ASTRONOMY | SEUNGJIN

27 - Like art?

Sunlight filled his room as he was woken up by a phone call from his secretary.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"You ask me this every single time you go to Busan; no, Jeongin, I don't want to come."

"Okay, fine"

Jeongin gave up with a sigh. This wasn't the first time Seungmin rejected his offer.

"But they're opening a re-"

"I don't care, Jeongin. My decision won't change; now go. Chan hyung is probably waiting for you.

"Okay, I'll be back by Monday."

It's not like he doesn't want to come to Busan- come back, if I must say- but he wasn't ready. Wasn't ready to face the past, the people he left, and him... he wasn't ready to face him.

Not after leaving without a word, not after hurting him and disappearing for five whole years. He had this initial fear of not being welcomed if he came back, and the worst part is that he knows it's his fault, so they weren't to blame, he was.

Weekends without his trusty secretary were honestly boring. When Jeongin wasn't there to bother him, Seungmin would always drown himself with work, and that's what he was doing right now. Gladly, Monday came fast, and Jeongin was back.

"Why am I your secretary? I should be your innovator instead! I mean, look at these great ideas!" Jeongin stated, complimenting himself on the thoughts he had shared with Seungmin.

"I'll take that into consideration," he stood up, making his way to his next meeting. "My idea, or me being the innovator?" Jeongin followed him, it's part of his job to follow Seungmin everywhere.

"Your idea, it seems pretty doable." The door was opened for them, leading them to the office room full of people.

taking a seat as someone presented a PowerPoint presentation in front.

boring, it was boring. He'd rather be in his office sketching some designs than be here listening to nonsense business proposals that weren't even great. ideas that he won't use. not for him, not for the company. So what's the point of being here?

"Pause." Everyone in the room shifted their attention to him with the sudden statement. "Yes, Mr. Kim?" the presenter in front asked, hands sweaty and heart beating at an unusual rate. He was nervous.

"I don't like it," Seungmin spoke. "The idea is nice, but how about the execution?"

"This will cost a lot, and with one wrong move, everything could be wasted."

"What makes you so sure that this won't fail?" Everyone in the room went quiet.

He has always been serious about this company, about his job. Who would've thought that the quiet kid in high school would turn out to be a strict boss that employees would be afraid of? Why wouldn't they be scared? Seungmin was not one to show violence, but the things uttered from his mouth were enough to make an employee cry.

"I- ..." the employee stood embarrassed as he couldn't reply. He knew the presentation had flaws, a lot of it and he thought that would be the worst part, but no, being called out by Seungmin in front of everyone was. He felt humiliated.

"Take a seat."

The employee hurriedly bowed and apologized. "Instead of that, my secretary over here has ideas to share." Jeongin was surprised by the unexpected call. "Me-?" he uttered, not fully comprehending what Seungmin just said. "Yes, please do share the ideas you have been telling me earlier. I'm sure all would love to hear it."

Jeongin stood in front without a presentation to present but here he was talking. This wasn't part of his job, but it was Seungmin who asked him to do it. Who was he to refuse?

"I thought maybe instead of just launching a new collection, what if we did it with a collaboration? It's very popular, and statistics show that sales go up by about 80% or more when two companies join forces."

An employee raised her hand. "Like what you said, it's very popular. What will make our collaboration different from others?" she questioned.

"Good question. As everyone knows, collaborations consist of brands working together like Dior x Converse, but I want ours to be different."

"How so?" Seungmin asked. "Perhaps, instead of collaborating with other brands in the same industry, what if we did it with brands that are not in the fashion industry? It's unique and will surely get a lot of attention."

Everyone starts whispering, contemplating Jeongin's idea.

Someone suddenly spoke, "Are you saying we could collaborate with businesses that sell plants or something?" Everyone started giggling as if she said something funny, but Jeongin was not going to let that bother him.

"It's possible if you ask me. Real plants on clothing could be something new, but my idea is rather different. I was thinking about something that is bold and creative that will catch people's attention."

"Like art?" the guy from earlier asked. "Exactly! A painter and a fashion designer? I think it's perfect!"

Unlike earlier, everyone who was judging him just minutes ago is now agreeing. With their heads nodding and talking to one another about how the idea was surprisingly good coming from a secretary,

"That's it, thank you," Jeongin bowed, returning to his seat beside Seungmin.

"You can't just put me on the spot like that!" The meeting had just finished, and they were now headed to Seungmin's next schedule. "Why not? You did great. I might not want to let you go at this point."

Right, Jeongin was only working for Seungmin temporarily. He was just here to get used to working at a company since he will be inheriting the family company. "Sure, hyung"