#Side Story 2 – 07
Despite the crowd, I was the one who linked arms with him first to comfort him, and even gave him a kiss where no one could see. Only then did Saheon hyung smile and say, “I was just joking.” But it was clear he had been upset by being called a tout.
On our way home after dinner at the department store restaurant, I opened the passenger door for him and said, “I’ll serve you with all my heart, boss!” This earned me a smack on the back as he shouted, “Stop it!” But after that, Saheon hyung returned to his normal self.
I was proud of the two suits I brought back with my arms full. I made a pleasant plan to hang them deep in the closet right away and put in new moisture absorbers. I tried to maintain my usual expression by tightening the corners of my mouth, but I couldn’t hide my light steps from joy.
“Honey, shall we put them in the closet right away?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“Try them on before putting them away. Sometimes they look fine under the store lighting but not when you get home.”
“Ah… Okay. I’ll change.”
As expected, someone who often wears suits knows better. I took the suits that were about to go straight into the wardrobe and went to the bedroom. Placing the newly bought suits on the large bed made me grin again, even though they were still in their covers.
Careful not to wrinkle them, I stiffly changed into one of the suits and waddled to hyung’s closet to get a belt. After putting on the belt and buttoning up the suit jacket, I felt a strange tightness somewhere in my chest.
A person’s mindset is truly amazing. Just by wearing different clothes, I felt like I was no longer a student, and I could feel the weight of having to carry my own share as an adult. Feeling oddly squishy, I came out holding a necktie.
“Hyung. My necktie.”
“Come here.”
Saheon hyung skillfully tied the necktie for me. The tightness of the tie made me straighten my shoulders. Saheon hyung looked me up and down with his narrow eyes.
“You look pretty.”
“Is it okay?”
“It looks even prettier than when you tried it on at the store. You could go flying right now.”
Embarrassed by the flattering compliment, I scratched my cheek and checked my appearance in the bathroom mirror. It suited me quite well even without the bright store lighting.
I felt like I had taken another step closer to my dream of becoming a flight attendant. I kept feeling happy and was about to let out a rough breath. Hyung, who had followed me at some point, looked back and forth between my reflection in the mirror and the real me, then made a rather unexpected suggestion.
“Since you’re already in your interview clothes, why don’t you show me your interview practice?”
“No… It’s embarrassing.”
“I’ll watch and give you feedback from an airline employee’s perspective. Come on, show me.”
Having put on the new suit, I was in quite a good mood and had become more positive. Although it was embarrassing to speak in a formal manner in front of hyung, I thought it might be good to get feedback from an airline employee’s perspective, as he suggested.
Finally, I brought my well-practiced interview notebook. As I handed over the worn notebook filled with dense handwritten notes on expected questions, I felt a bit self-conscious.
“Looks like you’ve practiced a lot?”
Saheon hyung took out his glasses from the carrier next to the table. At first, he didn’t tell me about them because he was worried I’d be concerned, but one day he was caught wearing them when he came home from work without realizing it. After hearing that he wears them to protect his eyesight at work, I was relieved, but since then I started feeding him a lot of blueberries.
Anyway, Saheon hyung, wearing his gold-rimmed glasses with a story behind them, naturally sat down at the dining table and flipped through the notebook. He seemed to be reading quite thoroughly, not just skimming, which made me nervous.
“Don’t you have a certain posture for interviews?”
Hyung asked quite seriously. I made an “Ah” sound and lightly clenched my fists, placing them next to my thighs, and straightened my back and shoulders.
“Oh, that’s good. You’ve practiced a lot.”
At the ticklish praise, I whispered “No…” in a small voice. Meanwhile, Saheon hyung, who seemed to have fully embraced the role of an interviewer, flipped through the interview notebook without a hint of a smile.
When we’re out together, he always has a mischievous smile full of playfulness, so I don’t usually notice it, but hyung’s face without a smile was closer to a cold and stern impression.
“Lee Cheongmyeong-ssi?”
“Ah, yes!”
Faced with hyung’s unfamiliar professional demeanor that I hadn’t seen in a long time, I unconsciously used formal speech. Moreover, he was wearing glasses that looked unfamiliar on him, making him seem even more like a stranger.
Saheon hyung raised one eyebrow and glanced at me, then read the interview question with the same cold face.
“What is your motivation for applying?”
When I practiced with the study group members, the answer came out smoothly, but in front of the unfamiliar Saheon hyung, I felt like my tongue was tied. This is why they say you need to practice in front of multiple people.
Gaining a new realization in my mind, I tried to answer at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow. Hoping that the bright smile I put on looked natural, I finished my answer and smiled with my eyes to give an even brighter impression.
Saheon hyung’s brow furrowed for a moment. However, he continued to ask various questions in the calm and charismatic voice that I had secretly imagined he might use at work.
The interview practice proceeded smoothly before I knew it. Trying my best to smile brightly while answering various questions frantically, I couldn’t tell if I was doing well or not.
I tried to read Saheon hyung’s expression, but he maintained a stern and cold face, making it impossible. Does he think I’m doing… poorly? Since I had received good evaluations from the study group members, I was starting to break out in a cold sweat.
Even after hearing my answers, Saheon hyung just slowly tapped the table with his fingernails without asking any particular questions. His slightly furrowed brow seemed to suggest there was something he was unsatisfied with. As the silence lengthened and my smile began to waver, Saheon hyung finally spoke.
“Lee Cheongmyeong-ssi.”
“Yes!”
“Why are you smiling so much?”
“…Pardon?”
Saheon hyung closed the interview notebook. His gaze as he looked at me with his arms on the table seemed sulky. I didn’t know what I had done wrong. I smiled awkwardly. Saheon hyung grumbled with dissatisfaction.
“Who are you smiling for like that? All bright and cheery.”
“But… it’s an interview…”
Should I cry at an interview then? As I stuttered in confusion at this clearly trivial complaint, Saheon hyung reopened the interview notebook and asked a question that was certainly not written there.
“Do you prefer ultra-thin condoms or textured ones?”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words, unable to connect how a question about condom preferences related to the interview. Saheon hyung was still looking at me with a cold and professional face. It was impossible to imagine that this ascetic-looking person had just asked such a strange question.
“I, I, I… uh… ultra-th…”
“Is that so? But last night, you said you preferred it without a condom and finishing inside.”
“…Hyung!”
My face turned bright red at his muttering. Saheon hyung had a talent for saying things that, if you listened closely, were actually quite vulgar, in a very professional manner.
“Do you like it that much with a bare penis?”
If you only heard the tone, it sounded like a strict interviewer’s evaluation. I clenched my fists and exhaled sharply. My face, ears, and neck must have all turned red. Only after catching a glimpse of Saheon hyung’s smirk towards me, who was trembling with my words caught in my throat, did a loud shout finally burst out.
“W-w-who asks such questions in an interview!”
“Can you repeat what I just said in French?”
“…R-really, who would…”
I was at a loss for words. It was just so absurd. Who would ask such contextless and harassing questions in an interview! Finding my speechlessness amusing, Saheon hyung covered his mouth with a dry laugh and tried to suppress his laughter as he muttered in a low voice.
“You never know. There might be a 35-year-old co-pilot from Magok among the interviewers who wants to have a go with the candidate right in front of him.”
I closed my mouth, which had been gaping in bewilderment. This was the first time I’d encountered such questions, and I was utterly flustered, but surely after this, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything in the actual interview. Trying to find a positive side to Saheon hyung’s questioning, I attempted to focus.
“…That candidate would say they can’t because they have a partner.”
Feeling like I had just been on the receiving end, I shot back with a trembling voice, which made Saheon hyung smile broadly, barely hiding it behind his hand. He quickly lowered his head, but his delighted expression was even more visible through the gaps between his fingers, making me feel more embarrassed.
After laughing silently for a while, Saheon hyung completely dropped his stern expression. When the smile I knew well returned to his face that had looked so cold, he finally seemed like the person I knew.
“You’ve prepared a lot. Good job.”
“Really?”
With my voice trailing off harmlessly again, I forgot about Saheon hyung teasing me at the end of the interview and quietly expressed my gratitude.
“Thank you…”
“You’re the one who prepared, not me.”
His gaze, which felt snake-like even through his glasses, looked me up and down. As I moistened my lower lip, tension released, I looked at him quizzically. Saheon hyung casually asked while organizing the interview notebook.
“By the way, I asked the crew members, and they said they also do something called roleplaying during interviews? What’s that?”
