Chapter 1.2 - Dry Monsoon

Dry Monsoon

As if the 12-hour flight wasn’t long enough, the group had to ride in a rental car after so Ji-eun’s butt was sore. They were headed towards Berlin, where the gala was being held. Was she supposed to speak in German?

“Hey, you’ve come a long way.”

Having arrived in Berlin two days prior for the exhibition, Soo-wan looked much better than the group. Director Ko was the first to shake Soo-wan’s hand, who was dressed in a thin cardigan and skinny jeans. He then turned to Ji-eun and squeezed her arm.

“Did you suffer?”

“Yes. It was farther than I thought. Congratulations, senior.”

“Thank you. Why don’t you go unpack and get ready? The gala is at 5:00 PM, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to sleep off the fatigue.”

Soo-wan handed over the key cards prepared in advance and guided the party to the elevator. The hotel he chose was a famous chain hotel close to the concerto house where the gala will be held. Perhaps that was why Asian lodging guests were spotted everywhere.

When the elevator reached the 8th floor, everyone scattered towards their own rooms. They all had two hours to get ready. No matter how late, they would all meet again in about two hours. Everyone disappeared with weary faces, looking like they were about to collapse.

Soo-wan, who decided to stick with her, took her suitcase and followed her to the end of the hallway.

“It must have been a long flight, but you’re in high heels. Why did you show up dressed in a formal jacket and skirt?”

“I had a meeting before I came.”

“Then, did CEO Shin cut your paycheck because you didn’t work hard enough?”

“No, it was something personal. Ah, my suitcase, please. Thank you, senior.”

When she inserted the key card into the slot, the door opened with a light click. She was exhausted and tried to enter the room, but Soo-wan grabbed her.

“Thank you.”

“What?”

“For understanding.”

Due to his earnest words, Ji-eun smiled with tightly clenched lips and held her breath. Apart from simply just wanting to die or have a heart attack, she held breath when she wanted to stop thinking.

After calmly removing her arm from his grasp, she breathed out.

“I participated in the project as an assistant. I didn’t do the whole design, you’re the one who did everything. You don’t have to feel guilty, senior. It’s strange that my name was even included in the award. I’d rather the name of our office be used.”

“I’m glad you think so…should I have submitted under CEO Shin’s name?”

He scratched his head, said something insincere, and stared at her in silence. An awkward air hung between the two of them as they stood between the half-open door, so she walked into her room, leaving Soo-wan behind.

She pushed her suitcase into the corner of the room and took off her high heels. After rubbing her swollen and sore feet, she went to fill the bathtub with water. The room was small, barely fitting a single bed. Outside the window was a completely different atmosphere from Korea.

Ji-eun wanted to sleep after taking a bath, but she didn’t have time. She forced her aching limbs to take off her clothes and then sat in the bathtub filled with hot water.

Her stiff muscles immediately relaxed. She grabbed her toothbrush and, with toothpaste in her mouth, dove under the water.

The work Lim Soo-wan submitted was the Gapyeong villa of the painter, Kim Eung-soo, completed earlier this year. People often associate the word ‘villa’ with the rich, and the villa she designed was a kind of fortress full of perfect proportions.

Painter Kim wanted a villa with a different exterior and interior. By using his companion—a square canvas—as a motif, he wanted an impenetrable exterior design and Ji-eun had implemented it. During the process, she turned to Soo-wan for help in calculating the proportions.

In fact, Soo-wan was responsible for the commission. However, when he was unable to meet the deadline due to the parent company’s consortium building design, he handed over Painter Kim’s commission to Ji-eun.

Her first work was a design that had just won the architecture certificate, and she wasn’t able to put her name on it. However, Painter Kim knew who the architect behind his villa’s design was, so she was comfortable with it.

However, Soo-wan will be awarded the prize for submitting the work to the Red Dot Award. Of course, Soo-wan felt remorse and confessed first, asking her for forgiveness. Still, the lingering discomfort did not go away.

After washing away the foam from her body, she left the bathroom and wiped the water off with a thick towel. She blow-dried her hair and then stroked the back of her head.

“Wow.”

The concerto house was as magnificent as a medieval temple. Friedrich Schinkel, an 18th-century architect, was known for his Greek-style architecture and a person who had a profound influence on modernist architecture. Ji-eun had wondered why so many architects respected him, but as she stood in front of a magnificent pillar, she understood and felt the same.

“I heard Friedrich Schinkel’s grave is in downtown Berlin. I think I’ll go visit.”

Beside her stood Manager Yoon Sun-woong, who admired her words and asked why.

“I don’t think there’s any bone dust left…”

“It’s just that—it’s amazing you want to go to a cemetery. It’s like going to the Royal Tomb of King Muryeong.”

“Well, knowing and seeing is different from seeing without knowing. But it’s really cool.”

“I know right? Besides, it’s well-preserved and…I envy you.”

She exclaimed her admiration over and over again.

The red carpet that began from the stairs continued into the venue.

In the massive hall, attendees from all over the world chatted among themselves while enjoying champagne glasses. There were a lot of Asian attendees. Director Ko began to distribute business cards printed in English prepared for the event. He doesn’t even rave about the champagne that he likes so much. Instead, he approached designers he’s encountered through the media and appealed to the architecture scene in hard English.

“The CEO should reward the director.”

Ji-eun smiled at Manager Yoon’s words, who poked her ribs.

The awards ceremony that began long after lasted over two hours. Even those who cheered passionately at first waited for their names to be called in the end, and the sound of applause felt like a courtesy. Even Director Ko dozed off. Ji-eun thought that in the end, the world-class awards ceremony was no different from receiving a lecture from a headmaster.

When everyone grew exhausted, and their concentration began to fizzle out, Lim Soo-wan’s name appeared on the giant electronic screen. The model he made and the architecture picture taken by a photographer proudly displayed the screen.

The office staff stood up and cheered. Soo-wan, who met Ji-eun’s eyes, held up his plaque and bouquet and waved at her. She also gave him a warm round of applause and her hands hurt from clapping by the time she sat down. She turned her head towards a place where she felt a gaze, and there was Kwon Lee-hyun, who sat watching the awards ceremony with a straight posture.