#Side Story 16
The alarm went off. I, who had been sleeping like I was unconscious, opened my eyes with a start. My vision was blurry from opening my eyes so suddenly.
The noise continued. It was a very small sound, but it was grating on my nerves. I looked around to find the source.
Saheon hyung was sleeping soundly next to me, still holding me. It seemed he couldn’t hear the alarm. With bleary eyes, I looked around and, realizing the alarm sound was coming from hyung’s phone, struggled to reach out.
The single bed was clearly too narrow for two adult men to sleep in, but we had slept so deeply due to exhaustion that neither of us had fallen off. Perhaps it was because Saheon hyung had held me tightly like a teddy bear while sleeping.
After barely managing to turn off the alarm due to Saheon hyung not letting go, I blankly stared at the local time displayed on the phone screen. 8:00 AM.
As I blinked slowly, looking at the surreal time, I suddenly jolted up as if struck by lightning. Saheon hyung’s arm fell away limply.
8 o’clock! We were supposed to have breakfast with the team members at 8:30 AM after finishing yesterday’s flight. As I was silently screaming, I despaired at another realization that followed.
As the youngest, I was supposed to have made the breakfast reservation. But no matter how hard I tried to remember, all I could recall was tumbling around with Saheon hyung last night before falling into a dead sleep. I frantically denied reality, trying to remember if I had actually called the hotel front desk.
Nothing. There was nothing. No matter how thoroughly I searched my memory, there was nothing. My face automatically fell into a frown. I rubbed my face dry in the face of the overwhelming blankness. I was silently muttering, “What should I do? What should I do?”
Hoping they might still take a reservation if I called now, I got out of bed as if rolling off. Just as I was about to pick up the hotel phone to call the front desk, Saheon hyung, who had been feeling around the empty space next to him, opened his eyes with a faint groan.
“…Good morning.”
“Morning, hyung.”
Normally, we would have been lying in bed kissing for a while, but with urgent matters at hand, I replied perfunctorily while looking for the front desk number written on the hotel phone. 16. After confirming the extension number, I placed my finger on the number pad.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to see if I can still make a hotel breakfast reservation.”
“I did that yesterday.”
“…Huh?”
I stared at hyung with a dumbfounded expression, unable to believe what I’d heard. For a moment, a ray of light descended on a corner of my heart. The hope that had subtly raised its head was pounding at an astonishing speed.
“I made a reservation for breakfast at 8:30 for 17 KN Airlines crew members. Don’t you remember? I said I’d do it for you yesterday.”
Saheon hyung muttered slowly in a voice heavy with sleep. Hearing hyung’s words, it seemed like that might have happened, or maybe not. But that was no longer important.
A bright smile bloomed on my face without me realizing it. Thank goodness. I’m saved. A sense of relief washed over me.
Seeing how pleased I looked, Saheon hyung chuckled and stretched out his arms. I practically dove into hyung’s embrace. There was quite a loud “thump!” but Saheon hyung didn’t seem to mind much.
Hyung’s embrace was warm. Taking in a deep breath of the familiar, cozy scent, I nuzzled my face against hyung’s chest.
“Thank you so much. Thank you, hyung.”
“If you’re grateful, give me a kiss.”
Saheon hyung slightly puckered his lips. I gladly showered hyung with kisses. I could feel hyung smiling through our touching lips.
After showering Saheon hyung’s face with kisses for a while, I finally pressed my lips firmly against his like stamping a seal, then pulled away. By then, hyung seemed to be fully awake.
Saheon hyung came closer as I moved slightly away. After lightly brushing my lips as if tickling them, he played with my messy bangs. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the languid touch for a moment. Warm lips touched my closed eyelids.
“Did you say we need to go by 8:30?”
“Yeah. We need to change clothes and go. I think I should go first and wait.”
“Let’s stay like this for a little longer.”
The combination of hyung’s cozy embrace and the soft bed made me equally reluctant to get up. I decided to laze around for just 10 more minutes. Hyung’s hand played with my cheek.
“What type is the purser? The type who just wants to eat meals together? Or the type who thinks we should do all the tours together too?”
“She just said to eat breakfast together.”
“That’s good. What should we do after eating?”
Saheon hyung’s hand subtly moved down and grasped my chest. Even though there was no flesh there no matter how much I tried to gather it, hyung just kept kneading. Since this wasn’t the first time hyung had done this, I just let it be.
“Sightseeing?”
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure. This is my second or third time in London. But I’ve been to the famous tourist spots once each, following seniors.”
I gazed at Saheon hyung. Suddenly, I wondered how many times hyung had been to London. Probably countless times. Since he had joined as a co-pilot when I was still in high school, with over a decade of flight experience, Saheon hyung must have been here hundreds of times.
“Is that so? Then shall we just walk around nearby? We can go to cafes, and since it’s the weekend, there might be flea markets too.”
“Oh, ah, sure.”
A positive answer came out immediately. Actually, anything with Saheon hyung would be fine. Hyung’s large hand started gently smoothing out the bird’s nest that was my hair at the back.
“There’s a place that does great brunch. Should we go there?”
“Yeah. Sounds good. Ah, for dinner, hyung…”
I recalled a restaurant I had gone to with team members the last time I was in London. Despite London restaurants being notorious for bad food, it had surprisingly high-quality steak and a nice atmosphere.
The thought suddenly crossed my mind that it would be nice to have dinner there together. A well-grilled steak paired with wine. Just imagining it was romantic.
“There’s a restaurant I went to last time, and the atmosphere there was nice.”
“Ah, Cheongmyeong… Um… I can’t do dinner today.”
However, unexpectedly, words of refusal came from Saheon hyung’s mouth. I opened my eyes wide. Hyung continued with a somewhat awkward expression.
“The most senior captain called a meeting. We decided to have drinks with the captain and first officers tonight. He said he absolutely must have Korean food even in London.”
Hyung spoke as if shuddering. I recalled memories of Saheon hyung being dragged around by older captains during his co-pilot days, eating Korean food every day even in foreign countries. Because of that, hyung had a bit of an obsession with eating only local food when abroad.
“It’s tiring. Do I have to eat kimchi stew here too?”
“Then… What time will you be back?”
“Since our flight is tomorrow night, to avoid failing the alcohol test… I should be back around 8 PM, I think.”
It wasn’t later than I had expected. I continued with a slightly worried tone.
“Don’t drink too much.”
“I won’t.”
“And don’t come back too late.”
“Yes, dear.”
Saheon hyung chuckled playfully. Our lips met once again. Giggles leaked out. Maybe because of that, as we focused on the sensation of lightly biting and sucking each other, we ended up staying 5 minutes longer than we had originally planned to lie down.
***
Fortunately, as Saheon hyung had said, the breakfast reservation had been made successfully. After smoothly confirming the reserved panel in front of the restaurant we were supposed to meet at, I stroked my surprised chest once more.
I hurriedly entered the restaurant. As I diligently looked for seats while exchanging greetings with the staff who welcomed me with “Good morning,” I saw familiar faces. Since I had come down at around 8:20, cutting it close to the 8:30 meeting time, there were already a few people occupying seats.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
“No, we just came early.”
I apologized with repeated bows and sat at the very end. All the seniors were wearing comfortable clothes. Unlike yesterday when they had their hair up and wore neat makeup, they looked very plain now.
As I sat down, the senior next to me handed me a menu. It was the senior who had suggested we go together last night.
“Choose what you want to eat. The omelet here is delicious.”
“Ah, then I’ll have the omelet.”
Since it was morning and I wasn’t particularly drawn to any food, I answered quickly. The seniors sitting across from me giggled. As I stared blankly, not knowing why they were laughing, the seniors answered with faces full of amusement.
“Cheongmyeong-ssi is cute.”
“Pardon?”
“Somehow, it’s cute. Maybe because it’s like having a youngest brother.”
“Right, senior. He’s so cute.”
Not expecting to be called cute by others at the age of twenty-seven, I fumbled and expressed my thanks.
“Ah, thank, thank you…”
Another burst of giggles erupted. As I hesitated, a rapid-fire personal investigation began.
“Cheongmyeong-ssi, do you still not have a girlfriend?”
“What? Ah, no.”
Although I had a boyfriend I’d been dating for a long time, that was a secret I had to keep, so when I joined the company, I decided to keep the fact that I had a partner confidential.
It was thanks to Saheon hyung’s advice, who had experienced that once you admit to having a partner, annoying detailed questions follow, like asking to see photos, how old they are, what they look like, how long you’ve been dating.
