Page 6 of From Paris to Seoul

“Aimer, ce n’est pas se regarder l’un l’autre, c’est regarder ensemble dans la même direction,” I muttered while readingLe Petit Princein its original French. Then, with a small smile, I added, “Le premier amour est plus aimé, le reste est mieux aimé.”

Saying it out loud made me feel a bit silly, and I was pretty sure my pronunciation was borderline catastrophic—but I couldn’t help myself.

I must’ve rehearsed those lines a thousand times, gearing up for an audition where I only had to deliver three sentences in French.

I stressed over every word, every syllable, obsessing about my accent… and in the end, I didn’t even get the part.

But ever since, I’ve been practicing my French pronunciation little by little, enchanted by the poetic works of French writers like Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Going to Paris seems like the perfect opportunity to practice French. But will anyone there actually understand me if I try?

A guy like me, going to Paris… really?

Out of habit, I checked my bank account again. Well, at least a guy could dream, right?

With a sigh, I picked up my electric bass and let my fingers move across the strings, playing whatever tune came to mind. Anything to blow off some steam.

3

??

Seo-yeon

The aggressive honk of a car jolted me from my wandering thoughts. We’d been stuck in traffic for over 40 minutes, and I was already 5 minutes late for a small role in a TV drama shoot.

I hate being late, but some things are just out of our control—like highway closures from road accidents for example.

Ji-a tapped the steering wheel impatiently, clicking her tongue and huffing in frustration.

I love Ji-a. I really do. If I ever turned lesbian, she’d be my top pick for marriage. But put her behind the wheel, and she transforms into a full-on ogre.

“Ji-a…?” I ventured, cautiously. “Want me to drive instead?”

She shot me a look, one eyebrow raised and practically steaming. “And just how do you think we’re going to swap seats here? We’re gridlocked!” With a sigh, she rummaged through her bag, pulled out two big chocolate bars, and handed one to me. She unwrapped the other and took a big, satisfying bite.

“Okay, I feel a bit better,” she admitted, her irritation softening as the sugar kicked in.

“See, you’re so lucky you can eat whatever you want,” I muttered, carefully picking an almond from the candy bar and separating the chocolate from it piece by piece.

As I munched on the almonds, stuck in the endless traffic jam, I spoke absentmindedly. “Can I tell you something?” I began. “I think Min-seok is acting kind of weird.”

Ji-a shot me a look and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

I hummed, pausing for a moment before continuing. “He’s been a little… ‘absent’ lately, I thought it was just because he’s busy with work. But last night, at another work party, I swear I caught the scent of a woman’s perfume on his shirt.”

I was met with a moment of silence, then Ji-a spoke up. “Min-seok? Really…? I mean, no offense, but it’s hard to imagine he’d do something like that.” She kept her eyes on the road. “He’s kind of… predictable.”

“I thought so too. And I’ve been with him for so long, I thought I know every little thing about him,” I said, agreeing. “But… I don’t know. He just feels a little… off.”

Ji-a shrugged. “I think you should trust your gut. But… I don’t know, try to get some more evidence before you go jumping to conclusions. Should we trail him tonight?”

Suddenly, I imagined Ji-a and me going undercover—sunglasses and headscarves, straight out of a spy movie. I chuckled to myself; it felt absurdly childish, especially for tailing a man in his early forties.

“Nah… It must’ve just been my imagination,” I muttered, pushing the thought out of my mind for the moment. The traffic crawled along, and I sighed as I saw the red lines everywhere on the GPS.

When we finally arrived at the shooting location, I was greeted by the Producer-Director (PD) and the film crew, none of whom seemed too thrilled. I apologized profusely and we got on with the shoot.

It had been a long, exhausting day—even though I was only playing a minor role, nowhere near the lead. I spent more timewaiting around and getting my makeup retouched than actually being on camera. By the time we wrapped up, it was already 9 p.m.

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