Ruegerfield spoke with a pleasant smile.
“It’s the typical hands of a mother. I also call them all-purpose hands. It’s not just about cooking and cleaning, but hands that do anything for the family… So, it can’t help but leave many traces.”
He seemed fascinated by the mother’s hands, examining them closely.
“But what’s truly amazing is that these hands of a mother… have hidden traits of an artisan. The calluses from sewing are quite different. It seems she handles machines well too, seeing how her fingerprints are worn in places, and the joints of her middle finger are bent. Wow, she has been making bags and clothes consistently for a long time, almost like a professional.”
The students’ eyes toward the mother changed significantly. Everyone wanted to take a look at the praised hands.
“These are my favorite type of hands. Do you know why? …Because you can see the love for making things itself. Even after many years, the pure passion remains intact, and it moves my heart.”
He quietly looked around and spoke.
“I hope that when all of you reach an age where you understand the world a bit more, you will have hands like these.”
“……!”
Although the mother didn’t understand all of Ruegerfield’s words, she seemed to grasp the atmosphere. Her face turned red, and she couldn’t lift her head.
“Oh, by the way.”
But the truly surprising event happened right after that.
Ruegerfield hurried to his desk.
“We don’t necessarily need a tablet for our class. As long as you can design, there’s no better tool than a sketchbook and pencil. But there’s no way for you to see my drafts, right?”
As he rummaged through his bag, the perceptive students were astonished.
Especially when he took out an old sketchbook, even Hyunsoo’s mouth slightly opened.
“There are a few of my drafts here. Some are quite usable, so take your time to look through and choose one you like as a sample.”
“……!”
- Wow, no way. Should I just throw away my tablet now?
- Is it the original? We get to see Ruegerfield’s legendary drafts in person?
- This is crazy. I just fixed my cracked screen yesterday on purpose… My card is crying, and so is my heart.
“Th… Thank you.”
The mother’s hands shook as she received the sketchbook.
Out of curiosity, Hyunsoo glanced at the sketchbook and made eye contact with Ruegerfield.
“Oh, you have quite an interesting pair of hands too.”
He didn’t read his palm.
“…But you can share your tablet screen with others, right?”
“Oh, yes.”
A firm boundary. It felt like a kind of warning not just to Hyunsoo but to other students as well.
‘Don’t even think about looking carelessly.’
The mother felt burdened by such attention but couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Wow.”
Every time she turned a page of Ruegerfield’s sketchbook, she let out exclamations and seemed to forget she was even in a class, deeply engrossed.
‘What do I do?’
Watching his mother, Hyunsoo felt both pleased and a bit troubled.
‘I originally signed up for this class in a team with my mom to ride on her coattails…’
With only 22 students in the small class, Hyunsoo had no choice but to work hard to avoid being a burden.
‘Though it seems like it might be fun.’
Hyunsoo’s primary reason for signing up for this special class was indeed for his mother.
Receiving top-notch design education, using the assignments here for her portfolio—it was the perfect environment for a mom preparing for fashion school.
‘And I also wanted to learn at least once.’
But that wasn’t the only reason. Hyunsoo also had a special interest in design.
‘Since when?’
It came to him immediately.
Looking back, it was a funny story. He started attending an art academy in elementary school following the prettiest girl in his class.
‘Shin Yooreum. 5th grade, class 3. She sat in the second row of the first column, and not only was she pretty, but she also had a great personality, so everyone had a crush on her. Hmm… Looking now, she wore different headbands for each day of the week?’
Hyunsoo felt like a stalker with his perfect memory.
Anyway, he started with the childish desire to impress her, but later he genuinely became interested in art itself.
It was fascinating. Drawing things as they appeared, drawing abstractly. He wanted to do really well, so he clung to it, even eating less for a while, but gradually distanced himself as he received gifted education in middle school.
‘I planned to study art more later.’
But everything changed after the accident. Things he wanted to do someday became things he could never do again.
I should’ve done more when I could.
Lying in bed, he would wonder what might have happened if he had pursued art then. What about soccer, which he had also diligently played for a while?
He wanted to try acting and had excitedly talked about starting a YouTube channel with friends.
Why did we have to emigrate and end up like this?
Reflecting on those memories, Hyunsoo smiled bitterly.
‘It’s okay, 17-year-old Hyunsoo. Even though it’s late, I’ll erase all those regrets now. I’ll cover them up one by one.’
At least for now, he planned to be grateful for his healthy body and experience as much as possible.
“Hey, can I share the iPad with you?”
Hyunsoo asked the girl sitting to his left.
She willingly handed over her iPad and scooted over, but then an arm blocked between them.
“Move.”
Suddenly, another girl intervened.
“……?”
“We agreed to watch together. Please move over.”
She looked like a Latina mix, with a slender yet very glamorous body… a physique that Hyunsoo, who had studied the human body a lot, found hard to understand.
‘A physique only possible in cartoons. Especially common among Latinas.’
Her face was a typical baby face. Hyunsoo unconsciously said her name.
“Adriana?”
“Oh? You know my name too?”
“Just your name.”
‘I know a bit more about your future.’
Of course, there was no personal connection even in the future. Adriana just became so famous that everyone knew her.
‘But she didn’t become famous as a designer. So she was attending FIT now.’
The girl sitting next to him sighed softly, packed her things, and stood up.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Her face showed she wasn’t scared but disgusted. Anyway, having achieved her goal, Adriana said proudly.
“You must have asked around about my name, huh?”
“Oh? No, I heard you talking with your friends earlier. They were asking how you could prepare and come alone. They called you a traitor. I think I heard something about liking younger girls landing you in jail?”
“…….”
Adriana glanced around awkwardly and then laughed.
“Haha. Was our joking that loud? Were you listening intently because I’m too pretty?”
“Um… Let’s say so.”
His dry response made her embarrassed, so she lightly tapped his shoulder.
“Don’t make people feel awkward. At least play along.”
“Still, I appreciate it. Even though another girl offered to share her iPad, you came to help me.”
“…You have a knack for putting people down, huh?”
“I don’t lie, even to very pretty people.”
“…….”
Adriana glared at him briefly before taking out her iPad.
Ruegerfield’s drafts were already displayed on the screen.
While flipping through them together, Adriana suddenly asked.
“So, which side are you on?”
“Which side?”
“They say you’re from Johannes High School.”
“And?”
“Are you rich?”
“…….”
Hyunsoo was visibly taken aback. He had met many straightforward people, but Adriana seemed to be the type who asked sensitive questions without hesitation.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. For reference, my family is poor. I survive by doing side modeling jobs and getting clothes.”
“…Then I guess I can say I’m poorer. I don’t earn anything.”
“Really? Is your family influential? It’s hard to get into your school unless you’re quite well-off.”
“…You seem to like gossip.”
“I’m just the type who asks questions directly. If you want, I won’t tell anyone. If you need collateral, I can share one of my secrets.”
“Not necessary. And we immigrated last year. Just an ordinary first-generation immigrant… No, I guess since I came with my parents, I’m automatically second-generation? Anyway, no connections.”
“Oh, then only one thing remains.”
Adriana’s eyes sparkled.
“And what’s that?”
“…You’re a genius. Getting into that elite circle without wealth or connections means you’re a student who can elevate the school’s name.”
“Well, it could be a charity project by the rich.”
“Oh… And modest too. Alright, you pass.”
Adriana had a curious talent. Even if you didn’t want to talk more, she would say something to pique your curiosity and make you ask questions.
“Pass? What’s good about passing?”
“Hmm, I’ll tell you when you graduate. Minors don’t need to know.”
Hyunsoo chuckled.
“Thanks. But what a pity. You didn’t pass.”
“…….”
“Shall we focus now?”
“…Sure.”
A critique involves sharing one’s analysis or opinions in turns. While they also talk about the strengths, the focus is usually on constructive criticism.
But Ruegerfield’s desired critique was slightly different.
- First, choose a draft you like, and think about how you would recreate that design as a student. Then show the results.
Complete your own design based on Ruegerfield’s drafts.
It sounded easy, but actually doing it was very difficult.
“I’ll go with this one.”
Adriana was the first to choose a draft.
It was Angelic, considered the most glamorous among Ruegerfield’s bag designs. Though impractical, it was aesthetically valued as a piece of art.
‘She chose a design that suits her well.’
She started working by transferring the photos to her phone, allowing Hyunsoo to comfortably browse the iPad alone.
‘Which one should I choose?’
While looking through Ruegerfield’s drafts… Hyunsoo had an unusual experience.
The first design to catch his eye was Coco’s most famous ‘1954’ model.
Known as the world’s first handbag, its unique classic look continued to be loved.
Especially the 1954 bag redesigned by Ruegerfield in 1985 was a representative work that still fetched the highest resale prices.
‘Huh? I guess I’ve seen more 1954 models than I thought.’
As he focused on the 1954 bag, memories of all the 1954 bags he had seen in his life came flooding back.
It was like searching for a keyword, and all similar images were retrieved.
He had seen it most during events, frequently on the streets, and often through photos of celebrities.
As long as he had seen it even once, the image vividly came to mind.
‘The design evolved with the times while maintaining its identity.’
As a popular line, even someone like Hyunsoo, who had little interest in handbags, had seen most of the 1954 designs from the past to the future.
Moreover, when he focused, he also remembered all the competing line bags similar to the 1954 line.
Hyunsoo suddenly ‘saw’ thousands, tens of thousands of handbag images. Although many were duplicates, just seeing them greatly enhanced his sense of aesthetics.
It was a kind of aesthetic sense.
By seeing numerous images, he established a clear standard for beauty and understood what was considered ‘beautiful’ from a public perspective.
“Hmm?”
It was a fascinating experience.
Ruegerfield’s 1954 was undoubtedly a beautiful bag to Hyunsoo.
But looking at it now, it seemed slightly outdated.
The standard of beauty was set to ‘2050.’
1954, being a classic bag, wasn’t as susceptible to trends, but Angelic had even more regrettable aspects.
‘However, that doesn’t mean a truly classic image from 2050 always looks better now. There must be an appropriate balance.’
Hyunsoo decided to start by drawing Ruegerfield’s draft exactly.
‘Will this work out?’
