RSL Ch 19

The airplane that took off from Charles de Gaulle International Airport was soon flying over Russian airspace. As the co-pilot responsible for the latter part of the journey, I had already eaten the in-flight meal and settled into the cockpit.

The Australian Co-pilot was pleasant, to put it kindly, and nosy, to put it less kindly. He was constantly asking personal questions throughout the flight. He hummed a song whenever the radio went off.

He shared stories about trending video clips these days or episodes of meeting women through dating apps. He joked that just one photo of himself in uniform taken in the cockpit was enough to win them over. I just hoped he hadn’t included the company name in his profile picture.

The flight was uneventful, and when I arrived back in Incheon two days later, the airport was busier than when I left. The queue to be assigned a gate was starting to get long. I grabbed the microphone to make an announcement, but suddenly I heard someone on the comms channel making an in-flight announcement.

-This is your captain speaking. We are currently waiting for the gate sequence at Incheon Airport.

The Co-pilot and I looked at each other, puzzled for a moment, then realized the situation and chuckled in disbelief. Apparently, a pilot on another waiting plane had accidentally pressed a button on the communications channel radio and started an in-flight broadcast. The broadcast echoed through the control tower and into dozens of cockpits at Incheon Airport.

-Please do not stand up until the seat belts sign out. We are expecting to take another 10 minutes from the arrival time. Thank you.

-Nice. 

-Welcome to Seoul. 

A few mischievous pilots immediately began to tease the party.

-Oh! so sorry. 

-Give some nuts here, please. 

-Can I use my cellphone now? 

One by one, everyone joined in the teasing. We laughed for quite some time, imagining the embarrassed face of that pilot. Such incidents weren’t common, but occasionally, things like this happened. The stiff communication channel was filled with jokes and laughter for a while. The flight ended on a cheerful note.

As I was returning the Jeppesen charts and logbook, I got a call from Co-pilot Jeon Sung-wook. I picked it up, wondering what he was calling about, and he asked me to look over for a moment. I looked around to see what he was talking about, and he came running from the other side of the escalator waving.

“Oh, it’s you indeed. You stand out because of your height.”

“Long time no see. Had a flight?”

“Yes. It was a layover in Beijing for a night flight. And you, Captain?”

“I just got back from Paris.”

We made our way down to the arrivals lobby and chatted about this and that. It wasn’t exactly my intention, but he walked to the parking lot as if it was a given, so naturally I ended up getting in his car.

“Have you eaten?”

Feeling like I should offer something in return, I regretfully asked about breakfast, realizing it was an awkward time. It was neither breakfast nor lunch at 11 am.

“I haven’t, actually. Want to join me?”

Surprisingly, he readily agreed. Then he made a call home. I unavoidably overheard his conversation with his wife through the car speakers. He said he would have brunch and his wife seemed pleased with the idea.

-That’s very considerate, honey. Eat a lot and come back. I won’t be able to cook dinner.

He told me that his wife is pregnant and can hardly do anything around the house. She could manage the cleaning but meals were always a problem. I understood why he suggested we have a meal together.

Co-pilot Jeon Sung-wook led me turned out to be a traditional soup and rice dish restaurant. Last time it was ox bone soup, today it was sundae (Korean blood sausage). If I hadn’t already held him in favorable regard, it would have been easy to misunderstand why he brought me here deliberately.

“This is made of head meat, but if you can’t eat it, you can just try the vegetable sundae.”

“No, it’s okay. Let’s give it a try.”

Once again, I found myself challenging a new dish as I did last time. With each new experience, I started to anticipate where he might take me next time.

“I’m guessing you’re about three days off after your trip to Paris.”

“Oh, I’m actually off one day and on standby the next.”

“It’s vacation time, so take some time off before next month’s schedule comes out. Try this; it’s delicious with this.”

Co-Pilot Jeon Sung-wook offered me a plate piled high with vegetables. When I hesitated for a moment, he scooped some onto his own plate and handed the rest back to me.

“This is chives, chives. Captain, you really look like a foreigner with black hair. Haha.”

I knew the vegetable was chives; I just hesitated briefly because it was unfamiliar, but he teased me with a laugh. I didn’t mind his straightforward manner.

“I heard you had a drink with Min-woo.”

“Oh, yes. He had a deadheading during the Bangkok flight. Seems like you’re quite close.”

“We are. We’ve been together since college. Is he good at flying?”

“Yes, he’s like an artist when it comes to adjusting flap angles. Impressive.”

“He was famous among our classmates. A real talent. He was considering becoming a captain at an LCC last year, but he stayed here. If he went there, he wouldn’t be able to fly large aircraft anymore.”

“It seems like co-pilots change jobs a lot.”

“Yeah, in the past couple of years, it was a trend. I’d have to wait another five years to get a captaincy here, but they treat you well, even if you’re stuck flying A320s for the rest of your life.”

He discussed various aspects of the Kore airline industry. With the emergence of low-cost carriers, the turnover rate of pilots, who barely numbered a thousand, has increased. As a result, there has been a worsening trend of senior co-pilots leaving, perhaps due to this reason. Co-pilots who can manage jumbo-sized aircraft like the A380, which has become something of an artifact, are now in high demand within the company.

“By the way, why haven’t you had a housewarming?”

“Ah.”

Since the topic came up, I thought I should set a date. We checked our off schedules together, and the matching date was a whopping 13 days away.

“I’d rather do it tomorrow. I’d be happy to eat out, and Min-woo lives alone, and it’s not like there’s anyone paying attention to him.”

“Do you think so?”

He introduced me to a yellow messenger app used in Korea and suggested I install it. As I followed his instructions and registered, he invited Co-Pilot Jo Min-woo and me, opening a chat channel.

[Minwoo, Captain Woo’s housewarming is tomorrow, check your messages and reply].

I had only given them my Korean name when I was close to them. Since then, I had never been called by my German names. After sending the message, we focused on eating again. I had expected the smell of roasted pork to waft up, but the taste was better than I had anticipated. The warm soup made me drowsy in no time.

When I got up to pay, I handed my card to the counter. Since it was a card that required a signature, as I reached for the pen on the electronic panel, the owner drew his finger over the panel and signed it himself.

He signed my card instead of me… I was so surprised that I froze on the spot.

“Haha. It’s okay, Captain. It’s like this here. Don’t worry; everything you’ve paid for is recorded on CCTV.”

The Co-pilot laughed and patted me on the back. As we left the store, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment. He dropped me off at the intersection and headed home.

When I walked into the living room, sleep overtook me. Han Jae-yi wasn’t home, and I collapsed onto the bed with just my clothes changed.

After about three hours of sleep, I woke up and it was late afternoon. I took a quick shower and headed out. I bought some food from a nearby supermarket and stocked the fridge, but it was already getting dark. I messaged Han Jae-yi to see if he was coming back for dinner, but he didn’t reply. He wasn’t obligated to tell me where he was going every day, so I decided to leave him alone and make dinner on my own.

I was microwaving a convenience store lunch when a Messenger alert popped up on my phone’s standby screen. Co-pilot Cho Min-woo had just checked his messages.

[Just landed in Incheon. Call tomorrow].

Although it didn’t seem like a message meant for me, I felt a sense of responsibility as the host to respond to it.

[Thank you for your hard work. See you tomorrow]

As the microwave beeped, indicating that the lunchbox was heated, I took it out and placed it on the island table. Then I looked for utensils. Another alert popped up. It was Co-Pilot Cho Min-woo.

[Yes, see you tomorrow!]