Chapter 38.2

Chapter 38.2

Miran kept her words bottled up, silently wiping her damp cheeks with the back of her hand. She pulled a cardigan from her bag, put it on over her dress, and buttoned it up to her neck with trembling fingers.

Outside the window, a high, gray cement wall topped with tightly coiled barbed wire stretched on and on. Soon, the taxi stopped in front of a gate guarded by both a U.S. soldier and a South Korean soldier.

Miran craned her neck, looking around. It seemed Andre was taking her inside the Yongsan U.S. military base. Her heart started pounding, and the shock from earlier at the shoot began to fade a bit.

She’d been curious whether he was enlisted or an officer, and where he stayed when he wasn’t visiting her rooftop room. But she hadn’t expected to be taken inside the base so suddenly and without any mental preparation.

‘Is he taking me to his place? He did mention something about a hotel earlier…’

Miran tidied her hair by smoothing it back behind her ears with her fingers.

Andre rolled down the window and spoke to the guard at the checkpoint, then extended his palm toward Miran.

“ID.”

Hurriedly, she dug through her bag and handed him her national ID. Years of rough handling had left the plastic edges of her ID frayed and peeling.

On her ID card, handwritten in neat calligraphy by the local district office staff, were her three characters: Kang Miran. The photo attached to it showed her with a youthful, chubby face, reminiscent of a young Leslie Cheung. It had been taken in her third year of high school, during an unfortunate phase when she was chubby.

“Ah!”

Miran snatched the ID back from Andre just as he reached for the taxi door. He turned sharply, one eyebrow raised, giving her a familiar look that said, “What is it this time?”

Seeing her embarrassed expression as she clutched the ID protectively, his eyes narrowed. When escorting a civilian, an ID check was required for security. There was no reason to hesitate unless you were a criminal or terrorist.

“What?”

“Promise me something…”

“What is it?”

“Promise not to look at the photo. I swear I haven’t had any plastic surgery. It’s just that I’d gained weight in my last year of high school, so my nose and eyes look a bit squished. The photo came out really unflattering…”

Andre blinked, looking at her blankly.

“Hhmph!”

Without meaning to, he broke into laughter, turning his head to the side and covering his mouth with his fist. That she’d worry about something like that even now was so typical of her. He felt a strange urge to squish her cheeks until her lips pouted and then lightly bite down on them.

Andre fought to keep a straight face, pressing his jaw tight, and extended his hand, looking down to avoid meeting her eyes.

“Fine. I won’t look.”

“You promise.”

Reluctantly, Miran extended the ID, holding it so tightly that her thumb over the photo turned white.

Andre took hold of the edge of the ID, barely suppressing his smile.

A tug-of-war ensued over the small piece of plastic, as Miran eyed him suspiciously, and he tried to keep his laughter in check.

“Let go.”

Andre growled menacingly.

“Haa Anyone who sees this photo better watch their back. I’ll make them disappear without a trace. Got it?”

With fierce eyes, she threatened him, looking more like a wildcat than the girl who couldn’t hurt a fly. Finally prying the ID from her grip, Andre muttered blankly.

“Oh no, how scary.”

His acting was just as poor as hers. He couldn’t hold back any longer and covered his eyes with his hand, chuckling softly.

His laughter was so charming that Miran forgot all about her ID photo.

He stepped out of the taxi and approached the guard post, handing over her ID and filling out some paperwork. Miran pressed herself against the window, watching him. She felt like she could stare at him all day.

When he returned and sat beside her, he handed her the ID with a slight smile.

“I didn’t look.”

His thumb was covering the photo.

“You’re not lying?”

Without waiting for a reply, she snatched the ID from his teasing smile and quickly shoved it back into her bag.