Reunion at Six Nine
I dropped Jo Sujeong off in front of her apartment. It was an old, rundown building. The fact that they were even renting it made my chest ache a little.
"Just hang in there a bit longer. Since you can live off Sujeong's salary, you and Changguk should save the money Changhee and I send you. Before you know it, you'll be able to move somewhere better. Let's work together to make that happen."
"Thank you, Unni. No one has given us this kind of support and encouragement for so long. Thanks to you, I actually feel like I want more out of life now, haha... For the longest time, I was just trying to get through each day. After Changguk used all our savings to pay off my parents' debts, we were at rock bottom. At least we've worked hard and taken out a small loan to get this far. Now we just need to push a little harder before Sanghyun starts school."
It was the first time I'd heard that story. It made me curious about the man named Lee Changguk, but now wasn't the time. This was enough. I watched her go inside, then pulled out my phone. I took the business card tucked into the case, entered the number, and sent a text. It felt only polite to thank Suyeon.
She called back almost immediately. The conversation was awkward at first—polite small talk—but that was to be expected.
"Do you have time today? Right now. I kind of want to see your face after all this."
Neither of us had changed much, it seemed.
"Yeah, talking on the phone like this feels silly. I'd rather see you in person. Buying you a glass of brandy would make me feel better than just saying thanks, heh..."
"I'll buy the drinks. Consider it my way of thanking you for meeting me, haha..."
I drove to the address she gave me. Now that I was actually going to see her, I found myself full of questions. How had she changed? What had she been doing all these years? Who was she in love with now?
When I stepped into the wine bar called Six Nine, a small bell chimed. Suyeon was sitting at the counter, a bottle of wine in front of her, chatting with a tall, slender bartender in a red dress. She turned, spotted me, and slid off her stool to walk over.
She was still slim and sexy. The soft, clinging dress only emphasized it. We clasped hands, complimented each other's looks, and took seats side by side at the bar. Up close, I could see my earlier compliment hadn't been empty flattery at all. Time seemed to have passed her by completely—her face was exactly as I remembered it.
The bartender poured wine into our glasses. We clinked them and took a sip. I glanced around the bar. The lighting was bright, and the space was clean, with nine tables and six stools. Only after counting them did I understand why the place was called Six Nine. Whatever deeper meaning the name held, that was for the owner to know.
"I was so surprised when President Han Bonggi mentioned your name. He even described what you looked like to make sure, haha..."
"Same here. I couldn't believe we were connected through the same company, even indirectly."
I didn't ask why Jeongsook's father had brought up my name. Some people were simply meant to meet.
"So, who was that person who came in for the interview? Your girlfriend? Haha..."
"Haha... Still the first thing on your mind, huh? She's a relative. Take good care of her, okay?"
"I don't think you need to worry. The manager said her basic skills are solid. Once she picks up the two or three techniques we need, she'll be fine. We can't offer the best pay, but we do recognize experience, so she won't be starting at the bottom."
"Really? That's great. I feel so much better now, thanks to you."
"By the way, what about your girlfriend?"
It seemed like that was the real reason she'd wanted to meet, but I'd expected as much, so it didn't bother me.
"I'm married."
"What? Married? Seriously, or are you joking?"
"Seriously. Want to see a picture?"
I held out my phone. Her face, unable to hide her shock, shifted into something even more stunned as she looked at the two couples in wedding attire. There was no expression more honest than the moment someone confirmed the truth. She spent a while praising my bride, Changhee. I accepted the compliments with quiet gratitude, and before I knew it, we were on our second glass of wine.
Suyeon asked if she could look through the rest of the photos on my phone. Most of them were of Changhee and me, but there was nothing I couldn't show her, so I said yes. While she scrolled, I took a cigarette from my bag and gestured to the bartender to ask if it was all right. She nodded and set an ashtray in front of me. As I lit up, Suyeon showed the bartender the wedding photos. The woman was just as surprised and full of praise.
Handing the phone back, she launched into the expected barrage of questions—how we'd met, how things had developed, what I'd liked about Changhee. I answered them all without pause. Chatting like this felt like stepping back in time. It had always been this way between us.
"Enough about me. Tell me about you. How have you been? Do you have a girlfriend? Or did you get married?"
Suyeon seemed to recognize it was her turn and began filling in the years I'd missed. I had been her first love. After several unrequited crushes, meeting me had made the experience especially meaningful to her. But we'd had to part ways. She wandered for a while before deciding to study abroad, thinking that leaving the country would let her forget everything and start fresh. She studied hard. After graduating, she worked as a designer there, and once she had some emotional breathing room, she started looking for someone to fill it.
She'd had casual flings in college, but what she really wanted was someone who would stay by her side. Then something interesting happened. It was like realizing that even the kids who scored lower than thirty on an English test still existed—meaning there were people even more feminine than she was. Eventually, she found herself drawn to one of those women who liked her. She realized that scoring a thirty didn't make her a hundred-percent femme after all.
As I'd mentioned before, human sexuality never sits at a clean zero or a hundred. Everyone stands somewhere in between. Some people stubbornly refuse to move from the spot they've assigned themselves, mistaking that single point for their entire identity. Others discover how wide the spectrum really is and learn to see a bigger world. Suyeon and I both belonged to the latter group. In that sense, we were quite alike. It made me feel at ease with her. Walking in the same direction, it felt like we could build a friendship going forward.
"You've had quite the dramatic life, huh... So, you keep saying you want to see your girlfriend. Do you meet up during business trips or something?"
"What are you talking about? My girlfriend is right here."
"What? So she came to Korea with you?"
"Yeah. She actually came about six months before me. She found us a place to live, came out bravely, and even had some of the surgeries she needed, haha..."
"Hey, that's wonderful. So you've chosen the path of living on love too, huh, haha..."
"Yeah, I have. I still stray sometimes when the mood strikes, but knowing someone loves me and waits for me always brings me back home, you know? Right, Nabi?"
The last part was directed at the bartender. I blinked in confusion, but when the woman smiled brightly at Suyeon, I understood exactly who her girlfriend was.
"Oh my, flirting right in front of your girlfriend? You naughty girl!"
"Hahaha... Sorry. I didn't plan to at first, but suddenly I felt like being a little mischievous for old times' sake. You're not actually mad, are you? Haha..."
She formally introduced us. Hong Nabi. A year younger than us. She had studied fine arts and design, and now she was in charge of all product design at Suyeon's company while also running this wine bar as co-owner.
"I asked Nabi to come in early today so she could meet you. I told the regular bartender to come in late instead. The real one should be here soon. Nabi has her bartender's license too, so she's perfectly capable, but she mostly handles the tables. On weekdays we close at midnight and let the staff take over, so it's not too much of a burden as a hobby."
It wasn't even eight o'clock yet. Maybe that was why, or maybe it was just the nature of a wine bar, but only one table was occupied.
"It might not look like it now, but the tables fill up fast."
Suyeon had read my mind. I quickly complimented the interior and took another small sip of wine.
"A lot of customers come just to see Nabi, you know. They'd faint if they knew what was between her legs, haha..."
At those words, my mouth fell open. Suyeon pressed a finger to her lips in a "keep it secret" gesture.
"Surprised? I'm only telling you, so don't go spreading it around, okay? Hahaha..."
Hong Nabi gave an embarrassed smile and laughed along. Even her laughter sounded completely feminine. Changhee wasn't quite at this level, which made it even more startling.
"Nabi's just a woman who happens to have something extra down there. She's exactly my type—more feminine than I am, haha... She's had everything fixed—voice, chest, face—but she's keeping the bottom half until her parents give permission, haha... If they've already accepted their son as a daughter after coming out, shouldn't they let her have the final surgery too? I really don't understand it."
When I looked at Hong Nabi, she pouted her lips and nodded along as if agreeing. She looked every bit a woman. It was the first time I'd seen a man more feminine than Changhee. Unlike Changhee, who enjoyed cross-dressing and chose to live as a woman for the person she loved, Hong Nabi had been living openly as a woman from some point onward. That was probably why it was possible. Thinking about it that way, Changhee really was remarkable. In just one year, she'd managed to become my "master" and hold me so tightly.