The First Car, and a Fan
“You called for a designated driver, right?”
That was right.
What I’d chosen was designated driving.
Actually, there were plenty of other ways to test-drive a car besides taking it for a spin.
After asking around, I’d learned that these days people usually rented a car for a few hours and drove it themselves.
But that meant paying to use it.
If I worked as a designated driver instead, I could get paid while I experienced the car at the same time.
And if I casually asked the owners a few questions, I’d probably get real-world feedback I could never hear from the internet or from dealers.
There was one especially important point, though.
Rental cars were mostly stripped-down models.
The more expensive a vehicle got, the more its options affected the quality of the car itself, and there was no realistic way to experience a fully loaded trim.
Besides, renting one for a day could cost 200,000 or 300,000 won.
Of course, I couldn’t choose the model.
Still, I thought that if I experienced enough different cars, I’d end up with options I hadn’t even considered.
And if I could earn pocket money on the side while doing it, even better.
Especially since designated driving was so convenient these days.
Back in the old days, you had to register with a company, get insurance, take training, and all sorts of other complicated nonsense.
Now, if you signed up through one of the big-name apps, everything was processed quickly.
They took a bigger cut for it, sure, but calls were easy to get, so for someone like me who just wanted a light side hustle, it was actually more convenient.
“Boss? You’re the one who called for a driver, right? Owner of car 9762?”
“Oh, yes, that’s right.”
“Mind if I load one bike onto the car?”
When I showed him the electric one-wheel, he nodded as if to say that was fine.
“I’ll take you to the address on the call. Nowon-gu, Jugong Apartment.”
“Yes, yes.”
I was already pretty satisfied with the first car.
A Genesis, huh...
It was the GV80, the most expensive one among the models I’d been thinking about buying.
When I eased the door shut and got in.
Swish-.
Ghost door?
It closed itself with a neat, solid thud.
The seat also adjusted naturally, tightening around my body just enough to fit.
Even when I started the engine, there was no irritating rattling noise.
When I stepped on the accelerator, the car surged forward smoothly.
Oh...
It was on an entirely different level from my ten-plus-year-old wreck of an Accent.
That car always felt like it was shuddering and clunking along, but this one felt like it was gliding forward on its own.
Glancing at the rearview mirror, I saw the man in his forties looking out the window with a satisfied expression.
The corners of his mouth were already creeping upward. He seemed to be in a good mood.
I casually struck up a conversation.
“Boss, this car is really nice.”
“Oh, really?”
As soon as he heard the compliment, the owner smiled happily and leaned a little toward the driver’s seat.
“I got it about three months ago, and I’m seriously pleased with it.”
“Oh, may I ask what you like most about it?”
He answered without even thinking.
“The getting-out-of-the-car feeling is great.”
“Not the riding comfort?”
“The getting-out-of-the-car feeling. People always glance over when I step out.”
He chuckled and went on, “I work at a mediocre little company. Naturally, I could never even dream of a car like this. But Tesla had a big run a while back, right? I’d been putting money into that for years. Thanks to that, I made enough to buy this. Now every time my office coworkers see me, they get jealous. That’s the best part.”
“Ahaha, nice. How about the drive?”
“Just holding the wheel feels smooth, doesn’t it? It’ll pull hard too.”
“Yes, I can feel that.”
I naturally kept asking about the car.
“I’m thinking about buying a new car myself, so could I ask if there are any downsides?”
“Hmm. If I had to name a downside...”
He gave a dry laugh. “It’s too expensive?”
Then he added, still chuckling, “If I threw in a few more million won here, I could buy a Porsche, right? When you think about that, the value for money doesn’t really hold up.”
“Fair enough.”
“Other than that, it’s all good. I’m happy with it.”
“I see. Thanks.”
It was past rush hour, so the roads were wide open, and with us chatting here and there, we reached the destination before long.
“Boss, parking’s done. It’s automatic payment, so you can head inside right away.”
“You drive well. Thanks to you, that was really comfortable.”
The man smiled and pulled two more ten-thousand-won bills from his pocket.
“Nice to see a young guy working hard like this.”
“Ah, thank you!”
I didn’t bother refusing.
After all, accepting pocket money from drunk people was basically illegal to turn down.
“Take care on the way in.”
“Yes, sir.”
I bowed politely and left the parking lot.
28,000 won for the designated-driving fee, plus a 20,000-won tip... 40,000 won for one call?
This was more profitable than I’d expected.
-25,000 won: Nowon-gu, Junggye-dong → Jongno-gu, Changsin-dong.
“Nice.”
It was my first day, so I figured I’d keep it light and do just two calls before heading to the workshop for work.
***
-20,000 won: Songpa-gu, Jamsil-dong → Gangnam-gu, Samseong-dong.
“Oh, that’s close.”
The call was close enough that I could have walked there right now, and by car it would take only about fifteen minutes.
[Accepted]
The destination was a barbecue place near Jamsil Sports Complex.
When I arrived, a young man in his early twenties was waiting for me beside a Mercedes.
He looked vaguely familiar, but he had his cap pulled down low, so I couldn’t see his face.
“Hello, you called for the driver, right?”
“Yes, yes. This is the car.”
“Right. Let’s go.”
At such a young age, not only was he driving a nice car, but his physique was obviously beyond the average person’s.
He had to be over 190 centimeters tall, and the pickup spot was right next to Phoenix’s home stadium.
Is he an athlete?
I wondered if he’d trained at the baseball field and then gone out for drinks, but younger people tended to dislike being chatted up, so I decided to keep quiet.
“I’ll be setting off now.”
It had been about five quiet minutes when—
Bang-!
What the heck?
At first I thought I might have made a mistake, but fortunately the noise hadn’t come from the car.
It came from the back seat?
Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw the passenger holding his phone horizontally as he watched a YouTube video.
Crash-!
Bang, bang, bang!
Something was breaking apart.
“Aha— hahaha!”
Whatever was being hit and smashed, he found it unbearably funny, because he just kept cracking up.
...Young people really are different.
He was clearly watching something extremely violent, but apparently that was hilarious to him.
Bang-!
Another smashing sound.
“Ahaha, this is insane. This guy’s ridiculous.”
He was cackling in admiration.
Is this the kind of stuff that does well on YouTube these days?
By then, I was starting to get curious about what exactly he was watching.
As a YouTuber myself, I wanted to stay on top of trends too.
And just then, when we hit a traffic light—
“Driver, driver.”
The passenger in the back seemed to think it was a shame to watch this alone, so he leaned forward suddenly.
“Could you take a look at this? It’s seriously funny.”
“Pardon?”
“My senior recommended it to me a couple of days ago, and it’s great.”
Just as I was about to turn my head and glance over, the light changed back to green.
“I’ll watch it later.”
“Ah, shame.”
“Then could I ask what the channel name is...?”
“Wasn’t it Busy Bear?”
I froze.
“...Bear?”
“Yeah. It’s a YouTuber in a bear costume who just smashes things, and he’s hilarious. In one video, he was making something with all this crazy care and caution, and then after building something that looked perfectly fine and well made, he goes, ‘I don’t like it!’ and wrecks the whole thing. I usually don’t hit subscribe that easily, but this guy was so ridiculous that I did.”
Wait a second.
Then the smashing sound from earlier was the sound of him destroying my wooden table...?
“...Not Bear, but Bear Cub?”
“Was it?”
He tilted his head.
“Oh, right. How did you know? He doesn’t even have that many subscribers.”
“...”
That was pretty shocking.
I hadn’t expected to meet a subscriber like this.
“I thought I’d seen it somewhere.”
I’d only answered a question about my channel, but—
“Hahaha, you recognized me too?”
Maybe because he’d had a drink, he seemed to have taken my words as recognition of himself.
“That’s right. I’m the baseball player Tae Woo-chan.”
He even took off the cap he’d been wearing.
“Ah, Phoenix, maybe?”
“That’s right.”
Tae Woo-chan.
Anyone who knew anything about baseball had to know the name.
He’d been drafted last year and even snatched the Rookie of the Year award, a monster rookie pitcher.
“Want me to sign something for you?”
He seemed happy to see a fan, probably because he was still a rookie.
But the problem was...
He’s on the rival team of the Unicorns I support...
In fact, the reason the Unicorns had gotten blown out in last year’s playoffs was this very Tae Woo-chan.
From the day the team was founded, they’d been sworn enemies with every other club, but especially with each other. There was nothing more to say.
After a short conversation, we arrived at the destination before I knew it.
I decided to skip the autograph.
I’d been loyally supporting the Unicorns for over ten years, after all.
Still, I should be honest.
Tae Woo-chan had openly admitted he was a baseball player, so it would only be polite for me to come clean too.
“By the way, that channel you were watching earlier.”
“You mean Busy Little Pooh?”
“...Yes. That’s me.”
“Huh?”
Tae Woo-chan’s eyes went wide.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I pulled up the channel directly on my phone and showed him that I was indeed the owner.
“Whoa, no way!”
With a drink in him and his face flushed red, Tae Woo-chan happily reached out to shake my hand.
“I’m a fan.”
“This is my first time meeting a subscriber like this. Nice to meet you.”
Tae Woo-chan laughed heartily and grabbed my arm.
“Since we met like this, come watch a game sometime.”
“At the baseball stadium?”
“Yep.”
A live game for a rival team... That felt a little awkward, so I took a step back.
“Actually, I’m a Unicorns fan...”
“Oh, seriously?”
He burst out laughing.
“Fate really is cruel. Then come when the Unicorns come on the road next time. I’ll get you a ticket.”
“...Really?”
“But if I win, you switch over to being our fan.”
“That’s a bit...”
“I’m kidding. Could I get a business card, though? I really do want to invite you.”
“Sure, I’d appreciate that.”
He’d gone this far, so refusing would have been rude.
I took out the business card I’d kept in my pocket and handed it to him.
“I’ll contact you later if I can arrange a game schedule.”
“Thank you.”
As it turned out, working as a designated driver was helping me collect unexpectedly interesting connections.
***
Half a month later.
After work ended, I kept up the designated driving.
Sometimes for two hours. Sometimes as long as four.
After a few more calls, I’d not only piled up a pretty nice amount of money, but I’d also gathered quite a bit of data on cars.
Yeah, I’ve decided.
Thanks to that, I was able to choose the car I’d buy without agonizing over it for long.
“A domestic car is the best, after all.”
I’d made my final decision on Hyundai’s Palisade.
Rather than a sedan, an SUV was better for hauling things, and it was more comfortable to drive too.
I’d debated it against the GV80 until the very end, but if I was going to transport all the stuff from my woodworking, the Palisade was still the better choice.
Above all, nothing matched the Palisade for value for money.
And after working as a designated driver and hearing all those vivid firsthand reviews, it was also the car that the most dads seemed happiest with.
“Yes. If you’ll just sign here one last time, that’s it.”
The dealer smiled as he neatly squared up the contract.
“The car purchase is complete. I’ll contact you once it’s ready for delivery. We’ll do our best to get it out of the factory as soon as possible.”
“Yes, thank you.”
My first car.
Not a used car, but a brand-new one. This would be the first new car I’d ever bought in my life.
I’m already excited...
My heart was pounding.
Especially since, unlike a used car, a new car should still have the plastic wrapping on everything from the steering wheel to the seats.
Just thinking about peeling that off already put me in a good mood.
Where should I take it for a drive?