Vroom.
Taesu sank into thought as he watched the scenery flow past from inside the taxi.
‘It’s peaceful.’
There was no better word for it.
Low buildings, people strolling leisurely to and fro.
Nowhere could he sense the atmosphere of war.
It was only two hours away by plane.
And yet Kashmir and India were completely different places.
Taesu’s contemplation, directed out the window, continued all the way to the hotel.
Twenty minutes later.
Kim Hyeokgwon stood at the hotel front desk, his face twisted into a deep scowl.
“&.%$.#.”
Tap, tap.
The sight of him shouting while even pounding on the desk was anything but ordinary.
Everyone who had been looking around the lobby rushed over in surprise.
“Hyeokgwon, what’s going on?”
“Damn it. This is embarrassing.”
As Kim Hyeokgwon looked troubled while staring at the reservation confirmation, Taesu quickly asked.
“What did they say is wrong?”
“It’s not that. They’re trying to rip us off.”
“Rip us off?”
Facing Taesu’s puzzled look, Kim Hyeokgwon scratched his head and explained the situation a little more.
“The reservation confirmation says standard rooms, but after checking, they’re saying the rooms were upgraded.”
“Can that even happen?”
“That’s what I’m saying. I told them there was no such thing, but they keep saying no.”
“Hmm.”
Taesu found it utterly strange.
But there was a reservation certificate issued by the hotel right there, clear as day. It made no sense to say it was wrong.
His mood began to sour.
It was the start of their vacation, so he wanted to hold back, but that was only what he thought.
Taesu was someone with quite a temper himself.
“So that’s roughly the situation. What are they saying we should do?”
“For now, I told them to check again and told the manager to come speak to us directly……. There he comes.”
Kim Hyeokgwon’s expression turned cold again.
Under that chilly gaze, a middle-aged man in a suit approached. Then he began saying something or other to Kim Hyeokgwon in Hindi.
Kim Hyeokgwon responded with his eyes blazing.
They were watching the scene unfold.
Jeong Minsu spoke beside him in a subdued voice.
“Still, this is supposed to be the start of a nice vacation for us. If it starts like this, it’s kind of annoying.”
“I didn’t have any particular feelings about India, but I’m starting to develop bad ones.”
Jeong Minsu’s eyes had narrowed sharply upward.
He wasn’t the type to hate someone first.
And yet, seeing him say something like this, it seemed irritation was steadily piling up from things going wrong right from the start of their vacation.
Taesu felt the same.
But nothing good would come of getting angry together, so he tried to soothe him.
“There must be some kind of misunderstanding.”
“Is this something that can even be a misunderstanding?”
“…….”
“If they’re going to insist on something, it should at least make sense. This is too much.”
Jeong Minsu snapped.
Expressing his emotions was a good change.
The problem was that the timing wasn’t exactly appropriate.
At this rate, they might see Jeong Minsu truly lose his temper. When a timid person got angry, it could become several times more intense.
Taesu had no desire to witness that at this moment.
Tap.
Taesu lightly nudged Jeong Minsu and gave him a wink and a smile.
“Just a moment.”
Swish.
Taesu passed by Jeong Minsu.
Soon, he approached Kim Hyeokgwon, who was standing there with a sullen face.
The manager, who had been dealing with them just moments ago, was typing something on the computer.
As soon as Taesu got closer, he asked about the situation.
“How did it go?”
“The manager’s saying the same thing. That the rooms were upgraded this morning. He says the room charges have already been fully paid too.”
“Then what’s he doing on the computer?”
“I asked him to write up a confirmation. A promise that they won’t say something different when we check out.”
Kim Hyeokgwon’s eyes were burning.
Taesu looked at him with curious eyes.
Perhaps sensing that gaze, Kim Hyeokgwon glanced over and asked.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m grateful that you’re being so proactive, Hyeokgwon.”
After mulling over Taesu’s words, Kim Hyeokgwon’s expression turned bitter.
“I think it’d be more honest to ask why I’m making such a fuss when it’s not even my money.”
“I was a little curious about that too.”
“So if it’s not my money, I can just spend it carelessly?”
He pouted and grumbled.
From those words, Taesu instinctively realized that he wasn’t simply stingy.
There was a firm philosophy behind his frugality.
As he was guessing at that—
The manager held out a sheet of paper he had just printed and exchanged a few words with Kim Hyeokgwon.
Soon, Kim Hyeokgwon showed the paper to Taesu and said.
“It’s written in English, so take a look.”
“Hmm. The room upgrade is…….”
Taesu read through it quietly in English.
The sentences were rather long.
But the conclusion was simple.
There would be no issue regarding the room upgrade, and no additional charges would be billed.
The manager’s name and signature were clearly there as well.
Taesu soon wrote his name and signed in the blank space.
For some reason, what had happened at the airport overlapped in his mind.
“Looks like today’s the day for signing things.”
In Korea, he only scribbled his signature when paying by card.
In Kashmir, he hadn’t even had any occasion to use a credit card.
So even being in a situation where he had to sign something felt unfamiliar.
In any case, when he handed over the document, the manager spoke in English, kindly and politely.
“First, we apologize for the inconvenience, and exactly as this document states…….”
His accent was somewhat strong, but understandable.
The manager might have felt wronged. Even so, perhaps because the service mindset was deeply ingrained in him, his expression did not stiffen even once.
Taesu only nodded.
Kim Hyeokgwon had handled the matter thoroughly, so there was nothing more to say.
A little while later.
Taesu and the others were shown to their room.
Perhaps because they had caused such a commotion at the front desk, the manager personally took the lead.
Creak.
The manager opened the door wide himself.
“This is your room.”
Taesu, who stepped inside without much thought, stopped without realizing it.
“Huh?”
Taesu’s expression changed subtly.
The same went for the others following in behind him.
“Huh?”
“This is…….”
“Wow.”
Their reactions were all different, but one thing was certain: they were astonished.
The reason for their surprise was the room’s size and scale.
They had definitely heard it was a suite. But perhaps it wasn’t just an ordinary suite, because a fairly large living room spread out inside.
If there was a living room inside a hotel room, there was no need to see more.
It was clearly a top-class room.
The cost for one night could not possibly be cheap.
Everyone was still stunned.
“Please enjoy your stay.”
Click.
With the manager’s greeting, the door closed.
At that sound, Taesu came back to his senses and quickly asked Kim Hyeokgwon.
“Hyeokgwon, you kept the confirmation, right?”
“I did.”
“Don’t lose it.”
“I plan to sleep holding it tight.”
Rustle.
The sound of Kim Hyeokgwon gripping the paper in his pocket could be heard.
There was even a solemn look on his face.
Only then did a bit of ease appear on Taesu’s face. That was how jaw-droppingly large the room was.
After looking around the spacious living room, Taesu quietly said.
“At this rate, I don’t think we need to go outside.”
“Dr. Choi, we still have to eat.”
“Then, Bread, should we eat and come straight back?”
Taesu suggested, his face still somewhat dazed.
Bread Kim’s expression as he answered was not much different.
“S-should we?”
“Touring from the first day? I don’t think it’d be good to overdo it.”
“Right? As expected, resting is the correct answer on the first day of vacation.”
Bread Kim agreed with a slightly blank look.
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon simply stood with their mouths hanging open.
That was how completely everyone’s minds had been stolen by the splendid and spacious room.
Taesu and the group’s words and actions were perfectly in sync.
After eating outside, they returned straight to the hotel. Then, enveloped in the comfort provided by the spacious room, they lounged comfortably and spent the first day of their vacation.
“As expected, under the blanket is the best.”
It was a short but most definite evaluation.
The afternoon of the second day of vacation.
Taesu and the others were still lazing around in the room.
Normally, no matter how spacious a hotel room was, it would have felt suffocating.
But not one of them said such a thing. Up until now, they had spent day after day roaming mountains and fields in search of patients.
Every moment had been a continuation of tension.
Perhaps because they had escaped all that pressure, they didn’t want to move an inch.
And while resting, they realized something.
Physically and mentally, they had been approaching their limits. As the tension loosened and their whole bodies began to ache, it became certain.
They had no interest in shopping.
They had no thoughts of food for the moment either.
They simply wanted to enjoy this rare idle time amid busyness.
Perhaps because everyone felt the same way, there was no conversation even though they had gathered in the living room.
“…….”
“…….”
They were simply enjoying this moment when their ears were quiet and the world was still.
Then the room phone rang.
Ring, ring.
However, there was no one who wanted this languid time interrupted.
A battle of glances began immediately.
Strangely enough, Jeong Minsu acted first.
“Snore.”
He was pretending to sleep.
Then what about Bread Kim?
Rustle.
“…….”
Still lying on the sofa, he simply turned his back.
Lastly, Taesu placed his hopes on Kim Hyeokgwon.
When their eyes met, Kim Hyeokgwon immediately asked.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, then never mind. Ah, this is nice.”
Ring, ring.
Even as he listened to the phone ringing, he pretended not to notice.
Moreover, since it was a hotel that used English, he was not stepping forward.
In the end, it became Taesu’s responsibility.
Click.
“Hello.”
“This is the front desk. Is Dr. Choi there, by any chance?”
At the call looking for him, Taesu tilted his head.
“This is he.”
“You have a visitor in the lobby.”
“A visitor?”
Taesu’s expression turned even more puzzled.
But he wasn’t the only one.
Perhaps they had all heard, because everyone was watching Taesu.
“A visitor? Dr. Jeong, do you know anything?”
“No. Nothing at all. What about you, Hyeokgwon?”
“If someone in this neighborhood were looking for me, maybe, but who would be looking for Dr. Choi?”
“Could it be that doctor from yesterday, Dr. Mahal or whatever?”
“Dr. Kim’s guess seems plausible.”
He could hear them quickly whispering among themselves.
Dr. Mahal, was it?
Taesu also felt that guess was the most reasonable.
The reason?
He would find out when he met him.
It wasn’t a time to remain silent for long, so he first finished the call.
“Understood. I’ll come down shortly.”
“I’ll inform them of that.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
Click.
After saying goodbye, Taesu put the receiver back in place.
Then, looking at his companions, Taesu shrugged and said.
“In any case, it seems someone really did come.”
“Our Dr. Choi is popular.”
“Bread, I have no intention of asking you to come with me, so don’t try to set the stage.”
When Taesu poked at him, Bread Kim flinched.
“Haha. You caught me?”
“More importantly, judging by the time, I think I’ll come back after lunch.”
“Don’t worry about us and go.”
When Bread Kim answered, Kim Hyeokgwon added a word.
“We’ll eat lunch over in the downtown area. Ah, I’ll turn on my cell phone, so call me when you’re done.”
“Oh right, we had mobile phones, didn’t we?”
“You sure remembered quickly.”
“We needed a reason to use them. Anyway, I’ll contact you. Then I’ll go get ready.”
After asking for their understanding, Taesu entered the room first.