Kyoto Trip (1)
Kim Chirok sat down across from the Division Head and held out his letter of resignation.
"I don't think I'll be able to go to India. As it happens, I've already found a new position."
"Don't take what I said personally. I know as well as anyone that the rumors from Kim Chirok's time at H Group were all fake news."
"Then that's all I needed to hear. I haven't been at this securities firm long, but I'm leaving having learned a great deal."
"Even if you went to India, it wouldn't be for the rest of your life—you'd be back before you knew it. And false rumors fade on their own if you just give them time. Couldn't you tough it out a little?"
"I have no desire to stay at a place that gets pushed around by rumors."
"For heaven's sake."
The Division Head wore a look of genuine discomfort. He clearly had not expected Kim Chirok to come out this hard.
Chirok walked out of the office without a backward glance. Demoting a man on the strength of idle gossip was no way to run a company, and he had no interest in remaining at a firm that would not protect its own people.
The trouble was that once he was outside, he had nowhere in particular to go. Arriving home too early would only make his mother suspicious, so he decided to kill some time in Yeouido before heading back.
He made his way to Yeouido's IFC Mall. A large bookstore occupied the basement, and he was browsing the shelves when his phone rang. It was Manager Lee from H Chemical—the same man who had gone with him to Osaka on that earlier business trip.
"Kim Chirok? What have you been up to?"
"I'm at a securities firm in Yeouido, but I'm thinking of leaving this one too."
"Why? A Yeouido securities firm is a sweet gig, isn't it? Make fund manager and you'll be raking it in. Then you can tip me off on a few stocks, and I'll worship the ground you walk on."
"They want me to go to the India branch, so I'm quitting. And securities employees aren't allowed to make personal trades using insider information."
"That so? By the way—Oh Ha-young was asking after you yesterday. Kept fishing for news, real casual-like."
"Why the hell is that goddamn bitch asking about me?"
"Come on, now. A cultured fellow like you, throwing around words like 'bitch'? She had a thing for you once, didn't she?"
Manager Lee, it seemed, had no idea that Oh Ha-young had filed a sexual harassment complaint against him. Chirok considered telling him, then let it go. That matter was between Oh Ha-young and himself. There was no need to let it spread through the company and kick up a fuss. He was already walking away from the securities firm over the Bang Mihee affair; having the Oh Ha-young business get out on top of that would do him no good at all.
"I think I was happier when I was still at H Chemical. I'm only realizing now how well you and the Director treated me."
"Me? I didn't do anything special."
"That's not true. You treated me well."
"Heh. You're going to make me blush. Ah—I almost forgot why I called. What happened with what I mentioned last time?"
"What was that?"
"I said we should go to Japan. There's a matsuri in Kyoto—I figured we could do a little sightseeing. Last time we only made it to Osaka. We never got to Kyoto, so I thought we ought to go."
"I'm not sure."
"Is it the money? I told you—we can fly a budget airline and stay at a minshuku once we're there."
Chirok was leaving the securities firm anyway. The thought of a trip to Japan, if only to clear his head, suddenly seemed appealing.
"When were you thinking of going?"
"If you want a budget flight, the dates matter. Peak season is no good. I'd like to go next Friday. The week after that is a holiday stretch, so the cheap tickets dry up."
"Is that so?"
"Eastar Jet or T'way Air will do. Round trip should run you about a hundred thousand won. I'll send you my account—just transfer three hundred thousand. I'll handle the flights and the lodging."
"All right. Send the account."
Chirok hung up. A moment later, Manager Lee's KakaoTalk came through.
Chirok sent his English name and transferred the three hundred thousand won.
From the next day on, he stopped going into the securities firm. Afraid of startling his mother, he spent his hours at a nearby study café, reading, and threw himself into hunting for academy instructor openings.
He scoured every tutoring job board he could find—Hunjang Village, Saramin, even the classifieds on Flea Market. He picked through a community café called Academy Instructor Village as well, leaving no posting unread.
Openings in other districts were plentiful. Nothing in Daechi-dong had caught his eye yet, though a few days earlier an advertisement had gone up for a math instructor at one of Daechi-dong's well-known academies.
If I wait, a good one will turn up. I'll look again after I get back from Japan anyway.
One thing did leap off the page. A post claimed that among Daechi-dong's star lecturers were people who pulled in ten billion won a year.
Ten billion won?
Ten billion won was enough to buy a proper apartment in Seoul and live out the rest of your days as one of those FIRE retirees. Chirok wanted to get to Daechi-dong and start teaching as soon as he possibly could.
The day of the trip with Manager Lee was drawing near. Chirok told his mother he would be going to Japan.
"Is this a business trip from that securities firm of yours?"
"No. I'm going with someone I used to work with at H Chemical."
"So it's personal, then?"
"A bit of both—personal and professional."
"I-is that so?"
"We leave Friday afternoon and come back Sunday night, just so you know. I can speak a little Japanese too."
"All right. Have a good trip."
A text arrived from Manager Lee.
Friday afternoon arrived. Chirok met Manager Lee at the airport.
Lee was wearing a red T-shirt under a matching jacket-and-pants set, his belly straining noticeably against the fabric. He was beginning to look every bit the middle-aged ajusshi. He lit up at the sight of Chirok.
"Kim Chirok! Good to see you! You've lost some weight since H Chemical, though. Securities work must be brutal, huh?"
"Your belly's gotten bigger, Manager."
"Heh heh. That's the pork belly. Anyway—looks like we're lining up. No online check-in on a budget carrier."
The two of them joined a line that stretched a long way across the floor. Manager Lee glanced back over his shoulder, snickering.
"A man has to know which line to stand in."
"Which line to stand in?"
"You should have gone to the Strategic Planning Office and gotten in line right behind the chief."
"I didn't get in any line, so I got shipped off to Changwon. Then I went to a securities firm, and now I've quit that too."
"Sounds like you've been through the wringer. At this rate, you might as well head to Daechi-dong and try your hand as a star lecturer. Might even be the better play."
"I hear the pay is better."
"It would be. I hear Daechi-dong instructors pull in ten million won a month easy. You went to Seoul National University—that'll count for something on the private tutoring market too."
"It's the college entrance exam track, though. I'm not sure I can still do it. I've forgotten a lot."
"You're sharp. You'll pick it up in no time. Not like people like me—but you? You're the dragon who crawled out of the creek, aren't you?"
"The tutors in Daechi-dong all have impressive credentials. There are plenty of people better than me."
"Still, though—why don't you ever ask how Oh Ha-young is doing?"
The moment her name came up, Chirok felt the blood rush to his head. By now, even the sound of Oh Ha-young's name was enough to set his teeth on edge.
"I have no interest in Oh Ha-young."
In the departure lounge, his mother's call came through. He had not switched his phone to airplane mode yet.
"Something arrived from the court. A postal worker brought it, so I signed for it."
The trial date for the Oh Ha-young case had probably been set. It was Friday; the hearing would not be tomorrow, so he would deal with it after he got back from Japan.
"Ah, that? Just leave it on my desk. It's nothing important."
His mother never opened other people's mail. She had spent her life as a cleaning woman and a caregiver, but she had once written poetry, and she was not the sort to do something so improper as prying into a letter that was not hers.
They landed at Kansai Airport. After clearing immigration, they were met by a young man who said he was studying in Kyoto—a lanky fellow with glasses. Manager Lee seemed to know him from before; he clapped the student on the back.
"Studying hard?"
"I booked us near Kawaramachi Station, close to the Gion hanamachi," the young man said. "I went with a small hotel rather than a minshuku."
Manager Lee pushed his belly out a little further.
"Good man."
"It's a hotel, but a premium-economy one. The price isn't bad. You're not students—you both work at major companies—so I booked accordingly."
"Well done. Shall we?"
"Today we'll drop our bags at the hotel and head to Nijo Castle. The hanamachi matsuri is tomorrow."
"Is that so?"
"We'll want to get to Nijo Castle before it closes, though."
"Then let's move."
They took the JR train into Kyoto. The hotel near Kawaramachi was genuinely small—five stories, nothing more. Kim Chirok and Manager Lee would be sharing a room.
With the Kyoto student leading the way, they went on to Nijo Castle. It was, they were told, the residence Tokugawa Ieyasu had used whenever he came to Kyoto from what was now Tokyo.
The place was packed with tourists. The student launched into his explanation with great enthusiasm, words tumbling out of him.
"When you came in just now, did you notice the coarse sand spread across the courtyard in front of the palace? That's why your footsteps were so loud."
"Now that you mention it."
"They did that on purpose—so you'd hear a ninja coming."
They stepped inside the palace itself. Compared to a Korean royal compound, there were far more rooms, and they were remarkably spacious. It was the sort of place that had never known heating, which probably explained why the chambers had been built so large.
The student smiled.
"Hear that? The floorboards creak every time you take a step."
"So they do. Old building, I suppose."
"It isn't the age. It's the ninjas. If they attacked, the creaking would give them away, and the shogun's retainers would know at once."
"Those ninjas are always causing trouble, aren't they."
"There's a ninja village not far from Kyoto. They even let tourists try the ninja experience themselves."
"They'll use anything to pull in visitors."
"Heh heh. I've been. A pretty woman comes out and does a sword demonstration, then shows off throwing these things called shuriken—throwing stars."
"Should we check it out?"
"Haha. It's not in downtown Kyoto. You'd have to make a proper trip of it."
That was as much sightseeing as they managed. By the time they left Nijo Castle, the sun was already slipping toward the western hills.
That evening they drank their dinner at an izakaya in the city. The last time they had come to Osaka it had been a business trip, and they had not been free to do as they pleased. This time they had come on their own, and the pressure was off. They could drink as much as they liked and sleep in the next morning.
Chirok studied the menu and called the server over to order. Manager Lee stared at him, startled by the fluency of his Japanese. The student looked just as surprised.
"Your Japanese is excellent."
"I studied a little. I passed the JLPT at N1, but I still can't handle a long conversation."
"JLPT N1? Then you're really good."
Manager Lee grinned.
"You know who this is? He came in first in H Group's open recruitment. And he's a Seoul National University Business School graduate."
"Is that right?"
"You failed to get into a university in Seoul and came here to study, didn't you?"
"Heh heh. Why would you bring that up again?"
Chirok spoke up.
"Hirosue Yoshiko will be at tomorrow's matsuri, won't she?"
"I'm sorry? You know Hirosue Yoshiko?"
"I saw a poster when I was in Osaka on business last time. I hear Yoshiko is quite beautiful."
"She is. She's Kyoto's signature geisha, isn't she?"
"Is that so?"
"I saw her on television once—truly beautiful. They say she's a natural beauty who's never had a stitch of plastic surgery. Tomorrow the tourists will be out in force just to catch a glimpse of her."
If Yoshiko was a natural beauty, Chirok thought, she would be nothing like Bang Mihee. Bang Mihee was a creature of the surgeon's knife.