The Tiger King (Chaelisa)

35| Change

"You're really a good driver Irene," Seulgi gushed as Irene parked in front of Seulgi's school. "You always know how to avoid traffic."

"Oh it's just that we're early anyway," Irene said airily. "If you think ahead, you'll get to places quicker."

"Speaking of which, I should go. You need to get to gym as well," the teacher smiled as she gathered her bags.

"I honestly feel like skipping gym today. I think I'm still digesting last night's dinner. It was so good, if I do say so myself." Irene made a show of groaning and patting her stomach and sliding down in her seat, smiling when she heard Seulgi giggle.

She found herself stepping out of her comfort zone and behaving more openly around the young teacher, relishing Seulgi's laughter and feeling quite pleased that she had managed to provoke such a reaction. Irene was not renowned for her sense of humour—Somi and Lisa calling her Grandma and poking fun at her conservative ways was proof enough that she was too old for them to view her as more than a mentor. Jennie was closer to her but again, the younger girl looked up to her as a role model and Irene felt responsible for her.

With Seulgi, Irene finally felt she had found an equal, or at least someone who stood on level with her. It might be one of the reasons they clicked so quickly after they acquainted themselves with each other—Seulgi seemed to be a little in awe of her, following the woman with an attentive dopey expression while Irene was busy making sure Seulgi was coping okay after learning she had never really cooked more than pot noodles. But other than that, the two women bonded well, sharing stories from their life and offering each other a listening ear or bantering and trading playful comments when they grouched about their individual jobs.

"My family are very well-to do people, so I could afford to buy take-out food every day while at college, or else travel back home and have someone cook something for me," Seulgi had explained shyly, "but I decided I have to be independent and get in touch with the real world and fend for myself. It was...exhilarating but a bit frightening too. I had...I had to keep asking my old maid how to work some stuff..."

Irene was impressed. For someone like Seulgi who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and had been waited upon hand and foot all her life, moving out and fending for herself must have indeed been a hard decision, especially when it came to learning house skills and chores. But it was a brave and good choice too, to venture out of comfort and experience life.

Seulgi seemed to have been surviving till now, but Irene had offered herself up to teach her how to do laundry, iron and cook properly, to which Seulgi had enthusiastically agreed. Irene felt flattered by the praise Seulgi heaped on her because never in her life had she ever felt more appreciated than by her new friend.

They had eased into a routine, with Irene insisting on driving Seulgi to work with the excuse of cutting on pollution (Irene just enjoyed seeing Seulgi's adorable small yawns and lopsided smiles early in the morning as she tottered into Irene's car). Then after work, Irene would pass around the gym Seulgi worked out at daily. Irene would pick her up and drive home, perhaps stopping at some café for a quick coffee and chat. If they weren't too tired, Irene would invite Seulgi over for dinner under the pretext of showing her some new dish, or to have Seulgi practise her homemaker skills.

In reality, Irene sincerely enjoyed having the younger woman around—her house lit up with their laughter, falling deafeningly silent when Seulgi left. The silence that was so comforting before was now starting to suffocate Irene, much to her surprise.

"Joohyun, your phone. Someone's calling you," Seulgi said, referring to Irene's actual name. Irene didn't know what flustered her more: hearing her Korean name being spoken so nonchalantly by her friend, or else Seulgi's husky timbre ringing out in the cramped car interior.