RSL Ch 91

“Manual flight. Autopilot off.”

The plane was on its way back to Korea. After safely taking off from Munich Airport, we had already entered Incheon Airport airspace. As I called out, the co-pilot checked the wind direction. The plane, which had flown tirelessly for 11 hours, was now preparing for landing. The jerking of the plane, switched to manual control, was transmitted directly to me through the control stick.

I connected to the approach control communication channel of Incheon Airport.

-Hello, Incheon control. Coreana 8334 heavy, request approach clearance.

-Good afternoon, Coreana 8334 heavy. Maintain 10,000 and standby.

For some reason, we didn’t receive permission to approach the airport and were ordered to standby. We were momentarily confused.

-Coreana 8334 heavy, say intention. (What’s the reason?)

Then another plane waiting in the same airspace answered instead.

-We need to support Korean students.

I tilted my head, not understanding what it meant. Then the co-pilot slapped his knee as if he understood.

“Ah! It’s the college entrance exam day today.”

He laughed as if he had forgotten something important. Then he responded to the communication channel.

-Roger that. Thanks guys.

-Welcome to circling group.

-Still 10 minutes left.

-We’re already making a fifth round.

Other planes waiting in the air also threw in jokes one by one as if they had been waiting. We, who had joined late, also prepared to circle while laughing.

The college entrance exam was being held in Korea today. We, who were living a day ahead in America, seemed to have forgotten this fact. On the day of the college entrance exam, all airplane takeoffs and landings across the country are prohibited for about 30 minutes to avoid disturbing the English listening test. As long as there’s no fuel issue, we have to wait in the air until the exam is over.

Of course, I didn’t believe it at first either. I wondered how important an exam could be for a whole country to do this. But after hearing the background explanation, it seemed understandable. I heard that students study for 12 years for this one-day exam.

I called the chief flight attendant and asked her to make an announcement about the extended waiting time. She nodded as if she had already expected it and left the cockpit.

“Come to think of it, you must have taken the college entrance exam too, Co-pilot,” I said after the chief flight attendant left.

“Oh, it was terrible. I still remember it vividly. I almost came late because I had an upset stomach from the morning. I barely made it by riding in a police car. I entered the exam room with only 5 minutes left before the entrance time. Haha.”

“A police car?”

I looked at him with wide eyes, wondering what he meant.

“Oh, you don’t know. Even company employees probably went to work late today. The whole country is transporting exam takers today. It’s common to get a ride in a police car if you’re late. They drive you with the sirens on.”

“That’s surprising. I didn’t know they went to such lengths.”

“So, how should I put this? You could say it’s the day that should be the fairest in a Korean person’s life.”

Hearing this, his expression seemed appropriate. Given that university has such a huge impact on one’s life, it makes sense to ensure that everyone can take the exam fairly, at least for this one day. By this time, our plane had already circled over Yeongjong Island once.

I didn’t go to university. After graduating from Gymnasium, I immediately started the flight training course provided by the company, and from then on, I didn’t study any subjects unrelated to becoming a pilot. I did take the Abitur, which is equivalent to Korea’s college entrance exam, but the score didn’t become an absolute criterion that would divide my life. Determining something all at once was rarely possible in the society where I grew up.

What if it had been? If this single day’s exam determined whether I could hold the control stick or not. Would I not have wanted to blow up that plane making noise above my head? Thinking about it this way, I started to understand all this commotion a bit more.

“The exam must be an enormous burden.”

“It is. But these days it’s a bit better because there are other recruitment methods. When I took it, it really felt like my life was being decided in one shot.”

He stroked his chin as if feeling a bit wronged.

“So, what did you do after that life-deciding exam was over, Co-pilot?”

“Me? I drank. I checked my answers and thought I had failed. Haha.”

“That’s a universal solution, I guess.”

We laughed and circled once more. The chief flight attendant’s announcement was made, but no one complained. Because it’s the college entrance exam day. Everyone seemed to agree with this large implicit social rule.

For a while, more than ten planes circled around Incheon Airport in the same spot following air traffic control instructions. When the exam finally ended and the approach order was given, the control tower expressed gratitude to all the civilian airplanes that had waited. Also, our plane and three other Korean airlines greeted the foreign airlines.

-Thank you for cooperation, take my turn.

-Thanks guys, good luck.

After sending two planes that had completed their fuel situation reports first, we stayed in the air a bit longer. We received landing permission last among the waiting planes.

-Coreana 8334 heavy, wind 310 at 17 runway 37 cleared to land. Welcome back.

We lowered the landing gear, welcomed by the control tower.

* * *

After entering the staff room and returning the flight chart, I was asked to wait a moment by the flight schedule manager. I sat on the lounge sofa, loosening my stiff neck muscles, waiting for him. It seemed like he was going to ask for another unscheduled flight.

“Captain, you know I really like you, right?”

The schedule manager approached me with a smile, holding a tablet. I don’t really want to receive this kind of confession from a married man. As he sat down in the chair next to the sofa, I gave him a look of understanding and reproached him.

“Manager, you keep using me like this.”

“Really the last time, if you help me just once more, I’ll repay you with an amazing schedule next time.”

He made me laugh with exaggerated gestures, waving his arms widely. Maybe he’ll give me about ten days off in a row. In my standards, that would be considered amazing.

We had become acquainted at a recent gathering of flight crew members. I tried to stay friendly with him so I could ask for help when I needed to cancel a flight urgently, but instead, I often found myself in the opposite situation. Maybe because I’m single without a family, he’s developed a habit of calling me first whenever there’s a schedule gap these days.

Pretending to give in, I asked about the destination.

“Where to?”

“ULN, Ulaanbaatar. It’s a Friday evening flight, and you’ll return the next morning. You’re scheduled for Hanoi after that anyway. Two short-distance flights in a row, then 3 days off. How about it?”

“Hmm.”

Seeing my expression as if I was considering it, the manager’s eyes sparkled with expectation. Well, it wouldn’t be bad to gain some favor like this again.

“Let’s do that then.”

When I agreed, he was delighted and immediately changed the schedule. Actually, from his perspective, this wasn’t something he needed to beg me for.

I’m contracted to the company, so my treatment isn’t as good as regular employees. In exchange for a high salary, I have to comply without question when the company changes the schedule.

Nevertheless, they always ask for my opinion first, so I should be grateful for that alone. Also, all the temporary schedule assignments are recorded. This could probably serve as favorable evidence when it’s time for contract renewal.

Contract renewal. At this point, six months after changing jobs, matters related to contract renewal approached me skeptically. The reason I had to come here had disappeared once, and now the reason to stay was disappearing.

After returning home, I slept for about 4 hours. Before dinner, I sent a message to Han Jae-yi. He replied immediately, and we started talking.

I told him about today’s flight.

-Come to think of it, it’s already time for the college entrance exam.”-

Han Jae-yi said he had lost his sense of time passing. He said it’s a phenomenon that occurs when you’re not working for a company. The distinction between weekdays and weekends disappears, and day and night gradually shift. Resting like that wouldn’t be bad either. It might be a once-in-a-lifetime break for him.

I entered the bedroom and continued talking.

“Anyway, I’m not familiar with that feeling, so it was interesting. But you must have had friends from middle school who took the college entrance exam, right?”

-Yeah, I did. But everyone went to college, went to the military, and now I’ve lost touch with most of them. It’s like everyone goes their separate ways starting from that point.

“Do you still keep in touch with any middle school friends?”

-Yeah, about two.

“That’s a longer relationship than with me.”

I said jokingly, pretending to be jealous. They must be friends I don’t know about, so they probably aren’t very close. Still, I’m greedy for everything about Han Jae-yi. And I want him to know that I’m greedy for it.

-Where’s your next flight to? 

He asked, changing the subject.

“Hanoi.”

-And after that?

“I can’t remember. I think it might have been Taiwan. Just a moment.”

I put the phone on speaker and opened my schedule. Then I confirmed that all the remaining schedules were in the Asian region.

“There are no more European flights now. A new schedule will come out around mid-December.”

-Hmm… I see.

His response was unexpectedly subdued. Could he be disappointed? Even if it was just Geneva or Milan, it would be close enough to meet. Until now, I thought I was the only one yearning when there was no one waiting. Perhaps the regret that had flashed across his face last time had grown a bit.

“Shall we make one?”

-Huh?

“A European flight.”

-Can you do that?

Han Jae-yi becomes curious. I sat on the bed and stroked the sea lion plush that was lying face down. My fluffy companion pushed out its belly as if telling me to go for it.

“I’ve never tried it, but it should be possible. But I need some motivation too.”

-What kind?

“Have dinner with me.”

Last time we had a proper lunch, so maybe we could go a bit further this time. I wanted to have a glass of wine each and, if possible, stay together until late at night.

Han Jae-yi gave his answer right away.

-Okay, let’s do that.

At his easy acceptance, my hand stroking the plush became busier. Are things really getting better bit by bit? Or is this just another kind of kindness that he can’t refuse? Just as I was starting to doubt a little, he added one more thing.

-You can… stay over too.

For a moment, I clenched my fist, causing the sea lion’s face I was stroking to crumple. I laughed at his tone, trying to sound nonchalant while slightly slurring his pronunciation.

I agreed even though I hadn’t succeeded in changing the schedule yet. At this point, I was thinking that if they didn’t change my flight, I might have to threaten to breach the contract.

* * *

The temperature has dropped sharply. It’s already December. In the meantime, I had a long tug-of-war with the schedule manager to change my flight schedule. He was trying hard enough for me, but due to the tight schedule of the year-end peak season, it was difficult to change the itinerary carelessly. After a week, and then two weeks, I finally managed to get a flight to Germany for next weekend.

The layover is 3 days. I was planning to visit Binnenstad for one of those days. It was the weekend that coincided with my adoptive mother’s birthday and my adoptive parents’ wedding anniversary. From St. Nicholas Day to the Christmas holidays, December is always the busiest month for the Schmitz family. Since I probably won’t be able to spend Christmas together, I was thinking of dropping by on the excuse of their wedding anniversary.

“Um, could you show me the red one again?”

At my request, the department store clerk immediately brought out gloves in a different color.

I spent the whole day picking out gifts for my family. I prepared one big main gift and two or three small gifts for the fun of unwrapping. I was having trouble deciding on the color while choosing gloves as a birthday gift for my foster mother. Seeing my difficulty, a kind employee had been helping me for a while.

“If your mother has fair skin, red would suit her well. If you prefer a more mature look, brown would be a safe choice.”

“Then let’s go with red.”

“Alright.”

She smiled, put away the other gloves she had taken out, and headed to the counter with the items I had chosen.

“Is there anything else you need? I’m already packaging the muffler you chose for your brother.”

I had prepared a sweater for my adoptive father and bought plenty of things needed for pregnant women for Silvia. I thought I had bought everything, but there was still one person left. Since I didn’t know when the next flight would be scheduled, I wanted to give Han Jae-yi a Christmas gift too.

With shopping bags full of purchases, I headed back downstairs. Although I don’t particularly prefer luxury brands, I know what brands he likes. I stopped by there and picked out a set of cufflinks and perfume. Then, on the way to the counter, I saw a nice tie on display and picked that up too.

“This design comes in two colors, the gray you’re looking at now and this blue line.”

The clerk approached and showed me another color option. Both seemed to suit him well.

“I’ll take both.”

At my quick decision, the clerk nodded and neatly packed the ties he had shown. Of course, I didn’t even look at the price tag.

At some point, I developed a habit of not checking prices when buying things. It was probably around the time my annual income exceeded 100,000 euros. I didn’t have a hobby of collecting things, nor did I particularly enjoy shopping, so my salary just kept accumulating in my bank account. Fortunately, the wealth that my profession brought me was above average for ordinary people, so I had a lot of freedom in spending.

Of course, that’s not to say I’m comparing my spending to that of the so-called wealthy. For me, the desire for money hasn’t been that great, and I’ve always thought that having enough resources to solve basic needs and maintain dignity was sufficient. People often say that money is difficult when you don’t have enough, but the more you have, the more you want.

I’m not sure if that’s really true, but these days there is one thing that gives me a similar feeling.

“Please wrap them all together. They’re all gifts for one person.”

That one person’s attention was exactly like that to me.