CI 1.15

The flower shop’s shutters were down. Though it was early, Son Yeo-il had pre-ordered the flower basket and checked the pickup time several times, so he couldn’t understand why this was happening. As he stood there dumbfounded, the quick-witted Boss Won pointed to the phone number written on the flower shop’s glass door.

Son Yeo-il promptly called the flower shop owner. Perhaps having forgotten the reservation time, the owner apologized profusely and said they would come to the shop right away. More time passed after the call. If he continued to wait for the flower shop owner to arrive, he would most likely miss the bus.

What should I do? The next bus is two hours later, and that would be too late…Would it be better to give up on the flowers and just leave?

As Son Yeo-il stomped his feet and repeatedly opened and closed the express bus reservation app, Boss Won sidled up to him and spoke in his characteristically smooth manner.

“Is it because of the bus schedule?”

“What? Oh, yes…It’s fine. I’ll just go without the flowers.”

“Aing. After going to the trouble of making a reservation.”

“Can’t be helped. I need to go now to catch the bus. Thank you.”

As Son Yeo-il turned around, having decided to catch the bus immediately, he was about to call the flower shop owner again when Boss Won grabbed his arm.

“Mr. Won, I told you I’m going to the terminal.”

“Hey. Why would a smart person take the difficult path when there’s an easy one?”

“Pardon?”

Boss Won pointed at his own face with his finger and grinned.

“What’s the point of having a dedicated driver, that’s what I’m saying.”

Dedicated driver? Blinking in confusion for a moment, not understanding Boss Won’s words, Son Yeo-il cautiously asked.

“Are you saying you’ll drive me to my destination?”

“Eing. Of course.”

“…I’m going far today. It takes at least two hours one way. And it could take longer if there’s traffic.”

“Even better. More cozy time together.”

It was an enticing offer. Using the excuse of being busy and flustered, all he had prepared specifically for today was a flower bouquet. He was reluctant to leave even that behind.

But he felt uneasy about asking Boss Won for help. It would have been difficult to readily ask for any favor, but especially today. He worried about showing vulnerability to Boss Won.

No, does that even matter? Just yesterday…

The man had been by his side every time he got drunk to the point of unconsciousness—it was ridiculous to try putting up walls now. In all honesty, while Son Yeo-il didn’t want to show weakness to him, he also simultaneously wanted to reveal it.

That made him hesitate even more. He couldn’t yet understand what his indecisive feelings meant. He wanted to pretend not to know.

As Son Yeo-il hesitated to answer, Boss Won snatched the phone from his hand and pressed the cancellation button on the express bus reservation app that was open on the screen. Son Yeo-il made a startled sound, “Uh,” but in truth, he didn’t properly try to stop Boss Won.

“Now there’s no way out, is there? Hmm?”

“…”

“Oh, look, the flower shop owner is coming. Take your time with your business and come to the car. I need to buy a cup of coffee.”

While Boss Won went into a nearby café, the flower shop owner rushed over, opened the shutters, and brought out the pre-made flower basket. Son Yeo-il’s nose tingled slightly at the sight of the modest flower basket, but he headed to Boss Won’s car with a deliberately nonchalant expression on his face.

Boss Won loaded the flower basket onto the back seat and handed Son Yeo-il some coffee. When asked for the destination, Son Yeo-il gave him the address without mentioning the name of the place.

“Eii, it’s the Yeongdong Expressway heading north. The Korean beef soup at the rest stops on this side is amazing. Ah, look at the traffic already. It’s all red.”

Son Yeo-il wasn’t sure why he sounded happy about traffic, but for him too, it meant more time to mentally prepare before reaching the destination. After taking a sip of warm coffee, Son Yeo-il calmly said, “Thank you.”

“For what? The coffee? That’s nothing.”

Son Yeo-il was about to say “not just for the coffee,” but then just closed his mouth. While giving him a ride today was certainly something to be grateful for, there were many other things to thank him for as well.

Like taking care of him last night, and before that, bringing him home when he got drunk at the convenience store. Of course, their fateful first meeting also happened when Son Yeo-il was drunk.

Ah, I don’t want to remember that on a day like today.

Son Yeo-il was about to stop thinking because he felt like he was remembering something embarrassing, but he was wavering, wondering if it would be better to be embarrassed than to be depressed and restless. Just then, as the car entered the outskirts road heading toward the expressway, Boss Won excitedly turned on the music app on his phone.

“Let’s see. A drive isn’t complete without music, right? This Won Hee-yeon has an amazing playlist as a DJ in Yongju City…”

Judging by the tone of his usual humming, Son Yeo-il expected him to play trot music, but the song Boss Wonplayed was a dance track released nearly 20 years ago. Son Yeo-il burst out laughing at the melody that was so familiar to him too.

“Does my baby know this song too?”

“I’m not your ‘baby,’ but yes, I know this song.”

“Aing? I see now you’re completely my peer.”

“I was in elementary school when this song came out. How old were you, Mr. Won?”

“Well, that…Age is just a number, do we really need to get into that? Here, have this too.”

With an evasive answer, Boss Won handed Son Yeo-il a lollipop that he often ate himself. The sky was blue, the strawberry candy was sweet, and the beat of the old song was so exciting that Son Yeo-il couldn’t help but chuckle.

Boss Won’s playlist continued with one familiar song after another. From “8-ton truck with broken steering” to “genie of the wish-granting lamp,” the catchy lyrics had Son Yeo-il continually laughing.

Every time Son Yeo-il burst out laughing, Boss Won would make a fuss, saying “Aing, you know this song too?” or “Wow, you know this one too!” and kept referring to them as peers. Having already opened his floodgates of laughter, Son Yeo-il found himself laughing even at the absurd comments.

It was quite a nice drive, just as Boss Won had said. Although the traffic was quite heavy and the hangover occasionally worsened, they exchanged small talk and stopped at a rest area for soup and snacks.

I think it was a good decision to ride in this person’s car.

Son Yeo-il thought to himself. If he had taken the bus alone, he might have started crying even before getting on the expressway. But now, Son Yeo-il was smiling more often than looking gloomy or expressionless.

His body and mind were so comfortable that by the time they were halfway through Seoul, Son Yeo-il began to doze off. Despite primly responding “How could I?” to Boss Won’s suggestion to get some sleep, he soon drifted off.

“Attorney Son. Wake up. We’re here.”

He came to his senses at the gentle shaking. Opening his eyes, he found that Boss Won’s car had already reached the destination. It turned out to be a columbarium on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.