Expensive Cars Are the Truth
"Hana, you can't go running around like that!"
Bora said it the moment she looked at her. Out of the dinosaur pajamas she lived in day after day and into proper clothes for going out, Hana was genuinely adorable. Frankly, if they stepped onto any famous street, it wouldn't have been strange for a child-actor casting request to come flying their way. Her hair and eyes were an unusual color, but aside from that, it was fair to say Hana had the sort of looks anyone would wish for. Even now, her appearance was, quite literally, exploding.
Perhaps that was why Bora found herself curious how the boys would react once they sent Hana off to elementary school. A third-grader was still too young to know anything about romance—though kids these days grew up so fast, didn't they? Bora had no idea whatsoever that Hana was already melting the hearts of every boy in her class.
No matter how you looked at her, Hana was a tomboy through and through. She had the face to win a boy's favor, but judge her by how she acted and she was a hired farm boy in all but name. Even the ones who approached with a crush took one look at the way she behaved, decided there wasn't a feminine bone in her body, and fled. Of course, the sort of men who made their living off their looks probably wouldn't have cared.
"Huh... where'd the key go?"
Bora checked the shared bag where they kept the key to Hana's car and found it missing. They used to get around in the staff cars, but the company had bought a single sturdy, splendid vehicle exclusively for Hana. Its frame was built from extremely tough materials that had come out of a gate, so it would come through being hit by a truck without a scratch. If anything, Bora was certain that in a head-on collision, it would be the truck that crumpled.
Hana was already wearing the ring Chairman Kim Sehee had bought her, which left her all but immune to physical accidents—but who knew what the future held? If something happened while they were riding around in a staff car, it would be a disaster.
So, to put every other car on the road on notice, they had bought one that announced itself as expensive at a glance. On the road, an expensive car more than earned its price. No matter how wretchedly someone drove, the sight of an import had a way of making them suddenly eager to obey the rules of the road. Unlike physical therapy, financial therapy was the kind of treatment that could snap even a lunatic back to their senses.
"Bora, the car key's right here!"
Hana was holding the key, though Bora had no idea when she'd gone rummaging through the bag.
"When did you even take that!"
Bora took the key from her and started the car. The engine caught so smoothly that it announced, all by itself, that this was a luxury vehicle.
"Whoa!"
Hana didn't seem particularly interested in cars, and she had little to say about the new one. What she loved instead was the air freshener hanging in front of the vent—a cute little character, made to suit her taste exactly.
"You like it that much, Hana?"
Bora asked because Hana seemed to like it far too much. Sometimes Hana gave off the air of an uncle you only ever saw on holidays; at moments like this, she looked exactly like a little girl her own age.
"It's super cute!"
Hana fiddled with the air freshener. Bora stopped her from touching it, then eased down on the accelerator and pulled the car out.
"Wooow!"
She must have been that happy to be going out. Pressed to the window, she let out little gasps of wonder. They were on the city's outskirts, and nature here was vividly alive—this wasn't a downtown whose development was already finished. Hana kept staring outside as if something out there had hooked her completely.
Once they entered the city proper, the road grew a little congested. Even so, perhaps because this was a car Bora could never have dreamed of on her own salary, the vehicles around them kept a generous distance. It felt like driving a treasure chest down the road. So this was why people rode around in imports. No matter how filthy the driving, the surrounding cars granted her unconditional right of way.
Not that Bora's driving habits were bad. If anything, you could call them good. Still, she could feel the difficulty of driving change all at once. The moment she flicked on her blinker, the car behind dropped its speed in a hurry. In her old car, that same driver would have sped up just to pass her with a flourish.
The gap in front and behind felt wider, too. Cars that used to crowd in until they were practically within arm's reach now, the instant she had changed vehicles, left enough room for another car to slip in between.
"Is this... the majesty of a luxury car?"
Once again, Bora felt to her bones why people drove expensive cars. All that had changed was the exterior, and yet the way the road treated her had changed with it. She could barely even remember her old car.
And so Bora's car prowled the road like a beast on the hunt. The frailer vehicles couldn't withstand the killing intent pouring off it, and they toppled like straw.
"We're here!"
Just like that, they glided smoothly up to the movie theater. Bora got out and lifted Hana from the passenger seat. Still obsessed with the air freshener, Hana had kept fiddling with it right up until they left the car, and her hands reeked of it. She couldn't eat popcorn with hands like that, so Bora took her to the restroom and scrubbed them clean with soap.
"Ehhng!"
Setting Hana's wail aside, Bora took her by the hand and stepped onto the escalator. A glance around showed the place packed with couples. The sight left Bora's side feeling oddly empty—but she had Hana, so it didn't matter.
"Bora, buy me this!"
When the escalator delivered them into the theater, delicious things were waiting to greet the two of them. The rich smell of popcorn hung thick in the air, and Hana couldn't take her eyes off it. She was acting as if she'd been hypnotized.
They had to order at a kiosk, so Bora picked Hana up and held her at eye level with the screen. Hana was so short that, standing on her own, she would have had to crane her neck just to see it.
A touch of the screen brought up an array of combo sets to greet them. Bora turned to Hana.
"What do you feel like eating, Hana?"
But Hana was tapping the kiosk as deftly as a child who came to the movies all the time. To Bora, she felt like someone who had been here dozens of times. Her choices were that unhesitating.
"You're having popcorn and cola too, right, Bora?"
"Uh... yeah!"
She was even looking after Bora's order. Bora decided Haru or Maru must have taught her. There had been plenty of time before they left for the theater; curious as Hana was, of course she would have asked the two of them how one was supposed to behave at the movies.
She inserted the card, the payment went through, and out came a waiting ticket. Hana clutched it and paced in front of the popcorn counter. Bora stood behind her, waiting so they could pick everything up together. Before long, a bright ding announced that their turn had come.
"Ah!"
The popcorn and cola had been set on the counter where Hana's hands couldn't reach. She could have gotten them on tiptoe, but there was no reason to risk it that way, so Bora lifted the popcorn with both hands.
"Hana, can you carry the cola?"
With no hands left, Bora had no choice but to pass the drinks to her. Unless she grew two extra arms, there was no way to carry two colas and two popcorns at once.
"Okay!"
And so Hana went toddling this way and that in high spirits, hunting for their theater. The screening room for Little Magician Rumi was quite a ways off. When Bora saw Hana's arms starting to tremble, she hurried them inside—give it a little longer, and Hana looked ready to drop the cola.
Not that Bora could take the drinks herself. Her hands were already full; the popcorn buckets were simply that big.
Fortunately, they made it into their seats before the cola could spill.
"Whoa!"
Hana stared at the screen as if it were something wondrous. The ad playing was for Starlight Coffee. A male celebrity—dignified, handsome, with a jawline you could cut yourself on—sipped the coffee and broke into a fresh, bright smile. It would have shone even more if he'd been a woman...
Still, the commercial was pleasant to watch. She'd heard Starlight Coffee was doing well, and Bora's shoulders straightened of their own accord. It existed only because Hana had done so well—and with the person responsible sitting right beside her, pride swelled in her chest.
"The movie's starting!"
The lights in the theater went down, and the screen began to glow. After the studio's signature, sentiment-soaked bumper, the movie proper began. Soon the only sounds in the room were popcorn being eaten and cola being drunk. Hana watched the screen as if she might be sucked right into it.