RSL Ch 59

The meat sizzling on the grill was now being cut into perfectly uniform pieces. Looking at the neatly arranged pieces of meat, I realized that it’s best to leave it to the professionals.

“You can eat it in just a little bit.”

After finishing the Chob, the restaurant staff placed the tongs down and left the table. Like children waiting for their meals to be served, we swallowed nervously, enduring that “little” bit of time. Co-pilot Jeon Seong-wook, who had been eagerly waiting, bravely took the first bite.

“It’s good. I think it’s ready. Should we ask for the rice now?”

“Yeah, and the stew too.”

“Ah, I’m fine…”

“Excuse me! Three bowls of rice, please!”

Unlike the two who were perfectly in sync, I kept falling a step behind. As soon as the order was placed, three bowls of rice were promptly brought to the table, one for each of us. The portions were too small to share, so we just decided to eat.

“So, what happened? Why were you off the grid for a while? You ignored my calls too.”

“Well, I was going through a lot. I went home for a bit.”

“Did you go to Geoje Island?”

“Yeah.”

I focused on eating the meat, pretending to be an outsider. I had just learned that Co-pilot Cho Min-woo’s hometown was Geoje Island. I always thought he was born and raised in Seoul, so this was unexpected.

“Is your mother still upset?”

“What’s the point of talking about something that’s already over? She’s given up now. She doesn’t say much anymore.”

“Well, it’s been several months now, right? Not a year yet? Oh, Captain, Min-woo was engaged, but he broke it off. Hey, is it okay to mention this?”

Co-pilot Jeon Seong-wook, trying to include me in the conversation, ended up putting me in an awkward position.

“The Captain already knows. I told him.”

“Really? Even the reason why?”

I found myself drinking the half-filled soju in front of me. Could he possibly know about the co-pilot’s personal preferences?

“Yeah, he knows it was because of the family situation.”

The bitter soju slid down my throat. Co-pilot Cho Min-woo looked at me, pleading with his eyes. This is Korea. I swallowed the soju and nodded.

“Yes, I heard about it before.”

“Oh, you knew? Man, it’s crazy how something so trivial could end things like that. I totally get where your mother was coming from, though.”

Even though he seemed eager to share this with me, it appeared that he had kept it completely hidden in his own world. I couldn’t blame him. After all, I hadn’t been able to be honest with Joachim in London either.

“Co-pilot Jeon, have you decided on a name for the baby?”

I remembered how he had been researching baby names for a while, so I shifted the conversation in that direction. Co-pilot Jeon Seong-wook’s voice, tinged with excitement, answered as if he had been waiting for the opportunity.

“Ah, seriously, naming a baby is so tough. We almost decided, but we had a disagreement at the last minute. How about Han-yul, Yul? Isn’t it nice? By the way, which name did you vote for back then, Captain?”

“I think I also voted for that one. Jeon Han-yul.”

“Ah, so you share my opinion. My wife isn’t too fond of any of the names, so we’re still at a standstill. Do you have any good suggestions?”

“Captain, your name is nice. Seo-jin. Jeon Seo-jin. That sounds good.”

Co-pilot Cho Min-woo made the remark, seemingly for my benefit, but he didn’t even look my way as he busied himself with moving the meat around on the grill.

“It’s better if you don’t use my name.”

“Why?”

He lifted his head and met my gaze. When I had told him my Korean name, I had explained it to him, so why was he bringing it up again? The faint sharpness in his expression suggested he was asking on purpose.

“It’s an unlucky name, one that’s been discarded.”

I pulled the trigger myself to help Co-pilot Cho Min-woo, who seemed intent on confirming the kill. As the mood suddenly froze, Co-pilot Jeon Seong-wook, clearly flustered, tried to smooth things over.

“Hey, why are you making things awkward all of a sudden?”

“Sorry. I must be drunk even though I haven’t had much to drink.”

As I listened to his apology, which lacked any real sense of remorse, our gazes tangled awkwardly in the air.

“It’s fine.”

“As expected, you’re cool.”

Co-pilot Cho Min-woo let out a bitter laugh and put down his chopsticks, as if he had tried to provoke a reaction but lost interest when he didn’t get one. He got up, saying he was going to the restroom. I set down my utensils on my half-eaten plate and took a sip of water.

Co-pilot Cho Min-woo seemed to be taking out his frustration on me, perhaps wanting to express that he wasn’t feeling great because of me. I didn’t particularly mind the fact that my name was considered unlucky because it had been discarded. What bothered me was how he had disrupted the atmosphere I had worked hard to warm up, especially since we weren’t the only ones at the table. I resented that he had turned it cold again.

“I think he’s not quite himself today. Should we finish up and leave?”

I agreed with Co-pilot Jeon Seong-wook’s suggestion. The meal had become as unpleasant as biting into unripe fruit—bitter and sour. Our meeting had clearly been premature.

As the meal wrapped up and the table was cleared, I took out my phone to call a taxi. Co-pilot Jeon Seong-wook, who was slightly tipsy, made an awkward suggestion, thinking he was being considerate.

“Min-woo didn’t drink, so you two should ride together. You live nearby anyway.”

I looked at Co-pilot Cho Min-woo, silently signaling him not to agree, but it didn’t work.

“Sure, then. You call for a designated driver. We’ll head out first.”

Without even asking for my opinion, he walked off alone towards the parking lot. I tried to hide my frustration, but a sigh escaped me, so I had to be careful not to draw Co-pilot Jeon Seong-wook’s attention. I said my goodbyes to him as he called the designated driver, then headed towards the parking lot where Co-pilot Cho Min-woo had disappeared.

“I’ll just take a taxi.”

I said it thinking that since we were seen walking to the parking lot together, it wouldn’t be suspicious if we parted ways here. Without a word, Co-pilot Cho Min-woo opened the passenger door and nudged me inside.

“Just get in. I won’t bite.”

As I stumbled into the car, he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Well, the destination was only about 20 minutes away, so I figured there was no point in stubbornly refusing. It wasn’t like we were having some kind of lovers’ quarrel. Not wanting to make a bigger deal out of it, I fastened my seatbelt. His car smoothly merged into the first lane.

Having had soju right after a flight, I felt tired and sleepy. The awkward silence inside the car was stifling. I glanced over at him, and when our eyes met, I saw not just fatigue, but a hint of disappointment as well.

“Are you that uncomfortable?”

It seemed like the words weren’t meant for me but rather something he should be telling himself.

“I can’t deny it. And it looks like you’re uncomfortable with me as well, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. I’m human too.”

His tone suggested, “You stabbed me, so obviously, it hurts.” I looked out the window, trying to endure this thorny moment.

“Captain, I noticed we’ll be flying together soon. Did you see that?”

That had been weighing heavily on my mind.

“If you want, I can change my schedule.”

Cho Min-woo laughed bitterly at that. Then, he deliberately addressed me, enunciating each word clearly, “Captain Woo Seo-jin.”

“Don’t be so quick to cut things off just because you’re uncomfortable.”

I turned to look at him as he drove. He continued, noticing my confusion.

“Can’t you just bear with it, even if it’s uncomfortable? Give the other person some time to resent you. If you keep cutting things off before they can, doesn’t that leave me feeling utterly miserable?”

“…I hadn’t thought of it that way. I’m sorry.”

As expected, Cho Min-woo was a smooth talker. He had a knack for making me feel like a mute who could only apologize to someone who said they needed time to hate me.

Of course, I didn’t intend to cut him off solely for my own sake. I had intended to give him time because I didn’t want him to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. But people unintentionally hurt others, regardless of their true intentions. If I had done that, then I was clearly in the wrong. After all, he hadn’t even confessed his feelings to me.

“Ha… And now you’re apologizing so perfectly again, leaving me with nothing to say. I can’t even hate you properly. Hahaha.”

He spoke in a tone that was half laughter, half sigh, expressing his frustration with me. Then, as if he didn’t want to continue the conversation, he turned on the radio and increased the volume. I felt grateful to the DJ who was talking in our place.

Around the time the third song started playing on the radio, his car entered a familiar alley. After parking briefly in front of the villa, he offered me a cigarette. I had been feeling like a guilty party since earlier, so I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

Standing in the usual smoking spot in front of the villa, where we had shared a cigarette a few times before, I took the one he offered and lit it. It had been a while since I last smoked. I looked up at the balcony just in case, but the lights in the living room were off. As I thought about the missing Han Jae-yi, Cho Min-woo flicked his ashes and spoke.

“If I hadn’t done something so pointless, we could’ve gotten along pretty well, right?”

He exhaled smoke and smiled. The expression reminded me of the first smile I saw when we met. So, I mustered the courage to speak.

“I sincerely wanted to get along with you, co-pilot. I thought we could be good friends.”

“Friends? Haha.”

I wondered if I had gone too far, waiting for him to continue.

“Captain, Seong-wook and I are a year older than you.”

“Oh…”

Seeing my reaction, he laughed out loud, as if he found it amusing. I had never even thought about our age difference. I was startled, thinking he, like a typical Korean man, might want to be called “hyung” because of that one-year gap.

“Is that so? I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I was just teasing you. I feel like I’ve become a nagging old man. Friends, sure. I’ll try to work on that.”

I stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette, feeling a headache coming on. Maybe it was because I’d had soju, but I felt like if I smoked any more, it would end badly. When I put out my cigarette, Cho Min-woo quickly finished his and snuffed it out with one hand.

“Go on up. Let’s just see each other during the flight.”

“Okay. See you then.”

“Take care.”