Chapter 19
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Don Karman
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The characters, events, and places in this story are fictional and may differ from reality.
Scene.19
Don Karman.
Things were already surprising enough, so what could he mean by 'just the beginning'? Seong-hui looked at Kang Man-dong with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
“You'll have to fly to get here, won't you?”
“I suppose so.”
“And you'll need vehicles once you arrive.”
“Naturally.”
“You'll also need permits from the city.”
“We'd have to send an official request first.”
“I can take care of all that in one fell swoop.”
“What? How could you, President...?”
“Writer Kim. I'm the man who immigrated to this faraway place and built Camu from scratch. It's a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but I've truly been through it all.”
As a writer, her curiosity was momentarily piqued by the phrase 'been through it all'.
“If you've been through it all... what kind of things?”
“That's all in the past, so it's not important. But I'll mobilize all the connections I've made. I'll get you the best possible prices on related expenses. You'll save a considerable amount on airfare alone. I can guarantee you won't get ripped off, at the very least.”
“Oh! President!”
Seong-hui's expression turned ecstatic, as if she'd just been thrown a lifeline.
“And about the schedule.”
“Yes!”
“How about starting in two months? I'll handle all the booking arrangements before then.”
Two months? I have to finish the scripts for at least six to eight episodes before filming. And then there's casting and pre-production. That's an incredibly tight schedule.
“Would three months from now be difficult?”
“Is there a reason?”
“The timeline is just too tight. I can grind myself to the bone to churn out the scripts, but casting and pre-production are no small tasks either.”
“Hmm. Is that so? Well, we can adjust the schedule, but it'll be hard to capture the best scenes if we do.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“The grape harvest is in two months. We make wine in oak barrels. Not just the farmhands, but everyone from the local community gathers to help. It's practically a festival.”
“Ah…”
“You can think of it as Camu's only open event of the year. Once the harvest is over, the farm becomes desolate. The scenery will be very different from what you see now.”
That... That can't happen! Absolutely not!
I have to capture the lush, hanging grapes on screen. I can't just film bare branches!
“Two months from now, could you tell me around when?”
“In terms of days, we have about seventy left.”
‘If I push back the France and Italy scenes until after Camu... I think I can make it work. We can film the scene where she meets the Ax-Man here at Camu, build up some momentum, and then film the festival.’
Damn it! That means the production team has to be here at least forty days beforehand.
Will CP Yu agree to this? He's probably going to throw a fit about how tight the schedule is.
But... A vineyard without grapes? After coming all the way to Camu, I can't just film bare branches. It would turn this healing drama into a depressing one.
“I'll make it work. There's no point in coming to Camu just to film grapevines without grapes.”
“Right?”
“Yes!”
“Good. Let's do that. Oh, and in return.”
*Flinch.*
There it is again. That damned 'in return'!
“My son can't know about this.”
“Professor Kang? Why? Eventually... If Professor Kang finds out,”
“all the promises I made to you could go up in smoke. Of course, it won't matter if he finds out later. Once the rice is cooked, what's he going to do?”
“But what if he gets angry later... I haven't known him for long, but from what I've seen, the professor can be uncompromisingly sharp.”
“Ahem. They do say it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
“...”
“Anyway, you wouldn't want this to fall through, would you, Writer Kim?”
“Of course not.”
“Good. So don't let my son find out. Well, he's going back to the university tomorrow anyway, so you just need to be careful today. You can manage that, right?”
“Yes! I'll lock my door and pretend I'm not here even if I am.”
“Good. That's all you need to do. Let's see, I think we've covered just about everything. Shall we get going?”
“Yes, President. Thank you so much. You're my benefactor, my savior...”
“Haha. Well, if you really think so, then bring plenty of nice young ladies with you.”
“Yes, sir. I'll see you tomorrow.”
Seong-hui bowed deeply and walked away, practically floating on air. It was only natural, since the problems that had been plaguing her were now being solved one after another.
Kang Man-dong, who had walked Seong-hui to the edge of the farm, wore a satisfied smile.
“Is it because she only writes? She's completely clueless about how the world works. If she ran into a con artist, she'd be swindled out of her underwear.”
When it comes to business, you can't chase just one thing and expect a significant profit or result.
People talk a big game about focusing on one thing, but when you're in the field, all sorts of trivial problems constantly arise. If you just charge ahead with no backup plan, one little slip-up can bring everything crashing down.
“I wonder if everyone's here.”
Kang Man-dong strode into the ground-floor office.
“You've arrived.”
“Don Karman, it's been a while.”
“Don Karman.”
“Don Karman.”
“Don Karman…”
The people waiting there rose to their feet in a rustle and greeted Kang Man-dong.
“Alright, everyone, sit down.”
“Yes, Don Karman.”
Kang Man-dong pulled a Cuban cigar from a drawer. It wasn't the mass-produced, filtered cigarette he usually smoked.
He cut the tip of the cigar and reached for a lighter, but Alain the taxi driver was quicker, already holding out a flame.
Exhaling a long stream of cigar smoke, Kang Man-dong crossed his legs.
“With COVID and all, everyone had a tough time up until last year, didn't you?”
“That's an understatement.”
A somber mood briefly filled the office. The unexpected pandemic had forced everyone to tighten their belts.
The blow was especially devastating for Malta, which lives and breathes tourism.
“So, I'm planning to start a new venture. It will begin in about two months.”
“Is that true?”
“Don Karman! You're truly amazing!”
The people in the room watched Kang Man-dong, their eyes sparkling.
“It's a short-term project for now, but if it goes well, we might be able to extend it long-term. You all know how Korean products are selling like hotcakes these days, with the Korean Wave and all.”
“Oh, we know it well.”
“I was thinking five percent of the profits. What do you all think? Are you interested?”
“Five percent is just a finder's fee. You can ask for more.”
“No. I'm not a mafioso, and I hold the title of chairman for the local development association. I can't do that. Besides, the five percent will go to the children's scholarship fund, as usual. Just so you know.”
At Kang Man-dong's words, everyone gathered in the room looked at him with unanimous respect.
Thinking back to how they had acted when he first arrived here eleven years ago, they felt so ashamed they wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
‘We must have been crazy. If we'd known Koreans were so tough, we never would have messed with him in the first place.’
“Jefferson. Those light aircraft you bought to expand your business. They're all just sitting there, aren't they?”
At the mention of the light aircraft, Jefferson's face fell.
“Don't even ask. I took out a loan to buy two of them, but with no tourists... they're still just gathering dust.”
“You should have listened when Camu told you not to. You were so stubborn. Have you ever seen my son be wrong about anything?”
“I have no excuse.”
“Enough about the past. Depending on the situation, they'll need aerial shots and separate tours. Can you handle that?”
“Of course! If I don't have enough planes, I'll buy more. It's a request from Don Karman, after all.”
“You're all talk. If you mess up this time, those planes of yours will belong to the bank. You'd better stay sharp if you don't want to lose them.”
Jefferson nodded repeatedly, assuring him not to worry.
“And about that travel agency your wife runs. You know those airline tickets she has on hold? Get them released. For flights from Korea to Malta.”
“My goodness. If I could, I'd release them right now. We took a big risk holding them, but then that damned COVID hit. They're practically worthless now. If we can just get rid of them, I'd sell them at half price.”
“You'd take too big a loss that way. Let's do a thirty percent discount. That should be more than enough.”
“Yes! If what we have isn't enough, I'll scrape together tickets from other agencies too. Just tell me how many you need.”
“Jefferson, you do that. Emma.”
“Yes, Don Karman.”
“You remember running those food trucks with me during the local festival?”
“Of course. I made some good pocket money following you around back then. Hohoho.”
“Clean up the ones in the garage and get them serviced. You'll probably need to travel around doing business. You should be able to earn enough for your daughter's surgery. If the surgery is urgent, I'll lend you the money first. Don't hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you for being so thoughtful. I was so worried about that.”
“Is Emma a stranger to me? You're the one in charge of our guesthouse kitchen.”
“Still. Who else would be so considerate these days? If it weren't for you, Don Karman...”
Emma's eyes welled up with tears at Kang Man-dong's words.
“Come on, don't cry.”
“Who's crying?”
Emma quickly wiped her eyes.
“Alain, contact the taxi union and gather a dozen or so friendly, good-natured drivers. They might have to travel all over Malta, with Camu as their base. Ah, we might also need a couple of boats.”
“Yes, Don Karman. Don't worry. I'll get some sharp guys on standby. As for the boats, I'll speak to Tony at the merchants' association. It won't be a problem.”
“And Nicky.”
“Yes! Don Karman. Just say the word.”
Kang Man-dong's instructions continued for some time after that, and when the meeting was over, the members of the development association quietly disappeared down the same path Seong-hui had taken to Camu.