It was August. Gun-Ho turned 38 years old.
Gun-Ho was living a happy life these days. When he went home after work, his lovely wife and precious baby boy were waiting for him. Sang-Min’s innocent laugh always made Gun-Ho laugh along with him. Gun-Ho spent his evening playing with his boy. Sang-Min was so into a rattle toy recently. It was his favorite toy. Sometimes, when Gun-Ho came home after work, Young-Eun and Sang-Min already fell asleep together. Looking at his wife and son sleeping always made Gun-Ho feel peaceful, and Gun-Ho couldn’t help but kiss both of them.
On one usual peaceful day, Young-Eun said to Gun-Ho, “Oppa, I’m going back to work in the middle of August. I found a position in a small hospital nearby home.”
“You are going back to work? Isn’t it too early? What about our baby boy?”
“I will work part-time during morning hours only.”
“Isn’t our helper lady coming to our home at 10 am?”
“I already talked to her about it. She is going to come one hour earlier at 9 am.”
“Do you think that will work? Do you think Sang-Min will be okay without his mom at home?”
“The lunch hour in a hospital usually starts at 1 pm. I will be working between 10 am and 1 pm.”
“You said the hospital is close to our home. Where is it located?”
“It’s in Bangbae Town.”
“Hmm.”
“I actually rejected a very good job offer the other day. One of my friends from college, who was senior to me, asked me to work for his hospital in Bundang District, Seongnam City. It’s a deputy director position, but a full-time job though. He offered me a high salary as well. But, I told him that I wouldn’t be able to work full-time because of my kid. I think I have to wait until Sang-Min grows older, to accept a position like that.”
“So, does it mean that you are going to officially quit your old job at Seoul National University Hospital? You are currently on leave with them on the record, right?”
“Yeah, I think I should quit that one and notify them. Working there was hard enough even when I didn’t have a child. It’s going to be impossible for me to work there while raising a kid. Unlike a small hospital, Seoul National University Hospital has very strict rules to comply with such as work schedule and overnight shift, etc.”
“Well, it’s totally up to you. I just don’t want Sang-Min to grow without his mother’s presence. Do you think we can rely on the helper lady in taking care of Sang-Min during the entire morning time?”
“She raised her own kids before, and she used to take care of her grandchild as well. She knows how to take care of a baby. It should be okay. Feeding him shouldn’t be a problem either since we can easily buy good baby bottles from the market these days. My dad and my aunt actually offered help that they would take care of Sang-Min during my work hours, but I don’t want it. I don’t want their sacrifice over my career.”
“What about my mom? I can ask her to come to help us.”
“Don’t do that, please. She has to drive all the way from Incheon City every morning. That’s too much for her. Sang-Min will be with the helper lady for only three to four hours in the morning. I will see how it works, and if it doesn’t work, I will quit the part-time job.”
“Can you not wait until Sang-Min turns 1 year old?”
“I can’t be away from my job for that long. I have to stay current in the medical field. I’m not working for money since you are giving me more than enough money for our living expenses. I can’t just stay home forever. I’m a good doctor, and I want to contribute to our society with what I am good at, and I want to help the people who are in need of help.”
“Okay. Try it for a few months, and if you think that’s not what you expected, then just quit, okay?”
“Thank you, Sang-Min’s dad,” Young-Eun said as she gave a kiss to Gun-Ho on the cheek.
The next morning, Gun-Ho went to work in GH Building, Sinsa Town.
When he sat at his desk, he received a call from Director Woon-Hak Sim in China.
“Mori Aikko is doing great, sir. She is getting along with everyone here, and we are on schedule. She still has a lot to learn in acting, but her lack of acting skills is well covered by her beauty.”
“She will have to stay in China until October, won’t she?”
“The shooting will be completed before the end of October. Director Yan Wu is working very hard to finish it as soon as he can.”
“Hmm.”
“We are shooting a lot of scenes in Yingshi Leyuan (Shanghai’s film studio park) in Shanghai, and saving our production cost.”
“Isn’t Yingshi Leyuan the place that had been reproduced with traditional houses and streets of 1930s China? The scenes where Mori Aikko would appear is supposed to be shot in a place that looks like Japan, isn’t it?”
“Not necessarily. She is playing the role of a geisha who is working in the concession territory in China.”
“Hmm, I see. I guess you won’t need any scene that depicts a place in Japan then.”
“Well, yes, there are several scenes with the background of Japan. Our staff is going to Japan next week to shoot several scenes there. I go with them too. We are not going to Tokyo though, but we are going to Kyoto.”
“Kyoto?”
“Yes, sir. There is a film studio park in Kyoto, called Toei Uzumasa. We will shoot some scenes there.”
“Hmm, really?”
“Actually, GH Media’s Mr. Yoshitaka Matsuda introduced us to that place—Toei Uzumasa.”
“Hmm, really?”
“Huanle Shiji Production Company was very content with the fact that GH Media helped them to connect with the movie studio park in Japan, which is one of your companies. They said that GH Media will also make money if this movie is successful since it’s the company that invests in their movie production.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
“And, once we arrive in Kyoto, Mr. Yoshitaka Matsuda will meet us there. He is going to Kyoto to participate in a costume play event in Kyoto anyway.”
“A costume play event?”
“Yes, he is attending the International Manga Anime Fair in Kyoto. It’s going to be held in Miyako Messe. It seems that he wants to take some photos there during the event and use them for the costume play magazine that President Shin publishes.”
“Haha. I didn’t know there was such an event in Kyoto.”
“And, umm, I have one more thing to let you know, sir. My general rehabilitation case has finally been decided by the court, sir.”
“Oh, really? What does the decision say?”
“It said that the process for the debtor’s—Woon-Hak Sim—general rehabilitation is starting.”
“Congratulations.”
“I need to make a monthly payment of 850,000 won according to the decision.”
“The amount is a bit higher than I expected. But, it’s not bad at all. Personal rehabilitation requires a debtor to make a payment for only five years while you need to make the payment for ten years with general rehabilitation. If you pay 850,000 won per month for ten years, you will end up paying 120 million won in total. That means that you are paying off your debt of more than 1 billion won with only 120 million won.”
“I really appreciate your help on this, sir. I don’t know how to thank you.”
Director Sim couldn’t continue talking. He sounded like he was about to cry.
“You’ve had a hard life, Mr. Director Sim. Your life is about to get much better. You can make a lot of money from now on, and just make the payment of 850,000 won per month for the next ten years then you are done with your debt. You no longer need to worry about your wage being garnished or your property being seized.”
Hearing what Gun-Ho said, Director Sim couldn’t say a word. Gun-Ho determined that he should better let Director Sim go now since he was being too emotional. Gun-Ho was concerned that Director Sim might really start crying.
“Well, I will have to talk to you later, Mr. Director Sim. I have a visitor here.”
“Yes, sir.”
GH Media’s President Jeong-Sook Shin came to Gun-Ho’s office on the 18th floor.
“Sir, I’m just stopping by your office because I wanted to see you since you haven’t asked me to come recently.”
“Haha. You are always welcome here, Ms. President Shin. Please have a seat; let’s have a cup of tea together. I will ask Secretary Yeon-Soo Oh to bring us very nice tea.”
“Ms. Oh, please bring two cups of tea for Ms. President Shin and me. Thank you.”
“Yes, sir.”
