"Hi Miss Ara, one of my friends will be tagging along," he declared, his male friend came out from the front seat.
"Hi Miss, I'm Han Tae-hoon," he greeted,
"Ara Rivera, nice to meet you", I offered my hand. I'm glad that most of Soo-ah's friends are English speakers it makes me less uncomfortable. Roo-ni helped me with the bag.
"I can just hold it with me at the back seat…thank you." I uttered. They are being polite; he knows I'm older than him.
He opened the door for me. I was expecting a long awkward drive to Soo-ah's apartment, but I was surprise.
"How do you find Seoul, Miss Ara?" Roo-ni started.
"Honestly, I have been here for almost 2 months and I have not been out at night yet. I may be too old for a night life." I chuckled.
"Come on, you cannot be that old?" his friend commented. He is a smooth talker, I give him that.
"How do you know Soo-ah?" I asked his friend.
"She's my junior at the hospital…but Roo-ni is the one I'm acquainted with"
"Ok." I'm not really good at small talks.
Although, I am acquainted with Roo-ni, I still don't feel like being too comfortable with him. There's something about him that I cannot figure out. A familiarity that is not just base on being an acquaintance, something that I cannot really get my head on. Therefore, I am more guarded.
"I didn't picture you as a one liner type of person," Tae-hoon is still talking to me.
"What did you picture me with then?" I am curious.
"Like someone who can discuss and argue every detail…" he smiled.
Roo-ni suddenly laugh.
"I'm sorry, Miss. That was a joke meant for me…he was there when I defended my thesis…" he explained.
"Oh, that time… I cannot discuss anything if there's no interesting subject to discuss…" I might sound dismissive, but I can't really concentrate with the conversation when my phone kept ringing from a local number I don't recognize. I hate taking these calls where they are mostly telemarketers or spams.
The drive from the SNU to Soo-ah's place is surprisingly short, we arrive after 10 minutes and I am so pleased.
She greeted us by the stairs, although she is renting a rooftop apartment, it wasn't a shabby flat, it was actually quite spacious, with a big bedroom, a toilet and bath, a smaller room as a study, an open kitchen and a small dining area plus a receiving room. This is a typical apartment size in Copenhagen, plus she has the rooftop garden all to herself. Although she's still in her internship, she is still receiving a salary from me as my assistant so it's no wonder she can afford this kind of flat in the heart of Seoul.
"Happy Birthday, sweety…" I hugged and kiss her on her cheeks and handed her my gift.
"I thought you forgot," she's surprise that I'm giving her gift. I smiled.
She led us to the rooftop. It was almost late February, although the night sky is clear, the chill of winter is still felt. I am greeted with unfamiliar faces when I arrived. The rooftop was set up nicely, with outdoor heater lights and blankets and a big table for BBQ and a lot of soju. I was introduced to the unfamiliar circle. Most of them are her colleague from the hospital, although they can understand English, not all of them can talk fluently or confidently carry a conversation probably. I also met Han-nah, Roo-ni's younger sister and found out she's actually working at Namdo and Soo-ah's co-intern from the hospital.
While everyone else are having fun, I can't help but feel left-out. It has been almost 5 days since I saw him. It suddenly make it seem like what happened that night is like another dream like what happened 3 years ago. I realize while talking to Tae-hoon that he was not at all that bad, he is funny and charming, and I can feel that he is trying to flirt.
Soo-ah's colleagues were the ones who leave first, because they still have shifts. So, there's only Tae-hoon, Roo-ni, Han-nah, one of the intern guys who probably is as old as Soo-ah and the newly arrived Jin-na, Soo-ah's childhood friend, whom I met once when she came to Copenhagen for holiday.
"This is actually my first-time having a night out in Seoul that's not work-related…" I declared. And all of them looked at me with astonishment.
"How come Soo-ah never led you out for fun…" Roo-ni looked at Soo-ah.
"Miss don't particularly like soju or beer, plus we didn't have time to actually tour Seoul yet…" she explained.
"Welcome to Seoul Miss Ara…" Han-nah started to pour on my glass, and I smiled at her. She has this gentle impression that I immediately like.
"I'll see you around Namdo's…" I informed.
"Really, how often will you be there?" She asked.
"Once a week probably it depends on some interesting events…"
I stand up to go to the toilet, so I excuse myself. I went inside her room and took my phone out of my bag; I have 10 missed calls from the same number. I called back the number out of curiosity but it's not answering anymore. I checked the time and it's already half past 10. Soo-ah came in to check on me. I know I'm a bit drunk now, since they have poured me too much.
"Sweety, I think I'm off now…"
"You can have a rest for a bit before going, miss," she's a bit worried.
"Hey, you should enjoy, it's your birthday. Don't worry about me…" I said. Yeah, I sound drunk.
"Anyway, did you like your gift?" I asked.
"I have not opened yet…" she took it out from the paper bag.
"Oh well, there's the champagne, it's not too late to open." I exclaimed. She tore off the wrapper and she already knows what's inside.
"Seriously, miss you shouldn't have…." She says but I can see how happy she looked. It was a bucket bag from Mirta's collection, it's practical since it's big enough to put his extra clothes and shoes if she's going to the hospital. She hugged me tight, I haven't received this glorious hug since she graduated from Copenhagen University.
"How about your mom and dad, are you not going to celebrate with them?" I'm curious.
"I'm going with Roo-ni tomorrow evening after our work." She casually uttered. I excuse myself to the toilet. This is the worst time to be drunk, in the company of unfamiliar faces. I can no longer drink as much as I want. I never really liked beer.
Soo-ah is knocking at the door, but I'm too ashamed to come out. My face is so red. I washed my face with cold water and gargles with mouthwash. Then I fix myself. Soo-ah is by the door when I opened.
"Nam Jae-woo called…" her smile teasing.