Tossing back another shot of soju, Ji Yong looked around the steamy sidewalk tent beside the snack truck. This late at night there were few people, just a couple of old security guards just off duty, and a lone woman sitting at a table by herself.
At 42, Ji Yong was nearly the youngest one there. He stopped by regularly on his way back from the office. The long hours and demanding bosses at work coupled with little reward made him need a couple of drinks before sneaking back into his apartment. He rarely arrived home before midnight, his wife and children asleep long before he snuck inside.
Pouring himself another shot and taking a bite of hot udon noodles, Ji Yong sighed. Every night he stopped to delay going home. He had been married for 20 years already. His children were almost done high school. Paying for their expensive private tutoring at hagwons meant he had to work even longer hours. He and his wife rarely saw eachother. They were more like roommates than husband and wife. They hadn't had sex in 5 years.
Any time he tried to get intimate with his wife, she pushed him away. She was always tired, or had a headache. She was older now too, and didn't feel comfortable with her body. Having kids made her insecure with her body and she didn't want him to see how she had changed. Sex got less frequent after their first child, and nearly non-existent after their second. He didn't resent her, but he wished she understood he loved her no matter how she looked.
He signalled for another bottle of soju. The truck owner brought it over quickly and brought another bottle to the single woman in the corner. The woman's hood fell down and he could see that she wasn't korean, but a foreigner! It was rare to see a western woman in this part of Seoul, even rarer to see one inside a food truck tent drinking.
She was probably in her early 20s and had long blonde hair. It gleamed in the bright lights strung around the orange tent. She had been in the tent before he arrived, and the number of empty bottles on the blue plastic table in front of her was evidence of her dedication in drinking that night.
He continued drinking the sweet soju as the rest of the customers made their exits into the cold December night until only he and the blonde woman remained. The truck was about to shut down for the night and the owner approached the woman trying to get her to leave too. Clearly drunk, she didn't seem to understand what the woman was telling her.
Ji Yong approached them, swinging his suit jacket on top of his white shirt, getting ready to leave after helping her out.
"We're closed. You have to go!" The owner motioned to the flap door. The blonde just smiled and set her head back down on the table.
"Can I help?" he asked?
"I need her out so I can pack up the tent. She's too drunk! Can you carry her outside?"
"I'll try." Ji Yong stood next to the woman and put his hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake. "They're closed." He said in english. "You need to leave so the owner can go home."
The blonde was even more beautiful up close. Her skin was very pale, with freckles across her delicate nose. She opened her eyes slightly and he could see their narrow slit revealed they were green. "Home? I can't go home. Too far." She said quietly, smiling to herself and she hiccoughed.
"I'll get her into a taxi outside." He told the owner. "Come on, we'll get you a taxi. They'll take you home." He helped the woman stand and gathered her purse and coat.
He opened the flap of the tent so they could exit, she stumbled a bit as her heels slipped in the light snow. He caught her before she could fall and pulled her against him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist underneath his suit coat. "Thank you!" she mumbled as she burrowed her face into his shoulder. He felt her body heat through the thin material of his shirt, her breasts pressed against his side. His long dormant body seemed to be waking back up, he felt a tingle in his groin.
"Be careful," he told her, "it's slippery. We need to get to the main road and get you a taxi."
"No taxi." He felt her breath on his neck. "Too tired. Hotel." Her british accent became more pronounced with each clipped word.
"You want to go to a hotel? Here?" Most of the hotels in this area weren't the kind you would find good reviews for on websites. Flashing neon signs advertised hourly love hotels with short stays.
"Mmmm. A few hours in a hotel and I'll go home."
He checked his watch. By this time, hotels allowed you to stay until morning. A few thousand won could keep her out of the cold until she sobered up. He searched the bright bright LED signs to find one that looked somewhat respectable. The last thing he needed was to have someone in his own neighborhood see him go into a cheap love hotel with another woman, with luck no one would see him at all.
"Alright. I'll take you to a hotel. You can go home in the morning." Ji Yong started guiding her down the slippery sidewalk towards one of the more low key hotels. She kept her arms wrapped around him, her breasts rubbing against his side with each step. The tingle in his groin returned with a vengeance.
