Jae-Sik Moon said, “The government here is already talking about raising Yongyou Shui (property tax) as the gap between the rich and the poor is being intensified. They also mentioned that they have to stop the acute increase in the price of luxurious condos such as Huaxi Huayuan.”
“Really?”
“But the Fang Di Chan (real estate agents) here made a fuss saying that if the government raises Yongyou Shui (property tax) by 1,000 won, the price of the condo here will increase by 1 million won.”
“Haha, really? Well, that’s probably true. Imposing a higher property tax won’t be able to stop the increase of real property price. The provincial government there will try to intimidate investors or real estate buyers by raising the property tax and limiting the mortgage loan service as well. But, the real estate price will stay the same only for a while until things become quiet again, and then the price will start increasing again.”
“You think so?”
“Think about it. The high-ranked government officers in that provincial government are living in a luxurious condo themselves, aren’t they?”
“That’s true. There are a lot of high-ranked officers in our condo community as well. My wife told me that she has met many housewives in the community meeting, whose husbands are high-ranked government officers.”
“So, their personal interest is at stake. They won’t support government policies that would diminish their personal gain. In fact, they would love to see the price of those luxurious condos going up substantially.”
“That makes sense. They are humans after all.”
“I know the price of the condos there will keep increasing, and I will hold them for a while without selling.”
“Because of the ongoing China – US trade friction, an increasing number of businesses here in China are closing their doors. Given the current situation, do you still think the price will keep going up? Moreover, the youth unemployment rate is high these days.”
“Well, still, the price of the condos in Huaxi Huayuan will keep increasing despite those facts.”
“You really think so? A high-ranked officer in the municipal government here one day appeared on TV and said that ‘everyone doesn’t have to live in Huaxi Huayuan. I know that because I used to live there.’”
“Hmm, really?”
“You know what? My wife recognized that particular high-ranked officer. She said that he is still living in Huaxi Huayuan with his wife. She knows his wife very well. Hahaha.”
“The area where the Huaxi Huayuan condo community is sitting on has good infrastructure. That’s why I can tell for sure that the condo price in the community will keep going up.”
“Well, I believe in you. You are a businessman with incredible insight.”
“Haha. You are silly. Well, keep up the good work. I will talk to you later.”
After finishing his dinner, Gun-Ho went up to his room. He was watching the TV lying on the bed when he received a call from Director Woon-Hak Sim.
“I’m calling because Mori Aikko asked me to give you a call to let you know about her schedule, sir.”
“Okay. Please go on.”
“Mori Aikko will have to shoot several scenes until 2 am today. She will then stop by the hotel for a brief sleep until 7 am before coming back to the movie studio. Her part will be finished around lunchtime tomorrow.”
“Is that right? Well, please tell her to focus on the work for now.”
“Yes, sir.”
The following day, Gun-Ho spent the day by himself again. He went to an art gallery in Shanghai City and visited Dongfangmingzhu Tower as well. When he was having lunch, Mori Aikko called him.
“Oppa?”
“Are you done with the movie shooting?”
“Gogo 2-ji koro ni audeshou ka? (Shall we meet around 2 pm?)”
“You must be very tired after shooting the movie without having enough sleep at night. Why don’t you take a nap and meet me around 6 pm instead? I’m away from the hotel anyway.”
“Sounds good. I will see you at 6 then.”
“Okay. I will be waiting for you in the lobby at 6. I will buy you a delicious dinner.”
“Thank you.”
After getting off the phone with Mori Aikko, Gun-Ho thought of his family in Korea—Young-Eun and their baby boy. He felt sorry for Young-Eun, and he decided to give a call to her.
“Young-Eun? How are you?”
“I’m good.”
“I’m afraid that I will have to stay here one more day. I actually wanted to return to Korea today, but it didn’t work out that way.”
“That’s okay. Take care of your business there. You don’t have to rush into coming back home.”
“I love you. And, please tell Sang-Min that his daddy loves him so much too.”
Gun-Ho felt somewhat relieved after talking to Young-Eun.
After stopping by one more tourist spot, Gun-Ho headed back to the hotel. When he arrived at his hotel room, he took a brief break, and then he went down to the lobby. It was around 6 pm. Mori Aikko was not there yet. Gun-Ho waited and waited, but Mori Aikko didn’t show up in the lobby. He finally decided to give her a call.
“Maybe she is asleep.”
Gun-Ho called her around 6:30 pm. Mori Aikko’s sleepy voice was heard on the other line.
“Ima 6 shiya (it’s 6 pm now).”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“I guess you are too tired to get out of bed. I want you to get some more sleep.”
“No, no. I’m up already. I will be right down there.”
It was almost 7 pm when Mori Aikko showed up in the lobby. When Mori Aikko spotted Gun-Ho, she smiled broadly and ran toward him and held his arm.
“I’m sorry, oppa.”
“Don’t say that. I know you are exhausted. I should have let you sleep more rather than making you come down to have dinner with me.”
“It’s okay. I had enough sleep.”
Mori Aikko seemed to be so excited to see Gun-Ho, especially in a place away from home. She couldn’t stop smiling.
“We should eat, right?”
“Yes, yes. I want to have delicious food.”
“Okay. Let’s get out of the hotel.”
Gun-Ho and Mori Aikko took a taxi. Gun-Ho said to the taxi driver in fluent Chinese, “Dao Ming Xuan (Please go to Ming Xuan)”
“Hao De (okay).”
Ming Xuan was a famous restaurant located in Xujiahui District in Shanghai City. The restaurant was in a renovated building of a western-style structure. It was serving primarily traditional Chinese food. Many high-ranked government officers and rich businessmen from all over the country often visited this restaurant. It had hundreds of chain restaurants scattered all over the continent of China.
Mori Aikko seemed to like the restaurant.
“This restaurant looks fancy. I didn’t know there is a restaurant like this in this area.”
Gun-Ho told a restaurant staff that they wanted to sit in a Baoxiang (special room). They were then shown to a private room. Gun-Ho picked several dishes that Mori Aikko would love, and he placed an order.
“San Huangyou Ji (deep-fried chicken), Hongshao Hui Yu (grilled braised catfish), and …”
While Gun-Ho was placing an order in fluent Chinese, Mori Aikko watched him with an amazed look on her face.
“Whoa, oppa, you sound like a native Chinese man.”
Hearing Mori Aikko speaking Japanese to Gun-Ho, the restaurant staff started talking to Gun-Ho in Japanese. He probably thought that Gun-Ho was Japanese.
“I’m Korean,” Gun-Ho told the restaurant staff.
“Oh, really? You speak Chinese very well, sir.”
The restaurant staff seemed to be surprised by the fact that Gun-Ho was Korean.
The staff asked Gun-Ho, indicating Mori Aikko, “She is a beautiful lady. Is she, by any chance, an actress?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Oh, is that right?”
The staff quickly pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, and he asked Mori Aikko for an autograph.
Gun-Ho and Mori Aikko had a delicious dinner. Mori Aikko seemed to enjoy the food that Gun-Ho ordered for her. She was probably feeling hungry after long hours of work.
“It’s good, right?” Gun-Ho asked her.
“Yeah.”
“Eat more.”
Gun-Ho picked up several pieces of food and put them on Mori Aikko’s plate. Gun-Ho then ordered a bottle of wine.
“These dishes will go very well with a glass of wine.”
A female restaurant staff came into the room carrying a bottle of wine.
“This is a wine made in France. Would you like to try it?”
“Sure.”
Gun-Ho and Mori Aikko took enough time to indulge in the traditional Chinese dishes with wine that evening.
