Chapter 97
“It’s not because it’s our company, but you can consider that most golf wear advertisements and catalog shoots in Korea these days are done here. Do you know Pro Cho Yumi? She’s a player from ARA Financial Investment, another affiliate of our group, and when she’s in Korea, she practices here.”
Listening to her explanation overflowing with pride in her company, I put down the fork I had only been poking at my food with. Looking out at the resort’s panoramic view spreading behind her, I carefully brought up the topic.
“I heard there’s also a glamping site here…”
“Ah! There is, there is.”
Deputy Kim Jiwon seemed pleased with this topic. After putting her plate down on the tall table beside her and pressing her lips with a napkin, she continued.
“It’s a project Team Leader Lee pushed forward by forming a project team with Hongcheon staff. It’s one of the projects to lower the average age by 5 years, and the results were actually good. I don’t know if it’ll go into TV commercials or print ads, but Jiin-ssi will probably film barbecuing scenes there too. Shall I guide you there once?”
“I hope I’m not being a bother…”
She glanced once at the inner living room and lowered her voice.
“Using Jiin-ssi as an excuse, I’d also like to escape from this situation, you know. You brought sunglasses, right?”
Usually until August 15th was classified as peak season in Korea. Though it was just a few days before the end of peak season, they said guests were still packed almost to full capacity.
Since I might be spotted, it would be better to wear a hat too, so Deputy Kim Jiwon appeared with a baseball cap from somewhere. It was a staff cap with the resort’s logo embroidered on it.
I took off my jacket on the master room’s bed and loosened my tie. I unbuttoned a couple of shirt buttons and rolled up my sleeves. It was an effort to look more casual, but a suit with sunglasses and a baseball cap didn’t seem right.
I felt Deputy Kim Jiwon’s gaze staring intently at my profile. I thought she must be thinking the same thing.
“What?”
“No, I was thinking anew that you’re really handsome. Not looking ridiculous even wearing this hat with that outfit… isn’t that kind of cheating?”
Embarrassed by the compliment, I chuckled and pulled the cap’s brim deeper.
In the living room, they were still getting heated about golf talk. Though it was only 3-4 PM in broad daylight, people’s faces already had a flushed intoxication.
Besides Deputy Kim Jiwon, there were two employees from PR Team 1 and their team leader, three acquaintances the team leader had privately invited for golf, UB’s manager, and the executive director and manager from the agency that arranged this advertisement.
Nearly ten people gathered laughing and chattering looked almost harmonious. Business-related gatherings usually looked more cordial on the surface than private ones.
After roughly finishing my disguise, I left the penthouse with Deputy Kim Jiwon, who seemed excited for some reason. The group in the living room seemed to have no interest in us.
As she had contacted the front desk in advance, an electric cart was prepared across one lane in front of the main gate.
“I really love driving this thing.”
She was delighted like a child as she sat in the cart’s driver’s seat. Thinking that maybe this was why she seemed so excited made me laugh too.
At ‘Mio Palazzo’, buggies were a more familiar means of transportation than bicycles. I was also confident in buggy driving, but today I decided to leave the driver’s seat to her and settled in the passenger seat.
“Huh? That… that’s Team Leader-nim’s limousine.”
“……”
Her voice was clearly flustered.
Following her gaze, a large sedan was slowly reducing speed and entering the driveway. Since Team Leader from Team 1 was eating and drinking in the penthouse, the team leader she was referring to could only be one other person.
“There was no word about coming… Jiin-ssi, excuse me for a moment.”
Deputy Kim Jiwon, who had unfastened her seatbelt, hurriedly returned to the front of the main gate.
My heart began beating strongly.
The heavily tinted, weighty vehicle came to a smooth stop like a deep-sea fish swimming through the ocean floor. What emerged from the back seat opened by the bellboy was Hancheoeum. From the seat behind the driver’s seat, Yujun opened the door himself and got out.
Deputy Kim Jiwon bowed toward him.
“Team Leader-nim, you’re here? I didn’t hear you were coming…”
“Jiwon-ssi, you’re working hard, right? I didn’t contact you because I thought you’d worry unnecessarily if I told you in advance.”
“Ah… yes, everyone’s in the penthouse. I came out briefly to show Jiin-ssi the glamping village…”
She hesitated awkwardly and pointed to me sitting in the cart beyond the car.
He who looked this way across one lane bowed lightly, and I answered the greeting in the same way. With some distance between us, it probably wouldn’t be visible to him that I was swallowing dry saliva.
He turned toward Deputy Kim Jiwon.
“I see, then look around carefully.”
“Yes?”
“There are many people there today too since all rooms except suites are fully booked…”
“Ah, yes! That’s why we were just going to look around without getting off the buggy.”
He nodded and, after giving me a very brief glance, disappeared into the lobby with his companions.
The moment I thought it was fortunate that my face was covered with a hat and sunglasses, I felt briefly despairing thinking how ridiculous I must have looked wearing a baseball cap over my formal shirt.
He’s not someone I need to look good for anymore.
“I contacted upstairs that Team Leader Lee came. Team Leader Park will be in chaos, but well… he’ll figure it out.”
Deputy Kim Jiwon, who had walked over while talking on the phone, shrugged and got back in the driver’s seat.
A new guest vehicle was entering behind us. She hurriedly started the buggy.
The resort’s grounds had terrain as if embraced by mountain ranges extending down from the Taebaek Mountains. After circling around the guest building facing the golf course, a fairly steep uphill appeared behind.
The buggy entered a charmingly curved road like a trail. It was a road controlled so general vehicles couldn’t enter.
“Up there is the glamping village.”
I looked up where Deputy Kim Jiwon’s hand pointed. Cream-colored large tents gathered among the dense deciduous forest occasionally came into view.
“We first installed it experimentally only in Hongcheon, but the response was so good that we plan to implement it in other resorts before March next year. So there will probably be filming of Jiin-ssi there too for promotional purposes.”
Glamping, usually called luxury camping or posh camping in Western countries, meant camping tents equipped with all necessary high-end products so campers didn’t need to prepare anything.
Living up to its meaning, Knox Resort’s glamping tents had bedrooms separated from living rooms, bathrooms, sofas and dining tables, and cooking spaces, according to the explanation that followed. Including individually equipped barbecue grills for each tent, all materials were of course top quality.
After riding the buggy uphill for about 3 minutes, a sign reading “Glamping Village” appeared.
The number of tents seemed to be roughly thirty. The spacing between tents was generous, and all tent entrances faced outward rather than toward the center, creating a structure that protected privacy.
Looking up close, each tent was considerably large. It had only borrowed the tent format for appearance, but was closer to having hotel rooms transplanted as is so guests could stay without any inconvenience.
“The tent separated up there is the suite room, which costs over 3 million won per night.”
Deputy Kim Jiwon, who had stopped the buggy at the village entrance, pointed further up.
“It’s cheaper than that penthouse but still quite expensive, so even during peak season like this, it’s vacant 2-3 days a week. But the facilities really make your jaw drop. If there’s filming, it’ll probably be done in that tent. If you want to look around, I can get the key.”
“No, not to that extent… it’s fine.”
The suite tent located separately at a higher position than the guest building was the place he had suggested we stay when we went to Hongcheon.
A dry laugh escaped at the thought of being like a man clinging to attachment while looking at his separated lover’s house from afar. I didn’t know I would have such difficulty letting go of a relationship with someone.
“Team Leader Lee came, so upstairs is probably in panic right now? Team Leader Park even invited his own acquaintances… Ugh. What should we do? The atmosphere must be frozen too, should we ride this around the golf course once before going in?”
Deputy Kim Jiwon tapped the buggy’s handle.
“Shall we?”
But there was a limit to stalling time. Though there was justification for escorting me, Deputy Kim Jiwon was the youngest on the Knox team today, and I was in a protagonist-like role, so to speak.
Eventually, we rode the buggy around for about 30 more minutes before returning to the guest building.
Contrary to our speculation that the atmosphere would be frozen, pleasant laughter was heard as soon as we opened the door.
But of course, it couldn’t be seen as laughter from the heart. It was closer to a play with roles divided according to flattery, submission, or rank. A play that would always be happening around him even if he didn’t demand it.
But unexpectedly, his figure wasn’t visible. Only Yujun was mixed in with the group, taking part in the role-play with a good-natured face. He might have something in common with Yoon Juho.
“Actor Jung, why did it take so long? And why are you dressed like that? Hurry and dress properly. You need to greet Team Leader Lee.”
As if it were urgent and important business, UB’s manager looked at me and urged in a lowered voice.
Walking down the long corridor leading to the master room, I took off my sunglasses and hat. Roughly sweeping back my hair that had gotten disheveled from the hat, I carelessly pushed the bedroom door inward.
A tall silhouette standing with his back turned.
Under a shirt excellently tailored with fabric flowing fluidly along his body, attractively revealed broad, thick shoulders and a well-trained back line.
He who detected my presence slowly turned around. We didn’t avoid each other’s eyes for several seconds.
Then I was the first to lower my gaze a bit further down. He was holding my necktie in his left hand.
It was a narrow navy striped tie chosen to match the light gray summer suit.
I let go of the door handle and unnecessarily fiddled with the sunglasses and hat overlapped in my other hand.
“Ah… there, I was going to… get dressed again.”
“……”
He nodded silently. Without showing signs of confusion, he put the tie down on my jacket spread on the bed and approached the door. When he passed by me, reducing his body width by turning his shoulders sideways, his cologne scent brushed my sense of smell.
I moved mechanically for a few steps and then stood there blankly.
“Did you look around the glamping village?”
The voice of him, who I thought had returned to the living room, appeared behind me again. Like he had done just before, I slowly turned around to look at him.
Leaning diagonally against the door frame, he was fiddling with his fingers.
“…Yes.”
“You don’t need to rush, so appropriately… watch the situation and slip out.”
“……”
“If you slip out first, I’ll follow. Let’s meet at the glamping village suite room.”
He watched me for a moment as if waiting for an answer. But no words came to mind. He left without completely closing the bedroom door.
Just his reappearance caused enthusiastic welcome from the living room.
With the noisy commotion behind me, I slumped onto the bed like someone whose strength had drained. I stared down at the tie he had been holding, then quietly touched it with my fingertips.
I don’t know what we’re doing right now.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
