Chapter 2.2

Chapter 2.2

The small handbag he had placed on top of the duffel bag was missing. It contained his passport, wallet, and military access card. Andre was flustered by the unprecedented event that had never happened to him in the past three years.

There weren’t many pickpockets bold enough to commit crimes against American soldiers. But coincidentally, he was now dressed in civilian clothes…

He looked around and checked under the table, but the bag was nowhere to be found. It was a disaster. When Andre called over a passing waiter to explain the situation, the waiter looked through the floor while apologizing to the surrounding guests. However, the bag was still nowhere to be found.

Andre tapped the table with his finger and was lost in thought when someone came by the table and stood there. Even without raising his head, he knew who it was.

It was the woman wearing a crop top that barely covered her waist, revealing a handful of skin over her short skirt. As expected, she was the same woman who didn’t see him as a man.

“Hello? My name is Miran Kang. Can I help you?”

The woman spoke to him with an accent as if she were reading a Korean textbook.

Andre sighed silently. He had no intention of getting involved in some childish “complete crime,” although he couldn’t figure out what they were targeting him for.

[No, thanks.]

He replied coldly. The easiest solution would be to call Jared nearby, explain the situation, and borrow some money.

‘But.. am I really going to use this as an excuse and have Jared Hamilton make fun of me for the rest of my life?’

Andre furrowed his brow, shaking his head. It would be better to spend a couple of hours washing dishes in the kitchen instead of asking for money to pay for beer.

‘Then who can I ask to help…’

He had lived twenty-eight years without ever complaining to anyone. Faced with this unfamiliar and awkward situation, his head was spinning.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his sleeve. It was the same woman, Miran Kang.

“I help you. You help me. Okay?”

Miran pushed on with a rather firm tone. Only then did Andre look up and meet her gaze for the first time.

The woman’s face was flushed to her ears. Despite standing tall with her shoulders squared, her knuckles clasped together were pale, and her red lips trembled.

Yet, she didn’t shy away from Andre’s gaze, which pierced through with an intimidating intensity. Her disproportionately large pupils, seemingly transparent, appeared as if they could reveal the depths of her soul.

‘This… Even a woman cries in this situation.’

Andre softened his gaze slightly and nodded with a short sigh.

[Okay.]

—

Two weeks ago on Saturday.

“When I feel down, should I wander around and get drunk on fragrant cocktails…?”

Miran, who was humming the lively melody of a popular song from the fortune-telling cafe, absentmindedly flipped through an old movie magazine.

“Clueless? Oh, I wanted to see this movie, but I forgot. It premiered in July, so it might already be in re-release theaters.”

As she looked at the poster of a blonde actress in a red dress holding a cell phone with a cute expression, the part-time worker at the counter called out in a sharp voice.

“Sib-pal*! No, one-eight-one-eight, the person who called for one-eight-one-eight!”

*Note: Sib-pal(십팔) means eighteen and also fu!ck in Korean.

The fortune-telling cafe fell silent for a moment, and then laughter erupted from various corners. Reluctantly, Miran raised her hand and gave a small wave towards the counter.

“…Here.”

The part-timer, trying to suppress a smile, quickly pressed the phone’s button and then put the receiver down. A few seconds later, a sharp ringing sounded from the phone on the table. Miran grabbed the receiver roughly.

“Ma Jieun? Seriously, how can you be an hour late? If you’re going to be late, at least page me. Our turn came up a while ago, but you didn’t show, so we’ve been pushed back! And change your pager number already. Why does it have to end in eighteen-eighteen? It’s embarrassing for the person paging you.”

Miran rattled off her complaints as soon as she put the receiver to her ear.