Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Chapter 734: Director Yan Wu (2) – Part 1

Gun-Ho was sitting on the sofa with Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda in his office in GH Building, Sinsa Town.

Gun-Ho called for his secretary—Ms. Yeon-Soo Oh.

“Please bring us two cups of tea.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gun-Ho said while having his tea, “How do you like working in GH Media so far?”

“It’s very good. I’m satisfied with my current job. Ms. President Shin has been very nice to me as well.”

“Is your family currently in Tokyo?”

“Umm, yes.”

Gun-Ho was tempted to ask him more about his family, but he decided not to. He was told that Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda didn’t seem to enjoy talking about his family, and Gun-Ho didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.

“It was the Korean restaurant’s owner—Ms. President Ji-Yeon Choi—in Akasaka City, Japan, who introduced you to me. How do you know her?”

“When I was working as a correspondent for a Japanese newspaper in Korea, I sometimes went on a trip to Japan with my Korean colleagues. And, whenever I went to Tokyo, I often had lunch or dinner at her restaurant with my colleagues. You know that Ms. President Ji-Yeon Choi was once a movie star when she was younger, right? She was a charming woman then, and she was very popular too. Since I was a regular to her restaurant, I became close to her like a friend.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Also, since I can speak Korean well, I sometimes did some interpretation work for her too. She speaks the Japanese language very well right now, but when she started her restaurant, she needed help with her Japanese.”

After taking a sip of his tea, Gun-Ho said, “Do you happen to know Mama San Segawa Joonkko—the bar owner in Shinjuku City?”

When Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda heard of the name of Segawa Joonkko from Gun-Ho, his eyes widened in surprise.

“How do you know her, sir?”

“I’ve been to her bar several times for business.”

“Hmm, I see. I also went there several times for business with important people from Korea. Since I brought customers there pretty often, she liked me a lot, and she even gave me some incentives too.”

“You haven’t been there lately?”

“The wealthy customers and high-ranking officials wouldn’t be willing to go there with me any longer. They probably prefer to be accompanied by a younger man who could interpret for them. I’m too old now for them to feel comfortable around me.”

Gun-Ho said as he crossed his legs, “I’m going to Japan on the 13th of this month. Would you like to join me to go to her bar?”

“You mean the secret bar that Segawa Joonkko is running?”

“Yes.”

Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda’s face suddenly became brightened.

“What’s the occasion, sir?”

“It’s part of business. You know that Director Woon-Hak Sim is in Shanghai City right now, right?”

“Of course, sir. Does it have to do with Director Sim’s business there?”

“Director Sim is working on a movie production—Menghuan Yinghua.”

“I’ve heard about it too.”

“He is looking for an actress for the leading female role in the movie right now. The actress of his first pick asked for an extremely high-performance fee, so he decided to find another actress for the role, and working with a real geisha crossed his mind. You know, a dancing geisha, right?”

“Oh, you mean Maiko San (a young dancing geisha)? I think it’s a good idea. But, Maiko San is trained for dancing, learning how to act is not part of their training. Do you think they can handle the acting?”

“It seems that there is one geisha who has experience with acting among the geishas who are working for Segawa Joonkko. We’d like to meet with her to see if she would be the right fit for the role.”

Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda nodded his head.

“So, in order to have an interview with this Maiko San, I’m going to meet with a Chinese director—Director Yan Wu—and Director Woon-Hak Sim on the 13th of July in Tokyo. Director Yan Wu will leave for Japan from Shanghai, China, and Director Sim will come to Korea first before leaving for Japan; he has some personal business to take care of in Korea.”

“I see. So, there will be four men going on a trip to Tokyo—you, me, and two directors.”

“That’s right.”

“Once they determine that they would cast the dancing geisha, I will have to send my investment funds of 5 million dollars to the movie production company in China—Huanle Shiji Production Company.”

“Wow! Did you say 5 million dollars?!”

“When you inform GH Media’s President Jeong-Sook Shin about the trip to Japan with me, don’t tell her about us going to the secret bar. Just tell her that you need to accompany me on a trip to Tokyo for my business in Shanghai. Women usually hate people going to a secret bar. We don’t want to cause unnecessary discomfort on her side. You know what I mean, right?”

“Haha. I know what you mean, sir.”

While sipping his tea, Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda said, “What was the title of the movie again? The movie that Director Sim is working on?”

“It’s Menghuan Yinghua.”

“Menghuan Yinghua... It’s ‘Mugen Sakura’ in Japanese. I don’t know who made that movie title, but it’s a fabulous title. Moreover, the fact that a real geisha might be playing a main role in the movie makes it even more interesting already. I’m not sure which Maiko San that you are talking about, sir, but if she knows how to act, I have a good feeling about the movie. I think the movie will succeed.”

“You think so?”

Gun-Ho laughed. When he heard a positive prediction of the movie’s success that he was investing his funds in from Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda, he felt good.

Gun-Ho made a call to Director Woon-Hak Sim right away.

“Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda will join us on our trip to Tokyo on July 13th. He seemed to be excited about the trip, especially because you would go with us, Mr. Director Sim.”

“Oh, really? That’s very nice.”

“Tell Director Yan Wu that we will meet him at the airport in Tokyo on the 13th of this month.”

“Yes, sir. It transpired that Director Yan Wu is a very famous movie director in China.”

“Is that right?”

“He hasn’t produced a good movie lately, but his old movies in the past are certainly great ones. According to Director Yan Wu, he is pretty positive that this movie will be a huge success assuming that the dancing geisha plays her role well.”

“Hmm, really? That’s good to know.”

After getting off the phone with Director Sim, Gun-Ho looked at Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda, and said, “Director Sim loved the fact that you are joining us on the trip to Japan.”

“Oh, really? Thank you.”

“Please have GH Media reserve three flight tickets to Tokyo for you, Director Sim, and myself.”

“Yes, sir. I will talk to GH Media’s Ms. Hyeong-Sook Noh about it. She is handling the general affairs of the company.”

It was the day when Gun-Ho went to work in GH Mobile in Jiksan Town. As soon as he arrived at GH Mobile, he went straight to the area where the maintenance team was working. The maintenance team usually worked at a place that looked like a storage space that was covered with some fabrics.

Director Jong-Suk Park was watching the team working with some machine parts. By looking at him wearing work gloves, Gun-Ho figured that he was working with them. At the moment, one of the workers in the maintenance team saw Gun-Ho and quickly tapped Director Park’s shoulder to let him know.

“Mr. President is here.”

“Huh? Oh, bro. You came.”

“I see you’re working hard there.”

“We are assembling the machine for Dyeon Korea. The twin screws that were sent from the U.S. were not exactly in the size that we need.”

“What are we going to do about it then?”

“We just need to cut them a little bit.”