Hyunsoo silently nodded as he looked at his mother’s design.
‘This one suits mom better.’
His mother had been focusing on rather experimental designs for a while.
Influenced by young students at FIT, she used bright and flashy colors. The basic structure was also conceived to stand out.
It was a similar direction to the new releases from many luxury brands recently.
‘Indeed, with the increase in luxury consumption among young people in recent years, there have been a lot of young and trendy designs.’
However, it was a style that still did not suit his mother well.
Maybe she needed more time to adapt?
Her tastes and preferences were different from when she was in school, and she did not favor such styles herself.
‘So, mom struggled a bit at first.’
But she gradually improved.
Adriana’s assistance played a big role.
-Oh! I love the attempt to recreate common items in everyday life in a new way. Recently, famous brands have been releasing designs inspired by things like saddles or shoe bags.
Adriana had a slight lack of ability to create designs, but she loved fashion and had a keen sense, so her feedback was great.
His mother constantly improved her designs by creating synergy with Adriana.
-This is so pretty! The colors turned out well, and I can’t wait to see the real thing. Hyunsoo~ what do you think?
-Oh, it’s definitely nice. With this shape, it’s not only pretty on the outside but also seems to have quite a bit of storage space.
It had reached a level that could move to the production stage at least once or twice.
But each time, after much consideration, his mother scrapped the designs.
-I don’t know. They’re all so similar; it’s disappointing. Sorry. Can I keep this and think about it a bit more?
Despite her eyelids twitching from exhaustion, his mother was rarely satisfied. Hyunsoo thought he resembled his mother and smiled faintly.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to overcome with just passion.
‘Too many designs were created in a short period, exhausting her sense.’
Hyunsoo had experienced this a lot during his company days.
He reviewed dozens of similar designs for a single product, and eventually, he couldn’t tell which was better.
It’s frustrating when you feel like a much better design is just within reach, but you can’t quite achieve that final 2% without experiencing it.
‘Should I tweak it just a little?’
While looking at his mother’s design for a long time, Hyunsoo noticed some parts that particularly caught his eye.
With his aesthetic sense, he could spot the shortcomings just by looking at the design.
Swish swish-
He made very slight improvements. It took merely 20 seconds to add a few touches without even needing to erase anything.
It was so minimal that he couldn’t even claim to have participated in the design.
‘Good. Mom will be satisfied with this, right?’
After draping a cardigan over his mother, Hyunsoo quietly left the studio.
The next morning.
‘This could really sell, I think?’
Hyunsoo was making salmon avocado toast and an omelet filled with mushrooms and various vegetables, a favorite for both his mom and Adriana, for breakfast.
The first attempt tasted okay but had some clumsy parts, while the second looked pretty too.
‘This is for Adriana.’
The third attempt was perfect in terms of the ratio of ingredients and cooking method, making even Hyunsoo, who made it himself, salivate.
‘This is for mom.’
Just as he was putting his heart into the plating he recently got into,
-It’s finished!
Suddenly, his mother’s cheerful exclamation echoed through the house.
‘Did she just see it now?’
Hyunsoo managed his expression and slowly went up to the studio.
“Mother!! Are you okay? Did something happen???”
“…….”
Adriana, who used the next room, had already arrived.
She seemed to have been changing clothes, wearing only a T-shirt and underwear below. She looked at his mother with worried eyes.
“Mom is fine, so how about finishing getting dressed?”
“Oh… good morning. Look at me. Making things difficult for our healthy teenage boy from the morning?”
She awkwardly pulled down her T-shirt to cover her underwear, but the more she did, the more her body stood out as the neck area stretched.
“Did I ever say you were disqualified?”
“Hey! I just ran over because I was worried. Would I have felt okay if mom got hurt?”
Adriana grumbled as she returned to her room.
Meanwhile, someone else was looking at Hyunsoo with a sympathetic gaze.
“…What.”
“Sigh. You are indeed my son.”
“…Reliable?”
“Your father’s dream seems distant. He wants to see many grandchildren, but I’ll have to lower his expectations soon.”
Hyunsoo protested with a bewildered face.
“Your son is just 17 years old. You know that’s 16 in this country, right?”
“A mother can tell just by looking at the sprout. There’s no such thing as a bad man, kids like you are really…”
“Yes, yes, yes. I’ll bring a decent, prolific woman, so don’t worry too much. What’s the good news in the morning?”
Fortunately, he seemed to succeed in changing the topic.
His mother proudly displayed the design draft.
‘Let’s really act surprised.’
Hyunsoo exaggerated his expression, raising his eyebrows and opening his mouth wide, in case his mother noticed.
“Oh? This is.”
…Then he genuinely got surprised.
“Tada! It’s finally finished! What do you think, son?”
It wasn’t the design Hyunsoo had slightly altered yesterday.
“This… I haven’t seen this before?”
“I drew it as soon as I woke up today. Do you know how much I struggled with this project? I even designed it in my dreams. If only it would come out smoothly in dreams. Instead, I was straining my brain more than in reality, and then Adriana passed by. Carrying a handbag I had never seen before.”
“Me???”
Adriana, who had hurriedly put on yoga pants, ran over and listened to his mother’s story.
“Yes. It was so pretty that as soon as I saw it, I wanted to buy one.”
Then suddenly, his mother burst into laughter.
“The funny thing is, even while looking at it, I realized, ‘Oh, this is a dream. I’ll forget it soon after waking up,’ I was aware. So as soon as I woke up, I hurriedly drew it.”
“Wow, what an amazing dream. They say geniuses get inspiration even in their dreams, wow. It’s really well-made. It looks stylish in one way and vintage in another. The balance is just right. What do you think?”
Both women’s gazes were fixed on Hyunsoo.
“……”
Hyunsoo remained silent for a while.
“Sigh.”
The more he looked at his mother’s design, the more he felt like sighing.
“Is it just so-so? Is something missing?”
With his mother’s confidence suddenly shrinking, Hyunsoo was startled and quickly gave her a thumbs-up with both hands.
“No?? It’s the best! As expected, you’re my mom. How did you come up with such a design?”
“What, you’re not just flattering me because you’re afraid I’ll scrap it again?”
“Nonsense. Why would I scrap this? If you say to scrap this too, I’ll form a separate team and use it as it is. You know you did well, why are you fishing for compliments?”
“Hohoho, right? I do like it a bit.”
“Oh no, it’s not just a bit. It’s very beautifully done! I really, really like it… Ugh! Why am I tearing up?”
Adriana, who had been speaking with a bright smile, soon became tearful and even started crying.
“Sniffle, thinking about how hard you worked, mom… I just can’t help it. I’m so glad. I prayed every day. I’m so happy you got the results you deserved!”
“Don’t cry. You worked just as hard, Adriana…”
Finally, his mom, relieved, hugged Adriana and started crying too.
Hyunsoo, watching them quietly, felt a weight on his shoulders. He was so happy to see them overjoyed with a satisfactory design.
Feeling pleased with their joy, he wanted to somehow gift them good results.
Hyunsoo, holding back his emotions, jokingly said,
“Aigoo, these women. Anyone would think you won a competition or something. Good job, both of you.”
He congratulated them until they calmed down and quietly left the room.
“……”
As he closed the door and left, despite the warm feeling, there was something that concerned him.
His mother’s design kept lingering in his mind.
‘I was too arrogant.’
Hyunsoo was quite shocked.
He had been confident. Even though he had yielded this opportunity for his mother’s designer career, he thought he could always come up with a better design and even dared to modify his mother’s design.
‘But I couldn’t have imagined such a design.’
Hyunsoo, who had built a database of numerous samples and developed his own aesthetic sense through it,
kept reflecting on his mother’s originality. Her unique creativity.
‘So cool and amazing.’
The extreme focus and effort had elevated his mother to another level.
Knowing how difficult that was, Hyunsoo was immensely proud of his mother.
Rugerfeld’s class.
Ahead of the final review next week, Rugerfeld held individual sessions with each team to give last-minute feedback.
Since it was solely about the design and production, Hyunsoo left that part to his mom and Adriana and focused on his own ‘preparation.’
[Me: Are you almost here?]
[JohNakhGwe: Oh my♡ Can’t you wait? Do you already miss me? Then please do it.]
[JohNakhGwe: …Ignoring me because you’re embarrassed.]
[JohNakhGwe: I’ll be there soon. I was busy preparing the equipment.]
[Me: Thanks. It seems like we’re almost done here too. Come safely.]
Just as Hyunsoo was about to close his phone.
-Isn’t he funny?
At first, he didn’t realize they were talking about him.
-He pretended to listen attentively at the beginning, but it was all an act. While others are busy preparing for the contest, look at him playing with his phone.
-What can you do? He’s not even a design major. Just padding his resume with ‘mentored by Rugerfeld’ for college application? It’s obvious.
‘Interesting.’
Jealousy and envy exist in any area of society.
Hyunsoo, who was used to this, just ignored it.
Although he couldn’t help overhearing due to his exceptionally good hearing.
-I heard he’s not even involved in the design and production for this contest?
-Really? Such a good designer, and he’s not involved?
-They say he’s focusing on marketing and launching. Crazy. What a deception. In this situation, he should focus on what he does best. How ridiculous must we seem to him?
More people joined the gossip, showing interest in the story.
-It’s annoying. To someone, this contest, which we’re risking our lives for, is less important than a school assignment. Imagine what other FIT students will say if they know someone like him exists?
-Just look at how he formed his team. It’s clear he doesn’t care about the results. Sure, you can say his mom is understandable. A son worrying about his mom can’t be criticized. But rejecting all other talented students and bringing in Adriana? What’s the reason? Just the three of them, doing what?
At that moment, one person, while glancing at Hyunsoo, whispered discreetly.
-I heard he brought Adriana home and played with her for a week? Rich boys never change their patterns, do they? Disgusting, all men are the same.
Hyunsoo quietly stood up from his seat.
“……”
The moment he stood up, the people involved in the gossip fell silent.
They awkwardly smiled, pretending to have a serious discussion, suddenly giving feedback to each other.
Hyunsoo approached them and looked at each one directly.
Some of them had suggested forming a team together when the contest was announced.
‘What can I say to these kids?’
Hyunsoo sighed and said just one thing.
“Gossiping about others, wait until the results are out.”
Receiving a text from Angela saying she had arrived, he left.
The students resumed whispering.
Already determined to do his best, he resolved to deliver definitive results for the sake of his teammates as well.
In the past, Hyunsoo had confidence in his company’s products.
He designed each product solely for customers with disabilities, regardless of the company’s profit. He didn’t skimp on technology development.
The result was financial difficulty. Sales were lower than expected. He thought word-of-mouth would spread quickly because the products were excellent, but he was mistaken.
After many trials and errors, Hyunsoo realized the importance of marketing.
‘At least people need to know the product exists to choose it. If the product can evoke certain emotions every time it’s seen, that’s a luxury.’
With this intention, Hyunsoo created a video with Angela.
When they watched the final product after editing it together,
Angela extended her hand for a handshake.
-Oh, I finally found it! If you don’t want to be a life partner, become a Mituber partner and conquer the world with me?
And with four days left until the contest deadline, the completed video was uploaded.
