I said I would call Mr. Tan, but unfortunately, I didn't have the courage to do it. All I did was try to send him a message asking whether his wound had healed.
And he gave me a brief reply.
"It has. No complications. Thank you, Kanna-san."
Short, concise, and clear. His answer crushed half of my courage. I felt as if he saw me as nothing more than an annoying child. So for months afterward, I didn't dare call him even once. I felt foolish and cowardly.
But it turned out I would get to see him again. There was a name on my schedule for a dinner invitation.
"Hisao Yamada?" I asked, looking at the name written on my schedule. I wasn't mistaken. He had kept his promise to visit me.
So one evening, I went to meet him at a teahouse in Gion. It seemed to be only an informal meeting; even then, he had scheduled just one hour. I could still meet my other clients afterward. As usual, I wore my geisha kimono and entered the meeting room.
But Hisao and Mr. Tan were already there.
"I almost didn't recognize you, Kanna-san," Hisao greeted me first.
"You said exactly what Mr. Tan said before." This artistic makeup really could change a person's face. Young people in Tokyo weren't very accustomed to it, except those who had grown up in Kyoto from the beginning. "I'm glad you both had the chance to visit me."
"Kanna-san, it's good to see you again." This time, Mr. Tan greeted me.
"I'm not used to coming here. My father and grandfather usually handle this part. The first time I came here, I thought it was incredibly boring. I only came to bring along a curious guest." I quickly agreed with him. It was rare to see young people here.
We talked about the weather, and it turned out they were only staying briefly to meet Hisao's father.
A maiko served us tea. Not long afterward, a kaiseki dinner was served.
"Kanna-san, aren't you allowed to eat too?" Mr. Tan asked. He should have known we weren't allowed to, but he asked anyway.
"No, we're not allowed." Geisha could accompany guests while they drank, but they weren't allowed to eat with them.
"You are." Hisao suddenly picked up a piece of sashimi from his kaiseki meal and fed it to me, leaving me confused about whether I should accept or refuse it.
"She's not allowed to eat the guest's food," Mr. Tan reminded him.
"Mr. Tan, the guest in question has given her permission. Besides, I didn't tell her to eat the whole meal." I had no choice but to accept the bite. Hisao didn't seem like a patient person. He had no problem breaking the rules.
"Good... good." Now he was praising me. "Kanna-san, let's drink." He picked up a cup and poured sake for me.
"You don't want me to dance for you?" Hisao immediately waved his hand.
"No, no, good heavens. I'm not very good with the arts..." He burst out laughing. I smiled when I heard him. It seemed I was going to make him fall asleep.
"You don't appreciate art," Mr. Tan teased him.
"I'd be bored watching her dance so slowly. I came here to return this beautiful girl's kindness. You'd better introduce her to another beautiful woman, Kanna-san. She's in Tokyo for a month. When do you have time off?" Hisao's bluntness made me laugh.
"Geisha aren't allowed to date," Mr. Tan interjected.
"Nonsense. They can get married if they want to. They can even have boyfriends."
"Oh, really?" Mr. Tan asked me.
"They can, but they can't return to being geisha afterward. As for boyfriends... well, not in my okiya. Unless it's made official..."
"My grandfather used to be the danna of a famous geisha. He was very proud of it."
"Hmm... So danna means boyfriend? And what about mizuage—selling one's virginity to the highest bidder? Does that still happen?" This time, Mr. Tan was the one asking.
"No, nothing like that exists anymore. Perhaps it did in the past. Sometimes a geisha would owe her okiya the cost of her education and living expenses. If she wanted to marry, she had to repay them." I smiled and explained it to them.
"Hmm... I can't imagine scenes like the ones in movies happening nowadays. Girls aren't stupid enough to agree to be sold." Hisao gave his conclusion. "Kanna-san speaks fluent English, she's extraordinarily beautiful, and she's smart. That's why everyone knows her now."
"Mr. Hisao, you're flattering me too much."
"Can we just hang out sometime, Kanna-san?" I laughed at his teasing. It was obvious he liked openly flirting with girls.
"I'm not allowed to have a boyfriend. I'm sorry." I smiled broadly.
"That's her way of saying she's not interested in you. You're not her type." Mr. Tan laughed at him now. And, in truth, he was right... If I were invited out, I would choose to go with Mr. Tan, not Hisao Yamada.
"I didn't say that... It's the okiya's rule." But I still couldn't offend a client.
"Now you know there's someone who can turn you down." Mr. Tan continued trying to provoke Hisao. "She's not your type of girl in Roppongi."
"You—don't bring Roppongi into Gion. My grandfather and father will get angry again if you mention it here."
"Ah, Roppongi seems to be a sensitive subject. What happened there?"
"He once spent ten million yen on a champagne tower for one of his hostess's birthdays, and it made the news everywhere. His father and grandfather were furious with him, and they still bring it up to this day."
"What's a champagne tower?"
"It's when glasses are stacked very high and champagne is poured into them for one of the hostesses' birthdays. Basically, he wanted to show that he could afford it and demonstrate his appreciation for his hostess."
"How much did it cost?" I was curious now.
"Ten million yen." Mr. Tan's answer made me cover my mouth in shock.
"Ten million yen!?" Good heavens. He had blown ten million yen in Roppongi in a single night?!
Ten million yen is about 1.3 billion rupiah. Champagne towers like this really do exist; some high-end hostess clubs in Tokyo have them.
"All right, all right. That was foolish of me. I was too drunk at the time. I regret it."
"You're incredibly loyal, apparently. That's amazing..." Of course, I didn't dare say that to him. Just imagining these rich people spending ten million yen in one go left me speechless.
"That's right. He's extremely generous..." Mr. Tan laughed at him.
We gossiped afterward, chatting lightly about the lives of girls like us—geiko and maiko. We talked about things that brought smiles, about what men liked, and we let the conversation flow, making jokes so they could laugh and relax. A great geiko was someone who knew how to make her clients comfortable through conversation. That was what we listened to throughout our time as maiko: listening to how our older sisters spoke.
The dinner eventually came to an end, and both Hisao and Mr. Tan seemed happy. I was glad I got to talk with them, especially Mr. Tan, who was so humorous and full of laughter.
Although Hisao seemed like someone who enjoyed being praised and waited on, I could understand why he fit in at Roppongi. Women who knew how to flatter him and indulge his ego would satisfy him immensely. Even so, he seemed to have enjoyed this dinner.
"I didn't expect talking like this to be so much fun. Thank you, Kanna-san. I'll visit you again next time."
"I'm the one who should thank you, Mr. Hisao. I'll look forward to your next visit."
I then escorted them outside. Since I had gotten to meet Mr. Tan, who would be staying in Kyoto for a while, I had already started thinking about how to ask him to spend time with me outside the teahouse.
"Ah, Hisao." It turned out to be Mr. Yamada—Hisao's grandfather—whom we ran into.
"Grandfather..." I gave Mr. Yamada a deep bow. He was with a geisha far more senior than I was. I bowed to the geisha accompanying him as well.
"I didn't expect to see you two here. Ah, Kanna-san, so you're the one accompanying Hisao... I hope I can count on your help at the banquet this weekend."
"Mr. Yamada, you can always count on me." Hisao's grandfather always invited me whenever he hosted a banquet involving foreigners.
"Good. It's better for you to come here than to waste your money in Roppongi. Mr. Tan, this boy needs to see another side of life. He's been having far too much fun lately." His grandfather was taking a jab at him.
"Mr. Yamada, we happened to meet Miss Kanna in Tokyo several months ago. Today, we had the chance to return the favor by treating her to lunch." Mr. Tan answered Mr. Yamada respectfully, trying to change the subject and save Hisao.
"Ah, I see. Kanna is one of Gion's prides. She's a hardworking girl, and many people need her assistance. Her clients include important people and company owners. You should talk with her more, Hisao... Rather than..." Mr. Yamada didn't finish his sentence.
I smiled as I accepted the compliment. But then I noticed Mr. Yamada sighing as he looked at Hisao. Apparently, the incident still troubled his grandfather deeply. Hisao didn't dare say a word. He clearly respected his grandfather, even though he seemed rather rebellious.
"Enough. Come on, let's go back." He walked out, followed by Hisao and Mr. Tan.