Chapter 003: A Masterpiece is Born at IsoPinky (1)

Instead of Jiyeon, who was maintaining a stern silence, Kim Junho greeted him warmly.

"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Han Yegeon, the intern. I'm Kim Junho, assistant manager. It's a two-week trial, right? Can I speak informally?"

"Yes, please speak informally."

"Welcome to our model team. Our team leader, Joo Hyosub, is in a meeting right now, so he's at the design team. For the time being, you'll be supported by our Jiyeon. Jiyeon."

"Yes, sir."

"Yegeon, help him get used to his tasks over the next two weeks and teach him well."

"Yes, I understand."

Jiyeon, with a serious expression, led Yegeon inside the model room and showed him his seat.

"Yegeon, did you make any models when you were in college?"

"Um~. Not many."

As expected.

'I must have been a fool to expect anything.'

I've heard that some interns try to avoid tedious tasks by coming up with strange concepts on their first day.

He seems to be wearing a facade, and he doesn't seem like an easy-going person.

'Ah... Should I give up on this intern? No! I can't just keep cutting styrofoam forever.'

Jiyeon steeled her resolve, determined to pass the torch to this intern this time.

"Cutting styrofoam with a hot wire?"

"Oh, I've never seen a machine like this before."

Jiyeon, feeling pleased that the intern showed interest, put on a friendly smile and instructed Yegeon.

"Since you'll be in charge of this, watch me carefully. This is very important for making the surrounding buildings, not just cutting, you know."

She turned on the power and adjusted the switch to the right temperature.

Then, she adjusted the guide bar to a distance from the hot wire and selected a piece of styrofoam slightly larger than that gap, passing it through.

The styrofoam passed through at a steady pace, neither too slow nor too fast, and was cut cleanly without sticking to the hot wire.

"Wow, that's impressive."

Yegeon, eyes wide open, marveled at Jiyeon's skill.

Though his old-man-like tone was a bit annoying, Jiyeon felt a sense of pride at the compliment.

"Using the hot wire for the first time, you won't be able to do it as well as me, but once you get used to it, you can work freely. You can even make cones and tunnels.

Of course, you won't need such advanced skills right away. Do you want to try it, Yegeon?"

"Sure, I'll give it a try."

Jiyeon stepped aside and handed him a piece of styrofoam of the right size.

Yegeon, who seemed a bit nervous, took a small breath, and his eyes sharpened.

Following Jiyeon's instructions, he passed the styrofoam through the hot wire and the guide bar in one go.

After checking the cut surface, Yegeon let out a disappointed sigh.

"Ah…"

Seeing Yegeon's disappointed expression, Jiyeon, once again, put on a friendly smile and encouraged him.

"Your first try won't be perfect, but you'll get better with practice."

Jiyeon, who was prepared to be patient even if he made a few mistakes, took his work.

'Ah... What? He did well?'

"He did well?"

"Is this good enough?"

"Yes! Good job. Try a few more times."

"Okay."

Jiyeon, feeling encouraged, also showed him how to adjust the guide bar to match the scale.

"Wow~. A scale ruler is essential."

"Yes, each model has a different scale, so the size of the surrounding buildings depends on that. I'll give you the plan from CAD, so just check if the height matches the scale."

For someone who studied architectural engineering, making models should be a basic skill.

But why does it feel like I'm teaching a complete beginner?

"Are you not studying architectural engineering?"

"I am, but I wasn't really interested in design when I was in school."

"Ah…"

What does the past matter? What matters is how well you do now.

Fortunately, Han Yegeon learned at the speed of light and, within ten minutes, started producing sharp, clean cuts similar to Jiyeon's work.

"Practice is enough. Let's move on to the real work."

"Already... the real work?"

Jiyeon, with a victorious smile, puffed out her chest.

"Normally, I don't share my secrets, but it's all thanks to Yegeon's quick learning."

Jiyeon was inwardly cheering, but there was no need to make a fuss just because she was happy.

Just then, the team leader, Joo Hyosub, entered the office and saw Yegeon and Jiyeon together.

"Oh, the new intern?"

"Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Han Yegeon."

Yegeon stood up and bowed.

Joo, who knew Jiyeon was starting to get tired of cutting styrofoam, asked her with a slightly apologetic look.

"How is he? Is he doing well?"

"Yegeon? He's... as good as me with the hot wire now."

"Wow~. What's this? Jiyeon, you don't usually praise people easily."

Jiyeon glared fiercely at Joo.

Joo, noticing Jiyeon's glare, picked up a piece of styrofoam from the table.

"Is this Yegeon's work?"

"Yes, the cut surface is really clean!"

Jiyeon made a big fuss as if Yegeon had accomplished something great.

Joo's eyes suddenly sharpened.

"Really? He did a great job."

"Really, he did!"

Kim, intrigued by their fuss, came over to take a look.

"That's not something you can do well in a day. Wow, he's really got the knack for it."

Jiyeon, hands on her hips, stood proudly.

"Hmm. It's all thanks to my excellent teaching."

"Of course! Jiyeon, you're a great teacher. Yegeon, you can take charge of the surrounding buildings from now on."

Kim gave Jiyeon a meaningful smile.

Jiyeon, overjoyed at the prospect of finally escaping the cutting task, almost shouted out loud but quickly regained her composure.

"Really? Ah! Of course, Yegeon might find it challenging alone, so I'll take good care of him."

"Of course, Jiyeon, you'll be Yegeon's mentor for now. Yegeon, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes."

Is it really worth making such a fuss over just making a simple rectangular model?

Han Yegeon was the only one who couldn't laugh at the scene unfolding before him.

* * *

In the model room, where the afternoon work was in full swing.

The head of Design Team 1, Lee Juhong, urgently sought out Joo Hyosub.

"Joo, I'm sorry to ask, but can you do this one thing for me?"

"What is it?"

"It's about the sculpture for the Gongju City Hall. The person in charge doesn't know which form would be more suitable, so they want you to make a rough model to see which one fits better."

Three photos with rough dimensions.

"By when?"

"Well, we have a meeting tomorrow…."

It meant it needed to be done by today.

Joo looked displeased.

Though much younger, Joo Hyosub, frowning, made Lee Juhong feel a bit awkward.

The model team was an essential support team for the design team.

With a total of 10 design teams in Geunlim Architecture, including the competition team, the model team was relatively small.

When things got urgent, they had to pull people from the design team to make models, but it naturally took longer for them to do unfamiliar tasks.

If there was time, it wouldn't be a problem, but the design team was always busy and often worked overtime.

Since Joo Hyosub needed to help, he couldn't just assign tasks to him because of his lower rank.

Especially, if he started accepting such sudden projects, it would inevitably affect the actual work they needed to focus on.

Joo Hyosub, who was responsible for the team, knew he couldn't take on just any task.

Joo Hyosub looked at the photos Lee Juhong had given him again.

It looked simple but had many curves, which would take a long time to make, and the deadline was tight.

Joo Hyosub, scanning his employees, shook his head.

"Next week is the competition deadline, so this week is too busy. I'm sorry, sir."

"Ah... I understand, but it's a bit of a stretch."

Joo Hyosub, with a desperate look, pointed to Yegeon, who was cutting styrofoam with a hot wire.

"Then, just cut the styrofoam to the right size so we can check the dimensions. I'll have our staff adjust it."

In his desperation, Lee Juhong made an unreasonable request.

"Really, that's all you need?"

"Yes."

"What about the scale?"

"One hundredth."

"Ha-. Got it."

Joo, unable to refuse Lee Juhong's request, called Yegeon over and handed him a piece of paper.

"Yegeon, cut this to a 1/100 scale in a rectangular shape."

"Is this it? Just a rectangular prism?"

Yegeon looked puzzled.

"Since it's urgent, do it right away."

"Okay."

Lee Juhong, with a sharp eye, checked the employee ID card hanging around the man's neck.

'Even if it's a new intern...'

Though he said he would have the staff adjust it, Lee Juhong's heart was burning.

"Joo, I asked for a rough job, but this is the intern who just started today. Has he even used a hot wire properly?"

Joo answered nonchalantly.

"Don't worry. I tested him this morning, and he makes good cuts."

"No, don't do that. Joo, pay a bit more attention. I'll buy you beer tonight. It's a mood thing! I'll buy chicken for the whole model team. So…."

"Really?"

Joo Hyosub's eyes sparkled with interest.

"Have you ever seen me lie?"

"Then, give me the corporate card."

"Ha ha ha."

Lee Juhong, realizing the reality, sighed and pulled out the corporate card from his wallet.

Joo Hyosub, grabbing the card, asked with a serious look.

"Should I just cut it into a rectangular prism?"

Only then did Lee Juhong release his grip.

Joo, with a smile, held the corporate card and gave Yegeon additional instructions.

"Yegeon, try to make it as similar as possible. It's okay if it takes a bit of time."

"Okay, I understand."

Though it was a challenging task, Yegeon readily agreed, and Joo Hyosub, smiling, sat down.

"Ah, Joo!"

"I watched him, and Yegeon handles the hot wire well. Give it a try. If you're not satisfied, I'll make it myself."

With the promise to make it himself if it wasn't satisfactory, there was nothing more to say.

Lee Juhong, with a tight-lipped and anxious face, moved to sit next to Yegeon.

'How good can an intern be?'

His lips pouted involuntarily.

On the table, the photo of the simplest rectangular prism model was on top.

'If it looks bad, I'll immediately ask Joo Hyosub to make it.'

Yegeon, seemingly oblivious to the presence of others, cut the styrofoam according to the size on the printout.

'Hmm. He really does a good job with the hot wire.'

The surface was clean, with no marks from the hot wire.

Yegeon, as if visualizing the overall shape in his mind, briefly studied the photo.

Then, he suddenly started digging into the neatly cut styrofoam in various places.

Lee Juhong, stunned by Yegeon's bold actions, couldn't even comment, just opening and closing his mouth.

Unable to understand Yegeon's method, he decided to watch.

Soon, Yegeon started etching patterns into the styrofoam with the hot wire.

At that moment, Lee Juhong couldn't think at all.

He just stared dumbfounded at Yegeon's skilled hands.

When Yegeon finished the model with the hot wire, Lee Juhong's mouth dropped open in shock.

In his hand was a model that closely resembled the photo.

'Is this even possible?'

Oh.