Gun-Ho asked Young-Eun, “By the way, what about you, Young-Eun? Your maternity leave will soon end. I think you should quit your job at Seoul National University Hospital, and stay home and focus on raising our child— Sang-Min.”
“No way.”
“Why not? I’m giving you enough money for living expenses, aren’t I? Aren’t you satisfied with your loving husband and adorable son at home? Your life at home will be very comfortable. Think about it.”
“I will be regressing if I stay home.”
“Then find a job close to home. It doesn’t have to be a large hospital, right? You can find a deputy director position in a small doctor’s office maybe.”
“The work itself is usually harder, and the workload is heavier in a small doctor’s office.”
“What’s your plan then? Do you want to keep the helper lady and do nothing at home since she will take care of our child?”
Young-Eun let out a deep sigh and said, “I need more time to think about it. A man’s life is a lot easier than a female’s, isn’t it? You don’t have to worry about staying home with your child, huh?”
“That’s not true. I do worry a lot about our child too. By the way, don’t you smell something? It’s coming from Sang-Min.”
“Shoot. He pooped.”
After two days, Gun-Ho received a call from Jae-Sik Moon again.
“It’s me. I’m back in China. The trip to Korea was very nice. I thank you for it.”
“Good. I’m glad that you enjoyed the trip.”
“The excavation was already done by the time I got here. They are working on the foundation now.”
“It should make a lot of noise.”
“Yeah. What can I do about it?”
“Did you successfully take out the loan as you planned?”
“Yeah, I took out 100 million won.”
“Are your parents okay with it? That’s the condo where they are living in right now, that you used as collateral for the loan.”
“Yeah, I told them about it. I told them that we need the money to do some extra business in China. Since I took only 50% of the condo’s value, they don’t have to worry about losing the condo.”
“So, they are okay, right?”
“They said that the condo is mine, and they don’t get to say anything about what I do with the condo. They are just hoping that the business that I want to open goes well.”
“I see.”
“Oh, the vice president was here a few minutes ago. He said that we will have our first board meeting soon for this year.”
“Hmm, yeah, it’s about time.”
“I will give you a call once I get the exact date for it.”
“Okay.”
Gun-Ho went to work in the GH Building in Sinsa Town. There was a large banner hanging on the building. It was the advertisement for an art exhibition that would be held in GH Art Gallery in the basement. The exhibition was about non-figurative arts.
When Gun-Ho entered his office, the secretary— Ms. Yeon-Soo Oh— brought a morning paper to Gun-Ho.
“Please get me a cup of coffee too.”
Without realizing it, Gun-Ho was talking more comfortably to the people who were younger than him. Ever since his son was born, Gun-Ho gained some weights as well. His belly became larger. Gun-Ho, who was known as a big player in Gangnam District and who was running several companies, was radiating corresponding charisma. The comfortable and informal way to talk to younger people seemed to be more natural for Gun-Ho.
Gun-Ho was enjoying his morning coffee with his legs crossed while sitting on the sofa when GH Media’s President Jeong-Sook Shin visited his office.
“Director Sim’s TV drama in China seems to be doing great.”
“It looks like so.”
“Does it mean that we will soon receive incomes from there?”
“If the drama succeeds, then yes, we will.”
“I know that 1 million won was already sent to them. Isn’t it about the time to send the second investment funds?”
“It is… But there are some complications.”
“What complications, sir?”
“They presented me with another investment opportunity. They want to produce a movie.”
“A movie, sir? That will cost a substantial amount of money.”
“They are estimating about 10 billion for the production cost.”
“Are they asking you to invest the entire 10 billion? That’s huge.”
“They are asking for half of it.”
“It’s 5 billion then. It’s still huge…”
“They want to produce a movie with a famous Chinese authoress’ scenario— Menghuan Yinghua.”
” ‘Yinghua’ is a cherry blossom, isn’t it? A peony is a famous flower in China. Why did she pick cherry blossoms instead of a peony? The most well-known species of a cherry blossom is the Japanese cherry— Sakura. Is the movie somehow related to Japan?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not even sure if I would invest in that movie. If I decide to take the investment opportunity, I will have their movie scenario translated into the Korean language first, and see if it’s interesting enough.”
“Even if you decide not to make your investment in it, I still want to read the scenario.”
“For what?”
“Maybe we can have the scenario rewritten in a novel format, and publish it as a novel.”
“You can do that?”
“Oh, my gosh, sir. You know our chief editor— Mr. Cheon-Young Pi. He is the expert in that area.”
“Really?”
“Oh, the essay book that was written by the scriptwriter who Director Sim introduced to me will be published tomorrow.”
“Hmm, really?”
“Since the author is well known, many bookstores such as Yes24 and Kyobo Book Center reserved the number of the essay books already to sell in their stores.”
“Oh, they do that?”
“Sometimes, bookstores place certain books on their websites and sell them in advance, that are about to be published. That usually happens for those books that are written by a famous author.”
“I see.”
“President Jae-Sik Moon is doing good in China, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is doing well.”
“He gave me a call a few days ago. He said that he was in Korea for his child’s 100th day celebration. He said that he wanted to talk with me over the phone since he wouldn’t have time to meet me in person.”
“His parents and parents-in-law are very happy with their grandchild.”
“Of course. She is their very first granddaughter, isn’t she?”
“You remember his wife, right? She used to work at the book café here. She is doing very well in China too. She speaks Chinese very well, and she is very social.”
“Really? When she was here, she was extremely quiet.”
“According to President Moon, she was acting cautiously when she was working here since her husband’s friend owns the business.”
“I was told that she used to write a poem. She actually worked with me for editing work several times. She was very quiet back then too.”
“Is that right?”
“I knew that she was President Moon’s wife, and that you know them personally. So, I tried to be kind and gentle with her. It’s surprising that she turns out to be a very social person, because she didn’t talk much at all when she was here. I guess she hid her talent when she was here. Hahaha.”
After President Shin left the office, Gun-Ho received a call from Jae-Sik Moon.
“It’s me. I just talked with the transportation company’s president— Runsheng Yan. He is asking if you will be available on the 16th of this month for the board meeting.”
“16th? Let me see… It’s next Thursday.”
“That’s right. Will you be available?”
“Yeah. The 16th of this month works for me.”
“Okay, I will let them know.”
“It’s your first time attending a boarding meeting, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s my very first time.”
“At the boarding meeting, they expect to hear a report about the status of the business so far. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“The report is supposed to be given by the joint venture’s president.”
“Me? I thought it would be done by someone from the accounting team.”
“No, you have to do it, President Moon. You are the person who is responsible for the business. The workers in the accounting team or other departments can prepare the report, but you have to make the presentation.”
“I see. I will have it ready then.”
After getting off the phone with Jae-Sik Moon, Gun-Ho thought about his future trip to China for a moment with his eyes closed.
‘I will stop by Huanle Shiji in Shanghai on the way to Antang City. I guess I will have to leave around next Tuesday.’
Gun-Ho made a call to Huanle Shiji’s Director Sim.
“It’s Gun-Ho Goo.”
“Yes, sir. It’s Director Woon-Hak Sim.”
“I will be attending my joint venture’s board meeting in Antang City, Guizhou Province next Thursday. I will stop by Huanle Shiji Production Company on the way.”
“Okay, sir. I will inform President Baogang Chen.”
“Please make a room reservation with a hotel there. I want a five-star hotel that is close to Huanle Shiji. Please make a reservation for a sweet room.”
“Understood, sir. I will be at Pudong Airport to pick you up, sir.”
