Absinthe novel Chapter 44

Smoke continued to billow out of the engine, so I rushed to unlatch my seatbelt.

"Shouldn't we hurry out of this thing? It looks like it's about to explode!"

"Relax," Jiwoo said with a laugh. "That shit only happens in the movies."

Nevertheless, both of us got out of the pickup truck and went in front of it. The smoke showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

"Do you know how to fix cars?" I asked Jiwoo.

"Nope," he said. "I learned how to drive, but I never had a car to tinker with. You?"

"I learned how to drive in Korea where all car services are just a phone call away. Most insurance companies promise to get to where your vehicle breaks down within 30 minutes."

Instead of reacting, Jiwoo used the crook of his arm to cover his nose and mouth and braved the smoke to open the hood. As he did so, more smoke came out, and he ran back to me, coughing.

"Genius move," I joked. "Let me try my phone. I'm sure we can call Nico to ask someone from the hotel to rescue us."

I opened the rear door of the pickup and retrieved the device from my bag.

"Shit," I said, loud enough for Jiwoo to hear me. "No signal."

"I figured," he remarked.

Once I was standing beside him again, I saw that most of the smoke had subsided. The engine was burnt.

"Must have overheated," I said. "What do we do now?"

"We can walk?" Jiwoo suggested, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"We're halfway to the resort, which means we're also halfway to the root crop farm. And there are no lights. I don't think walking's a good idea."

"Why? You scared of what lurks in the dark?" he asked, snickering. "I can hold your hand."

It then dawned on me: Was this one of Jiwoo's tricks to get me to spend time with him? I eyed him sharply, and he stopped chuckling.

"What's wrong?"

"I swear to God, Jiwoo, if this is one of your moves to get me to do that HHWW thing, I'm going to kill you."

"HHWW?" he asked innocently, but I had a feeling he was faking it.

"Holding Hands While Walking!" I said, annoyed.

"Are you seriously angry?" Jiwoo's grin could not get any wider. "Look, if I were to come up with a scheme to seduce you, it's not going to be like this. I've never thought about subjecting you to the discomforts of the mountains. You're too posh for that."

I frowned at his assumption. "You don't know anything about me."

"I agree," he said. "So why don't we make the most of this situation and get to know each other better?" He took my hand and dragged me closer to the car.

"What's your game plan?" I asked. "Sitting all cramped up inside?"

Jiwoo flashed his most despicable smile ever. "Nope. Something much better than that." He grabbed his duffel bag from the backseat and pulled me by the hand to the back of the pickup. Then, he unlocked the door and placed his bag on it. He proceeded to take out some blankets, two small inflatable pillows, and a thermos filled with God knows what.

"Someday you're gonna be a dead man," I told him.

"Not now?" he teased as he smoothed out the blankets on the floor of the pickup. "Let me guess—you're afraid to be out here all by yourself." He chuckled again while removing his shoes and hopped onto the back of the pickup. He opened the thermos, and a sliver of steam hissed out of it. "Coffee or me?"

I threw him a look of annoyance and reluctantly removed my shoes to join him. He helped me lie down, a pillow propped against the back of my head.

"No coffee," Jiwoo said, putting the thermos' cover back on. "That must mean you chose me instead." He climbed on top of me and leveled his eyes with mine.

"Fuck you," I said, averting my gaze by turning sideways.

"Gladly."

I thought he was kidding, but he proceeded to breathe on the exposed part of my neck. It was kind of working, to be honest, but there was no way I was having sex at the back of a pickup truck in the middle of nowhere.

"You planned this all along, didn't you?" I asked in the most serious tone I could muster.

Jiwoo must have sensed how much I disliked the situation because he stopped fooling around and lied down beside me. "I didn't. Why would I want you to experience any of this?"

I heaved out a sigh. "We really barely know each other."

The stars were absolutely gorgeous. I could see Orion's Belt glimmering just a few inches from the bright moon, its full beauty unobscured by the clouds.

"I was born poor, like Faye," I started.

"Faye? Are you talking about the one I've met, or do you have another friend with that name?"

I turned sideways so I was looking at Jiwoo. His face was just as handsome in profile as it was when viewed from the front. Damn it. "Promise me you won't speak of this to anyone," I said.

He turned to face me too, and my insides melted. He raised his hand and lifted his pinky. "I swear."

I hooked his little finger with mine to seal our deal of secrecy. "Faye's not her real name."

"Yeah?" he asked, curious.

"Her real name's Diwata."

Jiwoo burst out laughing. It was so infectious that I started laughing hard, too. I know I shouldn't be making fun of my best friend's name, but Jiwoo's mirth was genuine, and it felt good to laugh.

"I think it's an indication of how poor our families were—well-off couples don't often use that kind of name." I struggled to get the words out because I couldn't stop giggling. "She hated it so much! She would come to school, hunt down our teachers, and beg them to change her name on the class register so none of our friends would find out."

Jiwoo and I laughed some more before he finally asked, "How'd she come up with Faye, then?"

"Well diwata means fairy or fae, hence the name Faye."

"Ohhhh, I get it now."