Click.
The mouse wheel scrolled with a faint sound.
Twenty-three years old this year.
Choi Yu-bin, a college student who prioritized enjoying a happy campus life above all else, was browsing an online shopping mall. Despite her fingers moving busily, her face remained expressionless as she gazed at the screen.
“Ugh… There’s nothing I really like.”
Summer was nearly over and fall was approaching, so she was diligently browsing the internet, thinking she ought to buy some new clothes. But so far, nothing had caught her eye.
A knit sweater wouldn’t be bad, but…I’m more in the mood for a hoodie right now. Don’t they have at least one cute option?
She was already on the fifth shopping site. She’d begun scanning the pages more out of a sense of obligation than actual excitement when—
Ding!
“…Huh?”
The notification sound alerted her to a new message. She glanced to the side.
—Hey, you said you were looking to buy clothes, right?
It was a text from a friend.
—Yeah. I’m literally shopping online right now.
—Then check out the link I’m sending. They have some nice stuff. I bought something there for my boyfriend recently.
—Oh, so it’s pretty good?
—It has a good vibe. Might be thanks to the model, but anyway, it’s not bad.
Following the link her friend sent, Choi Yu-bin propped her chin in one hand.
She wasn’t sure how good the model really was. Right now, she figured no model would really make an impression on her.
Even if he’s super handsome, if the clothes are lame, there’s no point.
Tap, tap.
Resting her chin on her hand, she tapped her lips lightly with her fingertips as she examined the site her friend had recommended.
“Smile.”
A typical-sounding name for an online mall, but the very first banner photo she saw made her pause.
“Hmm.”
Her eyes lit up as she scrolled through the fall and winter outfits.
This is better than I thought.
She finally understood what her friend was talking about. The model was… quite something.
“There’s a real vibe here.”
It wasn’t just that he was handsome—something about the photo itself gave off a strong impression, as though urging you to buy the clothes.
Tap.
She stopped tapping her lips. Leaning away from the desk, she picked up her phone.
Maybe I can do a couple look with my boyfriend.
Scroll…
She kept scrolling busily. After a while, she reached for her phone.
Tippity-tap.
Her fingers moved swiftly across the screen.
—Hey, this “Smile” site is actually pretty good.
—Right? Someone I know recommended it to me recently. They have some surprisingly stylish stuff.
—Exactly. Though it’s a bummer how little they have for women. If they did, I’d jump on it right away.
—I know, right? They’re definitely established on the men’s side, but there’s nothing for us. Sure, I can vicariously enjoy dressing my boyfriend, but it’d be nice if they added women’s clothes, too.
Yu-bin couldn’t agree more with her friend’s comment.
She really liked how “Smile” offered clothing that was both modern and, in other ways, quite classic. The only downside was the lack of items she herself could wear.
—Still, maybe they’ll release them eventually. Reading the reviews, everyone else seems to be thinking the same thing we are.
—Yeah… They’ve produced so many pretty items for men, I’m kind of jealous.
—Exactly. If they launched women’s wear, I bet it’d sell like crazy. But oh well. At least we can buy these for our boyfriends.
—True that. I’m looking now to get something for my boyfriend, and I’m stuck because I like everything. I’m so curious who this model is. It’s the first time I’ve liked clothes this much because of a model.
Ending her conversation with her friend, she returned her hand to the mouse.
Should I get a part-time job…?
Even as she worried about her budget, her hand was already moving toward the “Buy” button.
“Was I really this photogenic?”
Looking at his own photos on the shopping site, Han Seong-tae wore a puzzled expression.
He wasn’t sure how to describe it. The Han Seong-tae in the photos felt different from the one in reality.
“I feel like they edited this too heavily…”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Hearing him mumble, Kim Min-seok, who was seated next to him, lifted his head. A bit of ramen broth clung to the corner of his mouth.
“Wipe your mouth, dude.”
“Oh, thanks. So, what’s all this about editing?”
“Ah… These photos. Your sister’s shopping site. They don’t even look like me.”
Kim Min-seok, dabbing at his mouth with the napkin Han Seong-tae handed him, snorted at the remark.
“Hey, everyone edits their photos at least that much. And in your case, they barely did any retouching—just brightened your face a bit.”
“How do you know that?”
“’Cause I helped out, obviously.”
Kim Min-seok spoke casually, then picked up his bowl to slurp the remaining ramen.
Slurp.
Watching Kim Min-seok down the broth in one go, Han Seong-tae blinked.
“You can do photo editing?”
“Not, like, major editing. But I know enough. I studied some of this stuff when I was younger.”
“Oh…”
That’s right—back in middle and high school, Kim Min-seok had studied a bit of video and photo editing. It would have been stranger if Han Seong-tae didn’t remember that.
“Oh yeah… You did take some editing courses.”
“Yup.”
Seeing Kim Min-seok nod, Han Seong-tae couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful. If only Kim Min-seok had kept pursuing his dream of becoming a director…
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“You look like you pity me, man.”
“That’s just your imagination.”
Always so perceptive, Han Seong-tae thought, shaking his head.
Then his eyes drifted to the shopping bag Kim Min-seok had been carrying since they met. Just how much had he bought at the mall?
“Hey, did you go to the department store or something? Why’re you lugging so much stuff around?”
“This?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not mine.”
“…?”
Could it be a gift for a girlfriend?
“But you don’t even have a girlfriend.”
“You psycho, what’s with the random jab?”
“I’m just saying, there aren’t many reasons to shop like that. It’s not like you’d buy clothes for Mi-so, right?”
“Well, that’s true.”
He and Kim Mi-so weren’t on bad terms, but they weren’t close enough to buy each other clothes, either.
“These are yours.”
“…Mine?”
“Yeah. My sister told me to bring them for you. Y’know, you modeled for her shoot, which helped sales more than expected, so she’s giving you a thank-you gift.”
At that, Han Seong-tae tilted his head.
“What does her sales have to do with me?”
“It’s not unrelated. They’re benefiting from your shoot.”
“Is the photoshoot that big of a deal?”
“It can be. It often is. If the pictures catch people’s attention, they’ll at least stop to look at them. Then, if they also like the clothes, they’ll make a purchase.”
He’d never really learned much about photoshoots. The one time he did one, he barely knew what he was doing.
“Anyway, don’t overthink it. It’s just a few sets of clothes.”
“But there’s more than just one or two pieces here.”
“Dude. It’s not like these are luxury brands. They only cost a few tens of thousands of won per item. Remember how I said you couldn’t return them since you wore them for the shoot? Think of them as ‘open-box’ items.”
“…Got it. Thanks.”
He’d already received something from them before, and here he was getting more. He felt a bit burdened but also grateful.
“No need to thank me. Oh, and my sister said she’d like to work with you again. Maybe you should get in touch with her.”
“She’s really busy, though.”
“She’d still take your call. You have no idea how often she talks about you at home. My ears are about to fall off from hearing your name so much.”
Kim Min-seok grumbled, but there was a faint smile on his lips. Despite his brusque words, he seemed genuinely pleased.
“Yeah… I guess I should give her a call.”
“Suit yourself. So, you’re gonna eat and then go practice?”
“Yeah. No classes left for today.”
“I’ll help you out. Not like I can avoid practicing, either.”
Nodding, Han Seong-tae rested a hand on the shopping bag. There must have been at least five outfits in there—together, probably worth a decent amount of money.
I was thinking I should buy some clothes soon, and now I don’t have to.
[“One Who Defined an Era” smiles contentedly, saying this person is quite considerate.]
It looked like the God of Acting was satisfied too. Still, he had no intention of just taking without giving back.
I’ll have to treat her to a meal sometime.
Even if money was tight now, a chance to return the favor would come eventually.
[“One Who Defined an Era” ponders how best to mix and match these outfits for you.]
Might as well wear them in style, since they were a gift.
‘[Smile] 9/30 19:20–19:30 New Orders: 3. Here is the latest order summary.’
A week had passed since launching the fall and winter lines.
Reading the steady stream of new order confirmations, Kim Mi-so couldn’t suppress a beaming smile.
I never expected such a huge response.
Before introducing the new collection, “Smile” averaged about 20 to 30 orders per day. That wasn’t exactly a small number, but after these new products went on sale, their daily orders had jumped significantly—now averaging 40 to 50. That was nearly 1.5 times higher.
“I never thought it would go up this much.”
She looked at the screen, feeling pleased. Most of the orders were for the newly released items.
Of course, it wasn’t just that the clothes themselves were good.
Seong-tae is like a lucky charm.
All the best-selling items had one thing in common: they were the ones modeled by Han Seong-tae. On items he modeled vs. those he didn’t, there was almost a two-fold difference in sales.
Buzz.
—Boss, about our next product line… We’re still planning to use Han Seong-tae as the model, right?
She was staring at the screen when her phone buzzed with a new message. She quickly picked it up.
—We need to discuss it, but yes, most likely. What do you think, Mi-yeong?
—I’m totally on board. He did an amazing job for us with these recent results, so if he’s available again, we should be grateful.
—You’re not wrong.
—If he’s in, we have no concerns. The only issue is finding a female model. We haven’t scouted anyone for that yet.
At “female model,” Kim Mi-so paused.
—The new line concept is couples’ outfits. We’ll have a problem if we don’t find someone soon.
Her upcoming collection required a female partner. You couldn’t shoot couples’ outfits with just Han Seong-tae alone.
—All right. We’ll keep looking for a model. We still have some time, after all.
Yes, there was still time. The problem was finding a model who would be a good match for Han Seong-tae.
As night wore on, her thoughts only grew deeper.
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