Even though it was called an overseas training, it wasn’t anything special.
It was all about referencing some case from the United States to talk about effective precedents.
It felt like a flashy statement from an elementary school student’s vacation plan that wouldn’t be followed.
The reality was a trip abroad enjoyed with national funds.
Well, who among the citizens wouldn’t know that, anyway?
“Bed!”
Anyway, our first journey in the United States was at a hotel.
The 12 hours on the plane were quite comfortable, but as soon as I threw myself onto the luxurious hotel bed, it was incredibly comfortable.
The bed even smelled fragrant, and it felt so fluffy that I thought I could just lie down all day.
The interior was exceptionally luxurious, clearly indicating that it was expensive.
I couldn’t understand the hotel’s name since it was written in English.
“Well, we’re heading out for our first itinerary, so you wait here quietly. We’ve got to take some pictures, so I’ll make sure you can join us for the next activity.”
The man in a suit from the same room, who was a lawmaker, gave us the answers we wanted without needing specific requests.
It was just comfortable being with someone who had experience in social life.
“Ah, yes… Thank you!”
“What thank you, it’s a trip, so we should explore around, right?”
With that gentle smile, the lawmaker left the room.
When watching the news, lawmakers all appeared to be wasteful tax-consuming thieves, but having him on my side made the world feel comfortable.
Lying in a business class or a hotel, I felt like I was getting back the taxes I had been paying regularly.
‘How expensive is this room…’
From the business class on the plane to this luxurious hotel, it felt like I was easily spending a six-figure amount.
This schedule was for 9 days.
There were only two tough agendas, but it already felt like I’d spent all the money meant for others’ travels.
‘Taxes are melting away like snow in the middle of summer.’
Looking at the American landscape from a room with a nice view, I smiled faintly.
From the perspective of a commoner, there was no way I couldn’t think about money during this itinerary.
It’s intriguing that trips like this happen among lawmakers when they feel bored.
Once the adults disappeared, a gomtaengi crawled out of the padded pocket as if it were a promise.
It looked around the hotel room like a tenant that would soon be moving in and stuck its face against the window in awe.
“Wow, the room and the view are great.”
“Right?”
Responding with a somewhat uneasy feeling, Shiyeon, who was excitedly exploring around, shouted from the bathroom.
“Mary! Come here! The bathroom is so huge!”
“Oh….”
Following that voice, I stepped in to find a space that was too big to simply be called a bathroom.
An empty admiration floated in the air.
The gigantic bathtub, much larger than what could fit in our home bathroom, was standard here and ample enough for both of us to fit inside.
The entire space was finished with what looked like white marble stone, which was also a point of interest.
Really, am I going to stay in such an unrealistic palace for about 8 days?
It felt even more disconnected from my usual life than that luxurious trip to Sokcho a few years ago, making me think, “Is this really okay?”
“Is there a lot here? I don’t know what it says….”
“Really, it seems there’s even something like a gym.”
As I returned from the bathroom to the living room where the bed was, I found the gomtaengi lying on the bed holding what looked like a travel brochure, with Shiyeon’s mascot nearby.
Was it called a pamphlet? They had one of those as well.
“Let me see.”
I reached for the booklet both of them were gathered around, examining the pictures.
I couldn’t understand the tiny bits of English text.
It was likely a facility description, so I just checked out the pictures to see what amenities the hotel had.
It seemed like there was indeed something like a gym, just as Shiyeon’s mascot said.
Besides that, there was a sauna, a resort, a garden, aromatherapy, a restaurant?
Based on the English words I could roughly decipher, that was the impression I got.
It appeared to be boasting about the various facilities available.
Considering the language barrier, I wondered how many of those I could actually enjoy.
As I was thinking that, I heard a knock on the door.
“Hello- ## ##### ###### ####?”
“?”
After the knock, a local woman’s fluent English pronunciation followed.
Aside from the initial greeting, I couldn’t catch any of the English words swirling in my ears, so I tilted my head and opened the door.
Beyond it stood a blonde woman with blue eyes and a prominent nose, carrying towels and moving around the room.
Is she… someone who cleans the room as she goes?
“Hi- ### ###### ###?”
‘What the hell, what’s she saying?’
Again, I only heard the greeting without understanding the rest.
Forget about the English listening test; I had no clue what she was saying.
How do you say “I don’t speak English”?
I couldn’t figure it out; I just hoped we could communicate somehow.
“Ah, I don’t know speaking English….”
“Oh, I’m here to clean.”
‘What the hell.’
Flustered, as I tried my best to respond in English, out popped her somewhat fluent Korean.
I managed to swallow back a curse that was about to escape my lips.
Then just speak in Korean from the start.
She must have known I wasn’t a local.
As the thought of the language barrier brushed through my mind, I recalled a familiar melody with a green alien child with twin tails from a cartoon.
That useless, English-speaking crazy alien.
Anyway, as the cleaner swept through the room, the wrinkled blanket was flattened out in one swift motion without any crease.
No matter how well I spread out the blanket at home, I could never do it like that; it was just fascinating.
“Oh, the cleaner came and went?”
As I kept an eye on the room, I heard the sound of a key opening the door, and in walked the lawmaker.
As if he was from an older generation, instead of using the phrase housekeeper, he used the more colloquial term cleaner while asking us.
He probably noticed the blankets that were neatly spread out without any wrinkles.
“Yes!”
“Yes, have you finished the itinerary for today?”
After Shiyeon’s cheerful reply, I sent in a question.
The lawmaker, taking off his suit and hanging it on a hook, changed into a slightly more comfortable outfit and answered.
“No, the others are eating at a local restaurant, and I came here for lunch and to pick you up.”
“Lunch!”
While the other lawmakers were dining in a local restaurant, this one came here to eat and pick us up.
This luxurious hotel provided breakfast, lunch, and even dinner without any misses.
All three meals were served as buffets, which was quite lavish.
If only there weren’t the language barrier, sitting around in the hotel and enjoying the meals regularly would be a nice way to relax.
Still, to present something to the ones I bragged about having a consistent foothold with to Shiyeon, I should at least visit some famous tourist spots.
‘Again, there’s no rice.’
The American hotel’s meals consisted of bacon, fried eggs, and various types of bread.
It was a bit different from the buffets seen in Korea.
Scrambled eggs, sausages, chunks of meat that looked like hamburger patties, croissants, bagels, omelets, cream soups.
You could see all sorts of types of bread or Western-style dishes known in Korea.
Even if I wanted to dip a sausage in ketchup and have it with white rice, everywhere I looked was just bread, bread, and more bread.
It cannot be helped if you think about the eating habits of Westerners.
It’s hard to feel like a meal without rice, yet isn’t filling yourself exclusively with meat also a thing?
Stuffing myself with bread, bacon, sausage, and omelets did give me a sense of fullness.
Somehow… it felt like I was filling up without rice, just relying on side dishes?
Anyway, the taste was good, so I didn’t mind.
After filling my plate three times and eating until I was full, we got into a car following the lawmaker’s schedule, exploring the city as we went.
The streets had a landscape vastly different from Korea.
Perhaps it was due to the vast land; it felt strangely different from the densely packed apartments of Korea.
There was just this American atmosphere.
I can’t express it well in words, but it felt like an American style.
Whether it was a training program or a travel itinerary, we took pictures in that supposedly famous Hollywood area.
“Hmm.”
Showing the back of my hand in a V pose.
Pixel sunglasses that frequently appear in overseas memes.
There was even a product of those, so Shiyeon and I each wore one and took photos together.
It was a pity the lawmaker who was taking the pictures couldn’t fit into the shot, but occasionally Shiyeon and I changed places to appear like a cozy family in the photos.
“Have you taken enough pictures?”
“…I guess we don’t need to take any more.”
Just for one day, the scent of America filled up the smartphone gallery.
Among them, a memorable photo included two excited Black men noticing us taking pictures and striking poses in the distance.
What were these two people, anyway?
Anyway, it was a photo with the delightful essence of America, so it didn’t seem to matter much.
“Oh, fucking shit!”
“What the…?”
Just as we were riding in the taxi, the blunt curse of the American taxi driver arrived, making the car brake suddenly.
With the lawmaker’s look of bewilderment, I leaned my head toward the driver and asked.
“What happened?”
Such a distinctly Korean-sounding English pronunciation.
Still, it seemed the driver understood somewhat; he shifted gears and turned the car hastily.
“Monster, fucking monster!”
No matter how much English I didn’t know, I grasped the profanity well.
In literal terms… monster, fucking monster!
Right, there do exist monsters in America, right?
