Chapter 20 (1) - The Mysterious Art Museum
Suyeong continues to explain.
"She graduated from the Florence University of Arts, and immediately joined the Italian luxury brand Alessandro Cucinelli after graduation. She rose from a low-level employee to a senior designer in record time. She is an elite."
The rest of the explanation does not register in my ears.
"Wow, the Florence University of Arts."
Florence is the true jewel of European culture.
A city that is like an open-air museum of Renaissance monuments. The city where Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, and Medici lived.
The Florence University of Arts accepts students under the age of 12 from all over the world every year, but its teaching method is unique.
It does not make students sit at desks and study, or spend more time on practical skills training. Instead, it gives them more time to see and learn by visiting museums and historical sites.
No wonder she has such a keen eye for art. She was from that school.
Suyeong's explanation continues.
"Alessandro Cucinelli is a relatively young brand that started in 1979. However, it is famous for the fact that the chairman of the same name as the brand travels to Mongolia every year to find good cashmere and collect the best fabrics. It is now a concentration of Italian fashion and has grown into a brand that has reached the pinnacle of perfection."
Honestly, I have never heard of this brand.
I don't know much about luxury brands. I barely know Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton.
If I only look at Italian luxury brands, maybe Versace, Bottega Veneta, Bulgari?
"Is that brand a women's fashion company?"
"No, it's a men's fashion brand."
"Oh, I see."
"Don't you know?"
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry for not knowing something."
"Haha."
I appreciate his kindness to make me feel less embarrassed. Suyeong explains again.
"The start of Alessandro Cucinelli was essential."
Essential.
In the fashion industry, this word means casual wear.
In other words, it was a brand that had a casual feel, without any special design, made of good quality fabrics. Suyeong continues.
"Monica changed that into the brand image it has now. She adopted a timeless design and warm colors to create a dandy image, and used elegant colors of cashmere and sophisticated items to create a graceful look."
I see. Monica was a very impressive person.
"But why did such a great person come to MG Electronics, which is not even a fashion company?"
Suyeong answers this question without hesitation, as if he had heard it many times.
"Monica left the company and was preparing to establish her own brand. As you know, creating a brand is not an easy task. It costs a lot of money, from factory contracts to land purchases, store contracts, and hiring craftsmen. Many people in the fashion industry who knew her talent promised to invest, but Monica wanted to create a company with 100% of her own shares. So she needed the huge amount of money that MG Electronics offered during the brand launch."
Hmm, so she came out to work part-time because she didn't have enough money for her own business.
Wow, but does a 100% share company even exist?
Suyeong clasped his hands neatly and said.
"That's all I know. Actually, I'm also working as an interpreter with her, but I don't have any personal friendship with her. I only told you what is known to the public."
That was enough for me to get some help.
What she wanted to be was the CEO of her own brand.
And that too, a boss who wields absolute power with 100% of the shares.
It would be easy to express her confidence in a portrait.
'But strangely, I keep feeling uneasy.'
What is making me hesitate?
I reviewed Suyeong's explanation again.
There are villages in my country that I don't know the name of, so it's natural that I don't know the name of a village in another country. But why do I keep remembering the name of the city that Suyeong mentioned?
'The village that produced such a talented person who could enter the Florence University of Arts. What kind of place is that?'
Is it just simple curiosity? If so, I don't have to ask Suyeong, I can find out after the test.
Then, Suyeong asked.
"Do you have any more questions?"
Just ask. You never know what will happen.
"I'm sorry, but can you tell me more about the village where Monica was born?"
Suyeong took out his phone as if it was not difficult.
"I'll search it up quickly, I don't know the village either."
Suyeong searched for a few minutes and showed me a picture.
A beautiful and cool village in the mountains. The nature harmonized with the houses built in the medieval Italian style of architecture. It was very beautiful.
"This is the village, and the population is about a thousand people."
Huh? The population is only a thousand? It looks like there are quite a lot of houses for a small village.
"Is the census wrong? It seems like there would be more than three thousand people if there were only two people living in each house in the picture."
Suyeong lowers his phone and nods.
"They say there are a lot of empty houses."
"Why?"
Suyeong searches for another picture. It is a picture of farmland in the highlands, and the villages built there.
"This is Roseto, a village in Pennsylvania, USA."
Huh? USA? But why is the village name the same? Suyeong read my expression and said.
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