Ep. 40
Mid-July.
Under the scorching summer sun, a spacious Carnival minivan sped down the highway, slicing through the strong wind. The heat felt oppressive, almost unbearable.
Inside were my friends and I, the members of our valley trip.
Thankfully, Shin Ui-hyun’s aunt was driving, having generously picked us up all the way from Seoul.
It was a few days after my date with Hee-na at the zoo, and we were finally embarking on the trip we had planned. However, it had evolved into a 2-night, 3-day excursion instead of the original one-night plan.
Because of the change, Hee-na had seemed a little downcast the previous night. But she smiled as we said goodbye in the end.
Ui-hyun’s aunt, who was so kind as to offer us a ride to and from Seoul, would be making a long round trip today and tomorrow because of us. So, we adjusted our plans to accommodate her schedule, as she happened to have business in Seoul in two days.
It was a relief that we were saving on both accommodation and transportation costs, but the downside was that I, who would have been perfectly fine on the train, was now battling car sickness.
I tried to settle my stomach, which felt like it was about to revolt, and spoke to Ui-hyun, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
“How much longer?”
“If I remember correctly, about an hour?”
“Phew… At least we’re driving smoothly. I would have thrown up halfway if we were stuck in traffic…”
“Tell me if you’re feeling sick. Aunt! Isn’t there a rest stop a little further ahead?”
“There is, yes~ Why, should we stop?”
I quickly shook my head at her consideration.
“It’s okay! I’m not feeling as car sick as I thought I would today…”
“Tell me if you’re feeling sick. We can stop for a bit.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I thanked Ui-hyun’s aunt, who was worried about me, leaned my head against the window, and picked up my phone.
The other guys must not be suffering from car sickness, as they had been engrossed in watching YouTube and other things on their phones for a while. But if I stared at my phone screen, my stomach would only feel worse, so I could only use it for short bursts like this.
[Han Yeon-hoo: Still an hour left… I want to get out…]
[Hee-na: Are you feeling really car sick..? ㅠㅠ What should I do, Yeon-hoo..]
[Han Yeon-hoo: But I can still handle it for now… I’ll text you again later]
[Hee-na: Okay.. Try to keep your eyes on the horizon! They say it helps a little]
[Han Yeon-hoo: ㅇㅋ (Okay)]
I sent Hee-na a status report. She must have been glued to her phone, because she replied almost instantly.
However, even texting for a short time made my stomach churn. Even so, the reason I forced myself to text like this was because of Hee-na’s request.
‘It might be annoying… but can you text me every 30 minutes after the car leaves?’
‘Every 30 minutes? Okay. I definitely won’t forget this time. I have nothing else to do in the car anyway.’
‘Okay! Thank you! I love you!’
Ever since I didn’t reply for several hours last time, I’ve made it a habit to check my phone more often than before, if possible.
And I try to reply to Hee-na’s texts as quickly as possible.
This time, even when going to the valley, I was determined not to let my phone out of my sight. Besides, the way Hee-na looked anxious and held my hand tightly as she said that kept replaying in my mind, so I was texting her almost every 15 minutes instead of every 30 minutes.
Of course, Hee-na knew my motion sickness was severe, so the conversation itself was short.
As soon as I sent the text, I looked at the mountains in the distance, remembering Hee-na’s advice.
-Drrr-
But before long, my phone rang again.
I was going to check if it was Hee-na and ignore it if it was someone else, but this time it was Hee-na’s text again.
It hadn’t even been 5 minutes since I sent the last one. Wondering what was going on, I opened the chat room and saw a short video file.
I had received many photos until now, but this was the first time she had sent me a video file, so I immediately forgot about my motion sickness and downloaded it.
I had an unlimited data plan from an MVNO [Mobile Virtual Network Operator, a provider that resells mobile services], so I didn’t have to worry about data. Anyway, the video itself was only 5 seconds long.
The download finished quickly, and the video played.
What I saw immediately was Hee-na’s face filling the screen.
Hee-na, with a subtle smile, puckered her lips and made a kissing sound, as if she was blowing a kiss.
That was all there was to the video, and a text followed below.
[Hee-na: Cheer up after watching this♡]
“……”
Lee Hee-na, seriously!
So cute I could die!
Only the thought of how cute she was filled my head, and I was screaming silently, when suddenly I felt a heavy hand on the back of my neck.
Wondering who it was, I turned my head and saw Kim Soo-hwang behind me, reaching out with a stiff face.
I thought he was just burying his head in his phone watching YouTube, but he was eavesdropping again.
“Are you happy?”
“Then would I be unhappy?”
“Ha… This sh… Hoo. I shouldn’t swear.”
Perhaps because Ms. Lee Ui-hyun was in the driver’s seat, he held back his swearing, unlike usual.
Still, he had some sense, so he knew how to distinguish the time and place to run his mouth.
But he didn’t intend to just let it go, and he made all the guys who were distracted pay attention.
“Hey! This isn’t the time to be glued to your phones! Do you know what video Han Yeon got just now?”
“Did he download porn or something?”
“Watch it in moderation.”
“His girlfriend filmed a video of her blowing him a kiss and sent it to him.”
“What?”
The guys who had been reacting lukewarmly straightened up at those words and started glaring at me.
“Seriously, he pisses me off every single day.”
“Should we bury him here and leave?”
“Ha… Is that the girl who came to the PC cafe [Internet cafe] back then? Seriously, Han Yeon, you s…”
“Now that I think about it, I heard there’s a cemetery near the rest stop.”
No, why would we go to a cemetery, you crazy bastard.
Among those guys spouting grim words, the middle-aged woman who had been listening quietly chimed in.
“Yeon-hoo, was it? Yeon-hoo, do you have a girlfriend?”
“Ah, yes, I do.”
“These days, you kids all date, huh? Ui-hyun, what about you? Do you have a girlfriend?”
“……No, I don’t.”
“Really? What about the other friends?”
“……..No.”
“Oh my..”
She probably asked without much thought, but it became somewhat somber.
The middle-aged woman trailed off, sensing the strange atmosphere. She didn’t bring up the topic again and focused on driving.
Poor guys. Well, they’re all boys from an all-boys high school who don’t even go to after-school academies [private tutoring centers], so where would they meet girls?
If Hee-na hadn’t confessed to me, I would have been the same.
I patted Hyun-woo’s back, who was sitting next to me with a sad expression, head bowed.
Cheer up.
You forever-alone bastards.
—
The place we arrived at after several hours of driving was a remote mountain village in Yangyang.
As soon as we got out of the car, a two-story detached house greeted us. The nearest neighbors were quite far apart, so all we could see around us were mountains.
I heard on the way that after retiring, my aunt’s husband had been living here leisurely, creating a small field as a hobby and growing various things.
Since he has plenty of time, he took the initiative with the residents to create the valley we were going to. In return, he allows us to use it comfortably. That’s as far as Ui-hyun’s relatives’ land goes.
I wondered if it would feel like living as a natural person, but apparently not. He said he absolutely couldn’t live in a place like this without YouTube and dramas.
However, the road to get here is unpaved and a bit rough, so his children can’t come to visit easily.
As soon as we arrived, we immediately threw down our luggage and headed straight to the valley, guided by Ui-hyun.
“How far is it from here?”
“About 5 minutes? My uncle and the nearby residents made a path, so we just have to walk a little bit along it.”
“Oh~ hey! Gather around! The air is so good and the scenery is great, let’s take a picture!”
I gathered the kids and posed for a selfie to send to Hee-na.
“Ah, Kim Soo-hwang, you son of a bitch, shrink your head a little!!”
“Let’s just take it quickly. Honestly, it’s inevitable that that bastard’s head gets cut off [cropped out of the photo].”
“Is everything you eat only going to your head, seriously.”
“Why are you picking on my head..”
“Hey, hey! Taking it! One, two, three!”
-Click
After taking the picture and checking it, as expected, half of someone’s head was cut off. But since you can still see from the eyes up, it’s fine.
After that, we spent some time brainstorming and discussing the concept for a group shot.
Taking just one picture didn’t feel like enough to capture the sense of liberation from finally getting out of the car, the wonderful natural scenery, the fresh air, and the excitement of coming all the way out here to play.
Then we decided on a concept inspired by the Power Rangers shows we used to watch on TV when we were kids.
“What was the Power Rangers pose again?”
“It’s different for every series. Should we look it up?”
Leaving the otaku [a person with obsessive interests, particularly in anime and manga] Yoon-sung and Ui-hyun, who were fussing over unnecessary details, behind, I immediately spread my arms wide and shouted.
“I am Han Yeon-hoo! A man born to be Megaforce Red!”
“Han Yeon is acting up again… I am Kim Soo-hwang! The epitome of cool, Megaforce Black!”
“I’ve never seen that… There must be a Blue, right? What’s the pose?”
While Hyun-woo was awkwardly standing next to me and Kim Soo-hwang, who had already taken their positions, the two who were searching for poses on their phones quickly joined in.
“If you don’t know, get lost! I’m Jung Yoon-sung! Megaforce Blue!”
“I, I am Shin Ui-hyun! Megaforce Silver!”
“You guys are really crazy…”
Ui-hyun’s great-uncle, who had belatedly followed us, took a picture of our embarrassing antics that we could only do when we were alone.
It was a little embarrassing, but as expected, playing with friends is fun no matter what you do.
After that, everyone excitedly hurried towards the valley, and I leisurely followed behind, sending the pictures to Hee-na.
I was glad that LTE [Long-Term Evolution, a 4G wireless broadband technology] worked well even in the mountains. Truly a powerhouse of internet communication.
[Han Yeon-hoo: (photo) (photo) (photo)]
[Han Yeon-hoo: Took these with the kids before going into the valley lol]
[Hee-na: Looks like you’re having fun~ But there’s really nothing but mountains around you, huh?]
[Han Yeon-hoo: Yeah, there’s really no one nearby. I wish you could have come with us.]
[Hee-na: I know, right? I already miss you, what should I do?]
In response to that, I immediately filmed and sent her the same kind of video that Hee-na had sent me earlier.
A video of me making a kissing sound towards the lens.
[Han Yeon-hoo: (video)]
[Han Yeon-hoo: Watch this and cheer up!]
[Hee-na: ♡♡♡♡♡ So cute!! I’m going to show it to Mom and my brother!!]
?! Wait, what did you say?!
[Han Yeon-hoo: ? What? No, wait, don’t show them mnl [manly]]
[Han Yeon-hoo: Hee-na!! No! Please!!]
[Han Yeon-hoo: Hee-na? Hee-na!!!!!]
Despite my desperate texts, there was no reply. She was probably already starting a lively conversation using the video I sent as material.
I was planning to visit them soon, but how am I going to face them now..