TWELVE 108

Spending the weekend rolling around and doing nothing is nice, but because I’ve set a grand goal for myself lately, I decided to spend a meaningful day with Gi Seoin.

Gi Seoin’s sedan crossed the Incheon Bridge. The blue sea stretching out beneath the magnificent bridge made my heart pound. I tried to push aside my excitement by reminding myself of the purpose of coming here, but it didn’t go as I willed.

“I’ve never been here before.”

“Really?”

“Have you been here?”

“Only to the airport when I had to leave the country.”

I suppose if you don’t have any ties here, there isn’t much reason to come except for visiting the airport. Since I’ve never even been abroad, it was a first for me.

“By the way, Seoin, which foreign countries have you been to?”

“I’ve been to almost every country you might have heard of.”

“Mmm.”

Come to think of it, back when he was a student, Gi Seoin said he went abroad every summer break. He looked like he didn’t want to go, but I was simply fascinated. Excluding him, there was no one around me who traveled overseas often, so I didn’t even know enough to be envious.

“Where did you like the most?”

“Korea is the best.”

“Really? There seem to be so many great places abroad…”

“Woo Seungkyung isn’t there.”

It was a reply that didn’t quite feel real, but it made me feel good. I lightly tapped the forearm of the guy who was driving.

“I’ll give you 3 points for that compliment.”

Even though it wasn’t a score that reflected anywhere in real life, Gi Seoin wore a triumphant expression as if he had scored a huge point.

He’s so lovely I can’t stand it. I wanted to kiss him right then and there, but since he was driving, I settled for linking my arm with his.

“Do you want to go abroad?”

He asked, and I didn’t need to think about the answer.

“Since I’ve never been, the thought of wanting to go doesn’t really occur to me. Still, I do want to go to Jeju Island.”

A long time ago, a site manager I worked with told us about his family trip to Jeju Island and shared some tangerine chocolates. While eating the refreshing and sweet chocolate and listening to his travel stories, even though they weren’t grand tales, I remember thinking I was envious.

“They say dolphins even appear in the sea at Jeju Island.”

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah, I think it would be really great to go with you.”

I didn’t want to burden the already busy Gi Seoin, so I didn’t bring up specific promises like when to go.

Still, since he’s a guy who never forgets a word once it’s spoken, it felt like he might already be drafting a Jeju Island travel plan in his head.

“Don’t overdo it, let’s go when you’re free.”

I added that, worried that Gi Seoin might push himself too hard. He only gave a short reply, saying, “Let’s do that.”

While sharing our conversation, we passed over the bridge—so long it was amazing to think how they built it over the sea—and entered the road. The further we drove, the fewer cars there were on the road, until finally, it was just us.

I opened the window and looked outside. Not a single pedestrian could be seen on the street.

“It feels like a ghost town here.”

“That’s why it’s appropriate for driving practice.”

“How did you find out about a place like this?”

“I asked.”

He said a fellow lawyer recommended it, saying he had taught his daughter to drive here. I nodded, thinking that indeed, a person needs to have connections.

“Where do you want to start?”

“Hmm… is there a parking lot? I think it would be good to start with pulling the car out and then heading onto the road.”

The reason we came out on this expedition today was to get my driver’s license, but there was also a greed to experience an actual driving situation. Of course, driving in a place with so few people and cars would be different from real road conditions, but a road was still a road, so I was equally nervous.

Before long, Gi Seoin stopped the car in an empty parking lot. I attached three pieces of paper I had prepared in advance, with “Driving Practice” written in large letters, to the front and back of the car.

“It feels a bit wrong to put something like this on a nice car.”

“Don’t worry about that. You can even crash it.”

“Hey, don’t say things like that.”

I knew he said it to ease my burden, but I flinched slightly at the anxiety that such a thing might actually happen. Gi Seoin’s lips twitched as if he found it amusing.

“Get in.”

Gi Seoin called out to me while holding the driver’s seat door wide open. I hesitated for a moment before getting into the driver’s seat. It felt strange to occupy the seat where he always sat.

“Adjust the rearview mirror, side mirrors, and seat.”

“How do I do that?”

“Like this…”

With Gi Seoin’s help, I set everything up and grabbed the steering wheel. Sweat was already breaking out on my palms.

“Slowly pull the car out and let’s head out with a right turn.”

“Okay. Phew…”

“Don’t be nervous.”

He stroked my hand that was gripping the wheel.

“Driving is nothing special.”

From that moment on, I couldn’t say a single word because I was focusing all my nerves on driving. As I had learned at the academy and by engraving the advice Gi Seoin threw out from the side, I turned the wheel.

I couldn’t even rejoice the moment I successfully pulled the car out of the parking lot, and I fell into a brief panic upon entering the road.

Fortunately, after driving a bit further, the tension gradually left my stiff body. Perhaps because there were no cars on the road, there wasn’t much to be afraid of except when turning.

“Watch the signal ahead, slowly brake… good job.”

It was also thanks to being assimilated into the atmosphere of Gi Seoin, who taught me calmly. Even at the moment when I made a wrong left turn and the car stepped on the center line, he just composedly corrected the direction of the steering wheel.

The words of the academy instructor—who said that things won’t work out if the person next to you makes a fuss or gets angry, and that you shouldn’t receive lessons from someone close to you—came to mind.

I don’t know about the former, but the latter seemed wrong. Gi Seoin was the person closest to me, and at this moment, he was also the best teacher.

“Do you think you can enter the parking lot on the right?”

“Yeah.”

By the time we had nearly finished the planned route, I had gained so much confidence that I was almost sad to see the driving practice end. I stumbled a bit while parking, but I thought this much was not bad.

“Wow! It’s over!”

Just because I had gained confidence didn’t mean I had let go of the tension completely, so as soon as I turned off the engine, a cheer burst out of its own accord. It felt like I had crossed a great mountain.

“Ah, I’m drained.”

When I let go of the wheel and leaned my body against Gi Seoin, he wrapped his arm around my back and patted me.

“Good job, Seungkyung.”

“Really?”

“You did so well it’s like it wasn’t your first time.”

“Do you think I can pass the road test?”

“Just do it calmly. Then you’ll surely pass.”

I looked anew at Gi Seoin, who had been composed throughout.

“Gi Seoin, you are quite the adult.”

“It’s been a few years since I became one.”

“Is everyone an adult just because they age? You really felt like an adult just now. You didn’t even panic when I made a mistake…”

Outside, he would have a completely different image, but to me, Gi Seoin was someone who acted spoiled and often did cute things, so he felt far from being an adult. As expected, it was only in front of me.

“I bet you were good at driving right from the start too.”

“Not at all.”

“How was it?”

“It was a mess. I was worse than you.”

“Did you, like, get into accidents and things?”

“I didn’t go that far.”

“Then you were good at it after all. What were you thinking about while you did it?”

I suddenly became curious about what Gi Seoin looks like and what he thinks about when he experiences something for the first time. To me, he was the human closest to perfection. Originally, his cooking skills were a slight flaw, but now even that has improved by leaps and bounds, leaving absolutely no gap.

“I…”

The corners of his lips curled up as if he were recalling a pleasant memory.

“I practiced while thinking that I had to drive Woo Seungkyung around, so I couldn’t be bad at it.”

“Seriously?”

“That’s why as soon as the car came out, I went to find you, to give you a ride.”

I remember.

Back then, both he and I were twenty years old.

‘Seungkyung.’

Even though he must have been busy with school life alone as a university student, he contacted me first as usual, called me outside, and asked point-blank.

‘Do you want to get in?’

While gesturing with his chin toward the car parked beside him.

‘Wow, did you get a car? What about your license?’

‘I got it a while ago.’

Even back then, he wasn’t the type to chatter on about his circumstances in detail, so he didn’t say things like he had practiced while thinking of me. He simply put me in the passenger seat and drove skillfully on the road like someone who had known how to drive from the beginning.

“I want to see that too—the Gi Seoin who practiced driving while thinking of me.”

“Are you sad you missed it?”

“I am saaaad.”

We’ve stuck together since we were young, but only now do I realize that there were so many versions of him that I missed.

“Then, have you been accident-free until now?”

“That…”

Just as Gi Seoin was about to answer, a vibration rang out loudly from somewhere.

Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, he briefly said, “Wait a second,” and stepped out of the car. I followed him with my eyes.

Since he usually never stepped away to take a call even when business calls came, I was curious what kind of contact it was, and it felt strange.

Coincidentally, Gi Seoin’s voice could not be heard from inside the car. I had to infer the situation solely from his expression. Looking at his face, the contact didn’t seem to be about very positive content. As the call grew longer, his fair brow furrowed.

When he finally returned, I asked him cautiously.

“What kind of call was it?”

“A business call.”

“Who makes business calls on a weekend? Being a lawyer is truly hard.”

“I guess so.”

Gi Seoin chimed in with my words, but he looked as if he were thinking about something else.

“Nothing… bad is happening, right?”

Only then did he turn his gaze to me and relax his stiff mouth.

“No.”

At that answer, the anxiety that had only been poking its head out grew even larger instead.