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Chapter 2
It had been brief and courteous, with nothing since. He has a nice voice, too. Pretending to look out at the passing dark, Je-hee angled his head slightly to study the driver’s reflection in the side window. What brings someone so young to this line of work at this hour? Most of the designated drivers Je-hee had hired were older men earning extra income on the side, whereas this driver looked to be around his own age—perhaps even younger. How old could he be?
Ordinarily, Je-hee paid little attention to whoever was behind the wheel. Tonight, however, his curiosity refused to subside. Perhaps it was because the man’s face had caught him off guard the moment they met under the streetlamp. He really is handsome. Strong brows, sharp eyes with a slight upward tilt at the corners, a straight nose, and lips that were just a little chapped. With the driver’s gaze fixed steadily on the road ahead, Je-hee allowed himself to look. There was no denying it: the man was strikingly good-looking.
…What on earth am I doing? Catching himself staring at the driver’s firm mouth and tired eyes, Je-hee gave his head a slight shake. He must have drunk more than he realized. Sober, he never would have entertained such idle thoughts about a stranger.
“Haa…” Drawing a hand down his face, he let out a quiet breath. Whatever had brought this man to designated driving, Je-hee was fortunate to have found someone so capable. He always preferred a peaceful ride to an interrogation about his personal life, and after so many overly talkative drivers, this man’s restraint was a welcome relief.
There were other things to appreciate, too. A clean, fresh scent lingered faintly around him, and his driving was smooth and unhurried, almost soothing. Those small comforts made it easy to forget the irritations of past rides. How strange, to feel such immediate goodwill toward someone he would likely never see again. At that hour, over such an absurd distance, Je-hee had been prepared to settle for whoever accepted the call, which only made the pleasant surprise all the greater.
“…”
Closing his eyes, Je-hee steadied his breathing. When he had first climbed into the car, the alcohol had blurred his vision so badly that he could scarcely stand, yet his head was already beginning to clear. Was it the quiet composure of the man beside him? With each passing minute, the dizziness receded a little further. This is comfortable. So why— Comfortable as he was, he remained acutely, inexplicably conscious of the driver. Had he known he would feel this restless sitting beside him, he might have braved his usual carsickness and taken the back seat after all. Still, what he felt wasn’t quite embarrassment; he couldn’t put a name to it.
“Would you like me to turn the music up a little more?”
“…Yes.” Je-hee gave a small nod. The driver was remarkably observant—had he noticed his unease? Whatever the reason, the man raised the volume slightly, and the soft melody helped Je-hee’s shoulders drop a fraction. Loosening the necktie that pressed against his throat, he reclined his seat just enough to breathe more easily.
“…”
Some two hundred kilometers still lay between them and Yeonghyeon. Even making good time, they had at least two and a half hours left on the road. Je-hee generally valued silence, yet the cabin was so still that he could hear the quiet rhythm of their breathing beneath the music, until what had felt restful began to feel strangely weighty.
“If you drive all the way to Yeonghyeon at this hour… how do you get back?”
How strange. Usually Je-hee was the one politely deflecting a chatty driver’s questions. Had the alcohol loosened his tongue that much? The words had slipped out before he could stop them—and it wasn’t even something he needed to know. He had simply wanted to break the hush.
“…Usually I work through the night,” the driver replied after a brief pause. “If I’m lucky, I catch another call heading back. If not, I wait for the first morning bus. Sometimes, when I’m too exhausted, I sleep for a few hours at a sauna.” He hesitated a beat. “Besides, I live near where we’re going.”
His low, unhurried voice was much nicer to listen to than the radio, and Je-hee reached out to lower the volume without thinking. I see. So the man lived near Yeonghyeon. No wonder he had accepted the call; unlike a local Naeju driver, he wouldn’t be stranded hundreds of kilometers from home at dawn.
Knowing they lived in roughly the same area gave Je-hee an odd sense of familiarity, though one answer only sparked a dozen new questions. Why had the man been all the way down in Naeju to begin with? Had he cut short his own plans there just to take this fare? Glancing over, Je-hee noticed the driver’s lips press back into a firm line, and he hesitated. Is he annoyed? Even taciturn drivers usually traded a few polite remarks once a conversation started, yet this man seemed disinclined to add another word. Well, it must be tiresome answering questions while driving. The driver hadn’t actually shown any irritation, of course; Je-hee knew he was jumping to conclusions.
“…”
How did someone so reserved manage in a job like this? He had to have his reasons. Swallowing the rest of his curiosity, Je-hee let his eyelids fall shut. Surely a quiet passenger was far easier to deal with than one who demanded conversation. Don’t be a nuisance. Driving through the middle of the night was exhausting enough. It was Je-hee’s own car, and he was paying a generous fare—he wasn’t a hitchhiker imposing on a stranger’s charity—yet he found himself worrying about the driver’s comfort all the same. He kept his eyes closed and willed himself to sleep, if only to spare the man any further small talk.
* * *
Has he fallen asleep?
Stealing a brief glance toward the passenger seat before returning his eyes to the highway, Si-woon pressed two fingers against his temple. His passenger had shifted restlessly for the first stretch of the drive, but now he lay completely still.
He’s really… Letting his gaze linger on the sleeping man a fraction too long, Si-woon gave his head a sharp shake. What was he doing, entertaining thoughts like this about a client he had met barely an hour ago—and another man, at that? Sleep deprivation must have addled his brain. Still, his face really is—
His fingers drummed a quiet tap, tap, tap against the steering wheel. He risked one more glance across the console. In the dim dashboard glow, the passenger’s features looked almost impossibly fine.
“N-no, it’s fine. Please, raise your head.”
He looked so flustered back then. It had been an inappropriate thing to dwell on while a client stood freezing and embarrassed in a dark parking lot, yet that first clear look at the man’s face had stopped Si-woon in his tracks. At a distance, the passenger had seemed remote, almost untouchable, and when that cool expression softened in confusion, Si-woon had nearly forgotten what he meant to say.
“…”
As the man’s breathing settled into a slow, even rhythm, Si-woon found himself matching it without realizing. Reaching over to lower the music further, he eased off the accelerator and merged into the third lane so the ride would be as smooth as possible. He had already kept his passenger waiting in the cold once tonight; the least he could do now was let him rest comfortably.
“Haa…” A quick check sideways brought a measure of relief. How long had the man been standing outside before Si-woon arrived? His nose, which had been as red as his fingertips under the streetlamp, had finally regained its natural color. Thank goodness. Some of the knot in Si-woon’s chest loosened. I should have left right away instead of hesitating. Those slightly drooping eyes had unsettled him from the very first moment—worse, they had nudged his thoughts in a direction he had no business going.
…Get a grip. Catching himself looking over yet again, Si-woon forced his eyes wide and fixed them squarely on the asphalt ahead. The expressway was nearly deserted at this hour, but that was no excuse. What could be more absurd than causing an accident because he couldn’t stop staring at a sleeping passenger? They still had a long way to go, and whether he ever saw this man again or not, gawking at a client was uncalled for.
His eyes stung with fatigue, and he blinked hard. More than two hours behind the wheel had begun to wear on him. The sedan handled smoothly enough, yet the mental strain of the night was catching up. On long-distance drives, he was always on guard against the smallest mistake that might draw a complaint, and tonight he had been splitting his attention between the road and the man beside him. This won’t do. He needed a brief stop to clear his head. Usually he drove straight through unless a passenger asked for a break—time saved was money earned—but for the first time in all his years on the job, he signaled for the upcoming rest area on his own initiative.
* * *
“Are we there already?”
Blinking awake as the car came to a stop, Je-hee saw the driver freeze with one hand on the door lock, looking thoroughly startled—as though he had been trying to slip out without waking him.
“Ah… th-that is, I was getting a bit drowsy, so I thought I’d grab a cup of coffee.” Keeping his hand on the door handle, the driver sounded almost apologetic.
Why on earth did he feel the need to apologize for being tired? He had been driving nonstop for hours; a quick stop for coffee was hardly an unreasonable request. “Yes, go ahead,” Je-hee said, nodding.
“Thank you.”
Once the door clicked shut, Je-hee watched the man walk toward the rest-stop lights and blinked slowly. I slept far too well. He couldn’t remember the last time he had woken feeling so clear-headed. There had been no dreams, no fitful half-waking. It felt as if he had closed his eyes for only a moment, yet there was no mistaking how deeply he had gone under.
“…I didn’t drool or anything, did I?” He had shut his eyes merely to escape the awkwardness of sitting together in silence, only to embarrass himself by passing out completely. Even in his own bed, he was a light, restless sleeper; sleeping that soundly in a moving car with a stranger at the wheel made no sense at all.