Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho thought that if the company would actually receive the first order of the new product of 50,000 units, the 20,000 dollars incentive to be paid for Mr. Sakata Ikuzo would be worth it. “Oh, I’m wondering how Mr. Sakata Ikuzo is doing now. I think I need some exercise too. I’d better do some walking. I stayed in the office for too long. Let’s walk to the production field and see how he is doing.”

Gun-Ho went to the research lab where Mr. Sakata Ikuzo had been working at. Mr. Sakata Ikuzo was doing some experiments. The interpreter was dozing off while sitting behind him; his head was tilted to one side. When Gun-Ho entered the research lab, the interpreter quickly stood up.

“I thought we were done with developing the new product? What are you doing?”

“I was experimenting with TPU.”

“What is TPU?”

“TPU is thermoplastic polyurethane. It’s a major raw material of the new product.”

“What are you working on? We already have our new product completed.”

“Urethane changes color after a year. It’s one of the drawbacks it has. I want to find a way to prevent that color change.”

“You don’t waste your time, sir. I will give you a three-day paid vacation. Why don’t you take a rest and have fun?”

The interpreter looked so excited and happier than Mr. Sakata Ikuzo when he heard they were given a paid vacation.

When Gun-Ho asked for Manager Jong-Suk Park, he ran to Gun-Ho.

“Why don’t you take Mr. Sakata Ikuzo to Seoul for a tour? Mr. Sakata Ikuzo needs to stay with us until we receive the initial product order from S Group and start manufacturing our new product without any problem. This is a good time for him to look around Seoul just like a tourist. Show him Gyeongbug Palace, Namsan Tower, and etc.”

“Sure. I will take him to Seoul tomorrow. I am off tomorrow anyway. It’s on Saturday.”

“Oh, tomorrow is Saturday?”

“Bro, you don’t know what day is today?”

The next day, Jong-Suk and Mr. Sakata Ikuzo went to Gyeongbug Palace together. Mr. Sakata Ikuzo seemed to be impressed by the beauty of Gyeongbug Palace, particularly, he showed a strong interest in the palace’s architectural style. Jong-Suk and Mr. Sakata Ikuzo were at the Namsan Tower which was the next tour destination after visiting Gyeongbug Palace when he received a phone call from Gun-Ho.

“Jong-Suk, where are you?”

“We are at the Namsan Tower.”

“When are you going to have for dinner?”

“We decided to have dinner at around 6 pm at Myeong Town.”

“After dinner, come to Hannam Town around 8 pm. I am on my way to Seoul. I will meet you there.”

“What are we going to do in Hannam Town?”

“I want to buy you a drink. I know a good place to drink there.”

“Do you mean that you want to buy Mr. Sakata Ikuzo a drink? Or buy me a drink?”

“I will buy both of you a drink.”

“Alrighty. Where in Hannam Town am I supposed to go?”

“Come to the Soonchunhyang Hospital. I will meet you there.”

“Okay. Thank you, bro.”

Gun-Ho made a call to the bar hostess in Hannam Town—Ms. Jang for the first time in a long time.

“Oh, President Goo? It has been a while. To what do I owe the pleasure of the call?”

“I will be there at 8 pm today. I will bring two more people. One of them is Japanese. So if you could find a girl who can speak Japanese, that would be great.”

“Don’t worry about it. I told you that our girls can speak either English or Japanese.”

Jong-Suk was complaining while standing in front of the Soonchunhyang Hospital entrance.

“There are tons of bars in Itaewon Town, which is closer to where we were. Where does he want to take us to? He said we can just wait in front of Soonchunhyang Hospital and he will pick us up. Are we going to walk to the bar from here?”

While waiting for Gun-Ho in front of the hospital, Jong-Suk felt sorry to Mr. Sakata Ikuzo who was standing next to him. The interpreter already went home, so he couldn’t even tell Mr. Sakata Ikuzo that he was sorry.

At that moment, two sturdy men in black suits approached Jong-Suk out of nowhere.

“Are they gangsters?”

Jong-Suk felt nervous and he tried to get his body ready to fight.

“Sir, are you Mr. Jong-Suk Park?”

Jong-Suk was frightened by the fact that they knew his name.

“Huh? How in the world do they know my name?”

The tough guys seemed to know Mr. Sakata Ikuzo as well.

“Is that gentleman Mr. Sakata Ikuzo?”

“Yes, we are. Who are you?”

“We will show you the way. Please come with us.”

‘The way? to where?’

Jong-Suk was thinking that maybe he’d better run; however, Mr. Sakata Ikuzo was with him. Jong-Suk didn’t know how to say ‘run’ in Japanese, and he couldn’t leave the Japanese engineer behind; he was an important guest for the company after all.

Jong-Suk and Mr. Sakata Ikuzo followed those strangers who looked dangerous. The two men took Jong-Suk and Mr. Sakata Ikuzo to a house.

“Hmm. The house looks nice. It is residential?”

Once they went through an entrance door, there was another door waiting for them. It was another house with a nicely-carved pine tree. The yard was well landscaped with stones and lanterns.

“Welcome to Pine.”

A middle-aged woman in a Korean traditional dress greeted Jong-Suk. It was Ms. Jang. Jong-Suk recoiled.

“Where are we? I have to meet Gun-Ho bro. He is probably looking for us at the hospital.”

“President Goo is waiting for you inside.”

“President Goo?”

Jong-Suk was wondering if that President Goo is the President Gun-Ho Goo. He followed that lady inside the house. The lady talked to Mr. Sakata Ikuzo as well with a smile.

“Kochira ni irassharudeshou (please come this way).”

The middle-aged woman seemed to know how to speak Japanese.

“Oh, Kirei desu ne (pretty).”

Mr. Sakata Ikuzo was impressed by the beauty of the interior of the house and the lady herself.

When the traditional Korean door that was made of timber frame and paper was opened, a large room appeared. The room was decorated with an embroidered folding screen. Gun-Ho was sitting at a floor table in the middle.

“Please have a seat!”

“Huh? Bro!”

Ms. Jang brought floor cushions that were embroidered with a crane.

“Please have a seat. Here is Himitsu no yosei (a secret bar).”

“Oh, sodesu ka (is that so)?”

Galbi-jjim* and Sinseollo* came out along with liquor.

Three young ladies in a Korean traditional dress entered the room. Jong-Suk seemed to have a crush on them; he just didn’t know how to act around beautiful ladies. He had been in a bar and he had a relatively tough life, but he had never been to a secret bar like this one. Moreover, one of the ladies was fluent in Japanese. Mr. Sakata Ikuzo’s jaw dropped; he seemed to be extremely satisfied and happy.

Gun-Ho lifted a bottle of liquor and said,

“I wanted to buy you a drink in a nice place. I hope you like here.”

Mr. Sakata Ikuzo took the glass of liquor that Gun-Ho handed to him in two hands in a very respectful way.

“Please sit comfortably, Mr. Sakata Ikuzo. In Korea, the older person is supposed to take a glass of liquor from the younger person with one hand.”

One of the ladies who could speak Japanese interpreted for Mr. Sakata Ikuzo. She was speaking fluent Japanese.

Gun-Ho told that lady who could speak Japanese.

“Please take good care of him. He is an important guest to me. He is the world-renowned engineer.”

Gun-Ho now knew how to make a request to girls in a bar. He felt comfortable doing it. The time made him be able to do so, and his money made him do it as well.

Note*

Galbi-jjim – Korean style beef short ribs dish.

Sinseollo – It is also called the royal hot pot. All sorts of vegetables and meat in a rich broth.