Yumiko and Yoshie
Kim Chirok met a real estate company employee at a coffee shop near Myeongdong Station — and two cute Japanese women as well.
Jang Min-soo, who worked at a real estate firm, introduced Kim Chirok to the Japanese women in clumsy Japanese.
"This is the person I told you about. We go to the same Japanese language academy."
"Annyonghaseyo?"
The two women chimed in together, greeting him in Korean. One had round eyes; the other had a face dotted with moles. Perhaps because they were tourists, they weren't dressed particularly flashily. One wore a white blouse, the other a pink one.
The round-eyed woman was a little on the chubby side, and she had a snaggletooth. Far from looking unsightly, though, it only made her look cuter.
They didn't look like people who worked at big companies. They lacked the polish of Oh Ha-young from H Chemical's General Affairs Department, or Bang Mihee from the H Group Chairman's secretarial office. And yet they were unmistakably more innocent, more feminine — distinctly Japanese.
Jang Min-soo introduced Kim Chirok again. His Japanese being shaky, he glanced at a translator app first.
"This gentleman graduated from Seoul National University, the best university in Korea, and he currently works at a major conglomerate. Seoul National University is like Japan's University of Tokyo."
The woman with the moles spoke up.
"Ohh, that's impressive. So he's like an Akamon graduate!"
Kim Chirok knew well that the University of Tokyo was called Akamon. The university's main gate was painted red, which was how the nickname had come about.
Kim Chirok smiled and answered in Japanese.
"Japan's Akamon graduates are certainly impressive. Do both of you live in Tokyo?"
"No. We're from Kashima City in Ibaraki Prefecture."
"Ibaraki Prefecture?"
"Do you like soccer, by any chance? The Shima Antorazu team is in Kashima, in Ibaraki Prefecture."
Kim Chirok had spent his life studying; he didn't know much about soccer teams. And he had even less interest in a foreign country's team.
Jang Min-soo, the real estate employee, filled in the blanks.
"Shima Antorazu means the Kashima Antlers. They're a famous soccer team."
"Ah, I see."
Kim Chirok considered saying he didn't particularly like soccer, then thought better of it. He just nodded along, pretending he knew a little.
He addressed the two Japanese women.
"My name is Kim Chirok. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The round-eyed Japanese woman spoke.
"I'm Yumiko, and this is Yoshie. Your Japanese is really good, though."
"I've studied a little."
Jang Min-soo, sitting beside them, turned to Kim Chirok.
"Um, if you have a business card, why don't you give them one?"
Jang Min-soo wanted to show that the man he'd introduced was someone of verified standing. That was why he'd asked for the card — as proof.
Kim Chirok felt a little awkward handing a business card to Japanese women he'd just met, but he did it anyway.
The round-eyed woman named Yumiko spoke up.
"How do you write this name in Chinese characters?"
Kim Chirok wrote his name in Chinese characters on a memo pad. Yumiko looked at it.
"Ah! Kin Chiroku!"
Hearing that, Kim Chirok realized that "Chirok" became "Chiroku" in Japanese.
Yumiko grinned.
"Chiroku oppa!"
The two women burst into giggles. These Japanese women certainly laughed easily. They were nothing like Oh Ha-young or Bang Mihee. There was none of that chin-up, haughty air that Bang Mihee carried. Japanese women, it seemed, were cheerful — almost like high school girls who hadn't quite grown up yet.
Kim Chirok smiled and asked.
"How did you two meet Jang Min-soo here?"
Jang Min-soo puffed out his chest.
"I went to Tokyo on vacation last time. I asked these two for directions in front of Shinjuku Station."
"Oh, is that so?"
"When they found out I was Korean, they were thrilled. They said they love Korea's BTS — that they're fans."
"Oh, really?"
"They said they'd enjoyed Korean dramas too, and that they could speak a little Korean. That's when I gave them my card and told them to come visit."
"Ah, I see."
Kim Chirok asked the two Japanese women.
"Who's your favorite in BTS?"
"I like Jimin."
"I like Jungkook."
The two women burst into laughter again. They really were a people who laughed at the drop of a hat — women brimming with energy.
"So do you two work in Tokyo? You said earlier that you live in Ibaraki Prefecture."
Yumiko answered.
"Home is Kashima City in Ibaraki Prefecture. Work is there too."
Jang Min-soo jumped in.
"It's only a two-hour bus ride from Ibaraki Prefecture to Tokyo. So they say they come into Tokyo a lot on weekends."
"Ah, what a coincidence, then."
"Yumiko currently works at an outlet mall in Kashima City, and Yoshie works at a fisheries cooperative."
"Oh, so Kashima City must be on the coast."
"You should take an interest in Japanese women too, Kim Chirok. These days even highly educated guys with great resumes are joining Korea-Japan couple matching clubs, from what I hear."
"Is that so?"
"With your credentials, you probably don't even need to date a Japanese woman, right? I bet plenty of women like you."
"Huh? That's not really the case."
As he said it, Kim Chirok thought of the women at H Chemical, and of Bang Mihee at group headquarters.
The woman with the moles — Yoshie — spoke up.
"Chiroku oppa has a girlfriend, right?"
If he said he didn't, they'd probably pester him. These Japanese women were cute, but they didn't strike him as marriage material. Besides, these days Kim Chirok was seeing Bang Mihee from the secretarial office with marriage in mind.
President Jeong-hee and Director Jang were taking an interest in the relationship and actively recommending it. If he married Bang Mihee, it would surely happen with the group's blessing. And since the Chairman thought of Bang Mihee like a daughter, his own career advancement would be all but guaranteed.
So he told Yoshie he was seeing someone.
"Yes. I'm seeing someone these days."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Yoshie's face. But she bounced right back to her cheerful expression.
"Oh my! Whoever caught Chiroku oppa's eye must be pretty."
She giggled. These Japanese women had been pronouncing "oppa" with that cute accent the whole time.
Jang Min-soo said with a laugh.
"Shall we go? Let's walk around Myeongdong a bit and grab a meal."
The four of them left the Hollys Coffee shop and headed into the alleys of Myeongdong.
It was a neighborhood packed with tourists, and the streets were swarming. Japanese and Chinese signs began to appear. Kim Chirok hadn't had reason to come to Myeongdong lately, and he was surprised by how many Japanese signs, Chinese-character signs, and English signs there were. King Sejong himself would have shown up furious, demanding to know where Hangul had gone.
Kim Chirok said with a laugh.
"There are a lot of hiragana signs too. The bag shop is written as kaban in hiragana, and the place selling ginseng and seaweed is written as 'Nori Kingdom' in hiragana."
The Japanese women were busy looking at everything and taking photos. Meanwhile, round-eyed Yumiko and Jang Min-soo were sticking close together.
Hmm. There's something going on between those two.
They seemed to like each other. Affection, it appeared, needed no shared language — eyes and body language said it all.
The Japanese women happily bought street food, and Kim Chirok ended up eating some with them. Then they spotted a giant BTS photo in front of a sheet-mask shop and squealed, bouncing up and down with delight. In moments like this, they looked exactly like two hopping rabbits.
When they bought things like fish-shaped pastries or fresh fruit juice on the street, the Japanese women paid for themselves. They even treated Kim Chirok and Jang Min-soo. "Oppa, you eat too," they'd say, buying extras.
All that walking left their legs aching.
As evening fell, Myeongdong grew even brighter. The shop lights blazed. Jang Min-soo offered to buy dinner. Yumiko and Yoshie suggested dolsot bibimbap, laughing again. The Japanese women weren't particular about fancy restaurants, so the group headed to a hot-stone bibimbap place.
Yumiko and Yoshie didn't sit next to each other. This time, Yumiko slipped right into the seat beside Jang Min-soo.
No doubt about it — those two like each other.
So Kim Chirok sat with Yoshie, the one with the moles.
Even while eating, Yumiko kept asking Jang Min-soo questions in a spoiled, coaxing voice.
"Oppa, what kind of namul is this?"
"Oppa, is this hongdangmuji?"
The way they looked at each other was anything but ordinary. Honey seemed to drip from their eyes. They even looked a little alike. Kim Chirok remembered something Jang Min-soo had said once.
"I graduated from a no-name university, and I live out in the greater Seoul area. Who would ever marry a guy like me?"
Jang Min-soo had graduated from a no-name local university and now seemed to live somewhere in Gyeonggi Province. He appeared well aware that finding a Korean woman to marry would be difficult. He wasn't particularly tall, nor did he have the looks of a heartthrob. That was probably why he'd been so proactive about dating Japanese women. Unlike Southeast Asian women, Japanese women looked a lot like Koreans, and even their scent was similar. And surprisingly, some of them were genuinely adorable.
Wasn't that why so many Korean men these days were signing up with companies that matched Korea-Japan couples? Japanese women were different from the Southeast Asian situation. This wasn't some aging rural bachelor looking for a young bride. This was highly educated men looking for partners their own age.
Jang Min-soo and Yumiko were being so sweet with each other that Kim Chirok couldn't help but comment.
"You two don't seem like just ordinary friends. Yumiko, do you like Jang Min-soo?"
"Mm. I like oppa."
Yumiko beamed and nodded.
Kim Chirok turned to Yoshie beside him.
"Are you going to date a Korean man too, Yoshie?"
"I have a Japanese boyfriend. But if it were a guy who looked like BTS's Jungkook or Chiroku oppa, I'd want to marry a Korean man too. Heehee."
Kim Chirok felt his face heat up at that. "Chiroku" referred to him, after all.
He said with a smile,
"Then I think Japanese men would cry, wouldn't they? If Japanese women started marrying into Korea."
"A lot of Japanese men are soshoku danshi."
"Soshoku danshi?"
Yoshie quickly typed it into a translator and showed it to Kim Chirok.
"Ah! Herbivore men!"
It was a term Kim Chirok already knew. A herbivore man referred to men who were as gentle as grazing animals — not the macho type. The problem was that while these mild-mannered men were kind and sensitive, they had no interest in the opposite sex. Herbivore men were more interested in hobbies like cooking and fashion. That was why Japan had so many hikikomori and herbivore men, and why some Japanese women had started taking an interest in Korean men.
When a woman married, she entrusted her whole life to a man. If that man was incapable of making a living, marriage became impossible. And a man and woman needed to share physical intimacy — if a man was inept in that department, marriage was equally difficult.
Kim Chirok even wondered if his own father, currently living in a mountain valley in Wasuri, Gangwon Province, might be a herbivore man. His father, too, was as gentle and kind as a grazing animal. But he couldn't quite call his father a herbivore man. His father had worked to survive. He'd been a scaffolder on construction sites, installing scaffolding. He'd been injured, and that was why he'd had no choice but to retreat into the mountains.
That's right. I can't call my father a herbivore man. He tried to make a good living, at least at the start.
After the meal, Yoshie handed out napkins. She even poured water, smiling brightly, beaming.
Ahh. If only Bang Mihee from the secretarial office or Oh Ha-young from H Chemical had ever shown this kind of side.
Oh Ha-young and Bang Mihee had never once handed out napkins or hot towels at a meal. Kim Chirok had always done it. Those two had only ever wanted to be waited on. Bang Mihee, in particular, was a woman who wanted a husband who wouldn't interfere with her career and who would split the housework fifty-fifty.
If he wanted a sweet, cozy married life, Kim Chirok thought a Japanese woman might not be such a bad idea. And so he found himself hoping that things would work out between Jang Min-soo and Yumiko.