The Day We Finally Went to Seoul
That day at last arrived — the day we were finally going to Seoul for a little trip.
Lee Haeun met her friend Yeonwu at the train station.
They spotted each other and greeted one another warmly.
“What, did you doll yourself up a little too nicely? You’re going to get hit on like crazy.”
“Huh? Says you. What if your little brother doesn’t even recognize you?”
“As if.”
Come to think of it, maybe that really could happen..?
It wasn’t like she dressed up in front of her brother all that often.
Especially not back when she’d started making an effort after becoming an adult.
By then, her brother had already gone to the army and come straight up to Seoul afterward.
Who cared?
Whether her brother recognized her or not wasn’t really her problem.
“Ha.. your brother might end up falling for you.”
“Don’t worry. To me, he’s just my super-cute little brother.”
Still, she felt oddly uneasy.
Yeonwu seemed excited about the trip to Seoul too, and had gone all out on her makeup and outfit, even more than usual.
Her top was a white T-shirt that showed off her entire stomach, and her pants were the kind of trendy, hip outfit that turned heads.
She looked like the sort of girl every guy would keep glancing back at. And sure enough, they were.
By now, Haeun was used to those looks whenever she went out with Yeonwu.
Besides—
“Seriously, your chest is just too violent.”
“What are you talking about? Yours is big too.”
“...You do realize that’s basically humblebragging, right?”
“I’m not humblebragging, it’s just—”
“Ssshhh.”
Yeah, she knew. She knew her own chest wasn’t exactly small. But compared to Yeonwu, it naturally looked smaller.
Everything was relative.
At least she was the kind of girl who could hang around Yeonwu without getting weirdly insecure about it.
Most people couldn’t keep being close friends with Yeonwu for long.
Every time they were together, guys would come up to Yeonwu asking for her number and suggesting they grab a drink, so what could she do?
Of course, Haeun didn’t exactly fade into the background either, so guys asked her too.
“The train’s here.”
Even after they got on board, they kept chattering away.
It took about two hours to reach Seoul, so sleeping felt awkward at best.
More than anything, she didn’t want to mess up all the effort she’d put into getting ready.
“This is going to be fun.”
“I’m going to post tons of stories on Instagram too.”
“Me too, me too. Take lots of pictures of me.”
“Don’t worry. I’m basically a photography expert.”
They talked for a while, and then—
“Did you call Doyun?”
“Yeah. He said he’s waiting at Yongsan Station. But…”
“But what?”
“Would it be okay if I went around with my brother too? He says he has a car and offered to pick me up.”
“Whoa.. of course that’s a yes. Even if Seoul has amazing public transit, riding in a car is way better than walking everywhere. Doyun already has a car?”
“Seems like it. If he said that, then he must have one, right?”
“Haeun, even you don’t really know?”
“He’s the kind of guy you can never quite pin down. He’s different every time I see him.”
“That’s kind of amazing.”
Even Haeun couldn’t predict what kind of version of her brother she’d see today.
He’d probably have a car, though. He’d said he drove one when he came down last time.
And it wasn’t like that car had been a taxi or a rental, either.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to be certain, because he’d said it in a way that made it sound as if he’d come down in someone else’s car.
No, that had to be a misunderstanding.
“Yongsan Station. Let’s get off.”
“Okay.”
They got off at Yongsan Station.
As they passed through the station, she could feel men’s eyes on them.
Seoul didn’t seem all that different from Gwangju in that respect.
If anything, the stares felt even more blatant.
“Hang on, I’m going to make a call.”
“Sure.”
While she was on the phone, one of those Seoul guys, bold as anything, came walking toward her even though they were still inside the station and she was holding her phone.
He was handsome. Kind of looked like her brother.
Yeonwu looked flustered by the guy who’d suddenly approached her too.
Just as Haeun was about to hang up and deal with him—
“Why are you calling? Just talk to me.”
“...”
“...”
“What? Didn’t your sister say that? Long time no see, Yeonwu noona.”
“Noona... y-you! Y-you’re Doyun!?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re Doyun!?”
“Why are you so shocked, noona?”
Why was she shocked?
She was shocked because she’d never seen him like this before.
***
At a café in Gwangju, a group of guys sat around with their phones out, talking among themselves.
“Huh? Looks like Yeonwu’s going up to Seoul. She posted a story.”
“Really? Minjae, shouldn’t you go to Seoul too? Since we’re at it, why don’t we go hang out there too?”
“Damn, Haeun went with her. She’s going to get hit on like crazy.”
“What if she comes back and doesn’t want to hang out with us?”
“Come on, we’re high school classmates. Besides, looks like they went by train... If they’re having fun in Seoul, they’ll end up with a lot of luggage, right? It’ll be a pain to come back, so we should just drive there and come back with them.”
“Ssshhh... let’s keep watching for now, and at least send them DMs.”
“Yeah.”
Minjae, who usually liked Yeonwu, and the friends beside him, who were all eyeing Haeun.
Just hearing that they’d gone to Seoul made them itch to go along too.
Of course, they knew better than anyone that they only sounded confident talking like this.
When they actually met the girls, they could barely get a proper sentence out.
Still—
If the girls came back down, there was always a chance they might run into them while walking around the busy streets of Gwangju.
And then they could all hang out together.
Acting like they were happy to see them, of course.
“They’re not going to meet some guy in Seoul, are they?”
“You know how strong their defenses are.”
“Yeah, well... even Minjae’s parents run a hospital, and he still gets shut down.”
“I don’t get shut down. We said we’d eat together sometime.”
“That was probably just politeness. They’re both ridiculously nice.”
“...”
All he could do was sigh.
On the other hand, he could only hope nothing happened in Seoul.
***
“Oh my, that turned out really well. It completely brings your features to life.”
“You think so?”
“You look absolutely amazing.”
“Okay, please process the payment. Thank you.”
I left the salon.
Sure enough, I really did look like a different person, just like she’d said.
Even I felt unfamiliar when I looked in the mirror, so it wasn’t just some flattering compliment.
I’d bought new clothes for today too.
Not a suit—casual clothes instead.
I didn’t have much of an eye for picking clothes, so I went shopping with Seola. As a bonus, I bought her a present too.
Then, right on schedule, I headed for Yongsan Station. Today, I was the one driving.
A Rolls-Royce Dawn.
It might be a little uncomfortable for whoever sat in the back, but among Rolls-Royces, this was the one I found easiest to drive.
The others were all so damn big.
It had originally been the one Suho liked to ride around in.
But today, he’d taken a Ferrari instead and brought this one out for me.
Since there were, what, three or four Ferraris sitting around anyway, Suho taking one wouldn’t even be noticeable.
I parked the car in the Yongsan Station parking lot.
“Ugh, this is uncomfortable.”
It really was a little awkward to go from riding in someone else’s car to driving one myself.
When traffic wasn’t heavy, it felt nice, almost like a drive for pleasure... but in the morning, driving felt less like driving and more like walking.
Setting my complaints aside, I went into the station and waited for the train to arrive.
The train from Gwangju arrived, and not long after that, I saw my sister and Yeonwu noona coming out through the exit.
I recognized them at a glance.
How could I not?
Yeonwu noona was the kind of beauty that made your eyes go straight to her even in a crowd full of people.
“Wow...”
I wasn’t the only one. Every guy in Yongsan Station was sneaking glances too.
A few of them even let out low whistles of admiration.
Mm...
Compared to Seola...
Ssshhh. It was a little awkward to compare them. Seola was unbelievably beautiful as a broadcaster, and...
Yeonwu noona was beautiful enough to be called the undisputed queen among ordinary women.
At that level, she could go toe-to-toe with most celebrities and still hold her own.
The little sister standing next to her almost looked pitiful by comparison.
My sister looked around, then fumbled with her phone.
What was that? Hadn’t our eyes just met?
I raised my phone and walked toward them.
Even though I was right there in front of her, she still didn’t recognize me.
I spoke first.
Only then did she finally stare at me in shock and realize who I was.
Was I really that different? Apparently, I was.
“What are you..? Who did your hair? And your face too... you put on makeup? How does it look so natural...?”
“I went to a salon.”
“A salon...?”
“Still, it’s been a while since I saw you, noona. I should look good, right? Especially since it’s been a while since I saw Yeonwu noona too.”
“Th-that’s... haha... Doyun, long time no see...”
“Long time no see.”
“Hey, hey! Do all Seoul people go to salons?”
“If they can afford it, sure.”
“Wow... this is totally strange. You punk, you’re not from Gwangju at all—you’re a Seoul guy.”
“I think so too.”
Once my life started improving, I ended up living only in Seoul.
And honestly, it was unbelievably comfortable.
Come to think of it, Seoul really was a place with endless things to do and plenty of places to rest, as long as you had money.
We both stood there in shock for a while and chattered nonstop.
“When are we heading out?”
“Whew, I’m just so surprised, that’s all. You brought a car?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
I started walking ahead of them first.
If I wanted to look manly, I had to take the lead in everything.
As they followed behind me, I figured the two of them were probably talking about me.
Yeonwu noona looked really surprised too.
I could tell her usual composure had briefly vanished.
After walking a little ways, we reached the parking lot in no time.
By then, Yeonwu noona seemed to have regained her composure.
“Where’s the car?”
“Here. This one.”
“...This car?”
“Whoa...”
“I-is this your car?”
“Yep.”
“Th-that’s impossible.”
“Why would it be?”
As always, I had to admit it: the look on people’s faces when they saw the car gave me a lot more satisfaction than the money I’d spent buying it ever did.
Nothing could feel better than this.
“Where should we go first? Want to stop by the house? If you’ve got anything to drop off, you can leave it there. Get settled in a bit.”
“...Since you brought the car anyway, wouldn’t it make more sense to stay in the busy district and head home later? It’d be better for getting around.”
“My place is in a busy district too. Near Jamsil.”
“...”
“...”
“What the hell are you, really...?”
“Her little brother.”
“T-then let’s stop by the house first.”
My little sister climbed into the passenger seat, and Yeonwu noona got in the back.
Honestly, they were hopelessly clueless.
They didn’t even seem to have time to worry about anything else right now; they were too busy being shocked.
Both of them kept staring around the inside of the car, getting even more stunned.
“Seriously... this is insane...”
“Doyun, can I take a picture of this car...?”
“Of course.”
If they were this stunned just seeing a Rolls-Royce Dawn, then what kind of reaction would they have when they saw my house?
The drive home was surprisingly pleasant.
***