Chapter 626

“Right. And you’ve reached a conclusion?”

“Yes. We intend to reject the proposal.”

The CEO in charge of fashion answered confidently despite the chairman’s sudden appearance and question.

“Hmm. And the specific reasons?”

“We concluded that it does not suit LMVH’s standing, that relations between China and Korea remain poor, and therefore that we stand to lose more than we would gain.”

The man who single-handedly defined modern luxury.

The head of LMVH said nothing.

“...”

Over the years, the rise and fall of dozens of high-end brands had rested at this man’s fingertips. His calculations became the laws of the market.

After acquiring B-gari for 6 trillion won, he bought 50.4% of the founding family’s shares in one fell swoop, gaining the upper hand in the battle for jewelry supremacy against an Italian group. That alone instantly elevated the stature of LMVH’s watch and jewelry division.

He acquired S-phora for 350 billion won, putting global beauty distribution in the palm of his hand, and purchased 100% of L-ewe, a leather brand that had once supplied the Spanish royal family, successfully rebranding it.

Erno’s judgment was absolute.

Not only the CEO in charge of fashion, but everyone in the conference room interpreted the chairman’s silence as a rejection.

“So even you think that way?”

“That’s correct.”

If he said ‘even you,’ then surely the chairman of LMVH himself must have thought the same. Those who supported Han Yeoreum smacked their lips bitterly.

“Then to the public, it’ll look like an unprecedented move. Good. Proceed with the sponsorship.”

“Chairman!!!”

Everyone erupted at the chairman’s words.

On the wall of the conference room was Han Yeoreum in her D-ol Cosmetics pictorial. Erno looked at her.

D-ol was a particularly meaningful brand to him.

It was the brand that had marked the beginning of the LMVH empire. After buying the group for next to nothing when it was on the verge of bankruptcy, he had driven it to explosive heights.

Perhaps now was the time to write a new chapter in D-ol’s history.

Looking at the actress on the screen dressed in D’s clothing, he finished his calculations.

“As long as we don’t go exclusively with an excessively expensive line, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

The moment he spoke, the people who had been arguing like mad only moments earlier fell silent. Stillness settled over the room. Erno’s opinion was absolute.

“We also happen to have a brand we acquired recently. Perfect timing.”

Everyone immediately realized which brand he meant.

A brand with a market value of 102 billion dollars. The brand known as every woman’s dream.

Not long ago, he had acquired T-fany for 14.5 billion dollars, equivalent to 20.7541 trillion won.

“But...!”

“Since when have we followed the times?”

Erno looked coldly at the executives.

“Think about it again, and think carefully. If you still don’t understand, drill it into your heads. We are the ones who lead the times.”

With those words, he rose from his seat.

“Send the pink diamond.”

The pinnacle of 180 years of history. Erno was referring to a 35-carat necklace from the Blue Book, something even VIP collectors around the world could not easily obtain.

There would be no reversing his decision.

“And one more thing. We don’t concern ourselves with what Asia thinks. Damn China or whatever else—if I see any of you factoring that kind of thing into your calculations again, you’ll answer to me.”

Erno met the executives’ eyes one by one with a precise, unwavering gaze before turning away.

As the conference room door closed behind him, the chairman of LMVH walked straight ahead with perfect posture.

“When did you say she was arriving in New York?”

He asked the secretary beside him. His secretary remained silent, his expression unchanged. Apparently, he still had not fully processed the situation.

“You didn’t check when we received the call? That’s unlike you.”

“I believe she’s arriving by plane next Thhursday niight....”

“What kind of pronunciation is that? Don’t trail off at the ends of your sentences. You sound stupid.”

“I bit my tongue becaushe I wash sho shurprished.”

Only his expression had remained unchanged. He was clearly flustered enough.

Because he thought he understood why Erno was asking about an Asian actress’s schedule.

“Good. Then perhaps I’ll go along when it’s delivered.”

Erno’s unprecedented behavior was not over yet. His secretary was so shocked that he bit his tongue again.

“Wh-what do you mean by thhat?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Erno never doubted his own calculations.

Because he had seen her work on Netholics.

“I’m saying I’m going to see the actress who will be forming a close relationship with LMVH from now on.”

In the conservative, Western-centered luxury market, an Asian actress was the perfect underdog.

But through <Strange Tales>, Han Yeoreum had proven her potential to Erno.

The girl who, on a dark night, cut off her own hair with a blade, venom blazing in her eyes, seemed to be saying:

I can become a new icon whenever I please.

Not a figurehead, but the real head.

The head of LMVH gave a lighthearted laugh as he thought of the new icon who would set foot in New York on Thursday.

* * *

“We’ll open it now.”

The atmosphere was solemn and severe. I focused on the hand unlocking the clasp securing the velvet case.

‘Seven billion won....’

That one necklace costs more than an entire house. The sheer price made my mouth go dry all over again.

Click.

The necklace inside the black case was dazzling beyond words. I didn’t know much about jewelry, but even I could tell this was different.

Every facet of the diamond shattered the light in real time.

“Wow....”

Everyone around me gasped in admiration. My eyes were instantly drawn to it as well.

Beneath the delicate gold chain hung a teardrop-shaped pink diamond. Its color was extremely pale and clear.

“All right, that’s enough admiring it. Would you put on the outfit and come out? Try wearing it once with each look.”

An elderly man who looked like a jewelry expert spoke.

He must have been fairly high-ranking, because the instant the words left his mouth, everyone around him moved in perfect order.

As I followed the D-ol headquarters staff into the fitting room, I felt like I was walking on air.

“Unni unnie unnie unnie. This is insane insane insane.”

“Th-th-th-that’s what I’m saying, Yeoreum. This is seriously insane insane insane.”

The instant the fitting room door closed, Coordinator Hwang and I grabbed each other’s hands.

“I really think we need to be careful with that thing. Shouldn’t we close all the curtains over the windows right now?”

“Why?”

“What if someone tries to steal the necklace by rappelling down from the roof?”

“Gasp. You’re right.”

“O-or what if everyone from headquarters except us is actually in on it... and those faces are secretly silicone masks, and if they peel them off, completely different people come out?”

“Gasp. That could happen too.”

The sight of a necklace straight out of a movie had paralyzed my ability to think rationally. Excitement and anxiety seemed to explode inside me simultaneously.

I had never seen an object that could overwhelm both a space and everyone inside it, and the shock had left me dazed.

“Ahhh... my heart is beating so fast....”

“Deep breaths. Take deep breaths.”

“Please let the chairman of T-fany see me, be amazed, and appoint me as an ambassador.... Not just a one-time sponsorship....”

“So that’s what you were thinking about while you were panicking.”

“Of course... it is....”

I put on the first outfit, a charcoal-colored turtleneck dress.

“I’ll put the necklace on now.”

Every single movement came with an explanation. The employee from T-fany headquarters moved behind me. Courteous, careful hands touched my neck. The sensation of the pink diamond against my skin felt unfamiliar.

“Hmm....”

The elderly jewelry expert sitting across from me pressed his lips into a straight line.

‘It just looks pretty to me....’

He must have had incredibly sophisticated taste in jewelry, because apparently it wasn’t quite good enough for him. The moment the elderly jewelry expert gestured with his head, the next outfit was prepared.

“We’ll remove the necklace.”

After they took it off, I returned to the fitting room.

Truthfully, there was something I wanted to ask.

“Excuse me, if you don’t mind, could I take a selfie?”

But in this solemn atmosphere, I couldn’t possibly work up the nerve to say it....

‘If I post it on Yousta, the Summer Days will make it their wallpaper.’

It felt like I was going to die from wasting such an opportunity.

Forcing myself to suppress the urge to ask for a selfie, I changed clothes. The second outfit was a deep pink off-the-shoulder dress.

‘Pretty, isn’t it?’

I found myself admiring my reflection in the mirror. Gathering my courage, I parted my lips to ask about taking a selfie.

If I posted it to my feed right when the reactions started pouring in after Fashion Week, the likes would go completely insane.

“Hmm....”

The jewelry expert wrinkled his nose as though he found something slightly lacking. At the same time, the next outfit was immediately prepared.

“We’ll remove the necklace.”

Was the Korean jewel known as Han Yeoreum not enough to satisfy the eyes of a world-class jewelry expert?

With a wounded heart, I returned to the fitting room.

“...”

I almost asked the D-ol headquarters employees dressing me whether the previous two outfits hadn’t looked perfectly fine, only to notice how tense all their faces were.

‘Well, yeah. If anything happened to a seven-billion-won necklace, it’d be a disaster....’

The FBI might come storming in.

I pulled my briefly loosened nerves taut again. Then I put on the final outfit, a champagne-gold chiffon dress.

“Oh?”

Thank goodness. He seemed to like this one. Satisfaction appeared in the elderly jewelry expert’s eyes.

“Would you sweep your hair back?”

The instant the old man spoke, the D-ol headquarters employees swept my hair behind my shoulders. The pink diamond around my neck flashed brilliantly, dazzling my eyes.

Its radiance was so beautiful that I smiled without thinking.

To think I’d get to wear a necklace like this in my lifetime.

“Mm. This one.”

After seeing the fitting with my hair swept back, the jewelry expert finally gave his approval.

‘The mood is good right now, isn’t it?’

I delivered the line I had rehearsed countless times in my head.

“Um... if it’s all right, could I... take a picture?”

I couldn’t exactly ask someone important, ‘Selfie okay?’ so I figured I should just say ‘picture’ in a respectable way.

The old man responded by patting the seat beside him with a gesture that clearly meant, ‘By all means.’

‘Ah... he thinks it’ll look prettier if I take it sitting down?’

Okay. The lighting over there is good too. It is the seat of honor, after all.

‘Professionals really are different. He figured out the perfect angle immediately.’

I went straight to the seat the jewelry expert had indicated.

“Now. Smile.”

Huh...?

“One, two, three. Whishtiti—.”

What...?

Another jewelry expert took out a phone and snapped a two-shot of me and the old man.

‘Ah. He’s my fan.’

Right. I guess I had some preconceived notions.

Even older people can have little hobbies like watching Netholics.

All right, then. Now I can take my selfie—

“We’ll remove the necklace.”

Excuse me?

“Put it away carefully.”

A guard took the necklace from around my neck. I stared in bewilderment as my neck suddenly became bare.

No, you can’t do this when someone said she wanted to take a picture....

But I couldn’t say a word.

How could I possibly tell the happily smiling old man, ‘I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I wasn’t talking about a two-shot. I was asking whether I could take a selfie featuring only me, Han Yeoreum, all by myself.... If I upload it to the fan café, everyone will completely lose their minds.’

All I could do was stare forlornly as the necklace was placed back inside the velvet case and the chain lock was fastened.

The guards and experts quickly left D-ol headquarters.

“You’ll be Cinderella at New York Fashion Week.”

The old man who had taken the two-shot with me left those words behind before departing as well.

Goodbye, my pink diamond....

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, I didn’t even get the picture.

I should’ve at least gotten that and uploaded it.

I sighed in disappointment.

“Haaaaah....”

“Haaaaah....”

“Haaaaah....”

What is this? Why does this place have such good acoustics? My sigh is echoing everywhere.

“Haaaaah....”

That wasn’t my sigh?

The sighs I had thought were surrounding me in full 3D surround sound were actually coming from Ryu Risa and the D-ol headquarters employees.

“That was genuinely my first time seeing it in person.”

“My hands were shaking so badly I thought I’d lose my mind!”

“My God. What would we have done if we’d made even the slightest mistake?”

The employees who had been incredibly serious and quiet only moments ago were now bursting with excitement.

Right. If I saw a necklace like that, I’d probably react the same way.

“I knew you had guts, but I didn’t realize you had that much. I can’t believe you asked Erno to take a picture with you.”

“I was asking if I could take a selfie....”

That jewelry expert must really be incredibly famous, huh?

If even Ryu Risa knew his name.

Still disappointed, I was about to take a selfie of myself in the dress I was still wearing.

“What are you talking about!!!”

Ryu Risa screamed.

“Erno! I said Erno! E! R! N! O! You don’t know who that man is? You seriously had no idea this whole time?”

“...Some important person from T-fany...?”

If he had been someone related to Korean dramas or movies, I would have memorized every detail about him, but Han Yeoreum’s materialistic calculator still didn’t have enough processing power to memorize American jewelry experts she hadn’t even known were coming.

At my answer, Ryu Risa’s eyes blazed with madness.

“You idiot! He’s not just some important person!”

“An extremely important person?”

“He’s the chairman of LMVH!”

It took me quite a while to comprehend Ryu Risa’s answer.

“Uhhhhhhhhhh?”

Then I dropped the phone I had been holding to take a selfie.

“Then why did that man c-come here? Why? Could it be? Because that’s T-fany’s most expensive necklace? Because it’s such an incredible piece that even the chairman personally treasures it?”

“The most expensive? Of course not! The lines above that are so expensive they don’t even tell ordinary people the prices.”

“Th-th-th-then why? Why did he come here?”

“The way I see it, he just....”

Ryu Risa stared at me with an expression that said she couldn’t believe the words coming out of her own mouth.

“I think he came to see you.”

This was New York.

The land of opportunity.

A place made of dreams.

A world where there was nothing I couldn’t do.

It was exactly as they said.