What Happened with the Taxi Driver Girl and Dongcheol at the Motel?

Slurp, slurp, slurp!

I sat in the coffee shop, sucking down an iced americano like there was no tomorrow.

Ahhh. How long had it been?

I never imagined that simply being able to drink coffee at a café without a single worry could feel this good. A world without COVID — now that was something special.

Sure, you could still drink coffee at a café during the pandemic. But if you caught COVID while sipping your latte, that was a total loss. Being young meant you probably wouldn't die from it — but you'd still feel like absolute hell. Ugh. Just thinking about it gave me the chills.

But now? Free from COVID. Absolute bliss.

Check.

Huh? That easy?

Ah. The Seondong skill must have activated during yesterday's brawl with the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠short-haired crew. Experience points had stacked up, and today's haul pushed it over the edge into a level-up.

Seondong was a critically important skill — the kind that could manipulate public opinion. A level-up was very welcome news.

Huh? What was this?

A notification I'd never seen before. Was this the sponsor window? Tarpa seemed like a backer who enjoyed watching the protagonist grow. And where exactly were these sponsored Coins supposed to be spent?

No idea for now. But Coins were money. And money piling up was never a bad thing.

KakaoTalk, KakaoTalk!

I was leisurely gazing out the window, sipping my coffee, when my phone buzzed. I'd set almost everything to silent yesterday, hadn't I?

Huh? Who was this? A KakaoTalk name I didn't recognize from yesterday.

Click.

Huh? KakaoTalk's secret chat lock feature? You could only see the first line the other person sent. The full conversation required unlocking with a password.

A secret chat room — now I was even more curious.

I tried entering the birthday. 1218. Didn't open. Home address? 1203. No luck either.

Ah... ugh. No idea. Giving up for now.

Wait — there was a secret folder here too? Looked like it held photos and videos. Also locked.

What, so the me of this world had been a guy with a lot of secrets? Ah, whatever. I hated complicated stuff. My Intelligence was Lv.1, after all. Time to just enjoy the crisp freshness of a Sunday morning like a simple man.

KakaoTalk, KakaoTalk!

Ugh, who now? I really needed to switch this thing to silent.

Hah! It was my Yeseul!

Ah, I'd completely forgotten to reply — my head had been a mess.

She read it instantly.

Hmm? Age? Well, I did look ridiculously young.

Oh — Oppa! A girl as pretty as Yeseul calling me Oppa. A little flutter of excitement ran through me.

Wait — was she upset that I'd used her name? Well, I had looked at her profile and called her by name without asking. Better apologize. A quick apology was the only way to survive.

....

..

.

No reply for a while. Had I gotten dumped at light speed?

KakaoTalk, KakaoTalk!

Ah— Ahhh!!!! My adorable Yeseul.

But she was working. Getting too clingy would kill the charm. Better cut it off at a reasonable point.

Heh. I'd wrapped up the conversation with cool, manly consideration. Satisfying.

And then—

KakaoTalk, KakaoTalk!

Ugh, who now?

Ah, seriously — this Manager Dongcheol was already clinging first thing in the morning. He'd gone somewhere nice with that taxi driver girl yesterday. Was he messaging just to brag?

Damn it. I was so annoyed I didn't even want to call. But I'd already read the message, so there was no escaping it. Leave him on read and he'd throw a fit about military discipline going soft.

Ring-ring-ring-ring!

"Hello. That you, Slick?"

"Ah, yes, Sergeant. What's going on this early?"

"Look, I've got something important to talk to you about. Let's meet up first. Grab a hangover cure while we're at it."

"Why would I want to see your ugly mug first thing in the morning, Sergeant? Come on. You went somewhere nice with that taxi driver girl yesterday, didn't you?"

"Hey, about that. Ah, seriously. This is frustrating over the phone. Let's talk in person. Where are you? I'll come to you right now."

Ugh........ Damn it.

I'd genuinely planned to get myself looking good today and hit up Hongdae — the young people's district. And now some middle-aged fossil was blocking my path first thing in the morning.

"Ah, can't we just talk at the office tomorrow?"

"Hey! I'm already heading to your neighborhood. Spit it out. Where are you?"

Haaah. Impatient as always. He was already in a car and on the move — nothing I could do about it.

"Ah, fine. The Starbucks in my neighborhood. The one where you, me, and Deputy Seonghyeon had coffee last time."

"Ah, that place. Got it. Be there in thirty. See you in a bit. Typical Slick — drinking coffee first thing in the morning. Just eat some sundae soup like a normal person. Hey. Wait for me!"

Honestly. This guy. This old man!

The leisure of a morning coffee. The romance of it. Completely lost on him.

Looks like I was stuck waiting here until Manager Dongcheol showed up.

I opened YouTube. I was more into overseas music than domestic stuff. I typed in Billboard Hot 50.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

Even in a gender-reversed world, that only applied to Korea. Overseas should be the same, right?

This week's number one was The Weeknd's "Save Your Tears," featuring Ariana Grande. A great song climbed the charts fast just from a featured artist. The Weeknd had been on fire lately — even performed at the Super Bowl.

I was deep into the Billboard singles chart when someone called out to me.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?"

I looked up at whoever had spoken. A Starbucks barista.

"I was asked to bring this over to you."

"Huh????"

The barista set an orange juice down on my table. There was a note with it.

Who was this? The tone was so familiar — like someone who'd known me for ten years.

"Excuse me. Who sent this?"

The barista pointed toward a seat by the window.

"That woman over there? Oh. She's gone. Must have left already."

Hmm. So it was a woman, at least. Probably a mix-up.

"Is it okay if I drink this? Seems like it was sent by mistake."

"Ah, go ahead. The person who sent it already left anyway. Enjoy your time."

Well, she said I could drink it, so might as well. Free is free.

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp!

Ahhh. Refreshing. Maybe today was going to be full of good things. That line-cutting thug had gotten satisfyingly kicked out of Starbucks. My special skill had leveled up. I had a good feeling about this.

Then my KakaoTalk buzzed.

Wh-what?

The girl who sent the orange juice — how did she know my KakaoTalk?!

Could she have been someone the original Yu Sihyun of this world was dating before I possessed his body? That would make sense. They'd fought and broken up before the possession, and now the girl wanted to make up?

Hmm. Plausible enough. But I had no way of knowing the full story, so I'd just skip it for now.

Yaaawn~

Sleepy. All warm and drowsy. Probably because I'd gotten up way too early for a Sunday. Manager Dongcheol still had about twenty minutes before he'd arrive. Might as well catch a quick nap.

I leaned back in the chair at an angle and closed my eyes.

Mmm........ Naps were sweet. I sank into a deep sleep almost immediately.

Ah......... Something smelled wonderful while I slept. A scent I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smelled somewhere before. Something nostalgic. A warm feeling. Like being protected.

Ah — I remembered. When I was little. I'd been very sick. Running a fever. My forehead burning hot. It was the middle of the night. My mother had wrapped me in a cloth, strapped me to her back, and run through the snow. Straight to the hospital, no hesitation.

That smell from my mother's back. This was similar. Love that asked for nothing in return. Infinite trust. Cozy. Warm. Someone stroking my hair. Soft hands.

Who was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it? I didn't want to wake up — afraid it would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disappear if I did. And so I drifted back under.

"Slick! Slick! Wake up, you bastard."

Ah...... Son of a bitch. It had been so nice.

I opened my eyes. A head so ravaged it looked like a rat had chewed on it filled my vision.

"Ugh! Don't shove your head in my face like that, Sergeant! So rude first thing in the morning!"

"What, you little shit?! I'm already miserable enough being bald, and now I'm rude?! What's rude about it?! Is my head rude?! How about I just headbutt you right now?"

"Ah, seriously. Why do you always start harassing me first thing in the morning, Sergeant? Keep this up and I'm filing a real grievance."

"Ah, for real. This bastard. Opens his mouth and it's always grievances. Grievances. No wonder they call you Slick. There's nothing to file. What is this, the military? You're gonna file a grievance?"

Ah, right. This wasn't the military.

Every time I met Manager Dongcheol, it felt like I'd been shipped right back to the service. That was exactly why I hadn't wanted to see him this morning. A year of living in the same barracks should have been enough. I was sick of it.

"Hey, Slick. More importantly — I'm in deep trouble. What am I supposed to do? Haaah. I don't want to look at that face of yours that looks just like some chick's either, first thing in the morning, but I've got no way to handle this alone."

What? Why so serious? When Manager Dongcheol got serious, it was one of two things. Money. Or women.

"What is it, Sergeant?"

"Well, the thing is. Yesterday I dropped you off with that taxi driver girl, and then we went to an inn."

Wasn't that exactly what I'd expected? That was why I'd been practically shoved out of the taxi.

"And then?"

"So we parked the taxi at the inn and went up to the room. Hey! Inns these days are pretty nice."

"Ah, seriously — you're not some fifty-year-old fogey. It's not an inn. It's a motel."

"Ah, fine. You're so smart — motel. Motel! Just stop interrupting me for once."

"Got it. I won't interrupt. You went up to the motel. And then?"