey flinched and fiddled with his sketchbook, Jang slowly waved his hand away.

“Don’t push everyone. That day, we shared our work freely, and if we do this, Humphrey might feel pressured.”

And Jang smiled warmly at Humphrey again and said:

“Shall we have some tea time? Let’s look at those sketches together.”

That was when.

“Can I go there too?”

Su-hyeon, who had been barely visible until now, joined the conversation with a big smile.

“Huh? Who?”

Jang frowned slightly.

“I’m Humphrey’s partner. Humphrey’s work and my work are like one body, so I think it would be good to go together when discussing design.”

Soo-hyeon smiled brightly, pretending not to know.

For a moment, sparks flew from Jang’s eyes, but soon they died down.

“Oh, who am I? Then let’s go together.”

Jang smiled faintly.

***

Paris 10 years ago.

Jang, who visited Paris for Fashion Week, was wandering the streets to cool her pounding head.

“Damn it. You shallow people. What’s wrong with your eyes?”

The fashion industry has always been a battleground. With hundreds of brands being launched and disappearing every day, even luxury brands with a long history and tradition are not safe.

Sasha in particular was like that.

Because it had been in a steep decline since its heyday 15 years ago.

Exclusive leather handling skills, characteristic and elegant stitching, and an understanding of materials.

Shasha was a brand that valued and protected its own values ​​that had been passed down for a long time. The public recognized and respected it.

But at some point the enthusiasm cooled down.

The problem is the changing times.

Sasha, which failed to reflect trends, was perceived as an outdated brand, an old-fashioned relic, a luxury item that was sleeping in moms and grandmas’ closets.

“ha.”

Jang sighed and ruffled his hair. Chasing trends while maintaining heritage.

It was the fate and driving force of luxury goods.

But it’s easier said than done. A perfect design that preserves the old while making it look new just never came to mind.

“If only it weren’t for Jenny.”

Jenny, the former head designer, is once again feeling resentful.

She made several unreasonable attempts to make Sasha look younger, but this caused the remaining brand value of Sasha to plummet.

Eventually, Jenny was forced to step down from her position as senior designer, but she had strongly established the ridiculous image of an old person trying to act young in Sasha, making things twice as difficult as seeking change in the existing Sasha.

“Haaah.”

Jang let out a long sigh and rubbed his stiff shoulders.

A party where designers and fashion people representing each luxury brand gather.

There was one very mischievous fashion journalist there.

He said he had prepared a fun picture quiz and got people’s attention by asking them to name the brands they thought of when they saw the pictures. For example, if it was a picture of the latest red sports car, he would point to Kiera, a brand that quickly rose to the ranks of luxury brands after its successful launch five years ago.

People were quite interested in matching brands by looking at intuitive photos and illustrations.

The problem was a two-picture painting presented at a time when excitement was running high.

The first photo showed the back of a woman with long hair and wearing skinny jeans.

The second photo was of her smiling brightly and turning around to reveal her face.

“Fuck! Fuck!”

Even thinking about it again made me feel hot and my stomach explode with anger.

The woman who looked back was an old woman who looked to be in her 70s. Her face was covered in wrinkles. She must have been a great beauty when she was young, but her face had become colorless in the face of time, and so she had a sad look.

The problem came next.

The people who had been laughing and chatting suddenly stopped talking and looked at Jang.

Jang’s face grew redder and redder, and the reporter, with a face that looked like he was dying of laughter, shamelessly shouted, “Is there anyone who can tell me the correct answer?”

Designers who value dignity but also pursue fun are starting to make a comeback one by one.

It was inevitable that Jang would jump up and leave the party.

Swish-.

Jang lifted his wrist and checked his watch. He came to Paris not only to look around Fashion Week, but also to recruit excellent craftsmen from the workshop. And that day happened to be the day he had scheduled to interview several people.

“Hmm.”

Although time was tight, there was no harm in going early. Jang quickly walked to the meeting place.

And a few hours later.

“I like that guy.”

Jang was excited, his face completely forgetting the unpleasant incident from earlier. He had discovered a coveted talent in the workshop he had visited without much expectation.

He was only eighteen, but his fingertips were so sharp and confident that he could be said to be no less skilled than those of craftsmen with fifty years of experience.

A boy with innate talent, intuition, and the kind of effort that could cut through flesh and bone. His name was Humphrey.

“Come with me to America, Humphrey. I’ll show you a new world.”

Jang reached out to Humphrey vigorously. Humphrey was a consummate engineer, and Jang figured that if he hired him, his somewhat vague designs would be taken up a few levels.

If I had known that the introverted Humphrey actually harbored a dangerous spark inside him that would grow so quickly that it would threaten him, the proposal that day would never have been made.

***

“This way.”

Small conference room at the end of the hallway on the second floor of the Shasha Annex.

Inside, there were four single sofas facing each other, and a large table in the middle. It was a good place for small groups to have conversations.

Jang, who was sitting on the sofa in a skillful pose, guided Humphrey and Su-hyeon to the seats opposite him.

“Wow, the conference room is really stylish too.”

Su-hyeon sat on the sofa, praising the interior that revealed Shasha’s identity.

“I… I like it here too.”

Humphrey smiled slightly and agreed with Soo-hyun’s words.

‘Humphrey.’

Jang studied Humphrey’s face carefully.

Ten years ago, Humphrey, whom he had selected and treated like an arm and a leg, began learning design from over his shoulder.

The ability to learn was enormous, and at first, Jang was impressed by it and taught him various things he needed to know.

At that time, I really hoped that things would go well.

The revival of Sasha was difficult to achieve with just one designer’s reform. A junior Yang Sang was urgently needed to help, and Jang once hoped that Humphrey might be able to fill that role.

But that’s what it was.

Humphrey betrayed expectations.

He kept coming up with designs that deviated from Shasha’s direction.

It was no use giving him warm advice or getting angry all at once. Humphrey repeated the annoying design as if he had no other choice.

The problem was an unexplainable energy.

It’s definitely not this, but it keeps coming to mind. Humphrey’s design is so strong.

This can’t be happening.

One day, when he realized that he was actually being influenced by Humphrey’s designs while holding and shaking Humphrey, Jang made a difficult decision.

Although he is a talented person who has been raised with care, we cannot leave him like this.

Now, only a designer of his caliber can notice it, but when Humphrey’s talent blossoms and it becomes impossible to hide it, it will be too late to turn back.

If we make a mistake and another designer like former chief designer Jenny is born? Sasha will be completely ruined. To the point where she will never be able to recover.

That was absolutely horrible.

‘You can’t put a skeleton on Sasha.’

Transformation is very important, but it doesn’t mean we can accept Humphrey.

Sensing an instinctive sense of danger, Jang began to secretly create an excuse to shake off Humphrey from that day on.

In the end, Humphrey packed his bags and headed to the warehouse, and it seemed natural that he would leave Sasha as he seemed to be in a slump even during this show.

I wanted a quiet farewell, but Humphrey came with a new theme.

A reversal? It felt completely different from the previous destructive images of skulls, bones, death, and blood. Even so, it wasn’t easy for this situation to be reversed, but it still felt awkward.

So Jang was going to confirm the identity of that emotion one last time.