Rest Stop
Rest Stop
"Noona, I'll be off then."
"Have fun."
The day of our 3-night, 4-day ski trip.
A-ra, who couldn't join us this winter because she had no time, came out to the front door, letting out a huge yawn.
Seeing how tired she was after coming home late from work again last night,
I started to feel really sorry about going off to have fun on my own.
Maybe she noticed my expression, because she slowly came over and hugged me tight.
"I told you, you don't have to feel sorry."
"Even so..."
"Goodness. If anything, it's the noona who can't come along who should feel sorry—so what's the point of you feeling sorry?"
She told me it was fine and stroked my hair gently,
then started straightening out my clothes.
"It's cold outside, so dress warmly, and have a really fun time, okay?"
"You dress warmly too, noona."
"Alright, since my husband says so, I shall."
She agreed, draping the blanket she was holding over her shoulders like a cape,
and grinned at me.
"Oh, right—withdraw some cash before you get to the condo."
"I have my card, though?"
"There are a few places that don't take cards, and the ATMs over there might have long lines, or maybe no cash inside either."
"Aha... you must have gone skiing a lot, noona."
"I went often with my family when I was little."
As she reminisced about those warm memories, A-ra's eyes looked
very sad.
*
When I drove to the meeting point where I was supposed to meet Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho,
the two weren't in sight yet, and maybe because it was 9 in the morning, not a single person was out walking around.
'Did I come out too early?'
Maybe so, since we'd agreed to meet at 9:30.
Usually those two always came out early and waited for me,
so I'd come out early this time too, but it seemed they were planning to take their time.
"Ugh... so cold, so cold."
Since things had turned out this way, I figured I'd go to a coffee shop and grab some coffee, but when I got out of the car,
maybe because of the sudden temperature change, my whole body stung and tingled.
I dashed into the coffee shop right next door and ordered an iced americano.
No matter how cold the weather got, I couldn't stand hot drinks,
so I ordered a cold one.
Of course, watching me shiver in this weather while ordering an iced americano first thing in the morning, the part-timer
tilted her head.
She looked like she couldn't understand why I'd order iced coffee when I was clearly that cold.
I came outside with the prepared coffees, and spotted two people who looked like Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho
heading into the bank, pulling their carriers behind them.
"Noona did say to withdraw cash..."
I couldn't take coffee into the bank, so I left the coffee in the car and went inside.
Sure enough, my eyes hadn't been mistaken.
Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho were there, having pulled a number ticket and waiting.
It was morning, but there were unexpectedly quite a few people.
"You here?"
"If you're here, open the car trunk for us."
"It's already open. Here, the car key."
When I handed the car key to Lee Min-ho, the two of them swiftly stepped out at the same time.
And then, with movements as quick as loading and unloading delivery packages, they loaded the carriers into the trunk,
tied them down with rope so they wouldn't budge, locked the trunk, and came back this way.
"Did you two ever work some part-time job like loading and unloading delivery trucks?"
"They don't hire guys for loading and unloading, you know?"
"My body just got used to it from helping out with housework."
Handing me back the car keys, the two of them smirked like it was nothing—
they honestly looked like dutiful sons who'd been helping with housework for a long time.
Housework... should I be helping out more at the orphanage too, I wonder...?
"Hey, stop thinking weird thoughts and go pull a number ticket."
"A ticket? Now that I think about it, why did you two pull number tickets?"
"I need to convert a bank check into cash. You, Lee Min-ho?"
"Same here. What about you, Seong-hwan, why'd you come into the bank?"
"I came in to withdraw some cash."
It turned out we'd all come in for the same reason: to get cash.
But why do these two even have bank checks?
"My father gave me an allowance."
"I came to exchange something I'd swapped earlier."
"The allowance part I get, but why'd you swap it into a bank check?"
"For the romance?"
What kind of romance could possibly involve a bank check?
Every time I see this stuff, it's hard to understand.
***
"Seong-hwan, let's rest for a bit at the rest stop."
"Bathroom?"
"That too, and I just wanted to stop by since it's been a while."
We'd been driving on the highway for quite some time now, so it was about time we took a break.
I nodded and took the road that branched off toward the rest stop.
"Whoa... the rest stop is pretty big."
"This one really isn't that big, you know?"
"It's on a completely different level from what I imagined..."
The rest stop I'd pictured was just a place with a convenience store and a few food stalls—
not somewhere like this that also had a gas station and even an electric car charging station.
"Wait, is this your first time at a rest stop too?"
"Yeah..."
"Since things turned out like this, I've gotta teach you everything there is to enjoy at a rest stop."
"Let's go with the video title: 'I Bought Butter Potatoes for a Country Bumpkin Visiting a Rest Stop for the First Time.'"
"Y-you're going to film a video too?"
"Of course we can't pass up filming a fun situation like this."
I wasn't sure what was so fun about this situation,
but if Lee Min-ho was dead set on filming and Jeong Hwan-yi wasn't stopping him,
I had no choice but to go along with it.
After all, Jeong Hwan-yi was the 'writer' at our agency, appearances aside.
Once we finished parking and got out of the car,
we first stopped by the bathroom to drain the fully filled tanks.
The biggest reason people driving on the highway stop at rest areas—
isn't it the bathroom?
Honestly, stuff like meals you can endure to some extent,
but you can't hold in physiological needs like going to the bathroom.
"Phew... refreshing..."
I washed my hands clean and came outside,
and Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho were already holding their phones, filming a video.
They introduced the rest stop like MCs on a variety show,
and then started shooting a video with the concept of catching me shaking off my hands after coming out of the bathroom.
*
"Seong-hwan-ssi, this is your first time seeing this, right? This is what's called a butter potato."
"I know that much, you know..."
I mean, it's not like I'm some native from another world.
And it wasn't the first time I'd seen one, either.
They sell these at amusement parks and snack shops, after all.
"If you act like that, the video won't be fun."
"It's strange to try to make a fun video out of butter potatoes and mini sausages in the first place."
"That's true. Maybe it'd be better to just post this video on Seong-hwan's channel and let the foreign viewers see it."
"Highway rest stop content...? It feels kind of out of place too..."
Well, I don't upload videos very often anyway,
so it wouldn't be a bad thing to post something like this if people liked it.
"But hey, don't rest stops usually have a food court?"
"This one has one too, over there inside."
"Are we not going there?"
"Hmm... rather than a rest stop food court, the resort will probably have way tastier stuff."
"Then I'll hold out."
I nodded with a resolute expression, and the two of them chuckled.
Since we came all this way to have fun, shouldn't we eat something more delicious?
Though, well, I did wonder just how delicious the resort food would turn out to be.
"The potatoes are good."
"Right? Having them at a rest stop makes them extra special."
The sweet and salty buttery flavor
felt even more delicious because I'd worked so hard driving the car all the way here.
I should make this for A-ra when I get home.
***
"Excuse me, are you Yoo Seong-hwan by any chance?"
We had ordered coffee for the last time and were just about to start heading off,
when some women who looked a bit intimidating came over this way and spoke to us.
Usually, the people who approach me are mostly middle or high schoolers,
or people who look kind and are dressed in suits or something,
so I flinched a little in surprise.
"Uh... hello."
"Whoa, no fucking way, it's really Yoo Seong-hwan."
"This is goddamn incredible."
The women who started chattering away loudly with laughter, using profanity,
kept repeating the same words over and over as if they found something completely fascinating.
I froze up and couldn't say anything,
but Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho stared at them with eyes that anyone could see were displeased.
"Did you guys come out just the men? I don't know where you're headed, but want to come hang out with us?"
"Yoo Seong-hwan, that person's a married man, you know."
"So what? Song A-ra isn't even in sight. So how about it? Why don't you come with us..."
"That's enough. Please just leave."
In the end, unable to hold back any longer, Jeong Hwan-yi stood up and made his opposition clear to them,
then pushed me and Lee Min-ho toward the car.
"Hwan-yi..."
"It's fine, so go quickly."
"Uh..."
I meekly nodded, and Lee Min-ho and I headed for the car.
When I looked back, Jeong Hwan-yi was still talking with those people,
and the atmosphere was so nasty I honestly wondered if a major fight was about to break out.
"Being with you, Seong-hwan, really makes all sorts of things happen."
"I forgot to put on my sunglasses and mask..."
"First, you get in the car."
"What are you going to do?"
"I have to go over there."
"Are you going to lose your temper again and cause another incident!?"
I couldn't let Lee Min-ho go, not when he had a track record of causing an incident at a PC bang not long ago.
Jeong Hwan-yi is a nice guy, so he might manage to talk them down and send them on their way,
but if Lee Min-ho went, first he'd hurl out a stream of curses,
and I wasn't so sure he wouldn't start swinging his fists.
"Ah, I said I won't, okay? I'll be right back."
"N-no, you can't..."
In the end, despite my attempts to stop him, Lee Min-ho went outside.
Seeing as things had come to this, it looked like I had no choice but to go out and stop him myself.