Taking a Drive on My Own
Taking a Drive on My Own
After dinner and washing up, with nothing left to do,
we sat side by side on the sofa, pulled a blanket over ourselves, and watched Netflix on the TV.
Since the service had only been available for just over a year,
the original content was still lacking, but there were plenty of American, Japanese, and Korean dramas,
so these days, rather than watching terrestrial or cable TV, we only watched Qtube or Netflix.
With so many things to watch these days,
the range of choices was incredibly wide—a far cry from the days when we had to force ourselves to watch whatever was on TV.
As time goes on, won't the standing of TV broadcasting stations gradually diminish?
Though it was a bit rich coming from me, the husband of an idol and celebrity.
Well, A-ra didn't exactly go out of her way to watch the programs she herself appeared on,
and she spent that time watching Japanese anime or American dramas instead,
so maybe it didn't really matter.
With those thoughts in mind, I was watching a movie called Mage Swordsman Right Turn.
- Ddiring ddiring ddiriring
Right at a really entertaining part,
an alert sounded from A-ra's phone.
I couldn't quite tell where it was,
but it seemed to be under the blanket.
Why had she put her phone under the blanket?
A-ra was smiling a sheepish grin too.
She probably couldn't remember where she'd put her phone.
A-ra, who had been groping around the sofa without taking her eyes off the screen,
slowly climbed over my legs,
her hand heading toward my lower body.
At the sudden touch, I nearly let out a moan,
but I managed to hold it in by covering my mouth.
"Not this one..."
A-ra, saying that wasn't what she was looking for, withdrew her hand,
then reached down toward the groin area to feel around.
Her touch was getting progressively more sensual,
and it seemed the purpose was more about skinship than finding her phone.
Ha-eung....
"Ah, there it is."
She slid her hand in, and A-ra's phone really did come out from there.
What the, was she a pervert?
"I'd put it there earlier, but you were sitting on it so I couldn't get it out."
"You could have just told me..."
"Don't you remember? You were so tired you dozed off the moment you sat down."
A-ra laughed, repeatedly poking my cheek with her finger.
Then she gently stroked my head with one hand, and with the other
she turned on the phone screen and checked her messages.
Then, her face suddenly brightened up.
"Seong-hwan-a, the car we ordered is coming tomorrow."
"Car? Like green tea? Black tea?"
"What are you talking about, silly. I mean the automobile you're going to ride in."
Come to think of it, I had left the car selection entirely up to A-ra.
We had decided to get an SUV, after all.
But, hadn't that conversation
been barely a month ago?
"...How does it arrive in just one month?"
"Because I made it happen?"
She shrugged her shoulders, and as if she didn't know the details herself,
A-ra tilted her head quizzically.
She probably used some connection somewhere to rush the delivery.
It hadn't even been a few days since I got my license, and the car was already arriving...
Should I say the timing was good?
"Then, shall we go to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping too?"
"Is there something you need to buy?"
"You have to perform a gosa ritual when you get a new car."
Ah, that's right.
Holding a ritual to pray for a safe, accident-free life when buying a car
was a common practice in Asia.
"It doesn't need to be grand, just some dried pollack and makgeolli will do."
"What if we did make it really grand?"
"In that case, a pig's head, fruit, seasoned vegetables, eggs, silk thread... and what else was needed?"
I'd asked playfully, intending to tease her,
but A-ra answering so seriously was incredibly cute.
Anyway, a pig's head, huh.
We probably shouldn't make a big deal out of it and just keep it small.
"By the way, you still haven't told me what kind of car you bought."
"Hehe, curious?"
"It's an SUV, so I don't think it'll be incredibly expensive..."
Since it wasn't a sedan or a sports car, she probably didn't buy an incredibly expensive one.
As long as it was sturdy and safe, I was more than satisfied.
"It's no fun if I tell you now. I went to so much trouble to hide it."
"So you really were hiding it on purpose."
She stuck out her lips in a pout and blew a raspberry at me, then dashed into the master bedroom.
She changed clothes quickly and came back out.
It was a white one-piece dress, the kind she'd been wearing often lately.
"It's hot today, so let's dress cool and go out."
"Okay. What should we buy when we go to the supermarket..."
A-ra was hurrying me, but I was a house-husband.
Since my position was to be in charge of the household,
whenever we went out to grocery shop, I always finished inspecting the kitchen for what we were short on before heading outside.
We had plenty of eggs, but we were out of kelp for broth.
Check kelp...
Check dried pollack and makgeolli...
Check Vienna sausages for A-ra's snacks...
After that, I rummaged through the entire refrigerator, noted everything we were lacking, and came out to the front door.
Seeing A-ra crouching down to change into her sandals,
I gave a wry smile.
Her panties were showing again.
Now that I thought about it, A-ra had also ordered a car—a Bugatti Chiron, wasn't it?
Several months had passed, but it still hadn't arrived,
so even A-ra's connections apparently couldn't speed that one up.
"When is the car you ordered, Noona, arriving?"
"Huh? You mean the Bugatti? That one might take a while.
Since it's a car with such limited production..."
A-ra started smiling as she thought about the Bugatti Chiron.
Whether it took a while or a long time probably didn't matter much to A-ra.
Since A-ra was the type to be happy just having secured the item.
"Want to drive it once when it arrives?"
"Should I? But that car is incredibly expensive,
so I'd probably be really scared to drive it myself."
Though I still didn't know the exact price.
Should I look up the price later or something?
***
"How is it?"
"A Po...Porsche..."
I had never imagined it.
I confirmed with my own two eyes the car transport truck bringing the SUV and unloading it onto the street,
and as I got closer to the vehicle, the Porsche logo attached to A-ra's car was greeting me.
Did Porsche even make SUVs?
"Ta-da, it was the Porsche Cayenne S, called the savior of Porsche, clap clap."
A-ra beamed as she clapped her hands.
Showing off a presence that was both sturdy and imposing,
the gleaming Porsche logo sparkled as if to say it was expensive.
Should I say it was radiating a halo?
So this was the kind of glow a new car had.
I couldn't close my mouth and just stared for a long time.
"At first, I thought about waiting for the Lamborghini Urus to come out,
but I figured the Cayenne S would be plenty. While I was making calls around, there was one that had been canceled along the way,
so your Noona quickly snatched it up."
Saying it was a good choice, A-ra nodded, satisfied with her decision,
and lightly tapped the car's hood with her palm.
Lamborghini made SUVs too...?
She'd debated between that and this?
"Is it really okay for me to drive this..."
"Why wouldn't it be okay? You have to drive at least this much to be my husband. Is there anything more foolish
than living frugally when you have money?"
"Well, that is true..."
Fans didn't like seeing the celebrities, singers, or idols they supported acting poor.
They said they felt a sense of catharsis from spending the money they earned and enjoying it.
This was my car...
I could hardly believe it.
I opened the driver's side door and checked the interior.
Just like what I'd seen in A-ra's car, the dashboard was a full LCD display,
and it had something like a large tablet attached,
so it definitely gave off the vibe of a recently released vehicle.
"Then shall we take it for a spin..."
"Do you like it?"
A-ra asked me, her eyes sparkling.
Could there be anyone in this world who wouldn't be satisfied receiving a car like this?
It seemed several times cooler than the car I had imagined...
It was impossible not to like it.
"I'm incredibly satisfied. I want to drive it soon."
"Then after we do the gosa ritual, shall we go for a drive? You'll be the one driving, Seong-hwan."
"Well, if A-ra Noona is watching from the passenger seat, I think it'll be fine. Where should we go?"
I nodded at A-ra's suggestion.
I was still a little nervous, but if A-ra was there next to me, watching,
I felt like I could drive just fine.
Since just listening to A-ra made everything all right.
"Shall we go down to Seocho-gu? We have navigation."
"Seocho-gu? While we're at it, shall we stop by the National Auction House?"
"Is there something you want to buy?"
"Well, we're just going since we're in the area anyway. Wasn't Noona actually the one who wanted to go more?"
I chuckled at A-ra and got into the driver's seat.
Since I hadn't removed the plastic wrap from the seats yet,
the rustling, crinkly sounds were a bit noisy,
but it wasn't so bad I couldn't sit down.
Maybe because I teased her, A-ra, puffing her cheeks, went around to the other side and sat in the passenger seat,
folding her arms.
Sitting in the opposite seat from usual, it felt both awkward
and refreshingly different.
"Noona, hurry up and put on your seatbelt."
"Hmph."
"Are you sulking?"
"I'm not sulking!"
It seemed she was definitely sulking.
Nevertheless, she fastened her seatbelt properly, then started
thoroughly checking to make sure nothing was out of place.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm checking the seatbelt for any initial defects....no, hmph! I'm not telling you."
"But you already told me."
Having completed her check, A-ra nodded and closed the door.
First, we needed to move to an open area to perform the gosa ritual.
"Hey, there's an empty lot, right? Let's move there first."
"Sure."
I lowered the parking brake, stepped on the pedal,
and we started moving.
I didn't know how much I would drive this car in the future,
but I fervently prayed in my heart for a safe and long time behind the wheel.