Camilla Prada moved briskly the moment she entered through Incheon International Airport.
“Let’s hurry.”
She urged the employees who had arrived in Korea with her to handle this schedule. The ones being urged by Camilla Prada were a public relations employee and a legal affairs employee, both holding important positions at the headquarters.
Usually, the two were more accustomed to giving orders than receiving them, but today was different. They acted as if they were new hires. That was only natural, since the person they were with was Camilla Prada—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her Prada itself.
Following Camilla Prada’s instructions, the PR employee who had coordinated the overall schedule for this visit spoke up.
“First, we’ll head to a hotel in Jongno-gu, known as the heart of Seoul, and unpack.”
The PR employee, who had visited Korea several times on business, was the perfect person to arrange this schedule. Camilla Prada nodded with a look of trust.
“The heart of Seoul… That means it’s a place where I can see Gyeongbokgung Palace directly. Good. Let’s move quickly.”
“Yes, it’s this way.”
Just as the three of them started walking in haste—
“Over here, Chief Designer!”
A voice suddenly caught Camilla Prada’s footsteps. She stopped a beat late, identified the speaker, and spoke.
“Ah. It’s been a while, CEO Choi. So you came out to greet me.”
“Since it’s the Chief Designer’s first visit to Korea, it’s only right that I come.”
The one who greeted Camilla Prada was Choi Seong-il, the CEO of Prada Korea.
Prada, which sells its products worldwide, naturally had branches in each country to handle distribution. Among them, Choi Seong-il was the CEO in charge of the Korean branch. And recently, Choi Seong-il’s mood had been excellent.
That was because the luxury market in Korea had overall increased, boosting Prada Korea’s sales as well. The sales had reached a staggering 510 billion won. This meant that roughly one-tenth of Prada’s total sales came from Korea. So Choi Seong-il couldn’t help but feel proud.
And he was certain that the purpose of Camilla Prada’s visit was to praise the Korean branch’s performance.
‘I heard she came for the global ambassador contract, but that can’t be the only reason. After all, Camilla Prada has never personally handled a global ambassador contract before.’
Given that, it was understandable that Choi Seong-il misinterpreted Camilla Prada’s purpose. He then opened his mouth confidently.
“I’ve prepared a splendid lunch for your arrival today. It’s a place that serves top-grade hanwoo, so I’m sure the Chief Designer will be satisfied.”
But the situation didn’t go as Choi Seong-il had thought.
“What a shame. I already have plans today.”
“P-plans? But as far as I know, the meeting regarding the global ambassador is three days from now…”
“Ah. The meeting is indeed three days from now. But before making the global ambassador proposal, I need to do some essential research. I’ll probably be busy for the next few days, fully occupied with that schedule.”
“I-I see. Then perhaps the day after the meeting? I heard you’re leaving five days from now. I’ll adjust to a time that suits the Chief Designer.”
“Oh, that might be difficult too. I need to do additional research the day after the meeting.”
“Additional research?”
“Yes. So let’s have lunch later, when CEO Choi comes to Milan. Thank you for coming out to greet me today.”
“Oh, and I heard Korean sales have risen significantly? You’ve been working hard lately. Let’s eat something delicious when we meet in Milan.”
With that, Camilla Prada quickly wrapped up the conversation and hurried on her way.
Watching her retreating figure, Choi Seong-il and all the Prada Korea employees wore dazed expressions.
At the same time,
‘What kind of research is so important…’
They wondered what schedule could be so busy that she couldn’t even spare time for a single lunch.
***
“Wow. So this is Gyeongbokgung Palace.”
Camilla Prada unpacked at a five-star hotel near Gwanghwamun Station and then walked to Gyeongbokgung Palace. The reason was simple.
She wanted to see with her own eyes the appearance of the Joseon royal palace that she had seen through Byeonghwa. Of course, the historical drama set where Byeonghwa was filmed was elsewhere, but Camilla Prada didn’t have time to go that far. So she chose to visit Gyeongbokgung as a second-best option.
Even more,
“Hanbok is truly beautiful. It’s interesting that wearing the clothing of that era and taking photos while viewing historical cultural assets has become a leisure activity for the younger generation.”
As she said this, Camilla Prada was wearing a hanbok. Naturally, the hanbok she wore was rented from a nearby rental shop.
Before visiting Korea, Camilla Prada had told the PR employee that she really wanted to experience Korean traditional culture. Among that, since she was deeply absorbed in Byeonghwa, she wanted to experience the traditional culture of the Joseon era.
The hanbok rental and Gyeongbokgung tour were the PR employee’s result of hitting Camilla Prada’s needs.
The PR employee let out a sigh of relief and replied.
“I’m glad you like it.”
After roaming around Gyeongbokgung, taking photos, and even enjoying yulmu tea and grilled rice cake at a traditional tea house, Camilla Prada asked the PR employee.
“Where’s our next destination?”
“We plan to visit Haengju Fortress, where the actual Battle of Haengju took place.”
“Oh! The Battle of Haengju. That’s the battle fought after Kim Seong-wol and Han Seung-hye reunited.”
“That’s right.”
A short while later.
After returning the hanbok and arriving at the destination, Camilla Prada walked along the Haengju Fortress Historical Trail, visiting Chunguijeong, Deokyangjeong, Jingangjeong, the Haengju Battle Monument, Chungjangsa Shrine, the Statue of General Gwon Yul, and the Octagonal Observation Deck.
Since the PR employee also acted as a guide, she could hear how Byeonghwa had adapted the Imjin War.
“Now I understand why it felt strange that only the statue of General Gwon Yul existed. So Kim Seong-wol and Han Seung-hye didn’t actually participate in the Imjin War.”
“Who knows? There might have been figures like Kim Seong-wol and Han Seung-hye among the righteous armies. Regardless, it seems certain they are characters born from the creator’s imagination.”
“It’s amazing. To create such vivid characters purely through imagination.”
After finishing the Haengju Fortress tour, Camilla Prada had a dinner of janchi guksu at a famous noodle restaurant nearby, briefly viewed the Han River, and then returned.
She needed rest to handle tomorrow’s schedule.
***
Thus, the first day in Korea.
Having finished her tourism centered around Byeonghwa, Camilla Prada continued her sightseeing on the second day as well.
On the second morning, she was scheduled to visit the high school that was the filming location for Fight School and the university that was the filming location for Your Brilliant Sparkle.
“After finishing the morning schedule, we’ll move in the afternoon to visit the singing room and Banpo Bridge that appeared in Critical Point and Scattered People respectively, and then go to the action school where the stunt training for Killer x Killer was held.”
“Nice.”
“Yes. And at night, we’ll head to Itaewon, the filming location for Virus. Please understand that the schedule is a bit tight.”
“Not at all. You worked hard organizing the schedule. Since there’s a lot to do, let’s move quickly.”
By this point, it was clear that the prior engagement Camilla Prada had mentioned to Choi Seong-il was nothing else.
It was sightseeing in Korea.
And not just any sightseeing, but a tour themed around the filming locations of Taeha’s works.
In fact, Camilla Prada wasn’t simply obsessed with Taeha. She had binge-watched all his works over several days and become an ardent fan.
That was also the reason Camilla Prada decided to visit Korea in person. She wanted to see Taeha, of course, but also the filming locations that served as the backgrounds of his works.
Everything stemming from Taeha had something that strangely stimulated Camilla Prada’s aesthetic sense. Just looking at it made her feel like everything—body and mind—was being sucked in.
Thus, Camilla Prada, who tended to dive into things obsessively once she got hooked, had completely fallen for Taeha—so much so that she had become a hardcore fan.
That was why she had refused Choi Seong-il’s lunch invitation and immersed herself in Korean tourism.
And finally, after completely exhausting herself with two days of hardcore sightseeing, Camilla Prada collapsed onto the sofa the moment she entered her hotel room.
But a smile lingered on her lips.
‘I feel like my body is falling apart… but it was really fun.’
The enjoyment Camilla Prada felt wasn’t just from seeing the filming locations of Taeha’s works. She was also having a great time discovering Korea itself—a country she had never experienced before.
She had no idea that such a beautiful and wonderful country existed on the opposite side of the globe.
As a result, an irrepressible creative urge kept rising within her as a designer.
And Camilla Prada was certain that this creative urge would have a positive impact on Prada’s future. Every time she was swept up by a strong creative urge, Prada shed a layer and underwent significant growth.
‘I hope tomorrow’s meeting puts a period on this pleasant experience…’
In fact, Camilla Prada had felt a bit of anxiety since the afternoon of that day. She was worried that her fantasy had grown too large, and meeting Taeha in person might lead to disappointment.
After all, when expectations are too high, disappointment often follows.
In reality, Camilla Prada had experienced similar situations many times while working with various people in this industry.
‘Maybe I’ll go through something similar this time…’
For a moment, she was seized by anxiety, but she forcibly suppressed it.
Then, the next day, she finally faced Taeha.
At that moment,
‘A period has been put.’
Camilla Prada thought.
***
But it wasn’t just Camilla Prada who felt positive toward Taeha.
Taeha also felt a favorable impression of Camilla Prada.
For starters, the fact that someone like Camilla Prada had personally visited Korea to propose a global ambassador contract was bound to leave a good impression on Taeha.
Thus, Taeha was also planning to accept Camilla Prada’s proposal as actively as possible.
However,
“Taeha-ssi, by any chance, have you ever thought about personally walking the runway?”
Camilla Prada suddenly brought up this topic.
And the conversation didn’t end there.
“If Taeha-ssi were to walk the runway himself, I’d set the theme of Prada’s next collection as a reinterpretation of Korean culture.”