Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 295 The Takeoff of "Designer Zheng" (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

Just as Lin Xiuyuan was feeling emotional in a Shanghai restaurant 25 years ago because of Jessica's meaningful Möbius strip ring.

In Seoul 13 years ago, the night gradually deepened.

Having just finished a day of personal activities, Jessica Jung dragged her slightly tired body back to her apartment in Cheongdam-dong.

Then she casually tossed her handbag into the entryway, and a few seconds later she practically "threw" herself into the soft sofa, closed her eyes, lay there, let out a long sigh, and pretended to sleep for a while.

After resting for about ten minutes, I regained some energy, got up, and went into the bathroom to remove my makeup and wash up.

As the warm water washed away her makeup and the day's dust, her nerves, which had been tense all day, finally found some relief.

After washing up and drying her hair, she changed into a comfortable silk nightgown and returned to the living room.

The instant noodles I made before blow-drying my hair are now at their perfect eating time.

And since she was alone, there wasn't much to be particular about her space, so Jessica Jung simply sat cross-legged on the soft carpet, placed the instant noodle cup on the coffee table, and started eating in small bites while watching the entertainment news on TV.

Simple, quick, and with a touch of the casualness of living alone, this is her daily routine after a busy workday.

After eating for a few minutes, the phone that was placed to the side rang with a familiar ringtone.

He glanced at the caller ID of Jessica Jung and saw that it was Krystal Jung. The corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly. At the same time, he picked up the phone, answered the call, pressed the speakerphone button, and tossed it aside.

"Hey, Soojung, what's up? Why do you have time to call me today?"

His tone carried a sense of languor and warmth, as if he had just finished a hot meal.

On the other end of the phone came Krystal Jung's cool yet concerned voice, "Unnie, what are you doing?"

"I just got back from get off work not long ago, and I'm having instant noodles for dinner," Jessica Jung told the truth, picking up a handful of noodles with her fork.

"Solo activities?" Krystal Jung pressed.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Jessica Jung took a sip of soup. “There have been fewer group activities lately, mostly individual schedules, but I still occasionally go back to the company to rehearse with the members.”

Upon hearing this, Krystal Jung seemed to hesitate for a moment, turned to look at Sulli who was mouthing encouragement to her, and finally took a deep breath and asked, "Unnie, how long has it been since you last saw Lin Xiuyuan?"

"Xiuyuan??"

The name made Jessica Jung pause slightly as she was about to bring the noodles to her mouth. She narrowed her beautiful eyes, her tone revealing no emotion, "It's been several days, hasn't it? Wasn't he a bit 'busy' before?"

Everyone knows about Jessica's situation, and it's perfectly normal for Lin Xiuyuan, as a key figure, to be busy.

However, Jessica Jung also keenly noticed the unusual probing in Krystal Jung's words, so she directly pointed it out, "Krystal, you called this time because you have something to say to me, right? Just ask what you want to ask, don't beat around the bush like those aunties."

"Ah, unnie!"

Feeling annoyed that her secret had been exposed, Jung Soo-jung let out a frustrated shout. Since she had been found out, she simply stopped hiding it and said, "Actually, I didn't want to ask anything. I just have something I'm curious about. I remember that you and Lin Xiuyuan were the first people among us to know him, right?"

This question instantly brought back memories of their first meeting, of Lin Xiuyuan's wild, seemingly piercing gaze.

She couldn't help but find it a little funny and replied, "Yeah, didn't you already know that? I mentioned it to you before."

“That’s not what I meant by ‘knowing’,” Krystal Jung said with a hint of urgency. “I want to ask a different question.”

"what is the problem?"

Instead of answering directly, Krystal Jung first posed a question, "Unnie, do you know what Yoona unnie's situation has been like lately?"

Jessica Jung's heart skipped a beat, but she remained outwardly calm and continued, "Which aspect do you want to talk about?"

The image of Lin Xiaolu looking radiant and glowing a few days ago was uncontrollably flashing through his mind.

Sure enough, Krystal's next words confirmed her guess, "Of course it's Yoona unnie who looks 'radiant'! Unnie, don't you think she's been in an excessively good state lately?"

Jessica Jung, who was eating instant noodles, tightened her grip on the fork slightly and remained silent without immediately responding.

Seeing that her sister remained silent, Krystal continued speaking, her tone revealing a hint of concern for her.

"Snowball told me today that she and Hara unnie had arranged to have dinner with Lin Xiuyuan yesterday, but that guy showed up with Yoona unnie. That's why I asked you, unnie, are you sure you're the first person to meet him? It feels like Yoona unnie and him are progressing so fast that it's like she's the first one."

On the other end of the phone, Sulli, sitting next to Krystal, couldn't help but laugh and gently pat her arm when she heard this. She felt that these words were too blunt and seemed a bit like stirring up trouble.

But she didn't realize that the phone call Krystal made was thanks to her whispers and instigations all day.

However, Krystal continued to share the information she had gathered, "Also, I heard that Eunjung unnie spent the entire afternoon alone with Lim Soo-won yesterday. Unnie, don't you have any sense of crisis at all? I think your brand design project might really be worth putting on hold for now..."

Just as Krystal was trying to advise Jessica to "focus on the important things" and even wanted to say something like "keep a close eye on her first," Jessica's calm, even strangely confident reply came clearly through the phone receiver, interrupting her.

"No need to slow down."

"Huh?" Krystal Jung was taken aback, not understanding what she meant.

Jessica Jung's voice continued through the airwaves, clear and steady, "The design results are in."

"What?!" Krystal was genuinely shocked, her voice becoming noticeably sharper. "Didn't you agree in your team meeting before that you wouldn't cash in? How... how come you've already achieved results so quickly?"

This is completely inconsistent with the brand development plan that Jessica Jung had previously formulated, as she understood it.

Moreover, this sudden "achievement" left Krystal Jung, who had originally intended to warn Jessica Jung about her "relationship crisis," completely stunned.

After a moment of stunned silence, she quickly pressed for details, "What happened? Unnie, what were your grades? Please explain clearly."

On the other end of the phone, Jessica Jung's voice carried a hint of composure and a touch of knowing amusement as she began to explain.

"My original plan was to first build up my popularity through design, gradually establish my personal brand awareness, and then consider large-scale commercialization once the foundation was solid. But plans can't keep up with changes..."

He paused for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, before continuing, "Recently, people from CJ Group contacted me through the company, expressing their desire to collaborate with me."

“CJ??” Jung Soo-jung exclaimed in surprise. This is one of the top chaebol companies in the country.

Its reach is extremely broad, wielding enormous influence in fields such as entertainment, food, and biopharmaceuticals. Especially in entertainment, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it number one.

“Yes, I was surprised at first too,” Jessica Jung continued. “My first reaction was to use my contract with the company as a shield, saying that the contract restrictions were inconvenient to overstep, and I wanted to get by with it for now.”

This is indeed a common cautious strategy used by celebrities when facing external invitations. Krystal Jung has used it many times as well, so I wasn't too surprised. I was just curious about what happened next.

"The results of it?"

"The result?" Jessica Jung chuckled lightly, with a hint of self-deprecation. "As soon as I brought up this reason, the representative from CJ directly pointed out that while my management contract is with SM, the copyright of my personal clothing designs does not belong to SM."

Everyone knows this perfectly well. If Jessica Jung's designs were copyrighted by SM Entertainment, the company would have intervened long ago, or even bypassed her altogether, and wouldn't have waited until now.

When one plan failed, Jessica Jung came up with a second reason, which was also a topic that Girls' Generation had recently discussed.

"Later, I emphasized the importance of the team, saying that we had discussed it in a previous meeting, and that we should not let the personal brand activities of individual members affect the overall cohesion and popularity distribution of the group, as I was worried that it would cause the popularity among the members to be dispersed."

This reason sounds very reasonable and is full of protection for the team.

“But…” Jessica Jung’s tone suddenly became a little subtle, “As soon as I finished giving my reason, the CJ representative smiled and said that it was not a problem and that the company would step in to help me coordinate and resolve everything.”

Jessica Jung still remembers feeling a sudden jolt in her heart when she spoke of this, and instinctively looking at the SM Entertainment manager who was accompanying her.

Then she saw the usually dignified head of the department, who now had a somewhat helpless expression on his face and gave her a barely perceptible nod.

That one nod made Jessica Jung completely understand that even a large entertainment company like SM Entertainment couldn't compete with a behemoth like CJ.

The other party came with a determination to win and offered conditions that would force the company to compromise.

After allaying her concerns, the CJ representative politely and clearly explained the collaboration plan to Jessica Jung.

The gist of it is: they have been following Jessica Jung's designs for some time and feel it's a pity that her talent and work are being "idle".

They also noticed that many artists under CJ and in South Korea chose dresses that were slightly inferior to those of top international brands when attending red carpet events and important ceremonies.

Either they are not outstanding enough, or they rely on foreign brands.

As leading domestic enterprises, they do not want to hand over such important exposure and traffic as the red carpet to foreign brands, as it is also related to the national cultural image and the pride of the people.

At that time, Jessica Jung and her designs, which combined international vision with unique style, came into their view.

After several months of observation and evaluation, CJ believes that Jessica Jung's designs are indeed at the forefront of fashion, with diverse and mature styles, and are even comparable to some well-known luxury brands.

The most crucial point is that Jessica Jung is a "wild" local designer with immense potential!
After careful consideration, CJ decided to formally approach Jessica Jung, hoping to collaborate with her on launching a high-end clothing brand, focusing on red carpet gowns and haute couture.

After hearing this grand plan, Jessica Jung finally looked at the head of SM Entertainment and asked one of her biggest concerns, "What if the members have any ideas about this...?"

The department head immediately waved his hand, his tone certain, "I will communicate and handle this. You don't need to worry about internal team issues; just focus on the cooperation."

Back to the present.

After listening to her sister's story, which sounded like a movie script, Krystal Jung was completely stunned and held her phone for a long time without saying a word.

It took her a while to find her voice, and she asked incredulously, "Then, unnie, in that case, wouldn't the copyright of those clothes you designed before...?"

Before she could finish her question, Jessica Jung interrupted her, replying with a clarity and open-mindedness that transcended her age and circumstances: "Krystal, your thinking is too narrow. Is what I lack now copyright issues? No, what I lack is a powerful platform and an opportunity to take off quickly."

Then she went on to explain further.

"These designs, while I've built up some reputation, haven't brought in any real revenue. So, even if I were to 'give' them to CJ to some extent, leveraging their channels and resources to quickly establish a foothold, I'd be perfectly willing to accept it. Anyway, the initial collaboration we've discussed isn't going to be very long, just a few years. Soojung, think about it, a few years from now, would you still want to wear clothes with these current design styles?"

Krystal Jung answered instinctively and honestly, "No."

After all, fashion trends change too quickly.

"Then do you think that with my abilities, I would lack new and better design concepts?" Jessica Jung asked again, her tone full of confidence.

This startled Krystal Jung again, as she suddenly thought of that space-time that connects to the future and has infinite possibilities, a place where inspiration flows endlessly.

He immediately shook his head, "I don't need it."

His tone was very certain.

“That’s right~” Jessica Jung smiled, with a calm and composed air about her being in complete control.

"So, if this collaboration with CJ really works out, it's like I've skipped the long period of accumulation and development that was originally planned, and directly boarded a high-speed train, completing the journey that would have taken several years in the past. It's a super good thing."

Upon hearing this, Krystal Jung gasped, feeling incredibly happy and excited for her sister, as this was an opportunity to rise to the top in one fell swoop.

But what followed was a deeper worry: "In that case, it seems you'll be even busier, almost non-stop, right? What about Lin Xiuyuan's side then..."

“Krystal,” Jessica interrupted her again, her voice tinged with understanding and amusement, “Are you sure you’re genuinely worried about me right now, or are you just using me as an excuse to test him if you have some 'inappropriate feelings' for him?”

"Huh?? Of course it wasn't me."

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, the person's face instantly turned bright red. She hurriedly denied it into the microphone, her voice rising eight octaves, "I didn't have any thoughts, Jessica, don't talk nonsense. I, I was just worried about you! I was afraid you'd be too busy to take care of anything else!"

Feeling guilty, Krystal even called out Jessica's name.

After finishing the last bite of ramen, Jessica Jung smiled, her voice calm yet carrying an indescribable certainty.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. And you don't need to worry about it. Just because you're 'Krystal' means you can relax completely. That guy's feelings for 'Krystal' are incredibly deep, deeper than you can imagine."

This meaningful answer, as if he knew some inside information, was like a pebble thrown into Jung Soo-jung's heart, instantly stirring up a thousand waves.

In an instant, a variety of complex emotions, like an overturned palette, intertwined and spread in her heart.

There was curiosity and a desire to explore the meaning behind it, a hidden worry about the "deep feelings" statement, and even more shame and annoyance at having one's thoughts exposed.

There was also a hint of... a secret excitement and palpitation that even she herself was unwilling to delve into.

(End of this chapter)