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Drift
Reality > South Korea >
Arrival in Seoul 3
Augustus
seemed to be a bit surprised by this piece of information and
spouted forth a follow-up question with machine like precision:
"Wasn't she very disappointed when you left?"
I
paused for a moment before I spoke. "Yes. But this is something
I decided to do." Thankfully, my answer satisfied her and
we continued in silence towards the restaurant.
The
rest of the trip took about twenty minutes, which was enough time
for me to find out that Augustus wanted to be a man, that she
disliked her boyfriend because he was "selfish and uncaring,"
and that I would inevitably come to hate Augustus because "everyone
else hates her," to which I diplomatically responded that
I was "Definitely not one to follow the crowd."
We
arrived at the Outback Steak House and Augustus watched with restrained
curiosity as I proceeded to gorge myself on hot wings and beer.
In between (and often during) bites, I managed to babble endlessly
about my family, my life, and College experience, while making
eyes at the cute waitress who giggled every time she tried to
say something in English. The whole time, Augustus just sat there
and listened intently, as if gathering information that she would
later report to her superiors.
Later,
as she paid the bill and we left the restaurant, my thoughts turned
towards a vision of what my apartment would be like. During my
sophomore year of College, I had stayed in a three-bedroom apartment
complex with five of my friends. It had been quite comfortable
and we had made sure to adorn it with the quintessential recipe
for proper College decor: a large television set, a futon, and
posters of Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and at least one semi-naked
girl.
During
my senior year, I had moved into a two-bedroom apartment with
a close friend. Once again, we had made sure to furnish it with
a large television set, a futon, and posters of Goodfellas, Taxi
Driver, and at least one semi-naked girl. Seeing as how we were
about to graduate and enter the professional world, we also included
a poster of a Salvador Dali painting.
In
general, my whole concept of what an apartment should be, left
me completely unprepared for what I found out an apartment in
Seoul was.
After
driving along the highway for several more minutes, Augustus pulled
off onto one of the exits and we headed down a four-lane road.
On either side of the road were rows of four-story buildings containing
a jungle of neon signs.
Although
it was already about 12:00 midnight on a Thursday, there were
still hundred of people milling about on the sidewalks. Again,
I felt a thrill run through my stomach at the teeming vibrancy
of the place. If New York was the city that never slept, Seoul
must be the city in which people not only never sleep, but also
never sit still.
We
turned onto a small side street and headed up a road that was
surrounded on both sides by small Mom and Pop stores. Augustus
informed me that the area was surrounded by one of the larger
open-air markets in Seoul.
After
driving up a narrow hill, Augustus struggled to parallel-park
in a space that granted her no more than one or two feet of leeway.
The general closeness of the place immediately struck me, as did
the manner in which cars were jumbled together in chaotic patterns.
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