Gwiyomi Pai – Tae
It was exactly what I'd hoped it would be when I'd walked into the bar in South Korea. Low lighting, the mood of the music a soft jazz mix, the vibe perfect. With very few people around, I had my pick of tables and found a small one tucked out the way. Looking at the drinks menu from across the room, I squinted at the hangul, wishing I'd grabbed my glasses from my suitcase before heading out. But I'd arrived at dinner time and I was on a mission to stay up late so I could adjust to the new timezone even though the jetlag was making my body feel exhausted. I'd raced out in excitement to see Seoul at nighttime, not thinking about being able to see.
Running my hands through my hair a few times and still not being able to read what was on offer, I reached into my bag for my phone, snapping a photo of the board above the bar and sending it to my translator app to work out what I should order. I was erring on the side of non alcoholic, first night in a new city, I needed to be more present than I would be if I'd had a few glasses. But, did they even have lemon, lime and bitters in Korea and that would be my normal drink of choice if I wasn't having a bourbon. I knew I needed to be here a few more days before I had a soju, not something I thought I would enjoy but when in Korea, I thought it might be a must.
Flicking through my phone, I was chewing my lip, zooming in on the photo, trying to work out the board when someone came up next to my table and I startled as he spoke.
"Annyeonghaseyo."
I looked up, taking in his good looks as he smiled down at me, bowing his head. This was not a bad first hello in a new country, he was cute in a slightly older than me, most definitely a man kind of way.
Replying in Korean, I hoped he could understand me, the music low enough to talk but it was my accent I was more concerned about. "Hello," and I hoped I had said it right.
"Oh, English," he asked, switching to my language and my smile grew big. I was hoping to practice my language skills while here but given that it was only day one, I was tired and he was very attractive, I was all for speaking in English for now.
"Yes, I just got here a few hours ago," I answered, indicating he could have a seat, not knowing if that was appropriate or not but rolling with it. He glanced over at a table in the corner, a few others visible but far enough away that I couldn't tell who they were. Sliding into the seat opposite me, he put his bottle down on the table and spoke again.
"It looked like you needed help."
"Oh? Was it that obvious? Yes well, I can't work out what to order," I said, flushing a little. Clearly I looked like a fish out of water, screaming foreigner.
"I did notice you right away," he answered and I had an internal dialogue start up at his words. Is he flirting with you?
"Did you? So you've come to help me then?" I answered, feeling a little surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. He was stumbling a little over some words, not fluent in English but far better than I was in Korean.
"Yes, sure. What do you like to drink?"
"I'm thinking no alcohol tonight, I need to stay sharp."
"To stay safe? You're here by yourself? Yes, that is probably a good idea."
"I am. I came for a two week holiday, I've never travelled alone before."
"Well, lets find you something to drink and then, you could join us if you wanted?"
I looked over at his table again, feeling a little overwhelmed. Could I make conversation with lots of people? "Oh, your friends might not want company."
"I can answer for them. They want company. Yours. They sent me over."
"You didn't come over because you wanted to then?" I teased.
He looked confused then realised how his words could've come across. "When I said I noticed you right away, it wasn't because you looked lost. We would all like you to come over."
"OK, Gamsahabnida," I answered, lowering my eyes at his words.
"Shall I start with ordering the drink for you? No alcohol? So something like a lemonade?"
"Yes, something in a bottle would be great, thank you," sticking to my policy of no drinks in a glass if I was by myself in case someone put something in it.
He nodded with a small bow of his head, going to the bar to order. I wondered if I should follow him, feeling awkward sitting here waiting while he bought me a drink. Not that the same thing wasn't happening all around the world right now in bars. People meeting for the first time, a drink bought. But I wasn't expecting it on my first night in Seoul. I'd come to sit and relax and listen to some quiet music while I planned my next few days. This was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise.
Heading back my way with the bottle in his hand, I thanked him again. "No problem. Now, shall we head over to our table?"
"I haven't asked your name," I said, standing up.
"Oh, of course, well, it's ah Park Seo-joon," he bowed a greeting and I was endeared.
"Bangawoyo. Nae ileum eun Marley ibnida."
"Oh, that was very good Marley," he said, a huge smile on his face as he indicated to follow him to his table. The table that held three men, all very focused on our approach although pretending not to be.
They stood up when we got there, bowing a hello and waiting until I slid into the booth before sitting again. And I was struck by how good looking they all were, feeling a little out of my depth as I smiled a shy smile in greeting.
Seo-joon spoke quickly in Korean and they all nodded. "Marley, this is Hyung-sik, Taehyung and Woo-shik," pointing them out in turn and I was surprised at their informal introduction. He clearly understood and spoke. "We're OK with speaking casually if that's OK," and I warmed to him even more before turning to look at them all.
"Of course. Gomawoyo for having me join you all," I said, mixing up the language and hoping if they didn't understand, that Seo-joon could interpret for me.
"She's charming," Hyung-sik said under his breath and I kept my face neutral, understanding.
"Yes, and very pretty," Woo-shik answered quickly from where he sat next to me and I hoped my slightly pink cheeks didn't give me away.
The fourth at the table, Taehyung, was quiet, sitting across from me as he tapped his finger on the table along with the music. He looked closer in age than the others although they all looked very young. I knew enough to know they were probably older than they looked though, marvelling at their flawless complexions without trying to stare.
Seo-joon opened the bottle for me, clinked his against mine, indicated I should have a try and I took it, grateful to have something to do with my hands and mouth. It was a kind of fizzy I hadn't tried before and I nodded. "Good choice." Seo-joon smiled and then turned to the others.
"Marley is here on holiday for two weeks."
"Oh, nice." Hyung-sik said. "Where are you from?"
"New Zealand. I have a friend in Daegu and I'm going to see her next week."
"You've been to New Zealand right Tae?" Woo-shik asked, pulling him into the conversation.
"Yes, it was very beautiful," he spoke for the first time and his deep voice caught me straight away, my eyes flicking to him with a smile.
"Oh, chincha?"
He laughed at my expression. "Ne, a few years ago. It was very cold but that's because we went camping in Winter."
"Camping? In Winter in New Zealand? No-one does that," I replied, surprised. "That must've been down South?"
"We went Christchurch to Queenstown."
"Oh, I live down there. And yes, camping in Winter you would've been very cold."
Tae was leaning forward now, more animated than when I sat down. "I did the bungy swing too."
"You're braver than me. I've never gone on it myself." He looked to Seo-joon who quickly translated and he put his hand to his chest.
"Gomawoyo aniyo, I was very scared but it was amazing."
"I'm so glad you could come visit our country. Was it a holiday?" He'd said we and I wondered if it had been with his family or a girlfriend.
"Ah, with work," he said, looking away and I wondered why saying that made him uncomfortable.
"Well, your job must be great then," I laughed and he turned back to look at me, his head tilted slightly to the side.
"I don't think she knows us Tae," Woo-shik said under his breath as he reached for his glass and Hyung-sik agreed. Now I was curious and felt my brow furrow. If they thought I might know them then should I recognise them all? But I didn't or at least not in this light and their names didn't ring a bell.
"You said you were going to Daegu," Tae asked directing the questions away from his job and I understood not to ask more about it.
"Yes, my friend is teaching English there and she invited me over."
"That's where I am from," Tae said, taking a drink and I noticed he was drinking the same as me, the only other one not drinking alcohol. The others were all sitting back, sipping on their drinks and listening to us talk. I noticed they exchanged a look between them with a smirk and some raised eyebrows before engaging in a conversation, leaving Tae and I to talk alone.
"When did you move to Seoul," I asked, moving a little closer so we could talk without raising our voices. It also meant I could see him better and he was incredibly good looking. It made me nervous to look him in the eye, his hair brushing the top of his eyelashes, framing the deep brown depth.
"About ten years ago," he answered, moving even closer and leaning forward on the table, hand on his cheek. Now that he was this close, I could see him so much clearer and held my breath briefly as he took another mouthful from his bottle, catching a drip that lingered on his lip with his tongue. I swallowed and watched his eyes move across my face. He was breathtaking and so I did. Take a breath. Several times while I tried to think of what to say next. Thankfully, he filled in for me, still speaking limited English but seeming OK with that.
"Do you have places you want to travel in Korea?"
"Not really. I just want to explore. See the scenery, eat street food."
"Ah, street food is so good here."
"I've heard," I nodded and leaned back watching him. There was something about him, I couldn't put my finger on it. He seemed very comfortable in his skin and relaxed with his friends but at the same time his eyes darted around a lot like he was looking for someone.
"Do you know much about Korea?"
I laughed. "Not as much as I'd like. I really like kdramas but only started to watch them in the last few months when Georgia moved here. That's when I started my very poor attempt at learning your beautiful language."
His friends had snapped their heads in his direction when I'd said kdramas, quickly looking at each other before they slid their eyes away and I furrowed my brow. There was something cagey about this and I was glad my drink had come in a bottle not a glass otherwise I'd be thinking they were planning to spike it with something, their eyes unable to meet mine.
Tae was laughing under his breath while he glanced down before he answered. "Thank you, I think English is very interesting too but I'm still not very good."
"No, you're great at it," I said exuberantly and he blushed a little at the compliment, murmuring aniyo, gomawoyo quietly in response.
"Yeah Tae, you're great at English," Woo-shik said, tuning back in to our conversation. "Why did you learn English?"
Tae frowned at his friend and I looked between him and Woo-shik who had a cheeky look on his face.
"Everyone learns a little English at school, right hyung," Tae asked forcefully, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh, of course, that's right TaeTae," Woo-shik replied, lifting his drink in salute.
I was definitely missing something and I couldn't tell if it was a breakdown in cultural understanding or jokes between friends. Either way, they were cute, kind of funny and definitely good looking so I didn't care.
"So," Hyung-sik spoke, "you said you like kdramas, what about kpop, have you listened to any?"
Tae and Seo-joon were taking a sip while he was asking that question and both simultaneously spluttered into their drinks. I reached out and rubbed Tae's back as he coughed. He visibly reacted to the touch, startling away and I quickly withdrew my hand, thinking I must've broken a cultural boundary.
"Sorry," I said, moving away slightly so there was a gap between us.
"No, it's OK," Tae replied, "I was just surprised," and he smiled softly as he slid across the booth seats so our legs almost rested against each other. Almost. And I was supremely aware of it, my leg feeling his warmth even with space between us.
"So, kpop?" Hyung-sik persisted, breaking my thoughts and all eyes were on me.
"Georgia made me a playlist, it has about 20 kpop bands on it so I've heard at least one song from each of those bands. Some are very catchy."
"Yes, some are very popular," Woo-shik said. "I personally am very fond of Stray Kids."
"Oh, it's Exo for me," Seo-joon continued.
"My favourite is BTS," Hyung-sik added.
"Oh, BTS, yes I know there is one of their songs on the playlist. I liked that one for sure. ON I think it's called? "
"What about you Tae, favourite Kpop band?" Seo-joon asked with a pointed look.
"Hmmmmm, this is fun," Tae said, not answering the question.
"Are you not into kpop," I asked, turning in my seat slightly.
"I really like older music, jazz," he said and I knew he was deflecting again.
"Me too, that's why I picked this bar."
"I like it here," he replied, looking around. "Everyone is just here for the music."
"Do you come here often then," and the moment the words left my mouth, I cringed. The oldest pick up line in the books had just come out my mouth and I wished it hadn't. Hesitating to look up, I finally did and there were no weird looks so maybe it didn't translate the same and for that I was grateful.
"Not as often as I would like. Work keeps me busy," and then his mouth twitched and it looked like he regretted what he just said. I was very curious about what work was, about what they all did. They were all leaning back, moving their heads from time to time along with the music, sipping their drinks, looking relaxed. I couldn't pick their ages or professions but they all seemed very nice, especially to invite me to join them on my first night in their country.
"What do you do for fun then," I asked.
"Talk to pretty women in a bar," and he looked up at me from under his fringe, his eyelashes blinking rapidly.
"Wah, neoneun gwiyomi pai," and as I said it, I knew it probably wasn't correct but it just came out my mouth before I could stop it.
His ears went red and his friends all chortled at him. "You are definitely a cutie pie Tae," Hyung-sik said, teasing him and I felt embarrassed that it had slipped out because now his cheeks were turning pink too.
"Told you she was his type," Woo-shik said in Korean under his breath to Seo-joon and I was grateful again that they didn't know I could understand Korean better than I could speak it. Tae had clearly heard, eyes flicking around the table and then back to me to gauge my reaction.
"Lucky me then," I answered and he looked embarrassed but lightly pressed his foot against mine under the table before moving it away.
The next hour went quickly, talking about my plans in Korea, about their busy schedules as they tried to find another date they could hang out together. I was enjoying it, their relaxed banter, the cute English and the tolerance of my very limited Korean. Occasionally they'd switch to speak in fast moving Korean but only for a short time, knowing it excluded me. I got the sense that when they did that it was to say something they didn't want me to hear anyway and I understood. They didn't know me.
I yawned a few times, hiding it behind my hand but after the 7th time, Taehyung spoke. "Are we boring?"
I knew he was teasing, a lightness in his features as he said it so I laughed. "I'm running on very little sleep. I left home about 36 hours ago and only slept three hours on the plane. I should probably head back to the hotel soon." There was a lot of reluctance to end the night, it had been far more than I thought my first night would be and it wasn't super late. But I was ready to crash and I had managed to stay up to adapt to the timezone thanks to these men who were very welcoming.
"I have an early start so we're heading back soon. Do you, ah, have a hotel that we can drop you to?"
"I do but that's OK, I can just walk, it's not far."
He shook his head. "Aniyo, it's not safe. We are happy to take you." The others were nodding along although, I couldn't tell how much they were taking in, Taehyung and I being the only ones who hadn't been drinking. "We'll drop you first then this lot will need someone to drive them home after."
"Oh, you're the sober driver," I said with a smile.
"Something like that," he answered, a small smile crinkling his eyes. "Shall we head now guys," he asked to the table and they all nodded, stretching and finishing what was in their glasses and bottles before standing up.
I slid out from where I was sitting, grabbing my bag and watching as they grabbed hats and put masks up on their faces. I was surprised but not completely so. A lot of people were still careful since Covid and it was more common in Asian countries than Western ones anyway.
"Ah, do you want me to wear a mask?"
"Do you have one," Seo-joon asked.
"I do, in my bag," I said, rifling through and finding it, pulling it up over face.
"That's probably best," Hyung-sik said and we started heading to the door.
Out the corner of my eye I watched two men stand up from a table nearby and separate, one walking in front of our group and one dropping behind. I stumbled as I watched them, feeling uncomfortable with how close they were standing but Tae reached out and caught my elbow to steady me before quickly letting go. "Are you OK," he asked, muffled through the mask.
"I am, just not sure about them," I said as I flicked my head between the two newcomers.
"Oh, it's OK, they're with us," he answered and I watched as the first man opened the bar door, checked the pavement and indicated for us to come out after him.
Two cars were pulled up and each of the new men went over to one, opening the doors as we climbed inside; Tae, myself and Woo-shik in one, Seo-joon and Hyung-sik in the other before the men climbed inside the front of the cars to join the drivers.
"So, not a sober driver," I asked as we buckled in.
"Ah, no, we have people to help on nights we go out," Tae answered, looking out the window.
Hmmm, they have a driver and clearly some kind of security. They're all really nice but something was definitely up, I thought. Once back at the hotel, I would get ready for bed and do some Googling of their names, it would be too obvious now.
"Shall I tell the driver which hotel," I asked him and he nodded, calling out to the front of the car. The driver turned his head and I said where I was staying, receiving a nod in return as the car started up.
It really wasn't far, I had walked around for about twenty minutes before ending up at the bar and so within minutes, I could see the highrise building in the distance with the name of my hotel on it and we pulled up as I went to unbuckle. Taehyung did too, stretching forward to speak to security for a moment. There was a small tug on my elbow and I turned as Woo-shik handed me a piece of paper. Very quickly and quietly he spoke in my ear. "That is my number, I know Tae would like to give you his but he's not allowed so if you'd like to contact him, you can do it through me. I can tell by his face that he had a very nice night talking to you."
I blinked at him as I thanked him, eyes opening and shutting multiple times in surprise at his words. The feeling was definitely mutual, you were attracted to him, the calm demeanour of Taehyung a nice balance to the busy last few days of travel. And, he was ridiculously good looking, that was part of the attraction for sure.
Woo-shik slid back into his seat as Tae turned back to face us, looking between the two of us with an odd expression. "It's OK Tae, we were just saying goodbye. Again Marley, it was very nice to meet you."
I nodded at him, slip of paper tucked up in my closed fist, only just having time to shut my hand before Tae was facing us. "Likewise, thank you so much for hanging out with me tonight." We smiled at each other and Tae cleared his throat, lifting his eyebrow at Woo-shik who laughed quietly and looked away.
"Security is happy to walk you inside if you would like?"
"No, no, that's OK. I might not know the language well but I've travelled lots and I'm sure I can make it from the car to the hotel lobby. Thank you for the ride. It was nice to meet you too Tae. I enjoyed our conversation."
He nodded, opened his mouth to speak and closed it again, small sigh slipping from his lips. When no words came out, I smiled at them both as I clicked the car door open. "Well, thank you again," Woo-shik saying something under his breath to Tae that I didn't catch causing Taehyung to speak abruptly.
"You're welcome, we were happy to spend the evening with you, me especially," and his cheeks went a little pink at his spoke.
"I stand by what I said earlier," I answered. "You definitely are a gwiyomi pai," and his smile lit up his face as the door closed between us. The car windows were tinted, far too dark to see inside but I could hear some laughter from within as they pulled away, my hand raised in a wave as I turned to walk into the hotel. Before going up to my room, I sat in a chair, tucked away to the side and carefully opened my hand. The paper was screwed up but the numbers were clear enough and I reached for my phone to add it in before I lost it. He was the only other person I had the number of in Korea apart from Georgia and you just never knew if you'd need to message someone. I rested the paper on my knee and started to enter the phone number, someone walking past and a slight breeze from their motion causing the paper to float up in the air. I grabbed it, not wanting to lose the phone number and quickly finished inputting it, checking 3 times before clicking save. I would hold onto the paper anyway, tucking it into my wallet but at least it was saved now.
Standing up, I walked to the elevator and started the rise up to my floor. I was thinking about the night but especially what Woo-shik had said about contacting Tae. The only way that could happen was via this number which wasn't even his. The whole thing felt a little cloak and dagger. I hoped they weren't part of some gang, I'd been reading too many mafia stories online. But they seemed too friendly for that. As I neared my floor, I quickly sent a message so Woo-shik would have my number too, whatever that ended up looking like.
"Hey, this is Marley. Thanks again for the night and ride home."
Simple, straight to the point, message delivered. Exiting the elevator, I used my keycard to get into my room, dropping my bag on the little side table next to the bed and reaching for my phone again to text Georgia.
"Hey girl, found food and met some nice people at a bar. Successful first night!"
As I clicked send on her message, the phone beeped in return.
"Hi Marley, I passed your number on to Tae because he was smiling that you had contacted us. You may get a message from an unknown number when he can work out how but he will call himself Vante so you know it's him. Good luck, he's a handful winky emoji"
"And ouch, he has a strong punch too."
My smile was huge now, thinking of the two of them travelling together, reading my message. I liked that I had made him smile. When I'd seen it earlier on his face, it was beautiful. My phone rang and I startled, wondering if it was Woo-shik or Tae but smiling when I saw it was Georgia. I walked through to the bathroom, clicking it on with a hello and onto speakerphone.
"Your first night and you've already met people at a bar? You move quickly," she greeted me.
"Well, I went to sit quietly at a jazz bar and work out where I'd like to go in the next few days but I must've looked lost as some men invited me to join them."
"Oh nice, were they cute?"
"Incredibly so, very, very handsome, all four of them," I answered, wiping my face with a wash cloth.
"Just you and four handsome men? That is very quick work Marley, I'm impressed," she laughed. "Were they locals? Did they tell you their names?"
"I don't know about locals, I can't tell dialects apart. But they introduced themselves as Hyung-sik, Seo-joon, Woo-shik and Taehyung."
She laughed.
"What's funny," I asked, finishing with the face cloth and reaching for my toothbrush.
"Yeah, as if," she said. "Is that what they actually called themselves? They were teasing you."
"How do you know that wasn't their names?"
"OK, google those names and tell me what comes up," she said and I put my toothbrush down, drying my hand as I reached for my phone.
"You're being weird, they were very friendly and so good looking. Man, Tae had such a deep voice."
She was silent for a moment. "He did? OK, well, ah, has anything come up yet?"
"Give me a minute, I'm not even sure I'm spelling the names right. I was going to look them up when I went to bed," I answered, stumbling over what I was typing in the search engine.
"Try putting in Wooga Squad in Google images," she said quietly, spelling it out for me.
"OK, now you're being very weird," I said but typed it in and clicked enter. Photos popped up and the first image was very clearly the men I had met tonight although Taehyung had different coloured hair and there was another man with them too. "I don't understand, why are there so many pictures of them?"
"You mean, those are actually the men you met tonight," she asked, voice going up at the end, disbelief in her tone.
"Yes and clearly I've missed something," I said, caught up in one photo where they were all swimming, zooming in.
"OK, take a deep breath and click on the news tab then," she said and I did what I was told, my phone flooding with articles about the men I'd spent my evening with.
"They're actors," I asked, mouth dropping open.
"Very, very well known actors. You've been watching kdramas, how could you have missed them? And Taehyung is a K-pop idol."
"I've only watched about five so far. Which K-pop group," I asked, flicking back through our conversations during the night, realising they'd been teasing each other and hinting about it during the night.
"He's in BTS," and I shook my head, shaking away the dizziness that flooded over me.
"No he's not," I replied leaning back on the bathroom counter and she laughed, a little hysterically.
"He is and you literally lived out every fans dream tonight. Marley, tell me everything!"
"Ummmm, I, ummmmmm," my mouth was dry and my mind furiously trying to remember every single word I spoke to them. Now it made sense that they had security with them and why they were cagey about a few things while still being friendly. "I don't know where to begin!"
I took a few deep breaths, processing. My phone was on the bathroom counter and I stared at it while I thought about how the night had started. It beeped and a message popped up. Unknown number. My throat constricted and I tried to swallow. "Ah Georgia, I'll call you right back," I said, hanging up before she had a chance to say anything.
Opening the message, I read it then read it again.
"Marley, this is Vante. I enjoyed our evening. Hopefully you sleep well. Maybe you'd like to do some siteseeing with a local while you're here?"
I grinned and tried to think of what to reply, assuming it was Tae but not 100% sure.
"That depends on the local. If it's the one I think is a gwiyomi pai then yes please."
"Do you need to know for sure it's me? I could prove it?"
I was looking at the phone, wondering about the proof when it rang, unknown number popping up.
"Yeoboseyo," I answered, holding my breath after I spoke.
"Hello Marley," came the rich, deep, unmistakable voice at the other end.
"Taehyung," I breathed out and he laughed, as I thought about how much better my trip had just gotten.