Chapter: The Ghost of Gokseong
[Breaking News] Amakusa Re-enters Korea
…No comment on whether he had re-entered at the request of the Korean government….
It was around the time Korea was abuzz over an interview with Amakusa Kazuki, who had re-entered the country, in which he said, “I will wait for my naturalization approval.”
In front of the Hyeonak headquarters.
Geuru, who had gotten out of the car, shook her head at the sitter, who was trying to take down her bicycle.
“I won’t wide it at the company anymore.”
Geuru’s expression was completely sullen as she said that.
The sitter held back a laugh and cupped the child’s cheeks.
“Geuru. Did you get caught by the police again?”
Nod, nod.
“Oh dear, our baby. I see. Is that why you don’t want to ride your bike anymore?”
When the sitter listened kindly, Geuru rattled on with an upset face.
“Twenty kiwwometers is too slow…… Both Dan oppa and Sereu oppa said they hate going with me because I’m slow. Only Daddy keeps saying it’s enough.”
“The oppas were mean. They should go with our Geuru.”
Geuru opened her eyes wide and said coolly.
“The mean one’s Daddy. Twenty is bad. But Daddy doesn’t go at twenty either.”
“You’re right. Daddy’s the mean one.”
“Yeeah.”
When Geuru huffed to her heart’s content, the sitter, who had been soothing her, patted her bottom and said they should go in quickly.
“You said you’re meeting your Master today. He might be waiting, so let’s go in quickly.”
“Ah, that’s wight!”
It had been a long time since she had met her Master, ever since he had returned to Japan because of the naturalization issue.
Geuru broke into a bright smile.
Because with her Master naturalizing, the situation had changed drastically, and she no longer had to heartlessly abandon him.
‘I was barely able to avoid becoming evil Geuru.’
As soon as Geuru trotted through the revolving door of the Hyeonak headquarters, voices welcoming her were heard from the front desk.
“Geuru-Geuru!”
“Did kindergarten end early today?”
“Hewwo! Yeeah. I didn’t do ballet todayyy.”
“Oh, the baby does ballet at kindergarten too.”
“You’ll show us next time, right?”
“Yeeah!”
Geuru nodded proudly.
She was enjoying the older sisters’ hands petting her and saying she was cute when, suddenly,
Her gaze went across the hallway where the elevator was.
The entire wall was made of floor-to-ceiling windows, and the garden trees surrounding the headquarters were clearly visible, but…….
“A person?”
Next to the garden trees, a pitch-black head was visible.
Crouched on the ground, rubbing his eyes and rising—whoever looked at it, it was a homeless person.
Geuru directed her gaze beyond the window and tilted her head.
There were occasionally homeless people begging in front of the main gate, but that hair was impeccably maintained without a trace of grease or dandruff no matter how she looked at it.
‘A new homeless person?’
As the sitter greeted them and left, Geuru sneaked out after her with quick steps.
Avoiding people’s gazes, Geuru circled the building to find the new homeless person.
“……?”
And what she found was a completely unexpected person.
*
At that moment, Jurim was avidly reading a chapter titled “Why Does Our Child Pick Up Such Things?” in a childcare book.
The gist was that it was a natural behavior occurring in a child’s development and learning process, and that one should fully satisfy their curiosity and inquisitiveness, and understand their interests and thoughts.
As if his daughter somehow knew, the moment he finished reading the chapter, she brought home another strange thing.
Practical application right after learning? The fast pace was also a problem.
“Still, isn’t this a bit much?”
When Jurim slowly turned his gaze to look, the one who had been picked up(?) by Geuru today gasped and inhaled.
“On Geuru.”
“Yeeah.”
“I get the curiosity and the inquisitiveness, but can’t you not bring home homeless people? A mister who lived on the street is a bit much. Daddy finds it hard to accept.”
“He’s not a homeless person, uh-uh!”
“I-I’m PD Hwang Uncheol!”
Geuru and PD Hwang spoke at the same time.
“PD?”
“Y-yes.”
Did that mean he was a former PD?
Why would a middle-aged man with a decent job be lounging around homeless behind someone else’s company?
In the morning, he had been in front of the company, but when he saw Jurim’s face, he had been startled and hurried to the back of the company, which Jurim had thought was a rather strange reaction.
Hmm. When Jurim met his eyes steadily, Hwang Uncheol quickly turned his head this way and that to avoid him.
He seemed to have a lot to feel guilty about.
“You are a homeless person.”
Just as Jurim was about to kindly explain to Geuru that a mister living on the street was called a “homeless person.”
Bang!
The guild master’s office door suddenly swung open.
“On-chan! Where is Geuru-chan…… Ehh?”
It was Kazuki.
He looked at Geuru happily, but when he discovered Hwang Uncheol, his eyes went wide.
“PD-san! Did you come to pick me up already? Korea is so fast~”
“Why is Hunter Amakusa here……!”
PD Hwang also looked at Kazuki with a surprised face.
And Jurim, who had furrowed his brows, looked around at PD Hwang, his daughter, and Amakusa Kazuki one by one.
A homeless former PD, his daughter who had picked him up, and a foreigner who had just returned to the country?
It was a relationship chart he couldn’t understand at all.
He pressed his throbbing forehead hard, then raised his head and asked.
“Will someone properly explain this to me?”
*
Out came a business card, politely presented with both hands.
Jurim took the card and read the name.
[NTV PD Hwang Uncheol]
“I once greeted you when you came for an interview before. You may not know, but ‘World Mart’ is also an entertainment show I directed, and ‘All Kinds of Family Life,’ which Uju filmed and won an award for this time, was also mine…….”
“Ah.”
Jurim recalled the drama that Geuru watched diligently, saying Uju appeared in it.
It cleverly unfolded the stories of various families, and he had heard that both the critics’ reactions and the viewership ratings were tremendous.
“I know. I’ve heard from the children that you are an amazing person. I am On Jurim of Hyeonak.”
At this, a smile immediately spread across PD Hwang’s face.
“Did the kids talk about me?”
“They did. But what brings such an amazing PD to be homeless in front of our company today?”
“Ah…… Aah…….”
PD Hwang, at a loss for words, gulped.
As the hesitation dragged on, Jurim turned his gaze to Kazuki.
“How do you know our company’s homeless person?”
“H-homeless…….”
Whether it was a critical attack, PD Hwang made a shocked face.
On the other hand, Kazuki simply smiled brightly and answered the question.
“When I came to Korea last time, there were political issues on both sides. They said I should come without misunderstandings, so I scheduled an entertainment show with Hwang PD.”
At the time when Kazuki first visited Korea, Japan was trying to keep Korea in check.
For that reason, the Japanese government had continuously dissuaded Kazuki from visiting Korea. In that situation, if Amakusa Kazuki decided to go to Korea, it might send a conflicting signal to Korea.
But they probably couldn’t completely stop that eccentric.
In the end, it meant they had reached an agreement under the pretext that “a Korean entertainment show was scheduled, so he came to Korea for that schedule.”
“Was the mass production of the 1st generation Amakusa series Tsurugi also part of the agreement?”
“Mmhmm.”
“What have you decided to do about it now?”
“Hmm, it’ll work out somehow.”
Kazuki said with a hearty laugh.
‘A completely unreliable answer…….’
For a hunter of Amakusa Kazuki’s caliber, whatever he did tended to bring many problems along with it.
Moreover, since he had even naturalized, there wouldn’t be just one or two issues to deal with.
It wasn’t his concern, but Kazuki now somehow seemed like a child left by the waterside, and just as Jurim was about to ask again.
PD Hwang bowed obsequiously and continued.
“It was a sudden proposal, and the schedule was tight too, but it’s not every day one gets to work with Hunter Amakusa. I had to book him even if it was difficult.”
Having said that, PD Hwang suddenly let out a deep sigh.
“But just as I was waiting with all the planning done, the issue of Hunter Amakusa’s naturalization came up……. I was really anxious about what would happen, so I’m truly relieved it worked out well.”
He had hurriedly arranged the schedule, and he had been so anxious thinking it would all fall through when Kazuki suddenly got held back in Japan.
To the Doan Group that had resolved the SSPED incident, he wanted to express infinite gratitude not just as a Korean, but as a PD.
“I understand the situation with Kazuki. Then what about Geuru?”
“Ah.”
At the sharply asked question, PD Hwang, who had rolled his eyes for a moment, straightened his posture.
“Ahem, hm. Guild Master On!”
And then he suddenly knelt.
Ooh, Kazuki let out an exclamation with eyes that said this was interesting.
“The reason I even stayed homeless in front of the company was because I had something to ask.”
He had committed to staying homeless in front of the company just to tack on these words. No matter how scary On Jurim was, he couldn’t back out now.
“May I work with your daughter?! I will take perfect responsibility so that she doesn’t feel any difficulty whatsoever!”
“…….”
Just who was taking responsibility for what?
Jurim stared at the middle-aged man on his knees as if he were a bug.