A Theme Park on the Water
“Give me a moment. I’ll look into it and come right back.”
“Sorry?”
“The sooner, the better.”
“It can wait until after dinner.”
“You said you were finally taking a rest. Then I ought to have this settled for you as quickly as I can.”
A French formal dinner runs two hours at the shortest and four if the kitchen is feeling generous. They had gone to the trouble of bringing in a three-star chef, which meant nobody at that table had the slightest intention of ending things early. Thoughtful of him. Truly.
Henri Vuitton was gone a little over ten minutes. When he came back, his face was bright enough that the news had to be good.
“The yard is rather astonished.”
“……?”
“However rich the buyer, it seems no one has yet purchased one strictly for private use.”
Which was to say I would be the first.
“The price moves with the options, and if the ship isn’t going into commercial service there are quite a few things you simply don’t need. Leave those off and it should come in cheaper than you expect. Installments are available, of course.”
“They still have to build it, though. I can’t exactly take delivery tomorrow.”
“No. A cruise ship, more than most vessels, is a hotel that happens to float. They tell me it needs still more time.”
Mm. So I could spend the money and still not get to use the thing.
I was just swallowing that disappointment when Henri Vuitton, reading my face, went on.
“Fortunately, they’ve come back with a rather fine proposal.”
“A fine proposal?”
“Until your ship is finished, they’ll charter you a cruise vessel for about a month each year.”
Oh!
“What would you say to going tomorrow? Given what these things cost, it would be wiser to see one yourself before you buy…”
“Of course.”
I nodded, pleased.
The next day we boarded Luy Vuitton’s private jet and flew to Italy.
Two red Ferraris waited outside Venice airport. A man turned out splendidly in an Armani suit came toward us and bowed with exquisite care.
“I was instructed to receive you with every courtesy. Headquarters is quite a journey even from Venice, but guests as distinguished as yourselves deserved better. As a special arrangement, we’ve brought the cruise ships all the way to this harbor.”
Perhaps because a private buyer had never existed before. They were doing the VIP treatment properly.
We split between the cars and set off. It was my first time in a Ferrari. Whoa. The reputation was earned; my mouth actually fell open. I was still marveling when we arrived.
A small, solidly built man was waiting at the harbor. He bowed to me before he had even said hello.
“It is an honor to meet you.”
He was so deferential I thought he might be a staffer sent out to guide us.
“I am Diego, CEO of Fincantieri.”
He bent at the waist again. At that rate I could have believed he was a salesman. He paid Henri Vuitton ample respect as well, though it wasn’t quite the respect one shows a notable man. It was joy. Gratitude. The look you give the person who has delivered you a customer. In this town, the customer really was king.
“To get a sense of your taste, sir, we’ve prepared three models to start.”
I had already been wondering why there were three ships. They had hauled all of them here?
If they were going this far, wouldn’t it have been easier to put us on a helicopter and fly us to headquarters…
“How could we? A VVIP is coming. Of course we had to do at least this much.”
“Then this carpet on the ground is also…”
“Is there a law that only actors may walk a red carpet? Our VVIP deserves still more devoted care.”
Luxury boutiques could step aside. For customer service alone, this was top tier.
“The first I’d like to show you is the high-end vessel that represents Fincantieri. If you don’t mind, may I show you inside…”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
We made our way toward the largest of the three. I had been wondering what could possibly make a ship this expensive. Three hundred meters long, he said, and more than fifty high—four times the famous Titanic, with room for over five thousand passengers.
“There are several pools?”
“Yes. Five with water slides alone, and dozens of private pools besides.”
Ah. In that instant I knew. This was definitely not built for one person’s use. Buy a hotel and live in it alone, and every empty room is a vicious waste. The ship was the same. I could use it neatly enough by myself on holiday. The rest of the time it ought to be out earning its keep.
Mm. At this rate… am I about to get into the shipping business too?
The ideas came in a string. Recreate the underwater stage from Super Orlando just as it was. And later, once Japan gave birth to that mega-hit, Pirate King? Build a cruise made for family travel. A theme park on the sea, in the most literal sense…
Freeze!
I came all this way to play, and I’m still scheming about money?
I tried, I really did, to mean it.
The second deck is nothing but a shopping mall. Lay Luy Vuitton, Guccio, Ultimate, and Gromhats wall to wall in there, and in three years I’d have the price of the ship back and then some…
“Ahem. I don’t think I need to see any more.”
“You’ve decided already?”
“Yes. Build me this one. Every commercial option included.”
“Then… the price will jump enormously.”
I laid out the theme-park and shopping-mall plan in detail and asked whether it could actually be done. The answer that came back was deeply satisfying.
Not every reaction was so pleasant. A very large question mark seemed to rise over Henri Vuitton’s head.
“Sir… didn’t you say this was for leisure?”
“That was the original idea. But once I saw the scale, I didn’t think I could just let it sit idle.”
“For a spur-of-the-moment thought, the idea seems rather… specific.”
Yes. I dislike that about myself too. Ha ha.
I turned back to Diego.
“Shall we draw up the contract?”
“Installments can run as long as ten years.”
Practically an angel. An angel.
“And… this is a separate proposal, from the company itself.”
“……?”
“That idea you mentioned. A theme park on the water… If you would only allow us to keep building ships on that concept, we would be willing to give you the vessel at half price.”
“I don’t need the discount.”
It was installments anyway, so the burden was nothing. What was the point of buying it a few pennies cheaper—if you could call half a ship a few pennies? Better to collect a royalty every year. That was the trade with the real margin.
“…….”
Perhaps he sensed I wasn’t going to be easy. Diego put his salesman’s smile back on.
“I was hasty. That matter would be better taken up later, company to company, once a proper meeting has been arranged…”
“Good.”
I looked over the contract first. Nothing unusual. Ah—one thing. There was a special clause: while the ship was under construction, they would charter me a cruise vessel of the same size for one month each year, starting this very year.
“We were thinking of lending you this ship. Will that satisfy you?”
“Can a helicopter land on it?”
“Of course. Five can set down at once.”
Okay.
I gladly set my name on the signature line. Selling a single ship was apparently no small feat; Diego’s face was wet with feeling.
“If you’re planning to return to Monaco… why not go on this ship?”
“……?”
“President Park said he was resting, so we cleared the sailing schedule entirely. You may take her at once.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. Navigators, chefs, even medical staff are already aboard. You won’t have the slightest problem.”
I looked at Chairman Henri Vuitton.
“If you’re agreeable, sir… I may as well indulge in a little luxury while I’m at it.”
He nodded readily.
Meanwhile, Jo Sudeok was in constant motion. Circulation routes, simple! A layout you could grasp at a glance from anywhere! Drawing on that particular web of connections of his, he had invited professors from Oxford’s architecture faculty and interior-design department and was holding meetings every single day.
Until now the work had been almost entirely about finding people. Now, for the first time in a while, he gave off a distinct whiff of professor. I’m not used to this…
Even so, the work moved smoothly. With the drive peculiar to Jo Sudeok, he was cutting the expected schedule down by several times over. President Park Jihoon had clearly told him there was no need to rush. But every day the department store stays shut, that’s all money…
Jo Sudeok moved without rest, as if it were his own fortune flying out the door. If this wasn’t true loyalty, what was? While the president of the store ran himself ragged, the staff’s morale climbed by the day. The two-hour lunch was the biggest part of it. The Harris family had stepped back, and now things were truly changing; everyone could feel it in their bones. Until the staff cafeteria was finished they were being given a generous meal allowance, and that must have counted for a great deal as well.
And so, just as a great change was sweeping through Harris Department Store—
RRRR! RRRR!
A call came into the president’s office.
“President’s office. This is Jo Sudeok.”
“You sound well.”
“Aigoo, sir!”
Jo Sudeok rose from his chair and took the receiver in both hands.
“You must be very busy.”
“Not at all. Not at all.”
“I’m sorry to call when things are hardest for you, but…”
A bomb of extra work? Jo Sudeok’s back bent of its own accord.
“I’m throwing a party on the ship. It would be too sad if you weren’t there, Professor.”
Huh? He had braced for a workload and gotten a shipboard party.
“I know how busy you are. Even so…”
“Sir!”
“……?”
“I’ve already finished everything that was keeping me busy.”
“Already?”
Maybe he was addicted to hearing that word, and that was why he sprinted like a madman every time.
“The important things were done long ago. Only a few details left to settle.”
“Then you can come?”
“A party you’re hosting, sir—how could I miss it? I’ll drop everything and come running.”
“I’ll send a plane. Just come to Monaco.”
“Ah, yes. Is there anything I should bring? Anything you need right away…”
“It’s fine. It’s a cruise ship. It has just about everything.”
“Sorry? A cruise ship?”
“Yes. It’s a party to celebrate buying one.”
“Buying… um, sir?”
“……?”
“The… the cruise ship I think you’re talking about. Is that the one?”
“It probably is, don’t you think?”
He had bought that? Jo Sudeok couldn’t even ask. He only blinked.
Tennessee got the same call. Park Jihoon, who knew nothing but work, throwing a party. Didn’t see that coming.
Tennessee hated banquets. People with a bit of money summoning celebrities, seating famous faces, showing off who they knew—the type he disliked most in life. But the party Park Jihoon had described was strangely wonderful.
How did he manage not to invite a single woman?
He huffed a laugh. Very Park Jihoon. At least it’ll be comfortable.
He chose wines to bring as gifts. Château d’Yquem, Coche-Dury, Romanée-Conti, Armand Rousseau… a few old vintages would do. Ah. No need to pack them here. He’d said Monaco. A word to the palace there would take care of it.
Even so.
He bought a cruise ship?
Even if Grandfather were still alive, Tennessee didn’t think the old man would have bought him one. Thinking that, the scale of it landed all at once. He huffed.
Park Jihoon. You don’t do anything halfway.
Tennessee lifted the corner of his mouth, as if to say there was no talking the boy down.