Shake It Up (3)
"Really?!" Watanabe jumped up from his seat, his face flushed with excitement. The waiter, who had been bringing food to the table, was so startled he nearly tripped, but Watanabe was too worked up to even notice.
"Whoa, aren't you a bit too excited? Sit down first. The food is here."
"Oh... oh, right!" He sat back down, but the flush on Watanabe's face didn't fade.
"Hmm, if it were me, I'd rather eat a thousand bowls of hot gukbap than this."
Yoon-gi had spoken in Korean as he took a bite of his appetizer, causing Watanabe to tilt his head in confusion for a moment.
"What did you just say?"
"Ah, I just said that, in my opinion, Japanese food suits my palate better than French cuisine. Maybe it's because we're both from the East?"
At the compliment toward Japan, Watanabe wore a look of pride. After a brief moment, he asked again in an excited tone.
"Anyway, is it really true? Can you really get me back as a model for Hermès?"
"A permanent contract would be difficult. But I think I could make it happen at least once to clear up any lingering regrets. Who knows? If you seize that one opportunity well, you might even become a permanent model again."
"I beg of you!" Watanabe bowed so deeply his forehead nearly touched the food.
"Hey, hey, are you planning to use your forehead as a topping?"
"I beg of you!"
Watching the truly desperate Watanabe, Yoon-gi felt a strange sense of catharsis and nodded.
"First, I need to meet your parents and talk. From what I can see, your parents seem to wield a fair amount of power in Japan. Am I wrong?"
Pride colored Watanabe's face once again.
"It's not so much my parents, but my grandfather who wields the power. Not over all of Japan, but he has 'considerable' influence in Tohoku."
"Tohoku... that's the region above Kanto, right?"
Kanto is the region that includes Tokyo, and Tohoku is the area north of it. In Korean terms, it would be somewhat similar to grouping Busan, Seongnam, Anyang, Suwon, and Yongin all together.
"Yeah."
"What does he do?"
Watanabe hesitated for a moment before answering.
"He's a local dignitary. He's in charge of public order."
At first glance, one might think he was a police official in the Tohoku region, but Yoon-gi deduced something entirely different.
'He's a Yakuza.'
Considering he had brought Yakuza to a high-end restaurant in the past, the possibility was extremely high. Furthermore, it was the truth.
"What about your maternal grandfather?"
Yoon-gi asked a second question to confirm one fact, just in case.
"My maternal grandfather is... um... oh... he passed away."
"I see."
The answer, which came only after a significant pause, made Yoon-gi realize that the curse he had muttered earlier was actually true.
'The fact that he answered what his grandfather does instead of what his father does confirms it. They really are siblings who married each other.'
Yoon-gi wasn't mocking Watanabe's family; he began to think about what he could do based on this information.
'Judging by Watanabe's situation, he is likely somewhat doted on by his grandfather. However, Watanabe's parents have likely fallen out of favor. Grandchildren are cute, but children are a different story.'
Having mapped out his future strategy, Yoon-gi nodded.
"Let's finish our meal for now. After we eat, shall we go meet your parents? It would be best to discuss how to bring this up to Hermès Japan. It's better for you if I exert my influence more definitively, right?"
Two hours later, Yoon-gi took the thrilled Watanabe and his party toward Watanabe's home.
Yoon-gi's party entered the house, where Yakuza with fierce expressions were guarding the front gate, and were first guided to a guest room. Thirty minutes later, Yoon-gi was led to the reception room by Watanabe, who had reappeared.
"Welcome. I heard that our Genji caused a great deal of trouble last time."
Learning that Watanabe's name was Genji, Yoon-gi nodded.
"Time has diluted it quite a bit. Entering such a classic, elegant home, I feel as though the remaining bad memories have almost vanished."
Watanabe's home was a sprawling, traditional Japanese-style country house, so Yoon-gi's words contained a measure of honest appreciation.
"Thank you for the compliment. I am Watanabe Masao. And this is my wife, Watanabe Mitsuko."
Both Masao and Mitsuko were utterly plain in appearance. Masao looked like an average Japanese man in his late 30s, and Mitsuko was the same. Perhaps one could say they looked slightly better than average simply because of their fine clothes and good food?
"Nice to meet you. I am Choi Yoon-gi from Korea."
"Please, sit. We will bring tea shortly."
Although they spoke as if they were complete strangers, Masao knew a fair bit about Yoon-gi.
'The eldest grandson of the Samwoo Group in Korea, the grandson of Brigadier General Colson, and he even has connections to the former U.S. military commander in Guster...'
The very fact that Watanabe was able to try and threaten Yoon-gi with Yakuza under his grandfather's command had been possible only because of Masao's permission. As such, after the previous incident, Masao had investigated exactly who Yoon-gi was. Of course, he hadn't discovered the core fact that he was the actual owner of YK Department Store.
"The tea is quite delicious."
"Indeed. Japanese tea culture is the pride of our nation."
Yoon-gi nodded at the bitter yet rich taste of the green tea, but he was thinking something else entirely.
'If it weren't for you people, Korea would have had plenty of this culture as well.'
In reality, the number of traditional Korean cultural elements that Japan had wiped out during their colonial rule of Joseon was well over thousands, so Yoon-gi's thought was by no means wrong. Of course, Yoon-gi wasn't angry at Masao or Genji's sense of superiority because he was a patriot. The reason Yoon-gi was annoyed was the sense of superiority itself. He didn't like it, so he held a negative perception of them, though he didn't show it on the outside.
"I heard from Genji that you intend to give him another chance... is that correct?"
Even though it was clear Yoon-gi was a middle school student, Masao showed him considerable respect. It was only natural, as he was looking not just at Yoon-gi, but at Guster, Colson, and Samwoo behind him, and he knew that Yoon-gi held the lifeline of his son Genji's future.
"That is correct."
"How can we seize that opportunity?"
In this situation, the absolute power—the gap—was Yoon-gi. Therefore, Masao read the room and brought up the main point first.
'Unlike Genji, Masao and Mitsuko seem to have a basic grasp of concepts. Is it true that even second-generation chaebols have some competence? Even if they've fallen out of favor with their parents.'
Since the problems of the 2010s "gold spoons" were already exploding in Japan in the 80s and even before that, the existence of a chaebol child like Genji wasn't particularly special.
"I first came to Japan because of business related to Hermès Japan."
"Ah... is that so?"
"Yes. And the first thing I experienced upon entering Japan was the incident with Genji."
"That... I would like to apologize once again. I am sorry."
"I am sorry."
"Sorry... no, I, I am sorry."
Watching Mitsuko and Genji apologize following Masao's lead, Yoon-gi smiled gently.
"I only mentioned that just now to provide context. Anyway, it means I don't have many connections in Japan."
He had connections to the U.S. Forces in Japan, but that didn't count as connections to Japanese society, so Masao accepted this and waited for Yoon-gi's next words.
"However, an acquaintance of mine confided their worries to me. They said they are doing business in Japan, but it's much harder than they thought. That's when I thought of Watanabe. Bad ties can sometimes become good ties, can't they?"
If you help expand the business, I will help Genji's reinstatement at Hermès Japan. At Yoon-gi's words, Masao crunched the numbers in his head and asked.
"What is the scale of that person's business...?"
"If the ability of your grandfather that Genji told me about is true, it is enough to help them sufficiently."
The hegemon of a region in Japan. This was clearly more than enough of a connection for Park Ki-soo, the eldest son of the current Seth Holdings.
'In Korea, if you hold hands with gangsters to do business, there is inevitably a risk, but in Japan, holding hands with top-class Yakuza is like getting wings.'
Of course, that didn't mean Park Ki-soo was a tiger, but still.
"Hmm... I would love to answer 'Yes, it's possible' right here, but matters related to the family must be discussed with my father. Could you give me some time?"
"Of course."
"I am curious if you could tell me the name of your acquaintance's company. It would be helpful."
"I will let you know after I hear your answer. If you have any requests, feel free to speak up. I will answer them with all my heart."
"Understood. I will give you an answer within a week... no, within three days."
The first approach had been successful.
'Phew.'
Masao's heart felt heavy as he headed to the main house. While Genji had been beaten half to death with a wooden sword for his mistakes last time, Masao had never received any attention from his father at all. Indifference, which was more terrifying than death. After Masao forcibly pushed through a marriage that his father had so strongly opposed, what he gained was an indifference colder than the Siberian frost.
It wasn't that he couldn't use the family's power at all. He could use a moderate level of power through his father's secretary. But in exchange, his father wouldn't give him even a single glance. That was why, when Masao accepted Yoon-gi's request, he was honestly agonizing over the possibilities.
'Damn it... if only Genji were even half, no, a quarter the person that kid Yoon-gi is...'
He had just finished raining wooden sword blows down on Genji, who kept whining after realizing that Yoon-gi hadn't come solely out of goodwill toward him. Clearly, Masao loved Genji. But he failed to realize that it was in a twisted way, and thinking "it's all for Genji," he parked his car at the main house.
"Welcome."
At the welcome of one of his father's secretaries, Masao spoke cautiously.
"I would like to see my father..."
The secretary's face immediately turned troubled.
"Masao-sama. As you know..."
"Tell him that I might be able to use the power of Commander Guster. I beg you."
At the mention of Guster, the secretary pondered for a moment before nodding.
"I will try to convey it, but..."
"That is enough."
"Understood."
A moment later, the secretary returned to Masao with a smile.
"He says you may enter."
"Phew."
Masao sighed, thanked the secretary a moment later, and entered the room where his father usually resided.
"Father, I am here."
A white-haired man whose sharp aura radiated outward. He had very sharp eyes, and a scar that looked as if his left cheek had been ripped long from his mouth was incredibly impressive. Watanabe Yasuda. He was the head of the Umiguchi-gumi, an organization that held a tight grip on the Tohoku region, a powerful Yakuza organization with a total membership easily exceeding 10,000.
Tak!
Yasuda tapped the reception table lightly with his palm, as if he didn't even want to speak. It meant that if the first thing he said didn't please him, he would kick him out immediately. Therefore, Masao decided to tell his father the best condition he could think of right away.
"I will successfully broker a weapons deal with a broker for the U.S. Forces in Japan."