A Midsummer's Fantasia (한여름의 판타지아)

We ran a grocery store at first.

since 1952.

No, we ran the grocery from 1948 to 1952 here,

Then, we ran a Pachinko from 1952 to 1956.

We often changed our business, because it was not good.

Little by little it went bad.

It's just enough for two of us to eat...

We manage to live with our monthly pension.

We live on the pension.

I wait for customers wondering how many would come.

Almost everyday is similar.

It's been 42-43 years since I ran this cafe.

So I work at my own pace. My body moves that naturally.

They say he is out of the office now.

Shall we go?

Well, you director had better see them together with what you think.

But suddenly and strangely by accident,

I met that old couple at the cafe before...

This is Mr. Takeda.

The one we're supposed to meet... Takeda Yusuke.

Ah, Takeda Yusuke! Hello.

I'm Kim Taehoon.

- You're the director. - Can I shake hands?

Call me Kim-san.

Kim-san.

- Mijeong-san. - Mijeong.

- He said it's very hot. - Yes, hot.

- Shall we go now? - Sure, it's all right.

- It's hot, but are you okay with it? - That's okay.

There aren't many people.

He says, population of Gojo city is decreasing.

Young people moved to big cities, so mostly elderly people stay here.

They are trying various things to revitalize economy.

Persimmons are the specialty here,

so they're holding various events with them.

He say, it's not that simple.

That's why I don't see young people yesterday and today as well.

I think so.

Are you from Gojo?

He says he's not from here but from Tokyo.

After graduating from university there,

he passed a local civil service exam, and has been working here.

- He's been here for 3 years. - He must have studied a lot.

He says, shops are closed because there're few people.

Korea...

E...excuse me.

Thank you.

Arigatou gozaimasu.

When all family members and relatives are dead,

there is no one to take care of the graves,

so these graves are gathered together over there.

So it means the cemetery without family as we know.

Maybe they aren't so lonely, since they stay together like that.

I guess so.

Like a pyramid...

Not all shapes are the same in Japan.

Delicious!

Glad to hear that.

Delicious.

Not long before I started working,

a Korean tourist visited like you two

and I guided once.

Yes, that kind of thing rarely happens,

since we hardly meet Koreans here.

What I did was similar to today.

We walked here and there, and it was really hot.

It occurred me all of a sudden.

The person looked like you Mijeong, a little.

- Like me? - Yes.

Is that so?

So it was a woman?

Yes, it was.

Did you have any romance with her?

I wish I could.

But, nothing happened.

I...

Originally, I...

A long time ago, I wanted to be an actor.

- Really? - Yes, really.

That's right.

I didn't go to college for acting, and

my major was literature.

but I preferred moving my body to sitting at the desk to study.

I liked films, too.

Why did you decide to become a public official?

After graduating from university,

I seriously decided to be an actor.

and...

An elder from my university club belonged to a troupe.

You know what 'troupe' means?

He recommended me to the troupe,

and I got in.

But,

after I joined it and performed,

I realized I was not talented as an actor.

And then,

I came to hate living in Tokyo itself.

What time do you usually work by?

By 5 PM.

These days, I work till 10 or 11 to prepare for the festival.

That must be exhausting.

Yes, it's hard.

That's it for today. Everything was okay?

He's wrapping up for today, and wants to know if it was all right.

Yes, thank you so much for interesting and useful time.

Please tell him that

I'd like to treat him to dinner before I leave.

- Thank you very much today. - No, my pleasure.

He'd like to take you to dinner before he leaves.

Good, good.

Please do so.

You have a meeting tomorrow, right?

He has lived in Gojo for a long time,

so he must know a lot more than I do.

He says that since the person we'll meet tomorrow

has lived in Gojo for a long time,

he will have more to tell us than Mr. Yusuke did.

I apologize for not knowing a lot.

He says, sorry for not being helpful.

No. I really appreciate it.

Did you get the feel of something today?

Well...

The cafe in the morning and Yusuke.

I personally liked what Yusuke told us today.

It's interesting.

Actually it's not easy, is it?

Before we met Yusuke in the morning,

I thought he'd only show us the obvious sites.

But it was nice to hear his personal story.

Maybe I... we went to the cafe in the morning.

I arrived there 30 minutes earlier.

If I hadn't been there,

I wouldn't have thought about interviewing Yusuke.

During the pre-meeting in Seoul,

I heard there's an alley like Shinmachi.

When I took a walk around in the morning,

I found that cafe by chance.

Didn't you get the right feel of it when you came in?

Those grandmothers and grandfathers...

It's still vague but...

I can't think of anything now though...

I mean, if someone guides us

to every nook and corner without any plan or what we have prepared,

then, something magnificent might be coming, I believe.

During the interview with Yusuke,

I was going to ask him about Tokyo story.

If he hadn't told us,

- You'd not have asked him either. - That's true.

As you know, we need his help for another 3 or 4 days,

so it was difficult for me to poke my nose into his privacy.

But luckily,

he was open to tell us first that he was an actor.

That was a good thing today.

When you came here, as I saw you,

I didn't think you had concrete ideas.

But now, you seem to set a direction.

I am not sure though.

What's important is who.

Something happens in Gojo,

but what's important is who is in it.

In a way, that can be a young character like Yusuke.

There must be a character.

I didn't come here to shoot the scenery,

not to see mountains and shrines here.

'Who' is the most important thing.

Moreover,

though we live in Seoul,

when you sometimes go to a different region

and meet a person with a Seoul accent,

don't you feel a sense of kinship strangely?

No?

You can tell the difference from the people to live there.

Or they have different feelings.

Did you notice?

I didn't know.

But, I guess people from Gojo recognize Yusuke's accent.

Sure, they know.

I find that very interesting by itself.

Those things...

It's like there's a doctor from Seoul.

I'm not saying that area is bad.

- Like Bonghwa in Gyeongsang province? - Yeah. Like Bonghwa.

Imagine there's a very sophisticated looking doctor there.

Can't you see him outstanding?

You find that interesting?

I mean there is a story there.

In addition,

more than talking about actor or literature,

that might be 1 out of 10 reasons,

but the rest of them is that we are others.

There should be something he couldn't tell others.

He should have reasons,

and I'll figure it out.

Why didn't you ask him more?

I did.

More.

I liked his story, so wanted to hear more.

- I asked a lot. - You did?

You didn't translate all, so I didn't know.

Sorry, his story was Interesting to hear...