"GetsuKoi" The Novel
Kita, kita!!! I got it yesterday! "Moon Lovers" novel!^o^
Really happy when I received it. I've read about 60 pages out of 340.
pic source: http://michioshusuke.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2010/05/post.html
コインが4枚。何に見える？ 恋は謎かけから始まった。
お前の一言が、俺の運命を変えていく――冷徹な手腕でビジネスを成功させる青年社長・葉月蓮介が、夜の上海で巡り合った女。ありえない二人の物語は、美貌の中国人モデル、部下の社員らを巻き込んで予測不能の展開に……。
"Four coins. What do you see?"
It's a romance started from a riddle.
"That single word from you will change my destiny..."
A successful young president, Hazuki Rensuke said, to the woman he met by chance in Shanghai at night. The two have an unbelievable story that will involve a beautiful Chinese model and his employee subordinates with unexpected developments...
From what I've read so far, seem like there are 3 main characters: Mukumori Yayoi, Hazuki Rensuke and Liu Xiu Mei. Because the stories are divided into parts and each part are told from these 3 characters' POV, in turns.
Where's Maemi, you asked? There's NO MAEMI in the novel! lol. Based on the tagline/brief synopsis on the cover, apparently this is a story of a destined encounter between Rensuke and Yayoi, with Xiu Mei, as icing on the cake XD
But I actually love this Yayoi girl. She provides comedy elements to the story, so far. Somehow everything happens around her are funny. But when the story switched to Rensuke and Xiumei's respective lives... they sound so sad, setsunai...
First of all, Mukumori Yayoi, 25 years old OL, she is a 'haken shain' (temporary staff) in a building construction company. Yayoi has 7 years long-time boyfriend she met during junior college, Shota. Shota is the kind of guy who's not good in studies and lazy. But he has a sweet and cute side that Yayoi fell for. I love how the writer described Shota. In the first 2 years dating, Yayoi thinks of him as "A bit unreliable, but cute boyfriend". Two years later, she started to think of him as "Quite unreliable, but cute boyfriend". In the next two years, he had become "Good-for-nothing, hopeless and not-cute boyfriend" for Yayoi. (lol!) The opening conversation between Yayoi and Shota were quite funny too, as it shows Shota's lack of Japanese vocabulary skills^^(reminds me of Domyoji-Hanadan)
Few years ago, Shota decided to stop trying to find proper full-time job and become a part-time worker. Yayoi was so shocked when she heard about this and was very sad.
Despite Shota's laziness, somehow Yayoi can never break up with Shota. While in fact, she don't think that she loves him that much. Maybe she's afraid to be alone? But she can never find the answer. Or probably she's just waiting for the day Shota can be successful would come.
And this might be the beginning. Just recently, Shota saw a certain TV program on TV, it's a special coverage on a young president(shacho) of a certain company, and his journey towards success. Somehow it motivated him and he suddenly wants to start studying again. Yayoi is very very happy to hear this. Then Shota asked her to let him borrow her money for study classes. It costs 150,000 yen. Yayoi was taken aback. She was kind of reluctant about it, but she really want to support Shota's motivation and she believes in him, so she lend him the money.
Yayoi lives together with her younger brother, Ryo, who just graduated college in their hometown in Hokkaido. And he started to work as a businessman and moved in to Tokyo. Meanwhile, at work, Yayoi has really started to feel pressure and stress due to her senior, a full-time staff in the company. It was actually this senior who always forget to give Yayoi instructions, but she always blamed it on Yayoi telling her that she has told her more than 4 times, while in fact, she had never tell her anything. And when their superior came, she'd put all the blame on Yayoi and made Yayoi look like an irresponsible person.
That day, Yayoi was in a blue mood and texted Shota. Shota said he is currently studying and he's really having fun with it. Then, somehow, she wants to meet Shota, she wants to show Shota her sad face, she wants Shota to comfort her with kind words. So she finally get off at the station near Shota's place. But on the way, she hesitated, remembering this is one of woman's annoying behavior, she once read in a magazine. So she just walked slowly around while thinking, when suddenly she saw someone familiar exiting a pachinko place. It's Shota.
"You said you were studying? Why are you here? What were you doing?". Yayoi faced Shota and she got emotional. And she immediately guessed, "You used my money for this, didn't you?". Shota was shocked that he's busted like this and he started to give her, his puppy eyes. "Yayoi-chan, I was really, really motivated that time! I really was! I wanted to study. But then I realized it is very difficult for a person to change. So..."
Yayoi knows the continuation of the sentence, "So you didn't even buy the textbooks nor did you go to the classes???"
It's all welling up to her head. She heard a sound from the bottom of her stomach, forcing to come out... fu, fu, fu, fu........ fufufufufufu...FU...... "FUZAKENNA(DON'T KID ME)!!!!!!!". After a second, Yayoi didn't realize that the heavy sense of feeling on her right arm and hand has anything to do with the fact that Shota is lying on the ground now. But everyone there, students who were passing by, salaryman with suits, granny who brings along a dog, of course Shota himself, know that she just smacked down someone higher than her. (I like the way of writing this part!^o^)
Right then, Yayoi went to drink quite amount of beer, came home and told her brother straightly, "I will quit my job! I can't stand any of these anymore! I'm going to Shanghai for 2 weeks! Probably more! I'll use all of my savings for vacation trip to Shanghai!".
Yayoi wanted to reset her life. And so, she go to Shanghai for a trip.
And then, the story focus switched to Hazuki Rensuke. He's in Shanghai for REGOLITH Shanghai branch opening. And that he and Kazami are currently trying to persuade a Taiwanese (yes, a Taiwanese not a Chinese O_o) beauty, Liu Xiu Mei, who lives in poverty, to be REGOLITH model. The story is pretty much the same.
But there's a flashback of Rensuke with his father, Hazuki Taizo, who was the president of "Kagu no Hazuki" (Hazuki Furniture). It was a flashback of 27 years ago, when Rensuke was only 7. Actually the first chapter's title is The Riddle 27 Years Ago / 27 Years of Lies.
Taizo had almost no time for playing together with his son. One day, little Rensuke asked his father a riddle, 4 coins put together in a square form and he asked, "Dad, what do you think this is??". When his father was about to answer, his subordinate calls him.
That day, from Japan, Taizo sent a fax to Rensuke in Shanghai, written "Congratulations on the Shanghai branch opening! What do you think this is?". Below the writings there's a drawing of 4 circles forming a square.
Rensuke is puzzled, apparently he doesn't remember the answer to this. He asked his subordinate, Kijihata who had been an employee since Taizo was the president, and Kijihata said it's a riddle Rensuke usually asked, when he was a child. Rensuke asked Kijihata, but he didn't answer. He only gave him a hint, the answer is that something flies. Rensuke answered butterfly, but it's not. Then Kijihata gave him another hint, it has a sweet smell.
Meanwhile, Kazami was out coming to Xiu Mei's apartement persuading her to be their model. His name in this novel is Nokata Kazami, and he was described as Rensuke's friend since college (a kind of form of Maemi? XD). It has not been described yet that he's Japanese or Chinese.
Oh yes, apparently Rensuke in the novel speaks fluent Chinese^^
And in Xiumei's story, it tells her background. She's around 30. Her mother passed away 4 years ago and her father is currently working in Japan. Other details are pretty much the same as the drama. It only described her background, not much on her character yet. At the end of her chapter, Rensuke came by but Xiumei ignored him, because she was in a hurry looking for Ming, her bestfriend.
The story goes back to Yayoi, and (I THINK) it finally tells how she met Rensuke for the first time at a cake store. Actually, I'm not sure if that's Rensuke, because it was told from her point of view. But I think it's him. (or maybe Kazami?)
Yayoi stayed at a cheap motel in Shanghai. The owner is a granny, named Li Fa. She doesn't seem to be a nice obaasan who has a deadly demon glare and always looked mad. Yayoi is kind of afraid of her. One day, the whole customer in the motel complained something to Li Fa, and they all checked out from there, so it was only Yayoi and Lifa left in that motel. When Yayoi was trying to sneak out, she heard someone's crying in another room, apparently it was Lifa, crying in front of her husband's picture. After Lifa left the room, Yayoi took a peek at the room and the pictures. And on one picture, there's a picture of a younger Lifa and a little girl, it's written "Happy birthday, Grandma!". Yayoi had took Chinese language lessons before during college, so she knows easy Chinese words/phrases. The year is 1995. And the date is... today.
Yayoi decided to buy a cake for Lifa. It was quite funny when the cake store clerk asked in English, "Do you want to eat it here?". Yayoi answered, "Take off, please". The clerk was grinning, "You sure?". "Yes, take off,". And then another clerk, a guy was making airplane sounds, while grinning and taking glances toward the female clerk. That's when Yayoi realized her mistake, "I mean, take OUT, take out please," ^_^
She asked them to write "Happy birthday, Laolao!" on the cake. Then suddenly someone behind her said, "It means Happy birthday, mother's mother. Is that okay?". Yayoi was surprised, a Japanese man is standing behind her. And now she realized Laolao does not mean grandmother but mother's mother. "Ahh... then please just write her name, Lifa," she said to the clerk. "And the characters?". Yayoi just realized she doesn't know how to write Lifa, then she decided to buy a choco pen and write it herself at the motel.
Then she turned to the man behind her, "How do you know I'm Japanese? Well, I might not be fluent, but I was talking a bit in Chinese and English, just now... And I don't think it's easy to guess from my face. Ah, maybe from the way I speak?".
The man just pointed at what she's holding, Shanghai Guidebook for Japanese. "Ahhh, that's right.. So, you know from this..."
"Ano...", "Hai?","Can you move away from there?? You're blocking my way,".
Yayoi moved away but when she was about to exit the store, she remembered she has not say thank you to him, so she went back, but the man is already busy talking to the clerk. Yayoi said in a small voice, 'thank you', interrupting him, and without turning around, he only lifted his hand.
Yayoi mumbled, "Iya na kanji(such a rude guy)..."
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I think, Yayoi = Maemi ^_^ Same sense of humor and same bubbly traits.
Actually, this is Yayoi and not Maemi, I thought I can imagine Yayoi's face as I like. I wanted to imagine Matsu Takako's face when I read Yayoi. But TANAKA RENA always came on to my mind!! lol! First of all the fact that she's "haken shain"(temporary staff) reminds me too much of HAKEN NO OSCAR, where Rena played the role as haken shain too. The fact she speaks a bit Chinese. PLUS the way Yayoi smacked down his boyfriend, reminds me too much of Ryokiteki na Kanojo! lol! Other details, her awkwardness, the way she thinks, her sense of humor and all, it's so easy to imagine Yayoi played by Tanaka Rena! XD
Haha... so now it's Kimura Takuya and Tanaka Rena pairing here? XD I'm definitely rooting for Yayoi and shacho! Yayoi is such an interesting girl.
Will post more as I read more!
Ahhh... so many things to do this week!! Sorry for the delay of Byakuyakou summaries, Tsuki no Koibito Ep4 screencaps and Zatoichi promo reports >_< I'm currently working and prioritizing SMAP Ganbarimasu 2009 subbing project first, currently QC-ing it!
And, oh no, I'm also not done with my real life side job, writing the Nihongo phrasebook. The deadline was actually over since 2 months ago XD