The Izakaya in Osaka (2)

The Director sat with his arms folded, a pensive look settling over his face. A long moment passed before he uncrossed them and turned to the Branch Manager.

"When you go to Kyoto, there must be places like those high-class houses where geisha appear, right?"

"There are. If you go to Kyoto's Hanamachi, you'll find ochaya — exclusive high-end drinking houses where geisha entertain."

"How much would it cost to go to one of those?"

"Hard to say. A lot, that's for sure. You'd need to bring enough to cover a night at a room salon back in Korea. You look like you came with a generous travel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠budget."

"I figured I'd try going sometime, even if it's later. If you're born a man, shouldn't you see a place like that at least once?"

"You don't just walk into a geisha house because you've got money. You have to reserve in advance, and without a recommendation from a regular patron, you're not getting in."

"A regular's recommendation? Why's that? Doesn't sound very businesslike."

"Even so, there are plenty of wealthy men looking for geisha. There are few geisha and far too many people chasing them, so without a recommendation, it's impossible. It means they only accept respectable guests whose identities they can verify."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

The Director drank his sake, disappointment flickering across his face.

The Manager who had come along with him grinned.

"Branch Manager, you've been stationed here a long time — I imagine you've been to one of those ochaya at least once?"

The Director chimed in.

"That's right. You've been entertaining VIP guests from Seoul. You must have gone."

"I've only been once in the two years I've been here. When the President of H Electronics visited, I escorted him there — just that one time."

"I thought you needed a regular's recommendation?"

"The President of H Electronics studied at Kyoto University. He has connections here. That's how we got in. He also speaks excellent Japanese."

"The Electronics President studied in Japan?"

"He did his undergraduate work at SNU's College of Engineering in Korea, but apparently he went to graduate school in Kyoto."

"Then you must have seen that geisha from the poster — Yoshiko, or whatever her name is — in the flesh."

"I didn't. Hirosue Yoshiko only appears at national events and as a cover model. She doesn't typically show up at an ochaya pouring drinks."

"Is that so?"

"On top of that, Yoshiko has been keeping a low profile lately. The son of the Wakayama Steel Chairman was chasing after her and ended up taking his own life."

"Killed himself?"

"His family must have opposed him getting involved with a geisha. And when Yoshiko wouldn't see him either, he went and did it."

"Really?"

"Last year that incident had Kyoto and Osaka in an uproar. It was all over the press. I think that's why Yoshiko has been less active lately. Seems like she's pulling back of her own accord."

"So that's what happened."

"But she's so beautiful, and so gifted in song and dance, that she still appears at the major events. I've seen Yoshiko in person myself."

"You have? Where?"

"I saw her at the Gion Matsuri."

"Must have been packed."

"Several shrine maidens from Miyagawacho came out to perform a dedicatory dance, and it seemed like every tourist in the crowd had their camera pointed at Yoshiko alone. There were so many people you could barely speak."

"You're lucky, getting to see an event like that."

"Want to switch places with me? We joined the company at the same time — it might actually be possible."

"I'd have to know Japanese first. Stop talking nonsense and drink your sake."

At that moment, the Osaka Branch Manager's phone rang. He signaled for everyone at the table to be quiet.

"It's the Head of the Group Strategic Planning Office. Keep it down."

Everyone fell silent. A call at this late hour? And from the Head of the Strategic Planning Office at Group Headquarters, no less — they all wondered what it could be about.

President Jung-hee — that meant Choi Jung-hee, the power behind the power at H Group. She was the Chairman's own daughter.

The moment the call ended, the Director from H Chemical stared with his eyes gone wide.

"They're telling us to attend the Expo? We already finished the tour. We were going to Universal Studios tomorrow, and flying home the morning after that…"

"Hey. Is sightseeing really the issue right now? This is a golden chance to get your face in front of President Jung-hee."

"Ha. Looks like we'll be touring the Expo twice."

"While you've got President Jung-hee right there, make yourself visible. That's how you get ahead, isn't it? From Director on up you're an executive — the Labor Standards Act doesn't protect you. Slip up and you can be cut loose."

"That's true, but…"

"What? Is it because of the rumors that President Jung-hee is so sharp-edged?"

"Plenty of people have hung around in front of President Jung-hee and gotten struck by lightning for it instead…"

The rumors about President Jung-hee's sharp edges were already common knowledge. She was the kind of woman who would make even her own husband get down on his knees if he stepped out of line.

Some took her high-handedness as the arrogance of a chaebol daughter who answered to no one, but the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Chairman adored this side of her. In private, he had once remarked that if his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠daughter had been born a son, he would hand the entire Group over to her then and there.

The Branch Manager looked the Director straight in the eye.

"The fruit is always bigger when there's something at stake. You want to finish out as a salaried Director?"

"If they hear we're from H Chemical, she'll probably ask all sorts of things, won't she?"

"You think so?"

"Won't she ask everything from current revenue figures to growth indicators and stability metrics? She wouldn't ask the Osaka Branch Manager things like that."

"Wouldn't it be great if you could answer everything without missing a beat? Then she'd think this Director Park from H Chemical is a sharp one. At this year's year-end appointments, you'd make Managing Director for sure."

"All right. I'll take the plunge."

"Get all the various metrics organized in your head before you show up."

The Director's face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had the taut look of a man sobering up — or tensing up.

That was when the Manager who had come along spoke up.

"We can just go sightseeing tomorrow, right? Small fry like us don't even need to meet the higher-ups, do we?"

"Didn't you hear what he said? She's coming with just one secretary, so he said it'd be good to have extra people standing around as extras."

"Th-then I guess we'll have to see the Expo again."

"You only skimmed the Expo anyway, didn't you? Taking a closer look a second time wouldn't hurt."

Kim Chirok wanted to see Choi Jung-hee at least once.

A low-ranking staff member like himself, he figured, would not be on the receiving end of any sharp questions.

Choi Jung-hee was the Chairman's daughter, and she was known as a woman of tremendous business ambition. Though she was only in her early forties, she had married in her twenties — as a chaebol daughter, money had never been an obstacle. She had wed the son of a media company president, and rumor had it her husband never could hold his own against her.

Kim Chirok wanted to see for himself just how formidable the Chairman's daughter's presence really was.