Chapter 18. Unpack the Bundle
“Pork cutlet.”
“Student. You eat pork cutlet every day.”
“Ah, yes. Pork cutlet is tasty.”
Geonshin ate nothing but pork cutlet at Gwangseong University’s student cafeteria throughout the project. To prepare the things he needed for the bundle meeting, he stopped by every day as soon as class ended.
‘Actually, I hate curry, but the only menu items are pork cutlet and curry. Sigh.’
Maybe because he kept missing the lunch timing due to classes, Gwangseong University’s student cafeteria was quiet every time he came.
‘Coming at a quiet time and asking for pork cutlet for a whole week, of course the auntie remembers me.’
At the table diagonal from Geonshin, two female students sat down holding snacks and coffee. When he saw the snacks placed on the table, an anecdote from before his regression came to mind.
‘Whenever I picked up that Daije Choco flavor, the employees would laugh and say I was eating an old-time snack, but back then, college students ate that. I really did come back to the past.’
Even so, among the biscuits with sweet chocolate coated on one side of a round cookie, the one people kept looking for all the way until before his regression was Daije Choco flavor. The knockoffs that came out afterward got pushed into the corner of the snack stand, after all.
Daije Choco flavor…
Sensing Geonshin’s gaze, the female students averted their eyes with an expression that said, “What?”
With his mouth full of pork cutlet, Geonshin took out the digital camera from his bag and carefully stood up. Then he quietly moved toward the students’ table.
And with an awkward smile, Geonshin said,
“Um, excuse me, do you maybe have time?”
The day of the bundle meeting.
At the time everyone was getting off work, Division 7 gathered in the small conference room.
Assistant Manager Soomin’s face, which clearly showed she had stayed up for several nights, was covered in dark circles. She did not show how tired she was, but Team Leader Mo’s cheeks had hollowed out too, like he had not properly eaten for days either.
As for Director Yoo-uk, his eyes looked sunken, as if he had spent the nights drinking because of his anxiety.
It was a sight of people slumped enough that you could question whether a meeting could even happen, sitting around the table.
Geonshin had not even arrived yet. Team Leader Mo shook his head and said in a low voice.
“Geonshin, if this bastard shows up empty handed, seriously, I swear!”
The mood in the small conference room apparently showed the stagnant mood of Division 7. A time when they needed a rebound.
Right then.
Bang!
“I’m sorry!”
Just before Team Leader Mo’s anger reached the boiling point, Geonshin flung the door open and ran in.
Team Leader Mo’s mouth was already overflowing with silent curses, and Assistant Manager Soomin’s half closed eyes finally snapped open.
“Hey! Come in carefully. You’re late, and you’re making such a big show of barging in?”
Director Yoo-uk unfolded his crossed arms and snapped at Geonshin. Then, looking at Assistant Manager Soomin, he said,
“Alright! No time! Everyone’s here, so let’s start. Looks like Soomin prepared a lot. Hurry and unpack your bundle. I’m serious right now.”
Assistant Manager Soomin pulled out the foam board panels she had been hiding behind her and placed them on the table. On them were several A4 sheets attached, organizing her ideas.
Even without explaining, you could read it at a glance. The title, “A New Landmark Within the City,” stood out, along with her design for the sports center roof in a distinctive shape.
Assistant Manager Soomin said she referenced the original structure of the Sydney Opera House. It was a plan where sharp, horn shaped structures would sprout above the wall that ringed the campus boundary, so people could easily see it.
And she also explained the advantage that at night, they could install line lighting on each horn and make the dark street feel lively.
But Geonshin, breathing hard, thought,
‘This is saying we should go even more dazzling to compete against Mirim Architecture’s proposal. But Mirim has already gotten design approval from Gwangseong University, so we can never win by design.’
Still, the unique roof form and the stylish sketch seemed to explain Assistant Manager Soomin’s design sense well. She really did have the skill that would be worth scouting for Yeongjo Architecture.
“Feels like it’s missing one punch. Hmm.”
After hearing the explanation, Director Yoo-uk scratched under his chin with his hand. Maybe it was a habit that came out when he was thinking, because he scratched under his chin the whole time he listened.
“Team Leader Mo. What do you think?”
Team Leader Mo, peering at the panel, said with a stern face.
“Those roof shapes do not function in any particular way and making them with the thought of only standing out means you lack understanding of the project. Saying you’ll put line lighting at night, it’s not like you’re turning a university into a nightclub. And the concept is too ordinary. That’s college student level.”
‘Assistant Manager Soomin must be hurt…’
This was Team Leader Mo’s venom, which he was hearing again after a long time. But Assistant Manager Soomin was unexpectedly calm. Then, as if she were used to his venom, she took notes on what he pointed out.
If she were someone with strong pride, she would have been intimidated by Team Leader Mo’s venom or tried to make excuses. But separate from her skill, Assistant Manager Soomin clearly had something worth learning from.
Her attitude of not filtering out harsh criticism and taking it in so she could improve herself.
“However.”
Maybe his venom was not enough, because Team Leader Mo stared through Assistant Manager Soomin’s sketch and said,
“This roof structure looks like it was designed with good sense. Your sketching has improved a lot too.”
“Right? I think that design could be useful on another project if we have one.”
Director Yoo-uk and Team Leader Mo ending on a positive note made the tip of Assistant Manager Soomin’s nose sting.
‘They are kind of tsundere, in a subtle way. Is that why Assistant Manager Soomin was holding out?’
The difference between a good architecture firm and a not-so-good one comes from outstanding talent and the difference in that talent comes from their attitude toward work.
The attitude of looking objectively at your weaknesses or what you lack and the posture of trying to get better.
The more Geonshin watched, the more he felt why Yeongjo Architecture was the best company at that time.
Even to Team Leader Na Geonshin, over forty years old, who had worked as a CAD monkey in this field before his regression, this was an unfamiliar viewpoint.
The more Geonshin had thoughts like this, the more strongly he wanted to stay here.
‘They are different. These people…’
Next, it was Team Leader Mo’s turn to present his plan.
Geonshin had been very curious what Team Leader Mo’s level was like.
Of course, he could guess from the architectural awards he would receive in the future and winning international design competitions, but still.
‘Right. What kind of bundle did Team Leader Mo bring?’
Team Leader Mo presented the study model he had prepared on the table.
It was a simple but detailed mass made of foam board. The moment he saw the model, Director Yoo-uk smiled.
He could feel the philosophy of the legendary architect Mies van der Rohe, “Less is more,” that less is better.
In fact, people with as many years as Team Leader Mo had started architecture back in the days when there were no modeling programs like SketchUp.
Because of that, the only way they could express their architectural blueprint was through models. They tended to build with their lives on the line for detail, to the point that they would use tweezers to stick on bricks one by one to express the material of the model.
That process appeared on the table as is. Team Leader Mo’s study model had no written explanation or title, but you could feel what he was trying to say in a single glance.
It was not complicated, and there was no crude fussiness meant to look pretty. The minimalism made you think of even more.
Geonshin could understand why Team Leader Mo had been especially sensitive about his own rough model. To Team Leader Mo, a model was one way to show passion within architecture.
He tore down the high wall that had been blocking the sidewalk side like a barrier and built a massive sports center in its place.
The flat mass of the sports center was placed long along the sidewalk. By opening the sports center to the front instead of a cold wall, it became the campus’s new face, and by putting some commercial facilities on the first floor, it was a plan that would allow citizens to easily approach from the sidewalk and use it.
It was a plan where the landmark within the city, using the sports center, and the interaction with citizens, using the convenience facilities on the lower floors, were appropriately harmonized.
Director Yoo-uk and Assistant Manager Soomin kept nodding at his thinking. It was clearly a good idea.
If they developed the design well, maybe they could even beat Mirim, and you could see that hope.
“As expected, Team Leader Mo, you really do make an incredible plan.”
“Team Leader Mo. I think this plan is really good.”
Geonshin nodded as he looked at Team Leader Mo’s plan.
‘As expected… This must be the best plan that comes out if you follow the design brief. The design sense and mass expression, and placing convenience facilities on the lower floors so ordinary people can easily approach, that is definitely an advanced plan.’
Team Leader Mo’s talent that ran ahead of the times.
As someone who had regressed more than twenty years, Geonshin could not help but feel it more vividly than anyone.
‘This is the skill of the person who was Yeongjo Architecture’s ace… But…’
But there was a serious problem here.
And that problem was something only the current Geonshin could see through.
Maybe he was satisfied with Team Leader Mo’s idea, because Director Yoo-uk said,
“Well. Anyone have a better idea than this? Even if you do, unless it can beat Team Leader Mo’s plan, put it away. Anyway, it ended faster than I expected. It’s late, so shall we stop here?”
Looking at the team members who had stayed up preparing for the bundle meeting, it seemed like he should send them home early today and let them rest. However, Team Leader Mo and Assistant Manager Soomin thought differently.
“That bastard Na Geonshin has not shown his face at the company for days, so it looks like he prepared something. We should see it. If it’s nothing, I won’t let him off.”
“Yes, Director. I want to hear Geonshin’s idea too.”
Director Yoo-uk found it odd that the team members insisted on listening, but he decided to go along with their opinion. What would change just by hearing one more person’s opinion?
“Fine, then Geonshin, unpack your bundle too. Let’s see if you brought something sleek like that KAIST bridge again.”
Geonshin took out his laptop. It was an old, thick laptop, clearly worn and faded. As he opened the creaking monitor and pressed the power button, the sound of the fan spinning rang out loudly.
“Did someone turn on an electric shaver?”
At Director Yoo-uk’s joke meant to lighten the mood, Geonshin felt a little embarrassed.
‘Hmm, once I get my part time pay, I should buy a laptop first. It was nice seeing it again, though.’
A junk laptop that took more than a minute just to boot. Even by the standards of 2002, it was a performance that was not very satisfying.
How much he suffered, doing work while carrying this junk around…
Geonshin opened the PowerPoint and turned the laptop around to reveal the screen.
The PowerPoint title, pasted in huge letters, was as follows.
“The law of opposites?”
Team Leader Mo read Geonshin’s title with curiosity.
When Geonshin hit the space bar, an unexpected image appeared on the first page. It was Daije Choco flavor snacks.
‘What is this? What snack is that? What is Na Geonshin trying to pull this time.’
With a first slide that made it impossible to predict the content at all, Geonshin unpacked his bundle.
<Farnsworth House, Mies van der Rohe (Mies van der Rohe, 1950)>
Daije (Digestive biscuits – chocolate)
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