Chapter 60 (1) - The Mysterious Art Museum
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As I type our company's name into the search portal, my eyes nearly pop out.
[New Paradigm, W Hotel Groups #1 Hotel's New Theater, The Catacombs]
[Art Worlds Rising Star, Artist Company, Turns Theater Ceiling into Art]
[W Tree Hotel Hannam's Representative Yoo Min-young, Artist Company is the Best Partner!]
Not one or two, but over ten articles pop up.
What in the world is going on?
Swallowing hard, I clicked on the first article I saw.
[New Paradigm, W Hotel Groups #1 Hotel's New Theater, The Catacombs]
Reporter Choi Jin-hyeong | 2023.08.11 10:01
W Hotel Group, the operator of W Tree Hannam, announced their collaboration with the budding art company, Artist Company, to design the interior of their new theater, The Catacombs.
Artist Company, founded by Ban Jeong-hoon, who gained fame as the designer of the MG Electronics' groundbreaking refrigerator, Belle poque, and as its co-creator, is a promising company expected to earn over 1.2 billion won annually in refrigerator sales revenue R/S for the next five years.
The W Tree Group's board highly values Artist Company's artistic and design capabilities and has entrusted them with the theater's centerpiece, the ceiling painting.
The beautiful ceiling painting, an amalgamation of Baroque traditions and 18th-century Austrian Academism, is expected to synergize with the high-quality art performances to be held at the theater.
W Tree Hannam's new theater, The Catacombs, which saw an investment of 98.1 billion won since 2020, particularly in world-class sound systems, is set to open to the public by the end of October.
Yoo Min-young, the representative of W Tree Hannam, has announced the opening performance at the historic Catacombs, inviting the renowned Polish pianist Irina Sevanova, known as Titan.
Irina Sevanova is celebrated worldwide for her interpretation and expression of Chopin's music and is one of the greatest musicians to have performed at Carnegie Hall.
The ticketing site, currently negotiating with The Catacombs, is doing its best to secure exclusive rights to sell tickets for this performance, expected to be a solace for the people weary from the long-lasting virus outbreak.
After reading the article to the end, I swallowed hard.
"Jackpot."
Yeongju was speechless.
Although Ji-hyeon kept calling Yeongjus name through the speakerphone, she just stared blankly at the monitor.
-Yeongju, can you hear me? Is there something wrong with the phone? Hello?
It took Yeongju repeating my name about ten times before she finally came to her senses.
"Ah, sorry Ji-hyun. Let's talk later."
-So you go to such a great company but don't even invite me?
"It's not like that. I'll explain later."
-What should I tell the person asking if they're really going to take our job?
"I'll consult with the boss and call you back."
Yeongju hangs up the phone.
As the call ends, I unwittingly turn towards Yeongju.
Shes looking at me too.
Without thinking, we both yelled at the same time.
"Jackpot! There are over ten articles!"
"Crazy! We got a mention in the Irina Sevanova article! Insane!"
Huh? Something seems off. Is getting a mention good? Ah, who cares! I'm just overjoyed now!
"Hahaha! Hahaha! We got massive promotion without spending a dime!"
I randomly throw whatever is on the table into the air.
Papers scatter and fall to the floor.
Normally, Yeongju would've scolded me, but today she runs over, hitting me playfully while laughing.
"Stop the phone calls, damn it! Just pick and choose from what comes in! Lay back, damn it! Hahaha!"
"Right! Even if we just sit, calls will come in, look! You heard that person Ji-hyeon talking about whether a company like ours would take their job, right?"
"Yeah! Haha!"
"We did it! We really did it!"
Jumping around with Yeongju, we laugh and celebrate for a while.
Regaining our senses, we sit down at my desk and check all the other articles, smiling broadly at each other.
"It seems like Representative Yoo Min-young mentioned us a lot in the articles, right?"
"Yeah, they couldve just promoted the theater, but they deliberately mentioned us."
"Maybe the board members put in a bit of effort? Their reputation rises as people see the ceiling painting."
"Right, our boss is such a strategist. Using the same method as Klimt did, I was totally impressed! I admire my boss!"
"Haha!"
Youngju celebrates with a cheer.
"Wow! Our company's name going out with the Irina Sevanova article. This might even make it to international news."
Just earlier, she was happy that we got a mention in that pianist's article.
"Who is that, by the way?"
"What, you don't know?"
"It's possible not to know, man."
I'm familiar with famous pianists from the past, but I didn't have the luxury to keep up with modern foreign pianists' performances, given my circumstances.
Knowing my situation, Youngju explained without any snide remarks.
"A genius who won the Chopin International Competition at 14!"
"The Chopin International Competition? The one in Warsaw?"
"Yes! Poland, where Chopin was born, was so frustrated always losing the cup to other countries, but then Irina came and swept all the awards. Poland is making a big deal about her."
"How old is she now?"
"Wait, let me check."
Not remembering her age, Youngju quickly searched.
Seeing the photos on the portal site, I was genuinely impressed.
"She's very beautiful."
Yeongju rolls her eyes.
Typical men. Shes thirty-six this year.
Wow, she looks unbelievably young.
Foreigners often look older than Asians, but she looks like shes in her mid-twenties.
Maybe its just a flattering photo.
Yeongju shows me several photos and says,
Look, these are from her Carnegie Hall performance. You know Carnegie Hall, right?
The one in New York?
Yes, even Horowitz performed there. To stand on that stage is a great honor for any musician. Irina performed there when she was just twenty-two.
Only twenty-two?
What was I doing at that age?
Ah, digging ditches in the military.
Even though I was the breadwinner of my family due to the absence of my father, I was not recognized as the head of the household since I was a student and a recipient of basic living assistance, and thus was drafted into the army. While I was busy digging ditches, she became a pianist who had already performed at Carnegie Hall.
Wow, she performed solo without an orchestra?
She played concertos and solo performances.
It must have been nerve-wracking to be alone on such a big stage.
Shes a genius, so thats expected.
Really?
Is it effortless for a genius?
An ordinary person would naturally be nervous and trembling on such a stage, but a genius, with a strong heart, handles it effortlessly. Is that what defines a genius? I'm not sure.
That's as far as my interest in a foreign pianist whose name and face I barely know goes. Now back to reality.
"What if we get swamped with work? What about the juniors?"
"Hiring them as full-time employees right away seems like a big step."
"How about contract positions?"
"For a year?"
"Initially. We'll see how it goes and decide later about full employment."
"But some of them said they're going abroad for studies after a short part-time job."
"Leave it to their discretion. We'll just take the ones who want to work, right?"
"Okay, I'll interview the kids."
"Okay, I'll leave it to you."
What felt like an endless darkness now seems like a bright dawn. Revitalized, Youngju says we still need a website and goes back to her desk to call a senior she knows for help.
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