"Wow, senior, you drank all of this by yourself?"
Because the focus was right and there was someone visible.
"What... Jeon Jungkook?"
"Wow... Senior, you're almost done?"
As if we'd been together from the beginning, Jeon Jungkook pulled a chair over to the table next to me, sat down next to me, and naturally ordered another shot of soju. He's two years younger than me, a junior in the same department who joined the company two years after me.
"You drank two bottles without any snacks?"
"···Why are you here?"
"Because there's no woman to be with."
"··· ···."
"Senior, you're in a particularly bad mood today."
"Yeah. It's especially like that today."
"That manager's kid was acting up again?"
"···Ugh. I almost quit my job today."
Yeo-ju naturally reached for the still-unopened soju bottle, but Jeong-guk swatted her hand away. Then, he stopped her, saying she'd really be fired tomorrow. Normally, he'd throw a tantrum, asking her what she was doing. But today was different.
"···What is it? Why don't you do it like you always do?"
"···what."
"You should be annoyed with me. Who are you to do this?"
"······I don't have the strength to do that."
Even Jungkook could see that Haejoo looked completely different from usual. No matter how difficult things were at work or how harsh things had been for him, he had never been this down.
"Senior, you don't look well right now. Let's just go home. I'll give you a ride."
"Okay, I'll go home."
"···I know. I know, but I don't think today is the day."
"··· ···."
"Get up, even if you drink, go home..."
"I won't be coming to work for a while."
"I don't think I'll be seeing your face for a few days, so just sit down."
Only then did Jungkook slowly release his grip on Yeoju's wrist and sit down on the chair. "So, you've decided to do this?" he asked, then silently poured soju into a glass.
"For how many days?"
"15th. I'm going to use up all my accumulated vacation days."
"Where are you going-."
"To a very far away place."
"You're not going to tell me where?"
"Yeah. I think you'll come looking for me if I tell you."
"How did you know?" Jungkook lowered his head and snickered, pouring alcohol into the glass in front of Yeoju, as if he had stopped her earlier. "It was good of me to drink with you today, senior."
"Wow... I'm already feeling lost. How am I going to manage my work life?"
That was only for a moment, and just thinking about the company department without Yeoju makes him want to quit... It must be hard... He's throwing all sorts of tantrums at Yeoju.
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Last night, Yeo-ju, who had downed three more bottles of soju with Jeong-guk, came home half-conscious and took out a suitcase the size of her body from the closet. It hadn't been seen in years, and dust had piled up on top of it. Yeo-ju had a hard time clearing it. Apparently, the alcohol had all vanished while she cleaned the suitcase...
And this morning, the heroine packed one more bag she always carried, checked her passport, which was always in the bag, and was about to leave the house feeling refreshed - but then she noticed her cell phone, which she habitually kept in her coat pocket, and took it out.
"···You don't need it."
The heroine fiddled with the gray hard case that had been attached to her phone, then turned it off and threw it onto the bed. Looking at the phone lying on the floor, she gave a weak smile, then shoved her feet into the shoes on the doorstep and cheerfully opened the front door and stepped out.
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Things were going quite smoothly. I bought a perfume at the duty-free shop after sniffing around and choosing a scent. I exchanged enough money to buy a house while I was traveling. I even gave directions to a blond-haired foreigner wandering around the airport. I just thought I was free for the time being.
I'm already excited.
Especially when giving directions to foreigners, it made me realize that my English skills are just average. I'm not dead yet, I thought. I'm still in my 20s, full of ups and downs.
···Then what should I do? I'm turning thirty in a day or two.
Hae-joo/29 years old/5 years of experience/assistant manager at a major domestic company/currently traveling
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It was my first time on an airplane. It was my first and only trip, and I wanted to do it in luxury, so I booked first class. I pretended to be someone who'd traveled as much as possible, as if everything was familiar. I put my bag in the closet and sat comfortably. Oh... A whole new world?!
With the press of a button, it reclines, and with the press of a button next to it, a cup holder pops out. Right next to it, there's everything from an eye mask to a blanket... a water cup, and even a nightstand. Wow. This chair is more practical than my 20-pyeong house, which costs an outrageous amount of rent. I wonder how much this one will cost.
As I was thinking about that, a voice suddenly came from the seat across from me. I sat there pretending to be noble, but immediately stiffened and sat up straight.
"Yes...! Did you call me?"
Ah, I realized it too late, but now that I look back, I've fallen into the habit of working at a company for five years, and I'm already bending down and looking at him. ...But it seems he didn't call me.
"Did you call me?"
Wow, this is fucking crazy. Crazy. What's my position right now?
If there was a hole, I'd want to hide in it right now. What's even more embarrassing is that even though I reacted like this_ this guy didn't react at all until a long time later. He was wearing some really flashy sunglasses and reading an ivory-colored newspaper covered in English. Then, a long time after I called him, he took off his sunglasses and looked at me... Oh, he's Korean!
So I just slowly straightened my bent back, got back into position, and lay back down. Oh, I didn't call you? I tried my best to act as if nothing happened, but I felt a sharp gaze from the side... It was so uncomfortable.
I know I'm weird, so stop looking.
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"Ah ...
As soon as I got off the plane, I untied my limbs, which had been tied up for a full ten hours, and repacked my bag. And then... When I glanced around, even the air that reached my nose told me this wasn't Korea. There was no home, no company, no shitty bosses!
"···Ha, I'm happy."
Suddenly, a surge of relief and happiness washed over me like water, and I felt like I could fly. Traveling or not, I felt like I could fill up just by finding a place to stay, drinking only European water, and smelling the air day and night... That feeling. Feeling like I could do anything, I hurried forward, my heart racing with excitement.
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After checking into a hotel near the airport, she threw her suitcase away, and headed out with an analog camera and her wallet in her bag. Seriously, she seemed completely helpless.
So, without any plan, I went into a nearby bakery to buy some bread - but they said they were all sold out for today. The nearby Korean supermarket was already closed with the lights off. It didn't seem like there was anywhere I could get food.
"It's only nine o'clock... Is this how it's usually like here?"
Yeoju didn't realize it. Having lived as a native Korean for over twenty years, how could she possibly know that other countries aren't as safe as Korea? From Yeoju's perspective, the people of this country simply seem like children of a new nation.
Thinking it wouldn't work, the female lead tries to go back to her room...
"Hey, there it is-!!!"
The familiar language of a foreign country came from across the alley, and I pricked up my ears. Soon, the sound of several people's overlapping footsteps reached me, and I felt compelled to ask them something. Yeoju, inwardly cheering, quickly headed toward the source of the sound without a moment's hesitation.
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But a problem arose. Somehow, I ended up in an already deserted neighborhood, an alleyway between buildings with even fewer people and no light. You might wonder what the problem is, but...
It's a famous street that everyone knows about.
"I'm sure the sound came from here..."
It seems like there's a bit of a problem with your hearing too.
Of all places, the neighborhood map had been left at the hotel along with her suitcase. Who would have thought she'd get lost near the hotel? Within five meters of it, of course. Yeoju was at a loss. She clutched her bag even tighter, mumbling, "If I make a mistake here, it's over..." as she cautiously took a step out of the alley.
Swish, swish. The sound of someone coming from somewhere nearby made my whole body freeze...
What is it? People don't know how scary it is and they talk first.
"Oh, over there...! Are you Korean?"
It's funny that the only questions that come up are these.
She spoke, but there was no answer. She could clearly hear voices, but the darkness ahead made it impossible to see any human figures. Feeling hopeless, the female protagonist tried to speak differently...
"Hey, Korean person... Oh! Isn't that a Korean person? Hell... Ugh!!"
As if he'd already known what the heroine was going to say, a mysterious figure appeared from the darkness and covered her mouth with his hand. The moment he blocked it, a familiar scent struck her, and she, sensing danger, stumbled back, her eyes widening. She ended up backing against the wall of the building.
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So now I'm wrong... Ah, so this is the end of this shitty life. The female protagonist, who had been mumbling to herself with her eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened her eyes wide and stuck her tongue out at the hand covering her mouth. Naturally, the hand would be drenched in her saliva.
"What the···."
[F*ck... what is this.]
"No...! But it's so unfair to die like this. I really lived hard."
As soon as the heroine finished speaking, the sound of many overlapping footsteps could be heard from nearby. However, in this situation, there was no way the heroine could have heard them.
"If you want to kill me, kill me in 15 days. Right then. I don't think I'd want to go back either, so just kill me then... Not now, jeongm... uh..."
Just as the female protagonist, half-sobbing, begins to pour out her life story to a complete stranger, another pair of lips unilaterally touches hers. Instantly sensing a strange sensation, she instinctively tries to push the person away... but the more she tries, the closer he gets to her, and she automatically freezes.
The heroine was so flustered that her whole body froze... and her eyes were still wide open, trying to rationalize the situation, but... there was no way it would work. Meanwhile, she heard the sound of several footsteps passing right next to the alley, and she slowly blinked her eyes, wondering what it was.
As the sound of footsteps mixed with voices gradually faded away from the heroine's ears... only then did the lips of another person touch her own lips disappear.
The heroine's heart, which had been still for a moment, finally began to restart... A low-pitched voice soon came from the darkness. Just from the voice alone, she could tell they were quite close.
"sorry."
"··· ···."
In the midst of all this, I feel relieved to be Korean. Am I crazy? But... I feel like I've heard this person's voice somewhere... but I can't remember where. Do I know him?
"It's dangerous to walk around here in the dark, so please stay home if possible."
I felt sorry for him, but it didn't really matter what he said. No matter what I tried to say, I was so shocked I couldn't open my mouth. And now, at the sound of him moving away...
Rather than talking, I quickly approached the entrance to the alley and grabbed his collar as he tried to leave. I'm not sure if it was his collar or the back of his neck, but whatever. He turned to me as expected, and perhaps because it was the entrance to the alley, only then did I see his face, illuminated by the moonlight that was unusually bright today.
And when I faced that face, I realized it belatedly.
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"And... don't remember what just happened."
That I knew this person.
And I didn't know it at the time.
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I never thought we would become so entangled.
[Manggaemanggae Saddam]
I suddenly wanted to go on a trip to Europe again, so I thought of this short story. It's not a short story, but it's like a medium-length novel, but it's not clear whether it's a short story or a long story.
[It's a healing romance where the female lead Ji-min unravels her past:)]
Just watch it for fun... for fun haha. Oh, by the way, the place the female protagonist traveled to was Paris, France.
Don't expect great writing. Beware of poor plot development. Beware of improvisation.
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