#Side Story 04
However, what I thought would be a one-time occurrence continued. Saheon hyung, having gotten a taste for making love while wearing the flight attendant uniform, would try to pounce on me when I returned from flights. For a while, I had to enter the shower wearing my long padded coat. It wasn’t until I threatened to move to Yongin that hyung’s strange behavior finally stopped.
Anyway, after joining as a new flight attendant, I had to bustle about without a moment’s rest. But now, it’s been a year since I started. I’ve gotten used to the flight attendant life and moved past being the newest member.
With a bit more free time, what I do is try to match my schedule with Saheon hyung’s whenever our schedules come out. I would swap one or two flights a month to adjust so I could fly with Saheon hyung.
This month, I was incredibly lucky with the schedule. As soon as the flight schedules were posted, I couldn’t hide my joy as I compared Saheon hyung’s phone with mine.
“Hyung, this is awesome! We have three overlapping flights!”
Being a large airline, it was impossible to get to know all the crew members’ faces until retirement. With so many flight attendants, it was no different for captains and first officers.
Usually, I had to swap several flights to match my schedule with Saheon hyung’s, but this month, as if by some miracle, we had consecutive flights together.
“Really?”
Delighted by this unexpected luck, I showed Saheon hyung the comparison of our schedules. He looked surprised too.
“Yes. I just have an inbound flight (flights coming into ICN, GMP, PUS, etc. in Korea) joining in Bangkok, then after two days off, we go to London together. Ah, you’re deadheading (when a crew member or pilot travels as a passenger) on the London flight. Lucky you.”
“It’s a night flight. Since it’s night… I might get hungry. Wonder if I can control myself?”
“Huh? They’ll serve in-flight meals.”
However, such unexpected luck meant that an equal amount of luck was taken from somewhere else. At that time, caught up in the joy, I didn’t realize this.
***
It was a hard schedule. I had to travel to Bangkok as a passenger, then immediately work as a flight attendant on the return flight.
Normally, this would be doubly tiring, but the thought of flying with Saheon hyung made it not feel difficult at all. Since the schedule just barely missed requiring a layover, I was set to join at the joint briefing (a briefing involving both flight crew and cabin crew / briefing among cabin crew – cabin briefing).
My steps were light. Due to it being a night flight, today’s joint briefing location was on the aircraft. As I waited there first, I heard the sounds of heels clicking and quiet conversations in the distance.
I waited with tense shoulders for the crew to enter the aircraft. Soon, the purser and deputy purser with red chiffon scarves tied like flowers appeared.
As I was joining a team I wasn’t usually part of, these were people I was seeing for the first time. I greeted the entering flight attendants with repeated bows.
Saheon hyung entered last. Even though it had only been two days since I’d seen him, when our eyes met, a wave of happiness welled up. I tried hard to suppress the smile trying to form on my lips.
Surprisingly, Saheon hyung wasn’t one to smile much when in uniform. When working, he would erase his smile, revealing his naturally cool expression, but when our eyes met, he gave me a barely perceptible smile.
My heart fluttered for no reason. I pressed down on the corners of my mouth. Despite trying to hold it back, a light eye-smile formed.
From the information I had checked earlier, I was the youngest on this flight. That meant I would be bombarded with questions during the briefing. I straightened my back, tensing up.
The flight crew and cabin crew gathered around. Saheon hyung, as the captain of the flight, was in the center. After checking the time on his wristwatch, Saheon hyung, looking somewhat composed, announced the start of the briefing.
“Good evening. We will now begin the joint briefing for KN791. I’m Captain Kwon Saheon, in charge of today’s flight.”
Applause broke out. After Saheon hyung and the first officer finished their introductions, the briefing quickly got to the main point. Saheon hyung, in a businesslike but low and resonant good voice, began reading from his phone.
“There’s a lot of fog in Bangkok city today, so we’re not sure if we’ll get immediate clearance from the control tower. It looks like there might be a slight delay, but it shouldn’t be too significant. From what we’ve checked, there will be some turbulence midway, so please be mindful of safety during service.”
Hyung always looked cool when working professionally, using the “desu/masu” form. Saheon hyung, who had been reciting calmly, paused briefly when our eyes met, raising one corner of his mouth almost imperceptibly. It was a small signal only I could notice.
“…The ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is 04:30 the next day. Purser, do you have anything to add?”
“I have a few things I’d like to check with Cheongmyeong, who didn’t participate in the cabin briefing.”
It was a nightingale-like voice. I turned my gaze towards the purser. My hand gripping my phone with prepared answers tensed up, ready to respond at any moment.
“The zone you’re in charge of today. Do you know the door handling method for this aircraft type?”
Fortunately, it was an easy question. I held my phone below my chest, maintaining a steady gaze as I began to answer.
“Ah, yes. Today’s aircraft, the B-747 8i…”
“Wait, Cheongmyeong.”
The purser interrupted me. I looked at the purser with a slightly puzzled expression. The purser asked with a gentle smile:
“You didn’t write this by hand for the briefing?”
I was taken aback by this unexpected point of criticism. It was something I had never been called out on before. After opening and closing my mouth a few times, I mumbled a response.
“…Before… the purser used a phone…”
“Never mind that. I’m asking if you prepared handwritten notes or not?”
“…I’m sorry. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Again? This? Cheongmyeong, you’re joining us today but you’re not a regular member of our team. When do you think we’ll see each other again to say such things? So, did you prepare for today or not?”
The atmosphere suddenly turned hostile. I swallowed dryly and quietly observed the situation. A flight attendant standing behind the purser had an expression that seemed to say, ‘Here we go again.’
“I’m sorry.”
Having nothing else to say, I had to apologize once more. However, the purser continued to nitpick as if irritated.
“Is saying sorry all you can do? Is this how you prepare, Cheongmyeong?”
“…I’m sorry my preparation was inadequate. From now on, I’ll take handwritten notes as you suggested, Purser. I’m sorry.”
I felt like cold sweat was about to break out. Two voices called out to me as I floundered.
“No, Cheongmyeong.”
“Lee Cheongmyeong.”
The purser’s call and Saheon hyung’s voice collided simultaneously. When the captain, the highest-ranking person on the plane, called my name, the purser fell silent like a mute who had eaten honey.
Saheon hyung usually had an expressionless face when flying. My heart sank. Hyung continued speaking with the same expression he used with other crew members.
“Do your job properly.”
His voice, devoid of any kindness, was chillingly cold. In the wake of Saheon hyung’s attempt to control the situation, only a frigid silence remained.
A feeling of hurt welled up like a flood. More than the purser’s strange nitpicking, Saheon hyung’s single sentence hurt more. Feeling heat rush to my eyes as if I might cry, I muttered in a small voice with my gaze lowered.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Captain. I’m sorry, Purser.”
I mumbled while bowing my head repeatedly towards both of them. With Saheon hyung, the highest-ranking person on the plane, ending the situation as the captain, the purser seemed unable to say anything more, and the matter was roughly settled. Hyung’s cool voice continued.
“Then we’ll conclude the joint briefing here.”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Greetings of appreciation erupted from all around. I pretended to follow along, mouthing the words. It was the worst.
My mood didn’t just sink, it burrowed underground. I trudged along, following the aisle inside. I felt a sharp gaze on my back. It was probably either Saheon hyung or the purser, but whichever it was, both were equally terrible, so I didn’t look back.
The senior colleague working in the same zone as me whispered in a low voice as she moved to the back to place her carrier:
“Don’t worry too much. That purser is known to be a strange person. There are widespread rumors about it. All the team members couldn’t stand it and quit, so everyone on this team is from other teams.”
“I see…”
Rather than being upset about the purser’s nitpicking, I was more hurt by something else. I responded in a gloomy voice.
“Still, it’s fortunate that the captain ended it there. If he hadn’t spoken up, this commotion would have continued until the plane took off.”
I knew that too. That Saheon hyung’s intervention had resolved the situation. That if he had told the purser to stop in that situation, there would have been more backlash after it ended. But understanding with your head and understanding with your heart were different things.
The senior colleague patted my arm lightly and smiled gently as if to cheer me up. I smiled back mechanically, but my mood didn’t improve throughout the flight.
The joy I had felt about having a schedule with Saheon hyung now seemed like a distant memory. Even after the plane arrived in Incheon, the purser held us for another hour, saying we needed to debrief.
By the time we finally got out, dawn was already breaking. I felt completely exhausted. The other flight attendants I had worked with seemed to share the same sentiment, as there was no conversation beyond telling each other to get home safely.
As I exited the arrival hall, I found Saheon hyung sitting on a bench prepared in front of it. Saheon hyung, who had been using his phone while listening to music with wireless earphones, looked up to check when the group of flight attendants came out.
When he noticed I was among them, expression returned to Saheon hyung’s face. Now it was the face of the hyung I knew. However, as I faced Saheon hyung, the hurt feelings I had momentarily suppressed took over completely, without giving me a chance to control them.
