The Madam of the Hanamachi Ochaya (2)
Kim Chirok carried the gift into the inner residence.
The living room of the main house was remarkably spacious. Floor-to-ceiling windows opened onto a view of the entire garden.
He had been to the villa before, but that had been the day of a garden party, and he had never actually set foot inside. This was his first time in the living room.
An East Asian landscape of mountains and water hung on one wall. On the wall opposite, a taxidermied turtle the size of a dining table had been mounted in place. Turtles were symbols of longevity; that was likely why the specimen was displayed there.
In truth, Kim Chirok had already delivered the gift. He was free to leave. But this woman was the madam whom geisha addressed as Mother, and he found himself wanting to strike up a conversation. That was why he had come into the living room at all.
The woman spoke with a courteous expression.
"The Chairman has gone to the hospital. He said he would be back in about two hours."
"I just heard as much from the gardener."
"Then you came all the way from Seoul, sir?"
"Yes. I was at Group headquarters when I received instructions to deliver a gift."
"You've come a long way. I would like to offer you a cup of tea, but this is not my home, so…"
She, too, was a guest at the villa. Brewing coffee and bringing it out would have been awkward for her. Sensing her hesitation, Kim Chirok declined.
"Tea won't be necessary. I should be going."
"Then at least some bottled water…"
Japanese people are supposed to be good at showing gratitude even for the smallest things, aren't they?
So Kim Chirok accepted the water and thanked her with due courtesy.
"The water is nice and cold. Thank you."
"You speak Japanese very well. Did you perhaps study in Japan?"
She seemed pleased to have someone who could speak the language — as though she had been wanting someone to talk to.
Kim Chirok smiled.
"No. I studied at a language academy in Korea."
"Your pronunciation is excellent. It seems H Group hires people based on their looks as well."
Kim Chirok smiled and said,
"I heard that you came from Kyoto."
He spoke as though he already knew who she was.
"Yes, that's right. I run an ochaya in Kyoto's hanamachi."
"Then you must know Hirosue Yoshiko."
The woman's eyes widened.
"How do you know Hirosue Yoshiko? Have you been to Kyoto?"
"Last spring, when I was on a business trip to Osaka, I saw a poster. She was so beautiful I became a fan."
The woman laughed.
"I see. Yoshiko is the greatest beauty in Kyoto's hanamachi, so I suppose that makes sense. But geisha don't have fan clubs, you know."
"Is that so?"
"Idol singers and actors in Japan have fan clubs. They even hold fan meetings from time to time."
"Then why don't geisha have them?"
"Idol entertainers are a profession that deals with the public. Geisha, on the other hand, entertain only a small number of regular patrons. There's no need to go to the trouble of running a fan club."
"I see. Then, is Yoshiko at the ochaya you run?"
"No. Yoshiko is not affiliated with our ochaya."
"Ah, I see."
"Yoshiko is in Miyagawacho, and I am in Pontocho."
"Different districts, then."
"Even so, if someone requests her for a banquet, I can have her come."
What? She'll come if you just ask?
But the woman looked at Kim Chirok with skeptical eyes. He did not look like someone who would attend a geisha banquet. Those gatherings were typically reserved for older, wealthy men, which was probably why.
She smiled again.
"Yoshiko is Kyoto's finest geisha, so her hanadai — the flower fee — is enormously expensive. And because you have to specifically request her, you also have to pay a separate shugigane, something like a congratulatory gift."
"Then young people like us would hardly ever get to see her."
"And even if you pay a great deal of money, Yoshiko won't come if she doesn't take a liking to the client."
"Is that so?"
"Yoshiko is practically the pride of our Kyoto. Even if a Tokyo tycoon or a high-ranking official comes calling, she won't appear if she doesn't want to."
"She must be quite the popular woman. Someone like me would only get to see her at a matsuri festival, I suppose."
"Yes. In autumn there's a grand matsuri held in front of the shrine. That's also the only day Hirosue Yoshiko comes into contact with the general public."
"I'll have to go sometime."
"Though there are so many tourists, you'd need to arrive quite early."
"Is that so? I'll work hard, and once I become someone important, I'll pay a visit to Kyoto's hanamachi."
With that, Kim Chirok handed the woman his business card. She received it with courtesy. Looking down at it, she said,
"Ah, Kim Chiroku-san."
Then she offered him her own card. It was tiny and charming. The name printed on it was Ikuno Chieko. Kim Chirok asked her how it should be read.
In a gentle voice, she said,
"It's Hoshino Chieko."
"A lovely name."
Kim Chirok had no way of knowing whether the Japanese name was a good one or a bad one. But he said so out of courtesy. The woman seemed pleased; a faint smile touched her lips.
He thought that older gentlemen would have every reason to fall for this woman. It wasn't just her looks — refinement seemed to pour from her.
Kim Chirok stood to leave. She walked him all the way to the front door and bowed with impeccable courtesy.
She was wearing Western clothes at the moment. Kim Chirok imagined her in a kimono, and thought she would look perfectly at home against the beauty of this villa.
He returned to the parking area, to where the Mercedes was waiting. The driver grumbled.
"What took you so long?"
"Ah, they offered me a drink before I left."
"You speak Japanese?"
"A little."
"Did you go to school in Japan?"
"No. I studied in Korea, at a language academy."
"Is that so? Let's go. If we hit rush hour, the roads will be packed. Let's go."
On the ride back to Seoul, Kim Chirok took out the business card Hoshino Chieko had given him. A faint scent of perfume seemed to cling to it.
Once I make a lot of money, I should pay a visit. She said if you just pay enough hanadai, you can even summon Hirosue Yoshiko, didn't she? Though it's a bit of a shame there's no fan club.
As he thought this, it occurred to him to wonder why he was even thinking such things. He seemed to be getting a little too obsessed with geisha.
This woman wasn't even a potential marriage partner. She was someone you could summon if you paid enough money. No matter how he looked at it, he felt he was being undignified. He was no different from those middle-aged men who showed up at girl-group fan clubs.
He felt embarrassed.
Back at the office, Kim Chirok reported to Director Jang that he had successfully delivered the gift. Director Jang poked his head out and asked,
"Good work. So, was that woman pretty?"
"Yes. She was a beauty. And she seemed cultured as well."
"Is that so?"
Kim Chirok considered mentioning that he had received her business card, then decided against it.
Deputy Song asked,
"I knew Jang Zhuge called you in, but where did you go? Don't tell me you went somewhere shady with Jang Zhuge."
"Excuse me? Somewhere shady?"
"Then where did you go?"
"Ah, I was sent to deliver a gift to a Japanese guest. I think they knew I'd been attending a Japanese language academy."
"There are people who actually studied in Japan. Why send you instead of them?"
"Haha. The employees who studied in Japan seemed to be out on business trips."
That evening, he was watching a Japanese drama at home when a KakaoTalk message arrived. It was from Bang Mihee.
Kim Chirok declined this time as well. Especially after seeing the Japanese geisha madam that afternoon, he found Bang Mihee even more distasteful.
Hoshino Chieko, the geisha madam, had poise and beauty even at her age. Bang Mihee, on the other hand, had no refinement, walked around with her chin in the air, and wore heavy makeup — none of which sat well with him. Chieko hadn't even been wearing makeup, and she still seemed far superior to Bang Mihee.
Bang Mihee also had a habit of crossing her legs frequently, which he disliked. So once again he declined, saying he had a prior engagement — a dinner appointment with a professor from his university days.
Another KakaoTalk message arrived. This time it was from Oh Ha-young at H Chemical.
Oh Ha-young still seemed to think Kim Chirok was going around with Bang Mihee. He thought she was a remarkably persistent woman. He considered not answering, then sent a reply anyway.
An OB-GYN, out of nowhere? What was that supposed to mean? He figured she was talking nonsense because he wouldn't agree to see her. Then another thought occurred to him. Oh Ha-young was well-connected — maybe she had gotten her hands on some new piece of information.
After that, Kim Chirok stopped answering her messages. The more he thought about Oh Ha-young, the more she seemed like a woman with a rotten character. She was jealous of his involvement with Bang Mihee, and this was clearly her way of trying to stir up trouble between them.
And yet, on the other hand — what if it was true?
If it was, did that mean Bang Mihee had been carrying Jeong Chan-young's child and had an abortion?
She can't have a baby while she's still working, so she did that? Then why was she being so friendly toward me?
No matter how he turned it over, even a Seoul National University-trained mind couldn't make sense of it.
Kim Chirok was still young, with little experience of the world. The relationship between the Chairman and Bang Mihee was something that would never have occurred to him even in a dream. He decided it had to be fake news. Bang Mihee was haughty and fond of luxury brands, but he didn't believe she was that kind of trashy woman.
They said Oh Ha-young had a history of school violence — she really is a nasty piece of work.
He thought there was something to the old saying that when a woman holds a grudge, frost will fall even in midsummer. He concluded that the story of Bang Mihee visiting an OB-GYN was nothing more than Oh Ha-young's nonsense.
The next day arrived.
At lunch, Kim Chirok spotted Bang Mihee in the company cafeteria. As usual, she was eating at the table reserved for executives.
And sitting across from her was none other than Jeong Chan-young.
Jeong Chan-young's face was split by a broad smile as he earnestly explained something to Bang Mihee.
Deputy Song tapped Kim Chirok on the shoulder.
"Kim Chirok! You're going to lose Bang Mihee. That insolent bastard Jeong Chan-young is sitting there running his mouth!"
"I'm not interested."
"Not interested? I know Director Jang was trying to set you up with Bang Mihee."
"I said I'm not interested."
"Rumor has it Bang Mihee's made some money, too. You're going to let a good-looking woman with money get snatched away? Get over there and sit down in front of her. Bring her extra side dishes and suck up a little."
"Haha. I told you, I'm not interested."
Even as he ate, Kim Chirok kept glancing over at Bang Mihee and Jeong Chan-young. He had said he wasn't interested, but his eyes went there of their own accord.
Did that woman really go to an OB-GYN and have an abortion?
All sorts of thoughts ran through Kim Chirok's mind.