Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Chapter 732: Director Yan Wu (1) – Part 1

Gun-Ho made a call to the Korean restaurant owner—Ms. Ji-Yeon Choi—in Akasaka District in Tokyo.

“Ms. President Choi? This is Gun-Ho Goo from Korea.”

“Oh, my, Mr. President Goo. How have you been? I haven’t seen you lately. I guess you don’t come to Tokyo as often as before.”

“I want to connect Mori Aikko with a broadcasting station in Shanghai City, China. Would you ask Mama San Segawa Joonkko in Shinjuku City about it for me?”

“Is it about a dance performance of a geisha—Odori?”

“No, it’s not about her dance performance, but she will appear on TV for a short period of time.”

“Well, I don’t see any problem with it. It seems that Mori Aikko has a lot of spare time these days, especially because there are not many dance performance events lately because of the warm weather. If she makes an appearance on TV and gets paid for it, she will have to share it with Segawa Joonkko. So, I don’t see any reason why Segawa Joonkko would turn down the opportunity.”

“How long will she have to share her income with Segawa Joonkko?”

“I don’t know. I guess she will have to share it until she turns 30 years old maybe?”

“Hmm.”

“Well, I will talk to Segawa Joonkko and will give you a call.”

Gun-Ho didn’t tell Ms. Choi that this was about a female leading role in a movie. Instead, he just told her that Mori Aikko might have a chance to appear briefly on TV in Shanghai.

After a while, the restaurant owner—Ms. President Ji-Yeon Choi—called Gun-Ho.

“I just talked with Mama San. Since it is an off-season for Mori Aikko, she is okay with Mori Aikko appearing on TV.”

“Oh, really?”

“Please give her a call when you find out the schedule. She said that she would probably have to make some adjustments to Mori Aikko’s schedule. She also said that she was disappointed in you.”

“She is disappointed in me? For what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She is disappointed in you because you no longer come to Tokyo to see Mori Aikko.”

“Haha. I see what she means now.”

“By the way, how is Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda doing? The man who I introduced to you.”

“He is doing fine. I have a company called GH Media, and he is working there.”

“Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda is very close to the bar owner—Segawa Joonkko—in Shinjuku City. If you need to contact Segawa Joonkko or deliver something to her, you can do that through him.”

“Is that right? I didn’t know Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda knew Mama San Segawa Joonkko. Does he, by any chance, know that I’m Mori Aikko’s sponsor?”

“I don’t think he does, but even if he does know it, he’s not going to tell anybody.”

“Hmm, I see. Well, thank you for your help today.”

“Please take some time and stop by my little sister’s bar as well. Haha.”

“Oh, Ms. Jang’s Pine in Hannam Town? I will try.”

It was Friday, and Gun-Ho picked up the two bottles of Chinese liquor from his office before heading to the Chinese restaurant at the entrance to Myeondong Town, which was next to the central post office.

“Chan-Ho, I have a high school reunion in Myeongdong Town today. I guess you will need to wait for me for about two hours.”

“Yes, sir. Have a pleasant time, sir.”

“Find a paid parking lot somewhere nearby and have your dinner at the Chinese restaurant—Haenghwachon—next to the central post office. I’m meeting with my high school friends there.”

“Yes, sir.”

When Gun-Ho arrived at the Chinese restaurant, he was told that the gathering for WestFacing was being held on the second floor. When he walked up to the second floor, his high school friends were already there.

“Hey, Gun-Ho! You came.”

His friends at the table stood up to greet him.

“It must have taken a long time to get here from Gangnam District, hasn’t it?”

“It’s okay. I’m so glad to see you all healthy.”

“Come to this side. I saved your seat here,” Min-Ho Kang said to Gun-Ho while indicating a seat in the middle of the table. The Chinese restaurant wasn’t so luxurious which was not the type of restaurant where Gun-Ho usually went.

“The owner of this restaurant is Chinese living here in Korea. It doesn’t look so great, but their food is very good.”

“Really? That’s nice.”

Gun-Ho sat at the table and looked around. Byeong-Chul Hwang and Won-Chul Jo were there too. He didn’t see Suk-Ho Lee though; he probably hadn’t come yet. All of his other friends from high school were not very close to Gun-Ho.

Gun-Ho looked at Byeong-Chul. His back looked a bit hunched for some reason. And, Won-Chul didn’t seem to look as confident as before either. The people, who got married at an early age, probably had children who they needed to feed, and they probably experienced the hardship in life by now, one way or another.

Gun-Ho said as he was lifting his paper bag that he carried, “Min-Hyeok Kim and Jae-Sik Moon sent these liquor from China for you guys since they couldn’t make it today.”

“Oh, really? Is it Maotai?!”

The people at the table clapped.

“How are Min-Hyeok Kim and Jae-Sik Moon doing in China?”

“They are doing very well. They bought a condo there, and they both run a business.”

“It has been quite a while since we saw them.”

Gun-Ho had a perfect skin. Thanks to the skincare shop that he often went to. He was wearing a dazzlingly white shirt with a luxurious silk tie. And, a hundred something million won worth of watch was wrapped around his wrist.

“Please have as much food as you want. I should have treated you all in a better place, but maybe we should do that next time.”

Min-Ho Kang added, “Actually, I picked this place, not President Goo. I thought this place offers very tasty food, and the location is convenient. I hope you all enjoy the food here.”

“This place is good enough.”

They ordered all sorts of dishes such as Tangsuyuk*, Eight-Treasure Vegetables, Yangjangpi*, Ohhyangjangyook*, Yoosanseul*, etc. for each table.

Gun-Ho said to Byeon-Chul Hwang who was sitting in front of him, “Straighten up your posture, man. I guess you have been spending too much time in a research center in Pangyo, sitting at a desk.”

Byeong-Chul Hwang straightened his back a bit.

“Is Won-Chul Jo a manager in his company now?”

“No, I’m still an assistant manager.”

“I guess your company must have so many people who are waiting for their promotions since it has been in business for a long time, huh? Well, let’s drink.”

When they were having their drink together, Suk-Ho Lee arrived at the gathering.

“Hey you all, I’m sorry that I’m late.”

Suk-Ho Lee didn’t look very well either. His recent hardships in life was shown on his face.

“I heard that you sold your stores in Shenyang City, China. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing okay. President Goo, you look great as always.”

“Well, let me fill up your glass with liquor.”

While Gun-Ho filled up Suk-Ho Lee’s glass with the liquor that he brought, Suk-Ho Lee exclaimed, “Huh? This is an expensive liquor.”

“Yeah, Min-Hyeok Kim and Jae-Sik Moon sent them from China for us to enjoy the gathering.”

“Oh, I see. How are they doing?”

“Min-Hyeok and Jae-Sik are doing great.”

“All of those, who have been working with President Goo, are doing great. I do thank you, Gun-Ho for helping our friends.”

“Well, I haven’t done much at all. Min-Hyeok Kim and Jae-Sik Moon are very competent people in their own field, and I’m not surprised that they are doing great at work.”

Gun-Ho said to Suk-Ho Lee as he clinked his glass to Suk-Ho Lee’s.

“It’s good to see you again, friend. I still remember the old days when I opened my first restaurant in Noyryangjin. You helped me a lot at that time.”

At that moment, one friend, who was sitting in the corner and who was not very close to Gun-Ho, said, “President Goo, the name of your company is GH Mobile, right? I checked your company’s information on the Financial Supervisory Service’s DART (Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System) website the other day. It’s a huge company with more than 100 billion won of annual sales revenue.”

Note*

Tangsuyuk – Deep-fried pork with sweet and sour sauce.

Yangjangpi – Cold vegetable dish with mung bean sheet.

Ohhyangjangyook – Special cold roast beef.

Yoosanseul – Beef and sliced seafood.