"I want to see where I will live after our marriage." Haneul said, bluntly.
Yeom Tae slowly coughed. He wasn't sure what led Haneul to act differently all of a sudden, even though it was for his good. The woman who opposed even the word itself was mentioning it herself today.
"Um?" Yeom Tae cleared his throat. "Is it so you know whether you want to live elsewhere?"
"Of course. I want to see if the location is close to my workplace, or if it's comfortable for me." Haneul said confidently.
This was strange. A few days ago, she was quiet and was even avoiding the topic. Now she was the one initiating it. Something was wrong.
"That is totally understandable. Let me know when you're free, I will give you a detailed tour." Yeom Tae said hesitantly yet cheerfully.
"Thanks." Haneul smiled.
What was this? Another rice cake smile? Or was it for him this time? Haneul turned her face around too look outside from the window. The train had finally started moving away from the platform.
While Haneul's eyes were still fixated at the still objects from the moving train, Yeom Tae's eyes were fixated at the still woman staring out the moving train.
"What kind of house do you expect? And what's your ideal?" If marriage was her topic of choice, Yeom Tae wasn't going to hold back. He asked questions he thought would help him before letting her inside his house.
"Well I expect you to be living in an apartment complex. Ideally, I would like a higher floor if that's the case. And it should be in the middle of the floor too." Haneul said. "That's because fire escapes are closer to the apartments in the middle." She added, "As a healthcare provider, I would like to help as much as people I can during hazardous situations."
Yeom Tae cleared his throat. "Why would you think this deep into a location?" He asked. "I mean, all the categories you listed do match with my apartment but…"
"Really?" Haneul smiled and asked nonchalantly.
"Um, yes?" Yeom Tae muttered in a questioning tone.
Why were women so confusing? Yeom Tae had read the ultimate scrolls of knowledge that were passed down to the men in his family yet he wasn't able to grasp the main topic; women. It drove him crazy. There were so many meanings he could derive from a single one of her sentences. He shook his head and remembered the central points in the ultimate scrolls of knowledge; being flirtatious and smooth.
"How come you have suddenly developed an interest towards where you would live?" Yeom Tae asked in a more playful voice.
Haneul looked at him bluntly, blinked a few times. Bingo! He caught her confused and earned the upper hand at the conversation. Did she just think she would smoothly and nonchalantly converse about a topic she avoided a few days ago? No.
"Aren't we getting married?" Haneul asked.
…
Yeom Tae was left surprised again.
The train was at a steady rate and the scenery outside almost seemed stationary. The sky was clear so the inside of the train had a bright feel to it, but the sun was on the other side so it was still slightly grim.
"Haneul," Yeom Tae repressed a sarcastic smile.
"Yes?" She asked, very casually.
The sound of the train was rather subtle and their words were clear to one another. They shared a glance over the name call.
Yeom Tae pressed his lips together and looked away, outside to the window. Haneul left a slight chuckle before doing the same. Women… Women are dangerous, Yeom Tae thought to himself while staring out the window, the big fields looking very small from his angle. He exhaled nervously.
Oh, how the tables had turned!
The train slowly stopped in front of the platform after another 40 minutes. Those 40 minutes really just flew by as they talked about the things they saw on their way to Gwangju.
The compartments were emptying one by one so the two stood up to walk out as well.
"You won't believe this but," Yeom Tae said while getting out of the compartment with Haneul and walking down the train hall, "My parents are from Gwangju."
"Really?" Haneul was surprised. "They don't have the dialect though." She added while the two got off the train by taking a few steps down towards the platform.
"They were born in Gwangju but have resided in Seoul ever since." Yeom Tae explained. "Some of my distant relatives still live here."
Haneul nodded, "Why did they move to Seoul?" She asked.
"Gwangju Uprising, remember?" Yeom Tae said slowly.
Haneul shaped her mouth to open without a sound, expressing her surprise and understanding altogether. The two walked out of the platform together and headed towards Dong-gu, a district in Gwangju where the main festival was being held. They took a taxi to Dong-gu and reached it shortly after as the distance wasn't much.
The festival had started long ago and the crowd was magnificent. It was almost as if the entire South Korea was present there. However, the crowd wasn't suffocating so that was good.
"These are held in Seoul too." Haneul said. "Why did your father pick Gwangju?"
Yeom Tae hummed a bit to think, "I wonder too." He said slowly before chuckling. "Maybe he remembers the festival being better here? Who knows?"
"Or maybe he's biased." Haneul said while chuckling.
"I'm biased too." Yeom Tae said, interconnecting his hands together behind his back, on top of his hips, and looked at her.
"Towards what?" Haneul asked.
"Towards you." Yeom Tae replied.
Huh. Cheesy. Haneul kept a straight face for as long as she could but bursted into a chuckle. Although, she didn't want him to think she liked his flirtatious and cheesy comments but there was no stopping that chuckle.
"Good to know." She said, quite scornfully if noticed clearly.
Uh oh, rice cakes were definitely better than him after all.