Chapter 47
“Oh, he has a good family. He is also a graduate of an elite college and handsome. He’s as good as my brother. If I had two bodies, I would love to have him, too! He’s really nice,” Gyunsuk said, praising him to the skies.
Having heard that, her other friends also anxiously asked her to introduce him to them.
“Where does he live now?”
“He lives in Bundang, Sungnam city, but as his company is located in Pyongtaek, he lives there. If I tell him that I’ll introduce a nice girl to him, he will run to us even now. How about it? Do you want to see him, Suji?”
Suji showed a nervous attitude but nodded after all.
“Okay. But I want to see him here in Ansan.”
“Of course. How can a lady go and see a man in a different place? The man should come to your place without any conditions.”
It looked like Gyungsuk was more anxious to make it happen. Only two days after Gyungsu mentioned the blind date did the both of them meet for the first time.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Kim Hyungdae. When I heard from Gyunsuk about your beauty, I thought nothing of it, but you’re a great beauty after all!”
Hiding her cheek with one hand, Min made an awkward expression.
“My name is Min Suji.”
“Wow, your voice is so nice. You could be a voice actor.”
Kim Hyungdae looked like a man who had mastered how to praise someone. Even if he had found out anything unusual about her, he just kept uttering praise.
Though Min knew Kim’s act was designed to break the ice, she still felt good about it.
As Gyungsuk said, Kim was the perfect man. He was tall, handsome, and had a nice build. Also, he had good manners. In addition, he was from a good family with an elite school degree. As his father was the owner of a middle-sized company, he had a solid profession, too.
Above all, what pleased Suji was that he was never boring. He found out various topics and showed a sense of humor, which made her feel pleasant.
“Do you like alcohol by any chance? I really do.”
“I get drunk easily, but I don’t hate alcohol that much.”
“As you know, you’re influenced by the atmosphere when you drink alcohol. I know a place with a great atmosphere. Let’s move to that place.”
Min followed Kim to a cocktail bar.
At that particular moment, Hyunwoo was standing on a big street near his company. After having dinner with Yonggu, he was waiting for Gyunsu’s car.
A little later, a red compact car stopped in front of Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo got into the driver’s seat.
“Did you have dinner?” asked Gyunsu.
“Yes, please come out. Let me take your place.”
“It’s alright. Let me drive today.”
“Don’t worry. You can take my place when I have my customer.”
Gyunsu and Hyunwoo offered a chauffeur service, and they’re partners. Gyunsu was 12 years older than Hyunwoo and head of a family with four kids.
Like Hyunwoo, Gyungsu had a second job. Though he was an animator at a small animation company, he worked as a chauffeur whenever he had free time because of his small salary.
They have been partners for five years. Most of the time, Hyunwoo took his place because his physical weakness made it hard for him to work long hours.
“Just take a nap until we get the chauffeur request.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Not at all.”
As it was early in the evening, they had few calls, but the chauffeurs who were available during the early evening were still busy. Sometimes, Hyunwoo had request calls from regular customers.
While Hyunwoo was taking a break after parking his car on the street, he got a call.
The customer was the owner of a middle-sized company with the last name Yang, and he had been Hyunwoo’s regular customer for more than three years.
“Hey, Hyunwoo. I’m here at the beef rib house in front of Ansan Hospital. Can you come?”
Fortunately, it was not far from Hyunwoo’s place.
“Sure, it will take me 10 minutes to go there. Will you wait?”
“Okay, let me wait.”
Hyunwoo arrived in time, where he found a total of four men including Yang. They were already drunk even early in the evening. In particular, Yang was heavily drunk as if today had been a special occasion.
Putting his arm around his shoulder, Yang introduced him to his friends,
“He’s my favorite chauffeur. If you happen to need a chauffeur, just call this man.”
“Really? Give me your business card.”
“Thank you, sir. Here you are. My name is Jang Hyunwoo.”
Hyunwoo handed out his business card. At least one or two of them would become regular customers. Though he was not sure how long he would work as a chauffeur like this, he was determined to do his best as long as he was offering his services.
“Okay, guys, let’s get in.”
“Hey, Mr. Yang. As we all live in different places, we can’t get in the same car like this. Also, I live further in. We’ll take a cab, so you go home first.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Hyunwoo, is it okay for you to drive to several different places?”
“Sure, no problem. Just give me the direction. As long as you don’t cross the demilitarized zone, I can give you a ride anywhere,” said Hyunwoo jokingly.
“Ha ha ha. This young guy has a sense of humor. I live in Bungdang. Is that okay?”
“Oh, it’s not that far. I thought you lived far away in like Sokcho or Pusan.”
“Ha ha, you’ve got a great sense of humor, and that’s why I like you. Hey, get in quickly.”
“Okay then, thanks for the ride, friend.”
Though the three got in the rear seat, it still didn’t seem small because Hyunwoo’s car was a big sedan.
“Where should I take you?”
“I live in the Green Apartment in Bundang, this friend lives in Suwon”
As expected, the destinations of the four customers were all different. If Hyunwoo gave all of them a ride to their homes, it would take at least three to four hours, but Hyunwoo didn’t give a hint of reluctance. Hyunwoo told Gyungsu, who was waiting inside a car nearby, about his destinations.
“I think it will take me three to four hours if I stop by several places.”
“Three to four hours? Are you driving to the island of Cheju? Okay, take care.”
“Okay, then. Let me give you a ride to Bundang first.”
Hyunwoo turned on the engine and drove off.
Whatever he did, he always did it with a professional spirit. That was true for his driving. Because he got paid for his service, he thought he had to offer a professional service different from amateurs. Of course, the type of the service would change according to the whims of the customer. Some would ask for the fastest ride back home, and some would put priority on a comfortable ride.
Yang and his friends didn’t make any special requests. They just seemed to value their get-together. Hyunwoo thought that a comfortable ride would be what they wanted.
Thanks to Hyunwoo’s soft driving, he heard Yang and his friends having a pleasant conversation all along, but the topic of the conversation was heavy.
Sunghwan Industry, of which Yang was the president, made stationery for children like ball-point pens and pencil cases. Cheap Chinese products, however, drove his company to the brink of bankruptcy. His friends gave him a loan of over 200 million won, and he barely avoided going bankrupt.
Yang continued to thank them for that, with tears welling in his eyes.
“Thanks so much. You’re my savior.”
“Don’t say that. The real challenge lies ahead, man.”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll never forget your help, and I’ll pay you guys back for the rest of my life.”
While hearing their conversation, Hyunwoo felt very happy. He hoped to have friends like Yang’s.
***
Kim Hyundae sang very well. Though he could not sing a high note, he knew how to select songs that fit the atmosphere, and his voice was pleasant. The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him.
But he had one problem, which was he tried to seduce her too soon.
Everytime he sang a song, he put his arm around her shoulder.
Though she didn’t like it, she couldn’t resist him because his act was so natural.
But Kim didn’t stop there. Responding to the lyrics of the song, he touched her face and hugged her. She felt that his act was discourteous, but she thought to herself,
This guy has a lot of experience playing with women. I had better be careful.
“Wow, you’re singing very well,” she said, clapping her hands. She then gently pushed his arm off of her shoulder.
“Why don’t you sing, Suji?” said Kim, without using any honorifics now.
“I just want to listen.”
“Okay, then. Let’s sing a bit later. Let’s talk.”
Kim sat side by side with her. As he had the gift of speech, she found it pleasant to talk with him.
One thing that bothered her really was that he liked touching too much.
Now he was about to kiss her, which she stopped.
“Looks like you’re going too quickly. We just met today”
“Why do you think our meeting time is so important? What does matter is that we’re clicking. I like you. Don’t you like me?”
“Well, I didn’t mean it that way, but I don’t feel close enough for you to kiss me. I want to slow down a bit.”
“Okay, then. Can we go as far as a kiss today? I won’t do more than that. How about it?”
“No, let’s go back today. It’s already over midnight.”
“Oh, midnight is early in the evening. Let’s go to a beer house for another drink.”
“No, I don’t want to.”
Suji expressed her will clearly to him.
As if he understood, Kim raised his hand over his shoulder and escorted her to the door.
“Got it. I’ll give you a ride back home.”
“You’re drunk. Let me take a cab.”
“Oh, wait a minute. Let me request a chauffeur.”
Kim took out his mobile phone and called for a chauffeur.